Hah, the Diary of a Dominatrix. As a guy who is decidedly not into masochism or sadism (or women for that matter), this was an interesting delve into the world of a dominatrix. The sexuality of the comic was entertaining though some portions did manage to make me quite squeamish. The style of the artist allows for both a humanistic feel and a very sensual feel. The main character is shown in her transformation from the human to the beautiful. Almost all the characters she is paid to torture/abuse/love/molest are horribly homely men, very humanistic and probably somewhat accurate to live.
The delving into the toys and accouterments that make up her work seemed as descriptive as the scenes of her involved in her work. The comic effectively leaves things to the imagination, which is a keen pursuit for any story teller. The abuse to men's genitalia in the comic, though self admittedly designed to make its male viewers squirm, did just that. I suppose I never really bothered to ponder the workings of a dominatrix and this comic hasn't inspired any more interest in them either.
On a feminine side, I can see this comic as both being empowering, but also, equalizing. For all her power, the comic focuses a great deal on the male genitalia, and only a portion of it is altogether negative. While the character functions in a position of power, she, in the end, enjoys her male partners advances as much as the people who pay her for abuse enjoy her advances.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Asterious Polyp
This was an excellent read. The style, style changes, and story merged together to be an exciting journey through the crisis of one man's life. The narrator was there with us the entire time. Not an active participant in the story, though he definitely makes his appearance.
I felt this really was a superb example of contemporary culture. It shows the apathy and inexperience that has overtaken the American mindset. A man, who is smart... even a genius perhaps, who can't figure out what to do with his life and more importantly, doesn't know how to save the love of his life. His house catches on fire and he's forced to flee... so he just wanders. The characters he meets in his travels manage to break him free of his loneliness and remind him of the important things. We see his life before, after, and during the break and it speaks deeply of how many people approach life and love, and the consequences of it.
The normal style for the book allows for supremely expressive and identifiable body types and faces, well, more than a realistic style would. The characters are defined by their line style, with Asterious Polyp being hard lines and sharp, for the most part (he softens towards the end) while Hana, his love, is all sensuous soft lines. The art of each character tells you a great deal about them.
Then the style changes, becoming very abstract and through text and image, defining of emotions. Hana feels overpowered by Asterious' ego and indifference, the imagery shows her as this soft, breaking figure in a world of harsh geometry. The idea of karma out of balance or unjust fate was prevalent through the book, as this egotist defines the world around himself in his own terms, only to find a woman that changes all that, and due to his ego, he loses her. Then his entire life goes to pot, losing or giving away his possessions and eventually losing an eye, before he finally gains enough humility to find his love once more.
The ending, though quite punctual and witty, was very unexpected. While it alluded to an earlier portion of the comic, it seemed out of place and distinctly slapstick (albeit, slapstick on a planetary scale).
I felt this really was a superb example of contemporary culture. It shows the apathy and inexperience that has overtaken the American mindset. A man, who is smart... even a genius perhaps, who can't figure out what to do with his life and more importantly, doesn't know how to save the love of his life. His house catches on fire and he's forced to flee... so he just wanders. The characters he meets in his travels manage to break him free of his loneliness and remind him of the important things. We see his life before, after, and during the break and it speaks deeply of how many people approach life and love, and the consequences of it.
The normal style for the book allows for supremely expressive and identifiable body types and faces, well, more than a realistic style would. The characters are defined by their line style, with Asterious Polyp being hard lines and sharp, for the most part (he softens towards the end) while Hana, his love, is all sensuous soft lines. The art of each character tells you a great deal about them.
Then the style changes, becoming very abstract and through text and image, defining of emotions. Hana feels overpowered by Asterious' ego and indifference, the imagery shows her as this soft, breaking figure in a world of harsh geometry. The idea of karma out of balance or unjust fate was prevalent through the book, as this egotist defines the world around himself in his own terms, only to find a woman that changes all that, and due to his ego, he loses her. Then his entire life goes to pot, losing or giving away his possessions and eventually losing an eye, before he finally gains enough humility to find his love once more.
The ending, though quite punctual and witty, was very unexpected. While it alluded to an earlier portion of the comic, it seemed out of place and distinctly slapstick (albeit, slapstick on a planetary scale).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
