X-Men, specifically Beast, was actually a decent vocabulary-builder when I was a kid. They'd always have the character using big and/or uncommon words, so I'd just consult the dictionary to find out what they meant. I got my first exposure to wonderful words like "milieu", "plethora" and "esoteric" through X-Men comics.

I learned lots about the world from reading comics. I know that seems silly, but really- you can acquire basic scientific concepts, expand your vocabulary, and gain a love of prose from reading comic books. To characterize them as being the realm of the uneducated is just plain ignorant.

Ironically, the state of Maryland knows this. Check out the results of this study done by the Maryland DOE.

Yeah, I'm in an English Education program leading to teaching certification, and both of the faculty advisors for my program just can't seem to sing the praises of comics and graphic novels enough for engaging reluctant readers and creating lifelong readers, generally. I will have shit tons of comic/graphic YAL on the shelf in myyyy future classroom.

thanks 5. but take a look at this cultural trivia please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ej7ZEnjS…

Get those kids something good like Bone ASAP.

That's fine, Paul, but please review your headline in the unlikely event that children are also reading Slog. You've incorrectly used the word "is." Grammatically, "is" is a third person singular preposition, so it cannot denote "children." The correct word usage is "are" which is third person plural.

You should see the new Avengers on the iPad 3D - wow!

Now THAT is a graphic novel ...

@8: Please see @6's response to @5. (@6: Thank you for getting my old and musty joke reference.)

@2: It's what my parents used to call them. I get itchy when people use the word "graphic novel" because it sounds so politically correct and over-serious and lame, so I'm countering that by regressing. (Really, though, it's just a synonym for "comic book.")

@Everyone else: You are right and comics should be on the curriculum. I agree with you and I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this post. Comics belong on the curriculum, I say!

Agreed, Paul, 100%.

And 5 & 8 - It's a Bushism, y'all.

My government teaching brother loves 'The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation' because it got him to read the report that was so otherwise daunting.

It all depends on what your definition of "is" is, Paul.

Comics still get a bad rap when it comes to most adults, and it's pathetic. If Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia were comics, they'd probably make half as many sales.

Cory@15, adults are the only ones buying and reading comics anymore, which is why the picture on this flier seems so very out of touch. I'm not sure I've seen a kid reading a Superman or X-Men comic in 15 years.

@16 Kids read manga these days. Marvel and DC make movies, mostly. Adults read the indie stuff, along with some of the mainstream superheroes.

But the adults who read comics are a pretty small group compared to the amount of adults who think that comics are a 'lesser' form of creative expression.

Hand this Senator a copy of "Asterios Polyp." Then stand back and watch her petty assumptions be blasted out of orbit.
And, don't forget, today is Read a Comic in Public Day! What will you read?

Cory@17, I thought of manga just after I posted; I see kids reading that all the time, in the bookstore at least.

Also, once I thought about it more, I realized that outside of myself, I've never seen *anyone* reading a Superman comic in over forty years, and an X-Men comic in well over 25 (I saw a lot of people buying them in the 90s, but never actually reading any).

ink@18, is that a real thing? I always feel vaguely ashamed if someone catches me reading a comic in public, in the same way reading the Stranger on the bus makes me self conscious, with all its escort ads...

Comic books have been readily available at five and dimes and convenience stores and drug stores for 75 years. Yet American kids seem to have less interest in reading than ever. Seems like all the comic books around aren't working.

What makes kids grow up to be readers is parents who read. Not parents who don't read who say reading is important. Or parents who don't read who buy their kids books. Or buy them comic books. Or videos about how reading is important.

Parents who actually read will produce kids who read. It's pretty simple.

I did "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" with my 5th graders this year, and it's the most fun I've ever had teaching. My boys especially ate up all the comics I put out, and it was a beautiful thing to see.

I was dismayed to see my son choose graphic novels over traditional chapter books for reading. Then his Developmental Reading Assessments placed his reading skills at least one grade level beyond his academic grade. Now I just make sure to read JASON's work before letting the lad have a look.

5 and 8, what the hell planet are you from? You should look into importing some irony to your world because it's obviously not home grown there.

Paul -- I'm not a big Superman fan but you might check out Grant Morrison's outstanding "All-Star Superman" series in two trade paperbacks. They're not only extremely engaging, they really capture the essence of the character and make a persuasive argument for why it's been around for so long.

Man, I'm disappointed in King. And yeah, I'm a MD Dem.