Blog post 2

 Our mentor assigned us homework on Friday to read his comic books and write a short report along with a review that he could use. He explained to us that the point of these comic books was rather simple; He watched people throw out his pamphlets and business cards after they’d looked them over. He wanted to create something that people would keep with them. He recounted to us a memory of sorting through his items from the military and as he did, his old comic books fell out from in between his possessions. He told us that he then realized that that was the solution to the problem.


He sent us home with two graphic novels that he’d written with his colleagues. The story was fantastical but clearly rooted deeply in reality. With the grim reaper coming to “claim” veterans that were on the streets and monster-like “friends” that encouraged characters to drink more, the story outlined a clear picture of the mental turmoil associated with being a combat vet on the streets. However, in each addition the “Blue coat missionary” brought warming items and resources that ensured that the veterans didn’t freeze to death that night. The missionary would also slay the monsters that represented various struggles.


Below is the review that I wrote and the short analysis Al requested for each of the two volumes.


Review:

The story of Blue Coat Missionary is incredibly intense and the emotional stakes draw the reader in quickly despite the brevity. 

 

Volume 1:

The most clear and obvious character representative is the reaper; he is of course death coming after the veteran we see in the rest of the novel. The monster that comes up later in the story whom is slain by the missionary is the PTSD that the veteran experiences. The missionary represents Sub Zero Mission.

 

Volume 2

Hera and David’s two “friends”, through their affiliation with death, are most likely similar to the monster that was in volume 1. As a guess, one of them could have been alcoholism and the other PTSD. The way that Hera was introduced to the story, it leads me to believe that Hera represents Trauma as a whole.

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