comics essay

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Comics - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

Comics are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information, providing a unique way to tell stories or present ideas. Essays on comics could delve into the history of comics, the various genres and styles, the cultural impact and significance of comics, or the artistic and narrative techniques unique to the medium. They might also explore the representation of social, political, and cultural issues in comics, the reception and criticism of comics, or the evolution of the comics industry in the digital age. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Comics you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Exploring History and Identity through ‘Persepolis’ Comics

Marjane Satrapi's graphic work, "Persepolis," is a moving memoir that details her early years in Iran both before and after the Islamic Revolution. First published in 2000, this ground-breaking book explores topics of identity, culture, and the intricacies of living in post-revolutionary Iran by fusing the storytelling potential of comics with graphic storytelling. This article explores the distinctive storytelling technique of "Persepolis," looking at its influence on the viewer, its thematic depth, and its historical background. "Persepolis" is a personal […]

Breaking the Mold: the Impact of Batman Killing the Joker on Comics Storytelling

The idea of Batman killing the Joker is a narrative concept that has sparked debates among comic book enthusiasts and scholars alike. It challenges the traditional ethos of one of the most iconic superheroes in comic book history, Batman, known for his strict moral code against killing. This essay delves into the implications of such a storyline, exploring how it would reshape the long-established dynamics between Batman and the Joker and its broader impact on comic book storytelling. Traditionally, Batman […]

Marvel Vs DC Compare and Contrast

The introduction of comics and graphic novels began in the 16th century in Japan, but their popularization in America took place in the 30s. From that moment on, the popularity of comics has grown in Europe and around the world. The two most famous comic book companies are, of course, Marvel and DC. While fans on both sides sometimes look to the other side with a belligerent stance, it is important to look at the similarities in both of these […]

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Female Comics and Social Justice

"In a similar vein, ideas expressed by women who identify as feminists are often dismissed under the idea that they are angry and unable to take a joke. Thus, the stand-up stage is a space where homophobic, sexist, and all together insensitive jokes not only occur, but thrive. The comedy business is hard and unforgiving to queer audiences, fueling anxiety and self-hatred, as has been pointed out by queer comedians such as Hannah Gatsby. In her standup special Nanette, Gatsby […]

Black Panther Film Review Essay

For my review essay, I chose to critique the movie Black Panther. This film was released on February 16, 2018, in Pinewood Studios, that is located in Atlanta, Georgia. The writer/director of this film goes by the name Ryan Coogler. He has co-written and directed the film Creed (2015) and Fruitvale Station (2013). The co-scriptwriter of this film goes by the name Joe Robert Cole, and the cinematographer, Rachel Morrison. A couple main characters of the cast are: Martin Freeman […]

Understanding Anime Culture: Distinguishing between True Fans and Pretenders

The True Essence of Anime Anime is for everybody, but a percentage has yet to get it. Those are fake anime fans. Those people seem to have problems when they like it, but they do not know what it is and what it stands for. Even after you try to teach them what is honest about it, they still do not know the difference between manga and a Harry Potter tale. Today, my guide to anime will describe how to […]

Development of the Image of Peter Parker

Peter Parker was brought up as an orphan by Ben and May who were his Uncle and Aunt respectively. He was introverted as he couldn't tell his neighbourhood friend Mary Jane that he had a crush on her, and he was also picked on by bullies in school. Peter alongside his friends, Harry Osborn and Mary Jane and schoolmates went on a school trip where they visited a genetics laboratory. Peter got bitten by a genetically engineered spider that had […]

The Power of Panels: Analyzing the Role of Layout and Composition in Comics

Comics, often regarded as a form of sequential art, derive their narrative strength not only from the words that inhabit speech bubbles but also from the meticulously crafted layouts and compositions that guide the reader's visual journey. The power of panels, those individual frames that make up the tapestry of a comic, lies in their ability to shape the narrative, evoke emotions, and engage the audience in a dynamic dance between text and image. At the core of comic artistry […]

Dynamic Duos and Complex Narratives: the Evolution of Character Relationships in Comics

In the kaleidoscopic universe of comic book narratives, the synergy between characters emerges as a vibrant tapestry, weaving intricate patterns of connection and evolution. The exploration of relationships, particularly within the dynamic duos that populate the pages of these graphic narratives, transcends the conventional boundaries of heroism and villainy. Instead, it unfolds as a nuanced interplay that injects layers of complexity into the vibrant landscape of comic book storytelling. Embarking on this exploration inevitably leads us to one of the […]

Exploring the Multifaceted World of Comics: a Scholarly Inquiry

This essay critically examines the complex and dynamic realm of comics, elucidating their diverse forms, cultural significance, and evolving role in shaping popular narratives. Through an interdisciplinary lens, it delves into the historical roots of comics, their artistic merits, and their enduring appeal across different cultures and demographics. Introduction: Comics have emerged as a potent medium for storytelling, blending visual artistry with narrative prowess to captivate audiences of all ages and backgrounds. From the whimsical world of superhero sagas to […]

Don't Write Comics: How To Write Comics Part 1

Don't Write Comics is a multi-part essay about writing comics, understanding what your options are, finding the right artist, and everything you need to do to get a strong comic book pitch package together.

If you’re interested in comics solely because you think it might be easy or that it might be a shortcut to another end (like having a movie made of your comic) let me just stop you right here and point you towards the exit. While it's true that some screenplays get reverse engineered into comics, and then after being successful comics are turned into successful films (30 Days of Night springs to mind), there's nothing "quick and easy" about making comics. In fact, if you’re not well connected to artists (and possibly some publishers) and/or willing to lay out your own money upfront in some cases, then it can be the very opposite of quick and easy. In order to make good comics, I truly believe you have to already love comics. It’s the love that’s going to get you through.

IDENTIFY WHAT YOU’RE WRITING

So you’ve made it this far…which means you either do have a love of comics, or you’ve decided to ignore my advice - in which case I’m not sure why you’re reading on, but whatever, you’re here!

First and foremost, I would suggest identifying what kind of book best fits your idea. Because we are assuming you are not already a well-established comics professional, we’re going to assume that you’re not pitching an ongoing series (i.e. a comic series that has no definitive end). In fact, let’s just list out what your options are and we’ll go from there.

One-Shot: A one-shot is simply that, it’s one comic book (generally between 20 and 22 pages depending on the publisher) that tells a complete story. This is probably not the venue for you as one-shots are not only very difficult to do successfully, they are also not a great jumping in point unless you’ve been commissioned to do one.

Anthologies : Anthologies are collections of short comic stories. And it's one of the best ways to get your foot in the door -- creating a solid short piece and getting it accepted to an anthology, or banding together with talented similarly motivated friends to create an anthology of your own. Short comic stories, just like prose, take a very particular set of skills, but getting a publisher to take a chance on you for one short piece (a short story could range anywhere from one page to more than a dozen) can be easier since they're risking less page space (and money) on an unknown.

Mini-Series: A mini-series is also exactly what it sounds like. It’s a small series of single issue comics – most mini-series run from 4 to 6 issues in length (so if you figure 22 pages per issue you’re looking at between 88 and 132 pages total). There are some 3-issue minis out there as well as the rare 7 or 8-issue series. Anything at 9-issues or above likely falls into a “Maxi-series” category, these are less common and generally run between 9 and 12 issues.

Ongoing: An ongoing comic is a comic that has no intended end. While it will likely end at some point, it is not designed that way. It is open-ended and continuing. Like a one-shot, this is usually not the kind of book you want to pitch unless you are established already or have been asked to pitch (in which case, why are you reading this? You already know what you're doing). An ongoing, depending on the ownership of the concept and characters, can continue on, even once the creative team leaves. For example Batman is an ongoing title.

Trade Paperback aka TPB aka Trade : Trade Paperbacks are collections of single issues that come in two forms. The first collects an arc from an ongoing run, and packages it as one volume. The second collects a completed mini-series into one volume. Most publishers these days like to release a mini-series in single issues and then, once the entire series has released, they will bundle it together into a trade and release it for a price that is slightly less than buying the issues individually. Many publishers have adopted this method of late as it not only allows them to sell the book twice – once as a monthly, and once as a trade - but it also makes it easier to get those trades onto bookstore and library shelves. To add a bit of confusion, technically a Trade Paperback can also be a Hardcover, but is usually still called a Trade (see the Batwoman hardcover edition below). Sometimes collected trades include an intro or foreward. They can also include additional material like covers, sketches, and notes from creators.

Graphic Novel: A graphic novel is considered a longer comic book and it's designed to be released as one volume, as opposed to smaller pieces. Graphic Novels are published by both comics’ publishers and by regular publishing houses with regularity. Graphic Novels are all the rage these days, and they're great things, but you should understand that they're essentially longer and complete comic books. Comics is not a bad word, though in comparison to the much more hip "graphic novel" it seems to have become one.

Webcomic : There are a million ways to do webcomics these days. From posting randomly on a blog or tumblr, to posting with a weekly or daily schedule, from releasing a page at a time that appears like a regular comics page and contributes to a larger story, to releasing only fully realized strips. There are many sites that host webcomics, and there are some VERY successful webcomics out there – like Kate Beaton’s Hark A Vagrant! – which is brilliant. But like any other medium, there's a lot of dreck out there, so while this avenue might eliminate the publisher for you, you’ll still have to find a way to rise to the top and get noticed, which can be difficult.

Most people writing a comic for the first time should aim for the mini-series category, which, if you do it correctly, can also overlap with Graphic Novels, giving you a little more flexibility about where you can pitch and how you can organize things. We’re going to talk more about how to actually write the comic in the next installment, but you should definitely be thinking a bit about length here. CAN you tell your story in 132 pages? If not, what’s it going to take?

After identifying how you should package your story, you should certainly identify what your genre is. Though I like to assume anyone that does any kind of writing knows the difference between medium and genre, I will admit that I’ve come across a lot of people that get confused about these two categories when it comes to comics, so I’ll break it down just in case. The medium is comics. Period. The genre can be anything from memoir or horror to superhero to western. You should definitely know, with ease, what genre your story falls under, or if it’s a hybrid of a couple genres – like a superhero comedy, etc.

There are other things to consider here as they relate to the artwork inside, tone, color, font, panel layout, etc., but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, further down in the process.

READ, READ, READ

If you are already a big comics fan, then you probably have already done all the reading you need to do, but if you’re fairly new to the medium then I suggest, the same way I would for prose, that the best education is reading a lot of great comics. Reading great comics can teach you all kinds of things about how much text works on a page, what kind of visuals might be a good fit for your story, and perhaps most importantly, pacing. Pacing is, for my money, one of the single greatest things that differentiate a great comic book from a good comic book. And while a lot of this is going to have to do with your artist (and picking the correct artist) down the line, you can really set the pace and tone by how you initially lay out the story in your script, thus guiding your artist to the result you’re looking for.

I would suggest reading a wide breadth of comics, so you can get a feel for everything that’s out there, but you should certainly look at books in your genre especially closely. Really examine what works and doesn’t work and why, the same way you would with prose. And while reading great books is always helpful, sometimes reading mediocre or bad books can be equally as helpful in illustrating what not to do. While I don’t urge people to waste money on bad comics, a day spent at a comic book store, reading through a lot of different books (but make sure to buy some good ones – support your local comic book store!) can teach you a lot. The library is also a great resource if you have one with a good comics & graphic novel section. Every book I mentioned above I'd recommend reading, as well as these and these !

GETTING PROFESSIONAL HELP

Writing comics is simply not the same as writing prose. Though it's closer to writing screenplays, it's still quite a bit different, even when it comes to formatting. So you may need some more specific (and more professional) help as you continue your research. While there is certainly a deluge of information out there, much of it bad, some of it is also very good. One book on my reading list when I was at the Savannah College of Art and Design studying comics (yes, that’s an actual major, if you’re insane, as I apparently am) was Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics . It was then, and is now, one of the best books I’ve ever read about comics. It breaks down both the broad and the detailed into easy to understand pieces. It’s a book I would never part with and have referred to frequently over the years. If there is a single book you buy in your attempt to begin writing comics, this is the book.

If you’re looking for a little more guidance, I’ve found Alan Moore’s Writing For Comics is a great resource about the writing side of comics, and Jessica Abel and Matt Madden’s Mastering Comics , a sequel of sorts to their popular Drawing Words & Pictures is also good. Mastering Comics is not for the light of heart, as it’s more like a great textbook and includes activities, homework, and even extra credit.

So now you have your story idea, an idea of what format it should be, what genre you’re working in, and you’ve researched your competition and looked at some educational books…I think you’re ready to write.

So come back next month to figure out where to begin. I’ll be using an example from a mini-series pitch I put together with artist Meredith McClaren this past spring to help illustrate some of the hurdles we faced and how we solved them.

About the author

Kelly Thompson is the author of two crowdfunded self-published novels. The Girl Who Would be King (2012), was funded at over $26,000, was an Amazon Best Seller, and has been optioned by fancy Hollywood types. Her second novel, Storykiller (2014), was funded at nearly $58,000 and remains in the Top 10 most funded Kickstarter novels of all time. She also wrote and co-created the graphic novel Heart In A Box (2015) for Dark Horse Comics. Kelly lives in Portland Oregon and writes the comics A-Force, Hawkeye, Jem & The Holograms, Misfits, and Power Rangers: Pink. She's also the writer and co-creator of Mega Princess, a creator-owned middle grade comic book series. Prior to writing comics Kelly created the column She Has No Head! for Comics Should Be Good.

She's currently managed by Susan Solomon-Shapiro of Circle of Confusion.

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Graphic Narratives and Comic Collections at Emory: Past, Present and Future

Why you should read comics: a manifesto.

Short History of Manga
Precursors and a New Canon
Secondary Literature and Critiques
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AfroFuturism
LGBT Activism
Experiences of Colonialism, War, and Migration/Immigration

By Dr. Brad Hawley (Oxford College, Emory)

Why do I talk about comics so much? First, I love comics and want to spread the word. Second, I edit and write comic book reviews here at the Fantasy Literature Review Site, so they are always on my mind as a writing project. Third, I am an English Professor who teaches comic books in all courses, from Freshman Writing to Crime Fiction, so I am always studying them for class and talking about them with students. Finally, I visit local schools and libraries to educate students, parents, teachers, and librarians about the importance of comics, so I am always promoting them for educational reasons.

Why do I believe comics are so important for young readers? Many people give a fairly weak defense of comics for kids, a defense that goes something like this: “Some kids really don’t like to read, and perhaps we can get them to read comics so that they don’t give up reading altogether.” As you can see, the assumption is that comics are, at best, a stepping-stone to “good” reading and possibly the least desirable material for a child to read. While I do believe that this implication is true — Comics will often appeal to students who are not interested in chapter books that are prose only — this is not the only compelling reason to encourage kids to read them. Comics are not merely a stepping-stone to prose-only novels and non-fiction; rather, they offer something very different from an educational standpoint (I certainly don’t need to make a defense for their entertainment value!).

What do they offer educationally? They teach visual literacy. As a society — as reflected in the emphasis given prose-only works by teachers, parents, and librarians — we define literacy as linguistic literacy only. Most people don’t even realize that when they use the word literacy , they are referring only to a narrow definition that completely excludes visual literacy, which is just as important as linguistic literacy. Think of how vital it is to be able to interpret the subtlety of body language and the nuances of facial expressions. Prose-only literature gives us the language, teaches children the language, with which to describe body language and facial expressions, but it does not teach students to interpret it for themselves. Only actual images can offer students the opportunity to use words to interpret what they see, and comic books allow students a chance to examine closely these visual cues of everyday communication.

In college I teach comics in my Freshman Writing courses because my job is to teach students critical reading and writing, the skills they’ll need for any discipline they eventually choose. Most English professors, since they usually study prose-only works as I did up until almost ten years after finishing my Ph.D., think of critical reading as the critical reading of words . And while all disciplines require that students have the ability to analyze written texts — at the very least when they read scholarship in their field — many disciplines require the ability to interpret and write about the visual world : Science students need to be able to write about the visual world around them or about experiments in a controlled laboratory environment. Either way, nature and lab experiments do not offer words to interpret. They offer visual elements (and often smell and touch and sound and even taste, in some cases!). And going into the field of psychology will require a student to interpret body language and facial expressions on a regular basis, as will those who go into any field that requires human interaction: A good businessman better be able to “read” people. Architects and interior designers and city planners all need the ability to understand space and how we move through it, how man-made and man-shaped environments define us and communicate meaning. These are only a few of the fields that require visual literacy.

On a final note, I don’t like the argument I often hear when people try to defend comics in a backhand way: “I finally found Maus and Persepolis and realized that there are some good comics; not all comics, thank goodness, are superhero comics.” These people usually call what they consider good comics “graphic novels” and bad comics “comics.” There are incredibly sophisticated superhero comics, particularly in the wake of Watchmen , but there were plenty before Watchmen , too. And the term comics best serves to describe monthly publications, while the term graphic novels best describes works that were conceived as stories with a clear beginning and end and with thematic unity, whether they were published all at once as a single book or published first as monthlies and then published as a book, like Daytripper and Watchmen (much like a serially produced novel by Charles Dickens).

You can see more of Dr. Hawley's ruminations on comics and his graphic novel reviews at his page on FantasyLiterature.com !

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Last Updated: Oct 4, 2023 2:20 PM
URL: https://guides.libraries.emory.edu/graphic_novels_Emory

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Comic Book Essays

Comic Book Essays (Examples)

360+ documents containing “comic book” .

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Comic book fun home fun home by.

Comic Book Fun Home "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel American writer Alison Bechdel has been known as one of the most famous writers. She is the author of world famous comic Fun Home, written in 2006. Fun Home is often referred to as Family Tragicomic. The presence of phase transitions and queerness in the comic has made it very famous among the comic with readers. The comic has highlighted childhood and youth of the author in Pennsylvania, USA. The comic highlights the ups and downs in the life of the author surrounding around complexities in the relationship of the author with her father. Some of the main themes that have been mentioned in the book include sexual orientation, the roles of different genders, suicide, dysfunctional family and most importantly the roles that are played by the literature in understanding one's own self, life and family. More than seven years were taken by the….

Works Cited

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Mariner books, Edition 001 Series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007.

comic books graphic novels and literacy

Comic books have graduated from pulp entertainment to literature and even historiography. Their role in literacy development as both medium and message has become uncontested, with both traditional superhero comic books unique graphic novels being included in school libraries (Griffith 181). Whereas comic books were once derided when compared with non-illustrated texts, now educators, librarians, and sociologists recognize the value and importance of comic books as a pedagogical tool. Schwarz notes that graphic novels can "introduce students to literature they might never otherwise encounter," stimulate interest in reading in general while also providing substantive content for literary analysis (" Graphic Novels for Multiple Literacies," 282). In " 'He's Gotta Be Strong, and He's Gotta Be Fast, and He's Gotta Be Larger than Life,': Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body," Taylor uses a gender studies perspective to demonstrate the value and importance of superhero comics in understanding processes related to the social….

Comic Book Cold War & Crime

From his high school beginnings to his entry into college life, Spider Man remained the superhero most relevant to the world of young people (Wright 234). His comic books, in fact, included some of the first mentions of the demonstrations -- the 1968 demonstrations at Columbia University. Peter Parker is in the middle of a demonstration at Empire State University, where the administration had decided to convert an empty building into a hotel for visiting alumni instead of a low-rent dormitory for minority students. He had to somehow find a middle ground between his concern for the students and the combat lawlessness as Spider Man. "As a law-upholding liberal, he finds himself caught between militant leftists and angry conservatives (234-235). He refused to join the demonstrations and wanted to listen to the university's side of the issue before taking a personal stand one way or another. The comic ended….

References Cited:

Costello, Matthew. Secret Identity Crisis: Comic Books and the Unmasking of Cold War America. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc., 2009

Horn, Maurice. The World Encyclopedia of Comics. New York: Chelsea House, 1976.

Reynolds, Richard. Super Heroes. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1992.

Rovin, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Superheroes. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.

Evolution and Impact of Comic Book Art

Evolution and Impact of Comic Book Art From the early days of yellow dog comics featuring "The Yellow Kid" at the fin de siecle, to Will Eisner's innovative use of angles and white space in "The Spirit," to the genius Carl Barks and his Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck and Gyro Gearloose characters, to Frank Frazetta's masterpiece covers of "Creepy" and "Eerie," to more modern colorful depictions of big-breasted women replete in futuristic armor, comic book art has been the source of interest for sociologists and the art community alike. To determine the evolution of comic book art and its impact on society, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature, followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues in the conclusion. eview and Discussion According to Mellegaard (2012), in recent years, "Comics have been used as propaganda to promote messages from political ideology, religion,….

Baskind, S. (2011,Winter). Masters of the comic book universe revealed!/From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and comic books. Shofar, 29(2), 165-169.

Behlman, L. (2004, Spring). The escapist: Fantasy, folklore, and the pleasures of the comic book in recent Jewish-American Holocaust fiction. Shofar, 22(3), 56.

Miller, A. (2011, January 1). Comic art and commitment: An interview with Morvandiau.

European Comic Art, 4(1), 105-107.

David Hajdu's History of a Comic Book Moral Panic

Hajdu, the Ten-Cent Plague "Since I have written about comic books, I have heard from quite a number of young adults who told me that their childhood emotional masturbation problem was started or aggravated by comic books."[footnoteRef:0] This is an actual quotation from Dr. Fredric Wertham's notorious mid-1950s attack on the comic book industry, Seduction of the Innocent, and it demonstrates the extent to which Wertham ignited a "moral panic" about comic books, and ultimately caused an entire industry to cave to public pressure and change the content and artwork of comics for more than a generation. Does anyone nowadays -- sixty years after Wertham got Congress to take an interest in the censorship of comic books -- still believe that masturbation is a serious moral plague? Does anyone believe that comic books seduce and corrupt the innocent? In an era where any child who can spell can have access to….

Bibliography

David Hajdu, The Ten-Cent Plague. New York: Farrar Straus, 2008.

Louis Menand, "The Horror: Congress Investigates The Comics." The New Yorker, March 31, 2008.

Fredric Wertham, MD. Seduction of the Innocent. Introduction by James E. Rebman.

Laurel, NY: Main Road Books Reprints, 2004.

Mini Comic Book

Brainstorming Ideas Track B: Comic Book - Mini Comic Book Final Assignment List out 1 to 3 central "theme" ideas here, again remember this is a draft version so rough ideas are fine. Considering the overwhelming popularity of AMC's The Walking Dead television series, which uses writer Robert Kirkman's and artist Tony Moore's eponymous comic book as its primary source material, I would like to create a parody version to highlight the racial discrepancies in character development found within both the show and the comics. The basic theme of my comic book would be the racial sanitization of mass media marketed primarily to White audiences, and how artists, writers and other creative contributors can subtly alter their work to cast minority characters as insignificant, underdeveloped, or supplementary to the overall narrative. While The Walking Dead TV series and comic books have enjoyed immense success, both with the subgenre of comic book readers and….

Double Like the Comic Books

As Kent he can never save lives. Superman maintains a total separation between his two selves and this allows Superman to avoid any incongruity between his two identities. Kent remains the newspaper nerd, never hinting at what he is physically capable of. His ability to keep his double hidden from the world becomes evident when he is still in school and manages to resist capitalizing on his strength to become the school's starring quarterback or on his hyper-masculinity to get girlfriends. Kent keeps his double hidden from the world just as Superman keeps his mundane identity secret. Superman never sullies his image by wearing a monkey suit and does not appear weak even in the face of doom or disaster. The only time Superman compromises the integrity of his double identity is by getting close to Lois Lane. In fact, she begins to suspect that Clark Kent might indeed be….

How Comic Books Helped Me Learn to Read

Literacy Narrative: Learning to Read with Donald Duck Comic BooksOne of my earliest memories is also one of my most important. One weekend when I was about 4 years old, I recall jerking open the closet door in my bedroom (I was in a hurry to get something inside) and the bottom of the door caught the big toenail on my right foot, pealing it back and ripping it off. As the pain washed over me and I saw the blood flow, I quickly realized this was not going to end well and I started yelling and crying at the top of my lungs. My parents rushed into my room and I managed to blurt out what happened through my sobs, but a trip to the emergency room, a spiffy new bandage and lavish attention from my parents helped reassure me that everything would soon be okay and I….

Scott Mccloud's Understanding Comics to

This accounts for the durable popularity of the superhero -- Superman can fight Nazis during orld ar II and terrorists today. A comic hero can remain the same, yet always seem relevant to the reader's daily life, just like the daily work of a newspaper political cartoonist. The reason that this type of popularity is spurned is because of the fears of mass production of written material. McCloud agrees with Kunzle that mass production is critical to the genre. McCloud calls comics "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequences, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer" (McCloud 9). This response it elicits from all readers on a visceral level, however, should not be undervalued. Part of the reason for McCloud's trumpeting of the medium, however, may be his broader-reaching focus, while Kunzle tends to focus on more narrow historical or political works designed….

Kunzle, David. History of the Comic Strip. Volume 1: The Early Comic Strip. Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1973.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Press, 1993.

Graphic Novel Watchmen by Alan Moore It

graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore. It is basically about what inspired Watchmen's themes, story, and characters. As well as what Watchmen has influenced and how it has been influenced by other comics and heroes like Batman and uperman among others. Watchman and its influences Watchman, authored by Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins was created in 1986 / 1987 in response to contemporary anxieties and as means of critiquing the superhero concept. Watchman recreates history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1950s who helped the U..A. win the war against Vietnam and later is involved in preventing nuclear war with the U...R. Most former superheroes have retired or are working for the government, so contumely freelance vigilantes are arbitrarily and voluntarily doing the job of protecting the country. The protagonists actively fight and strategically plot to help retired superheroes survive and they work to stave off….

Amaya, Erik. (September 30, 2008) Len Wein: Watching the Watchmen. Comic Book Resources..

Cooke, J.B. (August 2000) Alan Moore discusses the Charlton-Watchmen Connection. Comic Book Artist.

Contino, Jennifer M. (December 28, 2008. ) Who Watches Rich Johnston's Watchmensch. Comicon.com.

Kavanagh, B. (October 17, 2000.) The Alan Moore Interview: Watchmen characters. Blather.net.

Guts The Book Guts Companies

The SAS Institute provides "subsidized Montessori child care, free snacks, and unlimited sick time for staff." The result of that impressed Elsen; "An industry-high employee retention rate." And Elsen couldn't help but be moved by the innovative way in which Southwest Airlines treats employees. The employees at Southwest Airlines are "taught" how the profit-sharing aspect of business works because management stuffs "comic-book style financial statements into Cracker Jack boxes." By seeing the financial realities of day-to-day business dynamics, Southwest Airlines workers know how to "...unleash their creativity to shrink costs and beef up the bottom line," Elsen explains. She even promotes the book for libraries by suggesting "innovative management is always a winning theme" when it comes to "public and academic library business collections." Still another review of the book - by Leigh Rivenbark in HR Magazine - explains that what the Freibergs have offered readers is a strategy that puts employees….

Elsen, Carol J. (2003). Guts! Companies That Blow the Doors Off Business-as-Usual. Library Journal, 128(20), p. 134.

Freiberg, Kevin, & Freiberg, Jackie. (2004). Guts! Companies That Blow the Doors Off Business-as-Usual. New York: Doubleday.

Hendricks, Mark. (2004). Don't be a hero? Not if this book has anything to say about it.

Entrepreneur, 32(3), p. 29.

Account of Ariel Schrag Reading From Her New Novel

Ariel Schrag is a cartoonist, television writer, and novelist. Schrag is perhaps best known through her television work, on the groundbreaking lesbian-themed Showtime series "The L Word" (for which she wrote over two seasons in 2006-7) and the HBO series "How to Make It In America" in 2011. Schrag first came to prominence, however, in the cartooning scene, with her series of autobiographical graphic novels in the late 1990s about being a lesbian in high school in Berkeley, California -- where she indeed grew up, attended high school, and started publishing these cartoon chronicles of her teenage lesbian adventures. Shrag graduated from high school in Berkeley in 1998 and attended Columbia University: she has lived in New York City since that time, although she has now moved from Morningside Heights to a more Bohemian spot in Brooklyn. And it was in Brooklyn that Schrag read from her newly-published novel, Adam….

Comics With Scott Mccloud Scott

Indeed, by immediately demonstrating the intent to create a comic strip-based explanation of the field of comic through corresponding exposition and illustration, the author both contends and shows that comics can have purpose, intelligence and even depth. This chapter is driven by the topic of providing definition for the term comic. The author succeeds well at breaching this subject, using the simplicity of language and the emotional appeal of his cartoon characters to introduce the uninitiated to the selected subject matter. McCloud describes comics according to the words of "Master comics artist ill Eisner," who "uses the term sequential art when describing comics. Taken individually, the pictures below [as shown in the comic] are merely that -- pictures." (McCloud, 5) the author goes on to contend that when sequenced, even with only two images instead of one, the 'art of comics emerges.' The core impetus for this definitional discussion is….

McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding Comics. Tundra Publishing.

Hitchhiker's Guide Douglas Adam's Comic Work of

Hitchhiker's Guide ouglas Adam's comic work of science fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, satirizes both society and science. As the story opens, protagonist Arthur ent is railing against the local government for its decision to raze his home, which is in the way of highway construction. ent argues that he was never made aware of the decision, though officials assure him the plans had been on display for a sufficient amount of time, albeit "on the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'"(Adams 2010, p. 9). Similarly, planet Earth is in the way of hyperspace bypass construction project, for which plans were also available for review. Bureaucratic red tape ensured the plans were never seen and ent flees the planet with his alien friend Ford Prefect before it explodes. They hitchhike their way through….

Dent and Prefect travel through space by hitchhiking, picked up by spacecraft within the improbable nanosecond during which contact could possibly occur. They travel from planet to planet in a "nothingth of a second," making their travel faster than the speed of light, given the distances over which they traverse. Although this mode of travel has been theoretical supported by the theory of special relativity, it has obviously never been done except within the pages of books such as Adams's. In reality, it seems as improbable as Adams' physics of improbability.

Some of the science in Hitchhiker is accurate, or nearly so. Dent's alien friend is from a small planet "six hundred light-years away in the near vicinity of Betelgeuse" (Adams, p. 22); Betelgeuse is, in fact, 640 light-years from Earth. On page 26, the Vogons admonish Earthlings for failure to involve themselves in the "local" affairs of Alpha Centuri, "only" four light years away; Alpha Centuri is 4.4 light years away (Dickinson 1999, Tyson, Liu and Irion 2000). On page 60, Adams refers to "a nice hot cup of tea" as an example of a strong Brownian Motion producer. Brownian motion refers to the random movement of particles suspended in a fluid. Tea could, in fact, serve as an example.

Some of the science is deliberately ridiculous, such as the computer called the "Bambleweeny 57 Sub-Meson Brain" (Adams, p. 60). Adams also blends science and satire. On page 33, he lets the alien Vogons debunk the theory of evolution by having them ignore nature and have elective surgery to "rectify the gross anatomical inconveniences" that made

Dime Novel Has a Specific

Vast lands were open, and adventure seemed rampant. In fact, so compelling was the idea of the American West that Theodore Roosevelt noted, "More and more as the years go by this Republic will find its guidance in the thought and action of the West, because the conditions of development in the West have steadily tended to accentuate the peculiarly American characteristics of its people" (Roosevelt). The frontier was still available through the Dime Novel; adventures with the American Indian, gold mining, vast herds of buffalo, and even the railroad were popular; must like space adventures today. This was the great unknown, and, through a series of essays, historian Frederick Jackson Turner noted that while most of the West was at least mapped, the future of the United States would be decided in the West -- thus, once the frontier became an historical relic, it was fair game to….

How has Greek mythology been reinterpreted and incorporated into modern storytelling mediums?

Greek mythology has been reinterpreted and incorporated into modern storytelling mediums in a variety of ways, including: 1. Literature: Many authors have drawn inspiration from Greek mythology in their works of fiction, reimagining the stories of gods, heroes, and monsters in new and unique ways. For example, Madeline Miller’s novel "Circe" retells the story of the witch from The Odyssey, while Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series features modern-day demigods who must navigate the world of Greek mythology. 2. Film and television: Greek mythology has been a popular source of inspiration for filmmakers and television producers, with numerous movies and TV shows incorporating....

Comic Book Fun Home "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel American writer Alison Bechdel has been known as one of the most famous writers. She is the author of world famous comic…

From his high school beginnings to his entry into college life, Spider Man remained the superhero most relevant to the world of young people (Wright 234). His comic…

Evolution and Impact of Comic Book Art From the early days of yellow dog comics featuring "The Yellow Kid" at the fin de siecle, to Will Eisner's innovative use of…

Hajdu, the Ten-Cent Plague "Since I have written about comic books, I have heard from quite a number of young adults who told me that their childhood emotional masturbation problem…

Brainstorming Ideas Track B: Comic Book - Mini Comic Book Final Assignment List out 1 to 3 central "theme" ideas here, again remember this is a draft version so rough…

As Kent he can never save lives. Superman maintains a total separation between his two selves and this allows Superman to avoid any incongruity between his two identities.…

Education - Homeschooling

Literacy Narrative: Learning to Read with Donald Duck Comic BooksOne of my earliest memories is also one of my most important. One weekend when I was about 4 years…

This accounts for the durable popularity of the superhero -- Superman can fight Nazis during orld ar II and terrorists today. A comic hero can remain the same, yet…

graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore. It is basically about what inspired Watchmen's themes, story, and characters. As well as what Watchmen has influenced and how it has…

Creative Writing

Women's Issues - Sexuality

Art (general)

Book Report

Seminar Paper

Vast lands were open, and adventure seemed rampant. In fact, so compelling was the idea of the American West that Theodore Roosevelt noted, "More and more as the…

Culture doesn't fit in a box. Neither do we.

Comics Academe: How To Write a Comics Dissertation

Out there, somewhere, is a woman who writes about comics who wants to turn that writing to a comics dissertation or thesis, or at least I sure hope there is! The field is wide open and ready for more. For the uninitiated, a dissertation or thesis is the long essay or project that serves as the capstone for most advanced degrees (especially doctoral degrees) in the sciences and humanities. There is some degree of coursework or class-type work in most programs, but this is the project that determines whether or not you earn the degree. The nature and form of these projects has been under debate in recent years , but the actual production of some object that concludes the PhD remains a constant. The internet has worked alongside the fast-moving and collaborative nature of digital scholarship in general to jolt the usually slow-to-change academic establishment. By making wide varieties of information more available to a wider public and expanding the possibilities of collaboration, digital forms of scholarship have disturbed the idea of authority. This idea of authority is what allows some group to grant a degree to someone else. You can see why this sort of debate can be disturbing!

What I’ll talk about most here is writing about comics in a dissertation as opposed to writing a dissertation as a comic. Be warned: the minute you start pairing talk of “comics” and “dissertation” people are going to assume you’re writing a comic. For some of you, this will be a fantastic way to go. If your committee has trouble imagining your dissertation as a comic, you might point out Nick Sousanis’s recently published comics dissertation Unflattening . His process bringing the dissertation into comics form is lovingly documented all over the internet by academics and comics people alike, such as here , here , and here . Such a precedent is wonderful to present to a wary committee. If their hesitation comes from fears that you won’t be taken seriously, it’s nice to have a publication from Harvard University Press to point out. Of course, you should listen to your committee, more on them in a moment.

I, personally, want to see more dissertations with/about/using comics in a variety of fields, and I want everyone to have a good time. So, I’m going to offer you some advice. This particular set of advice features an emphasis on surviving a comics-centric humanities-based academic endeavor. I’ve survived it. You can, too, Woman Who Wants to Write about Comics in a Dissertation.

Find Your Peers

If you want to use comics as your subject or a major player in your dissertation, you want find your comics-studying peers as quickly as you can. Especially if you are adding comics to some other academic field, you should start seeing out your comics-peers and comics study well before you are ready to dissertate. Don’t dive in half-ready. Besides doing diligent research on comics themselves, include a search for comics-related dissertations already around.

ComicsResearch.org maintains a list of comics-related dissertations and theses that anyone can access, but use the full power of your university library and databases to seek out a wide array of related projects before you begin your own. I can almost guarantee that you’ll learn something from the scope of the dissertations that have come before yours.

Extensive research before you begin in earnest can assuage what my friends call that feeling of “disencouragement” that comes when you find some work that looks a lot like your thing but not exactly like your thing. You want similar work that assures you you have something to add to an active conversation, not to find that you’re not as original as you thought! Doing this before you solidify your committee can help you figure out who you want on it, as well.

Find Your Committee/Pick Your Audience

The Dissertation Committee in most graduate programs is made of three or four senior scholars who already have the degree you are striving to earn. These people are the gatekeepers for your degree and the primary audience for your project. As such, it’s important to choose wisely. Not every program will have a faculty member that uses comics the same way you do in your work (some day I should write a post about choosing a graduate program).

The head of the committee (the head of your Voltron) is the most important member. You want someone who plays well with other faculty and who has the most depth of knowledge around the particular project you are creating. You want an organized person who answers your emails in a reasonable amount of time and gives you critical feedback. You want them to challenge you. The rest of the committee follows this person. Make sure they are game for the kind of project you are pitching! You want this person to be comfortable criticizing your work and giving you a bit of a hard time. That makes it better. You also want someone who can understand why your work is of value. That makes it better, too.

Committees are hard to put together anyway, but sometimes committees on comics projects can be extra difficult. In the United States, we struggle mightily with a stigma around comics that not only marks them as lowbrow, but in the 1950s, as anti-academic and even anti-American. Many of the people in academia ow grew up around these ideas. Don’t shout them down! Listen to their objections carefully. Take their advice. Make your project better than they expect it is possible to be.

Form a Writing Group

Support for your comics project can come from other areas, too. Your writing group might be gleaned from a group of fellow fans or people you find through social media who share an interest in your niche of the comics world. I found academic friends over at Sacred and Sequential who share my love of both comics and the study of religion. It was great having all these scholars to talk to during the process. Sometimes having confirmation that there are other people out there studying comics seriously was an incredible boost.

Push it FURTHER

Dissertations require an incredible amount of work; make it work that means something to you. Once you’ve done your review of the available literature, try to make your project do something other than what’s been done. Inevitably, you’re going to knock against other people doing this comics work, but the field is still so wide open that you’re also going to find yourself enjoying these brief moments of fellowship with other people who value this work.

We live in a delightful age of interdisciplinarity. The academy is noticing that fields that play well with others have much to offer the world. If you’re thinking, “I’m not getting a fine arts degree, how can I talk about comics in the field of X?”, let me give you an idea: My degree is a PhD in Religious and Theological Studies from a joint program between the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology. My concentration is in Biblical Interpretation. Nothing about this screams comics? Hold onto your hats! My dissertation is called “ Imagining the Scandal of the Cross with Graphic/Novel Reading . ” In this study, I read the crucifixion of Jesus through the lens of several modern comics that treat the idea in a range of provocative ways in order to breath life into an interpretation of the views of two New Testament authors. In short, I show how comics can help shake up biblical scholars when their imaginations are stuck.

I think there are plenty of other fields that could use this sort of a shake up in all kinds of ways. After all, if you can think it, there’s a comic about it. I see no reason why there can’t be a dissertation about it, too. Because comics is still a newish field—maybe it’s not that new anymore, but the study of religion and the Bible is either, about 100, around 350, or maybe closer to 1700 years old, depending on how you’re counting. This kind of time gives fields the chance to become established in a way that comics studies is only beginning to enjoy in some places. But, comics studies has a youth that makes it nimble. We have a chance to make the conversation more than defensive and on into something truly meaningful—about the ways we tell our human stories to one another with text and pictures in whatever combination we please.

Don’t Give Up

In every dissertation process—every single one—there is at least one moment where you are going to feel like you are at the end of your writing-rope. Dissertations are painful. Be gentle with yourself. This process requires support from a network of people, some of whom you will know and some of whom you will only read. Draw strength from these people, both the living and the written. Understand yourself as a part of a community of scholars and writers.

If you’re writing a dissertation on comics or with comics or that is in any way comics-related, you’ll find other people can sometimes be a unique challenge. Instead of allowing these nay-sayers to control the conversation in your head, immerse yourself in the work of people who take these fantastic creations seriously, who find them worthy of critique. Find strength in the magic of comics. Let yourself feel a shiver occasionally when you recognize a moment of true invisible art . Don’t give up. The rest of us need your work!

Dr. Elizabeth Coody completed her dissertation in May 2015. She loves her committee. However, she’s still not quite over the experience, and would like to do what she can to help those who follow.

Elizabeth Coody

10 Tips for Writing an Extended Essay on Comic Books

Over the past few decades, comic books have emerged as an art form with a serious purpose and an adult audience. Today, thousands of comics are published in a variety of print and online formats. Consequently, a growing number of writers are producing extended essays in which they attempt to analyze and understand the complex world of comics and the audiences who consume them. However, the longer the essay, the more difficult it can be to sustain a good idea over many pages. In this post, we’ll look at ten tips for writing an extended essay on comic books to help you produce the best possible essay when you start writing about comics.

1. Read comics. It may serve to state the obvious, but you need to actually read comics in order to write about them. Before you begin your essay, start by reading the comics you are writing about. The more that you read, the more you will understand the overarching themes and ideas that animate the comics industry. If you don’t have time to read every issue, choose a representative sampling so you can get a sense of how the comic has changed over time.

2. Read what others have written. It’s important to know what other people have written about the same comics you’re writing about. There is no point in writing a massive essay only to discover that someone else has already written about the same topic. Instead, carefully review the literature so you can develop your own unique ideas.

3. Understand what is unique about comics. Comics are a unique art form, but it is important to understand what makes them different from other types of literature. Your essay should highlight these differences and adjust the theoretical underpinnings to account for the differences and to ensure that your explanatory analysis fits the topic.

4. Outline your essay. Before you start writing, begin with an outline. This will help you to stay on track and will also help to ensure that you are pacing out the main topics of your essay evenly across its length in order to sustain the reader’s interest. You don’t want to run out of ideas before you get to the end.

5. Collect your research before you write. Gather and organize your research before you start writing. By pulling out key quotes and developing your ideas about what information you’ll need and how to use it, you’ll be able to write more quickly and efficiently without stopping to gather more facts.

6. Save the introduction for the end. The introduction is often the most difficult part to write, especially if you aren’t entirely sure where your paper is going. If you save it until the end of the essay, you can create a more comprehensive and compelling introduction because you already know how the paper is going to end. That way you’ll be able to set the reader up to expect the ending you have coming for them.

7. Remember to request permission for illustrations. Comic book art is generally protected by copyright except for some older titles whose copyrights were not renewed on time or have expired. Always obtain permission from the copyright holder before reproducing any comic art in an essay to ensure that you stay on the right side of the law. While reproducing a single panel is often considered fair use, there are some companies that can be very litigious and many not see it that way. Save yourself legal fees by doing things the right way.

8. Take breaks as you write. > Writing an essay from start to finish in one sitting is a recipe for disaster. Avoid stress and keep your mind fresh by taking breaks between sections of the essay to give yourself a chance to rest and refresh.

9. Proofread carefully. It’s always a good idea to revise and proofread several times. The longer the essay, the more likely you are to miss something important after just one proofread. Try reading sentences in reverse order to give yourself a fresh perspective and catch lingering errors.

10. Seek out professional help. If all else fails and your extended essay isn’t quite coming together, look for someone who could provide you with professional essay writing help online to get you over the hump. There are many great pros online who are willing to help you develop your paper into the best it can be.

About Author

Giovanni Aria

Geo, is the Guido of Greatness, the King of Comics and the Toa of Techies. Its not cool until Geo certifies it cool. He likes everything from Archie to WWE and everything in-between, as long as its funny, edgey, or over the top exciting.

See author's posts

Survey 1 Comic Strip Essays: Melanie Gillman on “Polly and Her Pals”

Note: This is the sixth in a series of essays written (and, in this case, drawn) by the current Class of 2012 for Survey of the Drawn Story I, CCS’s comics history class. They are posted here in approximate chronological order of when their chosen subjects—comic strips—were either first published, or in their heyday.

These were class assignments, and should be enjoyed in that context; these are not necessarily indicative of the work the individual artists/writers would do in paid professional venues. This is work assigned in class with a tight deadline, completed while juggling many other class assignments. That said, it is all of high caliber, or we would not be sharing it with you here. Enjoy!

Students have the option to either write an essay, or to draw their essay in comics form. This is the first of the comics-format essays we’re presenting; enjoy! There are more to come. Survey I instructor Stephen Bissette has added the author info and “further reading” notes after this comics-format essay.

NOTE: To enlarge these comics pages for easier reading, just click on the image itself to open larger scans in another window.

________________________________________________

________________________________________

About the author/student:

Melanie Gillman ‘s blog/website Contriveathon is here, and it’s full of art, writing, comics, links, and more; explore and enjoy!
Melanie also has shared her comics online at Sub-Scribe (here’s the link)
and at ColoredChalk.com (here’s that link), among others.
(PS: You can also visit Melanie on Facebook, if she chooses to ‘friend’ you, natch.)

About the Blog

Favorite places.

Visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California

Visit the Ohio State University (OSU) Cartoon Library & Museum

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Comic Books and Picture Books Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Comic books

Picture books.

Comic books are also known as funny books or comic magazines that service both the young generation and also the old. Comic books contain different and individual scenes that are followed by dialog and also prose that are descriptive. Comics made the first appearance in the early 1934 in the United States though this was a reprinting of the earlier copies of comic strips. The reprinting of the strips into a general book earned the combined comic strips the term comic book. The comic book “prisoners of the sun: the adventures of Tintin is one example of the comic books and is a result of many comic strips that have been brought together to create a book (Doonan, 1993).

Modern comic books do not always give humorous stories but vary in genre. Majority of comic books in the United States and also in China are in the category of comic books that do not always offer humor. There are many genres under which comic books fall. Such examples include superhero comics such as wonder woman, X-men, Spiderman among others, adventure comics; some depict action, war and other stories. In Japan, Manga comics are very popular (Barry, Abel & Madden, 2008). Other genres of comics include science fiction comic books and fantasy books. In the science fiction comic books they have characters that are portrayed in a futuristic setting whereby there is advancement in technology and many times are seen to travel through time and space. Fantasy comics as the word suggests involving having mythological and fantasy creatures. The Conan Barbarian series is fantasy comic book. The horror comic books also as the title suggests have creatures such as zombies, vampires among other frightening creatures. The adventure comic books contain real-life characters such as detectives and police persons in battles against offenders. There are also romance comic books that mainly focus on the older generation as they are filled with themes of relationships and love.

Picture books mainly aim at the older generation and also the young children as they are a combination of both visual and also verbal narratives. The major characteristics of picture books are that they aim at different age sectors. Those that are specifically for children have words that children can understand but cannot read. In this case the parent reads to the child before the child can learn to read by itself. Picture books for young children have also termed board books as they are covered by cardboards for durability when the child plays with the book. Other categories also target the older children and picture books such as the “Tibet through the red box” is an example that targets the older generation (Doonan, 1993).

In picture books there is a balance between the pictures and also the words but the pictures usually have a much deeper effect than the words. Just as the comic books there are different kinds of genres into which picture books can be categorized into. They include the magic realism, literature that is usually in most cases traditional, animal stories or what can be termed as anthropomorphic. The picture books also have a category of non-fictional books.

The similarities of both the comic books and the picture books are that they both entail having sequential pictures. The sequential part of both books makes it easy to tell a story from the pictures. Another similarity between the two is that they both involve words other than the exceptional comic and picture books that are wordless. Among the main difference between the comic and picture books is the number of pictures that are found on a single page. Comics also are able to show the invisible or nonverbal link in characters through elements such as speech balloons and sound effects. They also both have different categories into which they can be classified. There are similarities in these categories such as nonfictional books which have real characters, magic realism where there are fantasy creatures and environments among others (Barry, Abel & Madden, 2008).

It would not prove wise to translate the comic Herge’s Prisoners of the Sun into a picture book for a variety of reasons. There is a need for high reading competency in the 21 st century as this happens to be visual culture. Comic books such as Herge’s Prisoners of the Sun give a fine representation of printed words and pictures, a unique combination that allows the reader to have an understanding of the sequence of activities and also the ability to interpret the nonverbal gestures. In the information society the comics are part of the print media. Comics offer a pervasive and influential media form as part of a popular culture. To prove that there is great interest in comics there have been several conferences held. There have been conferences and seminars such as the International Conference on Graphical novel that was held at the University of Massachusetts in 1998 and the Annual Conference on Comics at the University of Florida in 2000. According to Edmunds (page 1) although comic books offer recreational reading they are also very useful in art and literature and are thus finding their way into classrooms. According to Barry (1997, pages 75-78) images communicate more deeply than words. In comic books where there is a combination of both words and pictures or illustrations, words become secondary to pictures. It would thus not prove effective if comic books were converted into picture books. This is because of the need to cultivate the reading culture among all generations. Also it includes developing a child’s reading skills if he or she can interpret the nonverbal gestures and words. Comics offer more pictures and illustrations than picture books. It would thus prove very important to have the comic books rather than convert them into picture books.

It therefore remains that converting comic books such as the Herge’s Prisoners of the Sun that have held interest in many people into picture n books might not have the best effect as anticipated. For comic books to be seen as a success it means that it either has critics who have taken notice of the book or it has massive followers (Doonan, 1993). A classic comic book such as the Herge’s Prisoners of the Sun started as a comic strip before it was reprinted again into a book which is now known as Herge’s Prisoners of the Sun comic book. It holds an era in terms of people who can relate to it.

Comic books on the other hand create a new teaching era whereby they are used as supplements in classes. This is because they can hold the young reader’s attention for long as they incorporate the pictures and also the words. It also helps the reader to interpret the nonverbal gestures which are very critical in the 21 st century.

It therefore remains that converting classic comic books such as Herge’s Prisoners of the Sun would not result in any success. It would be just another picture book that does not reach out to many people. In the categories of which comic books can be generalized, converting the comic book into a picture book would decrease the genres into which comic books can be generalized or be classified.

Barry, L. Abel, J. & Madden, M. (2008). The Best American Comics. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin press.

Doonan, J. (1993). Looking at pictures in picture books . South Woodchester, GB: Thimble press.

The "Cold Journey" Film by Martin Defalco
Chapter 1 in “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud
Comic nature of Lysistrata
Chekhov’s vs. Oats’ “The Lady with the Pet Dog”
Bradbury’s The Veldt & Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper
Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own vs. Wallace’s A Simple Poem for Virginia Woolf
Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe: Synthesized Approach
Separation in Two Stories from “Interpreter Of Maladies” by Jhumpa
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

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Bibliography

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Writing Tips
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Using comics to teach literacy

Essays by Shalon Sims on education, creative writing and literacy

Diversity, Multimodality & Comics

Teaching children’s literature using sequential visual narratives

Part 1: How comics were squeezed out of my life

Until recently, perhaps the last five years, I looked down on comics and visual narratives. As a young reader, I read Archie and some Wonderwoman; however, I didn’t relate to the male protagonists of most comics, and found Archie-style comics repetitive and boring. By nine or ten years old, comics were already firmly classified as ‘baby’ books. As I grew, my tastes in literature narrowed in direct proportion to the extent my English teachers focused on “classic” literature—Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Dickens, etc. I took the hint embedded in the hidden curriculum: classics good, comics bad. Later on, in university, my tastes narrowed further as I studied Joyce, Hemmingway and Tolstoy. I grew up in a low income home with a mother who read murder mysteries voraciously. I wanted a different life and knew to get that life, I had to quit reading ‘trash.’ So I took my professors’ prejudices a step further: I stopped reading fiction entirely. That was how comics were squeezed out of my life.

Excerpt from Hulk, 2016 #9, Marvel

About five years into my fiction strike, lacking options, I picked up a novel by Ursula Le Guin from a dusty window ledge in an old farmhouse. Reading The Left Hand of Darkness that summer was a mind-blowing experience that changed the course of my life. I realized that fiction, especially speculative fiction, can be deeply philosophical; it can open up new ways of seeing the world, and make people question their beliefs and values, and how society operates. Since then it’s been a slow process of opening back up to literature I had been taught to look down upon: science fiction, horror and now also comics. Comics have been the last bastion of my prejuidice, due in large part to the way they tend to stereotypically present females. Especially Manga is something I’ve always viewed as sexualizing women and had disdain for. However, in the last two years I’ve started to actively explore comics and graphic novels as they’ve bubbled up in my awareness. With personal and often hilarious web comics, minicomics, graphic medicine, and of course popular long-form comic stories (graphic novels), I’ve begun to see how comics can contain deeply meaningful stories that explore the human condition. What finally cemented the deal for me was the realization that I wanted to tell part of my latest novel in comic form. In pursuit of that, I’m taking a comics creative writing course, and have been studying the medium extensively. What I’ve found is that comics are uniquely suited to address difficult topics in ways that are accessible and engaging. They have a fascinating history and complexity that belies their apparent simplicity. They have excellent educational applications, and most delightfully they, they are a great source of authentic diverse fiction. I’ll go into these features of comics in more detail in parts 2 and 3 of this essay.

What is a Graphic Novel, by Jessica Abel

Comics vs. graphic novels.

I’ve made a conscious decision to use the word comics in this essay, rather than graphic novel or sequential narrative. The choice is a conscious attempt to rid myself of the literary and literacy prejudices that were instilled in me by my formal schooling. The foundation of those prejudices is the idea that literacy and literature is a hierarchy rather than a spectrum. That there is literature and then there are ‘trashy’ beach reads. That there are academic essays, and then there are grandma’s recipes. That there are graphic novels and then there are comics. The term graphic novel was developed by one of the fathers of comics, Will Eisner. According to Chute (2017), Eisner wanted his comic book to be “received in bookstores alongside “regular” books… so he came up with the description “a graphic novel” to emphasize its literary qualities.” Chute goes on to say, “Most cartoonists I know don’t love the phrase “graphic novel,” for several reason…. One reason is that it can seem pretentious, like a bid for prestige that attaches to the term “novel.” For this reason, I’ve chosen to stick with the word comics.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Part 2: comics and multimodal learning .

So why all this focus on my decision to use the term comics instead of graphic novel? I believe it’s this attachment to traditional literacies, novels in particular, that runs counter to my new understanding of multiliteracies and multimodal learning, and reinforces my childhood experience of shame around my reading choices. In the past, literacy was defined, basically, as the ability to read and write. In today’s world, literacy is about being able to communicate. According to Kress (2003), literacy in the modern age involves encoding and decoding meaning from a variety of different symbol systems. This can include things like music, videogames, social media, dancing, playing sports and even cooking. My personal definition of literacy is a little broader, and perhaps a tad outlandish, but I’m partial to it:

My definition of literacy

Literacy refers to the communication skills that empower us to participate in society as active and engaged people who can navigate and move within and between various social spaces comfortably and effectively.

My definition goes beyond communication and focuses on the goal of communication, which is at its most basic, to feel good. Whether we use sign language or English, whether we read murder mysteries or Doestoyovski, whether we write academic papers or recipe cards, the point is to engage in and contribute to life, our families, and our society. As a teacher candidate, learning about multi-literacies this past year has been both exciting and uncomfortable. I’ve had to address my prejudices head on, and come to terms with the fact that I’ve been very closeminded and judgemental. I’m very uncomfortable admitting that my student’s gaming abilities are a valid type of literacy in which they are fluent. However, I’m simultaneiously excited by the opportunity to do things differently, to outgrow my prejudice and see a new way of looking at literacy, and learn new ways to engage my students in building on their interests and literacy skills. But where to start?

Comics, storyboarding and multimodality

Why not start with comics? Comics are, by their nature, multi-modal, containing both text, visuals and one could argue, sound (Splat! Kaboom!). Comics have excellent classroom applications, one of which is storyboarding. Storyboarding requires “visualizing the setting, characters and actions, then describing that visualization through written words or the use of drawn or photographed images. And finally, planning the captioning, narrative or dialogue that will go with the visual renderings” (Delveccio, 2020). Sounds a lot like a comic to me, except perhaps in purpose. One of the purposes of storyboards is to guide the creation of something else—a story, an idea, a plan. A storyboard is not usually the finished product, but rather a stepping stone. But another purpose of storyboards (and other multimodal responses), is to give students an opportunity to reflect on a given text (I use the word text in a broad sense) and activate their knowledge by transforming the text into a different mode. In other words, personalizing it—making meaning. And isn’t this the purpose of all art? To reflect on something and activate our knowledge by transforming it into something meaningful? Reflection and personalization are the cornerstones of learning, I’ve come to understand. Without them, we’re simply memorizing.

Excerpt from Making Comics, by Lynda Barry

, reflecting on reflection.

As a student, when my teachers assigned reflection as an activity, I interpreted that as an invitation to fart around. Yes, free time! (fist pump) No one explained how reflection would benefit me, and it seemed, especially in comparison to worksheets, pop-quizzes and flashcards, to be a supremely lazy way to “learn.” What was the point of it, anyway? Now, after a year in the B.Ed and having taken quite a few education theory and practice courses, I’m starting to realize how essential reflection is in the learning process. I could go so far as to say that reflection is the foundation of learning, without which nothing useful or worthwhile can be built. If I can’t help my students find a way to make what they’re learning personally meaningful, can I really say that they’re learning? And while I believe that reflection is the engine that drives learning, it’s not just any type of reflection, as my childhood experiences show.

In her article The Impact of Descriptive Feedback on Learning and Teaching, Rodgers (2006) gives an incedibly thoughtful model of reflection that includes much of what might be essential in a well-crafted multimodal response. This model delighted me, so I’d like to spend some time reflecting on it. The first step to reflection is presence—to be present with an experience. To be in the moment. Then we describe what we experienced, which I see as a semiotic journaling where we are reminded by Rodgers that “one is able to describe an event or a person only to the extent to which he or she has been present to it/him/her.” [Pardon the awkward pronouns] So, the next step after description is to think critically about the experience, and this means relating the experience to our personal understanding of the world. Then we take action. We create. We protest. We respond. Giving students opportunities to respond in multimodal ways ensures they have a higher chance of success in all the parts of reflection. Multimodal responses draws on their strengths to personalize the information (the experience) we’ve had as a class, thereby making it more likely they will learn something. This brings us to Part 3 of my essay, which explores comics and diversity.

Excerpt from Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

Part 3: diversity in comics.

One of the most frequent things I hear about comics in the classroom is that they level the playing field, helping “diverse” students enter the class discourse. These “diverse” students are often painted as having “deficits” in their learning, such as ESL, CLD, ELL, reluctant readers, refugees, special needs students. Whatever you want to call them, they’re viewed as requiring easier texts. But comics aren’t easy, and it’s a tragic misconception that they are. Comics can challenge all students in new and exciting ways. And best of all, they challenge students while engaging them. There is something disarming about comics that makes them especially suited to deal with very serious and difficult topics. Perhaps it’s just the style of drawing. The cartoon faces. Scott McCloud (1994) would say that cartoons use iconography, abstract symbols, that enable the reader to identify more easily with the character/world and make their own meaning from the text. According to McCloud, comics require more input from the reader to fill in the blanks. Comics are not just the combination of words and image (that would mean a picture book is a comic), but rather something that supersedes both.

Excerpt from Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud

I think it’s this use of iconography that enables comics creators to deal with very dark subjects. Take Maus, for example. The characters are animals, but Spiegelman commonly depicts himself as a man wearing a mouse mask. The ties holding the mask on are often visible from the back. On first glance the following sequence is funny, but on further reflection it’s quite disturbing. This is where Spiegelman finally takes his mask off to reveal what’s underneath.

Excerpt from MetaMaus, by Art Spiegelman & Hillary Chute

It reminds me of that scene in A Few Good Men where Jack Nicholson screams, “You can’t handle the truth!” And maybe that’s the truth. Comics make it possible for the reader to enter into these dark spaces that we can’t normally handle. Is it a cop-out? Maybe. But should we have to read heavy historical tomes of the Holocaust to call ourselves informed about it? What is important for us and our students to know about the Holocaust? Some facts and figures, yes, but more importantly the human impact.

Authentic Voices in Comics

One of the key features of Maus that makes it a truly rich educational resource is that it’s the tale of a survivor. It was an #ownvoices text before there ever was such a hashtag. In the TedTalk, The Danger of a Single Story, Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about how we build up narratives of other people, groups, ethnicities that choke off the ability for those people to tell their own, nuanced stories. By doing so, we remove their humanity. Even though we might mean well and might even be trying to help a good cause, as outsiders we often just confirm our biases. As Mallan (2013) so aptly put it in her essay on narrative empathy, “to consider ourselves empathetic makes us feel good about ourselves, but often in a simplistic way that requires binaries such as victim and saviour, superior and inferior, and that acknowledges individual and often one-off acts of empathy while failing to address institutional, corporate, systemic abuses of power that are much more toxic, powerful, and oppressive than anything an individual can commit or, conversely repair.” The solution to this narrative blindness is to let people tell their own stories. To listen to people tell their own stories. That’s why it’s so important to have authentic own voice stories. And this is where comics are so incredibly rich and resourceful. There is something about the history of the medium, its publishing, and perhaps the medium itself that has opened the door for people from all walks of life to share diverse, own voices stories that shock, haunt and engage. The majority of diverse comics I’ve seen, from a memoir of what it’s like to live with bipolar , or the memoir of growing up as a Chinese American , to the memoir of growing up in Iran in the Islamic Revolution , comic creators don’t give pat answers to life’s problems, or simplistic renderings of these complex life experiences. They show explicitly the struggle, paradox, and confusion that inhabits the forming of identity and what it’s like to live in a world as an ‘other.’

Going back to school as an adult to become a teacher has been an amazing opportunity to examine what I learned as a child, and how I learned, and to hold that up to some scrutiny. The saying is that we teach how we were taught. Another saying is that we teach who we are. I’d like to think that I can change who I am and how I teach, and that starts with the difficult work of being honest. And that requires reflection. I’m grateful for this opportunity to reflect on my personal journey with comics, and I hope that perhaps this has been fruitful for you as well.

Works Cited

Adichie, c.n..

(2009). The Danger of a Single Story. TedTalk,

Chute, H. L., & Panter, G.

(2017). Why comics?: From underground to everywhere.

Delveccio, J.

(2020). Multimodal Responses to Literature Across the Curriculum [Module 9 Notes]. LLED 441: Teaching Children’s Literature, a UBC course.

Kress, G. R.

(2003). Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge.

(2013). Empathy: Narrative empathy and children’s literature. In (Re)imagining the world children’s literature’s response to changing times. Brisbane, Australia: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. (chapter 9)

McCloud, S.

(1994). The invisible art: Understanding comics. NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Rodgers, S.

(2006). Attending to Student Voice: The Impact of Descriptive Feedback on Learning and Teaching. Curriculum Inquiry, 36, 2, 209-237.

Spiegelman, A.

(2011). Maus: A survivor’s tale. New York: Pantheon Books.

(2011). MetaMaus. New York: Pantheon Books.

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Comic - Free Essay Examples and Topic Ideas

Comics are usually short stories that use sequential art, depicting characters and events with a combination of words and pictures. They can be comedic, action-packed, or cover serious topics, and are often found in magazines, newspapers or graphic novels. Comics are enjoyed by people of all ages and from all walks of life, and are an entertaining and popular form of artistic expression.

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Comics in the Classroom

Posted December 5, 2017
By Jabari Sellars

Comic book illustration of different speech bubbles

My mother was a master of deception. Committed to the long con of getting me, her pickiest son, to eat something more than macaroni and cheese, my mother tricked me into eating healthy food. On homemade pizza night, she snuck baby spinach under the mozzarella with the stealth of bootleggers during prohibition. I still remember her dastardly grin as I chugged glasses of what I now know to be protein powder-infused Nestle Quik.

A few decades older, and a few broccoli florets healthier, I use my mother’s clandestine cunning to ensure that my students get a different kind of nutrition. Just as she hid the vegetables in her cake batter, I teach literary analysis through superhero comic books.

Comics can be an invaluable teaching tool, but aside from the occasional non-serial graphic novel, they are underused. For every Maus, Fun Home , and American Born Chinese , countless superhero comics are disregarded as too superficial for the level of analysis afforded “real” works of literature. But comics can serve three primary roles in the classroom:

They can facilitate a better understanding of complex required texts by serving as a preliminary reading activity;
They can extend the analysis of a classic work of literature, either by providing examples of derivative fiction or by making strong allusions to the classics;
They can replace less-accessible works from the literary canon while still conveying the same messages and using the same literary and rhetorical conventions.

Motivating students with texts that resonate with their personal interests and identities will increase their investment, leading to greater exposure to words, greater vocabulary acquisition, and more frequent use of reading strategies — three cornerstones of comprehension.

Consider Lord of the Flies , a staple of reading lists in middle and high school. After skimming the back cover, students find the novel dated, boring, and unrelated to who they are or what they like. Students wrestle with a plot that has a group of stranded British school boys turning their prep uniforms into loincloths. Unfamiliar with symbolism-laden allegory, and without knowing how allegories function as social critiques, most students manage only a surface-level comprehension of the text, missing the opportunity to explore the larger ideas of human capability and culpability.

Research from literacy expert Catherine Snow and other colleagues shows that student motivation is essential for reading comprehension . Motivating students with texts that resonate with their personal interests and identities will increase their investment, leading to greater exposure to words, greater vocabulary acquisition, and more frequent use of reading strategies — three cornerstones of comprehension.

So to build my students’ comprehension and sharpen their analytical skills, I developed a unit where I introduce them to an allegory derived from popular culture, using story arcs from the X-Men franchise. Working with Chris Claremont’s X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men , or Mark Millar’s Ultimate X-Men , I begin by asking, What is a mutant?

Students usually characterize mutants as individuals whose abilities and appearances often lead to their persecution. They’ll note that mutants often realize they are different during puberty or adolescence; some mutants have an appearance that allows them to pass as “normal” people, while others must go to great lengths to hide their true selves.

After these simple inquiries, students begin to see how X-Men is an allegory for the experiences of marginalized people — non-white, non-male, non-Christian, non-heteronormative — in an oppressive society.

With that definition in hand, it doesn’t take them long to answer my second question: Who in our society would be considered a mutant?

After these simple inquiries, students begin to see how X-Men is an allegory for the experiences of marginalized people — non-white, non-male, non-Christian, non-heteronormative — in an oppressive society. Digging into the characters and plots of their X-Men comics, they soon find contemporary and historic parallels.

They find the sociopolitical ideologies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X in the characters Charles Xavier and Magneto. They recognize the connection between stop-and-frisk policies and the “anti-mutant” initiatives in the comics. They come to see that there is nothing coincidental about the irascible Quicksilver having a mercurial temper, or the naïve hero Cyclops having trouble seeing the depths of a given situation. At the end of the unit, I ask students to write an essay connecting King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and Malcolm X’s “Ballot or the Bullet” speech with quotes from Professor X and Magneto.

After an immersion into the allegorical X-Men universe, students read Golding’s Lord of the Flies with far greater confidence and efficiency, able to make light work of complex analysis. The X-Men unit serves as an elaborate warm-up — a chance to learn and practice the character and symbol analysis they’ll need for deeper reading. That pre-work could have taken a more traditional form, to be sure, but I’ve found that students are more willing to engage with an activity they find to be familiar, interesting, or integral to their sense of self.

Comic books can offer just that kind of identity-validating conduit. To take a cue from my mother, they can be the cake that hides the vegetables, connecting students to other works of literature, to complex literary analysis, and to the skills they need for deeper comprehension.

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Comics Essay

2 Works Cited

Comics History of Comics How did comics arise ? Their birth and evolution, illustrated with some examples The comics weren't invented from one day to the next. It was a slow evolution the result of which is the comic-art of today with its many different branches. According to Fuchs & Wolfgang, "history of comics "(11), a first comic or a "mother" of the comics doesn't exist. The whole story began with the pictures that were printed in newspapers and magazines to illustrate something that was written in an article. Because of the printing technique those pictures were in black and white, that's why the artists couldn't use paint . The content of those pictures was mostly a caricature of someone in the accompanying article. Fuchs …show more content…

In 1938 the first Superman comic appeared, introducing a figure which is known by everybody all over the world still today. The Superheroes were born and they would multiply in a short time. The people seemed to like the mysterious strong men who came from nobody knows where, fought for the law, were armed with superhuman power, and (in case of Superman) could fly without any auxiliary material. Many more of this characters similar to Superman came to life after him. Concerning to Reynolds the most famous may be Batman which first could be seen in a "Detective Comics" issue in 1939. Between 1939 and 1940 there were already 60 different series of comic books and by the end of 1941 the number had risen to 168. After that new releases grew like mushrooms every month. About 1950 the animal comics of Walt Disney ( the target market are children ) began to boom. Today there are so many comics that it's impossible to read or even count all of them! (Reynolds, 1992:16) Of course in different countries the comics had different tendencies to increase. The fact that you can find in a comic shop in the USA a much higher number of action comics than funny comics ( which by the way are often made by a European artist) made me believe that Americans prefer action comics while Europeans seem to care more for fun comics. Andre Franquin from France for example invented more than one funny comic figure and became very famous. Different

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Comic book industries have been the main establishers for the new American youth culture. This has also been well used to settle a cultural representation for communism, wartime-propaganda, and, to those adults who thought their child acting rude was caused by comics, a sign of the decline of comic books, thus making the industry fall into consensus and conformity. Ever since the first comic book was created in the 1930’s, Americans have been greatly influenced because of its vast enjoyment. Whether from romance to war or justice to crime, comic books have forever changed popular culture and can definitely portray how, at different times in U.S. history, people understood and interpreted events around the globe. This becomes apparent in the film Comic Book Superheroes: Unmasked when the

Summary: Hidden Intellectualism

When I was in elementary school, there was a book series in our school library that teaches children the history, culture, and customs of many countries in comics. Children can travel the world with the main characters Mike and Bucca and learn the lessons with them. I remember one of my classmates told me that that comic book series was the only comic books his mother allowed him to read. I was surprised by that because I never thought parents would allowed their children read comics. The other instance that I found comics are actually helpful for children was when my younger sister found the book that introduces or country’s history and geography in comic in the public library. Our family immigrated to the United States when my younger sister is in fifth grade, so she did not have the chance to learn our country's history. She borrowed the book and read it in her free time. When she finished the book, she shared what she have learned from the book with me. I was surprised that she can memorize almost all of the events in our history without any mistakes. If I could find that book when I was in middle school I could have learned the history without suffering and struggling in memorize the years and the events. Compare with the textbooks in the school, the comic books like this are more fun to read and also can help children engaging in

Bruce Wayne, The Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight. All the aliases for the legendary comic hero most commonly known as Batman. From modest origins in the pulp magazines of the 1930’s, during his existence, he has transformed into a huge franchise. There have been TV shows on him, movies, various videogames, and over 20 comic book series that currently feature his name. In this paper, I hope to explore the reasons why of all the characters over the years, this comic book superhero has managed to stay relevant in a world where comics come and go. I will take a focused look into how Batman artwork has changed over the sixty years of his existence.

Superheroes Essay

When you think of a superhero one normally thinks of Spiderman, Batman, or Superman, but there were superheroes long before these characters were created. First one must understand that the basis of this name is hero. What is a hero? A hero is a person who does something special or out of the ordinary in order to help others. It could also be someone who is admired for a characteristic about them, be it physical or mental. They are individuals that normal everyday people can look up to. This being the case, a superhero is nothing more then someone who is a hero, but not just that once and for that one person, but someone who helps many people, or leads them. As time went by the number of people who were true heroes diminished and just

Comparsion of Marvel and Dc

Categories: Film Analysis Superhero

About this sample

Words: 1532 |

Published: Dec 16, 2021

Words: 1532 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Works Cited

Barnes, B. (2018, February 16). The Marvel vs. DC movie rivalry, in one chart. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/02/16/the-marvel-vs-dc-movie-rivalry-in-one-chart/
Gonzalez, E. (2019, June 25). Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Comicbook.com.
Hibberd, J. (2020, November 16). The DC comics movie release slate – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and more. Den of Geek.
Lussier, G. (2020, August 20). Why Marvel's cinematic universe is better than DC's. GQ.
Osborn, A. (2019, November 19). Why Marvel is better than DC comics. The Odyssey Online. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-marvel-is-better-than-dc-comics
Serafino, J. (2021, September 16). The cinematic universes of Marvel and DC: A comparative analysis. Journal of Popular Film and Television.
Sneider, J. (2020, March 3). DC vs. Marvel: Why one has the upper hand in Hollywood. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/dc-vs-marvel-why-one-has-upper-hand-hollywood-1282741/
Stewart, K. (2020, July 2). Why Marvel's Avengers were so much better than DC's Justice League. Screen Rant.

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"Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art" by Scott McCloud

by Scott McCloud

AUTHOR: McCloud, Scott

ARTIST: Scott McCloud (illustrator); Bob Lappan (letterer)

PUBLISHER: Tundra Publishing; HarperCollins

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 1993

Publication History

Often considered to be comics theorist Scott McCloud’s seminal work, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art was first published by Tundra Publishing in 1993. HarperCollins later reprinted the work. The book has been translated into a number of languages, including Spanish, German, and Korean.

Prior to the publication of Understanding Comics , McCloud was best known as the creator of the superhero series Zot! (1984-1990), published by Eclipse Comics. After gaining recognition for his work as a comics theorist, he went on to write additional works about comics and the comics industry. Reinventing Comics (2000) focuses on the comic book industry and digital comics, while Making Comics (2006) explores the storytelling techniques used in comics, graphic novels, and manga.

Chapter 1 of Understanding Comics , “Setting the Record Straight,” begins with a brief introduction by the narrator and then immediately delves into the problems of categorizing and defining comics. McCloud stresses that comics do not have to fit into the mold of immature reading material for children. Building on comics creator Will Eisner’s definition of comics as “sequential art,” McCloud considers how best to define the medium. The definition he ultimately settles on and repeats throughout the book is one that many scholars accept, or at least acknowledge, as one of the official definitions of comics. McCloud then begins to contextualize different forms of art and writing that, according to his definition, could fall under the heading of comics. Examples include a pre-Columbian picture manuscript and the Bayeux Tapestry. Hieroglyphics are quickly disregarded as comics, but Egyptian paintings certainly fit the bill. Modern comics originate with Rodolphe Töpffer, a French artist who essentially invented the panel, and other artists whose works can be considered as comics, even though they are rarely regarded as such. In fact, just about any work with a series of illustrations can technically be considered a comic, depending on one’s standards, and McCloud encourages the reader to continue working out exactly what those standards should be.

Chapter 2, “The Vocabulary of Comics,” begins with an example of how a representation of something does not equal the actual item or idea. Icons bring about meaning without the actual form; the icon itself can be an abstract depiction of its meaning or an almost realistic depiction of it. McCloud then goes on to address cartooning, describing it as “amplification through simplification,” in that the lack of details makes the image more accessible and recognizable. The simplest icon to identify is that of the face, which the mind tends to project onto just about any visible surface or pattern. It is this simplicity and lack of detail that allow the average person to identify easily with the cartoon and the icon. The distinction between the most basic depiction of a concept and an almost photo-realistic representation of it is that they relay different forms of information, and this distinction becomes even more complex once language is defined as the abstract model of ideas. McCloud describes the concept using the image of a pyramid, which serves as both a chart and a map for comics. The three corners of the pyramid represent reality, the pictorial plane, and meaning. McCloud then arranges more than a hundred comics within the pyramid, ordering them based on how close they are to each corner and in relation to the others.

Chapter 3, “Blood in the Gutter,” deals directly with how the mind completes that which goes beyond normal perception, which McCloud calls closure. Closure...

(This entire section contains 2223 words.)

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occurs almost automatically with just about everything the reader sees, and it is necessary for comics to function. It occurs between panels in a place called the gutter, where the different images come together to show changes in time and space. McCloud even argues that closure is an active choice, a leap taken voluntarily by the reader with his or her imagination to reach an intended meaning. He describes what he considers to be the six most basic (and self-defined) types of transition between panels—moment-to-moment, action-to-action, subject-to-subject, scene-to-scene, aspect-to-aspect, and non sequitur—and places them in a graph to see how American, European, and Japanese comics compare in terms of panel transitions. McCloud then discusses the number of panels necessary to tell a story and the importance of obtaining the right balance between too much and too little information with closure.

Chapter 4, “Time Frames,” focuses on the element of time, especially within a single panel. Time is not uniform within a defined space, since even one panel depicts actions and not just a single moment. There is no way of knowing how much time actually elapses in comics; the direction of the panels gives a good sense of time, but how a reader observes those panels is not strictly defined. The linear progression of time and the impression of movement are represented differently in comics than in other forms of media, and cartoonists tend to play on readers’ preconceptions to create meaning. Lines within a single panel of a still image can represent motion, while a stationary figure against a blurry background may have the same effect. The duration of time within a panel and the reader’s perception of it are affected by a number of different factors.

Chapter 5, “Living in Line,” deals with how the use of lines can evoke different meanings. This chapter includes a quick overview of different classical artists who used lines in their own ways to show something more. Cartoonists also follow a particular style to portray something unique. In comics, lines can be used to depict things that normally cannot be represented in a visual-only medium; for example, wavy lines often represent heat or a bad smell. Fonts and word balloons provide yet another way to depict meaning within comics.

Chapter 6, “Show and Tell,” begins by asserting that over time, language becomes more abstract and pictures become more symbolic, with the two continuing to grow farther apart. Comics tend to join them together in varied ways, as McCloud shows with the previously mentioned pyramid chart. The standards of art and writing have also changed, and these extend to comics as well. McCloud argues that comics should not be judged by the standards of previous forms, in part because comics are still growing in the way they can tell stories. He then provides different categories of ways in which words and pictures work together: word-specific, picture-specific, duo-specific, additive, parallel, montage, and interdependent. Separately, words and pictures can each tell a different story, but together they can achieve much more.

Chapter 7, “The Six Steps,” starts by directly stating that comics are art, especially given a broad enough definition. McCloud defines art as anything that is not directly related to survival and reproduction. He ties art to a certain path that has six steps: idea/purpose, form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface. Many artists only vary the final parts of the path, and some do not even use any of the previous steps. With enough practice and study, artists can dedicate themselves to altering each of the steps until they change art itself. The goal of an artist need not be to transform art, but those artists who do allow for others to continue changing the path of art itself.

Chapter 8, “A Word About Color,” consists of just eight pages and is the only chapter in the book to use color. McCloud gives a quick history lesson on how color first made its way into the print medium. Effectively, the early high costs of color and relatively low level of technology meant that only the standard primary colors were available. Comic book heroes were depicted in bright primary colors that came to represent them; Superman’s blue, red, and yellow costume immediately comes to mind. While American comics were limited in their use of colors, McCloud notes that European comics had more colors available and strove to balance them all on the page. Other comics used completely different styles of palettes. Still, McCloud argues that black-and-white comics can evoke feelings just as well as full-color comics and should not be considered obsolete just because better technologies are available.

Chapter 9, “Putting It All Together,” goes into the basics of communication, asserting that because the transmission of ideas is limited by medium, people must master their medium in order to communicate effectively. It is for this reason, McCloud claims, that it is important to understand comics, in order to use them better. Ignorance and preconceived notions about comics severely limit the message that can be conveyed via this medium. The medium of comics is still growing, and comics have the potential to communicate so much, if only given the chance to do so.

Scott McCloud is the author’s avatar and the narrator throughout the entirety of the book. He wears large, round glasses and a Zot! T-shirt. McCloud is technically the only character within the book, although other familiar faces from the comic book world appear sporadically. He communicates directly with readers in order to help them achieve the titular goal of the book. However, for all of McCloud’s knowledge, he rarely if ever appears to be arrogant or overly intellectual. Instead, he recognizes the limits of his own understanding and invites readers to join and engage in the debate about the nature of comics.

Artistic Style

The art in the book is fairly consistent, with McCloud’s avatar being drawn in a simple manner against a blank background or different settings. However, examples of different panel layouts, the styles of other artists, and other aspects of drawing are presented in order to illustrate the differences between each, and sometimes the narrator’s rendering shifts in order to match his surroundings. At first glance, the minimalist drawings might suggest to the average, casual reader that the book is a children’s comic book featuring a man who talks too much; it is only upon careful reading that one comes to understand McCloud’s exposition. The apparently simple artistic style helps both demystify the different aspects of comics and present them with an air of seriousness.

The book’s typical layout, featuring McCloud’s avatar addressing the audience via speech balloons for about twelve panels per page, makes Understanding Comics feel like a lively conversation rather than a boring lecture, manifesto, or treatise on the complexity of comics. From the iconic smiley face to a nearly photo-realistic portrait, McCloud draws and replicates many distinct styles, depicting ancient cave paintings, famous works of art, and several familiar faces from the world of American, European, and Japanese comics to illustrate how varied comics, and even traditional art, can truly be. While the panel layouts and overall information can be dense throughout the majority of the book, there are no large sections of text that might thwart reader engagement or understanding.

McCloud expands on what Eisner first considered to be sequential art. Much of the book analyzes this art form and defends it as such, using various examples that range from ancient Egyptian art to the Bayeux Tapestry to contemporary diagrams. Distinctions are made as to what kinds of works do and do not qualify as comics, at least according to McCloud. The book serves as a pedagogical guide to the promised understanding of comics. If one were to classify the book, it would likely fall under the category of art criticism or even art history, though it is most likely to be found in the graphic novels section of the bookstore. While it can certainly serve as a textbook, the book’s discourse is not preachy or overly authoritative; instead, McCloud presents his views on comics based on his personal experiences within the comic book industry and his own extensive research, expressing his ideas not as solutions but rather as considerations in the great debate on art and comics. If anything, Understanding Comics is highly democratic and inviting for all to participate. The last lines of the book sum up the purpose of the work: “This book is meant to stimulate debate, not settle it. I’ve had my say. Now it’s your turn.”

Understanding Comics became one of the most recognized and influential books about comics, winning several awards and prompting McCloud to write a number of other works on the subject. McCloud’s definition of comics is rarely absent from any academic text on the subject, even those that disagree with his statements. The book has become one of the building blocks of the academic field of comics studies and has been used as a textbook in many academic programs. Ultimately, Understanding Comics goes beyond comic books and graphic novels, defining how images and text can be placed together to do something more than they can individually and redefining art along the way.

Bibliography

Dardess, George. “Review: Bringing Comic Books to Class.” College English 57, no. 2 (1995): 213-222.
Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist . New York: W. W. Norton, 2008.
Wolfe, Gary K. “On Some Recent Scholarship.” Review of Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art , by Scott McCloud. Science Fiction Studies 21, no. 3 (1994): 438-439.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: History, Theme, and Technique Bart H. Beaty Stephen Weiner 2012 Salem Press

Cite this page as follows:

""Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art" by Scott McCloud - Summary." Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: History, Theme, and Technique, eNotes.com, Inc., 2012, 18 June 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/understanding-comics-invisible-art-by-scott>

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Julia Schneider aka Doc J Snyder is a Berlin-based comic essayist, PhD economist and former consultant in the field of artificial intelligence. Her handgeschneiderte Comic Essays bridge the gap between intellect and intuition and aim to be profound ‒ but hopefully not didactic. They have been read, bought, quoted, shared, by a wide and passionate audience, exhibited many times in museums and at conferences, and reviewed in the media, both nationally and internationally. Her work reflects on complex topics at the intersection of technology, art, economics, and social change, such as Artificial Intelligence, Work, Money. In her work, Doc J Snyder typically does the brainstorming, conceptualizing, researching, storytelling, and writing ‒ and scribbling associations to the text ‒ sometimes with co-writers, while she enjoys collaborating with various visual artists on the comic art. Equal access to opportunities is important to her. That is why most of her work is under an open license.

Get in touch if you also enjoy approaching complex issues creatively and respectfully – and are tired of cliché: [email protected] or @docjsnyder on social media

Current projects of interest:

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>> Das Schattenkabinett ‒ Ein Comic-Essay über die Slim Shadies in uns (The Shadow Cabinet ‒ A Comic Essay about the Slim Shadies in all of us) (ongoing project, in German)

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>> We Need to Talk, AI ‒ A Comic Essay on Artificial Intelligence , with Lena Kadriye Ziyal (2019, 56 p., in English, German (“KI, wir müssen reden – Ein Comic Essay über Künstliche Intelligenz”),Turkish, Spanish, Russian, Slovenian and Czech, and as open online course )

>> The Corona Scribbles , a Comic Column about Life in times of Corona, on 1E9 magazine (April 2020-May 2023, 31 episodes, in German)

Shorter comic essays:

>> Urheberrechte, oder: On the Shoulders of Giants – A Comic Essay about Copyright, with Karina Filusch , Eric Eitel and Nele Konopka (2022, 3 p., in German)

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>> Abtreibung ‒ ein Comic Essay , with Maren Burkhardt (2020, 2 p., in German)

On this subpage , you’ll find three of my most important comic essays in German.

Other projects:

>> AI 🐂💩 Bingo ‒ A playful intervention for panels, keynotes and workshops on Artificial Intelligence, with Katrin Fritsch and Theresa Reimann-Dubbers (2022, 4 variations of cards, in English)

Sample press coverage:

Introducing “A Pigeon’s Tale”

Exhibition at ZKM Karlsruhe: the intelligent.museum is around the corner

AI and the Future of Education – Panel Discussion

✨ ✨ ✨ “NFT’s are down, AI looms: How can creatives keep their cash flowing?”

Interview on AI and its impact on society

KI und seine Bedeutung für die Kreativwirtschaft

New Release: Coworker or Overlord? A Comic Essay about ChatGPT+

Overcoming the Flaschenhals

Release: Schokoroboter und Deepfakes – Ein Comic Essay über Künstliche Intelligenz aus der Perspektive von Jugendlichen

Review and Release: Copyright, or On the Shoulders of Giants

“The Big Third and the Blockchain” – A Comic Essay

The Non-Fungible Comic as Oversized Exhibition

Release: Non-Fungible Comic – A Comic Essay on Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Interview with CCB Magazine

Interview with irights.org on self-publishing and Creative Commons

Talk at txt_conference

Release and Exhibition of Non-Fungible Comic

Exhibition of the Non-Fungible Comic

Artist Talk on our Non-Fungible Comic

We Need to Talk, AI!

Künstliche Intelligenz: Revolutionär oder nur gehyped?

Collaboration: Campaign against joint tax deductions for married couples (“Ehegattensplitting”)

Yay! Money Matters became Book of the Month!

https://tredition.de/buchshop/buch-des-monats/

Release: Money Matters – A Comic Essay about Money

Radio Interview

TV Portrait

Internet Health Report 2020

Exhibition Human Sovereignty

Tenemos que Hablar, IA

Disruption: Essay in the Annual Report 2019 of the Stiftung Niedersachsen

Community Spotlight

The Corona Scribbles

“KI, wir müssen reden” at SpyOnMe#2

Meet-Up at KI-Campus, Stifterverband

Review at fluter

Exhibition at Netzpolitik-Konferenz “That’s Netzpolitik”

Exhibition and Release at Creative City Berlin print magazine “The Big Good Future #2”

Exhibition and Discussion at the “AI-Camp 2019”

Meet-Up at Hochschulforum Digitalisierung, Stifterverband

Release of “ki, wir müssen reden”.

Interview on “KI, wir müssen reden”

Exhibition and talk at futurium.

Exhibition in Hamburg-Altona’s bookstore “ZweiEinsDrei”

Live radio show at goethe institute’s kultursymposium.

Kultur Magazine 29 by Goethe-Institut Australia

Exhibition at Turing-Bus for AI

TV-Interview at Museum of Communication

Interview with mdr, review at netzpolitik.org.

Presentation of “We Need to Talk, AI”

ComicInvasion Podcast

Review at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Release, talk and exibition of “we need to talk, ai” at re:publica19.

Talk: We Need to Talk AI: Ein Einblick in die Entstehung des Comic Essays

Radio-day “artificial intelligence”, review at 1e9.

Panel Event at Museum of Work, Hamburg: The Genuinely Human – Artificial Intelligence and Creativity

Colloquium on “Artistic Intelligence”

Pauline Cremer
Miriam Beblo
Noëlle Kröger
Nele Konopka
Lena Kadriye Ziyal
Sebastian Schneider
Katrin Becker
Katrin Fritsch
Theresa Reimann-Dubbers
Maren Burkhardt
Karina Filusch
Birds on Mars
Tübingen AI Center
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – atingi
Bundeswettbewerb Künstliche Intelligenz
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung
Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen – SPRIN-D

COMMENTS

Essay Topics on Comics
Essay Topics on Comics. David has been an educator for over 20 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications and journalism as well as a master's degree in education. He has taught English ...
Comics Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas
10 essay samples found. Comics are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information, providing a unique way to tell stories or present ideas. Essays on comics could delve into the history of comics, the various genres and styles, the cultural impact and significance of comics, or the artistic and ...
Comic Books Critical Essays
Essays and criticism on Comic Books - Critical Essays. Comic Books Once regarded as one of the lower forms of mass entertainment, comic books are today widely considered to be potentially capable ...
Don't Write Comics: How To Write Comics Part 1
Don't Write Comics is a multi-part essay about writing comics, understanding what your options are, finding the right artist, and everything you need to do to get a strong comic book pitch package together. If you're interested in comics solely because you think it might be easy or that it might be a shortcut to another end (like having a ...
Introductory Essays
Second, I edit and write comic book reviews here at the Fantasy Literature Review Site, so they are always on my mind as a writing project. Third, I am an English Professor who teaches comic books in all courses, from Freshman Writing to Crime Fiction, so I am always studying them for class and talking about them with students.
Comic Book Essays: Examples, Topics, & Outlines
PAGES 7 WORDS 2180. Comic Book Fun Home. "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel. American writer Alison Bechdel has been known as one of the most famous writers. She is the author of world famous comic Fun Home, written in 2006. Fun Home is often referred to as Family Tragicomic. The presence of phase transitions and queerness in the comic has made it ...
Comics Academe: How To Write a Comics Dissertation
Comics Essays Comics Academe. Elizabeth Coody December 14, 2015 January 22, 2020. Out there, somewhere, is a woman who writes about comics who wants to turn that writing to a comics dissertation or thesis, or at least I sure hope there is! The field is wide open and ready for more. For the uninitiated, a dissertation or thesis is the long essay ...
10 Tips for Writing an Extended Essay on Comic Books
1. Read comics. It may serve to state the obvious, but you need to actually read comics in order to write about them. Before you begin your essay, start by reading the comics you are writing about. The more that you read, the more you will understand the overarching themes and ideas that animate the comics industry.
Survey 1 Comic Strip Essays: Melanie Gillman on "Polly and Her Pals"
This is the first of the comics-format essays we're presenting; enjoy! There are more to come. Survey I instructor Stephen Bissette has added the author info and "further reading" notes after this comics-format essay. NOTE: To enlarge these comics pages for easier reading, just click on the image itself to open larger scans in another window.
How to Study Comics & Graphic Novels: A Graphic Introduction to Comics
Like the best essays in comics form, it knows when to keep quiet (figuratively speaking) and show the reader how comics operate, instead of just telling them. The economy of the artwork extends to ...
Comic Books and Picture Books
The comic book "prisoners of the sun: the adventures of Tintin is one example of the comic books and is a result of many comic strips that have been brought together to create a book (Doonan, 1993). Get a custom Essay on Comic Books and Picture Books. 809 writers online. Learn More.
PDF Writing About Comics and Graphic Novels
handbook for those interested in studying or analyzing comics. Presented in comic form, Understanding Comics offers a wealth of examples and analyses of different aspects of comics, tied together with McCloud's often polemical musings on the nature and future of the medium. Helpful Links The Edwin and Terry Murray Comic Book Collection
Using comics to teach literacy
The term graphic novel was developed by one of the fathers of comics, Will Eisner. According to Chute (2017), Eisner wanted his comic book to be "received in bookstores alongside "regular" books… so he came up with the description "a graphic novel" to emphasize its literary qualities.". Chute goes on to say, "Most cartoonists I ...
Comic
This essay explores the evolution of comic opera, examining its various types, significant compositions, and the profound influence it exerted on the… Comic Entertainment. 13. How to Write a Visual Analysis Essay to Comic Essay "In As the World Burns"? Words • 681. Pages • 3.
Graphic Essays and Comics
A graphic essay (sometimes called a visual essay) uses a combination of text and images to explore a specific topic. Graphic essays can look like comics, graphic novels, magazines, collages, artist books, textbooks, or even websites. Graphic essays often first take the form of written essays and then have graphic elements added to enrich the ...
Comics in the Classroom
Comics can be an invaluable teaching tool, but aside from the occasional non-serial graphic novel, they are underused. ... At the end of the unit, I ask students to write an essay connecting King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Malcolm X's "Ballot or the Bullet" speech with quotes from Professor X and Magneto.
SOLRAD
SOLRAD is a nonprofit online literary magazine dedicated to the comics arts. SOLRAD publishes comics criticism, original comics, essays, interviews, and features new, underrepresented, and otherwise marginalized creative voices, in addition to the work of well-established cartoonists, critics, journalists, and authors. SOLRAD is published by Fieldmouse Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit press.
Comics Essay
In 1938 the first Superman comic appeared, introducing a figure which is known by everybody all over the world still today. The Superheroes were born and they would multiply in a short time. The people seemed to like the mysterious strong men who came from nobody knows where, fought for the law, were armed with superhuman power, and (in case of ...
Comparsion Of Marvel And Dc: [Essay Example], 1532 words
Following with a 75% was Captain America: Civil War. By examination, the principal DC film to rank on the rundown was Justice League, netting a 71% and Batman versus Superman, which hit a 60%.In short, the characters seem to resonate more long-term, while the big action and special effects have more short-term results.
"Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art" by Scott McCloud
Publication History. Often considered to be comics theorist Scott McCloud's seminal work, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art was first published by Tundra Publishing in 1993. HarperCollins ...
Comic Essays
Comic Essays. If I Were A Filthy, Stinking Rich Man What I'd do with a billion-dollar lottery win. February 14, 2023 Comic Essays. The Secret of Getting Good Is Not Focusing on How Good I'm Getting It's paying attention to what I'm actually doing. February 1, 2023
Comic Essays Manga
A comic essay (コミックエッセイ or エッセイ漫画) is a manga genre that draws on the author's life experiences, much like an Autobiography, to discuss lifestyle topics such as travel, cuisine, child-raising or pet care, or mental health. See all manga tags. Name. Avg Rating.
Handgeschneiderte Comic Essays
Julia Schneider aka Doc J Snyder is a Berlin-based comic essayist, PhD economist and former consultant in the field of artificial intelligence. Her handgeschneiderte Comic Essays bridge the gap between intellect and intuition and aim to be profound ‒ but hopefully not didactic.They have been read, bought, quoted, shared, by a wide and passionate audience, exhibited many times in museums and ...

Comics - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

Exploring History and Identity through ‘Persepolis’ Comics

Breaking the Mold: the Impact of Batman Killing the Joker on Comics Storytelling

Marvel Vs DC Compare and Contrast

Female Comics and Social Justice

Black Panther Film Review Essay

Understanding Anime Culture: Distinguishing between True Fans and Pretenders

Development of the Image of Peter Parker

The Power of Panels: Analyzing the Role of Layout and Composition in Comics

Dynamic Duos and Complex Narratives: the Evolution of Character Relationships in Comics

Exploring the Multifaceted World of Comics: a Scholarly Inquiry

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About the Blog

Comic Books and Picture Books Essay

Comic books

Using comics to teach literacy

Diversity, Multimodality & Comics

Part 1: How comics were squeezed out of my life

Excerpt from Hulk, 2016 #9, Marvel

What is a Graphic Novel, by Jessica Abel

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

My definition of literacy

Comics, storyboarding and multimodality

Excerpt from Making Comics, by Lynda Barry

Excerpt from Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

Excerpt from Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud

Excerpt from MetaMaus, by Art Spiegelman & Hillary Chute

Authentic Voices in Comics

Works Cited

Chute, H. L., & Panter, G.

Delveccio, J.