Recommended Reading
There are SO many great comics these days… it’s IMPOSSIBLE to keep up with them all! SO, here’s a VERY BASIC LIST of titles that come to mind immediately. I will post more as time allows, and please feel free to let me know if you find a comic that SHOULD be on this list. — Marek
NOTE: Remember, it’s important to preview every page of a graphic novel before bringing it into your classroom!
GENERAL RESOURCES & SITES about COMICS:
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Understanding Comics (Scott McCloud) and Making Comics (Scott McCloud) — *** These are must-haves! They’re graphic novels ABOUT comics, using the form to explore itself. Every time you read them, you’ll discover new ideas and concepts. *** - Gene Yang’s COMICS IN EDUCATION Site — Gene’s main site — posts tagged “comics in education”
“For the Love of Comics” (Alec Longstreth & Aaron Renier)
“Your Comics Will Love You Back” (Alec Longstreth)
PICTURE THIS (Lynda Barry)- … (more to come) …
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES:
The Arrival (Shaun Tan) — An immigrant family tries to make a new life in a strange new country. (Wordless!)
The Cartoon History of The Universe (Larry Gonick) and…
The Cartoon History of the Modern World (Larry Gonick) — Two books in an immense series of history (and science) comics. Fun, enjoyable, painstakingly researched, and well done indeed.
The Golem’s Mighty Swing (James Sturm) — Historical fiction: a barnstorming Jewish baseball team struggles to make ends meet in 1920s rural America.- Journey Into Mohawk Country (H.M. van den Bogaert & George O’Connor) — O’Connor’s artwork brings this centuries-old Dutch colonial narrative to life!
- Louis Riel (Chester Brown) — Metis farmers in central Canada struggle for independence during the 1860s.
Maus (Art Spiegelman) — A young artist interviews his father, who survived the holocaust in Poland. (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.)- Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi) — A young woman comes of age in revolutionary Iran.
The Photographer (Emmanuel Guibert)
Safe Area Gorazde (Joe Sacco)
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (James Sturm) — Baseball players in the Negro Leagues struggle for their basic human rights under Jim Crow laws.
Thoreau at Walden (John Porcellino)
SCIENCE:
- Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards (Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic) — Two paleontologists fight over the world’s first dinosaur bones, in the Wild West!
Clan Apis (Jay Hosler) — Entomologist Jay Hosler tells this engaging biography of a single honey bee, from egg to old age and beyond. Includes tons of facts about bees, plus imaginative elements (such as the bees’ creation myth). Winner of a Xeric Grant.
The Sandwalk Adventures (Jay Hosler) — A long-running conversation (about life, evolution, the universe, and more) between Charles Darwin and a microscopic hair follicle mite who lives in his eyebrow. (Yes, you just have to read it to believe it!)- The Dvorak Zine (Alec Longstreth) — This self-published zine (read: cheap! $1!) explains why you shouldn’t be using the computer keyboard you’re using. It’s great for studying inventions, history of technology, or typing.
- Gon (Masashi Tanaka) — A tiny dinosaur lives in lots of different ecosystems all over the Earth, and manages to mess up (or save) most of them! (Okay, maybe this one’s more action-adventure than science, really.)
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Graphic Medicine = a website devoted to the “role of comics in the study and delivery of healthcare.” Includes this extensive list of health-related graphic novels. 
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Hiyao Miyazaki) — A brave girl fights to protect all forms of life in a future era of environmental collapse.- Tyrant (Steve Bissette) — The life story of a Tyrannosaurus Rex!
LITERATURE & just plain old GOOD STORIES:
- The Adventures of Tintin (Herge) — Tintin, the boy reporter, travels all over the world to solve mysteries and save his friends.
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller) — Dark, gritty story of Batman at age 60, coming out of retirement for one last adventure… taught in college courses, appropriate for high school (mythology, pop culture).
- Bone (Jeff Smith) — An amazing epic, with wide scope and literary qualities. Jeff Smith self-published this as an unknown artist, and it’s now a legend in the comics world. Very kid-friendly. Now collected (in color!) by Scholastic.
Krazy Kat (George Herriman) — This was one of the first truly great newspaper strips.
Masterpiece Comics (R. Sikoryak)- One! Hundred! Demons! (Lynda Barry) — Funny, painful coming-of-age stories. Great for looking at society, morality, self-awareness. (Appropriate for high school.)
- Pinky and Stinky (James Kochalka) — Two pigs go on a mission to Pluto, but get stranded on the Moon instead.
- Pogo (Walt Kelly) — Satire, wordplay, and great characters in never-ending nonsensical mishaps.
- Spiral-Bound (Aaron Renier) — Friendly, mysterious stories about a town populated by animals. Lots of summer camp, secret tunnels, and a monster-legend, too!
SEE ALSO:
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Other links here: https://comicsworkshop.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/links-for-teachers/
MORE Lists for Comics in Education:Lots of librarians & educators have put together their own lists (with links, reviews, podcasts, and more)… For example*:
* Remember, all the sites listed in this box are independent sites & not related to COMICS WORKSHOP’s programs at all in any way!
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