Research Guides: Graphic Novels and Comics: Sources for Reviews and Lesson Plans

Journals

You must be a current MSU faculty member, staff member, or student to access these journals.

All of these are available through the E-Journals portal on the library home page:

Booklist
Library Journal
Knowledge Quest
Publisher's Weekly
School Library Journal

Indexes and Databases

You must be a current MSU faculty member, staff member, or student to access these journals.

Websites and Listservs

20 Best Graphic Novels of the Decade (2000-2009)
According to Paste magazine.
Association for Library Service to Children Graphic Novels Core Collection
A list of core titles developed by the ALSC's Quicklists Consulting Committee to assist librarians looking to develop their graphic novel holdings in children's collections. Materials are selected and grouped for Grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8.
Comics in the Curriculum - Columbia University Online Exhibit
The Butler Library at Columbia University hosted an exhibition of comics and sequential art highlighting incorporation of these materials into research and instruction. Karen Green (of "Comic Adventures in Academia" fame) is curator of the exhibit, which is now online.
Comics in Education
Created by Canadian educator and author Glen Downey (no relation), this site is devoted to examining the use of visual narrative in the K-12 classroom and beyond.
Comics in Education (Gene Yang)
This site by Gene Yang includes a history of comics in education, strengths of the genre in classroom use, web and print resources, and a link to "Factoring with Mr. Yang and Mosley the Alien," a series of webcomics algebra lessons.
ComiXology
Pull, rate, review, discuss...is it Wednesday yet?
Diamond Comics Bookshelf
Resources from Diamond Comic Distributors specifically addressing educators and librarians, including reviews, lesson plans, and articles.
GET GRAPHIC: The World in Words and Pictures
Sources for teens, parents, teachers and librarians, including news, lesson plans and teaching strategies.
Good Comics for Kids
A regular blog from School Library Journal featuring reviews and links.
Library Journal Online
Reviews and recommendations for graphic novels from the staff at Library Journal.
ALA Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table
Essential Graphic Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography
Funded by an American Library Association Carnegie-Whitney Grant, this bibliography annotates thirty essential titles for those beginning a graphic medicine collection in their library.

Comics Creation Sites

These are some easy-to-use online comics creation tools that you can incorporate into class assignments.

Make Beliefs Comix
Created by Bill Zimmerman, geared toward classrooms and educators. Has ideas for lesson plans.
Pixton
Strip Creator
A creator-focused site used to create up to three-panel comic strips.
Public Domain Super Heroes
A wiki dedicated to cataloging public domain characters from comics that can be used for assignments and other transformative works.