Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, fred van lente, josh elder, NYCC

Look! Up In The Sky! It's A Pork Bun! It's George Washington! No! It's…"Creating Educational Comics That Kids Actually Want To Read"!

Ray Flook and Paul Gullas wrote from NYCC for Bleeding Cool;

They gather from around the planet: Chinese delicacies come to life, fighting for freedom and honor; an axe-wielding, powdered-wig-wearing ex-President of the United States, telling the truth and chopping down cherry trees; an organization looking to bring graphic textbooks into the classroom; and dedicated librarians, searching for new and innovative ways to capture young minds. Their goal? Ensuring that as comics establish a stronger presence in classrooms across the country, the comics themselves are actually GOOD: that "educational comics" and "fun" actually do belong in the same sentence…and in a good way!

But how? That was the topic for discussion at the "Creating Educational Comics That Kids Actually Want To Read" panel, moderated by Josh Elder (President/Founder, Reading With Pictures); and panelists included: Ryan Dunlavey (ACTION PHILOSOPHERS!, ACTION PRESIDENTS!); Carol Burrell (Editor, Abrams ComicArts); Fred Van Lente (ACTION PHILOSOPHERS!, ACTION

PRESIDENTS!); and Dr. Yen Yen Woo (DIM SUM WARRIORS; Assoc. Professor of Education, Long Island University). By looking at the issue from different perspectives and including shareholders like the creators, publishers and educators (teachers and librarians) in the conversation, we were introduced to a number of projects that exemplify the "comics-can-be-educational" mantra; as well as sound advice on what all of us can and should be doing to promote comics in the classroom:

Dim Sum Warriors (created by Dr. Yen Yen Woo and Colin Goh) is a martial arts adventure/comedy in which the characters themselves are Chinese delicacies known as 'dim sum' in Cantonese; or 'dian xin' (点心) in Mandarin. Our hero is "Prince Roast Pork Bao," heir to the throne who unexpectedly stumbles upon a conspiracy to steal the throne, pitting the four Dim Sum Warrior clans against each other: Fried Kung Academy, Boiled Kung Temple, Baked Kung Sisterhood and School of Steam Kung. When crafting the characters and story, Dr. Woo observed the educational aspects that were at play as her own daughter would create and draw her own super heroes ("You know they're super heroes because they wear capes.") and applied that to her approach to Dim Sum Warriors: concern yourself less with creating an educational comic and more with creating a story with "educative experiences;" and make sure that the experience is both educational and interactive. For the former, Dr. Woo weaves themes of "loyalty," "responsibility" and "teamwork" throughout her work but in a manner that blends these life lessons seamlessly into the artwork and overarching storyline: young readers are able to learn from the experience without that "being-lectured-to" feeling that some works can bring out in readers.

When it came time to develop the interactive side to Dim Sum Warriors, Dr. Woo wanted something that readers would be comfortable using and compliment the book: the Dim Sum Warriors app. Available as a free download with the first two issues included (single issues and subscriptions available), the Dim Sum Warriors app is the first bilingual comic book app that supports both the learning of Mandarin Chinese and assisting Chinese readers with improving their English skills.

The app allows you to read the comic in the "traditional" manner; tap any word balloon to hear the audio; tap and hold any word balloon to see the translation and transliteration; and toggle between reading the comic in English and Chinese. Through the use of physical and digital distribution as well the supporting app, Dr. Woo exemplifies a core belief that ran throughout the panel: that it's important for the form of the work to be educational, not just the content.

"You'll be dumber after you've read this comic." – Fred Van Lente

Probably not the line moderator Josh Elder (Reading With Pictures) was expecting from Fred Van Lente, one of the creators of Action Presidents!, but it was that kind of light-hearted, self-deprecating humor that set the tone for their portion of the panel. Following-up on the previous conversation, Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey explained a basic philosophy behind their work: they don't create something specifically for kids; instead, they create comics that they're interested in (that "amuse us") and find that kids tend to gravitate towards the work. Following-up on the success of Action Philosophers!, Van Lente and Dunlavey are applying their unique take on history to the Presidents of the United States of America through the new series and now have a new outlet for their work: Reading With Pictures' The Graphic Textbook. Aimed at Grades 3-6, The Graphic Textbook contains short stories that represent many of the Common Core Standards for the classroom; and a accompanying "Teacher's Edition" that includes Standards-correlated lesson plans customized to each story; research-based justifications for using comics in the classroom; a guide to creating quality classroom practices; and a comprehensive listing of additional educational resources.

Between presentations and during the "Q&A" session at the end of the panel, Carol Burrell (Editor, Abrams ComicArts) was on-hand to offer the audience a publisher's perspective on the best way to connect with students in and out of the classroom; and to give them some insight into the decision-making that goes on behind-the-scenes in publishing. For an audience of mostly librarians, teachers and other educators, the messages were clear:

• For comics to be successful and academically influential, they need to have a place in classrooms and libraries, and not just be "Joe, the Math Super Hero!"

• Publishers are always looking at a particular institution's market to ensure that standards and common core principles are being maintained.

• Book Scan doesn't always capture institutional sales numbers; so even if you sold 30,000+ copies in the institutional market, Book Scan might report only 150 copies sold.

• Publishers are always looking to find that fine line between publishing quality work and strong sales figures.

• As academic standards change across the country, it's important for comics to meet the Common Core Standards and explain to educators how the works meet those standards and advice on the best ways to introduce new material like this to their students.

• Teachers, librarians and other educators are the "gate-keepers" of the educational experience, so it's important to have them on-board early in the process.

• If it excites you as a creator then there's a good chance it will excite students. It's important to keep in mind that the art/design should be age-appropriate, and characters should be diverse and free of influential stereotypes.

The panel ended with everyone in the audience receiving a free copy of Action Presidents! #1, with a chance to have it autographed by Van Lente and Dunlavey later that day. Judging from the crowds looking to speak with all of the guests after the panel, I believe the best "gift" they received was a new-

found enthusiasm to introduce comics into their classrooms and libraries in new and innovative ways.

Ray Flook

@DeliciousCowz

Paul Gullas

@areacode212

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