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Comics/to Comics Or Not To Comics



Date submitted: 15/05/2009


Visual literacy: to comics or not to comics?
Promoting literacy using comics



Leoné Tiemensma
Midrand Graduate Institute
Midrand, South Africa


Meeting:


94. Literacy and Reading and Information Literacy


WORLD LIBRARY AND INFORMATION CONGRESS: 75TH IFLA GENERAL CONFERENCE AND COUNCIL
23-27 August 2009, Milan, Italy
http://www.ifla.org/annual-conference/ifla75/index.htm


Visual literacy: to comics or not
to comics? Promoting literacy
using comics






Abstract

The 21st century is a visual world with a visual culture, but also requires high levels
of reading competency. Comics, as sequential art, are a pictorial representation of a
narrative. Comic art combines printed words and pictures in a unique way. Many
literacy skills are required, including the ability to understand a sequence of events,
to interpret the characters’ nonverbal gestures, to discern the story’s plot and to make
inferences.
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This paper investigates the roots of comics, characteristics and types of comics and
value of comics as a source of promoting literacy. The question to be answered is
what role comics could play to get children engaged in reading and developing a
reading habit.

1. Introduction

Reading is an essential competency in the 21st century to survive in the global
economy. Teachers, librarians and parents face an enormous challenge in trying to
create a reading habit. Especially in South Africa there is a high rate of illiteracy, not
a vibrant reading culture and many children are reluctant readers.

Comics are part of print in the information society. Comics are a pervasive and
influential media form of popular culture. For many years comics were only regarded
as recreational reading, but comics become more accepted as a legitimate form of art
and literature and they are making their way into classrooms (Edmunds 2006: 1).

Conferences, seminars and congresses on comics indicate interest in this genre, for
example the International Conference on the Graphic Novel at the University of
Massachusets (1998), at the University of Leuven, Belgium (2000), and an annual
Conference on Comics at the University of Florida. As far back as 1944, the
educational use of comics was regarded of such importance that the Journal of
Educational Sociology devoted the entire Volume 18, Issue 4 to the topic (Yang 2003:
1).

2. Visual literacy

We live in a visual society. Television, film, the Internet and advertising rely very
strong on the power of images and pictures. The NetGeneration is visual
communicators. According to Barry (1997: 75; 78) it is images, not words, that
communicate most deeply, and when an image is combined with words, like in a
comic strip, the words become secondary but the language of images remains
primary.

Visual literacy - the ability to interpret the meaning of illustrations of various kinds
(Fenwick 1998: 132), to read pictures - is seen as being part of children’s reading
development. Hughes (1998: 115-116) regards visual literacy as an important skill
across the school curriculum and describes visual literacy across the curriculum as:
 Reading images in the world around us – often commercial;
 Reading pictures in books;
 Using visual images to support reading of simple texts;
 Reading symbols and pictures in the school/classroom environment to
promote literacy;
 Creating meaningful visual images to record understanding of tasks;
 Using pictures in non-fiction texts to support learning of subject
knowledge;
 Using pictures in fictional texts to support learning of subject knowledge;
 Reading the page – different ways in which text and pictures may be
presented.


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Picture books and comics support visual literacy. Children learn to read pictures
before they can read print. Comics are a visual medium that combines the written
word with the visual concept. Comics are a way of graphic storytelling. Images are
more direct than written texts.

Comic readers have to learn to read comic books and need to develop a certain
“comics literacy”. To read comics or a graphic novel the critical skills needed for all
reading comprehension are needed. This requires many essential literacy skills,
including the ability to understand a sequence of events, to interpret characters’
nonverbal gestures, to discern the story’s plot, and to make interferences (Lyga 2006).
This literacy includes understanding the unique language of comics as well as
knowing how to decipher comic books. Readers need to understand the basic
vocabulary of language in comics - words, pictures, and other icons – and how these
elements interact (Pustz 1999: 121). Reading comics requires active involvement
form the reader.

3. Comics

3.1 Historical overview

Comic books have a rich history. Using images and sequences of pictures to
communicate were common in early civilizations and ancient cultures, for example
cave drawings, the Egyptian hieroglyphics and stained glass windows showing
Biblical scenes. The Bayeux tapestry in Normandy (c1100) has sometimes been
claimed to be an early example of a strip cartoon (Sabin 2005: 11).

Rodolphe Töpffer, a Swiss artist, formalised his thoughts on the picture story in his
Essay on Physiognomics in 1845 (Comics 2007: 3). Satirical drawings like Punch in
newspapers were popular through the 19th century. In Germany in 1865 the strip Max
and Moritz, by Wilhelm Bush was published in a newspaper (Comics 2007: 4).
Comics as we know now were first created in the last half of the nineteenth century in
England when the first regular comic strip appeared in 1884 with the first comics
hero, Ally Sloper. This was followed by Comic Cuts in 1890. In the United States the
first comic character - The Yellow Kid - appeared in 1896 (Saraceni 2003: 1).

Comic strips became very popular and in the early 1930s some publishers began to
publish them in the form of a book. In Europe (especially in Belgium, France, Italy
and Spain) children’s magazines began to publish comics during the 1930s. These
comics became very popular, the most famous of whom Herge’s Tintin, which is still
a favourite in the 21st century. Superman made his first appearance in 1938 and
Batman the following year (Sarceni 2003: 2). Comic books began in the 1930s as
reprint collections of newspaper strips (Pustz 1999; 26).

In the late 1940s the so-called “crime” and “horror” comics became popular. Crime
and violence were portrayed and many people worried about the effect that these
comics might have on children. These concerns gave rise to campaigns against
comics. Peanuts, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy, one of the all-time
favourites, was created during the 1950s (Saraceni 2003: 3). Asterix made his
appearance in 1959 and is still a best seller.


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Superheros like Spiderman and The Fantastic Four appeared in the early 1960s. It was
also during this time that underground comics, called “comix” were published (Pustz
1999: 60). These were intended for adult readers.

Comics became more intellectual and started to attract scholarly attention, especially
in Europe. At the end of the 1970s the first “graphic novel” - A contract with God –
was published. This novel was aimed at adults. The comic by Art Spiegelman (1986),
Maus, which portrayed life in the concentration camp of Auswitz, established comics
as an adult art form (Saraceni 2003: 3).

Throughout Europe and Latin America, and in Canada and Japan, comics are now
regarded as artistic and cultural productions. “The comic book has evolved from
humble beginnings into a graphically sophisticated and culturally revealing medium”
(Sabin 2005). Improvements in printing technology have brought a radical
transformation in the way comics are produced. Previously the common image of a
comic was of a cheaply produced throwaway, but today photographic-quality paper
and fully painted artwork are commonplace (Sabin 2005: 7). In the 21st century
comics explore new possibilities offered by digital graphics and the Internet. Many
popular Hollywood films are based on, or adapted from comic books, for example
Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Daredevil and The Fantastic Four.

3.2 Characteristics of comics

The early comic strips, both in England and America, were of a humorous nature and
the attribute “comic” remained, although there is most often no trace of comical
elements in many comics today (Saraceni 2003: 4). The term “comic” was accepted
through popular usage and refer to the form rather than the content. The term “graphic
novel” (short novels done in the medium of comics), is an extension of the “comic
book” as visual narrative.

Comics are seen as “a narrative form consisting of pictures arranged in sequence”
(Varnum & Gibbons 2001: xvi). McCloud (1993) and Eisner (1985) underline
“sequential art” as the unique character of comics.

“Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art
consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the
form of speech balloons or image captions” (Comics 2007: 1).

Kannenberg (2001: 183) describes the pictures in a comic as the visual narrative and
the word as the textual narrative.

Comics are thus characterised by
• the combination of both words and pictures, with a relatively small number of
words;
• the sequential order of these images organised into units, graphically separated
from each other.

Comics have the following components: Panels, gutters, balloons and captions
(Saraceni 2003: 7-10).


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• The panels: Each page is normally composed of a number of rectangular
frames named panels.
• The gutter: Each panel is separated from the others by a blank space called the
gutter.
• The balloon: The use of balloons, in which text is inserted and imposed into
the panel which contains the pictures, is one of the principal characteristics of
comics. Other types of print such as children’s books and advertising also
combine images and words, but the use of balloons is unique to comics
(Khordoc 2001: 156 - 157). The balloons contain direct speech, but significant
proportions of it are essentially narrative. It shows that a character is speaking
(in the first person) and this makes the reader’s involvement in the story much
deeper.
Balloons may report speech or thought. The tail of the balloon indicates the
character who is speaking or thinking.
• The caption: The caption is not inside the panel, but is always a separate
entity, at the top or bottom of the panel. The text in the caption represents the
narrator’s voice and add information to the dialogues in the balloons.



Artists who produce comics bring their own individual style to this medium. Two
basic art styles - realistic and cartoony - have been identified (Comics 2007: 6).
• The cartoony style uses comic effects and a variation of line widths.
Characters tend to have rounded, simplified anatomy.
• The realistic style focuses more on realistic anatomy and shapes.

Superheroes are very popular characters in comics. Superheroes are the modern myth,
and we create myths to solve impossible, inhumanly large problems. Many comic
books involve some form of masculine power fantasy and are very popular among
male readers. Boys love the action adventure of comics.

The use of both pictures and words together is not a unique characteristic of comics,
but the way in which these elements interact with each other is. The arrangement into
sequences of panels makes comics different from cartoons, which are composed of

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one panel only. Illustrated children’s books and picture books have a structural
difference from comics. Both of them involve a series of images that tell a story
coupled with a text. The structural difference is that children’s books make use of
narration boxes instead of word balloons, and comics use panels.

Most readers are familiar with the two fundamental forms of comics, namely comic
strips (simply a sequence of cartoons, most commonly four panels long) in
newspapers or magazines, and comic books and graphic novels, which are longer
comic stories.

Web comics are online comics available on the Internet (Comics 2007: 8).
Instructional comics are utilized to convey information, for example, strips designed
for educative or informative purposes like the instructions on an aeroplane’s safety
card (Comics 2007: 8).

4. The value of comics in getting children engaged in reading and developing a
reading habit.

Comics are a controversial art form. Over a lengthy period of time comics have
provoked debate. In the United States, comics have traditionally been considered a
“lowbrow medium” (Varnum & Gibbons 2001: x). Many adults have reservations
about comic books as acceptable reading material for children. Since the early 1940s
librarians had been worried about comic books and comics were seen as an enemy of
other reading. An article by a children’s librarian Jean Gray Harker in 1948 argued
that comic books were among the most profound and cultural threats of the day.

In the 21st century children’s lives are dominated by television, video games, play
stations and the Internet - all visual media. Children of all ages are able to respond to
visual texts. The direct approach of comics makes the reader a participant in one way
or another. Young readers feel involved in the story as they experience it visually and
directly. Comics usually require less effort to read. The messages of the pictures are
being assisted by the short, readable texts. The format of picture and text can hold a
child’s attention longer than print only.

One of the first goals in reading development is the nurturing of positive attitudes
toward reading. A positive attitude toward reading is an important factor in the
development of a reading habit. Reading comics is a way to develop a positive
attitude towards reading and to get children engaged in reading. Comics entertain.
Children usually enjoy comics and read them for pleasure. Enjoyment of reading
comics could lead to lead to enjoying other reading materials. Children are more
likely to continue reading once they think of reading as enjoyable. Two large surveys,
both of 8,000 learners, conducted in the United Kingdom in 1977 and repeated in
1996 found that comics are the most potent form of periodical reading (Fenwick
1998: 132).

Even before a child is ready to read text, sequential art can give them practice in
making meaning from material printed on a page, tracking left to right and top to
bottom, interpreting symbols, and following the sequence of events in a story.
Sequential art provides plenty of opportunity for connecting the story to children’s
own experiences, predicting what will happen and inferring what happens between

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panels, just as they would do with a text story. The advantage of sequential art is that
children do not need to be able to decode text to learn and practice comprehension
skills (Edmunds 2006).

Parents would purchase comic books to encourage reading, especially for children
who have difficulty with reading text only. Many children become intimidated and
overwhelmed and give up when they are confronted with pages and pages of text.
Reading comics can motivate them to read.

Many adults begun with superhero comic books as children and never stopped
enjoying reading comics. Comic book readers feel a sense of ownership, collect
comics and join fan clubs (Comics 2007: 5).

An academic study of children’s comic book reading habits – “The children talk about
comics” - was already done in 1949 by Katherine Wolf and Marjorie Fiske (Pustz
1999: 33). They found that many children prefer comic reading to all other activities.
Learners who can read well as well as learners with reading problems are attracted to
comics.

The value of comics in the classroom gets more and more attention, for example:
 Educational journals such as The Reading Teacher acknowledge that comics
have a motivational power in literacy development for children (Grant 2006).
 The New York City Comic Book Museum offers a complete English
curriculum built around comics (Starr 2004).
Kids love Comics (KLC) is an organization of professionals and patrons of the
comic book, publishing, and children’s book industries, dedicated to
increasing awareness and interest in kid’s comics
(http://www.kidslovecomics.com).
 The Comic Book Project (http://www.comicbookproject.org) is an arts-based
literacy and learning initiative to help children developing their literacy skills
by writing, designing, and publishing original comic books. Children write
and draw about their personal experiences and interests, thereby engaging
them in the learning process.

Some evidence of the positive role of the incorporation of comics into school reading
practices in the early years is provided by the results of Marsh’s study in two
Sheffield schools in the United Kingdom (Marsh & Millard 2000: 110). Comics can
be used in the classroom in a variety of ways.

Comics have the ability to present complex material in readable text and can assist in
teaching subjects like science and social studies. In recent years, a few scientists and
comic book artists have joined forces to portray scientific facts in comic format, for
example the comic books by Jay Hosler, a biologist, explaining in one of his books
Darwin’s evolution theory to a tiny follicle mite living in his eyebrow (Ulaby 2005:
1). The Cartoon history of the universe 11 (Gonick 1994) presents history with irony
and humour. The comic format can be used to present facts about drugs, nutrition,
birth control, AIDS, and other issues to teenagers in an appealing way. The
Rothamsted Research Lab is publishing comics with stories about various science
topics called Science Stories Comic (www.bbrc.ac.uk/life/comic).


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Comics can foster language development in various ways. According to Stephen
Cary, a second language learner specialist, “Comics provides authentic language
learning opportunities … The dramatically reduced text of comics makes them
manageable and language profitable for even beginning level readers” (Starr 2004).
Readability makes comics attractive to young readers. The language used in comics is
language used in every day conversations. Comic speech and thought are reported
directly. The language in comics is usually personal and brief. This is in general much
simpler than it is in conventional literary texts. Comics are ideal for comprehension
work, as well as teaching punctuation. The contents of the bubbles is usually direct
speech and this can teach learners what direct speech entails (Fenwick 1998: 142).
Comics can expand a child’s vocabulary by giving contexts to words that the child
would not normally have been exposed to (Grant 2006).

Comics can enhance second language learning. Comics present language in action.
They help improve reading development for learners struggling with language
acquisition, as the illustrations provide contextual clues to the meaning of the written
narrative (Edmunds 2006). Adaptations of literary works in comic format can be
useful in English classes.

Children can learn story elements through reading comics. Almost always fiction,
comics are useful for introducing concepts such as narrative structure and character
development (Grant 2006: 1). Like novels, comics and graphic novels have a
beginning, middle, and end as well as a main character or characters that develop
through conflicts and the story’s climax.

The availability of suitable comics for classroom use is still limited. Some feature
violent images and or adult topics. It takes careful planning and consideration to
choose comics for educational purposes. Mthombothi Studios in South Africa is
publishing educational comics “The adventures of Themba and Bizza”, typical comic
book heroes, and their adventures are set against a background of Southern African
history and mythology. These books are also being translated into several languages.

Research by Krashen and Ujiie in the United States showed that middle school (ages
10-14) boys who were heavy comic book readers liked reading more, read more in
general, and read more books than lighter comic book readers, who in turn read more
than non-comic book readers (Krashen 2005). Research done in Scotland has
confirmed that comic book reading could be the key to encouraging more young boys
to read and to read comics could improve literacy rates (Schofield 2005).

A comic book collection in the school library and in the children’s department in the
public library could be an innovative way to attract children to the library. Tintin and
Asterix are favourites in the library. To encourage children to make a transition from
comics to other traditional reading materials, comic books are shelved between other
reading materials. Comics are a way to begin to convince children that the library
does have something to offer them.

5. Conclusion

The comic book has been one of the most familiar, but least appreciated popular art
forms. Comics can be seen as a way to get children to enjoy reading and to read for

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pleasure. The focus used to be on getting children to read the so-called “good”
literature. A paradigm shift indicates that the primary concern now is simply to get
children reading. “Children have a lot more to worry about from their parents who
raised them than from the books they read” (Doctorow) (Books and reading 2002: 19)

Comics reduce the amount of text in a story to a manageable level and give learners
whole stories that they can complete reading in a reasonable time. The use of comics
in school can provide a link to the reading experience of children for whom books and
reading may be associated predominantly with schoolwork.

Comics can thus play a role to motivate reluctant readers, engage children in reading,
develop the comprehension and language skills of second-language learners and teach
visual literacy. Comics can provide a stepping stone to other kinds of reading and
their acceptance as part of reading materials especially at school can support children
who are reluctant to read for pleasure. “Comics are books, too”.

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