Week 12: 

This week I read My Favorite Things is Monsters, and I liked it a lot. Immediately, I noticed the interesting way it was drawn. It was drawn on a background that looks like a spiral notebook, and the drawings appeared to have been done in a ballpoint pen. In my opinion, these were really strong stylistic choices because it makes the reading come off as if it were someone’s journal. Because it felt like we were reading someone's journal, it creates this false sense of reality where I felt like I was snooping on juicy secrets, which made it easier to be immersed in the reading. This is a prime example where there is no other medium that can execute this piece to this level. For example, if this were a film, we wouldn’t get that feeling of us reading someone else's personal secrets. We would probably be watching a flashback of those moments, so again, very effective use of the medium.

The other thing I noticed, which was very interesting, was the fact that the humans were drawn very grotesque. However, the monsters in the story, more often than not, were drawn very appealing. This was an interesting stylistic choice because that makes us identify with the monsters more. What I took away from it was that the humans were very afraid of monsters, and it was that fear that made them do ugly things, such as trying to kill the werewolf in the first story. It’s hilarious because then it brings up the question, who are the real monsters? Are they the ones whose outward appearance are monsters, or the ones who are monstrous on the inside.