Sean Fitzgibbon

Comics in The Classroom: April 1st at Artchurch Studio 1st Annual Comic Expo in Historic Whittington Valley

Graphic novels are one of today's fastest growing categories in book publishing. The scope and diversity of graphic novels has broadened in recent years to include much more sophisticated subject matter, including nonfiction, biography, and compelling stories melded from on-the ground reporting and research from the world's latest war-torn regions.

Public schools are proving to be viable markets for graphic novels and with the advent of a more serious and ambitious body of nonfiction work, high school, middle schools, college and university librarians are bolstering their graphic novel collections. The latter half of the 20th century has experienced an alteration in the definition of literacy. The proliferation of the use of images as a communicant was propelled by the growth of a technology that required less in text-reading skills. From road signs to mechanical use instructions, imagery aided words, and at times even supplanted them. Visual literacy has entered the panoply of skills required for communication in this century. Graphic novels are at the center of this phenomenon.

Hot Springs’ first Comic-Con style event, Comics on the Wall, will be held at the Artchurch Studio, 301 Whittington Avenue, beginning Thursday, April 1st, with Educators reception and exhibit from 5-9 p.m., including educator packages with lesson plans, power point video, and curricula while supplies last. Trina Bright, Literacy Coach with Little Rock’s School District, will lead discussion on Comics in the Classroom, followed by Robert O’Nale, who will lead a seminar in Comics: Very Brief History of Comics.