As someone who has never read Persepolis I was completely shocked once I did finish the novel. My exact words were “well, that was not what I thought it would be”. It feels idiotic to admit but before I even read a page I thought less of the graphic narrative because of the simplicity of the pictures. I assumed that because it was so popular worldwide, unlike A Game of You, that the narrative would not be difficult to follow or the topic would just follow the life of a person in a foreign country, nothing too heavy. I will NEVER make that assumption again. Persepolis was an entirely different graphic narrative than A Game of You and in turn provided a new reading experience. I loved reading A Game of You and I adored to colorful and intricate drawings.

Anne's point-blank question got me thinking today in class- why do I prefer words over images?  I came up with the following answers to the query: I thoroughly enjoy the work that it takes to understand language. The thrill I get out of word analysis and even further, close reading, is unlike what I feel when I look at a picture, with all the details laid out for me.  Little work is involved here: also, the room for interpretation is relatively small.  Where's the thrill in that?  I feel like drawings are like answers are given to you; hardly any effort or interpretation required!  Pictures result in immediate comprehension, while words result in a journey to understanding.  I love this journey!  

Today in class got me thinking a little bit more about the instantaneous perception of images in graphic novels. A point not brought up today was that of gender. Men and women think differently. So, what if gender made a difference in the immediacy of image perception? Are men more visual, thus making pictures easier for them to read--more easy for them to understand? This would follow the same line of thought that women are more complicated. Maybe the complicated nature of a woman can partly explain our dependence on words..? Unfortunately we don't have any males in our class to tell us if THEY thought the images in A Game of You were more immediately helpful than the words....I think this would be an interesting concept to pursue. 

Text message conversation, properly capitolized and with added punctuation for your reading pleasure:

aseidman: What is so undignified about thought bubbles? Prof Dalke asked.

Dave Joria: Because our natural state of being is to know only one person's thoughts at a time. Captions are normally stuck to one person and are more contemplative.

aseidman: So, it's all about making it a more realistic experience? Pithy!

Dave Joria: You realize that you are being graded in this class, not me. Right?

aseidman: But you have such brilliant things to say.

Dave Joria: Flattery, on the other hand, will get you everywhere.