I would first like it to be known that Dr. Manhattan is an awesome character. I mean who wouldn't want to be able to be the most powerful creature in the world? He can win wars single handedly and do other amazing things, too bad he cannot handle relationships. Due to his accident it seems that Dr. Manhattan is immortal and will live forever, this effect of his transformation is one of the major problems in his relationships. Dr. Manhattan also has trouble relating emotionally to others because none of them have experienced what he has, including his lady loves. While Dr. Manhattan never ages, those around him grow old and if that is not bad enough he is now being accused of causing cancer to develop in those he has had intimate or close contact with. Giving those you love to be around and love, cancer a deadly illness would be among the worst things one could possibly be cursed with. I always thought AIDS or HIV would suck to have but that only effects you not ones you are simply around a lot, like that of Dr. Manhattan's causing disease. Being Dr. Manhattan must really suck. One of my psychology professors told me that he believes the need for human contact and connection is one of the basic human needs in life. While Dr. Manhattan does partake in human contact he cannot truly connect with others because they have not experienced the pain that he has. Dr. Manhattan makes for a truly interesting character to read about but he is definitely one person from the comics we have read, that I am glad to not be.
To begin with, I really do like the idea of reading a comic about comics. I think it's a great idea and it's very well executed. As I was reading the first two chapters, I was surprised at how many examples there were of art in recent (and ancient, in some cases) history that are variations of "sequential visual art" and thus the foundations of modern comics. I'd never even thought about it before and it was hard to believe how many different kinds there were. I also love all the discussion about how our human brains automatically interpret certain images in a specific way, how we see others constantly but we identify ourselves when we look at cartoons, and how inanimate objects automatically becomes extensions of our bodies. The pyramid of styles was very interesting too as a way to conceptualize and almost graph or "place" a specific art style in comics. In Comic Book Nation , I enjoyed reading about the evolution of early comics from "funnies...
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