kvaillan-litcomics

 I really loved this series of comics. I found the introduction with the rabbit skeleton and the butterfly very appealing. I thought that the characters were very unique and compelling to read about. The entire comic was written very poetically and I found myself determined to hear the end of the story. The girl with the vulture coat was very interesting to me and I ended up wanting to cheer her on. The visual form of the god of death was also very appealing and I also enjoyed how they set the story up, that was told at the beginning, to be the back story to one of the main characters. The fight scenes were epic and I loved the colors of red and orange that were prominent through the story. The whole thing flowed together very nicely and it was overall a huge pleasure to read.

I've read a lot of manga but this is the first I'm read that had this sort of style. It took me a while to get into the correct tone of this comic because I was mislead by the very cute style into thinking it would be more innocent and carefree. But then a character dies and I was confused by the storyline right off the bat. Less importantly I got confused by the gender of a few characters, I thought the younger boy was a girl. Then the tone would switch from something very serious to very carefree almost instantaneously and I would lose the character's goals. I forgot about the phoenix for some parts of it as well and had to remind myself of the original plot of the story. There definitely a lot of plot twists though. I think maybe the translation ended up getting me lost sometimes perhaps. Phoenix Future was even more confusing to me, maybe because I was used to the prehistoric timeline from before but I became confused by this. It was a completely different style than th

The use of red is very abundant in the comic which I think immediately sets the correct tone for the comic. I found the main character very interesting and I liked how is mask was never really drawn the same way. In three panels side by side they were blatantly all different designs for the mask on his face. I liked the antihero feeling to it all where the motive of the lead wasn't very clear and his morals are a little sketchy. It reminded me a lot of the feeling of Deadpool. At some points I found the character pretty funny in his complete disregard for others, like when he's breaking the man's fingers in the bar and asking everyone else for information. It's more crazy than threatening. This alternate world where all the superheroes are very disorganized, selfish, and fighting with each other is also very appealing. It's sort of a backhanded way of not having trust in humanity to use their powers for good but rather for their own benefit.

 I found the style of this comic very interesting but I found the TV interview segments a little confusing and harder to follow. The most appealing and eye opening panels to me were the ones filled almost entirely with a black shape. I liked when the black shapes took up most of the panel and surrounded the characters.  I think the integration of batman's backstory works really well in this way. I found the large lettering for the sounds very effective in the storytelling. In one panel they used the lettering as the frame for a bolt of lightning which was pretty ingenious. Also using the lettering to surround the car tires screeching really helps the sound be in the audiences mind while reading. The lettering surrounding the characters also helps to fill the space with that sound. Overall this story was very eye catching and did a great job of keeping the audience entertained. 

 I found this comic very interesting and easy to understand. The only thing I had a problem with was that the whole thing seemed very unfortunate for the main character and she can never seem to catch a break. Nothing good ever happens but she just keeps going without being rewarded or fulfilled. The main character is pretty depressing and I much prefer Hanna over her. The comic is also very fast paced and I find it hard to understand what happened before moving on to the next problem. Like there's no "how does this make you feel" and no pause for the consequences. I thought a lot of things were pretty relatable though. There's a panel where Hanna and her boyfriend are talking to each other through pictochat on the nintendo DSI which is a major callback to my childhood and I was able to appreciate it.  

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?      I really liked the darker take on the relationship between Batman and the Joker where this cat and mouse game has gone on for so long. Batman begins to question what exactly is the reason it's all happening. I also liked how the backstory for the joker was interlaced within. The Joker has a way of talking where he appeals to the audience, in a way that even though he is the bad guy he seems to make some sense. The ending panels are really interesting to me because batman starts to laugh at the Joker's joke and then it pans down to the reflection in the water. The space between the two characters merge into one and the reflection becomes all black. As if to say that they really aren't that different.  2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect?     Sometimes the way the Joker speaks makes a lot of sense and it's almost as if he's able