Reading Manga and Comics to Improve Literacy

Reading Manga and Comics to Improve Literacy

          I am an unashamed "fanboy" when it comes to both Manga and Comics, or as we "fanboys" say; we read Sequential Art.  I won't delve too deeply into the differences between the two, but there are some very obvious aspects that do differ. Any casual reader will spot them right off.  On another occasion, perhaps I will write a short piece specifically comparing Manga and Comics.  However, at this point, I would just rather discuss how they generally may or may not be effective in literacy improvement.

          First, I do believe that a competent literacy professional should make use of any and all tools that are available for their craft.  To this extent, by all means, use Comics and Manga.  Heck, use the back of food boxes!  Use whatever you can to get a student to read. 

          Those that know me, even slightly, know that I am a huge crusader for increasing the literacy of boys and male readers in general.  I am often perplexed by the fact that boys don't seem to read anymore.  I am just a bit saddened when I try to talk with a boy or young male and they have no literary background in common with me.  I should also add that as a "fanboy" I read many current titles, so I don't think the issues is that we have nothing in common due to age.  I can speak Pokemon and Ninjago with the best of them!  

          Second, as I do advocate the use of Sequential Art for improving literacy, I do think both Manga and Comics and Sequential Art in general can be used to help improve a person's reading ability and overall literacy.  However, there are a few things to keep in mind if one does decide to use these tools, and so we get to the point of my blog.

          I want to look a bit more closely at Manga.  For a novice "fanboy" or reader, Manga can be difficult.  The first thing one might notice is that it is backwards.  Manga books are written from right to left and generally from top to bottom.  Manga is traditionally from Japan and reading in what we consider a backwards direction is quite normal in Japanese culture.  This style will throw many readers off simply from a comfort standpoint.  Manga is also much more visually and theatrically oriented.  Again, Japanese culture is arguably more visual than ours.  Their alphabet makes use of visual characters to represent letters and words.  I am keeping this a bit basic and not trying to generically analyze Japanese culture in any way, so please bear that in mind.  A typical Manga book might contain several pages of just images with little or no words.  This is akin to a visual scene in a movie where the director is setting up a following shot or sequence in which there will be interaction between characters and thus dialogue; or words in the case of Manga.  Additionally, most Manga is done only in black and white or with only a few color pages at best. This will also detract from their appeal to many American students.  Lastly, I must say that some Manga are very daunting when seen sitting on a shelf.  They can be several hundred pages in length and resemble a more traditional paperback book.  However, once one starts to read a Manga book, one will find they are very easy to process and flow quickly.

          On the whole Manga use very current phrasing, or at least current to the Japanese authors who are writing them.  One will find a few actual Japanese words thrown into them as well.  Of course, we are speaking about reading translations so occasionally there are just some words that stay in Japanese. There is a good connection between the art and what is being said.  The real key is to look at the character's eyes.  This can often give a novice reader a good indication of the meaning of what a character is saying and help with understanding word meanings.  I think Manga's strength as a reading tool is that they are really easy to follow and can give a novice reader a good sense of completion when they finish such a large book. 

          The ease of flow with which Manga can be read, as it were, is also the biggest detractor from Manga being a truly effective tool for literacy improvement.  There are just cases where there are not many words in the books.  Obviously reading engages much more than just reading words on a page, but for someone trying to learn or trying to improve their reading skills, they would kind of need words to read.  For this reason I feel Manga is more suited for a beginning reader and probably more specifically for a beginning teen or adult reader.  There are Manga books for all ages and Manga genres for all readers, but most tend to be for a bit more mature audience.  I will add that Manga can be a great jumping off point for someone wanting to write though.  Using some of the art as a form of brainstorming for ways to begin or steer a potential work of prose is a great technique.

          Also, off on a bit of an interesting tangent; the biggest readers of Manga seem to be females.  I have spoken to many book store owners and employees anecdotally and they all seem to corroborate this fact.  From young teens to college age, women seem to be buying Manga more than their male counterparts.  In my opinion this is due somewhat to traditional Comics in America being the cultural domain of males.  Yes, I realize I am being a bit sexist and very general here, but the casual evidence seems to support this notion.  I might go with a Comic over a Manga book for a male student.

          So, what about Comics.  I won't get into the debate about what is and what is not a Comic. When I use the term, I am solely meaning the traditional Comic book of American culture.  The average American would have no problem picking one out at their local BAM or Barnes and Noble. For the record my personal favorite has always been Luke Cage a.k.a Hero for Hire.  

          I wholeheartedly support using Comics to aid in literacy development.  My friends and colleagues all know that I credit Classics Illustrated with my own entry into a lifetime of reading.  In third grade, I purchased, with my own money, and voraciously read the Classics Illustrated version of Jules Verne's Michael Strogoff: A Courier of the Czar.  I swear to people that I read that Comic a thousand times.  It was just such a great way for a novice reader to read a true classic.  I think it was integral in me making the leap to more challenging literature and to me enjoying reading to this day.

  

         Most readers will find comics visually stimulating and if they choose some of the more engaging Graphic Novel style Comics they will find them a good read overall.  No one who reads a Frank Miller comic can say they are just picture books.  I have a personal friend who actually teaches a class, at a major university, on superheroes and he uses, almost exclusively, Graphic Novels as his texts.  Traditional Comics are just a bit easier to sell to a novice reader.  The text is usually current and well-written.  It takes no small amount of skill for a Comic writer to flesh out a complete story in such a limited format, thus the text of a good comic is well written for the author's purpose. They must choose good words that really convey their message.  

          As with Manga, there are a few detractors from using Comics for building reading skills.  Some people will just not like them or think them a bit juvenile at first glance.  Unlike Manga, traditional Comics are quite short and may not be enough of a challenge for some more advanced students.  I tell my stepson that a good novel is like a good dinner and a Comic is like a good dessert. I am paraphrasing that from a Sean Connery line from the movie Finding Forrester, but it is a true statement.  Finally, the opposite is true with Comic readers than with Manga readers.  Most Comics are done by males for male readers, so female readers might not find them as interesting.  

          Please do use Comics and/or Manga to help improve literacy for anyone.  Obviously some people will just not like them or may just not be able to process the visual aspect of their stories but for many they will enjoy the break from more traditional reading exercises.  I do feel that many learners are visually oriented as well, and Sequential Art can help get a person reading where another sort of text might not. 

          I want to close my rambling by making mention of a couple academic texts which might help a literacy instructor gain some background about these, often bizarre and esoteric, tests. I have listed them below.

Schodt, F. L., & Tezuka, O. (1988). Manga! Manga!: the world of Japanese comics ; 

          includes 96 pages from Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix", Reiji Matsumoto's "Ghost 

          warrior", Riyoko Ikeda's "The rose of Versailles", Keiji Nakazawa's "Barefoot 

          gen". Tokyo: Kodansha Internat.

Coogan, P., & OʼNeil, D. (2006). Superhero: the secret origin of a genre. Austin: 

          Monkey Brain Books.