Week 4: Comic Books

Hi!! We finally reached a point where comics strips become comic books! Who doesn't love reading comics in the book form? It definitely helps with the flow of the story, and allows for longer and more epic tales. Anyway, I read two titles, one of them is from the Uncle Scrooge series, and the other one is "Barbie and Ken (1962)" (I didn't expect to find this one there!). 

"Uncle Scrooge, Land of the Pygmy Indians" is a blast from the past. I used to read Uncle Scrooge during elementary school (albeit the newer editions), and am pretty surprised that nothing much really changed. Uncle Scrooge is still despicably greedy, while Donald, Louie, Dewey, and Huey are still being dragged into Uncle Scrooge's quest for more riches. However, the newer ones have more dynamic paneling. Land of the Pygmy Indians has standard rectangular panels and pretty even pacing. Despite that, the art is appealing and expressive (the animals are really cute too!). A fun read overall.

Now, what really blew my mind is Barbie and Ken. I was mind blown by how idealized Barbie and Ken were, in terms of appearance, career, and lifestyle. Those little girls in the story boasted excitedly about how lucky and thrilling it was to spend their time with Barbie and Ken. They gushed over their perfect appearance, glamorous lifestyle, and well, just how flawless they are. While I am aware that this books is obviously meant to promote the dolls, suggesting to young girls and boys that buying the dolls is the coolest thing ever, I wonder if the same method will still work today.....(It is very probable that they will rise the ire of feminists all over the world).

However, I guess, the power of suggestion is still very apparent in today's advertisement, albeit repackaged in different ways. Toy companies like Hasbro commission studios to make cartoons, films, and game adaptations of their characters. They put the characters in engaging tales, suggesting that buying their merchandise is akin to experiencing those adventures. Children's brain is rich with imagination, hence it is logical for toy companies to use that as a bridge between the children and their products. What's more, that's how advertisements work for almost everything else, including those targeted for adults. Japan is especially good with personifying their products into cute/handsome characters and giving them relate able backstories so as to entice the customers into buying them. (Read about it here!)