Graphic Novels: The Innocent (1954) That "Constructive and Creative Forces in
Graphic Novels: The Innocent (1954) That "Constructive and Creative Forces in
Graphic Novels: The Innocent (1954) That "Constructive and Creative Forces in
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Charles Hat eld and Craig Svonkin argue for reading comics and
graphic novels alongside other illustrated books for children, noting
their shared qualities and appeal to young readers: “Both picture
books and comics participate in children’s culture and literacy
learning. Both are popular forms of imagetext (to use W.J.T.
Mitchell’s in uential term) which build narratives visually as well
as, or sometimes instead of, verbally. Both allow for varied ratios
and relationships between image and text, yet o er their readers
compellingly if not dominantly visual (though sometimes also tactile
and multisensory) experiences” (431). Hat eld and Svonkin observe,
however, that while picturebooks have been authorized by adults as
proper childhood reading as a means of literacy instruction, comics
and graphic novels “are often seen as fugitive reading” that is more
about pleasure than instruction (431). Some adults have actually
considered comics dangerous to children, most famously the
psychiatrist Frederic Wertham, who warned in his book Seduction of
the Innocent (1954) that “Constructive and creative forces in
children are channeled by comic books into destructive avenues”
(94). Wertham’s book was part of a broader hysteria over the
dangers of comics that culminated in 1954 with the formation of the
Comics Code Authority, which issued a strict set of guidelines about
what could be shown in comics. Both the popularity of comics
among child and adolescent readers and the fears this popularity
inspired among some adults testify to the importance of this artistic
form in children’s culture.
Thought or Speech These white spaces filled with text usually float above a
Bubble character’s head and indicate dialogue or thought.
Bubbles that occur in a sequence of smaller white
circles, with the words printed in the largest circle,
usually indicate thoughts not spoken aloud.
Carrie Hintz
and Eric L. Tribunella
[SECOND EDITION]
BROADVIEW PRESS – www.broadviewpress.com
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada