This last week in my Young Adult literature course we read graphic novels. I personally love graphic novels, so it was a fun week for me (dorky, I know). I read all three choices, which were Persepolis, Maus, and American Born Chinese. For online art picks, I decided to select pieces influenced by graphic novels in general, rather than to select them based on the above texts only. Enjoy!
Shutterbox volume 3, page 74 by Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, original. To purchase, click here.
This post will include original prints of pages from published graphic novels, as well as pages from unpublished novels for sale by the artists and pieces inspired by the genre. Any good collection of graphic novel art must include something Manga-inspired.
For more of Tavisha's art, visit her Etsy shop. I was really excited this week because one of the seniors at Denver School of the Arts just finished a graphic novel she'd been working on for her Creative Writing class. The art was absolutely amazing. The protagonist was a teenager- part girl, part deer. The illustrations reminded me a lot of the ones you see above. Pretty impressive for a 17-year old girl.
Aang Avatar The Last Airbender by Pande and Beauty Hurts by Sky Simms (a high school student!). Click here for more information.
I want what you have by FeliciaBleuRose.
I really love this artist, so I am going to include a couple of her pieces. This one is titled Slow Storm, page 5.
Slow Storm, page 13 and Slow Storm, page 8 all by Danica Novgorodoff.
Bad Night and All I See is Her by Eliza Frye.
Choice book: Maus I, Art Spiegelman
Summary
Maus I is a Holocaust narrative in graphic novel form. The protagonist, Art, visits his father, Valdek, on a regular basis to document his experience in the concentration camps during World War II. The novel transitions between past and present so that it chronicles Valdek's story as well as the transmission of the story from Valdek to Art. In this way, the text is able to include two narrative threads to document the Holocaust itself as well as the many ramifications the Holocaust has had on the present.
Noted Themes and Questions
The novel raises questions about the relationship between trauma and memory. The text blurs several genres, causing the reader to wonder about its generic classification. Many readers have questioned whether or not the graphic novel is an inappropriate form to deal with such heavy subject matter. The text also complicates the notion of guilt and blame commonly associated with the Germans during the Holocaust. Spiegelman raises questions about fate and chance. In many ways, the events and happenings in the text seem random acts of chance and chaos; however, Vladek continually points out that it was his resourcefulness or even God's will that he was able to survive.
Reflection
Maus is beautifully written and illustrated, funny at times, and also very moving. As noted above, the book raises so many complex questions that I think it's a wonderful text to use in the classroom. On the one hand, it's definitely a piece of Holocaust literature; however, it also raises questions about the capacity of art (visual and written) to articulate trauma and memory.
Student Reaction
It has been my experience that students really enjoy this text. Students generally respond well to visuals. Maus includes psychological interest but simultaneously has a lot of action, so that it would appeal to a wide variety of readers. There were people in our class who didn't really take to the genre and format, which reminded me that a) it takes some getting used to, and b) not everyone is going to like it. One thing to consider would be to teach visual literacy alongside other books in addition so that students are capable of analyzing graphic novels when they see them. Another useful idea would be to do a few guided readings of the images on a projector very early on to model image analysis.
Grade Level
Though I know students often read this text in middle school, I think 9th or 10th graders would be able to understand some of the more difficult questions the text raises and engage with it on a deeper level.
*P.S. I just ordered Skim, and I am excited to read it. The art looks beautiful.
Shutterbox volume 3, page 74 by Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, original. To purchase, click here.
This post will include original prints of pages from published graphic novels, as well as pages from unpublished novels for sale by the artists and pieces inspired by the genre. Any good collection of graphic novel art must include something Manga-inspired.
For more of Tavisha's art, visit her Etsy shop. I was really excited this week because one of the seniors at Denver School of the Arts just finished a graphic novel she'd been working on for her Creative Writing class. The art was absolutely amazing. The protagonist was a teenager- part girl, part deer. The illustrations reminded me a lot of the ones you see above. Pretty impressive for a 17-year old girl.
Aang Avatar The Last Airbender by Pande and Beauty Hurts by Sky Simms (a high school student!). Click here for more information.
I want what you have by FeliciaBleuRose.
I really love this artist, so I am going to include a couple of her pieces. This one is titled Slow Storm, page 5.
Slow Storm, page 13 and Slow Storm, page 8 all by Danica Novgorodoff.
Bad Night and All I See is Her by Eliza Frye.
Choice book: Maus I, Art Spiegelman
Summary
Maus I is a Holocaust narrative in graphic novel form. The protagonist, Art, visits his father, Valdek, on a regular basis to document his experience in the concentration camps during World War II. The novel transitions between past and present so that it chronicles Valdek's story as well as the transmission of the story from Valdek to Art. In this way, the text is able to include two narrative threads to document the Holocaust itself as well as the many ramifications the Holocaust has had on the present.
Noted Themes and Questions
The novel raises questions about the relationship between trauma and memory. The text blurs several genres, causing the reader to wonder about its generic classification. Many readers have questioned whether or not the graphic novel is an inappropriate form to deal with such heavy subject matter. The text also complicates the notion of guilt and blame commonly associated with the Germans during the Holocaust. Spiegelman raises questions about fate and chance. In many ways, the events and happenings in the text seem random acts of chance and chaos; however, Vladek continually points out that it was his resourcefulness or even God's will that he was able to survive.
Reflection
Maus is beautifully written and illustrated, funny at times, and also very moving. As noted above, the book raises so many complex questions that I think it's a wonderful text to use in the classroom. On the one hand, it's definitely a piece of Holocaust literature; however, it also raises questions about the capacity of art (visual and written) to articulate trauma and memory.
Student Reaction
It has been my experience that students really enjoy this text. Students generally respond well to visuals. Maus includes psychological interest but simultaneously has a lot of action, so that it would appeal to a wide variety of readers. There were people in our class who didn't really take to the genre and format, which reminded me that a) it takes some getting used to, and b) not everyone is going to like it. One thing to consider would be to teach visual literacy alongside other books in addition so that students are capable of analyzing graphic novels when they see them. Another useful idea would be to do a few guided readings of the images on a projector very early on to model image analysis.
Grade Level
Though I know students often read this text in middle school, I think 9th or 10th graders would be able to understand some of the more difficult questions the text raises and engage with it on a deeper level.
*P.S. I just ordered Skim, and I am excited to read it. The art looks beautiful.
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