Made possible in part by a family literacy grant from the New York State Library, New York State Education Department
Teaching the Graphic Novel - A History and a Rationale
Same format as comic books Text & illustrations present information Book-length, usually contain one story Medium, not genre
Caption Panel Gutter Thought Balloon Sound Effect Dialog Balloon
Major Types Superhero
Humor
Non-Fiction
Fantasies
Adaptations or Spin-offs
Classic Adaptations
Realistic Fiction
Historical
Historical
A little history Comic Strip=grandfather of Graphic Novel Around since end of 1800s Originally used to draw people to Sunday paper
Katzenjammer Kids 1897 Used word balloons Used multiple panels to tell story
The Comic Book 1933-reprints Initially free 1935-new comics & original characters 10 cents each
Popular comics Superman First superhero On newsstands: 1938 Superheroes big during World War II After WWII: crime, science fiction and horror comics
1950’s: comics in crisis! Comics examined by US Senate Comics banned and burned
A New Beginning Late 1950’s: Justice League of America born 1961: Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, & Spiderman 1960’s: Self-published underground comics
Milestones in the Graphic Novel World 1978-Will Eisner coins term 1986- Batman: the Dark Knight Returns 1987- The Watchmen
1992- Maus: A Survivor’s Tale wins Pulitzer 2005-”Graphix” imprint launched 2006- American Born Chinese named NBA finalist for Young People’s Literature 2007- American Born Chinese wins Printz Award for excellence in YA literature
2007 “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” finalist for NBA 2008 it wins the Caldecott
2007-YALSA creates new annual booklist: “Great Graphic Novels for Teens” 2009-NYT Graphic Books Bestseller List
Conan the Barbarian comics President Obama collects both Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
Manga
Manga history Manga=comic books Period before WWII=beginning of modern manga Mid 1990s=came to US
“God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka Hayayo Miyazaki: anime & manga Manga read by ALL
MANGA
How to read a Manga Page Unlike traditional books, Manga is read “backwards” from back-to-front Often, if you start at what looks like the front of the Manga, you will see a message like this
Panel Order & Dialog Balloons 2 3 1 4 Panel Order & Dialog Balloons 6 5 7 Panels and dialog balloons are read “reversed” 10 11 8 9
Manga Terms Shonen: teenage boys Shojo: teenage girls Shonen-ai / Yaoi=boys love
New Formats
Graphic Novels & Manga: Present complex material in readable text Serve as a bridge to more difficult reading Challenge readers of more traditional literature Embrace nature of multimedia world