The Advantages and Disadvantages of Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are to be defined as novels in comic-strip format. They are usually shown to us either in series and have a continuous plot or it can be presented in shorter stories. One popular form of a “comic book” is called a manga (漫画). The Chinese character that is used to write manga translates into “whimsical drawings”. Mangas are different from most of the books out there in multiple ways. The beginning of the book for instance starts at the back, having the spine on the reader’s right side.

Another dissimilarity is that the text boxes are read from right to left. There are some advantages and disadvantages to writing and reading graphic novels. Some say that graphic novels are better than normal books and some say the opposite. There are a couple of advantages to these types of books. For instance, it is easier to read the content in a shorter period of time and still know what is going on in a graphic novel.

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They can also be one of the motivations toward children since most of them aren’t interested in chapter books that have no pictures in it. So having graphic novels increases the attraction for kids to read.

Educators have shared experiences that demonstrating graphic novels in the curriculum with their own pupils have been a great way to teach English, science, social studies, and art. Teachers are starting to realize graphic novels are useful gears that help learners study more about history, science, literature and art.

Usually, the crowd tells each other not to judge a book by its cover. But in this case, people can judge the books in this category. Without good art, the comic book might be hard to comprehend due to the lack of clarity in the art section. Also, the text or pictures can be displayed in a way that the reader won’t understand. Graphic novels also have some negative sides to it. For example, to prevent the story from being boring, the authors keep the texts short and juicy which makes the novel lack depth. Another illustration would be that most of the people who read graphic novels first look at the pictures and focus on that more than the text. This makes the readers not understand fully of what is going on but lets them advance throughout the book.

Some educators and parents believe that comic books or graphic novels are not the perfect way of reading that would help their children develop as good readers. They might think that reading these types of books dismisses the idea of quality literature and might think it shows a negative impact on youngsters’ education. There are many debates going on about if graphic novels are either a good or a bad influence on someone who is learning. From my research, I believe that graphic novels are a good influence but the instructors should choose the graphic novels that he/she may present to her class with care. Or else, the teacher might pick out a graphic novel that isn’t appropriate for the level of his/her own students. I believe the same applies for self-learners that like to read graphic novels on their own. It is great they like to read in their own time and I think more people should give graphic novels/comic books a chance.