The School of Comics and Graphic Novels

Educational Sessions for Teachers, Librarians and Comics and Graphic Novel Creators

Friday, Nov. 13, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Room 7128 (Building 7, 1st Floor)

It may come as a surprise, but comics have been a part of academic curricula for a couple of decades. Now, graphic novels are beginning to find their place in elementary, middle and high school classrooms across the country. How did this happen? Who is teaching with graphic novels and comics? How are they using them? Can they work in schools beyond the Language Arts and English curriculum?

Join us for a day of dynamic and thought-provoking workshops and presentations for teachers and librarians. Programming will include a history of the art of storytelling through comics, the science behind the art of comics, the art of teaching with graphic novels and why graphic novels work so well for students who are considered “challenged,” “reluctant” or “gifted” readers.

Below are program details.

Introduction and Welcome

10:00–10:05 a.m.
Carol Fitzgerald, Founder of GraphicNovelReporter.com

Opening Session

10:05–10:50 a.m.
Welcome to the World of Comics and Graphic Novels: How Did We Get Here?
with John Shableski, Sales Manager, Diamond Book Distributors

The art of storytelling with pictures is as ancient as human civilization, but the recent explosion of comics and graphic novels in our culture has caught more than a few by surprise. The history of American comics and its bond to literacy weaves its way from the revolutionary voice of Ben Franklin to newspaper giant Joseph Pulitzer to today’s classroom. Along the way comics have seen a Golden Age, suffered a near death at the hands of censors during the Cold War, and now, have been reborn as graphic novels. This first session of our School of Comics and Graphic Novels will lay the foundation for the rest of the day’s programs, because without knowing where we have been, it’s difficult to understand where we are going.

Session 1

11:00–11:50 a.m.
When Words and Art Converge: Why Teaching with Graphic Novels Works
with James Sturm,  Director, Center for Cartoon Studies

The challenges involved in creating a single-panel comic, a comic strip or graphic novel require an amazing and greatly underappreciated ability in storytelling. Consider the skills a cartoonist uses to tell a story: life drawing, perspective, design, typography, color, writing, editing, acting. From lighting and costuming to researching a script and finding visual references, creating a graphic novel is a multimedia experience that brings together art and writing. Drawing from his experience as a cartoonist and as the director and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies, James Sturm will discuss his own experiences teaching comics and graphic novels and the place for them in the English/Language Arts/Art classroom.

Lunch

11:50–12:50 p.m.
Miami Book Fair’s Street Fair is in full swing. Check it out!

Session 2

1:00–1:50 p.m.
Breaking Through and Engaging Tweens with Graphic Novels: How Spider-Man, Naruto or the Wimpy Kid Entices the Reluctant and Challenged Readerwith Dr. Katie Monnin,  Assistant Professor of Literacy at University of North Florida

What is it about a graphic novel that kids find so entertaining and valuable? What sort of value is there in what we used to call “comics?” Reading graphic novels requires a greater amount of skill than most can appreciate. In Breaking Through, Professor Katie Monnin will discuss the importance of graphic novels in literacy programs, reading engagement and teaching with images and print text simultaneously, as well as the magic of using graphic novels to help tweens discover the joy of reading.

Session 2B

1:00–1:50 p.m.
Creating Web Comics: The New Sunday Funnieswith Dan Goldman, Comics Creator
 
Before the birth of the Internet, comics artists had very few outlets where they could effectively promote their work. The Sunday funny pages were the ultimate sign of success, but to get there, one had to work hard to get exposure via underground papers, free papers or even self-publishing. The Web has flung the doors open to reveal a global audience of readers hungry for comics of all shapes and sizes, styles and genres. Dan Goldman discusses the various aspects of creating web comics, such as creating memorable characters and series, ways to move seamlessly between digital and print, what makes a web comic successful online and how to market your own.

Session 3

2:00–2:50 p.m.
Comic Book Basics: Teaching the Print Medium to the Pixel Generationwith Carol Tyler, Comics Creator and Instructor, University of Cincinnati School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning

What's so funny about teaching comics? The opportunities to adapt the world of comics to a wide variety of lessons are endless. Carol Tyler’s workshop will demonstrate activities that keep students motivated, with an emphasis on how to keep assignments interesting and fun by balancing technical lessons—such as inking with a ruler and an exercise titled “Why Is Furby?” Join Ms. Tyler as she discusses the value and the challenges of teaching a format firmly rooted in the print tradition to members of the pixel generation.

Session 4

3:00–3:50 p.m.
Who Doesn’t Want to Be a Superhero? The surprisingly sociological and scientific lessons of  Iron Manwith Alex Simmons, Comics Creator and Educator

If you look just beneath the surface, or cape, of any classic superhero, there are a great many lessons to be learned and taught. In more than a few cases, you can actually mix science with issues of ethics and morals. Take for instance the science behind the Iron Man costume: What makes it fly? How does it protect the human body from extreme heat or cold? What caused the protagonist, Tony Stark, to change from a morally questionable billionaire playboy to an ethical person and defender of humanity? Whether you are an adult just entering the world of comics and graphic novels or you are a teacher looking for new ways to incite a great discussion with your students, this workshop will definitely create a new perspective on what it takes to be a superhero.

Closing Session/Keynote

4:00–4:50 p.m.
Special Guest Speaker: Harry Bliss, author and illustrator of Luke on the Loose (TOON Books)

FREE. Registration required. Please use registration form at the upper right of this page (above presenters' photos). 
For additional information, please call 305.237.3841or 305.237.3298.

The School of Comics and Graphic Novels is made possible in part with the support of GraphicNovelReporter.com
 

Author(s) and Guest(s)

Harry Bliss

Harry Bliss is a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker magazine. His cartoon collection Death by Laughter, with an introduction by Christopher Guest, was published in 2008. His first children's book, A Fine, Fine School, with text by Newbery-award winning author, Sharon Creech, was a New York Times bestseller. Bliss went on to illustrate Which Would You Rather Be?, by William Steig; Countdown To Kindergarten by Alison McGhee, a winner of the Minnesota Book Award; and Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin, a #1 New York Times bestseller. The School Library Journal says his new book, Luke on the Loose (Raw Junior), is “an ideal graphic novel for emerging readers.”

Carol Fitzgerald

Carol Fitzgerald is co-Founder and President of TheBookReportNetwork.com. GraphicNovelReporter.com is the newest of the eight Internet sites about books and authors that comprise the Network, which reaches more than 1.6 million readers each month. Prior to founding TheBookReportNetwork.com, Fitzgerald spent 17 years at Conde Nast.

Dan Goldman

Dan Goldman is the writer-artist of the real-estate horror series, Red Light Properties. He is also the creator of the Eisner-nominated web-to-print comic Shooting War, and co-author, with New Republic senior editor Michael Crowley, of 08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail (Crown), a nonfiction graphic novel. A frequent speaker on both digital comic processes and online distribution, he is a founding member of the webcomics collective ACT-I-VATE.

Katie Monin

Katie Monin is an assistant professor of literacy at University of North Florida in Jacksonville. She has presented nationally at conferences on teaching graphic novels in the classroom, image and print-text literacies, and new media. Katie is co-editor of Florida Reading Quarterly. Her new book, Teaching Graphic Novels: Practical Strategies for the Secondary ELA Classrooms (2010), is published by Maupin House.

John Shableski

John Shableski has been a speaker, program coordinator and panel member for library, educational and retail trade shows and symposiums such as Book Expo America, Oklahoma State Library Association, Fan Expo Canada, Fordham University, Comic-Con International, New York Comic Con and the Miami Book Fair International. He is also a member of the Book Expo America Advisory Committee and served as judge for the 2009 Eisner Awards—the American comics industry’s highest honor. John works as a sales manager for the world’s leader in graphic novel distribution, Diamond Book Distributors.

James Sturm

James Sturm is the Eisner Award-winning cartoonist and writer of many books, most recently Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics (First Second). “Not quite a how-to book, as the cover might suggest, this is rather a stupendous new high for children’s graphic novels.” –Booklist. His work has appeared in scores of publications, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Onion, The New York Times, and on the cover of The New Yorker.

Carol Tyler

Carol Tyler was one of the first women to emerge from the underground comix movement, winning the Dori Seda Memorial Award for Best New Female Cartoonist of the Decade in 1988. Her 2005 collection, Late Bloomer, created after abandoning comics for nearly 20 years, was named in several end-of-the-year “best of” lists. Her most recent book, You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man (Fantagraphics), is a graphic memoir of her relationship with her WW II veteran father  “Tyler’s book is a vivid, affecting, eccentrically stylish frame built around a terrible silence.” –The New York Times.

Schedule

Friday, Nov. 13, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Free - Registration Required

Location

Miami Book Fair International * Miami Dade College
300 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33132
Room 7128 (Building 7, 1st Floor)