Nov. 16 “DC Archives Wonder Woman Vol. 1” by Robert Kanigher

     Reading this comic reminded me of how big an impact Wonder Woman made over the years. Wonder Woman has become the supreme image of the ideal woman, men and woman, today want to see. She became an American symbol, specifically a symbol of the ideal leader who believes in love. Wonder Woman is the kind of woman many believe to be the one who should run society overall. In the comics, she exhibits immense strength, force, and power. Personally, seeing for myself how she displays her strong characteristics as a woman is really awing and inspiring. Basically, she is my ideal role model! She doesn't back down from a fight or challenge, she is fair and just, she fights for all womankind and humanity. She is a nurturer of humanity: her overwhelming belief in love, empathy, compassion, and having a strong conscience is absolutely amazing! She doesn't seek out a reason to fight to escalate the conflict. She is an example for all woman that inside every little girl or young woman there is a strong warrior. That our weaknesses don't define us. Everyone who reads any of the comics is reminded that the world will always have darkness amongst the light, every person has both within them, but the choice of who they want to be they must make for themselves. Wonder Woman as a hero is subjected to the weary world of men (men and woman/humanity) where hatred has become constant among its people. Though no matter the amount of disappointing truth she has witnessed, Wonder Woman is a believer in second chances, and that everyone deserves love no matter what their past. She exhibits the statement that only love can save the world, a woman can lead, change the world, fight and give . . . for a world she knows can exist. She is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should rule the world.

Sep. 14 “TinTin in Tibet” by Hergé/Georges Remi

     "TinTin in Tibet" by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé, a.k.a Georges Remi really explores more on the subject of literary and cultural legitimacy. It provides a very open, though small in context, a quick study of Tibetan Buddhism and its roots. While its super fun, filled with some mild humor and sense of adventure we still get to learn quite a bit on the ride. Being set in the Himalayas, it tends to follow an adventure that "must be a solo voyage of redemption" from the "witnesses of guilt." For example, I noticed that TinTin seems to have a very close friend by the name of Chang who he finds out supposedly died in a plane crash near Nepal. He becomes very intent to deny the fact in believing his dear friend is dead. Instead, he goes on this journey of proving to himself and everyone that he is right; a journey to bring redemption or redeem the honor of his dear friend's supposed "death." There is no antagonist at all for TinTin in this comic and this provides a wide-open world where the audience can learn more about TinTin. To say again, it is more focused on the cultural and literary contents of the story. With this in mind, referring to the comic where we are told about this mysterious creature the Yeti. The Yeti's origin is surprisingly a folklore relevant to Nepal, also known as the Abominable Snowman. Researching this specific point in the story it was very interesting to learn something new and it didn't really surprise me that the story originated from the same place as told in the comic.

Nov. 2 “Alice in Sunderland” by Bryan Talbot

      "Alice in Sunderland" by Bryan Talbot was something really unexpected. I came to this comic expecting a funny, weird version of Alice in Wonderland and was suddenly introduced to many amounts of his own history. Not to mention, with many other mythical stories and their history. Honestly, it took me a few moments to realize where the story was headed. When I got to the point where many of these so-called "famous people" were all actually connected to the "Sunderland Empire Theatre" and town I knew what I was reading.  Even though the comic is classified as a graphic novel the meaning of what is a "story" becomes frail. This interesting piece of Talbot's work is neither fiction or a consistent narrative. It bounces all over the place from one piece of history to the next. With this in mind, I really enjoyed the fact that one of Talbot's main points he tries to get across is, war is either a disastrous outrage whose pain lingers forever or it is a natural thing to happen as common as the glaciers. We journey at one point through the history of Britain and it is by far the most interesting to me. I was a little lost but very intrigued when I was suddenly introduced to the world so many million years ago; from Neolithic hunter-gatherers who are taken over by these Beaker folk, who in turn are overrun by Celts, Romans, etc. They go and destroy so many things just to end up changing into peaceful citizens with their own newfound desire for destruction. It is also sad to say it kind of relates to the downfall of this beautifully made theatre. It has become a place that has been so devastated by Normans so mercilessly. Though I was being guided through this intricate history of Talbot's life in the same named British town, "Sunderland", there is a limit to how much can be digested. Especially going back and forward so many times I end up not knowing where the heck I am. Still this historical graphic novel is none the less exciting and very entertaining!