Happy New Year!

May 2009 bring many blessings and great comic art! (Pictured: Baby New Year gets a security upgrade)

Who Watches the Watchmen? Maybe No one..

Would Fox just tell Warner Bros how much money it wants so we can get this film out to the public already? Somebody powerful, start up the threat of a boycott, will ya? I'd do it, but I can't even get my oldest son to stop "Dog Whispering" me. (Seriously, "Psshht!" is his favorite thing to do now when we tell him something he doesn't like).

(This is where I would post a yellow frowny face with some red blotch on it if I had access to my editing software)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Poverty and the Brain

It took me a long time to realize we grew up poor. My mother, like so many other Americans, would tell me, "Well, there are people who surely have more than we do, but there are people who have a lot less than we do too, so we must be middle class" once I got around to asking questions, and I believed her for a long time.

As an adult and as an academic, though, I now see the impact that being raised in poverty has had on my development and on my world view. A growing body of evidence is suggesting that poverty has a major impact on the brain development of children. Partly because children in poverty-stricken homes have so few quality verbal and reading interactions, areas of their brains don't function as well as they should.

Now, how does this possibly tie into a blog focusing on comics and education? Perhaps in the past you've been , or at least you know or have known, a teacher who did or does not allow certain types of literature in his/her classroom, under the ideology that not all text can be considered literature. One thing I glean from these types of studies is a greater appreciation for accepting all texts, comics included, in the classroom, because the textual interactions we allow our students to have may be among the best or only ones to which some of them have access.

Me Tarzan; You Hooked Reader!

Graphic Novel Reporter has a great little ditty from Bill Willingham (Fables) detailing the text that made him an avid reader. Think "loincloth" and enjoy!

Good Sign or Harbinger of Trouble?

The excellent graphic novel publisher First Second (:01) has been absorbed into MacMillan's children's publishing line. Just as did Tom Spurgeon(follow link embedded in this post's title), I noticed that the most recent catalogue from :01 lacked significant graphic novels marketed to more mature audiences. This is a real shame, as some of :01's best books have been best suited for teens and up.

Is this good news or not so great information? On the one hand, if publishers are pushing kid-friendly graphic novels, they may be "building the gateway" for more mature titles to make a comeback as these readers get hooked and want more sophisticated material.

On the other hand, as has been noted in this blog and several others, we're seeing stand-alone original graphic novels for older readers take a bit of a hit as publishers move to younger audiences and marketers keep pushing the "graphic adaptation" route (which has its place but represents "one step forward, two step back" thinking, in my opinion) to teachers.

I implore you, motivated readers!: Support good graphic novels for their own merits and move beyond the "easy" work of thinking you're progressive because you're letting kids read a graphic adaptation of the Iliad. Sure, you're on the right track as far as comics integration go, but you're only at step one. Go read some great titles like Good-bye, Chunky Rice, Bone, or even Persepolis or Deogratias if you want to see some new and exciting epic journeys unfold!

Bring in '09!

I just finished my first real semester at UTEP (not counting a summer session course), and my comics offerings were slim but good. Students in my "Dramatic Modes of the English Language Arts" were asked to read from Big Fat Little Lit and/or the Smithsonian Collection of Comic-Book Stories. Students on my "English Lab" course had the opportunity to craft lesson plans from excerpts from Will Eisner's "Izzy the Cockroach" and the web-comic version of "After the Deluge." I also had an article on graphic novels and the "Genre vs. Format" debate published in The ALAN Review, was part of an NCTE web seminar on teaching graphic novels, was part of 4 presentations on sequential art and literacy at the NCTE national convention, and was a keynote or guest speaker at several state-level NCTE conferences (New Hampshire, Iowa, Oregon and North Carolina).

As full of comics goodness as 2008 was for me and those willing to listen to me, Spring semester and the first half of 09 look to really be buzzing with Carter-crafted graphic novel pedagogy excitement!:

1. I'll have an article on graphic novels in a journal with major circulation that should finally extend the conversation on GN's and education beyond the "phase 1" mode of defining and listing. More on that when it is available, but expect something in March in a journal that reaches almost 110,000 readers.

2. I'll be teaching my "English Lab" course again and will touch on graphic novels in the same ways as mentioned before and in asking students to consider full definitions of text, reading, literacy, and the English Language Arts as defined by NCTE.

3. I'll be offering a special topics graduate-level course entitled "Teaching the Graphic Novel" which will explore research and scholarship on teaching GN's in k-12 settings with multiple student populations. And, of course, we'll be reading great graphic novels -- standards like Maus and Persepolis -- and newer titles like La Perdida, American Widow, and The Education of Hopey Glass. We'll throw in some comics scholarship, some critical theory, and some process assignments and hopefully have a blast.

4. In that class, we'll be reading Watchmen, and I hope to be able to work with an area theatre to host a special viewing for my class and maybe even do a talk on the novel before or after the viewing. Let's hope all the red tape clears and the movie actually makes it to the box office!!

5. I'm hosting a mini-conference on "The Comics in El Paso" which I should have subtitled "Border Issues" since the folks who will be speaking, Jaime Portillo, Julian Lawler, and keynote Jai Nitz will all talk about how El Paso and Juarez influence or influenced their recent work, and one reads comics by literally crossing borders from panel to panel.

6. I have had major positive news from my publisher about my second edited collection on teaching graphic novels and will be very busy getting the manuscript prepped for an Autumn 09 debut.

7. Number 6 happened in part because my first book on the subject, Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels: Page by Page, Panel by Panel, continues to do well. It is in its second printing and has broken the 100,000 rank at Amazon.com several times over the past few months. That might not ever top the time I saw it in the top 15,000 titles, but that's still pretty good.

8. There's the possibility that a chapter in a book on teaching graphic novels at the college level might finally get published and also coincide nicely with the release of the Watchmen movie, and I have at least two other chapters or articles accepted on comics and pedagogy for further-down-the-road ventures, and I have three entries for the upcoming revised edition of an encyclopedia of comic art to get to the editor.

9. I'll also be continuing work on the conference front: I'll be a keynote speaker at the first-annual Graphica Conference in NYC, assuming the parties involved can get some things sorted out, and I'll be workshopping on comics and literacy elements in Missouri at the big "Write to Learn" conference.

And that's just what I know for now. I'll keep looking for new possibilities and doing scholarship/research on SANE issues 'till it drives me crazy, or 'till it tenures me. Oh, hell, who am I kidding? I'll keep at as long as I'm able, which I hope will be a long time.

Graphic Novel Reporter Goes Live!

A new resource for news and reviews and more on GN's. They've got a kids section and look to be somewhat student-friendly, but it's just up, so it will take some time to truly figure out their identity. But, it is another outlet for info, and the more the merrier!

"Best Of" Round-up

Dick H. is gathering up many of the "Best Of" lists on the year's notable graphic novels and making them available on his blog. That is tedious work, so thanks to this brave and resourceful soul!

"Year in Review" Stuffs Popping Up

Along with all the "Best Of" lists populating comics blogs as of late, "Year in Review" articles have been bountiful as well, particularly as folks compare this year's "finally we call it a recession" market to those of recent years past.

I was glad to see Heidi at the Beat notice something about graphic novel publishing that I too had noticed after visiting the exhibitor's booths at this year's NCTE:

"Plus, if you look closely, most of the books coming out from Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hill & Wang and so on, are beginning to slide into two camps: non-fiction “teaching” comics, such as the bestselling 9/11 Report graphic novel, (which had a little-noted, low-selling sequel this year), and bestselling fiction adaptations, like Tokyopop/HarperCollins’ manga adaptation of Erin Hunter’s The Warriors, which have sold thousands and thousands of copies."

Heidi is speaking generally, of course, but her conclusion was one I reached at NCTE. There were some great exceptions. The :01 booth was chocked full of great books, and I know of many wonderful graphic novels that weren't being marketed to the ELA educators at the convention. But, if one looked at what was there and excepted the :01 excellence, one saw exactly what Heidi noticed.

Heidi goes on to say that the graphic novel tidal wave has bottomed out but not been destroyed.

I worry that companies will continue to market graphic novels that were made specifically for "teaching purposes," because those books are usually of the worst quality.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: what we need are graphic novelists being graphic novelists. Art Spiegelman has no obligation or responsibility to create comics for the middle or high school classroom. He should simply go about creating his art as he sees fit. It's up to educators to learn about the graphic novel and look at those excellent works and find the pedagogical potential in them. (caveat: Spiegelman and Mouly have been doing some excellent comics work for kids, though. But they're doing it because they want to and can do great work. I'm not suggesting comics artists shouldn't create kids or teens-centered work if they want to, just that they shouldn't feel bound to in any regard.) Teachers teach. Artists create art. Informed teachers know how to integrate art -- and everything else of relevance -- into their classrooms.

Recently I was interviewed by someone who asked me how important lexile scores were when it came to teachers using comics. I told the interviewer that if I were looking for graphic novels, and I saw some with lexile scores and pre-packaged with associated AR points or grade levels, I'd be very dubious of their quality. I'd know they were made and marketed directly to me, the teacher, playing off what marketers thought of as "flash points" to draw my attention and "make my job easier" rather than crafted with quality of material in mind. I told the interviewer, good teachers already know how to level texts.

Better for teachers to look at the sort of themes or big questions they are exploring in their classrooms and look for the high-quality comic art that can help their students further explore said themes and questions. Otherwise, what will happen is eventually folks will catch wise to the poor quality of graphic novels marketed to teachers, and the backlash against them will gain considerable ground, consequently mask marketing to teachers the idea that no comics art is worth teaching, which is the thinking that many already have anyway.

I maintain that only good comics material will have what it takes to help teachers and students build learning connections. If I were a teacher and saw a company trying to sell me graphic novels based only readability or lexile score rather than on theme, big ideas, and excellence of story-telling, I'd be wary.

Good Golly, Mrs.Molly! Kids Sure Love the Bone (Series)!

Not near as nasty as it sounds: A volunteer at a public school library talks about how popular Jeff Smith's Bone series is and how kids who read comics seem to actually be gaining a bit of literacy by doing so. Seems having an environment that is friendly to their interests helps their motivation for learning. Whoodathunkit?

NCTE and 21st Century Skills and Help for Educators

From recent NCTE Inboxes:

P21 Offers Free Guidance for English Teachers: "This framework, which includes examples taken directly from proven classroom practices, represents an exciting tool for teachers and students as they move toward a 21st-century education system," said Kylene Beers, NCTE president. eSchool News, December 3, 2008

This Fair-Use Guide Offers Copyright ShelterNCTE worked with media and legal experts to develop the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. eSchool News, December 8, 2008

NCTE Takes Stands Against Scripted Curricula and English-Only Mandates"
At the 98th NCTE Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, NCTE members adopted resolutions against one-size-fits-all, scripted curricula and against curricula that do not provide English language learners with the best learning opportunities. See the Resolution on Scripted Curricula and the Resolution on English-Only Instructional Policies.

Media Bombardment Is Linked to Ill Effects during Childhood:A meta-analysis of studies on the effects of media on children and adolescents has shown that the number of contact hours with the media and/or the media's content impact the health of children and adolescents. The Washington Post, December 2, 2008

So What Is 21st Century Learning, Anyhow?:
Teachers can use the NCTE Framework for 21st Century Curriculum and Assessment to gauge whether they are providing their students with 21st century learning experiences and assessing these in 21st century ways.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills Debuts:
"21st Century Skills and English Map"NCTE has joined The Partnership for 21st Century Skills to produce the "21st Century Skills and English Map," a framework for integrating 21st century skills into the K-12 English curriculum. T.H.E. Journal, November 24, 2008

Nickelodeon Magazine Wants Kids' Votes For Fave Comics, Strips, and GN's

Heidi at The Beat has the list of categories and titles nominated. An interesting one that is popping up on other lists as well: Brian Selznick's excellent book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It's actually a hybrid text combining prose, illustrated story, sequential art, and film elements. If folks want to call it a graphic novel, that's OK. I may have done so myself. But, it's an excellent book no matter how it is categorized.

Harvard's English Department Moves Toward Thematic Units?

For all the shit educators and teacher educators take from other folks in other departments and from the public at large, it's good to see that, maybe, just maybe, our "crazy" ideas about how students actually learn is useful information.

Undergraduate English courses at none other than Harvard are being reconfigured:

"We are diminishing the role of chronology as the absolute, as the only organizing rubric ... to combine it with genres and with geography as equally viable ways of thinking about literature and studying literature,” says one Crimson representative.

Before craggy traditionalists start bemoaning the degradation of an Ivy League education, let us all take a moment to say "Woot! Woot!"

CBR Previews Offerings for Free Comic Book Day 2009

May 2, 2009. Mark it on your calendars. That's Free Comic Book Day! Comic Book Resources has posted some previews of books you can snag for gratis. And, remember, if you have a generous comics provider or hit up the sales associate in the days after the event, you might be able to score a class set or two of certain titles.

For more information on Free Comic Book Day, type the title into this blog's search box. It's in the upper-left corner. See it? No, over a bit. The far upper-left corner. There ya go. ;)

Just So You See it Coming: Fables TV Show

Many news outlets are reporting that popular Vertigo/DC Comics series Fables is coming to television soon. This is important to teachers for several reasons, so let me break it down for you:

Fables is a wonderfully written and mature title that deals with popular and obscure figures from various fairy tale mythoi, mostly European, but not exclusively so. My wife and I are big fans. We have at least 6 of the trades. Along with Strangers in Paradise, it is one of the few comics titles to capture my wife's attention, and many of my female students seem intrigued by it.

Basically there's the non-magic world of our everyday existence, and then there are the Fables, as they are called, the fairy tale folk of old who have been ran out of their homelands and forced to live in our world. But, they're not all on the same side all the time. There are plenty of self-serving characters that stay true to their roots, but the "special sauce" of the series is how these traits get revisioned in ways that represent the character accurately but with intriguing twists.

As a teacher you probably know that students' knowledge of core fairy tale stories (note I don't say "core fairy tale texts" because that gets a little messy) has trailed off dramatically, especially if you've been doing this for a while. There was a time when we could expect students to have a base understanding of certain tales or fables or parables. Then Disney came along. Then He-Man. Then Mutant Ninja Turtles, and then the Internet, and soon it seemed like making a fairy tale reference left us with as many blank stares from students as if we'd just mentioned the Hindenburg or Mary Wilkins Freeman (inside joke, there).

If Fables is a hit on TV, you can expect teachers everywhere to clamor over it, sing its praises, and start to dust off or recreate their fairy tale units or at the least their fairy tale repertoire of references. And that will be just great.

But, Fables, wonderful as it is, well, it really, really, makes its characters real "people," with real people desires and urges and flaws and appetites. It wouldn't surprise me if TV schmucks turned Fables into "Desperate House Wives with Cinderella, Snow White and Rose Red." So, heads up.

That being said, I have encouraged students to make use of the excellent material that Fables the comic offers, but some folks will need to use it in excerpt due to nudity and sexual situations (or bestiality in the case of the manipulative and kinky Goldilocks, who is sleeping with Boo, or Baby Bear). And it is definitely a series that I recommend to folks. The quality of the story-telling and the creativity with and respect for the core material is striking.

So, get excited! Read these books! Integrate them into your classrooms as you feel you can. And keep your fingers crossed that, if it makes it to the airwaves, the Fables television show will be as good as the comic, and for all the right reasons.

Duke University Press Publishes Comic on Fair Use

It's probably not as good a resource for teachers as NCTE's recent fair use document, but Bound by Law?: Tales from the Public Domain looks like an interesting read. Thanks to M. de la Iglesia for drawing this to my attention. A PDF download is possible by following the link and scrolling down a bit.

Loving the ClustrMaps App, Loving my Readers

I have had this blog for over 2 years now and just added a counter in June. My unique hits have never been outstanding, but in the blogosphere -- hell, even in education -- I have a niche audience.

But lemme tellya, being able to see my ClustrMaps clusters makes me very happy. I can see that I have a lot of readers in the Midwest and in the Northeast, for example, and that the message of comics in education is slowly being spread in even areas of the country where progressive education sometimes has to fight tooth and nail. That's invigorating!

And I'm especially excited to be getting hits from folks in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America!

Thanks to everyone who reads EN/SANE world! I'll keep the links, notes, news and ideas coming, and ya'll keep visiting (and telling your friends about the site as well!)

NY Magazine's Best Of Graphic Novels

You can't go one step in cyberspace this time o' year without tripping over one of these "Best of" lists. With book sales and now even graphic novel sales showing declines from last year, knowing what books multiple sources say are the year's cream of the crop can't be such a bad thing, though.

Lots of New Content at Diamond's Bookshelf...

...including a new article by Peter Gutierrez in which he asks educators who do work with comics to offer their "elevator pitch" to reluctant educators. Yours truly and a host of other good folks are quoted.