11/1 Graphic Novel Discussions

[Pam Goble]

Please post your discussion regarding graphic novels here:

PART 3 - PARTICIPATION CRITERIA FOR THE NING.

1. Since all of you are reading different books, the idea is to share the many reads students can experience from reading YA literature. For each list you, will get reviews on
approximately 20 or more books.

2. What must be included in your posts are:

            a. A short summary

            b. A connection to YA Lit criteria

            c. A link to a resource for further information about the book/novel( these may include author information, reviews, insight or
information about issues the text references.

            d. Your opinion/recommendations of the book/novel relating back to criteria. A key question to consider is whether the book is
classroom appropriate, and, if so, what reading level/grade/students would
benefit from reading the text. If it is not suited for
the classroom, if students are reading the book, what is the appeal?           

3. Lastly, you must respond to at least 2 other posts in detail.

You will enjoy this and have fun on the NING. This is a professional Ning that will be every useful to your in your teaching.

 

Enjoy.

[Rebeka Mirza]

The graphic novel I read was “Red: A Haida Manga” by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas. A young boy named Red lives on an island in a village called Kiokaathli. He lives with his sister, who he is pretty much raising. While Red and his sister, Jaada are having fun one day, outsiders come to the other side of the island. These raiders come to attack Red and Jaada. Fortunately, Red gets away but his sister is abducted. Red is so hurt by his loss since his sister means everything to him, “I lost the world” (34). A few years pass, and Red becomes the leader of his village. Red finds a man who is talented at making weapons and utilizes him for his abilities. One day, someone comes to Red to tell him that his sister has been spotted on a different island. Red and his fellow companions visit the village of Laanas to bring his sister back where she belongs. Red finds his sister asleep, but has to run away because people want to attack him because they don’t know him. Jaada wants to find her brother, and a man from Laanas tells her that he will help her find her brother. This man is on a boat with another man, while Red is on another boat with other people. Assuming the boat is owned by the raiders, Red attacks the man in there. After Red finds Jaada, she tells him that he has killed her husband, who she has a child with. Her hsuband’s head is given to the village, who pay their respects. Soon after, the leader of Laanas tells Red a stop needs to be put to the fighting. He rewards Red with a bow, which will help protect Red from further attacks. Red takes the leader’s words to heart, “Fine, I shall end this” (102). Red shoots his bow and kills himself. Jaada is the last comic seen with her and her son in a boat, going home to her old village of Kiokaathli.

This graphic novel is written from a young adult named Red, who is about 12 years old at the beginning of the story. After he becomes a leader he is about 20 years of age. Although this is not stated in the book, it can be assumed. Furthermore, Red’s emotions and experiences are that of a young adult. Red’s parents are removed from the novel completely. Red and his sister, Jaada, are orphans. This leaves Red to make his own choices and act as a mature adult. He is in charge of raising his little sister. Red has complete control over his actions, and he is responsible for each single one. He has no parent telling him what to do or giving him advice. He is basically on his own, especially when his sister is removed from his life. The graphic novel is very fast paced; it did not take very long to read it. The pictures are very colorful, and the artist uses a Picasso-like take on his work. There are more pictures than words in the whole novel, as well. Because of the Picasso-like look, sometimes it is difficult to determine what is happening in the pictures. For this reason, it is necessary for the graphic novel to contain more words. But either way, one can just read and scan through the pictures to determine what is going on. There is not a clear idea about the ethnic group used in this book, but the people seem uncivilized. Although one race might be used in the book, there are two very different locations depicted in the story. Kiokaathli is a nice, peaceful town, whereas Laanas seems like the bad part of town. The town of Laanas seemed like the ghetto to me, compared to the other town where people were not interested in fighting. This book was optimistic because Red got his sister back, and he kept his hope alive for many years. This book deals with emotions that are important to young adults, such as hope, revenge, anger, sadness, and failure. Red’s hope is depicted in his struggle to win his sister back. He wants to take revenge on the people who abducted her, since they took his whole life away from him. For this reason, he is angry at these people. At the end of the book, Red is sad about how far the fighting went and ends his own life because he feels like a failure.

I found a link which seems to be the author’s website. A good amount of his artwork is shown on this website, as well as his process of creating this book. http://www.rockingraven.com/index.html

This book is classroom appropriate and could be used in the middle school grades. It deals with a very stressful situation that Red has to go through, that many teenagers do not. Middle school students would enjoy reading this book since it is an easy read, and has many captivating pictures. The students could be asked to make predictions about what is going to happen in the book at certain points, and also be asked what they would do if they were in the same situation. Since the book also focuses on two very different villages, students could tie that into real life and find two places that are close, yet very different from one another. I think this book possesses many characteristics of a YA novel, and addresses many emotions that young adults go through. For this reason, middle school students would be able to relate to Red in certain ways.

[Monika Andes]

P.S.- Here is a link to the book info. http://pinocchiovampireslayer.com/ Also, I think that the book is classroom appropriate, because the students would really be able to get into the vampire storyline, and it isn't Twilight.

[Monika Andes]

First off- I loved this book! It was pretty amazing. It's all about Pinnochio as... well, a vampire slayer. His father is killed by a vampire, and Pinnochio wants revenge. Whenever a vampire comes near, his nose grows a stake, and he is able to kill them. One of the things that makes this book so great is the sarcastic nature of the characters. It really is a fast read.

While Pinnochio is not a real boy, he fits the age requirements of YAL. He is relatable to a variety of age groups. The ambiguity makes him a stronger character. His father is dead, which allows him to take the credit for all of his accomplishments. I'm not so sure about the issues that relate to YA's, but he does deal with emotional stress. The town does not believe him when he warns them about the vampires, so I guess that is something that YA's worry about. Aside from his Cricket (which is a ghost), the Blue Fairy (she's old now), and Mr. Cherry (a carpenter), Pinnochio is really alone. Therefore, he relates to YA's, because he has to be independent.


Overall, this book is really amazing. Although I am not a real graphic novel fan, it really was a great book. It's perfect for YA's, because the book is entertaining and fun to talk about. I suppose vampires can be a symbol for the teenage years, but I would be stretching it. Therefore, I can just say that it was a great book that I think everyone should read.

[Kymberly Mosley]

So sorry for the late post…my internet had an attitude. So not Comcastic.

Anyway, I read Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka. The first of the four part collection, titled Agiato, begins with Batwoman (aka Kate Kane) trying to discover the identity of the criminal organization, Religion of Crime’s, new leader. While, her interrogations prove to be fruitless in producing a name, she discovers that the organization’s High Madame will arrive in Gotham city the following night. Because she has taken on the responsibility of a being a nighttime vigilante, Kate finds herself enduring many sleepless nights. Her constant absence does not go unnoticed by her girlfriend, Anna, who accuses Kate of seeing another woman. (By the way, this Batwoman is a lesbian). Unaware of Kate’s true late-night activities, Anna breaks up with her, leaving a lonely Kate with nothing else to do but pay a visit to her father. From the exchange between Kate her father, Col. Jake Kane, we learn that he is aware of her role as Batwoman, serving as her answer to Batman’s Alfred. We also learn that Kate has encountered the Religion of Crime previously, when they attempted to kill by stabbing her in the heart. Kate thus has personal interest in pursuing the gang’s new High Madame, wanting to understand why they want her dead. Despite her father’s protests, Kate goes out that night to meet the new leader. She indeed finds the High Madame, the Lewis Carroll-quoting lunatic, Alice (yes, like the one who went to Wonderland, but creepier). Batwoman seizes Alice, taking her to an isolated location on the outskirts of Gotham, and ruthlessly interrogating her. Alice, however, refuses to answer any of Batwoman’s questions and slices her across the face with a blade hidden in her mouth. The blade turns out to be laced with a powerful poison, which leaves Batwoman dazed and as she stumbles into a forest. Alice and her henchmen pursue Batwoman, who is virtually helpless, but luckily the Colonel appears to come to his daughter’s aid. Alice, however, has several tricks up her sleeve, one of them being a werewolf, poised to attack--or so it seems. The werewolf surprisingly spares them, and begins to revert to his human form, a man Kate and her father recognize as Abbot. The next day, Kate’s father insists that she switch gears long enough to attend a formal event with her family. At the gala, she sees human Abbot once again, who tells her that he spared her because he is one the true believers of dark faith, and does not follow the Religion of Crime anymore. This Crime Bible of the dark faith has foretold that Batwoman must die in order for a New World to come about. He also explains that Alice seeks to rule over Gotham, and Kate realizes that in order to so, she will have to use a military-grade poisonous gas to do so. Alice kidnaps Kate’s father to obtain the poison, and while being held captive, he discovers her true identity as his other daughter, Kate’s twin who was assumed to be dead. Batwoman then locates Alice, and in a fight held in a military plane, pushes the villain out of the plane to her death. At this point in the book, we see pages of flashbacks from Kate’s history: the death of her mother and twin sister, her dismissal from the military because of her sexual orientation, and finally, why she chose to don the Batwoman mask.

Connection to YA Criteria: Although Kate Kane doesn’t exactly fit into the young adult category (I gathered that she‘s about 32), the few flashbacks to her history show a troubled young woman who struggles with many issues that are common to youths. Her dream of attending a military academy is short lived because she refuses to hide her sexual orientation. Likewise, young adults today often struggle with defining themselves, fearing rejection from others. Rather than having a classic, ultra-femme heroine, Rucka’s Batwoman represents as real person who struggles with identity issues, and learning how to avoid letting her past destroy her future.

Links: Here’s one of the millions of reviews I found, that includes several images from the book: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/06/batwoman-elegy/

This one’s an interesting “Batwoman Timeline” that goes into more detail about Kate Kane’s history: http://hellblazerraiser.blogspot.com/2010/06/batwoman-ii-kate-kane-...

Recommendation: Batwoman: Elegy takes a familiar heroine and reinvents her as a modern, oft-misunderstood vigilante. When her mask is off, Kate struggles with a lot of emotional turmoil as a result of her troubling history. I would suggest this book for high-school aged readers, who would be old enough to understand the issues that Kate faces and young enough simply appreciate a good comic. I think that by choosing to openly identify Kate as a lesbian (a fact which kind of sets the story in motion), Rucka presents a new portrait of the superhero--one that portrays their battles in and out of costume.

[Shelly Fields]

Stitches, A Memoir is written and drawn by David Small. Small is known as an illustrator of children’s books. His drawing style matches the intensity of his words in this book, which there are few of. There are pages and pages of intense gray-washed images that recreate Small’s painful childhood. The memoir takes us from David Small at the age of 6 to 16.

Dysfunctional is putting it mildly. There’s his father, an oblivious physician who would expose him to near-fatal doses of radiation on his home x-ray machine as a cure-all for David’s ailments and his mother, a not-so-much-in-the-closet lesbian who was emotionally detached and would excessively scold and torment David.
Small shares with us his journey from ailing child to cancer patient, to the troubled 16-year-old who runs away from home to escape his torment.
Pain, disillusionment, alienation, and family dysfunction and ultimately redemption are the themes of Stitches, A Memoir. And while this book does have characteristics of YA lit, I would not recommend it for the younger reader. In fact, though this book is a Graphic Novel and has won YA Lit awards, it is found in the adult section at many bookstores (according to sites I have researched.) The younger reader might be disturbed by this profound, tragic story.
I would suggest this book for the older YA reader, perhaps 17 and up. Kids will be drawn to this graphic novel if placed in the YA Lit section of a bookstore but when the delve into the pages, they might get more than they bargained for.

Overall, this book was excellent and I would definitely recommend it!

Here is a link to Amazon.com that has an awesome interview with David Small. Scroll down to get to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Stitches-Memoir-David-Small/dp/0393068579

[Tiffany Shreve]

A.D. New Orleans after the Deluge is a nonfiction graphic novel that was written by Josh Neufeld. The book tells the stories of a handful of real life New Orleans residents and their personal experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina. The book draws upon interviews with actual people represented in the story: newspaper, magazine and blog accounts of the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its affects that it had on New Orleans in days to follow the natural disaster. The book also shares the authors own experiences that he had as a Red Cross volunteer in the weeks that followed the storm. Each person has their own story in this book that impacts the reader. The one story that stood out to me was the couple who would not leave their store even when they knew that they would lose everything once their neighborhood was filled with over five feet of water.
After going back to the YA criteria I second guess whether or not this book meets the criteria at all. For example this book is not written from the viewpoint of a young adult. The book does not put the parents or older adults to the back; I feel they are more or less the ones telling the story. I do feel that the book meets the criteria that the book is fast paced. It keeps my attention. I don’t know if that is just because I have an interest in the story of what happened during the storm and after the storm or because it was fast paced enough to keep my attention throughout the whole thing. The book for sure meets the criteria of having many different characters that are from different backgrounds and cultural groups. The book to me was very positive and it got each individuals story out.
If you want more information on this book you could look up the author’s name which is Josh Neufeld.
I would recommend this book for use in the classroom. I think it would share some of our countries very important history. I think it would be appropriate for middle school and high school age children. I feel it is a book that you could get the kids to read and it would keep their attention and it would not turn into a book that they would not read and learn nothing from.

[Pam Goble]

Links???

[Tiffany Shreve]

I did not find any links for this book that would be useful.