A brief overview of comics in education:
The use of comics in the classroom is not revolutionary. Educators, parents, and peers have been using pictures to convey messages since the beginning of time. But, what has happened is, the idea of the comics medium and its content has been degraded over the past several decades to nothing more than mindless drivel. This is simply not true. Recently, the comic March won the National Book Award and cartoonist, Linda Berry won the Macarthur Genius Grant. Comics are an extremely useful tool in communicating large amounts of diverse information quick and concise.
Consider the poster on the wall of every bathroom in elementary school. The how to wash your hands poster. This is a comic. A series of text and images strung together with the sole purpose of teaching a student proper hygiene. In the 40s cartoonist Will Eisner held a government contract with the army for twelve years making P.S. Magazine; a mix of textbook, field guide, and comics that would help bridge the educational gap in recruits.
Comics is an active medium. Similar to prose, the reader must engage with the material in order for the story to progress. Unlike film or radio which are passive. However, like film comics is a visual medium. And their ability to convey large amounts of information in a single image, makes the reading experience much quicker than a page long description of a fantastic landscape. This is why The Fellowship of the Rings audiobook is 19 hours and the film can achieve the same narrative in four. The film is not bogged down with descriptions of mountains and dwarven mines, it is simply shown. Humans can process visual information so much quicker. These visual bursts of information for many students are often easier to recall in stressful situations such as testing.
Personally, I am trying to lower the barrier to entry in comics making. Often students get discouraged by fancy tools and overly rendered images. Each book will feature a ‘how it’s made’ section explaining comics production. Furthermore, I am only using tools that are easily accessible: Papermate, Flair Pens, and Sharpies. Tools you can get at any drug store. To take the stigma of needing high end, costly instruments to make something of value.
-Cartoonist Jamie Jones Spring 2023
