Polyp

Asterios Polyp is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. The story is good, but what makes it GREAT is the art. There are countless different art style going on in Asterios, and they are there not only for the visual, but for the story telling as well. Different style means different personality, condition, feeling, emotion and situation. Polyp himself is mostly a poly constructed person, which representing he is all about function, logic and close to “emotionless”. His world is all about making sense and everything need to function in the way that they are suppose to. (That’s why when his house got burn down by lighting he take it rather hard as none of those things are suppose to happen)

There are a range of different type of storytelling using different types of element, lines, colors, shapes, facial, word and more. One of the most interesting things I found it’s the mix of style when Polyp first meets Hana. They were drawn in two totally different art style (representing personality), and when they start to talk they both has taken the other’s art style and mix within their own. It is visual story telling at its best; not even the best facial emotion drawing can tell a person’s emotion that clear. Polpy’s dialog bubble is always squire and Hana is circle, again, its visual story telling using every element that’s on the page. There in a scene where Polyp visit Hava in the classroom where she is teaching some students, and when they meet the box around that shot become circle to represent they are now a whole instead of individual.

 The use of flashback and what could have been is another great element of the book. Having the “DEAD” twin brother to tell the story of Polyp is a really interesting and fresh style. I realize there is no black ink at all in the whole book, and I think that’s really unique for a graphic novel. I am not sure what was the reason or purpose behind it, but it’s sure interesting to see that. In the end I think Asterios Polyp is more about the icon, shape, lines and color that’s connecting to the reader instead of reading the story itself.

Snowman, tell us please about the deeds of Crake.

Oryx and Crake

First, I have to say this is one of my favored read so far because of its theme and the way the writer tell the story. The plot and dialogues are clear and easy to understand (which is great for someone with English as a second language), and there is a scenes of realism due to its person story telling. There are many things in Oryx and Crake that interested me, such as the media of the future and the beginning of an origin story of the creator “god” Crake. There are some factional elements that can become real in the near future, such as the suicide-LIVE online site and those genetic creatures…

All the main characters feel real and somehow related to me, as the writer brings us in a journey of their childhood, teenage and adult. It’s like reading the entire Harry Potter book in one concentrated book. The events that happen (besides the ending which killed everyone) to the characters feel like something that could happen to me or one of my friends. And the two main characters have such a strong bond due to they both admire the other’s trait…Jimmy see Crake is the brilliant, and Crake sees Jimmy as the normal guy who can get girls. I can relate to those two characters easily as we all have friends that we see as the “brilliant” and some we see as “the guy who get the girls”. I think one of the reasons why this book is so good is because something big and extreme happened to two that’s normal, and we never question about the plot as somehow it all makes sense.

The book has a interesting way to telling the story take reminded you that Jimmy is the Snowman, but somehow Snowman see Jimmy as a third person. With all those voice in his head, perhaps it’s hard for him to think of himself as first person anymore, and he is still living in the cage that he created when he killed Crake. It has a sad but interesting ending, especially with “Crake’s children”. A perfect human race created by Crake, and in a way Crake is the god of the new world as he destroy and create everything in it. Perhaps it will be interesting to see how that world will become in the future, seeing Crake and Oryx as god and goddess of the world…the first time that human take the world in his own hand and create the Origin tale of a brand new world. Imagine growing up in that world and learn this story as like the Bible, and live and pray to our creator god Crake, for everything he had done for us.

Kool Kool

So what is cool? Or perhaps it’s cooler to say “what is kool?” Yours parent may tell you to be the best you, you can be, or everyone is unique in a way that makes us cool. But what is it to most of the people in a nowadays society? Cool isn’t something that you can see it for yourself, as cool is something that can only be tagged by someone else but yourself. If you just walk around and tell everyone you meet how cool you are, you will surly see that it isn’t cool to put the cool title on yourself.

Cool also change through time and through different group of people, and there is a pattern that everyone will agree to be “cool” in side that specific group of people. One group of people may think that the creator of Dungeon and Dragon (D&D) is the coolest thing ever, but everyone else may consider that to be very nerdy. Fashion on the hand can be cool in a way but if a guy that’s into fashion can be consider “gay” to the other people. So basically what I am trying to say here is that cool isn’t something we can say for sure of what it is or what it takes to be cool.

Cool is like marketing, in marketing you can only get a specific group of people and you need to aim for that. If your advertisement is aiming to too large of a range of people in the end it may make that advertisement weak to all. A good advertisement is to aim to a specific of people, and making something they can all relate and all enjoy…and therefore is cool.

We can however say in general what is cool to most people using the popular culture and consumer marketing. If you got something that everyone need and have but bigger or better…you are cool. In a country that’s heavy toward materialism, you can basically say what you own is what your are. If I got a bigger tv than everyone I know I am cool, and if I have a house that’s bigger than most people I am cool…or am I? It almost sounds like I am say that being rich is cool, and personally I think it is true most of the time. However you can still be cool by doing things in the popular culture like doing Youtube,  however that’s only going to work if people enjoy your performance and what you have to share, or else it will be the totally opposite of being cool. People need to relate to what you do, and what you are doing need to be better…however there are other way of “cool” that is totally different than what I am talking about now.

In high school there is always this one good looking kid that don’t talk much, he site alone and don’t take part of any group activity and somehow that’s really cool for the girls. The silent type of “cool” may somehow suggest he use his brain more than his mouth, but why is that consider cool? By not doing things with the group he present the counter culture of that specific group’s culture and therefore is cool for young people just like in the 70’s counter culture. Those people are cool because they don’t fallow rules and is unique in a way. Many heroes in a police movie is always the rabble, who don’t play with rules and does thing his own way, and that is cool consider by many. I can keep going on and list out examples of what is cool, but in the end I believe cool is something that’s different with everyone, and can’t be lack in to a special category, as its different between groups, nations, ages, races and time.