CHAPTER 3 RESULTS

The Much Maligned Comic Book

It is hard to imagine the difference one person made in the attacks of Dr. Wertham committed on comics as a form of literature. Before, comics were commonplace and their acceptance was widely growing. Many researchers of the time felt they were perfectly normal and potentially beneficial (Frank, 1944; Gruenberg, 1944; Sones, 1944; Thorndike, 1941, Zorbaugh, 1944). Sales were high and the industry was rapidly growing and exploring multiple genres for multiple audiences (Hadju, 2008; Weiner, 2003). Most of all, the academic establishment was quickly realizing the benefits of comics in education through numerous studies in the 1940s, many of which are informational for today. Although there was still resistance, notably from school librarians, comics were on their way as an educational tool (Yang 2003).

Wertham’s campaign against comics damaged its reputation with a fury which lingers to this day. He cemented the view that comics were not only poor literature, but a subversive element. With this schema, introducing a comic book into the classroom would be unthinkable. The enactment of the Comics Code is arguably the single largest act of censorship in American history. This restraint stunted the artistic growth of the comic book as art or literature, and greatly diminished an industry (Hajdu, 2008: Weiner, 2003; Yang, 2003). Table 3.1 below features the 1954 comics code with ratings for general audiences (G) for motion pictures beside it, to give a comparison to a modern content guide.

Table 3.1 Comparison of 1954 Comics Code and “G” Movie Rating Standards

1954 Comics Code	“G” Movie Rating Standard
Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals.	No comparable rule
No comics shall explicitly present the unique details and methods of a crime.	No comparable rule
Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority.	No comparable rule
If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.	No comparable rule
Criminals shall not be presented so as to be rendered glamorous or to occupy a position which creates the desire for emulation.	No comparable rule
In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds.	No comparable rule
Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gun play, physical agony, gory and gruesome crime shall be eliminated.	No . . . violence that would cause a parent of younger children to be offended. . . Depictions of violence are minimal
No unique or unusual methods of concealing weapons shall be shown.	No comparable rule
Instances of law enforcement officers dying as a result of a criminal's activities should be discouraged.	No comparable rule
The crime of kidnapping shall never be portrayed in any detail, nor shall any profit accrue to the abductor or kidnapper. The criminal or the kidnapper must be punished in every case.	Possible, although “there is to be no theme that parents of younger children would find objectionable.”
The letter of the word "crime" on a comics magazine shall never be appreciably greater than the other words contained in the title. The word "crime" shall never appear alone on a cover.	No comparable rule
Restraint in the use of the word "crime" in titles or sub-titles shall be exercised.	No comparable rule
No comics magazine shall use the word horror or terror in its title.	No comparable rule
All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted.	A G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture. . . Depictions of violence are minimal. . .No nudity, sex scenes or drug use are present in the motion picture.
All lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated.	See above
Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly nor as to injure the sensibilities of the reader.	Possible, although “there is to be no theme that parents of younger children would find objectionable.”
Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism and werewolfism are prohibited.	See above.
Profanity, obscenity, smut, vulgarity, or words or symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings are forbidden.	Some snippets of language may go beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions. No stronger words are present in G-rated motion pictures.
Special precautions to avoid references to physical afflictions of deformities shall be taken.	No comparable rule
Although slang and colloquialisms are acceptable, excessive use should be discouraged and wherever possible good grammar shall be employed.	No comparable rule
Ridicule or attack on any religious or racial group is never permissible.	Possible, although “there is to be no theme that parents of younger children would find objectionable.”
Nudity in any form is prohibited, as is indecent or undue exposure.	No nudity, [is] present in the motion picture.
Suggestive and salacious illustration or suggestive posture is unacceptable.	Possible, although “there is to be no theme that parents of younger children would find objectionable.”
All characters shall be depicted in dress reasonably acceptable to society.	No comparable rule
Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities. NOTE: It should be recognized that all prohibitions dealing with costume, dialogue, or artwork apply as specifically to the cover of a comic magazine as they do to the contents.	Possible, although “there is to be no theme that parents of younger children would find objectionable.”
Divorce shall not be treated humorously nor represented as desirable.	No comparable rule
Illicit sex relations are neither to be hinted at or portrayed. Violent love scenes as well as sexual abnormalities are unacceptable.	A G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture. . . Depictions of violence are minimal. No nudity, sex scenes or drug use are present in the motion picture.
Respect for parents, the moral code, and for honorable behavior shall be fostered. A sympathetic understanding of the problems of love is not a license for moral distortion	No comparable rule
The treatment of love-romance stories shall emphasize the value of the home and the sanctity of marriage.	No comparable rule
Passion or romantic interest shall never be treated in such a way as to stimulate the lower and baser emotions.	No comparable rule
Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested	A G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, . . .nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture. . . Depictions of violence are minimal. No nudity, sex scenes . . .are present in the motion picture.

Source: Fictitious data, for illustration purposes only

As the above chart shows, there were an incredible number of restrictions on comic book creators. Many of the rules are immediately judgmental, arbitrary, and capricious. Out of 34 rules, the modern code for rating a motion picture G for General Audiences only agrees with the code five times, with another six possible agreements depending on the content in the motion picture. Furthermore, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which judges the rating individual movies receive, does not actually censor the film. They simply rate it and the film makers may re-edit and re-submit if they so choose. The Comics Code Authority was very direct in what it wanted changed, telling creators directly. These changes often seemed arbitrary and capricious. Comics creator Stan Lee reports being told that he had a smoke cloud from a gun that was considered too big and had redraw it (Lee, Mair, 2002). Gaines left the profession after an attempt to censor a story which featured a black astronaut which he was directly asked to remove but refused to do so (Hadju, 2008).

It is notable that one of the great successes of comics that seemed to escape scrutiny was Classics Illustrated. Classics Illustrated did not submit to the Code by claiming they were illustrated versions of classic books. However, each issue is clearly and obviously a comic and they used some of the greatest talent in the industry including Jack Kirby (Malan, 2006). Although it is not recorded, the reasoning is very obvious. The classic books that Classic Illustrated adapted could not withstand the scrutiny of the Comics Code. The Code would not allow 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, War of the Worlds, or virtually any Shakespeare play, among many other works. For Classics Illustrated to stay in business, they simply could not allow censorship in that fashion.

From their inception with Rodolphe Töpffer, modern comic creators often did not take their own creations seriously; an attitude and general lack of ambition that kept standards and expectations low and was reflected in many comics of the day (Weiner, 2003; McCloud, 2006). A famous meeting occurred between comic pioneer Will Eisner (for whom the “Eisner” awards are named) and comic legend Rube Goldberg (for whom the “Rueben” awards are named) at a dinner party in the sixties. Rube famously laughed at and disagreed with Eisner about the possibilities and potential of comics (McCloud, 2006). This gap between generations was a hindrance to setting a quality standard in the industry. Before the Comics Code, many comics were produced in what could be likened to sweatshop conditions, with quality taking a second place to speed of production (Hajdu, 2008). After the Code, with greatly diminished sales, comics had to significantly improve their product.

Excellent Literature for Reading

“Comics is a powerful idea, but an idea that's been squandered, ignored and misunderstood for generations.” (McCloud, 2000, p. 238) Just like traditional books, much of the question of literary merit relies on the actual book itself. University of Illinois professor Carol Tilley feels this question is only fair if put to traditional texts and picture books as well, “Any book can be good and any book can be bad, to some extent.” (Tilley, 2008, para. 5). That comic books are capable of extraordinary texts is absolutely true (Gravatt, 2005; Weiner, 2006). Further, the sheer number of excellent texts seems to grow exponentially. In Stephan Weiner’s 2006 The 101 Best Graphic Novels, 24 of the books he lists were made before 1990, 28 were made between 1990 and 2000, and 49 from 2000 to 20006. The quality of graphic novels is clearly increasing, and literature that critics agree is excellent is more and more readily available (Gravett, 2005). Krashen makes the following case for comics as educational literature:

The case for comics is a good one:

· The texts of comics are linguistically appropriate, and pictures can help make the texts comprehensible

· Research shows that comics have no negative effect on language development and school achievement

· Comic book readers do at least as much reading as non-comic book readers, and the most recent research shows that they read more overall, read more books, and have more positive attitudes about reading.

· There is strong evidence from case studies that comics can serve as a conduit to book reading (Krashen, 2004, p. 109-110).

Many libraries have certainly come to accept the graphic novel as literature. Articles giving advice on what graphic novels to purchase for a library collection have become commonplace, regular, and unaccompanied by any discussion on why graphic novels are acceptable. They simply are accepted as they are. Libraries have come to accept graphic novels as a staple of literature.

As for material, comics are no longer confined by the Comics Code and as a result we are witnessing the birth of new literature that is deep and profound. Heralded by the Pulitzer Prize winning Maus the graphic novel has numerous and excellent offerings that clearly qualify as literature. Graphic novels lists and review appear in popular periodicals, bookstores and libraries have sections dedicated to them exclusively.

Even in the unlikely scenario of a student who grows up to read nothing but graphic novels, there is already an excellent selection of good literature which is growing at an increasing rate. Comics are accepted both by the mainstream, and by librarians who once criticized them (Yang, 2003). Libraries aggressively add to their graphic novel collections. Cleveland Public Library, for example, notes that such books are often on hold before they have even arrived at the library, that circulation is up and teen readers, who are usually growing apathetic about reading are instead taking out over a dozen titles at a time (Welch & Brown, 2005).

Comics as Tools for Reading Instruction Text

Krashen repeats and expands Wright’s contention that comics have a deceptively high word count, reading level, vocabulary rate and create excellent opportunities for volume reading and acquiring new words (Krashen, 2004; Wright, 1979). Among beginning readers, age 5 to 8, 40% have read a comic book in the last week (Scholastic, 2008), yet the Flesch-Kincaid level of most comics never seems to go under a third grade reading level (Krashen, 2004). It is possible that comics may make challenging texts more accessible to readers, thus increasing reading levels.

Experts agree that comics have the qualities need to be educational literature. Comics have a high word count despite the amount of illustration found inside them (Wright, 1979). Their reading level is appropriate for most students and even students who read on a lower level will attempt comic books. They have a vocabulary that easily rivals adult literature (Krashen, 2004). Inference is a natural function of reading comics (McCloud, 1993; Versaci, 2001). Numerous researchers note that comics attract reluctant readers and support high comprehension of their texts. Comics are also highly versatile, “there is hardly a subject that does not lend itself to presentation through this medium (Zorbaugh, 1944, p. 213.) Finally, comics have and continue to address social issues in a variety of ways. The table below charts the number of researchers and experts who support the qualities of comics in education.

Table 3.3 Educational Qualities of Comics as Literature

Quality	Researchers
Vigorous Word Count & Reading Level	Krashen, 2004; Wright, 1979
High Level of Vocabulary	Krashen, 2004; Wright, 1979
Heightened Level of Inference	Lyga, 2006; McCloud, 1993; Thompson, 2008, Versaci, 2007
Attractive to Reluctant Readers	Cary, 2004; Ching, 2005; Chun, 2009; Crawford, 2004; Foster, 2004; Krashen, 2004; McVicker, 2007; Seyfried, 2008; Snowball, 2005; Thompson, 2008; Wright, 1979; Yang, 2003,
Pictures Support High Comprehension	Gorman, 2003; Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson, 2003; Krashen, 2004; Lyga, 2004; Seyfried, 2008; Thompson, 2008; Yang, 2003
Addresses Social Issues	Bitz, 2006; Chun, 2009; Gravett, 2005; Sanderson, 2004; Seyfried, 2008; Williams, 2008; Yang, 2003
Teaches Multimodal Literacy	Bucher & Manning, 2004; Chun, 2009; Gorman, 2003; McVicker, 2007; Seyfried, 2008, Yang, 2003,

Narrative One element common to all comics is narrative, each comic tells a story of some sort (McCloud, 2000 & Chute, 2008). The Maryland Comic Book Initiative study shows that comics are an effective means of teaching individual skills to comprehend narrative (Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009). This includes basics like plot and setting, as well as more complicated elements like allusion and metaphor (Rudiger, 2006.) This strength in narrative and the prevalence of biography and autobiography in comics makes it a natural to teach and learn that genre.

Inference

The relationship between text and picture provides a level of inference that exists consistently in comics. “This "in-between" space is difficult to identify and varies from title to title, reading comic books requires an active, though largely subconscious, participation on the part of the reader (Versaci, 2001, p. 63).” The grammar of comics, the complex relationship of pictures, panels, words, dialogue, and lettering create a grammar that provides for a heightened level of inference (McCloud, 1993; Smetana, et al. 2009; Thompson, 2008; Versaci, 2001, 2007). Rocco Versaci’s (2007) work shows numerous examples of how comics can transcend traditional literature, providing a level of subtext that is not possible outside of a comic format. By juxtaposing classic texts with classic comic characters and schema, Robert Sikoryak’s work shows that comics can achieve a level of inference and subtext not possible in a traditional text.

Vocabulary

Robert Marzano, a leading expert on student achievement, believes that a necessary component of student achievement is to increase vocabulary (Marzano, 2001, 2003). Marzano states there are two approaches, to provide for wide reading, an assertion shared by Krashen (2004). Comics, with their appeal to reluctant readers and surprisingly high word count, are excellent material for 20 minutes of daily, silent, sustained choice reading that Marzano recommends. Furthermore, Marzano states that direct vocabulary instruction should include visual imagery to be effective (Marzano, 2003). Comics contain visual imagery as a matter of course. Not only are vocabulary words provided in context, but are often accompanied directly by a visual representation.

Nonlinguistic Representation

Another of Marzano’s recommendations is having students use nonlinguistic representations to show concepts, ideas, and learning. Having students use comics as a form of expression works well for this type of activity and allows students to express ideas that would be difficult otherwise or are enhanced with comics. For example, students can go beyond making a timeline of a famous person’s life and instead create a comic that shows the person’s life instead. Concepts that have narrative qualities, such as the life cycle of a butterfly, the order of the planets, the water cycle, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the life and time of any historical figure, the order of mathematical operations, the sequence of prime numbers, and numerous other concepts can be translated by students into a comic format.

McCloud (1993, 2006) gives extensive evidence of a visual grammar that exists for comics that can show numerous ideas and concepts in numerous ways. Comics are frequently superior to text to communicating ideas, since they have both the marriage of image and text as well as a specialized visual grammar to illustrate abstract and real world concepts in a two dimensional way (McCloud, 1993, 2006).

Modern and Relevant

Multimodal Literacy

Today, students are do not read only books, but text messages which has its own subculture of vocabulary, web pages which can include elements that shift and change, pdf documents which can include elements that shift and alter, and subtitled information on a growing amount of international content. On the internet they may encounter advertising which may include interactive elements, instructions for a broad variety of devices, extensive lists of codes for games, and a number of forum posts on social networking sites. Furthermore, even traditional documents can now be read on electronic devices which will require interacting with some sort of operational system that is usually icon based. Today’s student will have to know how to relate words and pictures for their upcoming literacy demands. (Teale, Kim & Boerman-Cornell, 2008). “. . .Preteens and teens today are growing up amidst a technological revolution, from digital television to digitally enhanced computer games on the Internet. Unlike any preceding generation, this group of readers is comfortable with non-text visual media and is therefore more at ease “reading” the combination of words and pictures that is utilized in the graphic-style format to tell a story. (Gorman, 2003, p. 20)”

Comics may be the only format available to readily and easily teach a multifaceted literacy that our students will require for future. In particular, comics are permanent, a reader make take any amount of time to understand the comic and review and reread if necessary, something that is not necessarily true with other media (Yang, 2003). Comics thus teach not only traditional literacy skills, but skills that translate into a new era of icons, symbols, and text as well (Mackey 2008; Tabachnick, 2007).

Social Issues

Comics frequently address social issues (Bitz, 2006; Christensen, 2006; Chun, 2009; Kahan & Stewart, 2006). The trend began as early as Captain America fighting Nazi’s before America’s entry into World War I (Simon & Simon, 2003) and Wonder Woman’s creation as a feminist icon decades before the feminist movement (Crawford, 2007), continues through with Spider-Man breaking the Comic Code to tell a story about drug abuse (Thomas & Lee, 2006, p. 14). Today comics books address a vast array of social issues (Kahan & Stewart, 2006) but graphic novels frequently are entirely focused on them (Gravett, 2005).

The already notable genre of autobiography introduces many issues, such as dealing with cancer in Harvey Peckar’s Our Cancer Year and David Small’s Stitches, or Gene Yang’s Chinese Born American which details his encounters with racism in his youth. Communication arts and social studies classes can easily benefit from using such texts as they would any other book. Again, there has been little study here. (Christensen, 2006).

There is very little information available about these, or any other, graphic novels being used in social studies classrooms (except for Maus I and II, which are widely read in studies of the Holocaust), whether they are effective learning tools, or what students think of them. It is also difficult to find reviews of graphic novels that have educational value. However, I strongly believe these books are worth a serious look (Christensen, 2006, p. 227).

The innovation of comic journalism by Joe Sacco in his works Palestine and his recent Footnotes from Gaza have introduced at entire new realm of possible documentary text, which has become a growing genre (McCloud, 2006). Maus is already used in some college courses and is beginning to be found in high school courses as well (Christensen, 2006; Chun, 2009, Leckbee, 2005). It seems a matter of time before other texts are utilized in this fashion by secondary and higher education classrooms. The question is will it be sooner or later?

Micheal Bitz (2006) has run the Comic Book Project afterschool for high schools students since 2003. This project has students creating their own comics from beginning to end. His students often select topics that are important to them to discuss in their comics, such as friendship, popularity, the war in Iraq, Tibet, and environmental issues (Bitz, 2006). Bitz contends that comics not only address important issues, but that the process of creating comics as a group also provides beneficial lessons such as democratic process and collaboration (Bitz, 2006).

Librarian Jonathan Seyfried believes graphic novels are perfect literature to give rich, rewarding experiences to students. “. . . students are ready to engage with intense emotions, emotions that they are themselves experiencing for the first time, but they need appropriate material. . .students crave stories that they can relate to, written in a language they can understand, with jokes they can get, and metaphors that are clear to them. . . Graphic novels provided them with a rich and rewarding literary experience at a time when the duration, vocabulary, and style of prose masterpieces cannot (Seyfried, 2008).”

Finally, given the sheer amount of comics now being translated into other genres, including film, video games, and (ironically) books, there is a new need to introduce comics into our classroom. For good or ill, comics have become one of the cornerstones of popular culture. “Comic book characters have made a place for ourselves in society. Does that mean that we will now find a place for ourselves on the shelves of the modern library? (Foster, 2004, p. 31).”

The recent sale of Action Comics number one for 1.5 million dollars and numerous comic book art exhibitions at prestigious museums is an indicator that this history of culture is of some value. If Speigelman is correct, and comics are a “self-teaching” format (Smith, 2008), then widespread comic use could easily be in our future. In that case, the question is no longer one of preparing our students for the future, but a question of relevance. “At a time when many readers are claiming that reading is on the wane, a literary art form that combines a tradition of excellent, carefully edited text with newly kinetic, eye- and attention-grabbing visuals, could be the salvation of young adult reading (Cart, 2005, p. 1301).”

Comics have the ability to address specific lessons

Table 3.4 Researchers who believe comics address these specific lessons well

Specific Lesson and Objective	Researchers
Inference	McCloud, 1993, Wolk, 2007, Versaci, 2007, Smetana et al. 2009, Thompson, 2008.
Onomatopoeias and Interjections	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, McCloud, 2006
Narrative	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, Bitz, 2006, McCloud, 2000, Chute, 2008, Rudiger, 2006, Ranker, 2007, Williams, 2008
Identifying Character Traits	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, Foster, 2004, Ranker, 2007
Problem and Solution	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, Bitz, 2006, Foster, 2004, Ranker, 2007
Looking for Plot Events	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, Bitz, 2006, Foster, 2004, Rudiger, 2006, Ranker, 2007
Point of View	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, Williams, 2008
Summarizing	Smetana, Odelson, Burns & Grisham, 2009, Thompson, 2008, Bitz, 2006