LIS 5970: Comics and Graphic Novels 

Description, Analysis, & Reflection

Description 

The course description for LIS 5790: Comics and Graphic Novels states 

This course will essentially be taught in three major components, as follows: 

The History and Language of Comics: Through a combination of lectures and exercises, we will focus on improving the student’s understanding of the structure, language, and techniques of sequential art. We will explore the unique properties of the comics artform, and the stylistic considerations of the artwork and narrative choices made by their creators. Additionally, the history of comics will be fully explored and critiqued, from the Golden Age and World War II, through the era of McCarthyism and government-sanctioned censorship, concluding with the critical impact of comics on modern-day film and media. 

Comics & the Community: We will examine the relationship between comic book fans and the comic medium, as well as hobbies like collecting comics and original comic art, and other comic-based collectibles. We will discuss identity and representation in comics, through explorations of the role of race, gender, sexuality, and religion. We will also explore many seminal comic book works recognized for their influence. 

Libraries & the Role of Comics: Finally, we will focus on the relationship libraries have with comics and graphic novels. We will examine the use of comics as an educational tool, including literacy skills training, and examine the phenomenon of ‘graphic medicine,’ where comics are used to tell stories of those dealing with death and disease, and how public and health libraries might tie these tools to health literacy endeavors. We will develop selection criteria for various graphic art forms and develop virtual library collections for key patron demographics, and develop plans for comic-related community events. Comics in academic special collections will be addressed (Brower, 2023). 

For LIS 5970: Comics and Graphic Novels, I selected two artifacts.  First is the Comic Review 20x20 Presentation assignment.  What is a 20x20 presentation, you ask?  It is a format of presentation popularized by the service PechaKucha (which I absolutely pronounced like the Pokémon character Pikachu) made up of 20 slides that are shown for 20 seconds each (Menabney, 2016).  Until taking this class, I didn’t know either.  For the assignment we were to select a title from the course’s Noteworthy Titles Bibliography and review it using the 20x20 format.  I reviewed All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.  I selected this title because, from what I have observed and experienced, comics and graphic novel scholarship tends to, for lack of a better term, ignore most superhero comic books.  The exceptions being titles like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen.  While I like both books and do not deny their importance to the medium, they have also been the go-to comic books for those who dismiss superhero storytelling and studied ad nauseam in my humble opinion.   

My second artifact is the course’s final project, Final Comic: Comics & the Community.  For this assignment, we were to create an original comic about the relationship of comics and communities served by libraries.  I examined the circulation numbers of the three comics and graphic novel collections in the Noble Public Library and compared them with national sales charts, while also providing a brief history of the industry. 

Analysis 

I have been a fan and reader of comic books, off and on, since I was a kid.  As an undergraduate at OU I took ENGL 3403: The Graphic Novel with Dr. James Zeigler.  That class examined the medium of comic books through a literary lens.  In LIS 5970: Comics and Graphic Novels, Director Stewart Brower took a different approach by breaking the class into three sections: 1) The History and Language of Comics, 2) Comics & the Community, and 3) Libraries & the Role of Comics.  This took us through the history of comics, defining the medium along with its language and structure, comic fandom, and how comics can be used in libraries.   

What I truly enjoyed from both of these courses was how each looked at them from different points of view.  Not only were they different from each other but also different from my own.  In Comics and Graphic Novels, the combination of the industry’s history with the mechanics of the medium, how fans create community, and roles comics can play in libraries provided a good overview for librarians to understand a very confusing form of literature.  While I still primarily study comics as folklore, the added perspectives from these courses have increased my understanding of and engagement with the medium.  The course also opened my eyes to the realm of graphic medicine, something I knew nothing about. 

Reflection 

This was easily my favorite class in the program.  As I mentioned above, I am a comic book fan and have been for 30+ years.  In fact, the header image on this page is a picture of a shelf from one of my bookcases at home.  In 2016 I gave a presentation titled Comic Books as Folklore at the Oklahoma Library Association Annual Conference and I currently host a monthly book discussion group at Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, OK.  I am also responsible for the teen and adult graphic novel collections at the Noble Public Library.  This course has directly affected how I maintain the collection (for example, we created separate shelving for the manga titles in the collection), engage in reader’s advisory, and when educating co-workers and customers on comics and graphic novels.   

Personal Learning Goals 

This course helped with Goal 2:  Develop deeper understanding of information resources and information organization, Goal 3:  Increase reference and user services skills, and Goal 4:  To gain the knowledge and skills to be a successful librarian and public servant through its examination of the medium of comics. 

MLIS Program-level Student Learning Outcomes 

This course advanced me towards SLO 3 Professional and Scholarly Communication from the discussion posts and the Comic Review 20x20 Presentation assignment and SLO 4 Technology from the final project in which I used Canva to create the original comic. 

ALA Competencies 

Comics and Graphic Novels brought me closer to competencies 2. Information Resources and 3. Organization of Recorded Knowledge and Information through the discussion of comics library collections; 4. Technological Knowledge and Skills via the final project; and 5. Reference and User Services through the examination of various comic titles. 

Brower, S. (2023). LIS 5790: Comics and graphic novels [Syllabus]. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma. 

Menabney, D. (2016, March 30). PechaKucha 20X20 and the power of constraints. Medium. https://medium.com/@darmenab/pechakucha-20x20-and-the-power-of-constraints-f41f8745688     

Artifacts: 

“In the Shadow of Darkness and I Stand in the Light”:  The Case for All-Star Superman
&
By the Numbers: Comics & the Noble Public Library