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Black Hole Ending

Well, what can I say about Black Hole that hasn't been said about the Black Plague? Long, and seemingly never ending, the second half of the novel left right where the first half left me: utterly confused and turned off. So, the infected become social outcasts and decide to live at the pit. That's great. A 10 year old could see the metaphor for the obvious taboo nature of having underage sex. Maybe it requires more reading. Maybe it's not my cup of tea. Or maybe I didn't give it a fair chance. I tried, but I couldn't find it in myself to like the book.

Black Hole End

Now that I have finished reading Black Hole, I kinda hate it even more. It was not a good book at all, and I do hope that the kid dies on his way floating into the ocean because it was just kind of annoying, everyone has problems you just have to deal with ti, not run into the ocean and swim away. Entirely I probably wont read it again doubt Ill recommend it but at least I'm glad I read it, since I think you should read as much as possible to expand yourself but still was not the msot pleasant read ever.

Black Hole

I pretty much loved Black Hole. It's definitely one of my favorite novels that we read this semester. I feel like this is one of those books that people either love or hate. The thing that gets me about Black Hole is how real and natural the characters and situations are portrayed, yet there's this surrealism that's thrown into the mix that oddly works great with the plot. The novel captures a perfect picture of our society. We have all had the feeling of being alienated from a group at one point or another, so while this case may be to a huge extreme, I still think that their stories are something that we could all relate to
One thing that stood out for me was the art. The "normal" kids are absolutely the definition of normal. None of them were drawn to be exceptionally attractive, which just adds to the realism of the characters. Then we are taken to the "infected" teenagers. While some aren't so bad (the girl with the tail and the webbed finger girl come to mind), many of them have developed grotesque physical mutations that ultimately forces them to become outcasts to society. I believe that the novel is so grounded in our actual society that the freaky images stand out even more to me. Anyway, It's really hard to explain what I'm trying to say when talking about this novel, so I hope this made some kind of sense.

V for Vendetta Part Two/End

The second half of V for Vendetta is much better than the first in my opinion. The pacing picks up, and of course, the climax of the novel is revealed. Evey's imprisonment was a very intriguing scene. While it obviously was an extreme/psychotic method to get V's message across, it still succeeded in its intentions. I believe this message was that no one has control over you and that you decide your own freedom/fate. This is basically the main theme of the novel. A great example would be Finch's LSD trip. It showed what was probably the general public's feelings towards what the government had done to the minorities of Britain. Finch's breakthrough was unique in that he finally realized the freedom that V and Evey experienced, yet it didn't seem like Finch knew how to handle such liberties, which is why he still carried out the order of finding and killing V, and also becoming a recluse and detached from society.
V's death didn't really come as a surprise to me. It was almost as if he had to die to strengthen his ideals and guarantee that his goal would be achieved. V had done what he set out to do and once that was completed, there wasn't much else for him to live for. When Evey took over the persona of V, honestly, that didn't surprise me either. I guess to some it would be disappointing to have such a predictable ending, but I find it better than someone leading up to a conclusion only to throw in some crazy plot twist that completely screws up all the development that you put into the story so far, but maybe that's just me.

V for Vendetta Part One

So I had all of these written out for awhile now, so I'll just throw them all out here right now

So I guess I should say V for Vendetta starts off with a bang, right? I'm loving the gritty, mature undertone of the novel. It's great to read a novel, especially a graphic novel, openly discuss the ideas of anarchy, and actually following through with such radical plans. What's interesting to me are some of the colors that they opted to use in some of the frames to show perhaps important events or locations. For example, while talking in the room with fate in the first few pages, Sutler is this eerie purplish-blue tint that gives off the sense of being surrounded by computer lights. It's subtleties like that that really stand out from a visual standpoint for me. As for the plot at this point, it's a little all over the place. Personally, I'm having a little trouble remembering all of the character's names, which really screws up the flow of the story for me. But the plot so far is still great. V seems like a true anti-hero in the sense that while his ideals and motives are for the greater good, the execution is with a complete disregard to morality and human life. The maturation of Evey from the beginning to the middle of the novel is interesting to note as well. It's even noticeable graphically and through certain actions involving Gordon. Anyway, minus the skipping around, I'm really enjoying the novel.

Black Hole

Black Hole was a very weird book to read. It was one of those books that just told the truth and captured our society very well, but at the same time its something that we dont want to hear about our society. There was a lot of symbolism in the novel and that was quite intriguing, it was hard to understand some of it but overall it still made sense to the story. I did like the second mouth that rob had, and liked the way it acted as that subconscious one has that lets one know whats right and wrong and will tell you that but in our world it keeps it a secret in here it tells it to everyone. I do like the way that whole novel is in black and white, it adds to the story and gives it more of a truthful look at it. In all it was a good read, i did expect a little more, maybe if we had discussed it my mind would have changed a bit more. Still prefer V over this book.

Black Hole

I don't like the ending, never have...I don't like when things just end. I want to know what caused the bug, what happens as it spreads and affects more of the society. I want to know what would have happened to the infected kids if they had told thier parents the truth: would they have been sent away, would they have gotten them help, would they have disowned them? I want to know. There was alot of symbolism in them novel, some of which I have no idean as to what it means, but i know its important. One thing that always stands out to me in this book is Rob's second mouth; it speaks the truth, what Rob can't or won't say...I guess in a way its like the little voice inside your head that tells you whats right or wrong.

Black Hole

LOVE IT! The book is wierd, but it captures our culture so well. We shun those who aren't like us, when we are different from everyone else we feel the need to hide...this book captures it. I also like how its a comentary on our society as a whole and not just the teenage stereotypical stuff. When I knew disease comes up, we immdiatlt start to make assumptions about the victims. We start the segragation process of the infected and not infected, the sympathizors and the outraged. I like that it is in black and white, and there's a lot of contrast even when the frames are dark.

Vend

V had everything planed out and he knew what he was leading up to. I did get somewhat confused towards the end as to why exactly he put "himself" into the train to die...as in I get that Evey has taken on the V and so it actually her who is putting V on the train. But the book talks about how an idea doesnt die, yet V still representing the idea is dead and his body is sent into the explosion. I'm making no sense....I think what I'm trying to say is that I felt like part of this idea V was reviving and bring up died along with V, becuase a new part had to emerge.

V

How did V get so good at killing people? I mean he seems to murder with ease.I realize that he is well read and knows alot about society and so on, but its one thing to see or read about something and to actually do it yourself is another. I understand that he probably learned how to make explosives from the books he reads, but you would think it would think that even in makeing homemade explosives the goverenment could have picked up on it. I may not be stealing the explosives, but he is stealing large quantities of the materials needed to make them. I know that the colors used throughout the book have a purpose, but i just dont like the color scheme...i hate the color yellow...I do however enjoy the way the images are drawn, they have alot of detail but you can still infer alot from them. I also like how the graphics foreshadow when V is about to kill someone- the little mask appears in the drawing.

Black hoooooooooooooole

so black hole is weird. I dont enjoy it so much like i did V. I am starting to understand the poiont to some extent because i read the flap from the cover. Still, i dont see the need to so much nudity. Thats just me but maybe it forces the point more.

Black Hole-Part I

Black Hole is weird, and I don't like it at all. I don't understand the social statement they are going for. Don't have sex as a teenager? Sorry, but people aren't going to listen to the message. It wouldn't matter if the story so far had some depth, but the first half of the book has basically been about smoking weed and having sex, and having a mouth on your neck. Now, those aren't bad things, but I was expecting much more from this so far. Consider me disappointed.

V end

As V started to end I really realized how completely different this is from what I was expecting. i was looking at more of an ending like the movie, and while it was close it still was no where what I was expecting. I will I ams till a little lost in some things mainly, because I think that the author was trying to leave most of it to your imagination. It was meant to make you give it an ending that you see fitting. Also seems like the author wants you to continue the book into real life, by challenging the norm and not just conforming but being the voice outside the box. When Evey takes over V`s work to me that means that the reader will be the new V and will in other words take over what V started and continue his work all over. It was in all a good ending and I did enjoy it a lot, wish it was a little more conclusive and not so open ended.

"Black Hole" and the Art of Negative-Space Storytelling

So upon reading the final pages of Charles Burn's creation, I realized that not only where there many things left unresolved, but many of the things that seemed relatively solid in concept began to unravel until there were nothing but questions swimming around in my head.. even so I highly enjoyed it, as is the case with many works of fiction that end in a similar fashion (that is with more questions than answers). Why is it that these stories have a greater effect on me than more western/traditional, Aristotelian-style stories?
After thinking about it and doing a little research, I have come to think that it is because I have subscribed to the artistic concept of "negative-space" (largely an East-Asian method, stemming from traditions such as Buddhism.. probably why I enjoy Asian storytelling so much) , which is essentially creating emotional impact and intellectual stimulation through expertly placed "holes" in the plot exposition that allow the reader to fill in the blanks with their own imaginations. Ever since I have been interested my mind has been partial toward stories that give me artistic freedom of interactivity with the plots and characters, and i can only assume it is due to my tendency toward abstract learning and my dislike of absolutes..
Overall, a very interesting and certainly originally-styled novel, and very honest with the emotions and psychological processes of adolescents, although not quite as excellent as Vendetta in my opinion. But what, I ask you, could compare to V? :) peace out.

Black Hole Beginning

The beginning of Black Hole has confused me to no end. I don't really understand this "bug" thing everyone is getting. Is it only passed through sex, or are there other ways of getting it? How did it start? Why are only teenagers getting it?
Honestly, the story so far has weirded me out from the girl kissing the little mouth to the guy getting turned on by the tail. I also got confused at first trying to figure out exactly what was dream and what was reality, because the reality is just as strange as the dreams. In some ways, the general strangeness and sexual themes of the story reminds me of Japanese-style horror manga.
One thing I really like in the novel is the art work. There is no attempt to make the characters appear unnaturally pretty or anything. After all, Keith even has a unibrow. The way the shading and detailing is done by simple little lines gives it an eerie kind of feel to me, especially when there is a lot of shading on the faces.

Into the Darkness of Adulthood

Charles Burns has a very interesting writing style to me. The entire plot and character developement are played out soley through the thoughts of mainly two characters: Chris and Kieth. Although the story is severely fragmented and has only hinted vaguely at the ending to come, I cant help but feel that there is a myriad of substance behind the words the characters speak and the images they see. I feel more involved with the character's lives than I usually do when reading, because the author's intent is to realistically convey the experiences of the characters, even as they encounter such bizarre events. So far I am really enjoying it. I could speculate on the correlation between adolescence/adulthood and a black whole, but I would rather wait to see how the author has crafted the story first (so I will get back to that..).

Black Hole first 1/2

Well. Hmmm. I guess the book has weirded me out. This whole mouth in the neck, hole in the back, warts on the face, and uneven teeth thing freaked me out. What is with this desease that is passed through sex? Is he doing some type of parallel on HIV? Or is he trying to scare teenagers from having sex. And what is with all the nudity? That bothers me a little. I would rather not watch to individuals having sex in a book. But on a good note I am intrigued to find out what happens to Rob and Chris. Are they going to join the mutilated camp or actually leave for California? It is so funny, I always come away from these readings with more questions than anything else.

Beginning of Black Hole

I'm not even close to finished. I'm painstakingly trying to keep my mind involved with what little plot there is in this book. As far as illustrations go, this book has good ones. As far as writing, plot, and character development go; this book has nothing to offer so far. It may be playing at the idea of teenage pop culture: sex, drugs, rock & roll--no doubt the author knows about that having worked with Iggy Pop in the past, but so far it's not there; it's not interesting and frankly some of the images are gross. Not the nudity that actually doesnt bother me at all--it's the foot. The cut foot, the foot with junk coming out of it. I hate feet and I'm completely grossed out by the foot stuff.
Hopefully, though, the story builds, the plot and characters develop--at least a little bit--and I am able to take something away from this book other than don't have sex with someone that has a talking mouth on their chest.

v- ending/overall

The ending of the novel, for me, can only be described as the tension and climax was building and building and then it hits a point where you see somewhat what happens but really you are left with many questions. That didnt make a whole lot of sense but what i meant to say was that it wasnt a novel that tied up every loose end and explianed it all. It left you wondering what happens next and what did all that mean. So many questions regarding V, but wait actually V lives on sense he is only a mask covering something else. The character behind V first dies and has Evey as his predecessor and teaches her all that he knows and leaves her as all of the old V's dominos are in place. You seem to wonder what all the rest of the book meant and it is hard to decide.