Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga

The article offers information related to the growth of middle grade graphic novels. Topics discussed include diverse category of middle grade graphic novels, webcomics and minicomics as a way to get one's work in front of an audience, how crowdfunding is used by writers to raise funds from fans online, and how kids help in increasing graphic novel traffic in bookstores.

The article highlights the 50th Comic-Con International San Diego from July 17-21, 2019 at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC) in California. Topics include comparison of the number of attendees at the 1970 SDCC and the 50th iteration, a panel on social change in comics publishing "Friends of Lulu: We Changed Comics," and the "Expanding the Black Comics Canon" panel wherein African American and mixed-race creators discussed creating comics with African-American readers in mind.

The article discusses the immense popularity of manga (Japanese comic books) among U.S. schoolchildren. The author notes that many parents and educators attribute short-attention spans, passivity and lack of creativity to such amusements, however, manga can be used for educational purposes as well. Utilizing such popular culture as manga has proven to be effective in literacy instruction in particular due to the multimodal and semiotic writing styles. Manga readers are exposed to indirect and subtle writing which helps develop critical and multidimensional thinking.