Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Heh,


My parents say that comics are not good for ur brain (well its a socail need isnt it?) But i said " Usagi isnt!" And showed them the 'facts' at the end of the book and history.

Haha! thank you for that Mr.Stan!

Of course Usagi is educational. I'm learning a lot about Japan when I do all the research.

Among the awards I've received are a Parents Choice, an American Library Association, and 4 YALSAs (Young Adult Library Services Awards). They all cite the educational value of Usagi.

Comics get frowned upon TOO much -_-

I told some colleagues that you could learn things from comics and they were like "What? No you can't!"

I regret not having one of my UY graphic novels on me at the time >_<

On comics being educational in general, Gail Simone once said in an interview that she got praise from teachers for writing the Marvel Comics mini-series "Marvel-lous adventures of Gus Beezer" in that it encouraged dyslexic kids to learn how to read

srry mr.stan if i offended u

I just got a huge stack of Usagi trades from a local library. Great way to get caught up!!

I just did a research project on the educational value of comics. According to studies done, comics and other "light" reading often serves as a conduit to other kinds of reading.

It used to be a fear that comics would "seduce" children from more serious literature. The studies done now say that comics readers do not read less than those who don't read comics. In fact, they often read more.

One of the books I used as a source was "The Power of Reading". Also, author Jim Trelease ("The Read-Aloud Handbook") says that if you have a child who is struggling with reading, give them comics. If they respond to them, give them more. A third book I used was called "Even Hockey Players Read". This book examines the differences in reading preferences between boys and girls. Sometimes you just can't get a boy to care about what happens to "The Poky Little Puppy".

Comics definitely can be used to teach and we can all learn from many of them. If you're interested, I'd also suggesting "Google-ing" the topic "Comics in the Classroom". You will find a lot of info about schools who are utilizing them.

Andy wrote:I just did a research project on the educational value of comics. According to studies done, comics and other "light" reading often serves as a conduit to other kinds of reading.

It used to be a fear that comics would "seduce" children from more serious literature. The studies done now say that comics readers do not read less than those who don't read comics. In fact, they often read more.

That's an interesting find, and it may in fact explain why people frown down on comic books and hold an apparently negative attitude towards those who read them.

And I agree that those who read comics tend to read other works as well. At websites like comix-fan.com you get discussion from the fans on "serious" novels as well, and the majority of comic fans I've met so far love reading in general (unless their course at university means that they have to read less fiction)...

Howdy,

Hugegoat wrote:My parents say that comics are not good for ur brain (well its a socail need isnt it?) But i said " Usagi isnt!" And showed them the 'facts' at the end of the book and history.

If your parents are particularly open-minded, you could also show them Action Philosophers or just about any comic book by Larry Gonick. Gonick's books are incredibly well-researched and the ones I've read have been excellent summaries of the fields they're about. For a long while, The Cartoon Guide to the Computer was one of the best books to hand to a novice.

As for Action Philosophers, you seriously have to love a comic book that manages to explain early Christian philosophy using a Jack Kirby homage. Note that there are occasional naughty references and the occasional four-letter word in Action Philosophes.

The notes to Usagi are really cool, too. The bits about swordsmaking in <I>Daisho</I> and seaweed farming were really cool, even without the notes in the back.

People who say things like, "Comics aren't good for your brain" clearly aren't reading enough comics .

-- Ed

Heh I recently discovered Action Philosophers! Great book, really informative and so funny!!

Hugegoat wrote:srry mr.stan if i offended u

No offense taken. In fact, this is a great thread.

Besides Larry Gonick's work--especially his History of the World series-- I would recommend Jim Ottovanni's (sp?) works. He is a writer that has collaborated with a number of artists on on books like Two Fisted Science. Jim even spoke at the Nobel Institute in Stockholm.