Comics Outside the Canon: Recommendations for Adolescents and Pre-Service Teachers

     Since my colleagues know that I am interested in comics and graphic novels, I frequently get asked to recommend graphica/comic books for classroom use and for adolescents to read for interest. Recently, I have been thinking in particular about comic volumes and graphic novels that have not yet been canonized the way such books as Art Spiegelman’s The Complete Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s The Complete Persepolis have. These important graphic novels paved the way for the exploration of comics and graphic novels in classroom settings. However, I am learning about so many other options out there! At some of the NCTE panels and roundtables related to Young Adult Literature and courses for pre-service teachers, I was reminded of how important it is for educators to learn about high interest readings for adolescents, so they can form a literary connection with their students. Therefore, here are a few fresh selections of the comics/graphica form:

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter David, and Colleen Doran: This graphic memoir tells the story of Stan Lee’s life, from his early days in New York City growing up with a Romanian Jewish immigrant family who struggled during the Great Depression to getting his own star on the walk of fame in Hollywood, California. Lee’s story is a true “rags to riches” tale of a person who lived the American Dream and who read a lot and worked hard to make his own way in life. It would be an inspiration to many students, particularly those who are not feeling motivated in school and who do not have a lot of financial opportunities. Additionally, Lee’s story is a testament to the power of the immigrant narrative, creativity, imagination, and determination.

      Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes by Adilifu Nama: Currently, there are not a lot of books devoted to the scholarship of African-American characters in comic books, but this is a very well-written one. As a current reader, I am finding it accessible and also informative. In particular, I am intrigued to learn about the Black Panther comics, the emergence of Storm, and the Cloak and Dagger series. I am learning about fascinating comics with important history that I would not have learned about before, and how comics and pop culture truly tell the narrative of American history. Many comics and films Nama discusses would make for intriguing and critical class discussions.

      The Midas Flesh Volumes One and Two, by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb: This two-volume comic is a fascinating mix of science fiction and mythology. In an imagined universe, King Midas turned the planet Earth entirely into gold, and beings from other planets are dealing with the aftermath. This book is a gripping adventure stories with strong female characters who defy gender norms and who want to fight for the greater good, even if they do not always agree on the courses of action. I loved the different representations of race and creed of the characters, and it does not tell a single narrative. The pacing is perfect, and the conclusion at the end raises important questions about materialism versus knowledge. Adolescent and college students alike will love these books. 

        Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume One: This book will particularly resonate with fans of the film and the television show, but even those who do not have a past background in Buffy’s story will enjoy this and other volumes of this series. Volume 1 tells more of Buffy’s back-story, and we learn more about her life between the film and the start of the television show. In addition, readers learn more about the history of key characters Spike and Drusilla. Since Buffy helped pave the way for other female superheroes, this book would be interesting to study for cultural implications, in addition to being enjoyable to read.

      Saga Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples: I am super excited about this series and plan to continue reading it! I think it makes for a great class discussion about sociocultural issues and racial relations. It’s about two soldiers who are on opposite sides of an intergalactic war and who fall in love and, against all odds, bring a new baby into a warring world. I think it’ll be fun to compare it to Joss Whedon’s Serenity comics. It’s a cool blend between science fiction and fantasy, although I now tend to use the term speculative fiction because I think the lines between sci-fi and fantasy often blur, which will be fun to write about in one of my comps essays! My undergraduate students who have read this book love it. It is labeled "M" for mature and is probably more appropriate for older high school students than young teenagers due to some of the language and content. 

References:

Lee, S., David, P., & Doran, C. (2015). Amazing fantastic incredible: A marvelous

memoir. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Nama, A. (2011). Super black: American pop culture and black superheroes. Austin,

TX: University of Texas Press.

North, R., Paroline, S., & Lamb, B. (2014). The midas flesh volume one. Los Angeles,

CA: Boom! Studios.

North, R., Paroline, S., & Lamb, B. (2014). The midas flesh volume two. Los Angeles,

CA: Boom! Studios.

Satrapi, M. (2007).  The complete persepolis.  New York: Pantheon Books

Spiegelman, A. (1996). The complete maus. New York: Pantheon.   

Vaughan, B. & Staples, F. Saga volume one. Berkeley, CA: Image Comics.

Whedon, J., Bennett, J., Brereton, D., Golden, C., Gomez, H. Lee, P., …Richards, C.

(2007). Buffy the vampire slayer omnibus volume 1. Milwaukie, OR: Dark

Horse Books.