The use of Graphic Novels as an Educational Tool Research Paper

The use of Graphic Novels as an Educational Tool - Research Paper Example One school of thought holds that the nineteenth-century Swiss Artist Rodolphe Topffer was the first cartoonist in the modern sense. Scott McCloud argues in Understanding Comics that the Bayeux Tapestry, which was probably created in the eleventh century, is an example of sequential visual narrative and therefore counts as comics† (Wolk 29). However, it seems that the audience remains unaffected by such scholarly debate over inception of comics as a separate art form; rather they are more concerned over deriving the pleasure of reading and involving themselves with the ambiance created through color, expression, and beautifully crafted emotions. Prior to the Great War II, American comic market was mainly dominated by superheroes. However, the situation started changing gradually since the post-Great War II period, as the Japanese Manga comics first intruded the market. At the initial stage heroes with humane attribute did not have the capacity to combat the superheroes but it did not take much time that manga heroes emerged as triumphant against American superheroes. Another benefit of these Japanese manga comics was that those were highly appreciated by women and teenage girls section of the society. David Okum observes, â€Å"Japanese manga developed a strong following after World War II. The themes and stories reflect popular culture and national tastes†¦.There is a wide audience of women, men, boys and that accepts comics and animation as just another medium of storytelling. Manga is produced for every possible group and interest† (Okum 8). No matter how much it is discussed about massive audience patronage i n favor of the graphic novels or manga, but the enormity of such popularity does not become clear unless we come across proper statistical data of the existing market condition of the manga comic.