Week 11 Comics as Contemporary Literature

This week we will discuss how the graphic novel is becoming an accepted part of the literary landscape. In order to explore this topic I am asking you to start reading three choices on the Activity Page for this week.  I would like you write briefly about your experience with each of the three and I expect you to finish reading one of the choices all the way through.  

When you write your response, talk about what you think is literary about the work you chose.  Or if you don't agree with me that it is literary, you can talk about why it is not.

Among this week's featured suggestions are  Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli or My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris. These works are recent landmarks of the literary graphic novel. These works like others, can be considered as not located within genre but within the expectations of a literary audience that is extremely sophisticated about narratives that unfold in both visual and written modes. Other noteworthy works in this category include Jimmy Corrigan The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, Ghost World and several other works by Daniel Clowes, Fun Home and Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel, and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

Here is a link to this week's Activity Page