What?

Why?

How?

• Same format as comic books

• Text & illustrations present information

• Book-length, usually contain one story

• Medium, not genre

Thought Balloon

Sound Effect

Panel

Gutter

Dialog Balloon

Caption

Major TypesMajor Types

Humor

Non-Fiction

Fantasies

Adaptations

Spin-offs

or

Realistic Fiction

Personal Stories

Toon BooksToon Books• For emerging

readers age 4+

• Can be read to or by children

• Vetted by educators

A little historyA little history• Comic Strip=grandfather of Graphic

Novel

• Around since end of 1800s

• Originally used to draw people to Sunday paper

First comic stripFirst comic strip• Appeared in New

York World: 1895

• R. F. Outcault

• Increased sales

• Eventually endorsed soap-whiskey

Katzenjammer KidsKatzenjammer Kids• 1897

• Used word balloons

• Used multiple panels to tell story

The Comic BookThe Comic Book

• 1933-reprints• Initially free

• 1935-new comics & original characters

• 10 cents each

Popular comicsPopular 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!1950’s: comics in crisis!• Frederic Wertham

• Comics examined by US Senate

• Comics banned and burned

A New BeginningA New Beginning

• Late 1950’s: Justice League of America born

• 1961: Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, & Spiderman

• 1960’s: Self-published underground comics

• 1978-Will Eisner coins term

• 1986- Batman: the Dark Knight Returns

• 1987- The Watchmen

Milestones in the Graphic Novel World

• 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 Invention wins Caldecott

• 2007-YALSA creates new annual booklist: “Great Graphic Novels for Teens”

• 2009-NYT Graphic Books Bestseller List

President Obama

collects both

Spider-Man and

Conan the Barbarian

comics

MangaManga

Manga historyManga 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

How to read a Manga PageHow 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 Panel Order & Dialog & Dialog BalloonsBalloons

Panels and dialog balloons are read

“reversed”

13

4

2

8

5

6

7

10

9

11

Manga TermsManga Terms• Shonen: teenage

boys

• Shojo: teenage girls

• Shonen-ai / Yaoi=boys love

• perceived as subversive=attractive!

• Ratings

• Read by?

•2/3 of GN market=manga

•75%=13-17 y/o girls

Why Graphic Novels & Why Graphic Novels & Manga?Manga?

• 6.3 million secondary school students are reading below grade level.

• Average American age 15-24 spends only 7 minutes of daily leisure time reading.

• Students with access to a variety of reading materials have higher average reading scores.

• 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

• Fulfill NCTE’s “21st Century literacies” (multiple streams, simultaneous information)

Graphic Novels & Manga: Graphic Novels & Manga:

Comic Strips Assignment Purpose: To use your creative and drawing skills to illustrate a business world practice

Instructions: For this assignment, you are to create a minimum of a five-frame (max of 7 frames—these are textboxes that you create) comic strip based on a important topic. The comic strip does not have to be humorous; instead, it needs to illustrate and make a point about something important in the world—be creative, but all work must be school appropriate. If you are unsure, show me as you are working and I will let you know if you are on the right track.. Be sure to put a title and your name in a text box above the comic strip. Be creative and use lots of pictures. Really show the background (trees or buildings, or furniture if it is an inside scene). Also use callouts for dialogue. Check your spelling.