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It has been a long time coming back to this manga since my childhood, but I still find Fullmetal Alchemist to be a very interesting read. The story starts off with two young boys by the name of Edward and Alphonse Elric who wanted to find a way to bring their mother back to life. However, their method would fail and would cost Edward his left leg while his brother lost his entire body. To try and save his brother from losing his life, he would in turn exchange his right arm and reclaim his brother’s soul. He then would take Al’s soul and bound it with an empty suit of armor while Al took his brother to obtain a prosthetic arm and leg which was a really grueling and painful experience for him. After their tragedy and growing up into their teenage years, Edward, later on, became a State Alchemist with the help of another alchemist by the name of Roy Mustang. Together, they both have to set out in the world in order to find the philosopher’s stone which is said to help them restore themselves back to normal.

I really love and appreciate Arakawa Hiromu’s art style so much. It is very simple in design when it comes down to their characters. However, they would design them with different body proportions that make each of them really unique. This coupled along with the very dynamic yet exaggerated facial expressions makes this a very funny and enjoyable read. Even the comedic moments work in many instances but manages to have a good grasp and understanding of storytelling and pacing where everything is slowly starting to piece together just right. The characters in this also all have unique personalities to them that don’t make them seem one-dimensional and boring. Even the way they’re introduced in each chapter of this manga is nicely paced as well since introducing too many characters at once is too much for a reader to grasp.

The manga is easy to read overall and it’s clear and to the point where it keeps the readers, such as myself, wanting more. Other than the dynamic expressions, they would use different panels that don’t have any kind of repetition in them, but rather a lot of variation than having just the same regular square panel. Square panels could work for certain other graphic novels and comics, but in this instance, it really helps along with the array of camera angles that they would use in order to make a scene and character seem very powerful and dramatic in a sense. I would like to say, if you really appreciate a good manga that is adventurous, impactful, and hilarious, I can’t recommend this series/manga enough.

The graphic Novel I decided to read was Watchmen by Alan Moore. Me being a big fan of superheroes and having seen the movie, I was intrigued to read the novel on paper. Right off the bat the story begins with a death that sets the tone of the entire novel (Dark and serious). The Novel then follows a group know as the Watchmen as they progress in uncovering the mysterious death of a team member. Until they ultimately discover it was one of their own.

First thing I analyzed about the novel was clarity. The story was clear cut from start to end. Easy to read text and art that worked harmoniously. The use of text was placed where needed and there are pages that don’t have any text that carried the story smoothly as well.

The crafting of the panel layout was in a neat and linear order, clear cut rectangles. The crafting of the art was was done so beautifully. The use of multiple horizontal panels to show one scene as appose to one horizontal panel visually did the same job. Looking directly at the multi panels, your eyes start to eliminate the gutters and sync the panels into one.

Continuing to speak about the craftsmanship of the novel, the use of color is very unique. Alan Moore uses this saturated filter to create the sense seriousness. But he also uses the color yellow to brightly highlight and contrast certain aspects of the art.

Additionally Moore’s us of absence text adds another layer of story telling that is done so well through the art. The clarity in which things are shot from the panels with the point of views, close ups, worm eye, establishing shot and wide view are amazingly done.

Overall I totally recommend reading this novel if you’re looking for a different style and take on superheroes. These characters are now hitting mainstream and part of the DC universe, so its only a matter of time before we see these characters on the big screen yet again.

By Jessica Abel