Class 13 - "Rethinking Superheroes" Assessment

Question 1 - "What is your reaction to the text you just read?" (The Killing Joke)

Although I haven't had a lot of experience with the characters of the Joker and Batman, The Killing Joke made me feel sympathetic towards the Joker's character by introducing his backstory. I'd heard about this comic beforehand, but reading it through made me feel genuinely disturbed by the the Joker's torture mechanisms while still feeling pity for the unfortunate situation that drove him to become such a villain. I'm honestly very impressed at the emotional integrity the story has, given how short it is and the fact that a reader wouldn't neccessarily need a lot of knowledge of these characters to understand this comic. I also appreciated the fact that the story called out the Joker's malignant behavior for being unforgiveable while still trying to explain his reasoning, instead of plainly assigning "bad" qualities for the convenience of plot or trying to redeem his actions.

Question 2 - "What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work of which you were able to connect."

Surprisingly, I found myself connecting with the Joker's character more than I expected I would reading through this story. The character's motivations are all too familiar with a lot of American family experiences; a person desperately trying to make a career from their life's passion that unfortunately proves unsuccessful. Emotionally, I was able to connect with the Joker's fear of not being able to provide for his wife and child and the extent to which this fear drives him to work with untrustworthy people. The comic's use of flashbacks with poses that are paralleled between past and present is an effective tool to show how the Joker's past continues to influence him, and how it almost haunt him in a sense - an experience that anyone who has experienced regret is familiar with.


Question 3 - "What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use, and what changes would you make?"

Given a choice, if I were to make an adaptation of this story, I would pick film due to its potential to reach a wide audience and to take advantage of this show of humanity with actors who could likely find personal experience to draw inspiration from. Of course with a feature-length film, there would have to be a driving conflict that could span over the course of several hours, but this conflict should be drawn from the same force as in the comic while still keeping the focus on Batman and Joker's past and how the two histories parallel and contrast. The central problem with Barbara and her father might be the main element to change in the film, or expanded to work upon in a more complex way suitable for a movie. Something that I would really want to keep from the story is the chilling reveal of the Joker's backstory and Batman's desperation to change the Joker out of fear for his own life, and especially how the comic shows two people faced with similar tragedies and their two contrasting ways of coping with them.

Homework 13 - Hellboy's Humanity

Hellboy stands apart from traditional superhero comics with a distinctive abstracted inky art style, a gritty violent world, and most of all, a surprisingly relatable protagonist. While other series with similarly dark worlds have a tendency to focus on the character’s emotional devastation and struggles, Hellboy recognizes these realities while still making Hellboy hilariously human.

A trademark of this time period for comics was the introduction of more fleshed out characters with personal problems in order for the audience to empathize with and relate to. Hellboy shows this element with the character’s innate desire to be liked by people, which is the motivation for his decision to join the paranormal investigation team, as well as his choice to whittle down his horns to appear more appealing to others. Both of these are very relatable as Hellboy’s desire to be liked is one we can all understand.

However, what makes Hellboy stand out is his realistic, yet very funny, way of reacting to horrifyingly paranormal situations.

In this, the audience can see not a hero with untouchable powers, but themselves after a long day of work or having to deal with people they can’t stand. This doesn’t take away from Hellboy’s struggles at all, either; the humor shows how often he has to face circumstances like this and despite how tired he is of seeing ridiculous danger over and over again, he still throws himself headfirst into peril to protect others.

Hellboy shows a story that shows what happens when people get thrown into impossibly insane situations and how we keep pushing through with sarcastic annoyance. This makes the series an inventive and entertaining experience as the audience goes through supernatural circumstances in an actually realistic way.

Homework 12 - Ms. Marvel!

As a woman, the experiences of reading the original origins of Wonder Woman compared to that of the 2014 Ms. Marvel are uniquely empowering. Wonder Woman origins connected feminine strength to the lineage of gods and drew a parallel between a sense of untouchable power and the identity of being a woman. However, the first two issues of 2014 Ms. Marvel touch on a different type of strength; one brought from the reality of uncomfortable colored female youth in a present-day world.

The first two issues outline the quick back-and-forth power struggle that Kamala feels after becoming Ms. Marvel. While civilians initially fawn over her, the comments soon become derogatory with comments about her outfit.

It’s evident in the writing that Ms. Marvel was written by a woman, as the feeling of being powerful to powerless is so present in the female experience on a day-to-day basis, and having superpowers is no exception. Kamala faces the lack of cultural respect when Zoe insults her friends, and the lack of freedom in her own house as she calls out her own parents for their gendered stigma.



Even after receiving the Ms. Marvel powers, Kamala’s internal monologue and the visual illustrations almost look horrific instead of powerful; much like a representation of fitting into your own body in a society that simultaneously antagonizes and worships the female figure.



At first glance, it may appear as though this version might be more depressing than empowering, but this isn’t the case at all. Kamala stubbornly pushes through all these boundaries by sneaking out of her own house and quickly learning how to use the powers she was bestowed with. Independent growth despite external circumstances is a relatable and important experience to show in media, which is something that Ms. Marvel achieves as it brings a newfound and personal display of female empowerment.

Homework 11 - How "Asterios Polyp" uses drawings as literary themes

David Mazzucchelli’s “Asterios Polyp” carefully delivers its literary themes both through writing and art, but primarily through powerfully constructed visuals that strengthen an already brilliantly created story. This graphic novel is a primary example of the level of complexity and nuance that the media form of comics can provide for a story, where both writing and art compliment each other. Not only is this a show of the possibility that comics as a platform can achieve, I believe that this story is at its strongest in this form due to Mazzucchelli’s artistic decisions.

Mazzucchelli uses the theme of opposite halves through Asterios’ story, notably through the differences between him and his wife and their contrasting types of intelligence.

By using sketchy, organic lines to emphasize Hana’s creative brilliance and symmetrical, formulaic 3D shapes to show Asterios’ logistic intelligence, Mazzucchelli creates a visual theme from the written characters. During their arguments, the drawing styles become increasingly contrasted as their differences become the source of their conflicts; an effect that could only be achieved in this type of media and would have been lost to the audience with just words. Even as a film, the details like the different font types or speech bubble shapes would have been lost.

This visual theme established early on impacts the ending once the two come together after a long period of separation and begin to intellectually meet more in the middle. As Hana embraces a more logical approach to her new artwork series and Asterios allows himself to be flawed, their speech bubbles, which had always been separated, intertwine and overlap for the first time, signifying their growth as individuals and as a couple.

The very nature of comics requires a balance between writing and art, yet some stories use this to their advantage more than others. “Asterios Polyp” is a story that uses this format to its fullest potential, creating a brilliant work of art by utilizing the strengths of the comic medium.