Week 12: Graphic Fiction and Nonfiction

This week I read some of Berry's Britten and Brulightly.  I think the best part about this comic was the bits with the teabag.  I mean it's not everyday that there is a comic where one of the characters is a teabag.  I think it was a good device to keep the reader from being overloaded by two much information.  It gave Britten someone to talk to and it gave you a little humor here and there to break up the serious overtones.  As I was first reading it, I thought I was reading it incorrectly.  I was like, is he on the phone, there's nothing there but the teabag! But I think it really worked to show the sense of isolation that Britten has from the rest of the world. It also sort of hinted that Britten might not have all of his marbles--rather, he might not be the most reliable narrator.

What really bugged me about this comic was everything was drawn very stiffly. The main character actually looks like Hitler to me.  Like, who else had a huge honker of a nose and a tiny moustache.  I don't know why but I could never unsee it and it was actually very distracting the entire time.  My roommate thought it looked like Hitler too, so it's not just me.  I do realize he was supposed to be from Ecuador, but I mean, it was just kind of awkward.

This comic really did a good sense of detective noir: it was dark, lots of harsh contrast in every panel, and a bit grunge-y.  Also there was the constant deluge of rain which made it even more foreboding and sleazy.  Also the traditional media used to wash the panels with the blues and greys really helped form the melancholy environment in a way that made it beautiful to read each page.  The watercolor he used really added to the character of the piece.  It was very interesting to me as an artist because I have used watercolors and it is near impossible to get nice blacks and dark shades with watercolors, they tend to be way to light for me.  But I really think Berry made something different, there aren't a lot of watercolor comics out there.  It takes dedication.

Also, Britten is the typical noir antihero.  I mean, he's down on his luck, he is a fallen man, and he isn't exactly a sunshine of joy.  Britten realizes the clarity he has searched for causes nothing but problems.  Inevitably, he destroys all of his work.  It's a very negative story in general, it was very depressing in nature to read.  Everyone seemed to be be down on their luck and the sense of morality is really skewed, everyone has their own problems.  

It reminded me a lot of the movie Blade Runner.  I mean they were different because the movie is set in the future with robots and this is a more realistic story but they do have a lot in common.  For one it followed the same sort of idea of a detective story. But I think overall, they both had an unexpected ending.  The ending of Britten and Brulightly really surprised me as the concepts brought up with Blade Runner, especially the ending scene.  Also they both were sort of set in this dystopia where everything was very rainy and dark and--well, depressing.