Young People, Comics and Reading

Abstract

Scholars and professionals interested in the study and engagement with young people will find this project relevant to deepening their understanding of reading practices with comics and graphic novels. Comics reading has been an understudied experience despite its potential to enrich our exploration of reading in our currently saturated media landscape. This Element is based on seventeen in-depth interviews with teens and young adults who describe themselves as readers of comics for pleasure. These interviews provide insights about how comics reading evolves with the readers and what they consider a good or bad reading experience. Special attention is paid to the place of female readers in the comics community and material aspects of reading. From these readers, one begins to understand why comics reading is something that young people do not 'grow out of' but an experience that they 'grow with'.

“It’s not something I’ve really thought about ‘til now’”: The social aspects of U.S. emerging adults’ comics reading histories

“…see Chun, 2009; Cook, 2017; Garrison and Gavigan, 2019; Gavigan, 2011; Hammond, 2012; Lalremruati, 2019; MacDonald, 2017; Moeller, 2016; Pagliaro, 2014; Richardson, 2017). In spite of this evidence, the legitimacy of comics reading as “real reading” material continues to come into question for library and information science researchers (Cedeira Serantes, 2013), teachers (Clark, 2013; Mathews, 2011; Moeller, 2016), and students (Moeller, 2016). Additionally, a study conducted by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (2019) found that some survey respondents experienced resistance to the inclusion of graphic novels in education not just from teachers and students, but also from parents, school administrators, librarians, and religious groups.…”

“…That same study, however, also found that the majority of participants reported no opposition to graphic novels in their school communities. Of comics reading, Cedeira Serantes (2019: 83) has noted, “this rich and chameleonic practice has long been invisible [original italics] because the experience itself was neglected or undervalued.” Considering comics’ falsely impugned reputation in the U.S., research regarding the social aspects of comics reading for children and teens is worth investigation.…”

“…One example of this is the comic convention in which fans not only attend to interact with creators and other fans, but they themselves often participate in recreating and reinterpreting character likenesses and storylines. Cedeira Serantes (2019: 33) describes, “The central role of fans in comics culture has always helped to conceptualize comics reading as a social activity connected to groups who create communities around physical and digital spaces. .…”

Using Superhero Graphic Novels to Foreground Transitions in Our Teaching with Upper Elementary and Middle‐Grade Readers

“…Superheroes capture students' imaginations and ask them to reimagine what is possible (Low & Torres, 2022). These texts are thus sites of important identity formation (Cedeira Serantes, 2014). The two largest purveyors of superhero comics, Marvel and DC, have recently taken steps to expand their school‐age readership by publishing original graphic novels marketed to young readers and sold outside of specialty shops.…”