The tights and capes may have long left the Javits Center, but two weeks after New York Comic Con, we at GraphicNovelReporter are still abuzz with all we saw and learned. Our crack team of reviewers and interns sped from panel to panel like the Flash on a good day, takings notes in copious quantities. Here are some of the big things we learned.
DEMOGRAPHICS ARE SHIFTING
Traditionally, the male 26-40 demographic has been the sweet spot in the comics sales market, but that is slowly starting to shift, according to sellers as diverse as ComiXology and Things from Another World to the Kinokuniya and Bergen Street Comics bookstores. More and more women are buying comics, manga and graphic novels, and on some sites account for more than 50 percent of web traffic --- though not nearly as high a percentage of purchases. Younger audiences are becoming interested as well, with the ComiXology reporting a large increase in the 18-30 male age group. Bergen Street reported that recently, graphic novel sales have approached gender parity, especially with regards to Image Comics titles.
With this shift has come a strong demand for changes in published content, much of which focuses on the inclusion of more women and more minorities in comics; the latter subject of diversity is something we are hearing across publishing. This demand is answered in part by titles like the current Ms. Marvel run, written by G. Willow Wilson, a Muslim author whose protagonist, the Pakistani-American Kamala Khan, is Marvel’s first Muslim character to headline her own comic book. Some sellers trace women’s burgeoning interest in comics back to fan fiction, which has become incredibly popular via a number of Internet forums over the past 20 years.
With the booming popularity of comics and graphic novels (especially of the superhero variety) in response to a rash of successful television shows and Hollywood blockbusters, both publishers and sellers are starting to notice the rise of the “casual fan,” a change that is having a pronounced effect on the comics industry. As opposed to years past, when comics was seen mostly as a world catering to diehards and obsessives itching for rare content, series like Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’s SAGA have proven able to maintain the interest of a much larger pubic that might not want to research the entire history of a much-rebooted title like Green Arrow or The Avengers just to catch up to speed.
Children’s and all ages comics are also becoming more and more popular, and are being used not only to create new comics readers, but to create new readers. Authors like Raina Telgemeier have readerships who build attachments not just to the author’s works but to the authors themselves. In response to the popularity of titles from publishers like Graphix, teachers and librarians are capitalizing on the readability of comics and graphic novels in order to encourage literacy --- and sellers are noting that those who fall in love with the graphic novels they first thumb through at their local library are running to stores (or their computers) to order copies for themselves.
Finally, it is interesting to note that digital sales of comics are growing massively, and while print is still important for collectors, sales trends are proving that many newer comics readers prefer the accessibility of digital to the feel of the pages between their fingers.
COMICS AND EDUCATION
Years ago these two words would rarely been seen together. But as our interns Nate Einhorn and Matt Burbridge found out, the use of comics in classrooms is now a natural pairing.
Comics to Expand Your Brain: Educational Graphic Novels in Public and School Libraries
This panel was moderated by John Shableski of Reading With Pictures, and featured panelists Dr. John Weaver (Williamsport Area High School English teacher, PA), Chris Murray, Tyler Rousseau and Karla Ivarson (New Jersey-based librarians) and writer and artist Alex Simmons.
When John Shableski served as moderator for a panel on comics in education at the inaugural NYCC, only the front two rows of chairs were claimed. This year, every seat was full, and the rear wall was lined with librarians and educators anxious to explore new ways to incorporate graphic novels into their schools.
Chris Murray, a panelist representing the New Jersey based Bridgewater Library, immediately called notice to the elephant in the room; he, like many in attendance, had been told “that’s not a book, and that’s not reading,” by the grandmother of a child whom he had suggested a graphic novel to. In response to this, the panelists took it upon themselves to prove this comment, and the principles behind it, wrong.
John Weaver, a thirty-year veteran of teaching AP and Honors English, surprised the audience by speaking first, and revealing that he had little difficulty persuading administrators to allow him to introduce WATCHMEN into his lesson plans. However, this ease revealed a key obstacle to the wider use of graphic novels: when Weaver made his request to an administered, the immediate response was “How many copies do you need? And also, what’s WATCHMEN?” (Note: GNR featured a series of interviews with John on this subject a couple of years ago.)
While most panelists had faced an active opposition to their support of graphic novels, Weaver’s comment highlighted the root of this opposition; the majority of educators are simply unfamiliar with graphic novels. While Weaver was successful due to a peer’s total lack of knowledge, the majority of panelists had faced challenges due to more specific misunderstandings.
One obstacle emerging from this that the majority of panelists had faced was due to misunderstanding of the term “graphic.” While to most attendees of NYCC it was clear that the term regarded the use of images as a means for storytelling. However, to those unfamiliar with the medium (including many teachers and parents had encountered) the word was frequently thought to imply the presence of excessive violence of mature themes in a work. The panelists agreed that these themes are present in some of the works, but they clarified that the term “graphic” should in no way be taken to mean that these elements were excessive. Despite this, each had encountered difficulty in communicating this point. When faced with this resistance, Weaver suggested that teachers openly recognize that such themes did appear, then to quickly follow-up with the phrase “Welcome to Hamlet.”
Librarian Tyler Rousseau suggested that the most effective means to argue for graphic novels inclusion in the education system was for teachers to explain how they had personally benefited from the medium. Rousseau has found this to be extremely successful: he often shares stories of the challenges he faced due to a hearing disorder and subsequent reading disorder. Graphic novels allowed him to enjoy stories that he could not access through text alone. He has since overcome his earlier obstacles, but emphasizes the role graphic novels played in his developments, saying “I wouldn’t have a master’s degree if I hadn’t read comic books. I wouldn’t have graduated high school.” African-American writer and artist Alex Simmons, who has worked on a variety of major titles ranging from Archie to Batman, found himself inspired by comics in a different, though no less influential, manner. The willingness of superheroes to repeatedly face seemingly insurmountable obstacles provided the basis for conversations with peers about historical and racial conflicts that had long corrupted American culture. Simmons and his friends drew confidence from the comics of their youth, and used this to question the authority of those who would impose artificial divisions upon society.
While the increased attendance at the panel indicates the growing acceptance of graphic novels in education systems, the use of the medium remains controversial. While this mindset was attributed to a number of possible causes, the majority of which were simply rooted in many educators lack of familiarity with graphic novels as a resource, audience comments confirmed that, even amongst advocates for the mediums inclusion in classrooms, a fear exists that students will come to see graphic novels as a replacement for traditional books. Simmons led the panelist’s response to this concern, saying that graphic novels must be used as supplements rather than substitutions for literary texts. Weaver shared a technique he had developed to combat this worry: rather than assign a graphic novel as a primary text, he matches a literary work of the Western canon with a graphic novel containing complimentary themes. One of the many examples he gave was the pairing of Dante’s notoriously allusion fueled INFERNO with Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN series, which, like INFERNO, draws influence from a wide variety of historical and mythological sources. Simmons began the panels conclusion with advice directly for the audience, “ We are only limited by teachers imaginations… right now you’ve got a room full of resources.”
Super Girls: Using Comics to Engage Female Students in the High School Classroom
This panel was moderated by Dr. Meryl Jaffe (Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth) and featured teachers Eric Kallenborn, Josh Elder, Mark DaPonte, Michael Gianfrancesco and Ronell Whittaker.
It initially came as a surprise to the audience when the panelists for the Super Girls education panel arrived; three of the four panelists were men. However, any concern over this was assuaged with the reveal that all of the female comic creators who were asked to attend were already booked to lead events of their own. While the panel focused on introducing comics to female students, it evolved into a wider conversation as to the incorporation of graphic novels into educational environments. It was the conclusion of the panelists that, while it is a challenge to introduce female students to a medium that has not been traditionally marketed towards them, inclusion of graphic novels to both male and female students would be beneficial.
Dr. Meryl Jaffe, who currently works with the John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth program, began the discussion with a simple fact: approximately three-quarters of English teachers at primary schools are women, which was reflected by the primarily female audience. Until recently, graphic novels (with the acceptation of several manga series) were marketed almost entirely towards male readers. Due to this, many teachers have little experience even reading graphic novels, which in turn prevent them from utilizing the medium.
For much of her life, Jaffe was unfamiliar with these nontraditional texts, and even rejected the idea of including them in her classes. However, a developing personal appreciation after an introduction to the medium, as well as being presented with a number of compelling arguments by fellow educators, encouraged Jaffe to introduce graphic novels to her lessons. She has since become a staunch proponent of this innovative approach, and she has become a staunch advocate for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and their collection of educational resources. One of the most important pieces of advice she gave the audience, and an element that helped her recognize the potential of comics, was to collect data based on circulation of graphic novels in libraries and the referencing of the same or similar works by students in class papers and short essay responses. Opposition by administrators, fellow educators, and parents can be offset if you “show them the numbers” to support that students are utilizing texts.
Ronell Whittaker and Eric Kallenborn (known as “The Comic Book Teacher” and “The Other Comic Book Teacher” respectively) both use graphic novels in their South Side Chicago classrooms. Whitaker attests that, as with his male students, “girls will read anything you put in front of them” if the story is sufficiently engaging. Rather than ask if a specific graphic novel is suited for boys or girls, Whittaker thinks more broadly: “Is this a good enough story for my entire class?” Furthermore, it is essential to introduce graphic novels with female protagonists: while the quality story is the ultimate factor in deciding an appropriate text, it is essential that girls not give into the idea that graphic novels are for boys only. Following this advice to “let our girls be the stars” in some of the works selected, Kallenborn suggests pairing graphic novels with female protagonists with classic literary texts that also feature female heroes. The first time he paired Hawthorne’s THE SCARLET LETTER with Raina Telgemeier’s New York Times best selling graphic novel SMILE, a fellow teacher came to him and said simply “ I had no idea that could happen.”
While the panelists presented a variety of arguments for the introduction of graphic novels to both female and male students, Jaffe’s closing statement condensed their many points into one irrefutable argument that applies to all potential educational resources, “The more options we give [students], the more opportunities they have to engage in the classroom.”
Comics as Literature in the English Classroom
This panel showcased Jeffrey A. Achenzie (Liberty High School), Lindsay Young (Connecticut State Library), and Jesse Mack (Multimediamouth.com Contributor).
When asked by the hosts, most members of the audience identify as educators and avid readers --- and despite being made up of relatively unknown names/first time speakers, the audience was pushed to standing room only, and mustered up a greater response than anticipated by the panelists.
In the Common Core, comics is now listed under the English and Literary Arts Standards as a sub-genre, along with graphic novels.
Although popular opinion suggests that standards are being altered to include comics, traditional literary Common Core standards still apply to works in the graphic mien. In fact, the term Sequential Learning is already being applied in a number of lessons in many subjects to teach important points through visual imagery. For example, in history, the branches of the American government and maps of major battles are both detailed using sequential imagery, as are the splitting of an atom and examples of the food chain in science.
To better explain the scientific/psychological phenomena that occur when reading visual images (and comics), Achenzie referenced Scott McCloud’s UNDERSTANDING COMICS, and suggested that adapted novelizations be read alongside original novels for reluctant readers as transitional texts, as adamant “non-readers” usually don’t find graphic novels nearly as threatening as pure blocks of prose. Comics are even starting to become the main text for certain lesson plans and when teachers are placed under time constraints --- MARCH: Book One, drawn by Nate Powell, is an example of such.
Currently, there is a high interest level in the sequential medium that educators can embrace in order to foster independent reading; many students are already seeking out comics to read to learn more about the source material of recent films, television shows, and video games. The recommendation of comics from teacher to student could also serve to foster tighter student/teacher relationships.
As a suggestion for lesson plans, Achenzie points to a number of works the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund spotlighted during Banned Books Week (which we have gathered here), but is very clear in suggesting holding off using comics as an educational tool for younger readers --- although, as mentioned earlier, there are many who disagree. For those who are looking to get their hands on some titles, www.donorschoose.org allows money to be raised directly with the companies in question so educators just say what they want and the money isn’t handled by them. Money is donated by anonymous donors directly to publishers and manufacturers, and administrations and educators only get the final product.
That about covers it
At least for this year... although we do have some colorful cosplay coverage available here. Until next year! And in the meantime, if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to get in touch with me at John AT Bookreporter DOT COM. Happy reading!
