What?

Why?

How?

• Same format as comic books

• Text & illustrations present information

• Book-length, usually contain one story

• Medium, not genre

Major TypesMajor Types

Humor

Non-Fiction

More non-fiction

Fantasies

Adaptations

Spin-offs

or

Famous classics

And some not-so-classic stories

Shakespeare

Realistic Fiction

Personal Stories

Thought Balloon

Sound Effect

Panel

Gutter

Dialog Balloon

Caption

A little historyA little history• Comic Strip=grandfather of Graphic

Novel

• Around since end of 1800s

• Originally used to draw people to Sunday paper

First comic stripFirst comic strip• Appeared in New

York World: 1895

• R. F. Outcault

• Increased sales

Katzenjammer KidsKatzenjammer Kids• 1897

• Used word balloons

• Used multiple panels to tell story

Popular comicsPopular comics• Superman

– First superhero– On newsstands:

1938

• Superheroes big during World War II

• After WWII: crime, science fiction and horror comics

President Obama

collects both

Spider-Man and

Conan the Barbarian

comics

MangaManga

How to read a Manga PageHow to read a Manga Page

Unlike traditional books, Manga is read “backwards” from back-to-front

Often, if you start at what looks like the front of the Manga, you will see a message like this

Panel Order Panel Order & Dialog & Dialog BalloonsBalloons

Panels and dialog balloons are read

“reversed”

13

4

2

8

5

6

7

10

9

11

Manga TermsManga Terms• Shonen: teenage

boys

• Shojo: teenage girls

• Shonen-ai / Yaoi=boys love

Why Graphic Novels & Why Graphic Novels & Manga?Manga?

• 6.3 million secondary school students are reading below grade level.

• Average American age 15-24 spends only 7 minutes of daily leisure time reading.

• Students with access to a variety of reading materials have higher average reading scores.

Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese by Yang

Yang’s American Born Chinese

In 2006, Yang published American Born Chinese, a graphic narrative comprised of three storylines that eventually unite. The Story of the Monkey King The Story of Jin Wang The Story of Chin-Kee

In addition to winning the Printz award for Young Adult Literature, American Born Chinese has garnered both praise and controversy.

Storyline 1. The Monkey King

The Monkey King, or Sūn Wùkōng, is a character in an extremely important Chinese story.

The allusion (don’t worry; we’ll talk about allusions) to transformers and changing yourself fits in with this story.

Transformers!

And here is the Monkey King…

Storyline 2. The Story of Jin Wang

Jin’s status as an ABC, or American Born Chinese, refers to the fact that his parents are immigrants.

For the first nine years of his life, Jin lives in San Francisco’s Chinatown. However, when his parents are able to afford a home in the suburbs, Jin is ill-prepared for the identity crisis that will ensue.

In addition to struggling with others’ prejudice, he has to struggle with his own insecurities.

The motif of “transformation” or changing yourself fits nicely in this story too.

Jin’s transformation to a “White” Hairstyle

Storyline 3. The Chin-Kee Show

The third storyline in American Born Chinese features a sitcom-like structure, as popular, “normal” Danny contends with the annual visits of his Chinese cousin Chin-kee.

Chin-kee is the embodiment of every stereotype that many Americans hold regarding persons of Chinese nationality or descent.

Controversy

"I think the vast majority of the responses are positive, but I have had some Asian-Americans come up and tell me I was perpetuating the stereotype by explicitly showing it," he said.

Controversy

"I do get some reactions to the Cousin Chin-Kee that worry me a little bit," said Yang…. "There's some people that come up and tell me, 'He's so cute, so funny, endearing.' That's definitely not what I was going for,"

Yang believes that most people understood the purpose of a character like Chin-Kee — acting as the foil against his popular, assimilated cousin Danny.

Identity Construction

Yang notes: "I think the Asian American community right now is in the midst of defining itself. For a while I think we were all trying to be white. Then there was a period of time when we were trying to be black. And now we're finally coming up with something that's truly our own."

Scenes from American Born Chinese

Scenes from American Born Chinese

Scenes from American Born Chinese

Scenes from American Born Chinese

Analyzing some important features in American Born Chinese…the Structure of American Born Chinese

There are white pages with graphic icons like these to tell you which of the three stories are being told.

2.) Distinct breaks inAnd different structures for different effects. narrative structure; new topics, characters, and conventions

3.Chinese characters at the top of each page that signal which character is the focus

=

=

=

Are there any other differences in how the three stories are told?

I’m so glad you asked! The answer is YES!

1.The Monkey King story is told in third-person. You will notice that the caption boxes or narrator’s notes use third-person.

2.The story of Jin Wang is told in first-person. You will notice that the caption boxes or narrator’s notes use first-person from Jin’s perspective.

3.The story of Chin-Kee and his cousin Danny are supposed to be read as if they were being watched like a sitcom show, so there are no caption boxes or narrator’s notes.

Another thing to look for: A change in color scheme

The Monkey King (story 1)

Jin Wang (story 2)

And one more thing to look out for are these:

They are called angle brackets. When they surround a phrase, it means the character is speaking in Chinese. Obviously the words are written in English for our benefit, but imagine they are being said in Chinese. Page 37 has an example of this.

There are also ragged color fill in panels

An unreal, emotionally stunning experience

Laughter and clapping on the borders (Chin-kee chapters since this is told as if it’s a sitcom)

Watching a sitcom – laughing at the discomfort of others

And finally, some really strange panel shapes

So let’s dive into the world of

graphic novels together.

I’m actually thinking of turning Mrs. Geller and the 3-hole

punch into a graphic novel!