Graphic Novels, Past & Present

In anticipation of #TitleTalk on May 27, I wanted to write down a few thoughts on graphic novels.

When I was in junior high and high school, I rarely read books. I spent my free time playing video games, going to church functions, and hanging out with my family and friends. My high school had an Accelerated Reader program, or something comparable, and I remember being required to take a test once a nine weeks. I remember a few titles like Miracles on Maple Hill (which I hated and failed the test on) and The Bogart, which I would forget about and then remember years later when I read the Harry Potter series. As a senior, I happened to discover Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, a YA classic, which most of my students have already read by the time they enter Room 149.

However, I did read some books for fun in my spare time during my teen years. My dad's credit card at the time gave him rewards at Waldenbooks, and each time we went to the nearby Shawnee Mall, I purchased a new collection of comic strips in the Calvin and Hobbes, Baby Blues, or Fox Trot series. I devoured those books, took them on field trips, and reread them because I was interested in drawing and enjoyed the humor. (I even entertained the idea of becoming a cartoonist some day. Ha!) I had no idea at the time that graphic novels existed. I was content with just reading three or four panels at a time, taking in the ink and words, waiting for the punchline.


Flash forward ten years, and I now have amassed around 500 books in my classroom library. A handful of them are graphic novels, and honestly, they do not get checked out all that much. I do book talks on them from time to time, but my Pre-AP students prefer "real" books. I believe graphic novels are just as real as any other books out there, but I have had a hard time getting my students to read them. Here are a few to get you started if you're new to graphic novels.

[The reviews / summaries in bracketed text come from Goodreads.com. This means I read the book before starting a Goodreads account, which was in the summer of 2009. Or possibly my review did not touch much on the plot.]

The reviews / summaries not surrounded by bracketed text are my own.

Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman (4/5 stars)

[Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spieglman's Maus introduced readers to Vladek Spiegleman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and history itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive. This second volume is subtitled And Here My Troubles Began. Genuinely tragic and comic by turns, it attains a complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium.]

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (3/5 stars)

[A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.]

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (4/5 stars)

[Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.]

Stitches by David Small (4/5 stars)

 [Depicting this coming-of-age story with dazzling, kaleidoscopic images that turn nightmare into fairy tale, Small tells us of his journey from sickly child to cancer patient, to the troubled teen whose risky decision to run away from home at sixteen—with nothing more than the dream of becoming an artist—will resonate as the ultimate survival statement.]

You can easily breeze through this memoir set in the 1950s and 60s. The illustrations are entertaining and moving and creepy and hilarious, and the narration is quick and punchy. So much emotion is conveyed in this graphic novel. One piece of advice: do NOT read the jacket flap because it gives away a lot of the plot. Fortunately, I did not read it until after I read the book. 

The Stuff of Life by Mark Schultz (4/5 stars)

As I continue to build my class library, I wanted to expand my nonfiction collection. What better way than to get a graphic novel/nonfiction hybrid on genetics? This fabulous book explains genetics, DNA, and their implications in our modern society through concise text and entertaining images. As I read this book, flashes of my high school biology class came back to me, especially the stages of mitosis and Mendel's pea plant findings. The human genome project is explored as well, which was completed in 2003. I was surprised to learn how similar humans' genetic material is to many mammals. I will be sharing this book with the science teachers at my high school. They might be able to use it during their genetics unit. If I were more of a science expert, I would be able to better judge the quality of the information in this book. What is presented in a too simplified or sophisticated of a manner? Were the illustrations accurate? A high school student interested in science could devour this book in a day. Finally, the book explains methods scientists are using to combat cancer through genetic manipulation. I found this especially fascinating.

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld (4/5 stars)

[A stunning graphic novel that makes plain the undeniable horrors and humanity triggered by Hurricane Katrina in the true stories of six New Orleanians who survived the storm.]

Blazed through this account of Hurricane Katrina, told through the eyes of regular people. I would have liked to have seen a police officer's or a government official's point of view as well, but I guess that wasn't the point of this novel. 

The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert (4/5 stars)

I purchased this book after seeing it on a list of great graphic novels in recent years. I paid no attention to its dimensions. When it arrived in the mail, I was shocked at just how large the book was. Flipping through it, I realized the large size accommodated all the photographs in this biography. Another reason I bought this book is because I teach The Kite Runner, so I thought this book would be a nice nonfiction companion novel for any students interested in learning more about Afghanistan.

This graphic novel is pieced together with the titular photographer Didier Lefevre's photographs and the stories he told his friend Emmanuel Guibert, who did the artwork. In France, the book was published in three different volumes, the last one in 2006. Didier died in 2007.

The Photographer follows Didier's journey with MSF (Medecins San Frontieres--French for Doctors Without Borders) in 1986. I'd estimate the story is told with 40% of Didier's photographs (few of which are very large and only one of which is in color) and 60% of Guibert's art/comics. Some of Didier's photographs are outlined or marked through with what looks like a red crayon. These markings are never explained, although it seemed to me they were his favorites.

Part 1 follows the journey from Pakistan to the makeshift "hospital." Part 2 was my favorite section, which chronicled the events at the hospital itself. Part 3 is an insane survivor story in which Didier foolishly leaves his MSF companions and tries to make it back to Pakistan as quickly as possible. Things do not go well for him.

This story is compelling and provides a unique look into Afghanistan. I think I would have preferred fewer photographs so that the best photographs could have been given more space. The photograph on the cover of the book is just outstanding, but few photos in the book are ever that large. In fact, there is not even one double-page spread of a photograph.

My final beef with this book is that the provided map is incomplete. Many villages and cities mentioned in the novel are not included on the map. I found this frustrating. It also would have been nice to see a dotted line that showed the routes taken in Parts 1 and 3. These would have been easy to do.

Troop 142 by Mike Dawson (3/5 stars)

An introduction to boy scout culture, summer camp, and manhood--whether you're a teen or an adult. The extremely strong language makes me seriously think if I should make this book available in my class library. A few ambiguous strands are never wrapped up. Blazed through this. A few funny moments.
 
Blankets by Craig Thompson (4/5 stars)

[Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith.]

This book lasted a year in my library before it was stolen. It's a gorgeous book, but it also depicts some sexually charged scenes. Be careful placing it in your class library.

Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare & Matt Wiegle (4/5 stars)

I really enjoyed re-reading this play in graphic novel form. I breezed through it, and enjoyed the dialogue for the most part, even though it had been simplified. The drawing is spectacular and adds to the story. This would be a great option for lower level readers when studying this play. 

The Kite Runner by Hosseini, Celoni, & Andolfo (5/5 stars)
 
This book found me. One of my former students gave me a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card for my September 6th birthday. Within 24 hours, I went browsing at B&N, and this book was on one of the first tables I passed. The student who had given me the gift card had talked with me about graphic novels that day. And this book was released on September 6th! Also, just a few weeks ago, I got to meet Khaled Hosseini. He was gracious, allowing me to take a photograph with me, signing my copy of The Kite Runner, and saying that I looked too young to be a teacher.

On this book's actual merits: It is a very faithful adaptation of the novel, making similar emotional impacts with its drawings. The story in comic form still swept me away. One of my favorite pages in this book is of (SPOILER!) Baba's death on page 90. The final page is also fantastic. Unlike the movie which cast a non-blonde Assef, this book makes Assef how he was described in the original book.

I will add this book to my class library. The Kite Runner is one of four books that students can choose to read in my class. I hope this book can serve two purposes: (1) to encourage students to read the full-text novel and (2) to give students a quick taste of KR if they choose one of the other three books instead.