New Textbook Chapter: Teaching with Comics

Very honored to share that I have been published in a textbook! I wrote a chapter for Teaching with Comics, edited by Robert Aman and Lars Wallner, published by Palgrave Macmillan. My chapter is titled "Comic Art Ed: Making Comics Is for Everyone!" discussing the pedagogical values of kids drawing comics. Much of this chapter is an expansion of work shared on this very website! I am so thankful to Lars and Robert for including me.

Here’s a link to the textbook!

And here’s a link to my chapter!

I will be sharing work from this chapter on this blog in the future, so stay tuned!

Comic Art Ed: Making Comics Is for Everyone!

Abstract

This chapter discusses the art education approach to K-12 comic book lesson development through five different pedagogical values: teamwork, ideation, literacy, self-actualization, and fun. The art education approach puts making comics into the hands of students. Cartooning combines drawing and writing into its own unique learning and creating form. Practical approaches to teaching are discussed, including drawing games, character creation, story brainstorming, drawing finished comics, and publishing books together, in order to show how an arts education approach to teaching comics promotes pedagogical values. This paper offers practice-based examples with comics in the classroom, including student artwork and experiences, while encouraging other K-12 educators to do the same.

Keywords

• Comics

• Art education

• Pedagogy

• Cartooning

• Comics making

Notes

1. 1.

   https://www.ComicArtEd.com.

2. 2.

   I want to directly credit my Providence, RI teaching colleagues who acted as mentors, confidants, and friends—Dailen Williams, Mimi Chrzanowski, Walker Mettling, and Julia Guiltieri. I was introduced to teaching comics by Walker and the Providence Comics Consortium. Collaboration and discussion, ideas for activities and projects, comics in education developed as a zeitgeist in Providence. Much of my teaching practice is influenced by my wonderful friends and colleagues, listed here and beyond. Much like the pedagogical values I am going to discuss in this article, education itself is greatly influenced by teamwork, ideation, and fun.

3. 3.

   If you want to know more about Providence Comics Consortium, visit their blog at https://providencecomicsconsortium.tumblr.com.

References

• Barry, L. (2015a). What It Is (8th ed.). Drawn & Quarterly.

• Barry, L. (2015b). Syllabus (2nd ed.). Drawn & Quarterly.

• Barry, L. (2020). Making Comics (5th ed.). Drawn & Quarterly.

• Bishop, R. S. (2015, January 3). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors.https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf. Reprinted from Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3), 1990.

• Brunetti, I. (2011). Cartooning: Philosophy and practice. Yale University Press.

• Johnson, C. G. (2017). Developing the cartooning mind: The history, theory, benefit and practice of comic books in visual arts education (Unpublished Master’s thesis). Rhode Island School of Design.

• Johnson, C. G. (2019). The Breakaways. First Second.

• Telgemeier, R. (2019). Share your smile: Raina’s guide to telling your own story. Graphix.

Here’s a link to my chapter!

I will be sharing work from this chapter on this blog in the future, so stay tuned!