In recent years, graphic novels have been making their way into a wide variety of classrooms, from elementary schools to college courses and libraries, to teach not just classic and contemporary literature, but also memoir, history, science, and more, joining the conversation in almost every discipline. As Robert G. Weiner and Carrye Kay Syma argue in Graphic Novels and Comics in the Classroom: Essays on the Educational Power of Sequential Art, “In the past 10 to 15 years, the use of sequential art in education has exploded. Teachers in secondary and elementary schools, professors in universities, and instructors of all kinds are using comics and graphic novels to illustrate points about gender, history, sociology, philosophy, mathematics, and even medicine. It is no longer a question of whether sequential art should be used in educational settings, but rather how to use it and for what purpose” (1).
There are numerous benefits to teaching graphic novels, including engaging reluctant readers, encouraging students to view familiar material from a new perspective, and critically engaging students’ multiple literacies. James Bucky Carter explains that “A substantial, expanding body of evidence asserts that using graphic novels and comics in the classroom produces effective learning opportunities over a wide range of subjects and benefits various student populations, from hesitant readers to gifted students” (1).
In particular, reading comics and graphic novels helps students develop multimodal literacy skills, through the complex combination of image and text. As Lynell Burmark argues, “the primary literacy of the twenty-first century is visual … . Our students must learn to process both words and pictures. To be visually literate, they must learn to ‘read’ (consume/interpret) and ‘write’ (produce/use) visually rich communications. They must be able to move gracefully and fluently between text and images, between literal and figurative worlds” (5) and Weiner and Syma also underscore this importance: “The combination of images with text in order for students to understand and interpret the world is probably the most important aspect of teaching literacy in the 21st century” (5). In Comics as History, Comics as Literature: Roles of the Comic Book in Scholarship, Society, and Entertainment, Annessa Ann Babic draws on the work of Joseph Witek and his argument that “comics are designed with highly developed narratives, grammar, and vocabulary based on an inextricable combination of verbal and visual elements” (5). Graphic novels are an excellent tool for developing these interrelated skills and preparing students to critically engage with and respond to a world that requires simultaneous and interactive multiple literacies. When reading a graphic narrative, the reader has to not only parse the literal meaning of the written and visual text on the page, but also critically consider the ways in which both mediums work together, situated within the unique format of the graphic novel as a whole, employing a complex wealth of terminology to describe what they see, what it means, and their own critical response to the text.1 As Weiner and Syma argue, in reading these graphic novels, “students are using a format that provides an opportunity for active engagement. Their minds are lively when reading comics. The readers involve their minds with both the visual and narrative content, hopefully resulting in great comprehension and interest” (5), both through textual understanding and critical response. Our contemporary culture is one of dynamic multimodal and interactive texts, a trend which extends well beyond the classroom, and for which graphic novel reading will serve our students well. For instance, the vast majority of websites include text and image, as well as advertisements, links to related stories or materials, or embedded video or audio materials, combinations which create a range of ways in which we can interact with the text before us, actively negotiating and choosing elements on which to focus rather than having a passive reading experience.
A question that is often raised when considering the inclusion of graphic novels in the classroom is whether or not graphic novels count as “literature.” In addition to the benefits of textual complexity and active reader engagement, graphic novels demonstrate the same characteristics as more traditional works in the same genre. For example, a memoir shares the life experiences of its author, regardless of the medium in which it is presented, while fictional graphic novels possess the same literary elements as a short story or novel, such as plot, setting, characterization, and point of view, even if those elements are realized or depicted through the combination of text and image rather than text alone, as in their more traditional counterparts. Beyond definition and core elements, there is debate about what counts as “literary,” a concept that polices the boundaries of canonical literature. Merriam-Webster defines literature, in part, as “writings in prose or verse; especially: writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest” (emphasis original). This definition points toward the age-old debate of what counts as canonical and worthy of study, a benchmark of which many critics argue graphic novels fall short. However, if we consider a definition of literature that considers a work’s effect on the reader, whether that means drawing them into a compelling story or immersing them in a perspective far different from their own, it is clear that graphic novels succeed at that level of engagement, evidenced by readers’ interest, excitement, and positive responses to these kinds of stories, both inside and outside the classroom. In addition, this definition, which demands a direct correlation of literary and textual, elides the multimodal complexity of 21st-century storytelling, where stories can include images as well as words and where tales are told in online and social media spaces as well as on the page, like Jennifer Egan’s story “Black Box,” which the writer delivered through a series of tweets.2 Finally, the debate as to whether or not graphic novels count as literature can also be useful in framing the pedagogical discussion, as we ask students to consider, respond to, and perhaps even make an argument for the questioning, challenging, and creation of the canon, posing, as one contributor to this collection suggests, the canon creation debate as an active and contested discussion to which students can contribute their own voices and opinions.
Graphic narratives in their myriad forms have great potential for incorporation in the English classroom, from introductory and advanced writing courses to creative writing , literature surveys, and upper-level literature seminars. We can introduce students to complex rhetorical concepts and terminology with Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing by Elizabeth Losh, Jonathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon, a unique format that not only makes these often challenging ideas more accessible to students, but also serves as an ideal springboard in helping them design multimedia assignments of their own, combining text, image, and other mediums. There is a wide range of memoirs, including Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus , Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, which can provide students a glimpse into places, lives, and experiences much different than their own, creating connection and empathy. There are countless adaptations of classic literature, from graphic novel versions of many of Shakespeare’s plays to more creative reimaginings or reinventions, like Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a critical engagement of a range of Victorian literary figures and influences. Many of these graphic novels also present opportunities for further interdisciplinary engagement, as several of them have been adapted into films as well, positioning the graphic novel as one part of a larger conversation, drawing on classical literary traditions and dynamically influencing contemporary popular culture.
The chapters in this collection present a wide range of experiences and opportunities for incorporating graphic narratives and novels into the English classroom, sharing concrete, specific examples and pedagogies, as well as raising questions and proposing possibilities for new approaches. The authors have incorporated graphic novels into a wide variety of classes, from introductory Freshman Composition to intermediary writing and Honors courses, as a foundation for research and an inspiration for creative writing , in literature survey courses and in upper-level literature seminars. However, each of these essays is built upon one shared core belief: that in the combination of text and image, graphic narratives provide our students with a unique, dynamic opportunity for reading, learning, and engagement that cannot be achieved through text or image alone.
This collection is divided into three sections. The first focuses on different possibilities for incorporating graphic novels into the composition classroom, from introductory to advanced writing. In his chapter on “Not Just Novels: The Pedagogical Possibilities of the Graphic Narrative,” Andrew Bourelle discusses his approach of introducing students to a wide range of shorter graphic narratives over the course of the semester, rather than just a few full-length graphic novels, which gives them the opportunity to see, engage with, and respond to a variety of different styles and approaches, highlighting the breadth and depth of the medium in a way that isn’t possible through a handful of representative, longer examples. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing has quickly become a staple in college writing classrooms since its publication in 2014, and it is one of the central works utilized and discussed in Sara Austin’s “Understanding Rhetoric, Understanding Genre: A Rhetorical Genre Studies Approached Writing Course,” where she develops and discusses an intermediary writing studies course in which students explore, critically engage with, and write within a genre of their choice. Riki Thompson’s “Writing through Comics” is the final chapter in this section, in which she discusses a comics-writing approach within the creative writing classroom, guiding students through thinking critically about the balance and interaction of text and image, character development, and world building, among a wealth of other creatively-focused writing activities that culminate in the students producing and distributing their own comics. Each of the chapters in this section provides detailed descriptions of specific assignments, many of which could be easily incorporated into writing classes at a variety of levels to aid students in meaningfully engaging with text, image, and the connections between the two, as well as exploring the different forms their own writerly voice can take.
The second section foregrounds graphic novels as a unique literary genre, well-deserving of inclusion and incorporation into the literature classroom. While the question of the literary merit of comics and graphic novels underscores many discussions of their use within the English classroom, the authors in this section advocate for graphic novels to be considered as literature in their own right, and highlight the various classroom settings and connections where they have found them to promote productive discussions and active learning , from survey courses to upper-level seminars. Lauren Perry’s “Teaching the History and Theory of American Comics: 20th-Century Graphic Novels as a Complex Literary Genre” not only argues that comics should be considered literary, but that they are complex, nuanced, and in many ways even more challenging than traditional literature, a value underscored in her approach to comics from both historical and literary perspectives as she introduces students to the background, development of, and discourse surrounding the medium, as well as a wide range of comics themselves. Alison Halsall presents several opportunities for including the graphic novel in college English courses in her chapter “‘What Is the Use of a Book … Without Pictures or Conversations?’: Incorporating the Graphic Novel into the University Curriculum,” with extended examples including using Frank Miller’s 300 to discuss the epic genre and reading Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen through its engagement with Victorian culture and literary conventions, highlighting the ways in which these readings deepen students’ understandings of both the graphic novel format and the conventions of the more traditionally “literary.” Guy Risko’s “‘Does Doc...