Week 3- Smithsonian comics (4 pts.)

 When first viewing this large list of comics, I was admittedly overwhelmed with the large amount of comics to read through and what I could talk about with so many choices and comics from different eras. Fortunately there were a couple strips and stories I was familiar with. Though, I will also admit, I wasn't looking forward to seeing racist caricatures and stereotypes going into these stories. 

Looking at earlier comics such as Buster Brown and Oh My Pumpkins, one thing stuck out to me. While the artwork is large, bold and clear, most of the text is smaller, condensed, and a bit hard to read at times.I often had to squint to get a better look at the text, especially when a few appeared in warped angles. I even had a much harder time reading the letters written in cursive, not only for their size, but for how close to shape and size each of the letters were. The artwork itself was fun, although it tends to be a bit too busy, with many people and objects filling in most of the panel sizes.

I decided to take a look at some Little Nemo in Slumberland Strips by Winsor McCay. I remember being intrigued in the past with how surreal and strange the scenarios were based on the concept of a little boy's dreams. And unsurprisingly, that still applied to the ones I've seen on there. And I've always appreciated when artists get surreal with their storytelling and visuals, the concept allows these elements to flourish. It was neat seeing outlandish events happen such as the walls and ceilings stretch, along with the characters themselves.

Of course, there were aspects I didn't enjoy, and it involved the racist caricature that followed Nemo in his little group. I strongly dislike the primate comparisons and the big lips, among other stereotypes. I understand this was a product of the times, but it continues to sadden me when looking at early media.