Comics and Graphic Novels (Assignment #1 d. - LLED 441 96A)


 Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson


What is your own view of comics and graphic novels?  Did you and do you read them?   




My understanding of and appreciation for comics and graphic novels has changed over time.  Although I read relatively few comics as a child, as an adult I am slowly discovering the potential of the medium to tell a story, convey complex ideas across subject areas, use with students as a type of multi-modal response, and move me to a sense of wonder.  

Although I remember reading a few comics in my childhood - Astrix and Obelix, Spiderman, Garfield - no comic strip series captured by attention until Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, a collection written from 1985 to 1995. My first encounter with this strip was in my final year of high school, and I was instantly infatuated.  It was my cousin who introduced me to the series.  I don't remember a teacher ever encouraging comic book reading in class or in the library. The concept of Calvin and Hobbes is a hyper-imaginative kid, Calvin, and his imaginative (or not) tiger, depending on how the reader looks at it, navigate the world as Calvin sees it - an adventurous, fantastical place, set against the world as adults see it - a conventional reality.  The reader navigates between these worlds, often finding humor in the juxtaposition.  Complex and thought provoking, the characters, Calvin and Hobbes, are multi-faceted and elicit reflection from readers on philosophy and such themes as consumerism and educational conformity as well as the universal themes of love and family. The comics work on multiple levels attracting readers of all ages.  The images consist of clear, vibrant colors, often depicting movement.  These images, as with comic strips in general, are essential to Watterson's narratives; they are needed to advance the story and they are works of art to be admired in and of themselves.  Perhaps Watterson's cartoons have contributed to what Short has recently described as our "visual culture [...], one in which images, as distinguished from text, are central to how meaning is created in the world" (Short, 2018).  

Many years have elapsed since I fell in love with Calvin and Hobbes, and it wasn't until seven or eight years ago that I was introduced to the term "graphic novel."  One of my co-workers suggested that we purchase graphic novels of Romeo and Juliette "to help struggling students understand the plot and context" she said.  About a decade before Watterson began crafting Calvin and Hobbes Will Eisner used the term "Graphic Novel" to talk about comic books which were being taken in a more literary direction and longer comic book form, but it was not until the 1980s that graphic novels were really first recognized as literary in the present day sense (Delvecchio, 2019). I was curious about this new visual format and when these books arrived I excitedly brought them into my classroom to be used alongside or in addition to a more conventional text of the play, which had footnotes and translations for students at the bottom of the page.  It didn't take long for many of my students to tell me they didn't like the graphic novel format.  They said they needed the footnotes of the other text and they found the panels of the graphic novel challenging to read.  All but two or three students returned their graphic novel copies to me.  As I reflect on this experience I believe I failed my students in that I didn't provide much guidance in how to approach a reading of a graphic novel. In the article, Graphic Narratives and the Evolution of the Canon: Adapting Literature for a New Generation, William Fassbender writes, "Simply reading graphic narratives is not enough to engage students.  Students must have guidance in order to enjoy and benefit from the kind of reading and analysis that expands both literature and range of their experience" (Fassbender et al., 2013).  I  didn't have a strong understanding of the conventions of graphic novels myself, and perhaps a graphic novel with the complex text of Shakespeare was not the place to start!  I could have used some of the amazing websites and YouTube videos containing information and instructions on how to understand or interact with this format, such as the instructional comic I've inserted below:


Abel, J. (2002). Drawing Words & Writing Pictures. Retrieved from http://dw-wp.com/resources/what-is-a-graphic-novel/
Excerpt from Awkward

 I didn't pick up another graphic novel until two years ago when I began part-time work as a teacher-librarian.  

 During my time working in the library I've frequently witnessed students checking out graphic novels.  I've also watched students read them during sustained reading time in my English classrooms. Willing to give this genre another chance, I spent some time researching popular graphic novels to purchase a few more for our library.  This summer I've read a few of these, such as Awkward, by Svetlana Chmakova, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Hey Kiddo, by Jarrett K. Krosoczka. When I read the Awkward series by Chmakova I had to ask my twelve-year- old son what the boxes at the bottom of the page were doing - revealing the character's thoughts or telling the story.  I didn't immediately pick up that this was a story being told in first person narration.  I've had to work on my own graphic novel reading skills.  I've noticed that my eyes initially take in the entire page before moving to the upper left hand corner of the page. 

 I've also come to understand that the terms "comics" and "graphic novels" denote the medium and form, not the genre. Kathy G. Short's article, What's Trending in Children's Literature and Why it Matters writes, "Graphic novels now cut across genres and age levels to include high-interest series books as well as memoir, historical fiction, informational books, and contemporary fiction" (Short, 2018).  Speak: the Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson is a contemporary work of fiction, first published as a novel 20 years ago.  It deals with rape, depression, and high school experience.  It explores the question, "What does silence look like? How can it be expressed?" Illustrator, Emily Carrol does a great job of depicting the restrained pain of the protagonist, Melinda Sordino, by balancing the world Melinda sees and experiences in her head with that of the real world. She uses a limited color palette which allows the reader to focus on the mood and tone of what Melinda may be seeing and experiencing. Short writes, "Like picture-books, visual images in graphic novels are essential to the telling of the story" (Short, 2018).  Carroll’s skill as an illustrator shows itself not only in her adaption of the mood and emotion of the story but in the depictions of the small moments and expressions such as when Melinda begins to unravel who her parents are, flaws and all.  This text is as funny and heart-breaking as the original, and the graphics bring additional nuance and depth to the story. Fassbender writes, "Ultimately format may be the only significant difference between canonical works [and graphic novels] in that graphic novels, like classics, have multilayered plots with universal themes, round characters who confront personal and societal conflicts and sophisticated style. This unique format can have a powerful pull for readers" (Fassbender et. al, 2013). 

Non-fiction graphic novels can be every-bit as compelling as its fiction.  The graphic memoir, Hey Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczoka is a powerful story dealing with themes of identity.  With images rendered in a a soft limited pallet of oranges and browns, Hey Kiddo is Jarrett's account of growing up with his grandparents and coming to terms with his complex family situation - that is, having a mother who has abandoned him while she deals with her addiction to heroin, and having a father whom he has never met and whose name he doesn't even know.  My reaction to this story surprised me.  It had me in tears in several places.  Despite having grown up in a household with two parents I could feel the pain of Jerrett's confusion and abandonment.  Fassbender points out that "the desire to belong is not unique to a certain culture or generation." In an interview Krosoczka explains, "It's a complicated emotion to be a kid where I definitely always felt that my mother loved me, but I also felt total abandonment," Krosoczka says. "Those are complicated emotions and Hey, Kiddo is a graphic memoir, so it's illustrated, so I'm able to get into those thoughts and feelings with the visuals in a way that I don't think I would be able to with prose" (Krosocska, 2018; cited in Corish, 2018).   The images are what make this story so powerful.  Hey Kiddo is also an effort toward increasing diversity in children's and YA literature.  Short notes an over-representation of white middle-class protagonists from non-urban areas (Short, 2018).  Hey Kiddo depicts a non-conventional family of lower socio-economic status in an urban environment.  According to Short, "Children who are missing and underrepresented may either take on deficit societal notions of their culture or reject literacy as relevant for their lives, [while] children who constantly see themselves in books....are also negatively affected, as they develop perspectives of privilege and superiority based on false impressions of the world" (Short, 2018).  
My summer of reading has me thinking about how I might more effectively teach the conventions of graphic novels and engage my students with novels such as Speak and Hey Kiddo.  I'm confident now that this genre is worthy of inclusion in my classroom canon, and not simply as an extension or aid to reading Shakespeare.  In fact, I now know  that an introduction to graphic novels would have been far more successful had I selected a book in which the text was more familiar and in which the images formed an essential part of the narrative.  I would take time helping students to understand and appreciate the unique conventions of the graphic novel. After watching Gene Yang's TED talk, Why Comics Belong in the Classroom, I am even more convinced that this form could be used in a number of instructional ways.  Yang recounts how he used comics to teach students how to do algebra.  He explains that students were able to process the sparse text (suitable for readers of varying levels) at their own speed to learn how to solve complex algebraic problems.  He also discusses how other teachers are now using graphic novels to deepen student's' understanding of literature, and other concepts. Some teachers are asking students to create their own graphic novels as a multi-modal creative response to other texts. Furthermore, graphic novels may have a unique role to play in providing content for discussions around diversity.  Garrison and Gavigan write, "[graphic novels may] offer readers a perspective often marginalized, and/or told by someone from outside of the cultural group being portrayed.  They also address the racial implications of important events in history that have worked in part to shape today's societal tensions.  Seeing these issues play out through illustrations combined with text offers young adults more information and opportunity to think, react, and question the historical narrative they may have previously heard and accepted" (Garrison and Gavigan, 2019).

 My understanding of and appreciation for comics and particularly of graphic novels has come a long way from where it started.  I see it capable of providing an experience which is every bit as rich and "literary" as other forms of fiction and non-fiction.  


Bibliography

Abel, J. (2002). Drawing Words & Writing Pictures. Retrieved from http://dw-wp.com/resources/what-is-a-graphic-novel/

Anderson, Laurie Halse. (1999).  Speak. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux   

Cornish, Audie. (2018) Author Interview: In 'Hey Kiddo,' Jarrett Krosoczka Sketches Childhood, A Mom's Addiction. NPR Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/10/05/654596837/in-hey-kiddo-jarrett-krosoczka-draws-a-portrait-of-childhood-a-mom-s-addiction

Delvecchio, Jennifer. (2019) LLED 441 96A. Introduction to Teaching Children's Literature. Canvas. Web. Accessed July 2019.

Garrison, K. L., & Gavigan, K. (2019, 02). Picture this: Using graphic novels to explore social justice issues with young adults. Teacher Librarian, 46, 8-12. 

Krosoczka, Jarrett K.. (2018). Hey Kiddo. New York, NY: Graphix.

Short, Kathy, and Kathy G Short. "What's Trending in Children's Literature and Why it Matters." Language Arts, vol. 95, no. 5, 05/01/2018, pp. 287-29

Watterson, Bill. (2005) The Complete Collection: Calvin and Hobbes. Kansass City, Missouri: Andrews Publishing.

Yang, Gene. (2016 December 2).  Why Comics Belong in the Classrooman | Gene Yang | TEDxManhattanBeach.  [videofile] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz4JqAJbxj0





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