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graphic novels
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From: Barbara Tobin <barbarat>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 17:48:17 -0400
I, too, am so glad we are having this conversation -- kudos to the person who suggested it as a topic. I have learned so much already from the wonderful variety of posts so far, both in terms of young reader responses and resources (no flying no tights---wow!).
I was no fan of GNs, in fact, quite ignorant of them, until Judd Winick's penetrating book Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned won a Sibert honor in 2001. Since it came out in paperback, I was able to include it in the choices for my undergraduates' book club choices in my children's literature course. Like most of my students, I groaned at the thought of black and white comic format, but we were all quite blown away by the power evoked by this format. The group that chose this book (most oblivious to its format when choosing) produced the most dynamic response of all my undergraduate book club groups ever. They maintained a highly energetic, excited discussion for about 20 minutes, and it became very difficult for us to move on to our Community Share phase of the lesson --they just did NOT want to (WOULD not) stop talking about the book. A teacher's dream!
Of course, my students knew all about MTVs The Real World (unlike old fogey me), which increased their enjoyment of the book, and it did not hurt that the sister of the author's then-fiancee was in our class (and arranged for Judd to come to Philadelphia to give several presentations). However, this book opened my eyes to the power of the genre to deal with difficult, powerful topics. Another group simultaneously read Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale, and as we talked about both books, we began to realize the heightened power of integrating graphics with words, even with no color. Since then, I have continued to add graphic novels to my selection choices, to highlight issues that become more potent through this double lens (for example, Bryan Talbot's The Tale of One Bad Rat, which tackles issues of incest, a focus the author had not intended, but became very involved with when he used this as a device for his female teen protagonist's homelessness, and finished up adding back matter to help troubled teens-- a far cry from his original intention to showcase the beautiful Lakes District in England).
I have found Scott McLeod's Understanding Comics enormously helpful to my appreciation of the comic book genre, and like Nancy, would love to hear from anybody who has used this with young people. I do think graphic novels tend to be an acquired taste for those who did not grow up on them. Most of my young adult students have a negative reaction to them, as well as verse novels, so I do think it is important for teacher educators to develop a good understanding and appreciation themselves to help break down these biases.
I was very interested recently to see amazon.com announce their new Comics and Graphic Novels Store. Here is a snip from their announcement for those who missed it: <Comics lovers, rejoice! In recent years, comic books have changed from lurid, flimsy rags sold in the racks of newsstands to sturdier, respected works of real literature. Titles like Blankets, Watchmen, and Sandman have blown away the format's perceived limitations, and a wave of popular Japanese comics, or manga, has exposed a whole new generation of readers to the possibilities of comic books. >. They urge us to visit their store today and discover
.
Nobody has talked about Captain Underpants yet. I can't -- they leave me speechless...
Looking forward to learning more from you all,
Barbara Tobin (barbarat at upenn.edu)
Received on Mon 12 Apr 2004 04:48:17 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 17:48:17 -0400
I, too, am so glad we are having this conversation -- kudos to the person who suggested it as a topic. I have learned so much already from the wonderful variety of posts so far, both in terms of young reader responses and resources (no flying no tights---wow!).
I was no fan of GNs, in fact, quite ignorant of them, until Judd Winick's penetrating book Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned won a Sibert honor in 2001. Since it came out in paperback, I was able to include it in the choices for my undergraduates' book club choices in my children's literature course. Like most of my students, I groaned at the thought of black and white comic format, but we were all quite blown away by the power evoked by this format. The group that chose this book (most oblivious to its format when choosing) produced the most dynamic response of all my undergraduate book club groups ever. They maintained a highly energetic, excited discussion for about 20 minutes, and it became very difficult for us to move on to our Community Share phase of the lesson --they just did NOT want to (WOULD not) stop talking about the book. A teacher's dream!
Of course, my students knew all about MTVs The Real World (unlike old fogey me), which increased their enjoyment of the book, and it did not hurt that the sister of the author's then-fiancee was in our class (and arranged for Judd to come to Philadelphia to give several presentations). However, this book opened my eyes to the power of the genre to deal with difficult, powerful topics. Another group simultaneously read Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale, and as we talked about both books, we began to realize the heightened power of integrating graphics with words, even with no color. Since then, I have continued to add graphic novels to my selection choices, to highlight issues that become more potent through this double lens (for example, Bryan Talbot's The Tale of One Bad Rat, which tackles issues of incest, a focus the author had not intended, but became very involved with when he used this as a device for his female teen protagonist's homelessness, and finished up adding back matter to help troubled teens-- a far cry from his original intention to showcase the beautiful Lakes District in England).
I have found Scott McLeod's Understanding Comics enormously helpful to my appreciation of the comic book genre, and like Nancy, would love to hear from anybody who has used this with young people. I do think graphic novels tend to be an acquired taste for those who did not grow up on them. Most of my young adult students have a negative reaction to them, as well as verse novels, so I do think it is important for teacher educators to develop a good understanding and appreciation themselves to help break down these biases.
I was very interested recently to see amazon.com announce their new Comics and Graphic Novels Store. Here is a snip from their announcement for those who missed it: <Comics lovers, rejoice! In recent years, comic books have changed from lurid, flimsy rags sold in the racks of newsstands to sturdier, respected works of real literature. Titles like Blankets, Watchmen, and Sandman have blown away the format's perceived limitations, and a wave of popular Japanese comics, or manga, has exposed a whole new generation of readers to the possibilities of comic books. >. They urge us to visit their store today and discover
.
Nobody has talked about Captain Underpants yet. I can't -- they leave me speechless...
Looking forward to learning more from you all,
Barbara Tobin (barbarat at upenn.edu)
Received on Mon 12 Apr 2004 04:48:17 PM CDT
