Week Five: Dropsie Avenue by Will Eisner
I would not say Will Eisner's Dropsie Avenue was necessarily a fun read as previous comics have been thus far, however it was more personable and realistic as it told the story of a neighborhood, (more so a street according to Eisner), how it grew, how it died and all of the drama and gossip in-between. I'm characterizing Eisner's graphic novel as personable because as I was scrolling through and reading the drama unravel within this neighborhood it immediately reminded me of my very own experiences.
One of my experiences is similar to Dropsie Avenue in the sense that my neighborhood was indeed in a large city (Philadelphia, GO BIRDS), yet felt small and cozy due to it being a string of houses wrapped on a street. However, I never grew up in just one house, as nice as that fantasy has always sounded, I moved around A LOT growing up (thanks Dad). The house I am currently in today feels the most "home." Yes, I live with my mom and step-dad because Ringling has officially made me a broke ass college student at the age of 21 (love you Mom and Mark, best roomies!). Each experience in each different neighborhood was different yet filled with history, character, expression, change and of course drama, just like Dropsie Ave.
I noticed that Dropsie Avenue was easy to relate to because the way Eisner drew the characters' emotions in each panel. Aside from the words included in the panels, the expressions of the characters heavily helped tell the story. It was clear when a character was emotional, for instance in one of the first few panels, Uncle Dirk was clearly distressed with the idea of the English buying property in the neighborhood due to the tense facial expression and drooped body language.
Eisner mastered emotion, ultimately allowing him to connect with his readers.
One of my experiences is similar to Dropsie Avenue in the sense that my neighborhood was indeed in a large city (Philadelphia, GO BIRDS), yet felt small and cozy due to it being a string of houses wrapped on a street. However, I never grew up in just one house, as nice as that fantasy has always sounded, I moved around A LOT growing up (thanks Dad). The house I am currently in today feels the most "home." Yes, I live with my mom and step-dad because Ringling has officially made me a broke ass college student at the age of 21 (love you Mom and Mark, best roomies!). Each experience in each different neighborhood was different yet filled with history, character, expression, change and of course drama, just like Dropsie Ave.
I noticed that Dropsie Avenue was easy to relate to because the way Eisner drew the characters' emotions in each panel. Aside from the words included in the panels, the expressions of the characters heavily helped tell the story. It was clear when a character was emotional, for instance in one of the first few panels, Uncle Dirk was clearly distressed with the idea of the English buying property in the neighborhood due to the tense facial expression and drooped body language.
Eisner mastered emotion, ultimately allowing him to connect with his readers.
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