The common thought is that to learn, you can only read textbooks. But what can you learn from reading comic books? Our Water Tiger twins, Kika & Kai, have always been faced with choices. Whether it’s choosing what to read or what to eat, the Tigers’ quest for making “good” choices can be an inspiration in all of our own lives.
Level-headed Kai has always had a preference for reading his school textbooks while his sister Kika loves novels and comics. It’s a tough choice and school books are always important for learning but is there something that can be learned from comics? Is reading comics better for the brain than TV or video games?
Comics as a medium have grown incredibly since their rebirth during the 1990s. Modern comics now touch on current subjects, incorporate researched storylines, and have refined the format into a visual creative.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
With the acceptance of comic books as movie inspiration, it can be evident that comic books function as visual storyboards for cinematic ideas. Comic book frames function as movie scenes with specific camera positioning and the presentation to readers of what the author wants them to see.
But as comic books are equal parts visual and text, not everything is laid out plain to see. Much of the storyline of comics has to be interpreted and imagined by the reader. Filling in blocks causes the reader to understand narrative structure, story arcs, and acts. It also helps develop the imagination required to fill in the blanks and imagine what happens “off screen”.
VISUAL IDENTITY
As comics are inherently drawn, there is an innate understanding of the drawn, visual nature of the medium. Readers are exposed to hand-drawn art, creation of perspective, and “coloring” or inking. These can serve to inspire future artists to take up the pen or brush themselves, or spark an interest in paintings, photographs, or other creative media. Importantly, it creates another layer of visualization and imagination in readers’ minds, making them think to follow along with the comic.
LITERACY
Perhaps the easiest to understand positive aspects of comics books is the amount of text present and the nature of “sugar makes the medicine go down”. As Kika will tell you, it’s tough sometimes to resist the allure of comic books when you have to read chemistry, math, and literature textbooks. Comics just seem “easy”, right?
By comparison, TV and YouTube videos will offer less learning in terms of reading comprehension and imagination versus comic books which require reading skills and deeper imagination. So while comics are no substitute for classroom textbooks, they can be a viable alternative for breaks or downtime.
But, as you would ask us, that solves reading comics as a good way of learning things, but what about many other things in our lives? It’s tough to keep on the right path for every decision that you make but Kika & Kai are here to inspire you with their own decisions in life on doing things in different ways yet still achieving their goals with confidence. Look no further than Connecting-Hope.com for Kika & Kai journals, mugs, and FREE smartphone wallpaper backgrounds for a dose of daily inspiration from our Water Tiger Twins, Kika & Kai!
