WORDS + PICTURES = LEARNING!

Graphic Novel storytelling as an educational tool

By Joe St.Pierre

Ever since I was a kid, I loved graphic novels and comics. And although Spider-Man was a favorite, I read pretty much everything I could get my hands on; from Sad Sack to Sub- Mariner, and Casper to Crypt Of Shadows. I learned to read words like Amazing, Incredible, Metropolis, Barbarian(!) some time before most of my classmates at Elementary School in Cohoes NY. I remember being frequently trotted by my teachers in 1stÂ and second grade to the upper grades, to read in front of the class. I“m not sure what the teachers“ intentions were, and I“m PRETTY sure it didn“t spare me from noogies and lunch box theft in the schoolyard at recess. I attribute those early reading skills to comic books, plain and simple.

In later years I would often convert school reports into graphic novel form, and saw that a dry, five-pages long piece of double-spaced text could be converted with visuals into an educational AND entertaining experience.

Since then I“ve realized words PLUS pictures are the best way that I retain information, and I“ve tried to do my part to advocate for comics/graphic novels as an effective educational tool whenever I can. When I was offered the FABIEN COUSTEAU EXPEDITIONS, an educational AND entertaining graphic novel series, I had to accept.

Written by James O. Fraioli and published by Simon & Schuster, JOURNEY UNDER THE ARCTIC stars Undersea explorer and TV star Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the world-famous Jacques Cousteau. James and I converted Fabien into a real-life graphic novel hero, as he and his crew travel to the depths of the Arctic Circle in search of the Dumbo Octopus! Thru the course of the adventure you“ll meet all your favorite Arctic denizens, like Polar Bears, Puffins and Beluga Whales.

In JOURNEY I tried to use some techniques so ingrained to the graphic novel form to help convey information to the reader in the most easily and quickly digestible way. Text plus pictures = LEARNING! Here are a few of those techniques:

MAPS

One of the reasons I did well in Geography class was because of the map image with text labels. All the information you need, in one eyeful.

THE SEDNA“s DEPTH GAUGE

Fabien“s submarine the Sedna has a depth gauge depicting their position in the ocean without having to convey it with extraneous text/ dialogue. The graphic of the gauge, matched with the animals present in the accompanying picture, helps the reader associate at what depth that animal can most frequently be found.

CHARTS

Imagine locating and collecting the world“s largest sharks and laying them next to each other to compare their sizes. You can do that with comics comparisons like that for a fraction of the cost!

LABELS

Items of interest but not crucial to the main story can be indicated with a simple label, adding context at a glance.

TIME LAPSE

The reader can travel thru time and space in between panels. The combination of images taken in by the reader in one eyeful is more effective in creating an impression than seeing each picture alone.

JOURNEY TO THE ARCTIC drops everywhere on March 17, 2020. PRE-ORDER the book thru my Kickstarter right now and get a copy AUTOGRAPHED and REMARKED by me, as well as many other bonus goodies! Check it out HERE