Graphic Novels

It’s kind of fascinating for me to think about using graphic novels in the classroom. I am an art major and an english minor so one would think that graphic novels are up my alley, right? I actually have a hard time understanding and appreciating graphic novels.

To me graphic novels take the enjoyment out of art and reading! When I look at art I like to create meaning for myself on the piece. When looking at many if not most works by artists, I like to experience it as something I create meaning for it. If there are words involved in the piece then the meaning is decided for me. This is especially true when the work is a graphic novel in which there is a clear intended meaning by the author and the artist involved in the creation of the piece. When I read, I like to imagine what the characters and the settings look like based on my own. The illustrations within a graphic novel require me to picture the characters and settings in a certain way instead of my way.

I think I also have a disconnect with the medium. I am unfamiliar with the style of storytelling that comes with comic books and graphic novels. It doesn’t make sense to me. I often have a difficult time even understanding what’s happening despite the narratives that are clearly being told within them. I have numerous friends who absolutely love comic books and graphic novels and as a way to connect with them, I’ve tried to read them in the past. Those attempts have been largely unsuccessful.

As a future teacher with a background in both English and Art it is very likely that I will be expected to know a thing or two about graphic novels considering they are an intersection of both of my disciplines. I am hoping that our class on Thursday will help me to learn about graphic novels and maybe even start to “get” them.