A. David Lewis Talks Shakespeare and Comics

Listen to this podcast that explores connections between comics and Willy D. Shakes. Ol' Shaggstaff himself! I'm talkin' 'bout Shakespeare.

I LOVE IT when folks discuss comics and Shakespeare because sometimes  elitists hold Billy Shaggy up as the apex while shitting on the concepts of comics in the classroom, visual literacies or multimodal literacies. While, of course, the reality is that Shakespeare is, perhaps, the most visual of our canonical figures. His work can be read but is best understood by reading and viewing it. Ahem... like with comics.

I'm gonna talk about this a little bit at my speaking gig at the Denver Comic and Literacy Convention in June. This online conversation over at "The Mousetrap" makes me so eager!

Plus, this is a good source to share with you after yesterday's sharing of the English Journal article on reading comics and Bill Shacklestick.

May 2012 English Journal Boasts *TWO* Articles on GN's

The May 2012 issue of the NCTE publication English Journal  features two articles on graphic novels. Mary Rice's "Using Graphic Texts in Secondary Classrooms: A Tale of Endurance" is a bit of a rehash of previously and continuously made points, which is doubly frustrating considering the lack of citations for certain figures' work (including mine). But, everyone's at a different point along the comics-and-literacy spectrum, it seems.

It does seem a little odd for NCTE not to take an opportunity to hock its products, though, and I know my edited collection published with them still sells. To be fair, I read the copies via PDF, so maybe there was mention of it somewhere in the journal.  But, I remain frustrated at the political nature of education's "ethos" when it comes to citing previous relevant work.

Paula Wolfe and Danille Kleijwegt's "Interpreting Graphic Version of Shakespearean Plays" is the more intriguing and relevant of the two and features a dose of semiotics and Thierry Groensteen. Folks seem to be getting the picture that Groensteen and Kress  match exceptionally well, and that's a good thing. This article would pair well with one I recently published with Theory Into Practice, in which I discuss psycho-social semiotics and comics-across-platforms. It would not have been available for citing in time for publication, so I'm not implying it should have been.  But, I do like that others are going in directions I think the area of comics-and-literacy should go.

Artifacts from Jack Kirby's Design for Shakespeare Play

Click here to read an article about a California college, Julius Caesar, and the King of Comics! A blast from the groovy past!

Two Awesome Comics Conferences This Weekend!

Sequential SmArt, a conference on comics and education, is taking place at Juniata College this weekend. (Where's the love, organizers??) So, if you're in the Huntingdon, PA, area this weekend, check it out.

Also, the University of Chicago is hosting a Comics and Philosophy Conference at the Gray Center.

GNR Posts Great Roundtable on Girls/Women and Comics

Click here for the interesting read!

2012: Cinco de Mayo is Free Comic Book Day

Looking for a literacy event for you and the kids and teens in your life? Try the annual Free Comic book Day, which is always the first Saturday of May. Say? Aye! Feigh? Nay! Going? Yay! 

Irony Comic via The Oatmeal

Just click the link. You'll enjoy it.

TIME Shows Comics Some Love in May 7 Issue

This week, TIME has articles on Alison Bechdel's latest graphic novel, Are You My Mother? and also features a write-up on Joss Whedon due to his role in the Avengers movie.

Here's a great quote from Whedon: "For genre to be ghettoized in the minds of the big thinkers means that they're not thinking big enough."

I heart Joss.

Please Support The Graphic Textbook Project

Reading With Pictures has launched its second major Kickstarter campaign, this time to support The Graphic Textbook:

"Aimed at grades 3-6, The Graphic Textbook features a dozen short stories (both fiction and non-fiction) that address topics in a variety of disciplines (Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, Science) drawn from the list of Common Core Standards used in classrooms countrywide. The accompanying Teacher’s Guide will include Standards-correlated lesson plans customized to each story, research-based justifications for using comics in the classroom, a guide to establishing best classroom practices and a comprehensive listing of additional educational resources."




To learn more, click here:

Disclaimer: I am associated with Reading With Pictures now. Happy to be so associated, in fact.

Comics Get Political in Malaysia

From an April 13, 2012 story in Malaysia Chronicle:

"KUALA LUMPUR,— Copies of a political comic book extolling the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government have been circulating among teachers in recent weeks ahead of the 13th general elections, purportedly distributed by state education departments."

Big Questions wins 2012 Lynd Ward GN Prize

"Sponsored by Penn State University Libraries and administered by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize is presented annually to the best graphic novel, fiction or non-fiction, published in the previous calendar year by a living U.S. citizen or resident."

Click the link embedded in this post's title for more information and more honorees.

The Color of Earth Makes ALA's "Frequently Challenged" Books List for 2012

Kim Dong Hwa's graphic novel trilogy is the only comics work on the list this year, which is not as strange to me as the fact that I never read any stories about this book being challenged, and I'm sort of on the lookout for those things.

To read the rest of the list, click here. It may have been posted in 2012, but it is based in information from 2011, of course.

White, Mixed-Race Spider-Men to Meet this Summer!

Some of you may recall the uproar that stemmed from Marvel's decision to make the new Ultimate version of Spider-Man a teen of mixed ethnic heritage. Miles Morales is half African American and half Latino, but he's all-fan when it comes to Peter Parker, the white teen who was the original Ultimate Spider-Man and who remains the eponymous web slinger in Marvel's 656 universe (albeit no longer a teen). Morales only knows the Ultimate version, though, who was killed last year.

Despite the fact that Morales is a great character and respectful of the Spidey legacy, some will never be happy with him simply because he's "of color."

So, it makes me very happy to see that Marvel is going to let the "original original" Spider-Man meet the latest. It's going to be a little subversive slap in the face to the haters when these two hit it off. :)

Wildcat Comic Con Brings Together Comics Lovers and Educators, April 13-14

The two-day "celebration of comics in the classroom to be held this weekend, April 13-14, at the Pennsylvania College of Technology." Our buddy John Shableski seems to be a key organizer. Bet it will be a fun event!

Teacher Says No Comics; Student Replies With Research

When Sam, a third-grader in Alaska, was told by his teacher that comics weren't allowed in the classroom, he decided to do something about it. He researched the benefits of reading comics and presented his findings at the Science Fair. His project ended up winning a prize at the state finals!

Action research, folks. What's not good about this story? By the way, you can get more details by clicking the link embedded in this post's title.

YA Graphic Novel Goodness w/ Dr. Carter Come Summer Session 2012

I've already mentioned all the graphic novel's we're going to be covering in ENG 5340, but my YA Lit class is also going to feature several comics. Raina Telgemeier's Smile will be the book with which we open the course. Jeremy Love's Bayou is also on the reading list, as is Faith Erin Hicks' recent Friends with Boys.

That's 3 of 13 texts in the comics format, 4 if we count the cartoon hybrid text in Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Several other books will make us of imagetext dynamics as well, such as Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

The course will be offered throughout the month of June as one of UTEP's "Summer Session I" classes.

Nich Sousanis' Comics Dissertation Gets Love from The Chronicle of Higher Education

Great to see this high-profile resource spotlighting what is apparently going to be a major work on learning and comics, crafted in the comics form. Go, Nick!

High School GN Reader Speaks Out

Typically the comics-and-literacy line has been held by teachers, librarians, and professors, but this Op-Ed from Graphic Novel Reporter takes a decidedly different and refreshing spin: It's written by a high schooler!

Elizabeth Heyman, a senior at Watching Hills Regional HS in Warren, New Jersey, talks about how satisfying she finds reading comics for pleasure and for study.

You go, girl!

GNR Publishes Study Guides for Teen-Centric GN's

California Librarians Jack Baur and Jessica Lee have guides up at Graphic Novel Reporter for the following titles:

All Star Superman,American Born Chinese, One Hundred Demons, Persepolis, Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1: Power and Responsibility, Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride and Joy, Scott Pilgrim, and Smile.

Click here to access them.

TONIGHT!: Harvard Hosts Discussion on Zahra's Paradise

Harvard University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies is hosting a web discussion on how to consider and use Zahra's Paradise in educational settings. The event starts at 7:00 this afternoon. If you think you might want to register for the event, contact the center via this email: cmesoc@fas.harvard.edu and log in around 6:45.

I hate that I'm going to miss it, especially since I'll be using this new graphic novel in a graduate-level class I'm teaching next semester. Hopefully the recording will be archived, but if you've got the hour available, you might want to listen in -- and participate too!