Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

Hello all,

I need some help selecting some titles for a Graphic Novel class I will be teaching in high school next semester. Budget only allows for about 8 books for a 12 week class, so I need longer books that I can teach a unit around. For example, with Maus I could bring in lots of history, etc.
I already have some superhero titles planned, but need some help with more literature and non superhero titles. Any suggestions are welcome. The class is an elective and could have grades 9-12 and their parents sign a permission slip that the books may contain mature material so they don't have to be squeaky clean, but I'm not out to be in front of the school board defending my picks either!

When I was in high school in 2011, we read Watchmen in class. It's in Time's arbitrary "100 greatest books of all time," which may make it defensible enough in the eyes of parents and the schoolboard, but let me try to come up with a less controversial option.

1) You could do March by John Lewis which obviously has strong historical relevancy.

2) The Doonesbury Chronicles might be difficult for a huge class to get a hold of, but it's probably the best portrayal of the 70s in the medium and can open a great discussion about what the difference is between comics and a graphic novel in a way that can really rev young critical thinking skills and lead people to ultimately undermine the definition of a graphic novel.

3) Gast by Carol Swain: a short welsh graphic novel that challenges the genre of mystery within the mystery.

4) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: biography of a woman who grew up in Iran before, during, and outside of the Revolution.

Here are a few to take a look at:

In Real Life - fiction about a gamer girl who encounters a poor Chinese kid gold farming in an MMO

Awkward - mean girls in high school

The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby - non-fiction, an adaptation of a New Hampshire teacher's experiences in the Civil War

For straight-up goofy fun that also has hooks in history, I'd recommend any of the Atomic Robo books. Robo is an invention of Nikola Tesla and has superheroic adventures through various eras because he doesn't age. Then there are the time-travel tales and his nemesis Dr. Dinosaur. You can definitely do some fun things with those stories as a jumping-off point.

Daniel wrote: "When I was in high school in 2011, we read Watchmen in class. It's in Time's arbitrary "100 greatest books of all time," which may make it defensible enough in the eyes of parents and the schoolboa..."

Daniel wrote: "When I was in high school in 2011, we read Watchmen in class. It's in Time's arbitrary "100 greatest books of all time," which may make it defensible enough in the eyes of parents and the schoolboa..."

Thanks Daniel! Watchmen is one I was thinking of! I looked at March but it is really short, although there is a lot we could do with it theme and topic-wise. Persepolis is already on my syllabus. I will take a look at your 2 and 3! Thanks again!

Trike wrote: "Here are a few to take a look at:

Thank you Trike! I don't know any of these by just title and will take a look. #2 is exactly like what I was looking for.

American Born Chinese, Vertigo (by Lynd Ward), and The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

Frank Miller's The Life and Times of Martha Washington (the omnibus) seems like a good pick for this age range. A good title for critical analysis!

Elizabeth wrote: "Frank Miller's The Life and Times of Martha Washington (the omnibus) seems like a good pick for this age range. A good title for critical analysis!"

Ugh, please no. The further we can keep Ayn Rand nonsense away from kids, the better.

The Underwater Welder

Douglas wrote: "Hello all,

I need some help selecting some titles for a Graphic Novel class I will be teaching in high school next semester. Budget only allows for about 8 books for a 12 week class, so I need lo..."

The 47 Ronin: A Graphic Novel True samurai story.
Akira, Vol. 1 Awesome example of a Japanese comic.
American Vampire, Vol. 1 Historic fiction + vampires.
Battlefields, Volume 1: Night Witches Awesome war fiction.
Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me I actually got to use this one for school! Good look at what noir stuff is like.
Manifest Destiny, Vol. 1: Flora & Fauna Lewis and Clark find monsters... it's actually kinda awesome.
March: Book One True story about fighting segregation by John Lewis
Preacher, Book 1 Great book that could lead to a great discussion about religion.
The Punisher MAX: Born Brutal Vietnam story.
World of Tanks WW2 tank story.
World War One: 1914-1918 True WWI story with great art and narrative.

Hope this helps you out!

Thanks! I will check these out!

I think you'll like this book! A Diferença Invisível https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

This is about a different girl living an almost normal life, suffering from being not as everyone. It is a good example of differences and a good lesson about autism and Asperger syndrome.

But it is in French or Portuguese, for now.

Do you have any specific points that you want to cover in the lesson plan?

If you want to cover more philosophical points, I would recommend books such as:
Civil War: A Marvel Comics Event, a study of the differences between deontology and utilitarianism
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a study of the nature of authority

If you are going for a study of literary structure, I don't want to sacrifice any of my favorites to the demon god of parsing. My high school English teachers managed to take all of the fun out of Beowulf.

My themes are very general, we are going to use a Superman book to look at "heroes" and I want to do something on the role of women, the heroes journey, personal stories,

Superman: Red Son
The Shadow Hero
Marvel 1602
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1Marvel 1985
Romeo x Juliet Omnibus

Thanks!

Doesn't League have a rape in it or is that a different volume of it?

kuzronk wrote: "Doesn't League have a rape in it or is that a different volume of it?"

I haven't read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but a lot of classic literature has rape in it, hell that's even something that made Shakespeare controversial, why is Alan Moore including it any worse?

Not worse, but sex and violence are things best avoided these days. I definitely would NOT use Punisher Max or Preacher in any high school setting. It's just not worth the trouble.

In all fairness, I don't know how strict school boards are on things, I'm homeschooled and my parents think I'm mature to decide myself whether or not I think a comic series is too inappropriate.

Regarding my suggestions for Punisher MAX and Preacher by the way:

Punisher MAX- I read the first complete collection (I think that's what it's called) and though you probably won't learn s*** from most of it, the Born miniseries is excellent Vietnam war fiction.

Preacher- My mom was (and might still) use this book for literature/a discussion on religion related commentary in books so that's probably why that came to mind.

Look up comic legal defence and you find out what the worst could happen if somebody complains (like the adult Alan Moore book being banned from a library since a young teen had permission from her mum).

I follow CBLDF and now that you mention it, I could definitely see someone flipping s*** over something. I figured it would be fine considering the permission slip but I could still see something happening because of that one person who has to freak out over everything so... ok, see what you mean.

Douglas wrote: "Hello all,

I need some help selecting some titles for a Graphic Novel class I will be teaching in high school next semester. Budget only allows for about 8 books for a 12 week class, so I need lo..."

You know, since you asked about teaching with graphic novels, I thought this might be good for you. There's a company called "Classical Comics". They caught my attention because my favorite novel is Dracula by Bram Stoker, and they turned it into a graphic novel with one of my favorite comic artists, Staz Johnson. I loved his Catwoman stuff, so it just seemed like a match made in heaven to me.

I actually haven't read it yet, but it looks awesome and seems to stay true to the original material. This company has a lot of graphic novel adaptations of classic literature. Like Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Bronte...I'm sure they have almost all the greats.

They are specifically made to be teaching aids. It's definitely worth checking out, even if you just want to see your favorite classic as a graphic novel. Here's their website...
http://www.classicalcomics.com/

Hope that helps!

Awesome! Thanks!

Douglas wrote: "Awesome! Thanks!"

YW. Hope your class goes well👍

sorry I'm a little late, but Embroideries? it's shorter than Persepolis it will bring the name of the artist to the kids and I think that the girls in the class will really like it.

maybe Habibi or Blankets , these are very beautiful and sensitive books.

something from Will Eisner like Last Day in Vietnam or something like that Will it's always beautiful.

others:
Soft City
This One Summer
The One Hundred Nights of Hero
We3