Some Suggestions for Graphic Novels in the English Classroom
- American Born Chinese — Gene Yang
- Gunnerkrigg Court — Tom Siddell (webcomic)
- Louis Riel — Chester Brown
- Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography — Andrew Helfer
- Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father’s History Bleeds — Art Spiegelman
- Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began — Art Spiegelman
- Palestine — Joe Sacco
- Persepolis — Marjane Satrapi
- Red: A Haida Manga – Michael Yahgulanaas
- Safe Area Goražde — Joe Sacco
- Skim — Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
- The Rabbits — John Marsden
- V for Vendetta — Alan Moore
- Watchmen –– Alan Moore
Suggested Resources for Graphic Novel Study
Bakis, Maureen. The Graphic Novel Classroom: Powerful Teaching and Learning with Images. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2012. Print.
Bernard, Mark and James Bucky Carter. “Alan Moore and the Graphic Novel: Confronting the Fourth Dimension.” ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies Online Journal 1.2(2004): n. pag. Web. 20 Nov. 2009.
Carrier, David. The Aesthetics of Comics. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 2000. Print.
Duncan, Randy and Matthew J. Smith. The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture. New York: Continuum, 2009. Print.
Eisner, Will. Comics & Sequential Art: Principles and Practice of the World’s Most Popular Art Form. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press, 1985. Print.
“Graphic Novel / Comics Terms and Concepts.” ReadWriteThink. International Reading Association. IRA/NCTE, 2008. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1102/terms.pdf
Heer, Jeet and Kent Worcester (eds). A Comics Studies Reader. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 2009. Print.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994. Print.
Meconis, Dylan. “How Now to Write Comics Criticism.” Dylan Meconis. 18 Sep. 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.http://www.dylanmeconis.com/how-not-to-write-comics-criticism/
Weaver, John C. “Reteaching the Watchmen.” Graphic Novel Reporter. The Book Report, Inc., 2009. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/reteaching-watchmen-op-ed
—. “Who Teaches the Watchmen?” Graphic Novel Reporter. The Book Report, Inc., 2009. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://graphicnovelreporter.com/content/who-teaches-watchmen-op-ed
Wolk, Douglas. Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. New York: Da Capo, 2007. Print.
Yang, Gene. “Graphic Novels in the Classroom.” Language Arts 85.3 (2008): 185-192. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
By: Katrina, Samantha, Dominic, and Zlatina
2 responses so far ↓
TMD // Jul 15th 2013 at 7:07 am
Hello all,
I’m unable to find a more complete summary of your “seminar lead” activity, so I’ll respond here. Yours was an excellent presentation on “Literature and Image” with a focus on graphic novels: the summary was clear, the activity was engaging, and you lead the discussion very well. The expertise various members of the group brought to the topic from dystopian literature classes (particularly in relation to visual representation in Moore’s graphic novels) enriched the conversation greatly.
You noted at one point that Moore is very particular about giving directions to his illustrators — that he was known, for example, to provide 5-10 pages of detail about what the artist should include in the case of _The Watchman_. This stands in strong contrast to the practice of some writers, such as Marsden, who apparently provided Shaun Tan with little or no direction in the case of _The Rabbits_ according to Tan’s remarks here: http://www.shauntan.net/essay2.html. It would be interesting to have students consider the implication of such different collaborative practices, and even to have them engage in an activity rather like the one Tan describes: students in a literature class, for instance, might provide illustrators in an art class with text for illustration with or without much artistic direction. Pairs/groups could contemplate the results in a “show” of the work, or via other approaches.
It was not required, but if you feel like adding a sentence or two describing your activity, that may be helpful for any of your peers hoping to get ideas for instruction. Again, you offered many rich ideas on this topic — thank you.
Best regards,
Teresa
katrinalo // Jul 15th 2013 at 11:56 am
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for the feedback! We’ll post our Powerpoint presentation with our summary and activity description!
– Katrina
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