Volume 7 | Number 4 Article 1 10-26-2016 An Overview of Comic Books as an Educational Tool and Implications for Pharmacy Jagannath Muzumdar St. John's University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://pubs.lib.umn.edu/innovations Recommended Citation Muzumdar J. An Overview of Comic Books as an Educational Tool and Implications for Pharmacy. Inov Pharm. 2016;7(4): Article 1. http://pubs.lib.umn.edu/innovations/vol7/iss4/1 INNOVATIONS in pharmacy is published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. An Overview of Comic Books as an Educational Tool and Implications for Pharmacy Cover Page Footnote I want to thank Mr. Brian Fies for his book Mom’s Cancer and authorizing the use of images from his book for the manuscript. A special thanks to Ms Rosemary Brown, Rajesh Nayak, PhD, Caroline Fuchs, MA, Ms Sherri Alarcon, Claire Kolar, PharmD, Kristin Janke, PhD and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and comments on the earlier version of this manuscript. This review is available in INNOVATIONS in pharmacy: http://pubs.lib.umn.edu/innovations/vol7/iss4/1 Review Paper EDUCATION An Overview of Comic Books as an Educational Tool and Implications for Pharmacy Jagannath M. Muzumdar, PhD St. John’s University Disclosures: The author declares no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties ABSTRACT Objective: To present an overview of comic books as an educational tool and discuss the use of comic books in pharmacy education. Literature Identification: This research is comprised of a narrative literature review and critical analysis of the information retrieved. Key words included: comic(s), graphic novels, and pharmacy education. News articles, dissertations, theses, books, and scholarly articles from peer reviewed journals were selected and reviewed for inclusion in this article. Results: Comics have been used as a pedagogical tool to motivate students to read, help them remember the content, and make the whole learning process fun. They have been used as supplemental readings in biochemistry, physics, and business ethics. Comic books have been used in educating patients about the challenges of dialysis, promoting health, and informing consumers about diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Conclusion: In today’s media rich environment, comic books could be a visually interactive and innovative educational tool. Pharmacy faculty could use comic books or graphic novels as stand-alone texts or as part of a larger curriculum. Comic books could help students learn pharmacy-relevant content while enjoying the reading. Keywords: Comic(s), graphic novels, education, pharmacy, graphic medicine. INTRODUCTION In many cases, an instructor’s teaching effectiveness and the these books.5 Nevertheless, comic books appeal to a wider student’s learning depend on the medium of communication audience across all age and ethnic groups because they employed by the instructor. Visuals and text have been the employ an everyday language that is almost universally two major media used as instructional aides in courses. The understood and can be concurrently instructive and usage of these media has been backed by an abundant entertaining.5 A sophisticated yet simple use of visuals and amount of research supporting the contention that text in comic books in generating a clear narrative for the presenting visuals and text together positively affects student information to be presented gives comics the potential to go learning.1 Compared to information presented in a non- beyond the traditional textbook for teaching and learning. illustrated text, coupling of visual information with verbal explanations has been found to positively influence students Scholarly articles assessing the use of comic books as a reading performance,3 information retention ability,2 and pedagogical tool have found they engage students in the creative problem solving skills.1,4 topic being covered, motivate them to read, help them remember content, and make the whole learning process One of the most popular, yet underused, forms of media fun.6-8 Before pharmacy educators decide to use this medium combining visual images with text is comics. Comic books, in their classes, it is important for them to have background often called “comics” for short, are diverse in content, genre, information on the definition of comic books, their strengths appearance, and the reading audience as any other type of and weaknesses, and how have they been used successfully medium. Although “comics” refers to the medium itself and in other fields such as science, education, and business. The not a specific object such as “comic books” or “comic strips”, purpose of this article is to present an overview of comic the two words (i.e., comics and comic books) are used books as an educational tool. Specific objectives of this paper interchangeably by individuals who use this medium or read include providing an overview of the: (1) definitions and characteristics of comics; (2) history of comic books and the Corresponding Author: Jagannath M. Muzumdar, PhD rise of the term “graphic novels”; (3) use of comic books in Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy other disciplines such as education, business, and basic Administration and Public Health, College of Pharmacy and sciences; (4) use of comic books in medicine; and (5) discuss Health Sciences, St. John’s University the use of comics books in pharmacy education. 8000 Utopia Pkwy, St Albert Hall 104-D, Jamaica, NY 11439 Tel.: +1 (718) 990-2945; Fax: +1 (718) 990-6316 http://z.umn.edu/INNOVATIONS 2016, Vol. 7, No. 4, Article 1 INNOVATIONS in pharmacy 1 Review Paper EDUCATION LITERATURE IDENTIFICATION characteristics of comics, “juxtaposed pictorial and other This research consists of a narrative literature review and images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey critical analysis of the information retrieved. Search criteria information and/or produce an aesthetic response in the were limited to English language and human studies. viewer”.5 Keywords used for the search included comic(s), comix, pictures, graphic novels, education, medicine, graphic The term “graphic novel” is used interchangeably with medicine, science. Data sources searched included indices “comics”. Graphic novels (which are discussed later in this such as Academic Search Premier, PubMed, Business Source article) are book-length comic books which are meant to be Premier, Communication and Mass Media, and Google read as one story and include content targeted towards a Scholar. A variety of sources such as news articles, more mature audience.16-17 Some have argued graphic novel dissertations, theses, books (e.g. Understanding Comics by writers use the medium of comics to discuss more serious Scott McCloud, Mom’s Cancer by Brian Fies) on the topic of topics. For example, graphic novel have been used to discuss comics, graphic novels, and scholarly articles pertaining to the topic of cancer, AIDS, and healthcare reform.18-20 comics from academic journals, such as Journal of Educational Sociology, the Journal of Aesthetics and Arts A review article on the use of comic books in science Criticism, and Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics were education provides a definition for a genre of comic books selected and reviewed for inclusion in this article. Data available to communicate science.21 This genre of comic extraction was done by the author. books is labeled as “science comics: comics with one of the main aims to communicate science or to educate the reader RESULTS about a non-fictional, scientific concept or theme, even if this Comics – Definitions and Characteristics means using fictional techniques and narratives to convey the Comics are an art that is generally visible in daily and weekly non-fictional information.”21 newspapers, and provides ideas for movies and television programs. Proponents of comics have supported their use as The term comic is understood and has been adopted or a medium to cover a variety of topics, as an aid in vocabulary- adapted into languages other than English including: bande building, and as motivational materials in increasing the dessinée, a neutral phrase in French for “designed strip”; interest in reading. However, the lack of a precise definition historieta, in Spanish for “little story”; fumetti, in Italian, of the word “comics” is one of the reasons for comics being likening the balloons to “little puffs of smoke”; manga in misunderstood and underutilized especially in academic Japan, a term composed of two ideograms; “man” (meaning setting.9-11 ‘executed rapidly, thrown off’) and “ga” (meaning drawing). In Korea it is manhwa and in China they call it manhua.22-23 Often people think about comics as colorful magazines filled with superheroes and their adventures.5 This narrow Characteristics of Comics understanding of the word “comics” has provided an Irrespective of the debates over the definition of comics, opportunity for opponents of comics to vilify the medium as a there are certain characteristics of comics that are unique to stumbling block to literacy and stereotype it as being “kiddie this medium and are agreed upon by experts in this form of fare” (something that kids like when they are young).5,10 The art. These characteristics include: opponents of comics consider comic books as a cheap form of entertainment for children and degenerate teens, a medium Narrative: Comics are mostly a narrative medium.24 The that impedes reading comprehension, destroys narrative is either humorous or serious in context and is innovativeness and imagination, and causes eyestrain.10 presented in the form of pictures and text, either of which are quite satisfactory without the other.14 It is the A typical comic book is a colorful or black and white book interdependence of the visuals and text that is comics most with images and words (either typed or handwritten) in boxes distinguishing characteristic.14 The narratives are essentially or balloons.