Teaching With Science Comics

There was a time when “science comic” meant a straightforward collection of pictures with a lot of captions and a few word balloons. The main character would recite a series of facts and definitions, and any attempt at plot or character development would be interrupted by a lecture. The comics featured more diagrams than action scenes, with clunky and expository dialogue. Rather than comics making science enjoyable, science made comics boring.

Not anymore. The new generation of science graphic novels is designed as much to entertain as to educate. “The students love to read the books on their own,” says Kat Kan, librarian at St. John’s Catholic School in Panama City, FL, and a graphic novel specialist for the library supply and services company Brodart. On the other hand, she says, some teachers are reluctant to use them in class.