Toni's Blog for Lit. of Horror

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was a pretty fun read to my surprise. I was honestly expecting a long, drawn out story, knowing that the movie was around 3 hours long. The way it was written especially drew me in, because of the vocabulary and the occasional musical poetry Tolkien would slip in.   There were a lot of made up words, which makes sense for someone who studied language, as he basically took time to make up one of his own. I noticed the novel almost reads like a children’s book, which gave it a very childish and fun atmosphere to it. That being said, reading the book made me feel like a kid again. I was able to read and find enjoyment in imagining the places Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves explored on their adventure and it was very easy to get sucked into their fictional world and really want to become a part of it. In context of the film, I noticed it felt a little more mature compared to the atmosphere of the book. When I was reading the story, I imagined ...

This week I read a few issues of Redlands . This comic was so beautifully illustrated and the first thing that stood out to me was the feminist themes occurring through the characters. I noticed that a lot of the men seem to be very relentless, most of them being huge perverts, creeps, or even rapists. I think the only male characters remotely kind within this story were the witches’ forensics man and Lawrence. Even from the beginning, the men appeared to be demonized. I found this ironic reading the first chapter though, because the men were taking refuge in a cabin, addressing the witches as bitches and demons. This aspect of the story is interesting though, because I notice how witchcraft is a common theme for feminist statements, which makes sense, since they’re very powerful, immortal women. I also have to comment on how beautiful the artwork and writing in Redlands is. The body positivity and diversity are some things that makes this comic stand out from others. You can...