How comic books can change…

From Rocco Versaci’s article, “How comic books can change the way our students see literature: One teacher’s perspective.”

A final example of a title that would certainly engage our students in middle and high school English classes is Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, collected in ten graphic novel collections. During its seventy-five issue run, Sandman had the distinction of being the only mainstream comic book with nearly as many female as male readers. Describing this marvelous and imaginative series cannot help but be reductive, but in essence it chronicles the lives and intrigues of the Endless, seven siblings who preside over various facets of existence. They include Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction, and Dream. This last character is the primary focus of the series. Gaiman also interweaves elements of various mythological and religious traditions, history, popular culture, and even Shakespeare. Equal parts fantasy, science fiction, and horror, Sandman appeals not only to adults, but also to a vast number of our students fascinated by these genres. Being both exciting and highly literate, Sandman offers a great deal to teachers and students who are not yet aware of how relevant and mature comic books can be.

Full cite: Versaci, Rocco. “How comic books can change the way our students see literature: One teacher’s perspective”, English Journal; Urbana; Nov 2001, pp 61-63