CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

From my thesis: Comics in the Classroom as Literature and Educational Tools

It is almost a fundamental understanding that reading means books without pictures. We start with “picture books”, which have high visual support, and believe that the natural course of action is to graduate to books with fewer and fewer pictures until we have books without pictures altogether. To read without picture support is certainly a modern expectation, but our world is swiftly changing. Students no longer read pictureless text; they read a wide variety of documents with words, pictures, icons, and symbols integrated in ways that could not have been imagined by the previous generation. Yet pictures and words have a long history together in the form of sequential art (McCloud, 1993) that is being ignored.

Public education has a mandate to improve reading instruction so that every student is a capable reader in the near future. It is time for us to re-examine an educational tool abandoned before it ever had a chance to truly be used. Comics combine words and pictures in a way that is unique. There is a literary tradition to comics, even if it is not considered literature in a traditional sense (McCloud, 1993; Koyama-Richard, 2007). Comics are also engaging text that appeal to reluctant readers (Cary, 2004). This engagement and picture support provides opportunities to teach and creates volume readers who read for pleasure (Krashen, 2004). Finally, comics are preferable to wordless text to producing students who are literate in the growing number of unique formats that exist today (Mackey, 2003).

Statement of the Problem

The modern comic book has been with us since 1935. For no explicitly stated reason, they are almost never used in a classroom. They are clear, well-supported texts with a surprisingly high word count and vocabulary rate that appeal to all students of all ages. This includes students who identify themselves as non-readers or who do not read for pleasure. Furthermore, comics are excellent for teaching lessons including narrative and inference, yet they do not appear on lists of possible formats in keystone teacher texts and are, in general, disregarded. Comic books are generally regarded as simply,”not reading.”

There is considerable evidence that comics “can be a viable medium for promoting and developing literacy in our public and private schools.” (Wright & Sherman, 2006, p. 171) Yet it is not used except in isolated cases. Comics are rarely included in reading instruction, reading curriculum, reading conferences, and books on the instruction of reading. They seem to exist to some other realm other than school, as if there is an unwritten rule against their use. Why is there this veil of silence, a basic background assumption that comics are not viable in the classroom?

Further, as a format comics far exceed their near cousin in the classroom, the picture book. Scott McCloud details in his various books on the subject (1993, 2000, 2006) how comics have an entirely different grammar that involve a set of critical thinking skills that is unexpected and sophisticated. These skills easily translate into curriculum and may surpass traditional methods in teaching lessons like narrative and inference.

As time progresses, our understanding of what is and is not literacy is changing. Our students will no longer be confined to books, magazines, and newspapers. The advent and prevalence of both electronic devices and electronic media have changed our understanding of what it means to be literate (Mackey, 2003). Comics, with their highly evolved form of integrating pictures and text, may be a key element in preparing students for a future of multimodal literacy.

There is also a question of social relevance. Comics have a reputation as whimsical, silly, and irrelevant. After all, the first collection of comic strips printed in 1935 was titled Famous Funnies. In order to be used in an educational setting, comics need to address a variety of social issues. The question is whether comics can be used as something other than idle entertainment.

These questions guided the study:

1. What is the history of comics and why do comics have a negative reputation as educational literature?

2. What advantages do comics have as an educational tool, especially over traditional texts?

3. Are comics relevant to modern literary needs?

Limitations

This study consisted of existing research including journals, books, and articles. Areas such as the impact of comics on education, their status as literature, and the shared elements of reading instruction and comics are explored. Subjects such as comics as art or as popular culture were not pursued outside of an educational context. This study did not exclude older research, as some texts are considered keystone texts and much of the material is historical in nature. However, whenever possible the most recent material was used. The results of this study certainly do not generalize to all comic books or graphic novels, as these are subject to questions of quality or content on a case-by-case basis.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of this study, commonly used terms were defined as follows:

Comics—A literacy medium of sequential art and text interdependently creating a narrative. Found in numerous formats, including comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and trade paperbacks. Can be used synonymously with graphica below.

Comic Book—A pamphlet or magazine length comic, telling one or more narratives. Comic books are often dedicated to a single character or group of characters and usually tell stories that are part of a larger storyline. Traditional length is 32 pages, but this can vary greatly. Usually bound with staples and occasionally perfect bound.

Comics Specific Lessons—A lesson designed using the strengths of comics in mind. Comics lend themselves well to particular lessons, notably onomatopoeia, sequencing, narrative, and inference.

Comic Strip—A very short comic story, using as few as two panels, although three or four are common. Strips can be several pages long, but are still less than a comic book. They tell very small narratives, which may be simple jokes or part of a larger storyline. Comic strips are usually found in periodicals such as newspapers or magazines, or as online content. Single panel cartoons do not usually qualify as comic strips, even though they use the same visual grammar, because they do not necessarily tell a narrative. A single panel cartoon can be considered a comic strip if it shows sequence or narrative, such as the work of Rube Goldberg.

Electronic Document- Any document or text that is presented to the reader in an electronic or mechanized form and not on a printed page. Web pages, computer program interfaces that involve text, electronic presentations, documents with hyperlinks, and even television programming or movies with subtitles or text graphics are electronic documents.

Graphic Narrative—Another phrase synonymous with graphic novel. Some researchers believe this is a more accurate term, as graphic novel was introduced as a marketing term and suggests fiction only. Narrative includes fiction and non-fiction, and is more appropriate for the medium, particularly given the strength and number of biographies and autobiographies told in comic format.

Graphic Novel—A book length comic, telling one or more extended narratives. Graphic novels feature greater depth of both story and characterization, and usually have a greater attention paid to craft. These are usually perfect bound with a softcover or hard bound. A graphic novel may be a collection of previous comic book issues (see Trade Paperback), or a completely new work.

Graphica—A relatively new term meant to encompass all sequential art formats, including comics, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, manga, etc. Alternatively, any of the above formats used for educational purpose can be called graphica.

Inference—The important reading skill of drawing general conclusions from the information given, even if that information does not directly support the conclusion. Inference is a necessary skill to discover what information a piece of literature has not told directly.

Manga—Japanese comics, usually in either graphic novels or large comic book format. These are usually translated for American audiences. Manga has an alternate visual grammar than American comics, although there is commonality. Traditionally, manga is read right-to-left instead of left-to-right.

Multimodal Literacy— Literacy that includes pictures, text, and the interaction and the grammar of these elements. Multimodal literacy refers to being able to read documents, especially electronic documents, such as a diversity of web pages, advertisements, informational posters, pictures with text found in film or television, and comic books. Sometimes referred to as visual literacy.

Reluctant Reader— A reader who is capable at or around appropriate reading level for his or her age, but does not choose to read voluntarily for pleasure or otherwise.

Sequential Art- Will Eisner’s simple definition for comics, a succession of pictures and text that tell a narrative, which can be applied to many things that are not usually considered comics. Scott McCloud expanded on this definition to be “Juxtaposed pictoral and other images in deliberate sequence (McCloud, 1993, p. 9).”

Trade Paperback— Collections of individual comic book issues, usually from a series, bound together as one volume. Once called albums as well. Often used synonymously with graphic novel.

Volume Reading— When a student reads in quantity, which is considered advantageous to her reading level, ability to acquire vocabulary, and overall student achievement.

Design of the Study

This is a descriptive, qualitative research study which focuses on collecting narrative data on the history and potential of comics as tool in education. Sources included books, journal articles, and occasional other sources such as popular magazines or web pages as appropriate. There is no attempt to intervene or control variables in this study. The guiding questions have been answered based on a review of existing literature. The research conducted addressed the history of comics, especially as it pertains to education, the potential value of comics, and the relevance of comics to curriculum. An analysis is done both of the peculiar nature of comics history, and the strengths addressed by various researchers.

There are four chapters in this study. The first contains an introduction, limitations of the study, and the definition of terms. Chapter Two is a review of the literature regarding the history of comics in education, their use in the classroom, and their modern relevance. Chapter Three presents the results of that study. A summary, discussion, implications, and recommendations are found in Chapter Four.