Literal
· Log: I don't have it just yet, but I worked every Tuesday and Thursday from 3-6 or 7 from around Feb. 10th-March 29th.
· Dwain Kaiser (909) 472 - 2991
Interpretive
- The most important thing I gained from this experience is really, work experience. Even if I wasn't being paid, I understand how much work an employee would have to do and while some of the tasks are grueling, there are some which are rewarding as well.
Applied
- While it didn't really help my EQ mostly, there was something that I took away from it: What people like, what they enjoy in books or comics or whatever, isn't necessarily pre-determined. There were many people who came into the store that didn't look like book readers, or they went for a section I never anticipated. It was a motivator out of anything, to understand really what people were looking for in books and comics these days, which led to my first answer: Understanding the Modern Age.

EQ: What is the most important element in a successful, Modern-Age comic book series?

Answer: Determining what people what from comic books is an important element in creating a successful comic book series.

Evidence/Sources:
 - Evidence 1: Unlike the other two major ages (Gold and Silver), the Modern-Age needs something human. It needs flaws and mistakes and bad decisions because that's what humans do.
 - Source 1: "American Superheroes and the Politics of Good and Evil" article
 - Evidence 2: The best way to interact with people is to create a character that means something to tehm.
 - Source 2: Sean Jackson.
 - Evidence 3: Social issues are also a pretty good thing to bank off of in comic books, such as femininity, gay rights or family death.
 - Source 3: Brad Munson.

The link is on the sidebar to the right.

1.) My Room Creativity will be tackled by either creating a comic book store within the classroom (given that I can find comic book racks, or just a way to display my comics) and use some comics as examples through out my presentation. Or, if that becomes too complicated, I'll be hanging up print-outs of comic book covers and important panels on the walls behind me from basically floor to ceiling. This way, I can have examples of each of my answers while still having something creative.

2.) In my presentation, I'm going to have a longer lecture by pushing all three of the answers together, and then one long activity. The activity is going to be that each partnership (I'll have split each junior and senior up into partners) will create their own character. Along with this character, they'll have to write out a basic outline (or even a script) of an event that happened in that character's life. They will also give an explanation as to why it applies to the Modern-Age.

EQ: What is the most important element in a successful Modern-Age comic book series?

Answer: An important element in creating a successful comic book series is to have a character that develops through the story.

Evidence/Source:
 - Evidence 1: Roy Harper is very well known within the comic book world and he's developed in his personal story in many ways. Staring off as a sidekick, he then became a junkie, then a father and when he lost his daughter, he went back into drugs. It's a natural progression of story that everyone who has read DC comics remembers.
 - Source 1: "Superhero Makeovers: Roy Harper" article.
 - Evidence 2: Even Superman has developed within the eighty years he's been around. The most obvious visual aspect of that change is his shield.
 - Source 2: "The Story of the Shield (aka Superman's Symbol 101)" by Brian G. Philbin.
 - Evidence 3: In the Modern-Age, people are looking for the humanity in comic books characters, and the best way to represent this humanity is to have them change through out a story or an event.
 - Source 3: Brad Munson, 3rd Interview.

What is your product and why?
- My product is that I've gained the knowledge to conceptualize and design a comic book. Through out this whole process, my main focus has been doing just that: how can one design a successful comic book? I never really looked into the physical creation of a comic book or the marketing of one, so "creating a comic book" could never be my product. My extensive research and helpful interviews have helped me achieve this knowledge and have started me to actually designing one, which I'm in the process of right now.

Comic Book 2 Hour Lesson Plan (CLICK HERE)

Literal
a. I, Alice Munson, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
b. I have completed the viewing and analyzing of 44 superhero movies dating from 1978 to present day.

Interpretive
30 hours of work alone goes into finding and viewing the movies themselves. While most the time, these movies would be watched for entertainment, with every movie I was asking myself these questions: how does it relate to the current age, was it popular (why or why not) (based on the money it made), and if I personally thought that the movie was good. So, it was more than just viewing movies, it was analyzing them to their core. Each movie has a concise review written out. This will be included in a Google Doc later this week.

Applied
One way that it helped answer my EQ, is that I had to really think about what was so appealing about some of these movies. It's no secret that the majority of these movies are horrible. There might be someone out there who liked them, but for the most part they were looked at with disdain. I had to figure out why. The major reasons are one: the writers of the movies didn't follow certain rules that the heroes had; or two: even if the writers did take the idea of the superhero to heart, there was nothing to connect the audience with the movie.


Conversely, I had to ask myself why the popular ones were so popular. The Avengers, the newest movie of them all, gained one billion dollars worldwide within its first two weeks of being in theaters. What made this movie so popular? One of the reasons is because everyone in the movie contributes some sort of connection to the audience. Thor and his quarrel with Loki represented those with familial issues, the ones striving for acceptance, and those who felt like they had been cast out. Captain America was for those who felt out of their time, for those two didn't really fit in. Ironman was for those who feel they are cast aside because they feel over-privileged and no one took them seriously when they said they wanted to help. The Hulk was the huge sensation that drew the audience in. He was a man who had gone through lengths to find who he truly was and how to control this beast inside of him. Black Widow was for all of those women who felt they were pushed aside because they were somehow perceived weak, but then came back with a fire in their hearts. All of these characters and the events that happened to these characters drew people in. That's what really helped me solidify my answers for my Essential Question.

Evidence