Graphic Novels

     After reading Will Eisner's "Contract with God", I immediately noticed how distinct the overall aesthetic of the comic is. Aside pre-dating Disney's 2D art style which I enjoyed, partly because of how the story's tone gets progressively darker, but it compliments the body language constantly used through the stories. The first story sharing the title, has one of the best use of body language I've seen in comics and the way the heavy downpour is portrayed compliments the narrative. For all five stories, the use of cross hatch giving that sketchy feel makes everything more genuine, as it goes well with the stories told about the human nature. Whether they're mistakes, faults, or just regular screw ups, the art's direction conveys everything to a T with its distinct line of action, gesture lines, hatching, inking, lighting, and expression.
     Craig Thompson's "Blankets" goes in a unique direction both narratively and artistically. The inking in "Blankets" notably uses paint rather than "Contract with God" using pen. The strokes used in "Blankets" varies in width and sometimes the paint is in the midst of drying up on the brush as the strokes have specs of white for interesting effects. In Eisner's work, however, there's more detail in the background, even in silhouettes far out in the background, all with finer line work. I personally prefer Eisner's art style despite Thompson's use of framing and perspective making better use of the medium overall. Page 11 panel 4 and pages 14 and 15 exemplifies this by how unique the perspective is made, since it's from two young brothers. Narratively speaking, "Contract with God" is an anthology, taking place in the same year and setting focusing on a wide range of characters whereas "Blankets" focuses on a single protagonist, smoothly transitioning to and switching back from various phases of his life to portray the innocence of his first love. Neither comic are afraid of showing adult themes, such as nudity, sex, and the condition of the human psyche.