Graphic Novels: Inference

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Graphic Novels Inference

• The great sorrow of my life is never having done
  comics - Pablo Picasso
• Trina Bright

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How do we find meaning in words?

• Words mean more than what is set down on paper.
  It takes the human voice to infuse them with the
  shades of deeper meaning.
• Maya Angelou
• What the reader brings to the page is more
  important to comprehension than what is on the
  page.
• Alvermann Phelps

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• Reading in the Twenty-First Century often
  involves more than the mere understanding of
  words. . . . reading of words is but a subset
  of a much more general human activity which
  includes symbol decoding, information integration
  and organization . . . (Wolf)

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Inference

• Inference is the process of creating a personal
  meaning from text. The readers unique
  interpretation of text is the product of this
  blending. Students remember and apply what is
  read, create new background knowledge,
  discriminate and critically analyze text and
  authors, and engage in analytical or reflective
  responses.
• Mosaics of Thought, Keene Zimmerman
• Encoding Message Decoding Message
• story closure
• encapsulation cognitive reaction
• layout affective reaction
• composition story

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Blend between the lines??

• In comics, meaning does not 'happen' in the
  words, or the pictures, but somewhere in-between.
  Because this "in-between" space is difficult to
  identify and varies from title to title, reading
  comic books requires an active, yet subconscious,
  participation on the part of the reader.
• The Power of Comics, Duncan
• Closure Meaning derived as the reader fills in
  the details of the empty spaces between the
  panels.

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Inferences skilled readers use When Kids Cant
Read, Beers

• Figure out unknown word meaning from context
  clues
• Understand intonation of characters words
• Provide details about the setting, characters
  beliefs, personalities, and motivations
• Understand characters relationships to one
  another
• Understand the authors biases and view of the
  world
• Offer conclusions from facts presented in the
  text

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Inference in Comics

• Moment to Moment

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Inference in comics Encapsulation

• Action to Action

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• Subject to Subject

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• Scene to Scene

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• Aspect to Aspect

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• Non Sequitor

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What movies are based on comic books?

• Road to Perdition Incredible Hulk Popeye
• V for Vendetta The Phantom Elektra
• Garfield Chasing Amy Flash Gordon
• The Mask Sin City
• American Splendor Richie Rich Dick Tracy
• A History of Violence Fantastic Four Men in
  Black
• Blade Judge Dredd X-Men
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ghost World
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• Catwoman Superman Batman Spiderman

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Recommended for Elementary

• Archie
• Justice League Unlimited
• Power Puff Girls
• Walt Disney Comics
• Scooby Doo
• Lions, Tigers, Bears
• Degrassi
• Queen Bee
• Bone
• Owly
• Astro Boy
• Goosebumps
• Breaking Up
• Baby-Sitters Club
• African Myths
• Myths and Popular Stores from Around the World
• Lost Cities
• The New Adventures of Abe Lincoln

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• Cartoon History of the Universe I, II, III
• Suspended in Language Niels Bohr's Life
  Discoveries and the Centuries he shaped Fallout
  Atomic Bomb
• Cartoon Guide to the Computer
• Street Law Rights and Liberties / Supernatural
  Law
• Poe
• Maus
• Two Fisted Science Stories about Scientists
• Suspended in Language
• Adventures An Adventure in Evolution
• Quantum Physics
• Who is Fourier and What is Quantum Mechanics?
• The Genie in the Bottle 67 all New Connections
  of the Fantastic Chemistry of Everyday Life
• Genetik, Genetics, Environments
• Pedro and Me Friendship Lost and What I Learned
  
• Still I Rise A Living History of African
  Americans
• Adolph
• Pedro and Me Friendship Lost and What I Learned

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Recommended for Secondary

• Lizzie McGuire
• Angel
• Superfriends
• Young Justice
• Justice League of America
• Mage, The Hero Defined
• League of Extraordinary Gentleman
• Green Lantern
• Oh My Goodness!
• Promethea
• The Yellow Jar
• Bone
• Buffy Vampire Slayer
• Archie
• Smallville
• The Sandman
• Tom Strong
• Mark Twain Ambrose Bierce Jack London
  (Graphic Classics)

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• Tone - Each student creates a six panel visual
  narrative on index cards. No words are used. The
  cards are then collected and passed onto another
  student who adds narration to them on a second
  set of cards. This happens five times, so that
  each picture-sequence has five different
  narrations to go with it.
• Irony - Students create a picture sequence with
  narration. At one point the narration should be
  parallel to the story in the picture sequence
  (that is, appear to be telling a completely
  different story), and at another point it should
  shift to relate very closely to the pictures.

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• Mood - Create a sequence using all six of these
  balloons
• the standard speech balloon
• the bubbly thought balloon
• the dotted-line whisper balloon
• the spiked shout balloon
• the jagged-edged telephone balloon
• the icicle-trimmed conceited balloon

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• Metaphor Find "visual metaphors." In Art
  Spiegelman's Maus, there is the unforgettable
  image of Spiegelman (wearing a mouse-mask, an
  ongoing metaphor throughout the comic), slumped
  over his drawing table, with the rotting bodies
  of concentration camp victims underneath. In this
  case, the drawing eloquently illustrates the
  author's feelings of guilt for profiting from a
  holocaust story.
• Using a selection of pieces from a collection of
  short stories, students translate the story into
  a 2-4 page visual sequence, using as little
  narration as possible. A strong emphasis is
  placed on finding visual ways to recreate the
  same effects the writer achieved with literary
  conventions, such as metaphor.