Graphic Novels

I was introduced to my first graphic novel, Maus, in middle school. I remember being annoyed with this new format - as someone who had been an avid reader since I knew how to read, it felt incredibly foreign. Part of the fun of reading was being able to take the words on a page and turn them into images in your own mind - here, the images were being fed to me. I also recall feelings of confusion when trying to figure out the order of speech bubbles (may sound silly, but very true!). As a student that was rarely confused by anything school-related (I was that annoying classmate that always got A's and ruined the bell curve), this was very off-putting for me. Regrettably, my annoyance at the time led me to brushing off the book, and I now remember very little of the story.

My second experience with a graphic novel came during my junior or senior year of high school. We were reading Beowulf, and my English teacher brought in photocopies of portions of the book done in graphic novel form. This time around I found it very cool - the text of Beowulf could be confusing and vague, and here we were able to see images that helped put together the bits that we couldn't imagine on our own. Everyone in class was excited about this - and students that were normally put to sleep by reading were active and engaged in the material. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for graphic novels - both then as a student, and now as a potential teacher.

Outside of school, I've picked up a handful of graphic novels on my own. They're all hobby related (fantasy stories based on video game worlds), but I find them entertaining and a nice break from the usual mediums I enjoy; the art in a lot of these books can be rather unique and beautiful as well. On the whole, I personally find that I still prefer the two mediums separate: written works on one side, and visual art on the other. However, I can definitely see the merit in a graphic novel. Not everyone learns the same, and graphic novels are an excellent way of reaching a greater audience with the same story. I look forward to being able to possibly implement graphic novels into my lessons in the future.

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