Jimmy

I figured the character of Jimmy deserved a post all his own.  I really can't make up my mind about him.  I don't know if Lester made him up in one of his imaginings or not.  And I don't know if he's Lester's father or not.  We know he's a real person, obviously - Uncle Ken knows him.  But, after the initial meeting at the gas station, did Lester's imagination take over?  This seems to be the case certainly in the last scene, when he "dies."  And the confrontation between Jim and Ken  - and later, when Lester goes to see Jim and he brushes him off - makes one think that the relationship between Lester and Jim isn't real.  

Imagined or not, Jim is integral to Lester's character development.  Lester had come to think of him as his father whether he really was or not, and the loss of him at the end (even though symbolic) is what spurs him to realize the importance of what Uncle Ken is doing for him, and allows him to begin progressing from the state of grief he's been in since the death of his mother.  

If Jim is real, however, it is interesting that he is using the time spent with Lester in much the same way that Lester himself is using it, as a way to escape the reality of his life - this is especially seen in the scene when he plays hockey with Lester and insists on reliving the last game he ever played.  

I hope we end up talking about this in class - because I'd really like to know what people's opinions are, if they're interpreting Jim as real or not.  Not that I think it matters, when you really consider it - what matters is the outcome, like I said before - but it's still interesting.  And impressive that the author has made it so ambiguous.  

Tales from the Farm

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this before I opened it, but it certainly went above and beyond.  I guess because the only thing I knew about it was that it was about a boy on a farm and his imagination, I was expecting something lighthearted and not so deep.  But, surprise!  First of all, it surprised me that a story that's in a child's point of view was done in black and white; but then I read it and realized that color would have been very out of place in light of the (super depressing) plot and characters.   The use of black and white, plus the rough, sketch-like style of the art really enhanced the theme of the hardships of farm life, and I think it also served to make the emotions and expressions of the characters seem more raw, especially in the scenes when Lester lashes out at Uncle Ken.  

Lester himself is a surprising character.  One of the questions that immediately struck me, within just a page or two, was what his age was.  It seemed like some of his actions - like wearing the costume and the extent to which he was immersed in his imagination - were the actions of a younger boy (9 or 10), but his emotional behavior spoke more to me of adolescence.  This made more sense, of course, after finding out that his mother had died just the year before.  It was heartbreaking to find out the reason that he wears the outfit, too, and why he likes comics so much.

I liked the way that the author placed the reader in the setting, too.  The French names, the hockey references, even the subtlety of placing the cross on the wall in all the dinner scenes, were all effective methods.  

I'd like to read the other two volumes eventually, I'm really interested to find out what happens with Les.

intro post

Well.  This week has been a hassle.  Firstly, I didn't realize until this morning that we have to do 3 posts on here as well as on Blackboard per week.  So, here I go doing all 3 in one day.  Woot.  

Secondly, I haven't received my copy of Tales from the Farm yet.  Awesome.  Luckily, Rebecca was able to let me borrow her copy (huge thanks to her!), but not until this afternoon, so I'll have to collect my thoughts on that rather quickly.  

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  This is only my first entry.  So I should probably do some sort of introduction or something.  

Well, I'm very new to the world of comics.  As I said on Blackboard, I'm kind of doing things backward, in that I decided to write one before I'd ever even read one.  Strange, I know, but my brother is very persuasive and once I did start reading them, I was fascinated by the style of storytelling.  So far, I've only read a few (incomplete) fantasy series - Battle Chasers, Telos, Soul Saga, and I just opened a Warlands: Banished Knights issue.  Out of those, I've most enjoyed Battle Chasers and Soul Saga, both of which I'm pretty sure my brother told me were left hanging by the authors, which sucks.  

In any case, I'm really excited to be in this class and get the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of comics and read as much as I can, especially branching out into different genres.  I had an awesome time in class - Dan and the other students all seem very enthusiastic about the topic, and I'm glad I'm not the only novice in there.  I'm excited for next class, which doesn't usually happen for me unless it's a class directly related to my major.  So I guess that's saying something, huh?