By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

“Johnny, put down those stupid X-Men like I told you! You haven’t finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird, and I said no comics until your book report is done!” mom shouts, the frustration in her voice clear as a bell.

Sadly, the creative 12-year-old sets aside the latest tale of Scott Summers and Jean Grey and goes back to his homework. While the young man may remember names like Atticus Finch, Scout and Boo Radley, he’s more likely to remember that Jean Grey became the Dark Phoenix and almost destroyed the universe until she was defeated and seemingly killed by her dearest friends.

There is no question that a basic knowledge and acquaintance with classic literature is important for today’s youth; to say otherwise would be ignorant and short-sighted. But comic books (and their counterpart, the graphic novel) have opened doors for students and continue to do so, despite vehement opposition from more traditional professors and researchers.

With growing evidence that comics are an literary medium of their own, the glossy-covered newsprint stories have still been much maligned by parents and educators for decades. Even Congress held the comic industry’s feet to the fire in the 1950s, leading publishers to establish a self-censoring body called “The Comics Code Authority”.

One British journalist expressed his frustration in 2012, when graphic novels were finally admitted to London’s best-selling novels list.

“(Comic books) are their own thing. They do not need your imprimatur, O pompous reader of literary fiction. They are basically for children, and for men (yes, men, really, men) who are a bit too thick to read proper books, as I was for many years, and still sometimes am, like if I’m tired or hungover on a plane.”

Coren Giles in The Spectator, Dec. 12, 2012

Before a reasonable discussion of comic books as a teaching tool can begin, one must first examine the definitions of “literature” and “teacher”. Literature, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, is defined as “writings in prose or verse having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal literature.” A teacher, the dictionary concludes, is “one who instructs.”

Excellence of form? Ideas or permanence or universal literature? Comics and graphic novels meet both those criteria, and some experts in both psychology and the comic medium are going to great length to prove this as fact. And appreciation of the comic book medium is certainly something that can be taught.

Comic Books As Literary Form

The late Will Eisner, one of America’s foremost cartoonists and writers, began his work in the 1940s and is an icon of the comic industry. In the 1970s, he began to experiment with longer comic stories compiled into book or magazine format which he dubbed “graphic novels.” He was one of the first famous illustrators to begin examining comic books as more than folded up “funny books” in the back pocket of an imaginative youngster.

His well-known book, Comics and Sequential Art, breaks down the art of storytelling with a combination of words and pictures and predicts the industry’s future. Not only was Eisner a modern-day comic scholar, the largest industry awards in sequential art are named after him in honor of his legendary contributions to the genre.

It was Eisner’s belief that comic books were a genre of literature unto themselves; a stand-alone, if you will, and didn’t need to be compared with other forms of writing. Even the layout of panels, or boxes which show pictures and dialogue, he believed, could direct a reader to a deeper understanding. If a renown talent like Eisner could make an argument for comics to stand on their own in the literary field, perhaps there is something here worth investigating.

“The future of this form awaits its participants who truly believe that the application of sequential art, with its interweaving of words and pictures, could provide a dimension of communication that contributes – hopefully on a level never before attained – to the body of literature that concerns itself with the examination of the human experience.”

Will Eisner, in Comics & Sequential Art

Psychologists and neuroscientists have long determined that different people favor different learning methods, and comics engage more human senses than written words on a page alone can titillate.

In the pages of the 2018 Scandinavian Journal of Comic Art, Dr. Ian Hogue, a lecturer and professor at London’s University of the Arts, argues that comic books in this manner can intensify the reading experience and make it more memorable. He notes that a comic book can be held numerous ways and can be folded, and feels different than a novel (touch), the artwork speaks in combination with dialogue (sight), smell (of newsprinted pages), and elements of reading standard literature are combined. Together, this makes for a unique experience, one far different than reading a paperback or hardcover textbook.

This makes comic books more than just a group of images. On the comic page, the reader sees physical objects that impact them in ways that exceed the mere written word. And the human mind’s comprehension of the writing, in combination with the suggestions from each image, contribute to the perception and emotion involved in each story.

These factors all work to bring people deeper into the fictional – or not-fictional – world the authors and illustrators hope to create.

It’s common knowledge that professionals, from academics to mental health practictioners, agree that there are many ways to engage the intellect through sequential art; now, what about universal truths that make literature a classic? Do comic books engage those truths and concepts as well?

They most certainly do, beginning as early as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman in 1938 and perhaps even earlier.

Comics Tell A Universal Truth

During World War II, a rise of patriotic comic books came into being. Kids could share the thrill as Captain America, complete with his patriotic costume and shield, charged into battle against the evil Nazi supergenius The Red Skull. Other characters called America’s youngsters to unite in common purpose.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Classics Illustrated comics took their turn with the famous literature, with stories like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter and Melville’s Moby Dick illustrated in full, blazing color attempting to make things more eye-catching to readers. In this way, comics have always appealed to their readers human nature. Superman always looked for a way to diffuse a situation, protecting “truth, justice and the American way”.

In contemporary media, comics continue to tell societal tales of justice and address social and political issues. New characters, such as Marvel’s Bobby Drake (X-Men) and Jean-Paul Baubier (Alpha Flight’s Northstar) have come out as homosexual. Old characters have been re-envisioned for new audiences, including a Muslim version of Ms. Marvel (formerly a caucasian woman named Carol Danvers) and a huge emphasis on African hero T’Challa, the Black Panther. All of these characters represent voices that have traditionally been silenced but now can be heard through the medium of the comic book and comic book film.

Much like traditional written works, comic books give readers heroes of different colors, beliefs, societal contexts, political motivations and sexual attractions. The authors and artists work to deliver these comics in a manner that pushes to stretch the scope of what may be seen as good in the world and in various situations.

How is this different from To Kill A Mockingbird addressing racism? Or different from John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, detailing the survival of one family through the tumultuous Great Depression? It’s not. It’s the same concept, with a different yet slightly familiar delivery mechanism that incorporates as many of the human senses as possible.

Conclusion: Comics Are Their Own Genre

Unlike a paperback book, comics and graphic novels engage more of the human senses than ordinary reading. While this is not to reduce the importance of classic literature, it does serve as the beginning of a valid argument that comic books should not be so easily dismissed, especially by teachers of individuals who struggle with or don’t seem to engage with classic classroom teaching methods.

Professionals in the industry like Will Eisner have made compelling arguments for why comic books stand on their own, while some psychologists and literary scholars have agreed that there is more than one way to engage the brain when it comes to reading.

Through the use of images, laid out in a particular way, readers can engage both left and right brain centers of learning through the use of this art form. Yet for some reason, traditional educators seem reluctant to embrace this relatively new and innovative art form that so clearly is a viable – and fun – learning tool.

“Classic novels are generally harder to read; and it is widely thought that this inherent challenge makes the novel a superior thing. Like eating kale salad or working out, the unpleasantness of the task in some way makes it more noble, and better for you.”

Mitchell Roush, Venuela Magazine, April 2018

With the current challenges associated with learning and especially reading, the comics medium is something that all educators should look at in more depth and begin to take seriously – even if they’ve never been a fan of comics themselves.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)