Response about the Graphic Novel By Mehryar Zahed

1)What did you like about creating your own graphic novel? What did you like the least?My favorite thing about creating this graphic novel was the fact that I was able to transform a picture taken for another reason and create a story line behind it. I had a picture of me sleeping when I had gotten a bump on my four head in the summer, I was able to make that picture become a part of my graphic novel by adding in a speech bubble. I was able to create what ever I wanted with my imagination. What I didn’t like was how I had to resize all the photos every single time. The comic strip template had a certain size and my photo had to suit that size. It was a hassle because I had to form everything to suit that template. Another thing I didn’t like was the speech bubbles and how they sometimes covered something in the picture. Even if I moved it around ,it would still cover something that may be important and that got kind of annoying.
2)If you could do this assignment again or differently, what would you change and why?If I could do this assignment again I would probably try and use a template that had less comic strips or sections on it. It got quite hard to fill up every single scene and put in new ideas. Also instead of putting speech bubbles for every single scene I would just put in the text box. It was unnecessary to make every single scene have a speech bubble within it. I would also try and make a proper story line with more ideas in it. I would prefer to make it more broad instead of having it based on one topic. If you look at other graphic novels that were made in the past they have a broad story line instead of being focused one single topic. My graphic novel was based one thing and that was getting shoes ,so next time I would try and make it a tiny bit more broad ,so it would be a lot easier to make.
3)How does this type of assignment fit or not fit into your learning preference?I would say that it does contribute to my learning preference by teaching me how to create a graphic novel. Since we were learning about them we were able to add in our own idea of what a graphic novel really was. It helped us make that effect and learn how they are made. I would say it did not fit in because we made our own storylines and created it the way we wanted. I feel like I didn’t learn that much from this because you can just read a graphic novel and know how its made and what the platform is.
4)If you would give someone tips or pointers about this project ,what would you tell them and why?If I were to give someone tips about this project I would first tell them to make sure they have a proper story line created as a backbone. Do not jump into the project and work on it as you go. Plan it out first because if you don’t it will get you stuck. Also try and create a script but you will end up modifying it when you transfer it into the speech bubble. You need to make sure that everything makes sense. Also If you want to add in any pictures make sure to be creative with the picture. If you have a picture of someone running randomly ,you can somehow use that picture and make it become related to your graphic novel. That’s was cool about it.

Point Of Veiw

Point Of View, Diction, Syntax

By Mehryar Zahed

                The writing style of 300 is very unique for a graphic novel. It is so simple but yet it is very informative at the same time. The speech bubbles go anywhere from 3 words to almost a mini paragraph long. In this journal entry it will explain the Point of view, Diction, Syntax.

                In 300 the story is explained through different people’s point of view. The narrator usually describes the scenes but then the characters take over until the next new scene that comes up. The narrator is actually the Capitan Dilios so it is through an omniscient view. There is a more historic diction in the writing style. That is because they reference allot of places in Greece. They also speak about the countries they went through to get to Greece. The syntax would be more long and descriptive. When King Leonidas would speak about killing someone he would describe how he did it. This made the syntax become real descriptive. The diction was also not all so historic they did not speak like Shakespeare times with thy and thou. It was written how a regular graphic novel would be except they made many references to the countries and continents.

                In all the writing style and point of view of this book was done well and easily readable.

Overall Critical And Personal Comments

             

Overall Critical and Personal Comments

By Mehryar Zahed

              The graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller is defiantly one of my favourite graphic novels of all time. The way it’s presented is definitely unique and since it’s based on history the fact that the author was able to make it interesting was defiantly a good thing. There were many ups and downs to this book which i will explain in this journal entry.

                First I would like to mention that the way the graphic novel was written was very good. It was easy to read and understand, there were not big words to throw you off and all the characters that spoke made sense when they were speaking. You didn’t have to think over what he characters had said. It was easily understandable. The only negative about the writing I would say is some of what they wrote was a little bit too much .They tried to cram allot into one speech bubble at times. It was a little bit much to take in but still easy to understand. 

                   Secondly the illustration was amazing it was drawn so descriptively. One of my favourite scenes was when one of the warriors was killed and an arrow was shown going though his body making his body to stand up straight. It was really graphic and detailed. Every picture told a story. You didn’t even need the words, just by looking at the pictures you could tell what that section was about.

                 Thirdly the only thing that I personally didn’t like was how the Persians were portrayed in this story. Even though this was based on a true event, not everything was true and realistic. It made Persians look like barbarians, as reading it I felt like Frank Miller had some anger within him towards and just let it all out on this graphic novel. But then again it’s just a story and any author just wants to make their product sell, so it’s nothing personal. In the end it was still a great read other then the Persians being animals i loved the graphic novel.

                In my conclusion I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in graphic novels. It’s a easy read and it’s great for people who are new to graphic novels. It covers everything a graphic novel should have.

Artistic And Visual Style

Artistic And Visual Style

By Mehryar Zahed

           This graphic novel is very well illustrated and is really detailed. Although some characters may look the same their all still well illustrated. Since this graphic novel does not have many pages or writing they use the pictures and illustration as way to help tell the story.
          The design and color is all really alike. The characters are drawn with more dark colors but the color red stands out the most. When blood is splattered it strands out more than any other color . That is because all the other colors are more of shades and dark colors so they just blend in more. Lines are a used a lot on the warriors body to show their abs and it is also on their capes. Their weapons also have lines all around them that connect to create a design. The characters all have a real different shape. The monsters are more round and bulky while the warriors would be more thick but very well built. These shapes help us see what the character that we are seeing is capable of. The direction is also makes a huge difference. A perfect example is when the warriors are about to fight ,one side is point their arrows to the opposing side. It draws the readers attention to the middle and then when you look down you see they are all fighting in that same place the arrows were directed to. The direction is well directed because usually what the author makes the characters in a way point their weapon or put a symbol in a area to make you look there. ,he makes a way of direction to draw your attention to that area. The size changes from each template of the page. The smaller boxes represent a small scene or a minor situation in the story. But huge or full page sections are usually for the battle scenes or fights and major conflicts. The color and value is more of a dark shades with mainly grey ,black and a golden colors used. The only color they make stand out the most is the color red. It stands out on the capes of the warriors and the blood.
               Over all the illustration and visual aspect of this graphic novel is very well illustrated. When reading you can easily pick out the more big situations from the small situations and you can also see that the color red is specifically meant to stand out. You could just look at the picturers and be able to know what they were trying to say. This was very well made.

Plot Development

Plot Development

By Mehryar Zahed

A Scene Of The Climax From The Movie



                    300 has a real good plot development. When reading the graphic novel you can literally pick out all the points in the story from the exposition to the resolution. You can see the key actions that set off every section for the plot.
From the start of the graphic novel you see all of the Spartan’s training with each other. It then gets into a scene where the men are gathered speaking about King Leonidas and how he became the man he is. It gives a brief background on his life and the story of Sparta. That is the exposition because that is how the story starts off. It notifies the reader of why he is the leader and why he was chosen for that duty. The rising action would be when the Persian messenger came about with a message for them. The message was to quietly surrender. Kind Leonidas did not like that so he sent the Persian down the well for eternity. That set off the war so all men had to be ready and suited up to go fight for their loved ones and for Sparta. The climax of the story is the battle itself. For days they fought each other. The Spartans would be winning the battle because of how much Persians they killed with the little amount of men that they had. For days they camped around the gates of Greece waiting for the Persians to come in with their new army. Eventually it went on till the numbers got bigger and the warriors got more violent. The falling action would be when the Spartans realized the were way to out numbered for their battle. Eventually they were all killed and King Leonidas was murdered in the end along with his fellow men. The resolution is when King Leonidas’s main capitan ,Capital Dilos was telling the story back home to the other warriors and being able to gather a next 10,000 men and now taking them to go fight for victory once again. Basically the Spartans didn’t win the fight but they won the war because of how much Persians they had killed in the long run.
This graphic novel did a great job of splitting the story up into chapters where you can see how the plot develops. The chapter goes onto different sections of a regular plot (exposition ,rising action ,ect). It was a real easy and understandable read.

Setting And Characters-

        Setting And Characters

By Mehryar Zahed



A Picture showing both Setting and Characters of 300

         The story of 300 is a story that has been modified by author Frank Miller into one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. The graphic novel is well written and very well illustrated ,when reading you have many visuals to look at that help tell the story. Its an interesting story with many different characters in it. Its a graphic novel like no other. I will describe the setting and characters in this response.
         The story of 300 is set to take place late 480 B.C. The book itself has many different settings from Greece to Persia. But the main spot where all the battles had happened  was at the gates of Greece in Thermopylae. Where the story took place has a huge impact on the plot because where the battle happened was right where the Persians were trying to enter and take over. But the Spartans did not allow for that to happen. The stopped them in their tracks before they were able to get past and run through Thermopylae. A more violent and dark mood is set because of the setting. That is because Thermopylae is a very rocky and wooded area. Its basically a jungle gym for violence. There is a huge cliff where people can fall off and land in the water or rocks. It gives the story a more violent theme because of it. When looking at the setting you see how dangerous it looks and how unsafe it is. There is no where to hide and cliffs everywhere ,so it makes the more violent ,dark theme come about.
       The characters are more dynamic and every single one is different than the other. The main character

King Leonidas is a more ruthless and self driven character. He plays many roles ,such as a warrior ,father and a leader . He sticks to all parts and does them all properly. Then there is Xerxes ,the Persians leader. He is a cold blooded and blood driven man. He does not care for nothing but victory and will stop at nothing to get it.  The characters are all different in many ways from body shape to personality. You can easily pick out who is who. These characters are all developed mainly through their actions. For King Leonidas you get to see the story of how he turned into one of the greatest warriors of all time. The rest of the characters you don't really get to see as much but you see how they fight for their country. Its mainly their actions that show you who they are. That is how we get to see how their developed. Almost every character has a moment to show what they are capable of in the story. So their appearance is also another way that their developed.

The protagonist of this story is King Leonidas because it explains his life the most. We see how he grew up and how he leads all the Spartans to victory in the end. The Antagonist would be Xerxes because he is set to go against what ever the king does and throw him down from his power. Both men have a good army behind them as well. King Leonidas had the Spartan Army of 300 and Xerxes has the Persian army of the millions.

               The settings and characters are a huge part of the plot because they both have a huge part to the plot. Each character being different makes the story a better read. The fact that the setting is real open and dangerous makes a more violent graphic novel .In all their both perfect for this story.

 

Back Home

Lil Wayne has finally been released from Rikers Island state prison and has already gone back to his old routine lifestyle. But what i find very weird is that he has gotten a 36 month probation that he is not allowed to do any drugs or drink alcohol. He is to have zero alcohol level at all times. It does not make sense because the night he got out i heard on the radio that he has rented out an entire strip club. For him and his closest friends and has filled it up with all the alcohol you can think of. Its weird because its being broad casted so freely like that. Also he preformed at a concert two days after his release with his Drake and after finishing the song "Miss Me" he made the comment saying " I am back from my vacation." Which just goes to show he probably didn't even take prison that serious. It must actually be great to be famous. I know if i went to prison the last thing i would refer to it as would be a vacation.