Something I've Never Considered

What in the world is a graphic novel? Maybe you spent time as a teenager collecting comic books—stories of superheroes and villains where the good guy always wins and gets the super-hot girl. If you did, you may even be a self-proclaimed dork. Your mom may have thrown them out, much to your chagrin. But don’t worry, they are making a comeback in a much larger form.

While comics were typically a series of stories, the term graphic novel refers to a format, rather than a genre. They are often independent stories, instead of a series. And the content is vast, and sometimes mature. Graphic novels have a lot of potential for reengaging marginalized readers and engaging reluctant readers. Their popularity is on the rise in recent years. In 2006, consumers in the United States spent nearly $330 million on graphic novels and comics. Librarians only counted for 10% of those purchases. Graphic novels are a popular format that can pull advanced readers, who often don’t have free time to read, back into the joys of literacy. The format can be very time-friendly to the overworked AP student, but can also be very nonthreatening to a more struggling reader. Studies have shown that graphic novels often attract male readers who are reluctant to read much else.

So what do you look for and where do you start? Some graphic novels have great content connections. Nat Turner by Kyle Baker is very nearly wordless. Some primary documents are included as Baker tells the story of Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion, beginning with the Middle Passage. There is no doubt that the message is conveyed through powerful images that will keep you turning each page. And yes, looking closely at pictures is reading.

Confessions of a Blabbermouth includes a teenager’s blog as central to the plot. She uses her blog to vent about everything—including her mother’s boyfriend and the secret he allegedly has with his daughter—in the most public manner possible.

As Jane, of The Plain Janes, walks past a sidewalk café in Metro City, a terrorist’s bomb detonates. Her parents are overtaken by their fear and immediately snatch her to the suburbs, where surely they’ll be safe. She befriends three other Janes and they commence to make “art attacks” on the city. All the while, Jane keeps in touch with a mysterious man who she rescued from the explosion, and slowly comes into her own.

Finally, The Professor’s Daughter examines the true spirit of Victorian London through the eyes of a mischievous girl and a mummy who has opened his eyes for the first time in 3,000 years. He, of course, instantly falls in love with her. But how can their love survive their fathers, the London Police, and even the Royal Archeological Society?

Graphic novels have a great deal to offer our students and young readers. It has been suggested that reading graphic novels may require more complex cognitive skills than the reading of text alone. If you aren’t convinced, visit the media center and ask for a copy of manga—Japanese graphic novels that read from right to left. You will quickly see how demanding these can be for our students, but our students will rise to the occasion.