Cover Page:

The citations are in APA format, I was unable to turn it in for the Rough Draft, so I contacted a
friend who recently graduated from UTEP with her Creative Writing degree and I asked her
assistance for shame of turning it in late. I stayed up late studying the four nights preceding, the
exam, deprived of sleep just to Ace the exam, and although I did not get the mark that I had
hoped for I passed, nonetheless, I still feel pretty bad for not having had the time to do the rough
draft earlier.
The changes that were made were drastic, I went off point, and I had written 10 pages, but most
of it was jargon. I sectioned off a few pieces that were salvageable and I started anew, trying to
focus back to the purpose of the argumentative project.

Omar Jesus Medina

December 5, 2014
Argumentative Project
ENGL 1312
Comics have a positive effect in the development of children
Comics have given birth to pop culture icons, such as the Man of Steel, Batman, The
Amazing Spider Man, the patriotic Captain America, the fastest man alive The Flash. Although
these characters were created way before our time, animated series, shows, movies, and action
figures are still made from these heroic characters, volumes and volumes of comics are still made
of these iconic characters. Comics are a known print form, that displays a sequential art or as
Duncan and Smith, on Scott McClouds comparison to cave paintings and Grecian urns (2009)
as they each tell a story, in order to establish a broader understanding of the term comics.
If we acknowledge that comics are a series of images, arranged to tell a story, we have to
wonder what the relevance comics has to todays society other than its newfound popularity in
the 21st Century. We live in a contemporaneous society, where digital media and electronics have
taken over our daily ways of life. This increase in technology receives a lot of critique for its
innovative products regarding how it hinders our social interaction. This rise in technology has
enhanced the visuals that we see in our everyday life, and we can see a poster on Facebook and
any other social medias to promote an event or protest. That being established we live in a
society in which we are constantly surrounded by visuals, such that has indoctrinated a part of
our lives (Tiemensma, 2009).

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Why are we focusing on literacy as an issue? The importance of literacy is to instill basic
literacy skills that will enable the individual to develop and enhance their working knowledge,
and expand the opportunities to achieve better economic and social status (Nutbeam, 2009). The
earlier that we develop these basic literacy skills, the more room that we have to improve our
literacy skills; Nutbeam has also pointed out that the literacy skills of a society as a whole reflect
on the socio economic status, which is why the education systems place a big emphasis on
reading, as a basis to advance through the different levels set by public educations systems in the
United States.
At one point or another we have all heard the expression that a picture is worth a
thousand words, these pictures engrave a moment of our lives, graduation, marriage and birth or
depict a point of view to promote an ideal or a product. According to Tiemensma (2009), these
visual images are crucial in assisting the reading development of children, which is referred to as
visual literacy. Now it makes sense, why classrooms were always covered with posters and
images and how the first books that we read are picture books, where a single page will have a
sentence with the image occupying the rest of the page. We have already established that comics
tell a story with the use of images; these images help the reader visualize the context within
which the story is being taken place. Comics require an active involvement, as it can be
frustrating when youre missing comics from a volume, and then it makes reference to a previous
scene. Tiemensma (2009), states that comics [require] many essential literacy skills, including
the ability to understand a sequence of events.
Comics are easier to read than most print forms, due to the use of images and the short
text that help the authors message to get across. Theres less effort required on the part of the

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reader and its well known that children have short attention spans, especially when reading a
book that may seem too long for a child, but the images provided in comics captivate their
attention and focus more. Comics can be used as a means to improve literacy by utilizing it as a
stepping block, to develop certain reading skills or to encourage individuals who are shy or
rather feel intimidated by large texts. In both cases comic books can be used as a method to
enhance the literacy skills amongst our youth.
Now that we have established the positive impacts that result from comic books, in
stimulating the reading comprehension of children in todays contemporaneous society what
other benefits stem from reading these so called graphic novels. We must establish that there is a
wide array of comics and by establishing this premise, we must realize that some comic books
are age inappropriate and should not be given to children. You have the big name publishers
such as the Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Dark Horse comics, and more that are not well
known, the big name characters brought into pop culture has been due to series and movies,
Superman and Batman have had several movies throughout the years, and with the recent show
of Gotham.
If we look at the popular iconic figures from these comic books, such as the Flash and
Spider Man. Each with a tragic past that defined them to who they are and what drives them to
be altruistic, in everyday life. According to Morrow (2008), there are several factors that affect
the cognitive development, in that case we will be looking at the impact that comic books have
on children all the way to their adolescent years, reaching their final stages of development.
Comic books provide a great way to guide children both ethically and morally as it prepares
them to some of the influences that occur in the real world, some situations that may cause them

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to be empathetic to others. Villains are always portrayed by an individual who wishes to acquire
something at the expense of hurting others or through ways that cause disadvantage, which is
why it is frowned upon when superheroes use their powers for personal gain.
To further expand on how these characters influence our development of right and wrong
lets look at one of the well known villains, the Green Goblin, a product that resulted from self
experimentation by Norman Osborn, as he injected himself with this serum that made him the
green goblin, he started to lose his sanity. The Green Goblin, has manipulated others and hurt
people, he is also responsible for the death of Spider Mans girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. Every
superhero has a past that define the kind of hero that they become, Spider Man is among one of
the few characters that refrain themselves from killing others.
Within the spider man comics, we have the Black Cat, played by Felicia Hardy, she can
be seen as a reformed villain, Hardy started as a burglar, who on occasion aid Spider Man, and
on occasion goes back to her old ways. Black Cat plays an important role as a figure for the
children, as they would be exposed to the idea of redemption and being granted opportunities for
performing good behavior. Black Cat commits crimes, but saves people when she teams up with
Spider Man, so she could be viewed as either a villain or a heroeine, this duality provides the
concept that most things have dual nature in life.
As we enter adolescence we try to makes sense of the work of whats happening, and
what is ethically right and wrong. As aforementioned we have established that villains and
superheroes portray a dichotomy of good and evil that can be representative of what is right and
wrong, and to value the virtues that these iconic figures possess. These characters, are role
models whose actions can be values, we have different superheroes that teach us different
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virtues, the Flash teaches us that fear is acceptable so long as it doesnt hinder us, and displays
courage and Captain America displays loyalty in the form of nationalism and stands up for those
who cant defend themselves.
As we grow up we try to make sense of the world, and with exception to the
extraordinary abilities some of the scenarios, depict real life scenarios, from the Justice League
and the Guardians of the Galaxy we learn a little about team dynamics, and conflicts. There will
always be the leader, the follower, the pessimist, the optimist, the persistent/stubborn and the
witty one who is laidback. Since comics are predominated by male superheroes and protagonists,
we encounter the girl, and how these relationships develop such as Clark and Lois, Peter and
Gwen, Gambit and Rogue or Batman and Catwoman. These individuals as powerful as they may
seem, they still have normal problems, Peter trying to do right by his aunt, and care for her
emotionally and financially, Batman an orphan, Clark being adopted, and Barry having a dead
mother and a father being incarcerated, while still having girl trouble, prioritizing their personas
over their own agendas.
Comics help us see the bad, that we possess and what we are capable of, as well as the
dangers that are out there. Yet, we also see the good that these characters do for others, the joy
that they experience from hanging out with their friends and family. Peter Parker pursues his
PhD and eventually gets his doctoral degree, and eventually starts his own business, so it values
education as a factor for success, how could that not be considered a good influence for children?
Why stop at just four years as an undergraduate, when you can pursue your post baccalaureate
degree and be your own boss?

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These values that are presented to us by these characters are exemplary traits that children
should have. Another advantage is that they can help increase cultural awareness, and
importance of knowing global issues. Franich highlights, in his review of the last Captain
America, film how we can learn about the political situation that our country has as well as how
it portrays a common view of the government held by a substantial amount of people. Some of
these comics will portray contemporaneous concepts and sentiments towards current situations,
such as those views of technology that we are too dependent, such that villains target energy
sources as the way to take over or dominate the world. Although we must acknowledge that
some of these ideologies are biased on what the illustrators or authors value, or an idea that is
prominent at the time that it was published.
In conclusion, I hope to persuade all parents, teachers and adults to encourage children to
read comic books, and to acknowledge that they have some educational value for our youth. I
started off by displaying extensively how comic books also known as graphic novels can aid the
children in their education, with particular comic books being published with the sole purpose of
educating the youth. Although comic books have been attributed to having bad influences on
adolescents as early as the 50s, I hope that I have done enough to disprove this view. I have
pointed out the value that comics have in encouraging reading, help assist reading
comprehension and boost literacy. Aside from stimulating an academic interest in reading, I have
provided examples detailing other factors that produce positive impact on children, such as the
principles portrayed that children should value, an understanding of how the world works, and
role models that they could look up to, while learning scenarios that are closer to our everyday
lives, compared to the scenarios that occur in telenovelas, which would only happen in
telenovelas.
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References
1. Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for
Marvel super hero bios. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from
http://marvel.com/universe/Black_Cat
2. Bongco, M. (2000). Reading comics: Language, culture, and the concept of the
superhero in comic books. New York: Garland Pub.
3. Cary, S. (2004). Going graphic: Comics at work in the multilingual classroom.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
4. Continuum. Kozol, J. (1985). Illiterate America. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor
Press/Doubleday.
5. Dittmer, J. (2005). Captain America's Empire: Reflections on Identity, Popular Culture,
and Post-9/11 Geopolitics. Annals Of The Association Of American
Geographers, 95(3), 626-643. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.2005.00478.x
6. Duncan, R., & Smith, M. (2009). The power of comics: History, form and culture. New
York: Continuum.
7. Franich, Darren. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the most political (and
subversive) superhero movie ever made (2014, November 2).Retrieved from
http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/04/06/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-hydrashield- paranoia/
8. Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for
Marvel super hero bios. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from
http://marvel.com/universe/Green_Goblin
9. Morrow, V. (2008). Ethical dilemmas in research with children and young people about
their social environments. London: Routledge.
10. Nutbeam, D. (2009). Defining and measuring health literacy: what can we learn from
literacy studies?
11. Tiemensma, L. (2009). Visual literacy: to comics or not to comics? Promoting literacy
using comics.

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