Tag Archives: graphic novels

Book Review – Olivia Twist by Strauss, Dalva, Vieceli and Loughridge.

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Title:

Olivia Twist

Authors and Illustrators:

Darin Strauss, Adam Dalva, Emma Vieveli and Lee Loughridge.

Published by:

Dark Horse Publishers (2019).

Olivia Twist is a dystopian graphic novel parody of the Dickens classic ‘Oliver Twist” that is set in futuristic 2050 London, where society is racially divided and the politically strong have a dependence on artificial intelligence.  This particular edition is a compilation of four consecutive stories.  Fans of the Dickens narrative would be able to easily identify the several similarities between the traditional version and this text, including the inclusion of characters such as Mr Beedle, Fagin, Artful Dodger and the presence of violent street gangs.   

This GN Olivia Twist is a very complex text.  The illustrations are brilliant, and much of the storyline is coded within the visual elements.  The use of colour, line and framing causes the reader to become immersed in the storyline.  As the plot contains several twists and turns, the reader is forced to question the direction of the narrative and make predictions as to the actions of the protagonist.  The text contains several attributes that appeal to teenagers.  Obviously the predominating feature is that this is a graphic novel.  Graphic novels are very popular with children and teenagers, and their multimodality promotes the development of 21st century skills such as visual literacy, critical thinking and intertextuality (Botzakis, 2018). Furthermore, this dystopian text breaks gender stereotypes, contains elements of Bildungsroman, and promotes moral development.  

As a fan of the original version, I found it difficult to read this text without comparing it to the original novel.  Additionally, my visual literacy is still emerging so decoding the images and illustrations required more time and effort than I expected.  I had to read this GN a few times to understand it properly and to see all of its different layers.  This book would be suitable for students over the age of 14 due to the presence of swearing and frequent depictions of violence.  This GN meets English curriculum links  in years 9 and 10 and would make an excellent substitute or alternative novel study to Huxley’s Brave New World, Dashner’s Maze Runner and Collins’ Hunger Games.  

Graphic novels (GN) are an excellent addition to school library collections. When used in educational practices, GN fosters comprehension and increases recall.   As the text is supported by images, GN are ideally suited to students with developing literacy (Botzakis, 2018).  Their visual permanence means that the reader can choose their own reading pace and allows them to re-read as needed. But just reading GN does not mean that the students’ literacy levels will instinctively improve.  GN requires the reader to make inferences, which promotes high order thinking, as well as providing contextual information to the reader  (Botzakis, 2018).  Their complex nature means that educators need to teach decoding and comprehending GN the same way as they teach traditional texts (Botzakis, 2018).  

Good GN possess traditional narrative features such as an overarching theme, depth of plot, character development and use of literary devices (Gonzales, 2016).  Additionally, they also have classic film elements such as line, colour, focus, transitioning and framing (Gonzales, 2016). One of the discerning factors between a literary GN and a comic strip is the depiction of women (Gonzales, 2016).  Unlike vintage comics where the female characters resemble wasp shaped Amazons that may or may not have floss for brains, modern GN acknowledge that young girls need strong and clever female protagonists.  Olivia Twist’s twist on the Dicken’s classic has strong female characters.  An example of this strength would be the character of Fagin and her female band of misfits, code named Esthers, all of whom are fiesty women that exhibit racial and physical diversity.  

Brannen (2013) believes that teenagers like to read about characters that have personal struggles that relate to ‘coming of age’.  In this text, Olivia has lived her whole childhood starved of love and a family.  She seems unaware of her own inner strength and manages to overcome all her obstacles with determination and innate need to protect those weaker than herself.  After all, isn’t morality and ethics about ensuring all members of society are dealt with fairly? Not just the loudest and strongest, but even the small, weak and innocent.  

Whilst Olivia Twist cannot be described as a contemporary realistic fiction due to its dystopian and science fiction characteristics, there are elements of Bildungsroman present within the text. Bildungsroman is a term used to describe texts that are centralised upon the development of a youthful protagonist (Cody, 2005).  This development is usually focused on socio-cultural themes such as morality, race and class, as it provokes vigorous social discourse. 

The inclusion of these themes and following social discourse allows the adolescent reader to develop their moral compass  (Bushman & McNerny, 2004).  Olivia’s love for Pip and her determination to keep him safe ends up being the deciding factor in her survival.  Moral development in teenagers is shaped by the moral dilemmas they are exposed to.  Reading fictitious stories that have moral choices within help students to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong.  After all, as Edmund Burke famously said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (quotationspage.com).  When considering this text’s similarity to the previously mentioned  texts by Huxley, Dashner and Collins, the similar vein in all three, is an ethical dilemma faced by the fringes of society.  

The actions by the protagonist in all of these texts could be viewed as legally wrong by the prevailing standards of their society.  The reader is able to engage with these moral and ethical dilemmas and with the help of social discourse, determine if the actions of the character were truly wrong or is the society actually at fault?  Society is not an indicator of social morality.  History has proven time and time again that what is right and what society determines is right can be two very different things.  Just look at the evolution of civil rights.  In the 1800’s, women were considered property and did not have the right to own property in their own right or vote.  Whilst this has been overturned in most nations, some cultures still inhibit women from equal participation.  In Australia, the Indigenous peoples were considered as part of the ‘flora and fauna’ till a national referendum in 1967 revoked that viewpoint and Indigenous people were then included as part of the national census.  As individuals, we all play a part in monitoring the morality of society.  

Classic young adult novels such as Olivia Twist lure the reader into the storyline with its multimodal format and then provokes them into analysing the character and their actions.  The reader is able to evaluate the actions of the protagonist and decide if the action is acceptable or not.   It is through this evaluation process that the reader develops their moral compass.  Besides addressing curriculum links within the English curriculum, the strong female protagonist in the narrative provides a positive depiction of women and this is really important for young girls.  The inclusion of good graphic novels into high school library collections meets the cognitive, behavioural and developmental needs of young adult readers.  

References:

Botzakis, S. (2018). Comics in the classroom: Using graphic novels for content learning. In D. Wooten, B. Cullinan, L. Liang & R. Allington (Eds).  Children’s literature in the reading program: Engaging young readers in the 21st century, (5th ed., pp. 140-152). Retrieved from Proquest Ebook Central.

Brannen, J. (2013). All about realistic fiction for teens. NoveList. Retrieved from https://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/novelist/pdf/Teen_RealisticFiction_GenreOutline.pdf

Bushman, J.H. & McNerny, S. (2004). Moral choices: Building a bridge between YA literature and life. ALAN Review, 32(1), 61-67. Retrieved August 2016.

Cody, D. (2005). Bildungsroman. Victorian Web – Literature, History & Culture in the age of Victoria. Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/genre/bildung.html

The Quotations Page. (2018). Edmund Burke. Retrieved from http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Edmund_Burke/

Gonzalez, J. (2016). Graphic novels in the classroom. [Blog] Cult of Pedagogy. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/teaching-graphic-novels/

 

Graphic novels in the curriculum

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In days gone by, graphic novels were regarded little more than entertainment for children and young adults.  They were regarded as shallow and of no value as literature. I have previously discussed the popularity of graphic novels in my school library, but I have not expounded upon their value to the collection as a source of literature.

A good graphic novel as described by Gonzales (2016) is a literary text in a comic strip format. It should have the same literary features of a prose novel, such as an overarching theme, depth of plot, character development, as well as the standard literary devices of any other piece of literature (Gonzales, 2016).  But the added strength of graphic novels is the illustrations. These illustrations support the storyline and seek to enhance the plot for the reader by providing context and additional visual clues.

ACARA (n.d.a) defines a text as a conveyance of communication.  It does not discriminate if the text is written, spoken or multi-modal in nature, but rather emphasises the importance in its ability to transmit information.  Therefore, as per ACARA (n.d.a), it is perfectly reasonable for graphic novels to be used as part of curriculum literature as well as part of general wide reading. The multi-modal format of graphic novels is suitable for both fiction and non fiction subject matter, and engages students across year levels and contributes to the development of various literacies and higher order thinking skills.

The format of graphic novels strongly promotes literacy; which includes but is not limited to language and visual development as well as critical and cultural literacy (Laycock, 2019).  As ACARA (n.d.b) illustrates, the literacy continuum allows for active teaching of graphic novels in the visual knowledge element as well as the comprehension of text elements. These elements clearly indicate that the focus of literature is no longer restricted to prose in print; but that the concept of text has greatly evolved.

Graphic novels have several features that lend itself to teaching and learning practice.  Firstly, the transition that is needed between frames makes it necessary for the reader to predict the next action (Botzakis, 2018).  This prediction requires the student to utilise higher order thinking skills before they can arrive at that point, using the contextual information present in the imagery.  The context of a graphic novel has multiple uses in an educational setting.  Besides assisting low literacy and ESL students improving their ability to decode; discordance between images and text can also be used to provoke spirited discussions and analysis (Botzakis, 2018).  Lamentably, most students fail to understand such nuances intuitively, therefore explicit pedagogical practice is required to equip students with the necessary skills (Laycock, 2019). Lastly, graphic novels have visual permanence (Botzakis, 2018). This visual permanence means that the reader is able to set their own reading pace and allows for re-reading and further clarification.

In recent years, many classical texts have been reprinted as graphic novels due to their popularity.  Complex texts such as Homer’s “Iliad” and Harper Lee’s “To kill a mockingbird” adaptations allow the reader to engage with class texts in a format that they can access more easily.  Even popular titles such as “Anne Frank’s Diary” and “Wrinkle in Time”have proven more competitive in a graphic format than the traditional text version with high school students.  Laycock (2019) points out that graphic novels increase the literacy alphabet in poor readers as well as offer an additional method in which content can be delivered. The evidence does indicate that as a format, graphic novels have great potential in a classroom setting.

Unfortunately many teachers falter when challenged to use graphic novels in their teaching practice.  This is due to a lack of confidence with this format. Authority in explicitly teaching literacy using graphic novels requires the teacher to be familiar with a variety of graphic texts (Gonzales, 2016).  Gonzales (2016) suggests that knowledge in film techniques would be useful in analysing the illustrations, as they use frames, colours, angles and word bubbles to convey the covert message; in comparison to the the text, which speaks the overt message.  Comprehension is further enhanced by clear teaching of artistic elements such as line, shade, colour, form and depth. Some graphic novels aid comprehension further by the inclusion of character mapping which aids in memory recall (Botzakis, 2018).

The largest benefit to the inclusion of graphic novels in a high school library collection is that reading graphic novels tends to lead to an increased satisfaction with reading, which in turn leads to increased wide reading (Gonzales, 2016; Laycock, 2019).  Graphic novels also give poor and reluctant readers a sense of accomplishment due to the increased decoding assistance from the visual clues (Botzakis, 2018).

Regrettably many parents and teachers still believe that graphic novels are unsuitable for classrooms and wide reading due to ingrained prejudices and their own distant memories (Gonzales, 2016; Laycock, 2019).  There is an assumption that vintage comics are in the same league as a modern graphic novel. But this thesis would be incorrect. Comics are to graphic novels as Mills & Boon are to traditional literature (Botzakis, 2018). It would be a great miscalculation to designate all graphic novels as entertainment, when one can clearly see their practicality in the classroom and links to the curriculum. Another point to consider is that there is a disconnect between what students want to read and what the curriculum dictates they have to read.  This dichotomy cripples literacy development. When school literacy programs prefer only monomodal texts, it creates pedagogical tension for teachers. Adding graphic novels to class literature shifts the voice in the classroom from teacher to the student which leads to higher student engagement.

Graphic novels sales are trending across the literary world.  The first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize was “Maus” by Spiegelman in 1992, followed by Aydin’s “March” series that won the National Book Award in 2016.  Traditionally favoured with the tween and teen males, graphic novels have become increasingly popular with teenage girls (Gonzales, 2016; Botzakis, 2018). This popularity has led to a sharp increase in the occurrence of female protagonists within this genre (Gonzales, 2016).  One could argue that graphic novels are indeed texts of the 21st century as they engage the reader on multiple levels, promoting multiple literacies in a multi-modal world.

References

ACARA, (n.d.a) English – Key Ideas. Retrieved from  https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/english/key-ideas/

ACARA, (n.d.b) Literacy Learning continuum.  Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/3596/general-capabilities-literacy-learning-continuum.pdf

Botzakis, S. (2018). Comics in the classroom: Using graphic novels for content learning. In D. Wooten, B. Cullinan, L. Liang & R. Allington (Eds).  Children’s literature in the reading program: Engaging young readers in the 21st century, (5th ed., pp. 140-152). Retrieved from Proquest Ebook Central.

Goldsmith, F. (2010). The readers’ advisory guide to graphic novels. Retrieved from Proquest Ebook Central.

Karp, J. (2012). Graphic novels in your school library. Retrieved from Proquest Ebook Central. 

Laycock, D. (2019) Pilgrims in a foreign land: Teachers using graphic novels as classroom texts. SCAN, 38.  https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-38,-2019/pilgrims-in-a-foreign-land-teachers-using-graphic-novels-as-classroom-texts

 

 

 

Graphic Novels – More than just for fun.

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New part of the collection

 

My school library has recently acquired a variety of graphic novels, ranging from classics such as Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird” to swashbuckling tales of pirates, and fantastical stories of superheroes from the Avengers franchise.  There are multiple reasons behind the acquisition of these resources; tacking reluctant readers engagement with reading, boosting traditional and multimodal literacy and addressing the needs of the curriculum.  

BAM! Literacy and fun- TOGETHER!

 

Graphic novels have widespread appeal across generations.  From adolescent reluctant readers to highly literate adult geeks, graphic novels can inspire a cult following.  I can only chuckle when I reminisce about Sheldon Cooper and his obsession with comics in the popular TV series “Big Bang Theory”.  The popularity seems to stem from the presence of popular genres such as Manga, funny and superhero comics and their use of contemporary characters (Crowley, 2015; Hughes et al., 2011).  The Marvel and DC comic series in particular, have reached new zeniths in popularity due to the recent plethora of movies being released this decade.  

Literacy teachers common use graphic novels as a method of engaging students who are reluctant readers boosting literacy.   As mentioned in earlier blog posts, reluctant readers often struggle to engage with traditional texts for a multitude of reasons, most commonly, low literacy.  Aliteracy or illiteracy, can preclude students from comprehending large text paragraphs (Crowley, 2015). Graphic novels with their text juxtapositioned with pictures format allows students to use visual stimuli to assist with decoding text (Cook & Kirchoff, 2017).  The drawings create a tangible image for the reader allowing them to be captivated more easily by the narrative within. This engagement can often influence students with low literacy to become more prolific with their reading, which has a direct correlation to increased literacy and overall academic achievement.  Due to their popularity and narrative style, graphic novels epitomise the adage, ‘reading for pleasure’. For schools with wide reading programs, a strong graphic novel investment is highly advised.  

There are other benefits to adding graphic novels to a collection.  The advent of the information age has demanded a strong requirement for students to be literate across modalities.  Graphic novels with their images and text colligated together, confer visual, gestural and spatial elements simultaneously, causing the reader to engage with the material on multiple levels.   As mentioned previously, graphic adaptations of class texts and other classics are extremely beneficial in engaging students as it is unfortunate that prescribed texts often seem to lack appeal with the student cohort.  A graphic adaptation has the duality of both ENGAGING disinterested students and ASSISTING students with DIVERSE learning needs.  By adding graphic novel adaptations of class texts to the collection, a school library is acknowledging the diverse learning needs of their students whilst addressing curriculum requirements mandated by ACARA.     

References

Cook, M., & Kirchoff, J. (2017). Teaching multimodal literacy through reading and writing graphic novels. Language and Literacy.  Vol. 19 (4). Pp. 76-95

Crowley, J. (2015) Graphic novels in a the school library. The School Library. Vol 63 (3)  Pp140-142

Hughes, J., King, A., Perkins, P. & Fuke, V. (2011) Adolescents and the Autographics; Reading and writing coming of age graphic novels. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Vol. (54(8). DOI: doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.8.