Advocates for the inclusion in the curriculum of comics and graphic novels as ‘literary’ works are no doubt right about their potential to engage young readers, and perhaps even reluctant ones. Research so far indicates that students are attracted to their use in school curricula. Moreover, a significant number of students choose them to read for pleasure outside of school. The view that comics/graphic novels are somehow ‘inferior’ and less ‘literary’ than traditional reading texts is misguided — some are, some aren’t, just as some novels are and some aren’t literary. Many comics/graphic novels contain dense narratives — each panel is packed with information and requires the reader to make meaning of a complex system of symbolic expression that involves words, illustrations, and elements of design. Furthermore, comics/graphic novels are complex visual texts more akin to film than novels. They employ cinematic language and devices, and require the reader to make closure at every turn, while also unpacking the narrative density and decoding the conventions and codes. To teach them effectively requires at least a basic understanding of comics as a medium of communication, and implicates media literacy and critical literacy, as well as traditional literacy.

Literature on literacy and reading consistently shows that students turn off reading (or never turn on to it) when the texts:

• explore a topic about which they know nothing and have no prior knowledge or
• context for understanding,
• are seemingly irrelevant,
• are too hard and/or too long — or have to be read too quickly,
• are always chosen for them (as being suitable),
• are too narrow in focus or content,
• are redundant,
• contain/reflect values and beliefs they don’t share,
• are not introduced and/or taught effectively.

It has been my experience that comics can be used to address some of the problems identified above. As well, I think they can be employed to turn students on to ‘traditional’ literature, although I also believe that many comics/graphic novels are too complex and difficult for weak or reluctant readers. Certain comics/graphic novels are literary in every sense of the word, and their comprehension requires quite sophisticated skills and knowledge. In my opinion, comics and graphic novels should be used just as any text is used in the class, and not just as a literacy ‘tool’. They can promote critical and autonomous thinking, and support the development of real reading comprehension.

Reading comprehension requires active reading and engagement with the text. It calls for students to do more than just decode the language and identify the key ideas and elements. Proficient readers should be able to make sense of the text’s deep structures through a process of preparing to read, reading, rereading, summarizing, interrogating, interpreting, speculating, evaluating, analyzing, synthesizing and hypothesizing. As Richard Allington notes in What Really Matters for Struggling Readers (Longman 2001), a reader should be making connections between the text and other texts, the text and her own life, and the text and the world in which she lives. Keene and Zimmerman (1997) use the terms ‘literary connections’, ‘personal connections’, and ‘global connections’ to describe the same process.

To that end, comics are a resource that can yield wonderful results …

• Are comics and graphic novels challenging enough for adolescent readers? Yes, depending on the comic/graphic novel — and one’s definition of the term ‘challenging’.
• Aren’t graphic novels just for kids? The average age for the graphic novel reader is 29 years old.
• Aren’t they mostly read by males? It depends on the genre. Superhero comics tend to be read by boys/men, although young women like Catwoman and She-Hulk. Manga, Archie Comics and the Sandman series are examples of texts that are very popular with a female audience.
• Do they contain ‘problematic’ content? Yes, sometimes, as does Othello, Catcher in the Rye, The Bluest Eye, The Sweet Hereafter, etc.

Superhero, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure, Romance, War, Mystery, Horror/Supernatural, Crime/Thriller, Adolescent Life, Humour/Satire, Political Commentary, Autobiography, Historical Fiction, Educational, Reality, Adaptation (from other media such as novels, video games, films, television programs, etc), and Adult/X-rated, to name the main categories.

Manga means ‘comic’ in Japanese. It could be considered a category of its own, with various sub-categories such as Kodomo, which is for 6 to 11-year olds, and Yaoi, which is for girls. The term manga refers to the format of the book rather than the content. Manga style is identifiable in part because the human characters have sharp features and eyes that are disproportionately large for their faces/bodies. Highly exaggerated facial expressions and reactions are common. The backgrounds are also often very detailed, especially in contrast to the characters. Manga style has begun to manifest in several American comics such as Spiderman and Teen Titans.

Manga generally is divided into stories for a ‘male’ (shonen) and those for a ‘female’ (shojo) audience. For example, Dragon Ball is a popular comic for boys in which the protagonists battle power-hungry villains — each side has fairly evenly matched Martial Arts and Super powers. Crimson Hero is a popular romance comic for girls. As mentioned, also intended for girls are Yaoi comics, which are all about boy-boy romance. Some gay males read these also, as do older heterosexual women. In addition, Manga has a category of sports comics for both boys (e.g. Whistle, Speed Racer) and girls (e.g. Aim for the Ace, Attack No. 1).

• they contain stories not told elsewhere or otherwise (e.g. Bone, Hellboy, Persepolis)
• their use can meet the needs of students who are visual/spatial learners
• their inclusion acknowledges/validates the students’ own consumption/reading
• our students have been raised in a visual culture and seem predisposed to their use
• they manifest/share aspects of visual storytelling in other media such as film
• they provide a different/unique way to explore narrative elements (plot, setting, character, theme and narrative structure) ; devices and techniques of style (codes and conventions) such as literal and figurative imagery, repetition, emphasis, pacing, diction, tone, dramatic irony, and foreshadowing; uses and forms of dialogue; and narrative patterns and archetypes
• they provide opportunities to explore/discuss the concept and practice of adaptation
• they are well suited for examination of values, beliefs, representations, discourse, etc., contained in them. i.e. they lend themselves naturally to a Critical Literacy approach
• they contain depictions of diverse ethnic, religious, and other under-represented communities, and address a range of social issues such as poverty, discrimination, multiculturalism, etc.
• the content and language is often mature and not condescending; the problems and conflicts are those that adults face, especially with respect to questions of ethics and morality
• they can be read fairly quickly — the more one reads, the more one develops reading fluency, and the more one is likely to learn to read with comprehension
• they generally appeal to young people and are very popular in certain circles
• they often appeal to reluctant readers (those who can but won’t read), for various reasons
• they often appeal to and seem to help students who are struggling with their reading
• they are “at least as beneficial as other reading” to those developing literacy skills (Krashen 101)
• for many readers, they act as a bridge to more ‘complex’ texts like novels
• their creation involves a range of skills/knowledge, and is an ideal platform for collaboration
• they lend themselves to interdisciplinary use in Art, Civics, Leadership, History, Family Studies, Science, Environmental Studies, Geography/World Issues, English, Media, etc.
• if students (not to mention lots of adults) are reading them, we should be too, for the sake of  curiousity, if nothing else, and to broaden our understanding of contemporary popular culture

Over the decades, comics have come in and out of favour in North America. For example, at present they are very popular and are being championed by academics, librarians, public educators, literary critics, comic book stores, and the artists themselves. Similarly, from about 1984 to 1994, they sold exceptionally well in the U.S. and Canada, in part because of the emergence of several remarkable texts such as Maus, Watchmen and Love and Rockets, among others. In 1993, gross revenues in the United States reached an all time high of just under $1-billion. But for the decade that followed, there was a steady drop in their popularity — in North America, but not in other parts of the world. Many comic book stores went bankrupt; many artists packed it in. Other media played a role in this decline, as did the comic book collector-speculator who caused the price of comics to be artificially inflated.

Clearly, these cycles of consumption are influenced by social norms and tastes, and the emergence of other media. For instance, comics were quite popular after the Second World War in part because American soldiers had read them overseas and returned with an appetite for them. However, in response to hysteria over the “corrupting influence” of comics on children in the early 1950s — spurred on in part by a book by Dr. Frederic Wertham entitled The Seduction of the Innocent —  comic book publishers were forced by the U.S. Congress to conform to certain “community standards” or else be put out of business. The perception was that because comics were full of depictions of gore, sex and violence, children who read them would turn into social deviants. These standards or regulations are inscribed in the 1954 Comics Code Authority (CCA).

The Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) reviews all comics and if appropriate, approves their publication; the comic is stamped with a CCA seal on the cover to show that it has ‘passed’ inspection. The CCA is actually a relatively short document of about 1,800 words. There are two main categories for standards: Code for Editorial Matter and Code for Advertising Matter. Below are some of its key regulations, as outlined in “Code Red in the new comicdom,” by James Adams (Globe and Mail, May 2, 2000).

• In every instance, good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds.
• Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary gunplay, physical agony, gory and gruesome crimes shall be eliminated.
• Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism and werewolfism are prohibited.
• All characters shall be depicted in dress reasonably acceptable to society.
• Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested.
• Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities.
• Advertising for the sale of knives, concealable weapons or realistic gun facsimiles is prohibited.

Given the fact that the content of most other contemporary media falls well outside the Code’s boundaries, it’s no wonder that some comic book publishers are abandoning the Code in order to hold on to their readers and attract new ones.