Letter to educators about comics

Hello, educator! Today is Wednesday and while that might be just the middle of the week for you, for comic fans, this is the most important day because new comic books are out today.

You do know about comic books, right? Maybe you read a few as a kid, maybe you didn’t know that comics come out on a weekly basis (not the same titles every week, but all new comics every single week), maybe you’ve only kept up with movies based on comics, or maybe you’re more familiar with the more elegant and grown-up term of “graphic novel” and didn’t realize that single issues were still being produced and they’re just as good as they have ever been.

I’m an educator and a comic book fan, and as both, I feel much like a match-making friend who sees two people he cares about who are looking for love, and I want to get you two acquainted.

Comic books and educators.

You’re a match made in heaven.

Educators, let me tell you about comics for a minute. Comics have gotten a bad rap. For too long, the general public has dismissed comic books as a waste of time, uneducational, and trash. Things have changed, though. Much like any other type of literature, comics can be a complex, engaging, and emotional experience.

No doubt you’ve heard some of this at various conferences where someone shares what they have learned about “the graphic novel” as if they have uncovered some sort of secret literature that has been hidden for too long. I remember one such conference where teachers “oooh-ed” and “ahhh-ed” at the information presented to them while I sat in bewilderment wondering where these people had been.

I realize that comic books have disappeared from grocery store shelves and have been somewhat hidden in the back of specialty comic book stores, but I had been regularly buying comics since I was ten years old, and it was confusing that so many people knew so little about comic books. Sure, a few teachers could name some basic superheroes, and I don’t expect teachers to know the complete publication history of Green Lantern, but to be so completely ignorant of the form itself is puzzling to me.

You may be wondering, “What does any of this matter?”

Simply put, comics are a great gateway for reluctant readers.

As a kid, I didn’t have the patience for chapter books, but I was always reading comic books. Looking back, I realize now that I associated chapter books that were required for school as work, and that I read comics because I liked them. If I didn’t have comic books as an outlet, I fear that I would have always simply associated reading with work rather than enjoying reading outside of school. And as strange as it may seem, I connected to comic books in a very powerful way and I made sense of my world through reading them.

I remember during my first year of teaching, a student asked if she could borrow some comics. She knew she liked Batman, but she didn’t know where to start, so I brought her a bunch of comics from my own collection and she read through them. A week or two later, a few other girls wanted to borrow some comics. I lent out a copy of Batgirl: Year One and saw that it had been passed to five or six other girls that were interested in comics and I couldn’t have been happier.

Not only were comics being read, but they were being passed around to other students who treasured them as well. It excites me to think that one student said to another, “after you’re done with that, do you think I could read it?”

Of course, the problem you’re probably facing is the most common one:

Where do you start?

Awhile back, I wrote about how comics are a different kind of literacy in that there is no real starting place save for where one wants to start. Comics always begin in new places and readers have to constantly go back to old stories, but that is what makes them fun. Still, I understand that this may be daunting to potential comic readers and that’s why DC’s Relaunch is the perfect place to begin!

In September, DC Comics is Relaunching 52 new number 1 issue comics which is the perfect place for new readers to jump in. If you’ve ever been afraid to pick up a comic book because you’re afraid you don’t know where to start, then this is the time to start. Cast aside your fears and delve into the realm of comic books, but more importantly:

WE HAVE TO PROMOTE COMICS TO OUR KIDS AND IN OUR CLASSROOMS!

With 52 different number 1 issues, some may wonder where to begin. Here is a complete list of the solicitations. Look through them, order some for your classroom and let your students borrow them and watch them pass them around the school.

My plan is to get a variety for my class, share them, and try to have after school discussions. Maybe students will purchase their own comics to share and trade with others. I want to build a class library of comics for my students so we can build a community of comic readers and I implore you to do the same. It’s time we stopped talking about how great comic books and graphic novels can be in the classroom, and it is time we start doing something with them.

Before the Relaunch, new comics fans didn’t have a gateway into reading comics. Now that it is here and students are eager to read them, let’s provide opportunities for them.

I don’t have all of the answers, but Comics in the Classroom is a great place to start. We can’t force kids to love to read, but if we provide enough opportunities outside of the curriculum for them to enjoy reading, then maybe they will.