Women's Comics, One Hundred Demons (6 points)

 For this week I chose to read One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry. I might be embarrassed to say I initially clicked on it based on the title alone, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by what I got, and I surely don’t regret reading this at all. The art style was an instant intriguing factor, with each page put together like a scrapbook making the theme of growing up and experiencing all sorts of problems for the first time very realistic. What really interested me was how each demon was presented as something pretty singular, yet with each story, it seemed to become a much bigger problem than what was first introduced. As I read on I also noticed how the problems definitely became deeper and (to me at least) more profound and universal in their nature and probably just how the author wrote them. Even when using the small paneling style, I thought the narrator’s thoughts and doubts were summed up and described perfectly for the overwhelming feelings of growing up. A lot of the problems, or “demons”, presented in the story I found myself relating to, and at some points, I think I did feel a little bit emotional as I was reading on because it almost felt like I was rereading my own life and past mistakes all over again. I know most likely that a lot of these problems are probably pretty universal to a lot of people, but that doesn’t make the experience hurt any less. The art and story alike were very compelling, with the author using much more than just drawings to illustrate her feelings. It was organized and chaotic at the same time, which is a theme I personally find extremely interesting. 


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