Last quarter, I took a WRD course that analyzed graphic novels and comics as a valid medium for argumentation. In that course, we examined the complexities that are involved in generating a comic. This includes factors such as word choice, the frequency of words, whether the words describe the images explicitly or whether their relationship to one another is implicit. At the end of that course, I was left wondering why comics and graphic novels are not studied in the same ways that novels are when they have just as much, if not more, to offer.
One of the final presentations of our class explored the efficacy of comics in teaching English as a second language. I thought this was incredibly interesting. I had never considered that comics are arguably the best medium for this. In this presentation, I was reminded that the combination of visual art and language art can serve so many diverse teaching purposes.
When we think of comics, our minds tend to gravitate towards Marvel and DC comics, but there’s a wide variety of comics that challenge the reader as much as traditional novels do. In my comics course, we examined Persepolis an autobiography by Marjane Satrapi of her life in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Persepolis gives readers a historical, political, and religious perspective that they might lack while engaging them visually in a way that a text book could not.
I think that comics and graphic novels should be utilized in education more than they are. They give their audience an experience entirely unique from literature and art by experiencing them simultaneously. Not only this, but they can serve practical purposes as well, like teaching students English as a second language.
I completely agree with your argument here- comic books are truly a valid source of literacy that actually work in two fields to become sources of information. Moving beyond superhero comics– while still recognizing their value– can help readers explore the benefits of reading visually. Having the literacy skills to read a comic book is a skill itself!
Also- what class was this? I really want to take it!
I fully agree with Zoe in this case. comic books are as important traditional books when concerning literacy. It requires a slightly different set of literacy skill to understand though. The beauty in a comic book is that the author doesn’t have to spend a gross amount of pages describing emotions and facial expressions. the illustrations are, in the most literal sense, worth a thousand words. Someone that reads comics every day is much more likely to pick up the subtle smirk on a character’s face than a someone that picked up an issue of Superman for the first time. It’s rather interesting how comic culture has evolved into what it is today–and that class sound very interesting!