Graphic Novels across the curriculum
INTRODUCTION
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READING AND MAKING COMICS
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SCHOOL PROJECT USING COMICS
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GRAPHIC NOVEL COLLECTIONS: WHY EVERY SCHOOL LIBRARY SHOULD
HAVE ONE
- 11 GETTING TO GRIPS WITH GRAPHIC NOVELS
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COMIC CREATOR
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COMICS AND PICTURE BOOKS
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THINKING ABOUT COMICS, CHILDHOOD, CENSORSHIP AND GENDER
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READING COMICS: COMICS AND LITERACIES
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COMICS AND THE WEB
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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR USE WITH PUPILS
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Introduction
Comics and graphic novels can play an important part in encouraging reading amongst older
students. This is particularly the case with young men and boys, who form 80–95 per cent of the
audience for most titles, although this is changing with the increasingly popularity of manga.
The flexibility of the comic medium means that it can be used to tell stories in a simple way, without
the reader appearing ‘uncool’. However, this same flexibility means that the comic can also tell
phenomenally complex stories or explain difficult ideas. This is a medium, rather than a genre, and
can be used to create demanding texts across a range of genres. They are not exclusively tied to
fiction, as they can be used to create non-fiction, from ‘how to’ manuals through to biographies and
autobiographies. The comic can also be used for any age and so is not just able to create funny short
stories for the very youngest children. Furthermore, they can be ‘text heavy’ or ‘text light’ (comics may
include a large number of words along with the images, or none at all).
As a consequence it is possible to build comic collections that offer challenges to the good reader and
support to the less enthusiastic. In many ways, this is the key strength of the graphic novel, or comic
book, in a school or library setting. As such, they offer a huge range of resources to the teacher or
librarian. They can simply be added to classroom or school library collections as a way of broadening
what is offered for leisure reading, but specific titles can also be used to support specific areas within
the curriculum.
Comics have often been dismissed as a medium in Britain, something that reflects their problematic
history here. This is why they are usually approached with caution by both libraries and schools, as
their content has often been seen as controversial, and the medium as somehow undermining literacy
and morality.
When using this medium, you may have come across colleagues who still feel this way about comics,
meaning that you need to understand where their perspective comes from, and be able to show that
comics are very diverse, offering a huge range of reading experiences and so enhance rather than
undermine reading skills, as well as offering a way into exploring the varied forms of visual literacy.
The following material is designed to help you do that.
In summary, seeing comics in a negative light starts from the premise that comics are bad for
readers, thus making such views part of the debates around ‘media effects’ and ‘moral panics’. In
addition, this negative view often, inaccurately but firmly, positions comics as suitable only for
children, making material aimed at adults seem more shocking. Such a view surfaces throughout the
history of comic in Britain, most influentially, in the work of George Pumphrey, for instance What
children think of their comics (1964). His writing was a major part of the campaign against comics in
the 1950s and the consequences of that campaign remain with us today.
The first key point about comics, both to counter such a view and to illustrate a very different way of
thinking about the comic, is to focus on it as a medium. Thinking of the way that comics work will be a
theme in all the material that follows, which works mostly with the ideas that Scott McCloud (1993)
developed in his book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.
It may be that people who have an enthusiasm for the form and the possibilities it offers surround
you. This is great, but sometimes brings its own disadvantages in that fans often have a specific set
of titles that they are passionate about, and may fail to see their shortcomings or move into an
understanding of the rest of the medium, focusing only on certain kinds of artwork or narrative. Work
with any enthusiasm you find, and you may find there is a passionate advocate of the form
somewhere in your institution, but beware the ‘fanboy’ tendency.
This can be the case with students as well, leading them to have little perspective on a particular key
creator whom they adore. Getting both staff and students to have a critical and passionate eye is an
ideal in relation to a medium that arouses so much passion, both for and against it.
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There is a third way in which comics are seen across this country: solely as a way of drawing poorer
readers into literacy. This is a view that is useful to draw upon, but may also have disadvantages.
Clearly, this is a good thing, but it does reveal a telling set of assumptions about comics. Here the
comic is a ‘bad thing’, but a useful tool, a perspective that reflects a limited enthusiasm for the
medium, something which students often pick up if it is a view held by the staff they work with.
Finding even a single title that you can be enthusiastic about rather than simply feeling that you don’t
like the medium or understand it, but can see that it appeals to others, avoids the possibility of
alienating the students you wish to engage with even if they do not like the titles that you do.
Another way of approaching the comics is to look at them from an academic point of view, as objects
that reward study in various disciplines. The works created also show a range of underlying
assumptions about comics, often in relation to issues around gender, and may reflect the key
perspectives held above, or may explore them. Comics: Ideology, Power and the Critics by Martin
Barker (1989), although intended for older readers, might also be useful at Higher level. It offers a
series of case studies that take a range of theoretical positions that can and have been used in
relation to comics (including feminism) and to interrogate them.
This document demonstrates the very positive potential of the medium by outlining ways to work with
comics and graphic novels. The following materials are aimed at supporting staff in both developing
their knowledge of the medium and seeing its potential as part of leisure reading, as well as providing
some ideas and materials to use in the classroom.
These case studies are on specific themes or focus on specific books. However, the opening, and
central, case study outlines a specific approach that was taken in relation to comics, but is further
extended with a range of suggestions about working with comics, in relation to both the classroom
and school library, whilst offering possible further activities, hints, tips and titles.
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Reading and Making Comics
Key terms: Comics as a medium, literacy, projects making and understanding comics, using comics
in relation to specific subjects, developing collections.
The following focuses on a linked set of five-day long visits made a few years ago to schools in NorthEast England. This section details a number of ideas about how comics can be used, with whom and
why.
Book talks
Visits such as this can focus on informing or an advocate enthusing about the range of material
available to students. There may be a member of staff who is an enthusiast, or a local comic shop
with a member of staff able to do this kind of talk, or you could contact someone known as a comic
historian. These events were intended to stimulate further work within the school, although they could
easily have worked without this being the aim.
The talks were followed by sessions in which students explored the books that were discussed,
reading and sharing them, and started some practical work. Having a collection, whether on loan from
a library or part of the school’s own stock, on hand is a necessity. This means that students will be
immediately encouraged to read the comics and it will flag up that this material is available in a library
of one kind or another near them (thus promoting leisure reading), as well as being a stimulus to
students creating their own comics.
Designing your own comics
If time is limited, or as an initial short piece that can lead to longer work around comics, students can
design a cover for a comic they would like to see.
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This enables them to draw on the material available for inspiration, but also ensures that they
are creating something new.
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Working on a cover makes the student engage with issues around layout and narrative (as
covers usually focus on a key point in a narrative in many genres of comic) and allows some
initial steps in character development and illustration.
However, the sessions also acted as a follow-up to a large-scale practical project that the library
service had developed involving excluded students aged between 12 and 16.
The pupils, working with an artist, came up with their own one-off comic containing a number of short
stories (so the model used was more like the Beano in having a series of unrelated strips, most of
them funny, each by a different artist and writer, rather than titles like Ethel & Ernest (1998) by
Raymond Briggs, which is a book-length, single-theme work by a single creator who both wrote and
drew the work).
This comic was then published and circulated within the authority and further afield to function as both
leisure reading and as a stimulus to further practical work. The one-off comic by peers, although it
risks limiting student understanding of comics as a medium, may be enough to launch others from
reading into writing.
Other schools that have developed projects with comics have included:
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A school has as a team worked on its own comic, either containing short stories, or a longer
narrative, within English and Art lessons. This can work using students doing individual work
and taking responsibility for the whole story (best done in a classroom setting with a short
story per student) or with students assigned specific roles as writers, editors, or in making
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pencil versions of the artwork, doing inked copies of the artwork, adding and positioning
speech balloons and doing the lettering, etc (which works with both short story collections
and with longer narratives). The final work, when published (copied, distributed and copies
placed in the school library or classroom collections) is then used as stimulus for students
repeating the project in later years.
In relation to the large-scale practical project, the function was to further stimulate use of this
publication in schools, but also to promote other comics and gather data for the library authority on
the graphic novels collections in these schools. Some of the schools had developed collections,
supported by the library service, over several years, whilst for others it was a new venture. It was the
intention to use these sessions to discover how existing collections of comic strip materials were
being used and how they might be developed in future. The primary aim, however, was to facilitate
discussions around, and raise awareness of, graphic novels and comic strip materials in general with
young people, librarians and teachers in high schools.
Who are comics aimed at?
In relation to book talking, schools often tend to perceive comics as for their ‘less able’ pupils and so
tend to offer comic professionals the opportunity to work with groups who fit that bill. Whilst these
sessions can be a revelation to teachers as usually inarticulate students can suddenly blossom when
talking about reading material they really enjoy, such an approach does risk compounding student
self-perception as ‘less able’, even though they may be reading very complex and dense texts in the
medium. In the cases that follow, it was the schools that already had experience of graphic novels
who wanted students of all abilities at the sessions, suggesting that their familiarity with the medium
had led them to understand that they can provide challenging reads for even the most sophisticated
reader.
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School project using Comics
The project had a number of aims, both in terms of information gathering and in further promoting
material in this format. The days in school were used to promote leisure reading to young people,
support librarians and make teachers unfamiliar with the medium aware of possible classroom
material.
There were three target groups, comprising of the young people themselves and the two groups of
adult professionals primarily concerned with reading in a school setting – librarians and teachers. The
following details the aims and objectives, setting up the project, responses to the comic that had been
created, comments on library collections by students and staff, possible projects in school and
feedback on the events themselves.
Aims and objectives of the project
The aims and objectives moved into school and primarily school library settings:
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To develop an increased interest in reading across the ability range in support of raising
standards in literacy.
To extend reading experience in the widest sense.
To enhance and encourage desire and ability to access books.
To encourage young people to discuss what they have read with their peers.
To improve literacy through the medium of graphic novels.
To develop cross-sectoral working involving schools, literacy development and children’s
services.
The project's format
Format and the kind of work varied from school to school, but the majority of sessions were with the
English equivalent of S1 and S2 age students, in that these were seen by the schools involved as the
most appropriate age group, although one S5 group also participated. The majority of the students
were characterised as ‘less academically able’ groups, again in line with schools' initial perceptions of
the medium. However, in several schools there were students involved from across the ability range
who were linked only by their enthusiasm for comics.
The use of a number of formats enabled a range of potential uses and approaches to be tested out.
All were successful in that the aims for the visits varied and thus the approach used by the workshop
leader was adapted to suit these demands. Sessions were less successful when the school was
unsure of what it wanted to do in relation to comics. This does not mean that the students involved
did not enjoy themselves, or that ideas were not generated, but it meant that the work was less likely
to be built on.
Although there was a ‘typical’ format, there were significant variations. Two of the schools wanted
longer sessions with small groups. In one case this was to allow more intensive course-related work
to take place, on this occasion developing a newspaper-style four-panel comic strip (think along the
lines of Peanuts, Garfield, Nemi, Calvin and Hobbes or Doonesbury), although the overall aim was
eventually to move on to creating longer narratives. In the other it allowed for non-course-related
discussion and work. These sessions lasted for up to two and a half hours.
More usually the day was divided into four or five 50-minute to one-hour sessions. In these cases the
workshop leader based each session around a talk to promote a collection. There was scope for
students to contribute, ask questions, explore the collection and do some reading. Group size also
varied from around 14 to 60.
A further aspect of the visits was that several of the schools had been visited by the same workshop
leader before, whilst for the others it was a first visit. Thus for some schools the sessions were followups to promote pre-existing library collections, others were to promote new collections, and others
again were one-off events.
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With the former groups, the visits offered an opportunity to see how and if collections were being
used. With the latter, the visits enabled the school to see the potential of the material and plan
accordingly. In one case where there was no collection, the librarian intended to use student
suggestions as the basis for building one. This is another useful way of using comics, developing a
sense of student ownership of the school library, an engagement with stock and an understanding of
issues around age and suitability, thus enabling discussions about ‘censorship versus selection’ to be
opened up.
However, the impact of the day in the school with no pre-existing collection was limited in that no
teachers were able to attend sessions and so see how the students used and responded to the
material. In contrast other days saw a number of visiting as well as assigned staff attending sessions.
Staff involvement in these events is vital in sending positive messages to students and in allowing
further development of work around comics. This stock can not only encourage work across teaching
departments, but also with the school library staff, making more explicit links between classroom and
other aspects of school life.
All sessions were held during term-time. The majority of events took place in the school library and
promoted that service but took place as part of English lessons, although there were two sites where
Art and English worked closely together, which had an effect on the type and scale of follow-up work.
In one case this was to be cross subject S2 class-created comics. The students were going to choose
the theme based on what they had seen (although the teacher concerned was hoping to steer them
towards health advice based material and soap opera themes, drawing on Matt Groening’s The
Simpsons as a key model).
Strands of teaching
1. The majority of sessions used the medium of the ‘comic book’ as the theme, but several had
other strands involved.
2. The S5 session focused on gender and representation, using, initially, the idea of the bodies
of superheroes, especially when exaggerated in some comics, as a way of talking about
pressures within a culture with regard to body image.
3. In contrast, another session linked in with work on Twelfth Night in focusing on identity and
secret identities, again drawing on the superhero comic, and particularly on stories like
Spiderman (versions from any era and by almost any author), in their focus on the
problematic nature of identity.
The sessions that had practical elements were either part of media or art projects, or cross-curricular.
Only one case was different, and here the day was seen as an experimental event that removed
students from a number of classes in small numbers, taking them outside normal curriculum
concerns. Students worked in groups of three or four at one venue and in pairs or alone at another.
Pupils, gender and attitudes to comics
There were problems in getting girls involved in the practical work in that they saw comics as for
boys. Where the girls tended to become involved was in response to the question ‘If none of these
titles appeal to you what do you think is missing, what kind of comics would you make?’ They also
needed more support in setting up the practical work. However, results included horror titles like
Attack of the Killer Make-up, an Animal Hospital joke-based comic and themes like Marge Simpson
getting a job.
Since these sessions took place, there has been an explosion of interest in manga across Britain.
Manga is as popular with girls as it is with boys, although, like the old British comics industry, it has
developed highly gender-specific groups of titles (shojo targeted at girls, shonen for boys), as well as
titles with cross gender appeal. It is now more likely that the girls in any given group would have more
of an understanding of the comic form, although they might still need more support in getting practical
work off the ground.
Several groups of girls and young women in recent sessions have described themselves as otaku
(very enthusiastic fans) and they were all working in teams to create their own comics, which they
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copied and distributed. The narratives focused either on every day life/soap opera themes,
fantasy/magic, or romances, some of which were within the province of the girls' genre shonen ai,
which are boy/boy romances, typically written by women for women. Most of the latter are subtly
sensual in their depiction of the relationships, although a few titles are more explicit.
The boys, in contrast, mostly got on with translating their ideas into comic strip form with a minimal
brief. The brief for all participants usually involved suggestions about, for instance, designing a short
strip, producing a comic book cover or coming up with their own superhero or other character. They
usually began by copying, tracing and adapting existing material, but usually started to try out their
own ideas by the end of a session. Work ranged from The Adventures of a Dustball to Tom & Jerry
vs. Itchy & Scratchy for the Tag Team Championship of the World through to a sex-education
character called ‘Johnny Boy’. Other activities involved them in reviewing titles, doing a selection
exercise for their library and even producing a written piece about comics they liked. They also wrote
reviews of the sessions and of some of the comics.
Reactions to the project
Pupils
From the point of view of the young people involved, the project attracted attention because peers
had created it. In a local setting it also drew attention because many of the participants in the project
had relatives who took part in the follow-up. In practical sessions, the comic was useful as a
confidence booster, given that it looked achievable, even for those who said they couldn’t draw, and
as a source of ideas along with the other books. The comic was of use precisely because it was not
as polished as the professional texts. At the very least people wanted to look at it and the two pony
stories that it contained were very much favoured by girl readers.
Teachers' viewpoints
From the point of view of teachers, the text was seen as an appropriate launch pad for similar
projects within schools. The range of media used in its creation was seen as particularly useful as
each story was done in a different way (you could draw on a larger collection to make the same
point). Examples included hand-drawn material, collage-based strips (using material from magazines
and other sources), and photo-stories (the pony stories used photographs overlaid with speech
balloons and then re-photographed to create the final image of the talking horses).
A particularly inventive combination made use of character masks, which participants wore (including
one of Kevin Keegan). They had then been photographed in action and the subsequent images
formed the basis of the comic strip. The students had also decided, in this case, to create literal
speech balloons on card, which the actors held up at relevant points, so that they were in the same
form as the rest of the image.
In some locations a copy had gone into each classroom's reading collection. In others it was in the
main library.
In this sense the follow-up sessions either gave ideas or clarified how these texts might be used.
Along with other texts it was seen as the starting point for Standard Grade Media projects. It also
acted as a motivator for a number of students who asked what they had to do to get published in the
same way, or where they could send work. Students who were already interested in comics saw this
as an opportunity to do widely seen practical work. This applied across schools and across ability
levels. However, there were some male students who described it as ‘not proper comics’. Another
response was ‘we could do better’ to which the usual teacher response was ‘go on then’.
In those sessions that involved practical elements, for some students it acted as the only way into the
work. Acting as a source book, female groups in particular, as one student put it, could ‘copy’ a strip,
but ‘changing what they say and how they look’.
Student’s responses to the graphic novel and comic book collections in their schools
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1. Overwhelmingly positive from the male students, thus showing how, in a very straightforward
manner comics can stimulate reading for pleasure and so develop literacy. With the least
able students, the enthusiasm tended to be for humour titles, although it is hard to generalise
the correlation between academic ability and knowledge, and enthusiasm about the medium.
2. Recognition from the students that other media, particularly computer games and animation,
‘fit in’ with comics. An acknowledgement of the existence of a young male culture seen by the
participants as exclusive, despite it being a culture that others are involved in.
3. Some saw it as worth joining the library for and ‘can we keep the books?’ was a regular
question. There was also much sharing of information on collections in the public libraries
with students resolving to use them as well, if they were not already doing so.
4. For male students in particular it was an opportunity to show their mastery of a medium, from
Beano and Viz to Judge Dredd and manga, and allowed them to share their expertise and
enthusiasm with the ‘booktalker’, someone who they saw as a peer because of shared
interests, despite the age and gender gap. This extended to telling the workshop leader what
they thought she should read, and the librarians and teaching staff what the library should
stock.
5. The male students also talked about what their fathers read. In a number of cases, the texts
they shared were comics or magazines. Viz was mentioned frequently (the British humour
comic, not the manga publisher of the same name), and superhero comics and manga
cropped up on occasion, along with several comic-collecting fathers who preferred 2000AD
and one who had collected traditional British boys' comics such as Hotspur. Parental reading
was important and in the groups where this discussion developed the groups saw these dads
as cool.
Cross generational reading, explorations of what previous generations read and so the creation of
reading biographies and autobiographies including, but not exclusively focused on, comics could
be an outcome here.
1. Recommending reading to each other. These were often classic texts such as Watchmen
(1986) by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and The Dark Knight Returns (1986) by Frank
Miller that are usually seen as aimed at an adult or more mature audience.
This could allow a discussion of issues around ‘suitability’ and age, and censorship.
In addition, this could form a really useful session, or sessions, on the ways that an iconic
character such as Batman is created and re-created for different age groups, in different eras,
across different media.
2. Participants shared knowledge about buying books and comics, both where the shops were
and for a few, with parental permission, what online shops existed, including how to focus a
search on Amazon (the online bookstore) onto comics.
There is scope here, then, to start exploring the relationships between comics and the
internet.
3. They also sent thank you letters and reviews of the events, which ranged from seeing the
session as ‘a good skive’ through to assertions that ‘I will go to the library and get some
graphic novels’.
Support text for staff
Pearson, R. E. & Uricchio, W, (eds.) The Many Lives of Batman, London: BFI/Routledge, 1991
Sabin, R, Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels, London: Phaidon, 1996, pp.56–62 (pp. 58–9 gives
capsule descriptions of various versions of Superman).
Superman: The Complete History, London: Titan Books, 1998
Batman: The Complete History, London: Titan Books, 1999
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Graphic novel collections: why every school library should have one
In the library
The graphic novels collections in schools, where they existed, were located either in classroom
collections, or, and most commonly, as part of the main library collection. In other cases teachers
were using some titles as part of teaching. The role of these books in the library was primarily to
create new readers.
Thus the comic strip materials had two roles, one as ‘rebellious reading’ to be located in the library as
part of a collection centred on the young people, and a second role as classroom material, delivering
the curriculum. Obviously the two types of material did not necessarily have much crossover, the
former being mostly current fiction and the latter being focused more on non-fiction.
In offering material not usually stocked in school settings, the librarians and teachers made several
key comments about the former kind of collection:
1. Material in this format had increased library use. It was seen as useful, popular, accessible
and appropriate.
2. The library use was positive and productive.
3. Whilst they were unable to prove that literacy levels had improved generally, they were
convinced that in engaging all readers, but particularly less able readers the collections were
having a positive effect.
4. The appeal across ability levels due to the ‘cult’ nature of some of the titles meant that less
able readers were drawn into wider reading culture.
5. All commented on boy appeal. When the male participants were being vocal and noisy it was
in relation to a book. For many teaching staff the sessions proved a revelation and a number
of comments were made about male participation.
6. Some of the books, such as Art Spiegelman’s (1987/1992) Maus, acted as wider reading up
to Higher level as well.
7. Groups usually seen as disruptive generally caused minimal disruption in comparison to
behaviour before collections arrived.
8. The most popular title overall was The Simpsons, which appealed across gender as well as
ability divides.
Most popular titles for boys and girls
The most popular titles for boys were Gon by Masashi Tanaka, Matt Groening’s The Simpsons and
Futurama. Key classic manga titles, such as Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, shonen (boys') manga titles
such as Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. ‘Versus’ comics such as Aliens/Predator
War by Randy Stradley. Other TV and film spin-offs, although they were less popular when the
programmes were not on.
Superhero titles, especially those aimed at an older audience like
Watchmen, but also those aimed at younger readers as well, from X-Men and Spawn in all directions.
That the most popular titles for girls were any of the books by Raymond Briggs, shojo (girls’) manga
titles such as Peach Girl by Miwa Ueda or Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, Matt Groening’s The
Simpsons, Craig Conlon’s Hairy Mary books, Bryan Talbot’s The Tale of One Bad Rat.
However, the feeling was that comics still had to be specifically promoted to young women in general.
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In the classroom
The current and planned uses had one main limitation: whilst comics were seen as useful in
supporting teaching, they were not seen as inherently an object of study in themselves. Thus the
projects, current and projected were typically applications rather than explorations of the form (this
document includes a case study to address this).
One teacher introduced personal copies of Raymond Briggs’ books to classroom collections and was
amazed at the take up.
As part of teaching in English
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A graphic Shakespeare series was in use at most schools, with the Oval Books cartoon
Shakespeare series editions of Twelfth Night and Macbeth being particularly effective. This
suggests that again it was S2 and S3 that were seen as the most appropriate year groups to
use comic strip material with. Pupils were happy as they saw it as ‘cheating’, teachers happy
because as these were full text, they actually weren’t. One teacher had actually had pupils
asking to take the texts home to read them voluntarily. ‘The first time that has ever
happened.’ There were similar results with Hunt Emerson’s version of Rime of the Ancient
Mariner (which is also full text) with several requests as to whether the writer and artist had
‘done any other books’.
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Use of The Hobbit (a very text-heavy but attractive version) and Terry Pratchett books in
comic strip format as paired reading texts, with one partner on the comic, the other on the full
text version, enabling students to share their perceptions, compare and contrast. (For
instance 'does it look like you imagined?' and 'is it too cut down to work?' were typical
questions.)
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Strip versions of a number of plays and poems seemed to be created at many of the schools.
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Teaching the idea of dialogue through comic strip, making use of the speech balloon, either
with use of pre-existing comics with words in word balloons removed, or through creating
dialogue for pre-existing wordless comics like Raymond Brigg’s Snowman, or Gon by
Masashi Tanaka
As part of teaching in Media and Communications
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As a launch pad for pre-existing Standard equivalent related media projects on comics and
magazines. This was also envisaged as a regular future project.
As part of teaching in History (get copies of covers for each book mentioned)
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Some non-fiction titles were in use with specific projects, such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus (in
relation to the Second World War, and particularly the concentration camps) and Ethel &
Ernest by Raymond Briggs (in relation to shifts in class, consumption and education in
Britain) for history.
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Maus, used alongside Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, was seen as a very useful text:
in using it with S2 students the teachers were demanding more of the students than they
seemed to realise, given the complexity of this text, which was originally intended for an older
audience. One key aspect that was seen as relevant and adding an additional dimension to
understanding the history of that period was that as well as talking about the experiences that
his family had, Spiegelman discusses his own responses to their experiences, showing the
impact of those events on a later generation and how they, in turn, come to terms with it.
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Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs was used in a very different way. As each chapter
represents a decade and contains references to shifts in education and culture in Britain, it
was placed alongside more traditional history texts as a way of fleshing out, or personalising,
cultural changes. Key pages include one in which Briggs gets a place at Grammar School,
which shows his working class parents' responses to their son’s achievement. In particular,
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the father’s comment that he hopes his son will not get too posh for the family articulates a
great deal about shifting class and educational structures. Other pages focus on consumer
products and the growth of consumer capitalism. Even the purchase of the house itself and
the way that it has both an indoor bathroom and large rooms, seen by Ethel & Ernest with
some awe, functions as an indicator of change around class.
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Moving on to more recent history, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
was, again, used as a way of personalising historical events. Seen largely as wider reading
by staff, it focuses on Satrapi’s experience of growing up in Iran during the Islamic
Revolution. Understanding the impact of events on a single family, as in Maus, enabled some
students to connect more effectively with the events the books discussed.

Biographical and autobiographical materials like these can also be used to teach about how
that type of text works.
Exploring Diversity

A collection of comics from around the world can be used to show differences and similarities
across cultures.

One key point could be about overall layout. Manga are mostly produced in Japanese format,
and, as such, are back-to-front to ‘Western’ readers. The publicity on an early import Ironfist
Chinmi by Takeshi Maekawa suggested that by doing this readers would ‘confuse the
enemy’, that being older adults, of course. Simply presenting comics that physically embody
differences across culture (even if printed in English) will open up discussion.

From here it would be possible to look at the differences in terms of the page layout and
pacing of stories. In manga, for instance, there are often panels where there is no action,
unlike many American comics, where an image is offered for contemplation.

There could also be a discussion of genre. Whilst many others exist, in Britain the comic is
seen as primarily humorous, whilst in America the dominant genre is still the superhero
comic. Scott McCloud discusses these issues in Understanding Comics, which supports any
teaching in this area. In addition, Paul Gravett’s (2005) Graphic Novels: Stories To Change
Your Life, whilst considering titles that will appeal to mostly older readers, offers a number of
excellent ways to explore individual comics that represent comics cultures around the world.
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Projects proposed by schools in relation to comic strip materials
These varied depending on how much work had been done previously. Some schools were building
on previous work, some starting from scratch. Where work with the medium would take place varied
from English to Art to Media or Communication studies, as well as specific books being seen as
having specific applications in other subjects.
1. Use in English Language gender based sessions – Standard and Higher. One group of S3
students spontaneously got into discussion about the unrealistic images of men in superhero
comics.
2. Using the booktalker as a stimulus for projects at the equivalent of Standard grade and
Higher level.
3. Training sessions for staff developing their use of material in this format. Once they had seen
the material many started to plan applications immediately, but a more formal session was
seen as a useful forum.
4. Having artists and writers visiting either in relation to projects or as part of school book
weeks.
5. Creating their own comic in an in-school setting and using it as a starting point in terms of the
range of media used, i.e. digital, photographic, drawing, etc. In one place proposed as a
cross-curricular S2 project.
6. Short versions of Romeo & Juliet in the style of British romance comics (or manga
romances), either photo-strip or drawn.
7. Non-fiction comics on issues made by pupils.
8.
Interest in using titles for specific projects, such as Maus and Ethel & Ernest for history, Rime
of the Ancient Mariner and The Big Book of Grimm (older and less sanitised versions of fairy
tales) for English Literature. There were plans to expand the use of Maus in S2 in a school
already using it with some groups.
9.
Assessing graphic novels. A reviewing exercise focused on what books would be included in
a developing collection. A pro forma was used, as follows.
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Getting to grips with graphic novels
This document should help give you pointers with regard to assessing graphic novels and in gaining
an understanding of the issues in reading, creating and analysing these texts.
Title:
Writer(s):
Artist(s):
Fiction/
NonFiction:
If non-fiction, what is the subject area? How well does it cover the area?
Is it genre fiction?
Is it physically well-produced and attractive?
Is the storyline imaginative, coherent and interesting?
Is the text legible or is it obscured by illustration? Is the text hard to follow? Why?
Is the language accessible and appropriate?
Does the cover art do justice to what is contained within (and vice versa)?
If the images are black and white will they appeal to the target audience?
Is it printed in colour?
- 15 -
Is the printing of high quality?
Are the illustrations of a high technical and artistic standard?
Do the illustrations merely adhere to the narrative sequence or do they provide a commentary,
counterpoint, or expansion on the written word?
Do the illustrations move the story forward? Are the words and pictures interdependent?
Does the graphic novel make full and creative use of the full range of comic strip grammar and
conventions?
Are techniques from the language of film used? (such as flashbacks, establishing shots,
tracking shots, close-ups, high and low angle shots, etc.)
Who is the intended audience in terms of age and gender? Are there several potential
audiences?
How does the book deal with issues of race, gender and class?
If violence occurs is it gratuitous, or a necessary part of the plot?
If this book was going into a public library collection, where would it be located? Adult? Teen?
Child?
How could the book be used in the classroom?
- 16 -
Impact of visits promoting comics in school library or classroom
1. Promotion of the library. Teachers made more aware of the potential of the library in general
as the majority of sessions took place there.
2. Possible changes in form of library collections, incorporating more histories of comics, such
as Paul Gravett’s (2004) Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics (which does contain adult
material as well as titles aimed at younger readers) and ‘how to draw…’ books alongside the
fiction. There are a growing number of the ‘how to’ books in relation to manga.
3. Teachers and librarians saw lots of silent reading going on and saw the students as engaged
and concentrating. They were also able to share their reading with students in a nonpressurised way.
4. The aim in several libraries was to promote new, or re-promote old collections to a new
audience. Sites reported a rush of issues and word of mouth further increasing interest. The
collections ‘took a pasting’ which was seen as a good thing. In several places issues were on
the day following the visit, in others pupils and staff could reserve titles.
5. Validating the interest and enthusiasm of the many readers, mostly male, in the schools.
6. Encouraging out of school reading through promoting local public library collections and
comic shops.
7. Sessions were generally very lively and lots of comments made and questions asked.
Students who were usually not vocal had a good experience of sharing information and
asking questions in a group session. Teachers noted this, one commenting that, ‘the kids
who don’t usually volunteer to do anything were both volunteering information and
participating in a very active way’. Questions included one about how to read a book with no
words, which generated quite a discussion, and one about the Japanese reading ’backwards’
which one student responded to by saying that he read papers backwards too as the best
bits, i.e. sport, were on the back.
8. Building on previous innovative work and promoting it.
9. Tied in with curriculum work
10. Promoting high quality and popular fiction.
Limits of both collections and work with comics
1.
In several venues the library was also a thoroughfare and the collection had to be locked up
for its own good. As it was put in one location, ‘attractive stuff often disappears’. That the
books had to be locked up was seen as a sign of popularity. There were also collections that
were a mixture of ‘for issue’ and ‘for reference only’. Theft was a problem in that some
classroom collections had been stripped of popular titles.
2. That the collection ‘took a pasting’ was also seen as a bad thing because they were often
entirely destroyed by the enthusiasm of readers.
3. Lack of girl interest (although, as mentioned, this is now changing). However, most teachers
saw this as a good thing, one saying, ‘it will do them good to move beyond their comfort
zone’.
4. In one of the most problematic groups of S3 students, participants were uncomfortable about
the comics. Whilst very young in some ways, they saw themselves as adults and saw comics
- 17 -
as aimed at younger readers. Thus comics will not be an option for all non-readers. However,
the same groups all saw Viz as appropriate to both their age and interests, which meant that
perceptions of the medium as solely for children were usually dented by the end of sessions.
5. Where there is no collection the enthusiasm generated will be lost.
6. Keeping collections updated. Funding was often an issue. Where the students identified gaps
it tended to be around manga. They also felt that more humour, including Beano and Viz,
would be a useful leisure reading addition.
7. There were also titles that were not working with the target groups and were more likely to
work with an older group, probably Higher level, such as Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
8. Being in school there was the possibility that these texts could become seen as part of what
the young adults were rebelling against. Getting the balance between approving, but not too
much, was a key concern for schools; as was getting a balance between stock to support the
curriculum and leisure reading.
9. Needs members of staff to continue work with comics. For many teaching staff the sessions
were a revelation in relation to the range of material, and the age range it covered. Further
training and wider reading was seen as needed to ensure that staff understood the medium
better.
- 18 -
Comic Creator
Raymond Briggs
Key terms: Comics as a medium, genre, age, close textual analysis, grammar of the comic,
complexity, comics for older readers.
Raymond Briggs was born in London in 1934, and studied at Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade
School of Art, London. He initially worked in creating advertising, but rapidly became know as a
children's book illustrator, particularly when The Mother Goose Treasury, which he illustrated in 1966,
won a Kate Greenaway medal.
As well as teaching illustration at Brighton College of Art and collaborating with authors such as Allan
Ahlberg, Raymond Briggs has written and illustrated many books that use comic strip techniques and
could be described as graphic novels, including Father Christmas (1973) and The Snowman (1978).
These books have been translated into many languages and adapted into films, plays and TV
cartoons. However, whilst he is particularly well known for these books for younger readers he is also
superb at creating books for adults, drawing on the same skills. Key amongst these are Ethel &
Ernest (1998) – a biography of his parents' lives – and When the Wind Blows (1982), a grim satire on
nuclear war, which has also been made into a play and a film.
Raymond Briggs’ books have a huge emotional impact on readers. Whether working with adults or
children, using Briggs to make points about and explore comics, as well as his key themes of history,
politics, family life and childhood, is always effective.
Classwork with Raymond Briggs’ material

Comics are a medium, not a genre. Briggs has created books that are factual, biographical
and autobiographical, alongside works that are located within fantasy. Ask students to think
about genre and locate his work within various genres.

You could ask students to identify themes that run across all of his work, such as the family,
social justice, and the recalcitrant individual as in Gentleman Jim (1980), and The Man
(1992). This could lead to some unlikely, but productive pairings: Ug: Boy Genius of the
Stone Age and his Search for Soft Trousers (2001) for instance, could be used alongside
Ethel & Ernest (1998) as both focus on the family, the generation gap and class divides, but
deal with them in very different ways.

Furthermore, you can make points about comics being ‘text-light’ or ‘text-heavy’, comparing
The Snowman (1978) which is wordless, with, say, Father Christmas (1973), which relies, in
part, on Father Christmas grumbling, to make points about personality and intention.

You can also discuss issues around comics and age. Comics can be created for any age, or
may have an appeal across a range of ages (an approach known as ‘dual address’, which is,
for instance, used to create humour that will appeal to adults, in The Simpsons as well as
material that will appeal to a range of younger audiences).

In relation to Briggs, The Snowman is usually seen as for younger readers, whilst Ethel and
Ernes’ is typically seen as addressing an older audience. One can establish that, but then
extend the discussion by showing that both focus on the theme of death, or loss, of valued
and loved adult figures. The differences in how they address that issue will further enable you
to tease out more about comics and age.
There is also another area for exploration in terms of age, for, although The Snowman is seen as
addressing very young readers, it still assumes that the reader understands the grammar of the
comic book, for instance, how panels work. In an example located towards the end of the book, a
page containing 12 panels showing the boy turning in his sleep over the remainder of the night
and then waking up in the morning, demands that the reader understands that these are not 12
- 19 -
separate images of different boys (as a younger child might well assume) but a series of images
of the same boy that should be read from left to right, and from top to bottom, as a sequence
unfolding in time. That, even without the addition of speech bubbles, makes a lot of demands
upon the reader.
You could also productively compare the different versions of The Snowman, showing how they
imply readers of different ages (some omit sequences, for instance, whilst others are in board
book format, which implies a very young reader and one unlikely to be able to understand the
grammar of the comic).

Students can also compare The Snowman and Ethel & Ernest, unpicking the demands that
they make upon the reader. What knowledge do the books assume on the part of the reader?
The latter, for instance, whilst supporting the reader, anticipates knowledge of the social
history of England in particular, including social change, educational structures, the
development of consumer capitalism, world events and technological shifts up to the start of
the 1970s.
These are both, however, books that are culturally specific. The former offers no textual
explanation, but offers images, of, for instance, Brighton Pavilion. This can lead into a
discussion of the way that all comics reflect and affect their cultural context and are specific
to a time and place. When The Wind Blows (1982) or The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the
Old Iron Woman (1984) could be used to open up further discussion, in the case of the latter
by presenting a probably unfamiliar historical event.

Comics can take on difficult or complex themes, as in When The Wind Blows’ (1982) with
Briggs' ironic, indeed, devastating, take on government preparations for nuclear war. Equally,
The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (1984) is also highly dramatic.
Appearing in the aftermath of the Falklands War it contains black and white sketches of
soldiers being burned alive, shot, and buried, juxtaposed against highly sexualised images
very much in the style of Ralph Steadman.

Such complex and difficult texts offer an opportunity, to explore what potential the form has
and what assumptions about comics that any group of students hold. Getting students to
state, early on what they think a comic is, who it is for, and what it might contain (key
assumptions may be that comics are simple, for children and funny, for instance, or, perhaps,
for younger teenagers and containing superheroes) enables the group to construct a
stereotype, or set of cultural assumptions about comics. Then, using Briggs, the group can
explore the limitations of the stereotype.
These titles by Briggs could also be compared with others (an extreme example might be the
Beano). Ask students to consider how are they different in terms of narrative, theme or political
engagement, for instance, or structure (where the short stories of Beano can be seen as
dramatically different to Briggs’ sustained narrative). They could also be compared in terms of
humour (with slapstick dominating in the Beano and irony with Briggs) and in terms of drawn
style, or in terms of intended audience, asking them who the implied reader is, thus making points
about older readers and comics and the way that the comic can be a complex, sophisticated and
demanding read.
One could also compare these texts in terms of page layout, etc, in that Briggs uses a very
personal format in relation to comics with, typically, far more panels per page than is the norm
(usually six to nine). Briggs was attracted to using comic strips, as is stated in Magic Pencil
(2002) 'simply because picture books have a fixed number of pages – usually 32 – and that
wasn’t nearly enough for everything I wanted to put in, and a comic strip seemed a good solution'
(p.56). Therefore, it was the potential for allowing complexity that attracted him, not a conception
of the comic as simplifying.

In effect, you can analyse some of the ways in which a comic works and how it ‘means’. With
When The Wind Blows (1982) in particular, you could focus on the rhythm set up by the
layout of the images, which presents a very different structure from the short sketch strip. In
written form, as follows, this looks rather dry, but try ‘reading’ the actual book to the group in
- 20 -
this way, as it lays bare certain aspects of the construction, showing how the size of images,
the use of panels, the breaking of the edges of those panels and the ways in which these
elements are placed rhythmically have an impact upon the reader’s understanding of the
narrative.
Analysing When The Wind Blows
In this book, the patterns created by the interplay of differently sized and framed images are as
follows. The first three pages contain a number of small panels, with 25 or more per page, the latter
two as a double-page spread (outlining the lives of the ‘little’ people, the protagonists, James and
Hilda) followed by a double-page spread devoted to a single image, in this case a missile, which runs
right to the edges of the page (a bleed).
This use of the single image double-page spread is also employed in The Snowman where it is used
to signify, not the huge coming events, as is the case here, but freedom, as the snowman and boy go
flying. The use of several large images in a sequence helps to develop this sense of freedom in The
Snowman, whereas the rhythm in When The Wind Blows makes the images feel more threatening
and invasive on everyday life. Further, the use of soft pastel crayons in The Snowman also
contributes to the expansive feel of that book, as do the rounded panel shapes, whilst the use of
colour and line is very different here, particularly the use of grey in the single image pages to create
an overcast and threatening atmosphere.
This is then followed by a double-page spread in which the small panels are interrupted by large
thought balloons outlining memories of the event that looms large in both protagonists’ minds as their
dominant understanding of war: memories of the Second World War. The pattern then returns to a
double-page spread of small images as the couple prepare their shelter. There is then a large doublepage spread image of bombers in flight, followed by one of small panels, another double-page spread
of a submarine and, a final double-page spread of small panels in which the speech balloons,
particularly reflecting James’ realisation of imminent attack, spill over the edges of the panels,
showing his distress and fear. Some of the speech balloons also have jagged edges, indicating anger
and panic, as well as fear and the lettering becomes larger, jagged and in capitals. The pace
quickens, in that the pattern of small panel pages to single images double-page spreads goes from
three of small and one of large, to two small one large, to one small and one large.
In the central double-page spread, there are no panels and the grey images of the bombers, etc, are
replaced by a white space, with pink edges, representing the explosion. Its power is further
demonstrated by the next double-page spread, where the panels, the structure of the world, start to
reappear, initially as white lines on a red/pink background, then as black lines on a red background,
with both colour returning (in dark, muddy shades) and with the panels regaining their straight edges
(until this point they look more like sheets being blown in the wind, with a sense of movement rather
than stability).
After this the pattern changes dramatically, in that, except for a few larger memory balloon images, all
the double-page spreads contain smaller panel images, focusing the reader down on the couple’s
experience. The meaning, at this point, is carried by a shift in the use of colour, which slowly shifts as
the book progresses, to palette of grey, green, purple and yellow (as if a bruise) which represents the
radiation sickness that the couple suffer and the slow deterioration of their surroundings. In the pages
before the blast, the palette used in relation to James and Hilda is dominated by green, red, blue, rust
and yellow.
There is also an increase in speech balloons, all of which are held within the panels. Finally, however,
as Hilda and Jim die, the images on the final single page are dominated by darker colours. In
addition, the lines surrounding the balloons often waver rather than being in the traditional oval
shape.
What this detailed analysis shows is that a range of factors contribute to making the comic ‘mean’,
including colour, the use of speech balloons, layout, font and line. I have not discussed the dialogue,
which could, itself, offer a further session around this book, drawing, as it does, on misunderstandings
- 21 -
between the couple, a huge range of cultural references and the ways in which past experience is
used (uselessly in this case) as a way of understanding current events.
In support of this case study, you should draw on:
Jones, N, Blooming Books, London: Cape, 2003
Blake, Q, Magic Pencil: Children’s Book Illustration Today, London: British Council/British Library,
2002
Raymond Briggs' Key Books
The Mother Goose Treasury (editor/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1966
The Elephant and the Bad Baby (illustrator, with Elfrida Vipont) Hamish Hamilton, 1969
Jim and the Beanstalk (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1970
Father Christmas (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1973
Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1975
Fungus the Bogeyman (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1977
The Snowman (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1978
Gentleman Jim (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1980
Fungus the Bogeyman Pop-up Book (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1982
When the Wind Blows (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1982
The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1984
Building the Snowman (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1985
The Snowman: A Pop-up Book with Music (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1986
Unlucky Wally (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1987
The Snowman Storybook (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1990
The Snowman Tell-the-Time Book (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1991
Father Christmas: The Book of the Film (author/illustrator) Puffin, 1992
The Man (author/illustrator) Julia Macrae, 1992
Father Christmas Having a Wonderful Time (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1993
The Bear (author/illustrator) Julia Macrae, 1994
The Snowman: Things to Touch and Feel, See and Sniff (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, 1994
The Snowman: The Original Storybook with Activities for Young Learners of English
(author/illustrator) Oxford University Press, 1995
Ethel & Ernest (author/illustrator) Cape, 1998
The Adventures of Bert (with Allan Ahlberg) Viking, 2001
Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age (author/illustrator) Cape, 2001
A Bit More Bert (with Allan Ahlberg) Puffin, 2002
Blooming Books (illustrator, with Nicolette Jones) Cape, 2003
The Fungus Big Green Bogey Book: Snot for the Faint-Hearted (author/illustrator) Puffin, 2003
The Puddleman (author/illustrator) Bodley Head, 2004
- 22 -
Comics and Picture Books
Colin McNaughton
Key terms: Comics as a medium, picture books, genre, age, close textual analysis, grammar of the
comic, intertextuality, comics for younger readers, comics across generations.
Colin McNaughton was born in 1951 in Wallsend upon Tyne, Northumberland. He took a foundation
course in Art in Newcastle then studied Graphic Design at the Central School of Art and Design in
1970. He then went on to do an MA in Illustration at the Royal College of Art. He is seen as one of
Britain's foremost picture book artists and is also a poet.
His first books were published in 1976 whilst he was still a student. Since then he has been
responsible partly, or wholly, for the creation of around 80 books, some of which appear in the key
books list below. He is often both writer and illustrator, although he has also been involved in a
number of collaborations.
McNaughton’s picture books are highly influenced by the comics of his childhood, their related
annuals and the Saturday morning cinema serials. The comics were his formative literature.
In essence, as a picture book creator influenced by comics, McNaughton’s range of work can be used
to illustrate that:
Comic books do not exist in isolation, but have an impact upon and relationship with, other
media. A key term in relation to McNaughton is intertextuality. Whilst this is a quality of many
picture books it is much more typical in relation to comics, which often refer to both other
comics and a range of media texts including film and television.
In Here Come the Aliens!, there are a huge range of references. For instance, the angle and layout of
the lettering on the cover and title page mimics and pastiches the introductory sequence of the first
Star Wars film. Further, on one page an alien is described by the narrator as having 'boldly been
where we have not been', again an instantly recognisable pastiche and the overall premise for the
book, the notion of the alien invasion, is most typically known from film. In addition, some of the aliens
‘sing’ snippets of songs from children’s culture. The rhymes and songs are predominantly part of
historical rather than contemporary children’s culture. For instance, one of the aliens says 'Inky, pinky,
ponky' which refers to a nonsense song. Similarly, another alien references 'Ging gang goolie', a song
that was created to be sung by anyone precisely because it was essentially meaningless.
Simply getting students to work on this text, teasing out the references and listing any they do not
understand will illustrate that a text aimed at a very young audience can be very complex and that this
complexity is increased by the way that McNaughton anticipates that the reader (perhaps seen as
located within genre, science fiction, and gender, male) will be culturally competent with regard to that
genre and how comics work.
These are picture books rather than comics, a medium that demands a different kind of literacy, but
still involves understanding the way that images and text interrelate, sometimes supporting each
other, sometimes functioning in counterpoint. In the picture book, the form is constrained, potentially,
by the 32-page format, as the comic is by the use of panels. Typically, although not necessarily, the
picture book has less text, and a single image per page or double page spread. More complex
understandings of the picture book form can be derived from a range of texts including:
Baddeley, P & Eddershaw, C, Not So Simple Picture Books, Trentham Books, 1994
Bearne, E & Styles, M, Art, Narrative and Childhood, Trentham Books, 2002
Doonan, J, Looking at Pictures in Picture Books, Thimble Press, 1993
Evans, J (ed), What's In the Picture, Paul Chapman, 1998
- 23 -
Meek, M, How Texts Teach What Children Learn, Thimble Press, 1988
Nodelman, P, Words About Pictures, University of Georgia Press, 1988
Watson, V & Styles, M, Talking Pictures, Hodder & Stoughton, 1996
Classwork with Colin McNaughton’s material

To understand the relationships and differences between comics and picture books, it may be
useful to engage students in comparing one of McNaughton’s picture books, Who's that
Banging on the Ceiling? (1992) or Hmm… (1998) for instance, with some of Briggs’ books.
The Father Christmas books would work as an effective comparison. In comparing and
contrasting the two, students could draw out the way that McNaughton’s books use the
grammar of the comic, using speech balloons, in all examples, or thought balloons
(particularly in Hmm…), and how in Who's that Banging on the Ceiling? the single images
(which are also representations of rooms in a block of flats) also function as single comic
panels.
From there, discussions can move on to the massive contrasts, with the comic allowing much
more information and detail given the use of the panel, although the images in picture books
often do contain a great deal of detail. There is also a different type of pacing and use of time,
given that in comics it is panel-to-panel transitions, rather than page-to-page ones, that form
the basic unit representing time, as well as the obvious differences based around each page
of the comic containing multiple images, in panels that are usually laid on a white background
(forming gaps between the panels, a space known as the gutter) which may also incorporate
speech balloons, thought balloons and other elements.

The comic tradition that McNaughton draws on is a very specific one from Britain, in which
the comic is seen as funny and for children (to the extent that it can be seen as a cliché). He
is not trying to stretch the boundaries of comics, then, unlike Briggs, but is like Briggs in being
intent on expanding the potential of the picture book by drawing on this other medium. Here
Come the Aliens!, for instance, is essentially a long single joke in which the punch line of the
narrative is about how the invading alien fleet is driven away when the leader finds a picture
depicting 'your class – aged four'. This links the books immediately with the tradition of the
comic strip as found in the Beano and Dandy. It would be useful to compare this book with
those texts to show how, even without using panels, the book functions almost as a panelper-page (sometimes more) comic (although there are some static portraits in this example,
rather than the activity that typifies what is depicted in the panels of many genres of comic),
and has a similar narrative thrust to a punch line. McNaughton says that movement is
important to his work and that it is derived from his understanding of comics, saying, 'I've
been talking about the comic format for years. It's the modern way of telling stories for today's
children; it's about movement, the step between film and the book'
(www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Colin-McNaughton). In addition, the slapstick humour and wordplay
is very reminiscent of both the names of characters in Beano and Dandy and the activities
that are part of the narratives.

As the texts that influence McNaughton, especially the Beano and Dandy comics, began in
the 1930s (making him one of the later generations of readers) there is scope to open up
discussion about reading across generations and the way this can create a common culture
(which links in with the notion of intertextuality referred to above). Students could interview an
older adult about their memories of reading comics. The titles they will probably have in
common are the Beano, Dandy, Oor Wullie and The Broons, but possibly also Viz, superhero
comics or even Asterix the Gaul.
McNaughton’s books offer more to a reader steeped in the genre of British humour comics,
reinforcing the notion that these are written for a reader of any age, from a number of different
generations. McNaughton locates his work clearly alongside those comics, labelling them
unproblematically as a set of texts for younger readers, but anticipates that older readers will also
have known, loved and understood them, so opening up the picture books as sites of crossgenerational exchange, offering older readers pleasure from analysing his books, and allowing
- 24 -
readers to build links irrespective of age. David Lewis argues that because of this use of the grammar
of the comic the texts McNaughton creates, 'encourage the sensation that the emerging story is
shared – that is, generated jointly by reader and writer' (1998, p. 67). Thus, a powerful sense of
ownership is created.

Here Come the Aliens! also constructs a notion of the child that depends on an
understanding of childhood as anarchic, again, in part, derived from British humour comics.
Children are accorded power here, but are also depicted as monstrous, even to monsters.
The image of the class reinforces this by showing a mass that is barely under control. The
children are not drawn as conventionally attractive; they fight, pull each other’s hair, throw up
over one another, pull faces at the camera and each other and generally misbehave. They
represent a construction of the child as anarchic, as well as monstrous, something further
reinforced by the way that the cartoon image of the class is framed like a school photograph,
effectively distancing them. McNaughton draws on comic strips, particularly ‘The Bash Street
Kids’ who have appeared in the Beano since 1954, a strip notable for grotesque, but likable
children. Their forms, like that of the aliens, or Mister Wolf in the Preston Pig books, are both
simplified and exaggerated. Thus, the construction of the anarchic child here is humorous
and positive (in that the children save the earth) rather than threatening. Children are
anarchic, the text argues, but they are also heroic.

Using Hmm... allows exploration of a specific aspect of comic grammar, the thought balloon.
As McNaughton says, 'I got to feeling pretty bad about Mister Wolf because he was so onedimensional. He had no inner-life. Hmm… is my attempt at remedying that' (2000, p.11). The
overall premise of the book is a conversation between Preston Pig and Mister Wolf. This is
the first book in which the two characters are aware of each other.
The first double page spread sets up the story using speech balloons and dividing each page into two
panels, creating a four panel strip (again, like a newspaper strip rather than a longer comic narrative).
The majority of the book, however, offers a series of double page spreads in which Preston is shown
looking out of a window down onto the wolf. This only takes up slightly over half of the left hand side
of the left page of the spread. Each page is dominated by a large thought balloon covering the right
page of the spread and part of the left one.
Students can compare the text on the left-hand side of the page, the spoken element, with what is
contained within each thought balloon. In effect, the neutral language used in the former is
undermined by the images in the latter, in which Preston is under threat from Mister Wolf, or the wolf
appears as star or hero.
Finally, there is a return to the four-panel strip model, reinforcing the need to read the book with the
form of the comic strip in mind.
In support of this case study, you should draw on:
Hammill, E, Daft as a Bucket: Inside the World of Colin McNaughton, Newcastle: Seven Stories, 1999
MCNaughton, C, 'Windows Into Illustration', Books for Keeps No. 121, March 2000, p. 11.
Lewis, D, 'Oops!: Colin McNaughton and “Knowingness', Children’s Literature in Education, Vol.29,
No.2, pp. 59-68.
Colin McNaughton's Key Books
There’s an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighbourhood (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1987
Jolly Roger and the Pirates of Abdul the Skinhead (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1988
(http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Jolly-Roger-Paperback-1844284786)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Porridge? (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1990
(http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Whos-Been-Sleeping-in-My-Porridge-1844287807)
Have You Seen Who's Just Moved in Next Door to Us? (author/illustrator) Walker Books,1991
(http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Have-You-Seen-Whos-Just-Moved-In-Next-Door-To-Us-0744530431)
- 25 -
Who's that Banging on the Ceiling? (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1992
Making Friends with Frankenstein (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1993
(http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Making-Friends-with-Frankenstein-Paperback-0744577802)
Captain Abdul's Pirate School (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1994
(http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Captain-Abduls-Pirate-School-Paperback-0744598966)
Suddenly! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 1994
Here Come the Aliens! (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1995 (http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/HereCome-the-Aliens-0744543940)
Boo! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 1995
Oops! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 1996
Goal! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 1997
Hmm… (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 1998
Dracula's Tomb (author/illustrator) Walker Books, 1998
Don't Step on the Crack! (author/illustrator) Harper Collins, 2000
Oomph! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 2001
Good News! Bad News! (author/illustrator) Harper Collins, 2001
S.W.A.L.K. (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 2002
Lemmy Was a Diver (author/illustrator) Andersen Press, 2003
Cushie Butterfield (She's a Little Cow) (author/illustrator) Harper Collins, 2004
- 26 -
Thinking about comics, childhood, censorship and gender
Key Terms: media effects, gender specific comics.
How comics have been, and sometimes still are, seen in relation to childhood is a central part of
understanding the place of the comic in Britain. That the comic has been seen as problematic is
linked to the assumption that it is for a younger audience (even though it is capable of addressing
older readers) and that any material aimed at older readers, rather than being for older readers,
simply exists to lead the younger reader ‘astray’. This view sees the younger reader as unable to be
discerning or critical and so is tied to the tradition of ‘media effects’ theory.
The following material focuses on the recent history of comics in Britain, looking at the controversy
that the medium has excited. It could be used to stimulate discussion with older pupils, especially if
used alongside a range of comics or graphic novels ranging from those aimed at the very young to
key titles aimed at older readers (the suggestions throughout the Case Studies would make a
collection that could be used to reinforce these points).
Activities for pupils
1. Who does any given comic address as an audience? Through close analysis of a comic, the
pupils will be able to construct a notion of who the implied reader is, thinking about age,
gender, class, ethnicity and even location (for instance, one could argue that Ethel & Ernest
could be seen as primarily addressing an older adult, British, white, middle class reader.
Such connotations could be read from a number of aspects of the book, including the cover,
which looks like a traditional ‘quality’ novel. In comparison, the colours and simplified forms of
the ‘Beano’ might suggest child as an audience.
2. In what ways might a comic be considered controversial? You could get students thinking
critically about the ways in which a title might transgress the British norm (summarised as
funny and for children).
3. How is comic censorship tied in with assumptions about childhood? You could get students
exploring opposing constructions of the child using comics controversies, especially the child
as in need of protection (or as victim) as opposed to the child as autonomous and critical (or
the child with rights). Most campaigns assumed children were in need of protection. What
were they being protected from and by whom? (Often from themselves, assuming children to
be ‘naturally’ mischievous, or from ‘evil’ adults.)
4. How were texts that address boys or girls, rather than boys and girls, seen as a solution to
the ‘problem’ of the comic? Subjects seen as suitable for boys were seen as potentially
undermining the femininity of girls. Is there a gender bias in any of the titles you choose to
look at?
5. How are bodies depicted in superhero comics? The exaggeration of male and female bodies,
especially in costume, could be used as a way into discussion of a range of representations
of the body across media and the ways that these images may be seen as an influence, or
not, upon young people. In relation to superheroines in particular, it is worth comparing how
they look with what they do. Are they powerful and independent, or are they victims? Thinking
about what these characters do affects how they look, making it difficult to see them as
straightforwardly sexist images.
Comics hold an uneasy position in British culture. They have been criticised for a range of reasons:
these reasons usually reveal the attitudes that those holding them have towards childhood and what
is ‘suitable’ to it. These attitudes have often incorporated a view of the child as easily influenced by
media (usually characterised as harmful), a perspective that can be linked with ‘media effects’ theory.
Furthermore, the type and level of disquiet a comic might cause is often linked to a view in which
some material is seen as suitable for girls and some for boys. This implies that there are degrees of
vulnerability to the messages that these supposedly pernicious texts offer and that the vulnerable
- 27 -
audience may vary according to title. Mixed audiences have often been seen as particularly
problematic and the focus of concern. Below is a discussion of British censorship of the comic, which
also draws on instances from elsewhere that have had considerable impact in Britain. Typically all
comics have been affected when one variety has been attacked; each act of censorship contributes
to the low status of the form and ensures that it remains controversial.
Penny dreadfuls
Originally in Britain, ‘story papers’ (the precursor to comics) and early comics were produced partly in
response to the ‘penny dreadfuls’, and were meant to be an acceptable alternative to them. Martin
Barker (1989, p.9) describes how ‘penny dreadfuls’, like the later horror comics (which will be covered
later), had a mixed male and female readership, largely young and older adults. He reports that girls
reading ‘penny dreadfuls’ were seen as particularly problematic. From the first, comic books were
bound up with notions of what acceptable entertainment was for the young and for the working class
on the basis of middle class judgement, and the need for social control. In addition, the ‘penny
dreadful’ was criticised for encouraging immorality amongst the young. The mixed readership seems
to have been seen as part of that immorality.
The language used to talk about ‘penny dreadfuls’ clearly indicates that they were seen as harmful.
This is very much centred on disease. James Greenwood said:
'Granted, my dear sir, that your young Jack, or my twelve year old Robert, have minds too pure either
to seek or to crave after literature of the sort in question, but not infrequently it is found without
seeking. It is a contagious disease, just as cholera and typhus and the plague are contagious, and, as
everybody is aware, it needs not personal contact with a body stricken to convey either of these
frightful maladies to the hale and hearty. A tainted scrap of rag has been known to spread plague and
death through an entire village, just as a stray leaf of Panther Bill or Tyburn Tree may sow the seeds
of immorality amongst as many boys as a town may produce.' (In Barker, 1989, p.102)
Whilst in this case boys are discussed, the girl reader was also at risk and as Edward Salmon states:
'With girls the injury is more insidious and subtle. It is almost exclusively domestic. We do not often
see an account of a girl committing any serious fault through her reading. But let us go into the
houses of the poor, and try to discover what is the effect on the maiden mind of the trash the maiden
buys. If we were to trace the matter to its source, we should probably find that the higher-flown
conceits and pretensions of the young girls of the period, their dislike of manual work and love of
freedom, spring largely from notions imbibed in the course of a perusal of their penny fictions.' (In
Barker, 1989, p.103)
Criticisms about ‘penny dreadfuls’ had focused British publishers more on material that had a largely
gendered appeal. One example was the Boy’s Own Paper. Barker describes the delicate balance that
needed to be achieved in the Boy’s Own Paper between being suitably Christian, appealing to
parents and yet also being attractive to the boy reader. Claudia Nelson also describes how that paper
consciously imitated the format of the ‘penny dreadfuls’ as well as some of the stories, although within
more acceptable parameters (Nelson, 1997, p.4). Publishers walked a fine line between placating
gatekeepers and getting away with incorporating material that was appealing to readers, something
which left these texts and the comics that followed in a vulnerable position in relation to adult views of
suitable entertainment for children.
Changing attitudes towards the comic
By the 1950s the comic, and particularly the American comic, became the focus of the same kind of
assumptions that had demonised the ‘penny dreadfuls.’ These texts became the dangerous new
media of their day and seen as liable to have an effect upon the young reader. Thus the cycle
repeated itself with a new scapegoat for behaviour seen as socially unacceptable. This was
particularly because, as Amy Kiste Nyberg says of the American experience of comic censorship,
'Adults’ concern stemmed in large part from fears that children’s culture, especially the control of
leisure reading, had escaped traditional authority' (Nyberg, 1998, p.viii). In Ill Effects, Martin Barker
(1997) locates this ‘moral panic’ about comics alongside later panics about the ‘video nasty’ and
video games.
- 28 -
Comics in Britain have, since their positive start in the 1880s, often come to been seen as dangerous
if not based around simple slapstick comedy. In Britain only the comic that was comic in tone has
been universally acceptable, although even some of these have been seen as controversial, in that
the targets of the humour or the style of humour need to be accepted as appropriate. This became an
issue when Viz was attacked as having subverted the format of the 'acceptable' British comic.
However, the same arguments had also been applied to the Beano and Dandy with a range of
complaints about their content, with violence being a particular focus (Dellino, 1981; Gale, 1971).
Comics Campaigns in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s
The key campaigns against comics have been predominantly concerned with young men and boys
(although in several cases the points made about ‘unsuitable’ material specifically cited female
readers) and titles that attract a mixed readership (like the Beano and Dandy). One response to the
‘problem’ of comics that these campaigns have been the creation of reading matter seen as suitable
for a specific gender. In the 1950s in Britain, in part as a result of fears about comics, as well as
changes in education, comics for girls became an important genre in Britain. They are an interesting
case because, like the Girl’s Own Paper in the 1880s, the intention was predominantly to create
‘improving’ texts. These comics did not have the humorous intent of many of the other titles. In the
early strictly girl-orientated comic the emphasis was on being 'nice'. In general the advice was to be
passive.
It is also clear is that the emphasis on male reading addressed concerns about the way in which
boys’ reading was seen as more important in general; that the juvenile delinquent was generally
characterised as male; and that the comic book was seen as a predominantly male preserve. As
Nyberg states in relation to the American experience: 'The major factor in the success of the
campaign against comics was the linkage of comic book reading to juvenile delinquency, a problem
representing the ultimate loss of social control over children' (Nyberg, 1998, p.ix). In turn, these fears
expressed about young men influence debates today about the media and reading in Britain.
There are also distinct concerns about the nature of childhood, and concerns about behaviour linked
to gender in the campaigns about comics outside of Britain. One that had an impact on Britain was
the major American crime and horror comic campaign of the 1950s largely instigated by Dr Fredric
Wertham, which actually addressed titles for adults and young adults and the impact that reading
them would have on younger readers. This campaign eventually had an effect on readers of all ages
and all comic titles. Accompanied by the publication of Seduction of the Innocent (1955), this
campaign led to widespread demonisation of the form. It informed aspects of the campaign that ran
here as Barker describes in A Haunt of Fears (1984).
In relation to gender, this campaign was, in part, concerned with the way superhero comics might
affect girl or boy readers. As Wertham says,
'Superwoman (Wonder Woman) is always a horror type. She is physically very powerful, tortures
men, has her own female following, is the cruel, 'phallic' woman. While she is a frightening figure for
boys, she is an undesirable ideal for girls, being the exact opposite of what girls are supposed to want
to be.' (Wertham, 1955, p.35)
Thus the implication is that the girl may desire to be like Wonder Woman, which is obviously seen as
problematic and identified as such (Wertham, 1955, p.167). Wertham later characterises this comic
as one 'which we have found to be one of the most harmful' (Wertham, 1955, p.64) which is related to
concerns about appropriate behaviour for girls at this point in American history. In this research, the
female reader and the ‘juvenile delinquent’ were seen as the two groups most open to the effects of
the media. In contrast, the older male and middle class reader was seen as incapable of being
influenced in this way. This perception of the vulnerable reader is a very problematic one. As Barker
and Petley suggest:
'Upon whom are the media supposed to have their ‘effects’? Not the ‘educated’ and ‘cultured’ middle
classes, who either don’t watch such rubbish, or else are fully able to deal with it if they do so. No,
those who are most ‘affected’ are the young, and especially the working class young. Here ‘effects’
- 29 -
theory meets up with what Pearson (1983) has called ‘the history of respectable fears’ and Cohen
(1972) ‘folk devils’.' (Barker and Petley, 1997. p.5)
In Britain, those ranged against the comics were a very mixed group. However, the focus remained
particularly on the working class adult and child, who were seen as vulnerable to pernicious popular
culture, passive victims of texts.
The British version of Wertham’s campaign against the comic originated with the British Communist
Party. Whereas America saw the publishers as the problem, the first round of the British campaign
identified the American comics themselves as the problem, seeing them as particularly gauche, crass
and commercial. Thus the campaign was linked to mass media debates and anti-American sentiment.
The British Communist Party was very active in favour of banning such comics, which, it was felt,
would attract children to capitalism and amounted to American imperialism. Jo Benjamin, one of
those who established the campaign, believed that the wave of American culture would both
overwhelm British culture and be insidious propaganda. In reality the large scale of the campaign
belied the fact that the case in Britain was against a small trickle of imported material, rather than a
flood.
The campaign in Britain was later taken over by the teaching unions, which subtly shifted the debate
closer to that in America. Here too the emphasis on the notion of the comic as only for children meant
that the stories seemed even more depraved than they would have been had they been recognised
as they were, as reading for adults. A key influence was the reports written by Pumphrey on the
comic book in the 1950s and1960s, which identified comics as worthless and indecent literature. He
said there were two kinds of comics 'harmful and harmless' (Barker, 1984, p.81), adding that the best
they can do is no harm to the child. This association of the comic with children only, a failure to
recognise that a large adult audience exists and that some titles are specifically aimed at them, still
persists.
As the result of the 1950s campaign an Act of Parliament was passed making publication or
distribution of the ‘horror comics’, a shift from the term ‘American-style’, illegal. The Children and
Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955 was used loosely and applied to American comics in
general with the additional potential that it could be applied to home grown produce.
The impact of the comics campaign in Britain upon British comic producers arose from the possibility
that they too could come under scrutiny. Repackaging comics, in the same way that the Boy’s Own
Paper had appropriated the look of the ‘penny dreadfuls’ but not their negative associations, was one
aim. There were also the new producers who laid stress on moral themes. Thus there was a stressing
of the importance of comics like Eagle. The producers had aimed to develop a 'muscular Christian'
antidote to other forms of comic, and the later campaign simply confirmed the danger of most comics
to the minds of both producers and parents. Eagle, of course, was targeted specifically at boys, and
comics were also developed for girls alongside it. These partner comics were Girl and, for younger
readers, Robin and Swift. The establishing of the existence of large gender differentiated markets
meant that reading specific types of comic was condoned. Girl and similar productions, for instance,
were marked by a set of middle class assumptions about proper female behaviour, and generally
seen as acceptable.
Girl readers were usually considered as representative of a single, homogenised group that must be
protected from unsuitable topics. They must also be protected from the temptation to behave in
inappropriate ways that some subject matter might encourage. This control of girls of all classes,
extended to offering confirmation of middle class roles through the comics and them acting as, in
theory, aspirational reading for working class girls.
The major campaigns vilifying the form in general created a climate in which some of the girl’s comics
were seen as an answer to the problems of comics that had significant mixed audiences and a
solution for producers in attempting to maintain sales. This also continued into the 1970s when
Whitehead et al turn 'with relief' (Whitehead, 1977, p.265) to Bunty after the Beano, as it contains
more words, better grammar and sections in prose. They also approve of the appropriateness of
interests shown for young girls. Sports appear, mostly swimming and tennis, and there is an
emphasis on helping out.
- 30 -
In the 1960s when Pumphrey returned to the theme of the danger of comics he utterly dismissed
American titles, but he was also concerned about the ‘decline’ of British comics. It is clear that titles
for both boys and girls were problematic. The book is mostly in survey form, which while expressing
general concerns about subject matter, literacy issues, and the vulnerable audience, also has quite a
focus on publications for girls and the girl reader. The aim of the book was to improve what existed or
get parents to avoid specific titles. There are indications that appropriately gendered reading is still an
important element. Those girl’s titles that rate higher do so because they contain 'Useful information
and occupation for girls' (Pumphrey, 1964, p.39). These include cookery, home decoration, dress
patterns and a crossword in Diana, patterns in Girl, pets in June, hints on deportment in School
Friend and the rather vague 'things to make' (Pumphrey, 1964, p.39) in Princess. The periodicals
aimed at teenagers get consistently lower marks, except for Honey, which also apparently contains
useful information. Thus those that introduce romance and pop are consistently valued as lower than
those incorporating home-making skills. However, in general the most positive comment usually given
is 'traditional' (Pumphrey, 1964, p.39).
As we can see, the censorship of comics (largely American) in Britain, led to the creation in Britain of
distinct sets of comics aimed at girls and boys separately, reflecting concerns that titles for both were
problematic. Boys were seen as likely to become delinquents as a consequence of reading comics,
girls immoral. The texts that were offered as alternatives, therefore, were predominantly aimed at
directing the child into useful and appropriate activity.
Comics and Feminism in Britain
Although from the perspective of the comics world material for girls was bland, to say the least,
feminist critics have found much to criticise in these comics as well as elsewhere in the form.
Feminist concerns have often been about gender stereotyping in all of these periodicals, as well as of
the pumped up bodies of the superhero comic.
There have also been concerns about the effects of such texts. Bunty was characterised as reading
material for working class girls that may encourage in them a lack of aspiration and other titles were
seen in a critical light as preparing girls for the feminine career of home and marriage.
Whilst it is true that feminist concerns have focused on images of girls and women in all comics this
concern about vulnerable female readers is inflected both through gender and class, identifying the
young working class as particularly under the influence of their reading material.
In summary, feminist and feminist informed criticism of the comic, whilst not a full-scale campaign
usually focuses on specific themes. As Sabin suggests:
'Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, (the comics) would be criticized from a feminist perspective. The early
comics in the genre … were attacked for being unnecessarily twee and reinforcing notions of girls as
inferior to boys; the romance comics for promoting the message that a woman’s purpose was to
make herself attractive in order to find a mate; the American female-superhero comics for merely
being imitators of the male variety and so on' (Sabin, 1993, p.224).
Comics as a Threat to Literacy
The perception of the comic as a threat to literacy has often loomed large; for instance, Whitehead et
al expressed concern that in comics pictures force words out, and felt that if comics were not
available reading would improve (Whitehead, 1977, p.256 and 270). Strangely, given this assertion,
they also concluded that heavy periodical reading goes hand in hand with heavy book reading
(Whitehead, 1977, p.274). This suggests a prejudice against the comic that continues today. As
Morag Styles and Victor Watson asserted:
'Many teachers are aware that the comic is one of the best and most motivating genres for teaching
reading...' (Styles and Watson, 1996, p.179)
However, they also said that:
- 31 -
'... this is too unsettling for those with fixed views of what children should read and how they should
learn to do it.' (Styles and Watson, 1996, p.179)
There are usually three aspects to this perception, all relating to earlier campaigns, suggesting the
consistently controversial nature of comic books. The first argues that such material, in offering
images rather than text, ruins the imagination of young people. A related issue is often that comics
make readers ‘lazy’ because there were pictures to support the words. There are also sometimes
worries that this is an addictive form of reading, meaning that readers never progress to ‘proper’
books. Thus the divide between high and low culture remains firmly in place in this context.
These concerns have also expressed about picture books for the very young, but are most frequently
articulated with regard to material aimed at older readers. Reflecting some of the fears about the
comic, Martin Turner, for instance, saw the image as problematic and asserted that 'A word is worth a
thousand pictures' (Turner, 1990, p.12). Nyberg, in relation to the American comics campaign of the
1950s, identifies the concerns about weakening readers through using pictures as part of the
generational conflict that erupted over the new media: 'Reading comics was teaching young readers a
whole new vocabulary, one that was largely foreign to adults, because adult readers did not immerse
themselves deeply enough in this new cultural form to learn its language (combining both words and
pictures)' (Nyberg, 1998, p.5).
Thus these three areas of concern can be summarised as suggesting that the comic is addictive,
impoverishes the imagination and makes the reader lazy. In particular, vulnerable young men will
become violent, sadistic and sexist under the influence of these texts from which they should be
protected. This notion of protecting the children is analysed by Barker in regard to ‘video nasty’
campaigns in particular in Ill Effects. He argues that: 'The reason for this is that this whole discourse
is not about real, live children but about a conception of childhood' (Barker and Petley, 1997, p.5). In
this notion of childhood as a time of innocence and an 'ideal arena' (Barker and Petley, 1997, p.6) the
reader of a comic is perceived as under threat, or engaged with trivia.
This is also clear in some of the defences of comics offered in America. Nyberg identifies an article
from the Library Journal in March 1942, which suggested that adults should stop thinking that children
were '… wistful-eyed little darlings, who are instinctively and innately delicate, untouched by the
world' (Nyberg, 1998, p.15).
The comic also poses some kind of threat to authority and so may not have the approval of those in
power. This lack of approval, of course, makes the comic even more attractive to young readers. This
in turn leads, as Styles and Watson suggest, to a cycle being established in that: '... the fact that
children take such pleasure from these texts is enough to convince some commentators that they
must be harmful' (Styles and Watson, 1996, p.179).
Finally, this view of comics suggests that they are not even ‘real’ reading. This labelling has often
been shown as faulty, yet it persists. For example, Nyberg identifies American accounts that stated
that comics did not affect children’s reading ability in any negative way (Nyberg, 1998, p.10). In
addition, many of the surveys produced about the form were ignored because they were positive
about it. One case, that of American researcher Paul Witty concluded that 'in terms of intelligence,
academic achievement, and social adjustment, there was no difference between the two groups [of
heavy and light readers]' (Nyberg, 1998, p.109). It was not given much credence suggesting that it
had produced the ‘wrong’ answer.
Conclusion
Since the introduction of the comic, it has often been characterised as a threat to 'polite' society
unless kept within specific bounds. The accessibility of the form has seen as intensely problematic.
Material acceptable in a written format has been consistently criticised in visual format, with the
predominant fear seeming to be that, on a basic model of effects, vulnerable groups, such as children
or the working classes will be seduced by the messages comics offer. This undermines the notion
proposed by producers that these are harmless productions.
These points are all prominent in the various campaigns and complaints about materials in a comic
strip format. In discussing censorship attention must be drawn to the concern comics have
- 32 -
engendered in gatekeepers, be they parents, teachers or librarians. On one hand, there is a tendency
to dismiss the comic as an unimportant form that is unworthy of interest, whilst on the other, the
comic is treated very seriously, but only in the context of being a threat to morality. In both cases,
rather than censorship being identified as the aim, which it undeniably is, these groups frame what
they do as protecting children’s welfare. In both cases this tends to be based on an understanding of
the demonisation of the form rather than the form itself.
Furthermore, as the format that is used for such publications is the ‘other’ of the text-based book, so
the readership of such texts is depicted as the ‘other’ to those who lodge complaints about the form,
in terms of class, age, or gender. In effect, the policing of the child, the worker and the female form a
part of the history of the comic, even when those policing current readers had themselves been the
policed readers of previous generations. As Amy Kiste Nyberg suggests in Seal of Approval, about
the American comic code: '… the debate over comic books fits into a broad pattern of efforts to
control children’s culture' (Nyberg, 1998, p.viii).
It is a shame that the perception of this material as undermining authority, thus exciting middle class
fears, results in the characterisation of the comic as either beyond the pale or mindless pap. As
Barker suggests: 'More than almost any other medium, comics have been lambasted with little
hesitation and with even less knowledge' (Barker, 1989, p.ix).
Barker, M, A Haunt of Fears: The Strange History of the British Horror Comics Campaign, London:
Pluto Press, 1984
Barker, M, Comics: Ideology, Power and the Critics, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989
Barker, M. & Petley, J,Ill Effects: The Media/Violence Debate, London: Routledge, 1997
Dellino, C, 'Comics that set a bad example', Sunday Times, 15 February 1981
Gale, G, 'Violent and Deformed –'the prosecution case', TES, 5 February 1971.
Nyberg, A. K, 'Comic books and women readers: Trespassers in masculine territory?' In Rollins, P. C.
& S. W (eds.), Gender in Popular Culture: Images of Men and Women in literature, visual media and
material culture, Cleveland, OK: Ridgemont Press, pp.205-25, 1995
Nyberg, A. K, Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code, Jackson: University Press of
Mississippi, 1998
Pumphrey, G. H, Comics and your children, London: Comics Campaign Council, 1954
Pumphrey, G. H, Children's Comics: A Guide for Parents and Teachers, London: The Epworth Press,
1955
Pumphrey, G. H, What children think of their comics? London: Epworth Press, 1964
Sabin, R, Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels, London: Phaidon, 1996
Styles, M. & Watson, V, Talking Pictures: Pictorial texts and young readers, London: Hodder and
Stoughton, 1996
Turner, M, Sponsored Reading Failure, Warlingham: IPSET Education Unit, 1990
Wertham, F, The Seduction of the Innocent, New York: Rinehart, 1954
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Reading Comics: Comics and Literacies
Key Terms: Grammar of the comic, visual literacy
There are a number of ways of thinking about what we do when we read comics and how comics
work. What this section will do is flag up some of the key thinkers in this area and point out key texts
that will help staff and students to understand the grammar of the comic. In addition, the section
outlines how the medium can be seen as developing literacy.
In effect, these texts will actually help the teaching of how comics work, and so could be used in a
theoretical context, or as the basis of more sophisticated comic creation in the classroom, in addition
to developing the critical reading abilities of students.
Scott McCloud
This first book is actually a comic itself. Scott McCloud’s (1994) Understanding Comics is an excellent
teaching tool, as well as a theorisation of how comics work. Divided into nine chapters, the book
covers a range of relevant material. The first chapter, for instance, called ‘Setting the Record
Straight’, develops a proper dictionary definition of comics, describing them as 'Juxtaposed pictorial
and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic
response in the viewer' (1994, p.9). This points not to genres, but to the underlying functions and
structures of comics. The key to defining comics is to remember that this is a medium, not a genre, as
this definition suggests.
The second chapter starts to unpack ‘The Vocabulary of Comics’, detailing the iconic nature of comic
art. It is the third chapter ‘Blood in the Gutter’ that really gets into detail about notions of closure, and
moves from there into looking at how one reads comics and how panels work. It is also in this chapter
that international variations in the use of the panel appear. Comparing national tendencies in the
comic is an underlying theme in the book. McCloud discusses the different types of transitions
between frames of comic art, the building blocks of how comics work.
The next chapters, ‘Time Frames’ and ‘Living in Line’, cover the ways in which comics manipulate
time, including depictions of speed and motion, and explore how emotions and other things are made
visible in comics through the expressive and symbolic use of line.
‘Show and Tell’, looks at the interchangeability of words and pictures in various combinations whilst
‘The Six Steps’ outlines the path creators take. The final chapters discuss colour, and draw some
conclusions about the place of comics.
Will Eisner
Alongside this, Will Eisner's work exploring the medium is also worth seeking out. In Comics and
Sequential Art (1985) he attempts to make explicit the way in which comics are read, not just in terms
of moving from speech bubble to speech bubble, but also in terms of page composition and in the
expressive qualities of lettering. Taken with McCloud, this gives a solid foundation and understanding
of how the medium works.
The second chapter of Eisner looks at how images, without the use of text, can work as a comic strip.
Linking this in with wordless comics like The Snowman and Gon could prove useful here, enabling
students to test out how effective they feel the ideas are. The third and fourth chapters look closely at
the panel, how it conveys time and controls the flow of the narrative.
The fifth chapter looks at the ways in which human anatomy can be used to convey emotion. The
sixth looks at the tensions and skills involved in the way the creator works with the demands of the
information to be conveyed in a script. It also looks at how an artist can convey this information in
comic strip form. In the last two chapters is a section given over to a description of the numerous
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printing processes used to create comics, and the various effects these processes have on finished
comic art.
Other Useful Texts
Mario Saraceni’s The Language of Comics, from the Intertext series, which is specifically designed to
meet the needs of contemporary English Language Studies, may be useful: it also offers a series of
exercises on understanding comics.
Furthermore, if you are interested in primary classrooms, then Jackie Marsh and Elaine Millard’s
Literacy and Popular Culture: Using Children’s Culture in the Classroom has a chapter on comics, as
does Teaching Through Texts by Holly Anderson and Morag Styles.
Reading Comics
When reading a comic, especially a good one, the reader can be seen as operating on three different
levels (as well as enjoying what they read). So, whilst comics may appear simple, reading them is a
complex cognitive task. It can be argued that there are three interlinked phenomena that occur whilst
reading a comic. The first phenomenon is closure, our ability to make complete the incomplete.
Secondly, there is narrative density, the amount of information a single panel can get across. Finally,
there is what Will Eisner (1985) called amplification. Eisner’s notion of amplification referred to the
use of words to enhance the narrative flow of symbols (pictures). In terms of literacy, this is the notion
that pictures and words scaffold one another to aid overall comprehension.
As the pictures don’t move in comics, it is the act of closure, where your mind fills in the action, that is
central to the medium. McCloud (1994) argues that most of the work in comics is done by the reader
in this way between the panels. Closure is a powerful form of active reading. The fact that closure
takes place with or without words makes the power of comics clear. The structure and pacing of
panels encourage active, engaged reading.
Narrative density is what allows a creator to say a tremendous amount with a single panel. As so
much information can be contained in a single panel, images can be read as text. As the images and
the words in a comic are both working to convey the same narrative (although rarely containing the
same information), comics provide a rare type of literacy support. The arrangement of panels to fit a
script makes for carefully structured interactions between pictures and text (McCloud, 1994). All of
these elements combine to form texts that speak to many different levels of readers in ways that are
both deceptively simple and artistically complicated at the same time.
Finally, how might comics support traditional literacy, as well as making their own demands through
their very specific grammar? First, comics present complex stories and information in a format that
often scaffolds the reading experience. Furthermore, speech bubbles are less intimidating to
struggling and reluctant readers. In addition, the pictures, narration, and placement of text in comics
allow readers multiple opportunities for successfully navigating texts.
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Comics and the web
This list of resources shows the range of sites about comics on the web.
Bugpowder is an invaluable guide to small press comics. This website contains good links to artist
sites and those of larger non-mainstream publishers are also available.
http://www.bugpowder.com
Comic Book Resources provides an online previews catalogue and news items on comics and
graphic novels. It covers a large range of small press and more mainstream producers in America
and elsewhere.
http://www.comicbookresources.com
The Comics Journal covers the comic medium from an arts-first perspective. The organisation are
owned and operated by Fantagraphics Books, a leading publisher of alternative comic books.
http://www.fantagraphics.com/
Sequential Tart is a comic webzine made by women. This website looks at a wide range of issues
and publications within comics in general and on women creators. It has a good manga review and
article section.
http://www.sequentialtart.com
Page 45 is a Nottingham-based online comic shop. The website provides good reviews of graphic
novels and comics.
http://www.page45.com/
The London Cartoon Art Gallery is also the home of Gosh! Comics, one of the best British Comic
Shops. The site is more about art for sale, but it gives you a sense of the range of the interests that
tie in with comics.
http://www.cartoongallery.co.uk
VIZ Media is one of the major manga publisher in English. Their website is highly informative.
http://www.viz.com
Titan Books are one of the world's largest publishers of licensed film and television publications and
graphic novels.
http://www.titanbooks.com
Recommended Graphic Novels for Public Libraries is a website designed by Steve Raiteri to help
librarians who may want to add graphic novels to their collections but have difficulty locating
information about them.
http://my.voyager.net/sraiteri/graphicnovels.htm
Diamond Comics can help educators and librarians discover how comics can become a dynamic and
positive addition to any classroom or library. http://bookshelf.diamondcomics.com
Gosh! Comics is the website of an online comic vendor which provides good reviews of newly
released material.
http://www.goshlondon.com
Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga contains a collection of resources for librarians.
http://www.koyagi.com/Libguide.html
Anime Web Turnpike highlights the trends for Anime and Manga.
www.anipike.com/
2000AD provides information on all things 2000 AD, including films and music.
http://www.2000adonline.com/
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The Beano website contains a number of features to accompany one of Britain's most famous
comics.
http://www.beanotown.com/
Comics2film is a website dedicated to comics that have been turned into films.
http://www.comics2film.com/
Friends of Lulu aims to promote and encourage female readership and participation in the comic book
industry.
http://friendsoflulu.wordpress.com/
Comic Art Collection by Michigan State University, maintains a useful online catalogue of comics.
http://comics.lib.msu.edu
Comics Research primarily covers book-length works about comic books and comic strips, from fan
based histories to academic monographs, providing detailed information and guidance on further
research.
http://www.comicsresearch.org
Useful Material
Anderson, H & Styles, M, Teaching Through Texts: Promoting literacy through popular and literary
texts in the primary classroom, London: Routledge, 2000
Barker, M, A Haunt of Fears: The Strange History of the British Horror Comics Campaign, London:
Pluto Press, 1984
Barker, M, Comics: Ideology, Power and the Critics, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989
Barker, M, 'Seeing how you can see: On being a fan of 2000AD'. In: Buckingham, D (ed.), Reading
Audiences: Young People and the Media, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993
Coleridge, S. T. & Emerson, H, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, London: Knockabout, 1989
Conlan, C, Hairy Mary, Brighton: Slab-o-Concrete, 1998
Daniels, L, Superman: The Complete History, London: Titan Books, 1998
Daniels, L, Batman: The Complete History, London: Titan Books, 1999
Eisner, W, Comics and Sequential Art, Poorhouse Press, 1985
Gaiman, N. et al, Sandman, New York: DC Comics, 1989-96
Goscinny, R. & Uderzo, A, Asterix at the Olympic Games, London: Hodder.
Gravett, P, Manga:Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, London: Laurence King Publishing, 2004
Gravett, P, Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life, London: HarperCollins, 2005
Herge, Red Rackham’s Treasure, London: Mammoth, 1991
Marsh, J. & Millard, E, Literacy and Popular Culture: Using Children’s Culture in the Classroom,
London: Paul Chapman Publishing, 2000
McCloud, S, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, New York: Harper Perennial, 1993
McCloud, S, Reinventing Comics, New York: Harper Perennial, 2000
McCue, G. S. & Bloom, C, Dark Knights: The New Comics in Context, London: Pluto Press, 1993
McRobbie, A, Feminism and Youth Culture: From Jackie to Just 17, London: Macmillan, 1991
Millard, E, Differently Literate: Boys, Girls and the Schooling of Literacy, London: Falmer Press, 1997
Miller, F, The Dark Knight Returns, New York: DC Comics, 1986
Moore, A. & Gibbons, D, Watchmen, New York: DC Comics, 1986
Pearson, R. E. & Uricchio, W (eds.), The Many Lives of Batman, London: BFI/Routledge, 1991
Pratchett, T & Ross, S, The Light Fantastic, London: Corgi, 1991
Pratchett, T, Briggs, S, & Higgins, G, Guards! Guards!: A Discworld Graphic Novel, London: Gollancz,
2000
Pumphrey, G. H, Comics and your children, London: Comics Campaign Council, 1954
Pumphrey, G. H, Children's Comics: A Guide for Parents and Teachers, London: The Epworth Press,
1955
Pumphrey, G. H, What children think of their comics, London: Epworth Press, 1964
Reynolds, R, Superheroes: A Modern Mythology, London: Batsford, 1992
Robbins, T, From Girls to Grrrlz, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999
Sabin, R, Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels, London: Phaidon, 1996
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Saraceni, M, The Language of Comics, London: Routledge, 2003
Schodt, F. L, Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga, Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press, 1996
Spiegelman, A, Maus I: A Survivors Tale, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987. Initially published as a
series in Raw (Raw Books & Graphics), 1980-91.
Spiegelman, A, Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1992. Initially
published as a series in Raw (Raw Books & Graphics), 1980-91.
Talbot, B, The Tale of One Bad Rat, London: Titan Books, 1996
Waid, M., Ross, A. & Klein, T, Kingdom Come, London: Titan Books, 1997.
Walkerdine, V, Daddy’s Girl: Young Girls and Popular Culture, London: Macmillan, 1997
Weiner, S, 100 Graphic Novels for Public Libraries, Princeton: Kitchen Sink Press, 1996
Wertham, F, The Seduction of the Innocent, New York: Rinehart, 1954
Wilson, B, Stanley Bagshaw and the Mafeking Square Cheese Robbery, London: Barn Owl Books,
2003
Wilson, B, Stanley Bagshaw and the Short-sighted Football Trainer, London: Barn Owl Books, 2003
- 38 -
Practical ideas for use with pupils

Develop a newspaper style four-panel comic strip (think along the lines of Peanuts, Garfield,
Nemi, Calvin and Hobbes or Doonesbury, depending on your personal taste).You can move
on to creating longer narratives.

Book talks. Invite a specialist into the school to talk about comics.

Designing your own comic. This could be based on stories already written in class or on
stories specifically created for the comic book material.

If time is limited, or as an initial short piece that can lead to longer work around comics, you
can ask students to design a cover for a comic they would like to see. This may work
especially well with girls who may feel ‘traditional’ comics are not designed with them in mind

Have pupils work with the school librarian to make suggestions for purchase and promotion
of a comics collection in the school. This is a useful way of using comics, developing a sense
of student ownership of the school library, an engagement with stock and an understanding
of issues around age and suitability, thus enabling discussions about ‘censorship versus
selection’ to be opened up.

Pupils can design a short comic strip, produce a comic book cover or come up with their own
superhero or other character. They can begin by copying, tracing and adapting existing
material, but with encouragement will try out their own ideas.

Pupils can review titles, do a selection exercise for their library and produce a written piece
about comics they liked. They can also write reviews of the sessions and of some of the
comics.

Designing character masks. Pupils design their own character mark and then ‘act’ out the
strip while wearing their mask. They can then be photographed in action and the subsequent
images form the basis of the comic strip. Pupils can also create literal speech balloons on
card, which the actors hold up at relevant points, so that they were in the same form as the
rest of the image.

This can be used as a way to engage with home reading. Do fathers at home read comics
such as Viz or Hotspur? How does this affect the reading of the pupil? Pupils can talk about
the comics their parents read now compared with the comics their parents read when they
were younger. Are there any comparisons between the generations? e.g. reading the Beano.
Cross generational reading, explorations of what previous generations read and so the
creation of reading biographies and autobiographies including, but not exclusively focused on
comics, could be an outcome here.

Paired reading text. Comics can be used between pupils engaged in paired reading. Older
pupils can introduce these texts to younger pupils, encouraging discussion on enjoyment of
this medium, ease of reading, etc.

Debating. There are many issues raised in the material above around comics, such as female
and male stereotypes, that can be used as the basis of a debate within class.
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