For the past 6 classes, we’ve been preparing for our History portion of the year. Of course, our teachers were chilling in SoCal for these 6 classes, so we had to teach ourselves. To be fair, we were actually teaching each other, and then playing a kahoot to make sure we got it. (shout out to the one group that didn’t make a kahoot for following their own path). We proved to each other that we understood, but now we have to prove it to our teachers that we understood (or at least took notes).
I decided that to show my understand, I would make a comic. I’ve been reading a lot of comics lately, so it seemed appropriate. I’ve mostly been reading Spiderman comics. As a tangent, I will rank all the Spiderman series I have read so far. I added links so you can read them, if you want to. (Disclaimer: I haven’t read every issue of every series, but enough to know how much I like it)
This is the current “Spider-Man” comic. It features a teenaged Miles Morales, rather than Peter Parker (who still exists in this universe, this takes place alongside The Amazing Spider-Man (2015), and is very relationship driven. It doesn’t have as much action as some of the other comics, but it’s interesting as it’s very different from a lot of the other comics. Probably because it has a different main character who, while has many of the same mannerisms and goals as Peter Parker, has a different backstory that allows for the character to work outside of the limits of orphanisms.
Spidey is fun. It’s very classic “teen Peter Parker” and has the same basic storyline as people expect from Spiderman (i.e the storyline from the Tobey Maguire movies). The difference is that this one is modern, which is basically why I like it the most out of all those basic storyline Spiderman comics. It’s not dated, and there’s a lot of jokes that are actually funny. It’s very humor based, and it doesn’t get too serious.
This one is just funny. It does get a little dramatic, but it’s mostly just funny. I don’t think I would say anything insightful about this comic. Deadpool makes a lot of sexual innuendoes. But don’t worry, Peter Parker is an adult here so it’s not weird. It exists in the same universe as The Amazing Spider-Man (2015) and Spider-Man (2016).
4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2015)
This exists in the same universe as a lot of other Marvel Comics, and because I usually only read Spiderman ones I sometimes get really confused. This is Peter Parker where he’s basically Tony Stark in that he owns a massive company, but nobody knows he’s Spiderman. And he has a complicated relationship with the Avengers. This is a really good comic, but it gets to be in the middle because I get confused a lot.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) is incredibly iconic. It’s basically the Tobey Maguire movies in comic form, with a lot extra. I guess I just don’t really like Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker, or maybe it’s too dated for me. This comic is dated in the worst way. It’s like when you watch a sitcom from the early 2000’s and can’t stop cringing cause it’s kind of offensive. Nerd Peter Parker is just so boring to me, and I don’t like reading it.
This comic is very different from any of the others I read. It’s like….the year is 2099 and…it’s very science fiction. I don’t really like science fiction in comics. Sorry, not my thing.
There’s like, a million spidermen (and women) in this one. It was only two issues, but I still don’t really understand it. Cool concept, though.
Okay, now that my tangent is over, I can show you the comic I made. Although I tried my best, I stuck with very basic art, because I am not an artist. I thought about using clipart, but I thought that stickmen were more authentic and easier to make emote. I think I got across all the information. I didn’t want to go into too much detail because I thought that would be boring and nobody needs that much. Anyways, here is my comic.
Although, now I have to show that I can actually apply these concepts to an event. I picked Columbine because I think it’s an event that can be applied to everything and I find it to be interesting and decently specific. Columbine was the tragic shooting of Columbine High School on April 20th of 1999. Two students when on a shooting spree, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others. The students then killed themselves, making the total death toll 15 people. It made a huge impact on America, and fuelled a national debate about gun control that continues to this day. Below are pictures of the two students who carried out the attacks.
The Columbine school shooting was historically significant in way of culture, politics, and economics. It sparked a national debate on gun control, both in and out of politics. Columbine changed how schools ran in many parts of America, turning many schools, mainly middle schools and high schools, into places of incredibly high security. Culturally, it marked a shift in teenager’s views on certain subcultures. The grunge and goth cultures that grew to prominence throughout the 1980’s and 90’s were now criminalized. Columbine could be pointed to as one of the reasons for the shift of teenager subculture towards a more preppy style in the early 21st century. At the time, the 15 deaths marked it as the deadliest school massacre to occur in modern history (often considered the deadliest, as many people discounted the Bath School Disaster in 1927 due to its nature and lack of historical significance). In 2018, Columbine is the 4th deadliest school shooting in modern history. However, it is often considered to be the first domino that fell in the ongoing struggle that is American school shootings.
The evidence from this event, at least the evidence prevalent at the time of the massacre, is varied in its factuality. There were many factual errors in the New York Times article published after the attack, such as claiming there were “at least 25 deaths”. As the days went on, more evidence came out that was backed up by witness recall and the school security camera footage. The evidence we have today is considered very trustworthy, as it has been backed up by both hard footage and the accounts of dozens of people who were in the school at the time of the attack. The events that occurred on April 20th, 1999, are rarely disputed and widely accepted. I have included the footage in a video below. The video is very graphic and highly disturbing, so watch at your own risk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCqlcG_ZmwE
America has both changed greatly and been at a standstill since 1999. While preventative actions have taken place such as high security at high-risk schools, America has stayed at a standstill for the actual issue of gun control. However, many people believe America’s stance on gun control was cemented in 2012 when a school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary killed 20 first grade children and there was nothing more than a continued debate on gun laws. While some actions have been taken to stop school shootings, 4 shootings similar to the Columbine shooting have taken place within the last six weeks.
What caused these two young men to massacre their own classmates has been disputed since the day of the event, and because the shooters killed themselves on the same day, the causes will likely never be fully understood. At the time, many people but blame on goth culture and violent video games, however, that narrative quickly turned to bullying and mental health. The type of people that the perpetrators were, their reasoning, and simply who they were as people continues to be disputed, and many people believe we will truly never know. However, In some class photos they can be seen pretending to shoot the camera with their friends, which has indicated this attack to be a highly thought out plan.
To put myself in the shoes of the people of 1999 receiving this news is both difficult and incredibly easy. I will never be able to understand the horror of such horrific events happening in my own country, as they rarely do to the scale that these events occur in America. However, I feel that I can understand the horror of seeing the events unfold. The five worst mass shootings in American history have occurred within my lifetime, two of those being school shootings. Of all these shootings, I remember all but Virgina Tech. While the shootings in 2016 and 2017 have had less impact on me after each one due to the frequency of these events in past years, I do remember the horror of Sandy Hook in 2012. At 12 years old, and a student in an elementary school, I could not help but wonder if this could happen to me. This reaction, I would imagine, was fairly similar to how many children, teenagers, and parents would have felt after the 1999 Columbine shooting.
It is obvious that this event was not ethical, there is no debate on that, and any sane person would tell you that they are horrified by the mere idea of a school shooting. The more important ethical discussion lies in the issue of gun control. I am fully and completely opposed to guns on an ethical level. I believe that a higher amount of gun control is always the best option. While I understand that this is a combination of where and how I was raised, I also believe in looking at the facts. The countries with the highest gun control have less murder and suicide per capita, simply by removing the easiest option. While I understand that there are other arguments for the allowance of guns, I believe that none of them compare to the need of having a safe country for everyone.
UPDATE: ONE WEEK LATER
The attacks on Columbine high school have shown to have an incredible amount of significance carrying through to today. In the past week, there has been a highly deadly massacre at a Florida high school, very similar to the attacks on Columbine. Many students across America feel unsafe, and want to take a stand against gun violence.
Whether it will happen or not, an idea of students walking out of schools on April 20th, the anniversary of the Columbine attacks, has been gaining traction online. Although it is an ambitious plan, and may be more effective in some areas than others, it looks like it may very well happen. Even CNN is reporting on it.
This proves that this event has lead us somewhere. Columbine changed America, in some way. Hopefully, it’s memory can help be the thing to repair the state of gun laws in America.