I’ve been remiss about blogging about Disney’s recent buying of Marvel, mostly because, well, first, other business kind of got in the way, but then because I was waiting to see if the other coverage of the event would bring to light aspects I hadn’t thought of or considered. While there has been some excellent in-depth reporting on the deal, I still feel the same way I did when I first heard the news: a bit meh.

Question: Can “non-educational” comics and graphic novels actually teach anything?

Since I’m not a comic-book historian, or someone who religiously follows every industry trend and title, you could not consider me an authority. I have been referred to as an advocate for kids and comics, as well as comics in the classrooms. Yes, I do what I can, but I am not the expert in the business—though I know my way around both the comics and educational arenas.

Every once in a while, I feel like an old curmudgeon reading comics. Take for example thought balloons. I have a feeling (but I hope I'm wrong about this) that the younger generation of comics readers has no fond memories regarding the bubbles that used to define the format. I suppose in many ways they are indicative of the silly funny books that inspired such derision from the culture at large for so many years. But hear me out on this, because I think the replacement for thought balloons is worse.