Reading is Fundamental

A mind is a terrible thing to waste

By Any Means Necessary

I have been involved with the development of young people for several years as an educator, coach, and mentor.  One of the most common problems I have come across is poor reading ability.  I feel that that is at the core of the educational gap. The problem is read should be FUNdamental but for in school can be anything but fun.

To tackle the complex problems that are coming we will need creative thinkers.  Reading requires an active creative mind.  When you read your mental images are not limited by someone else’s representation of that character on a screen.  Even in comic books and graphic novels, where you have visual representations, you will create the characters’ voices in your imagination.  If you had never seen the Black Panther movie would the voice you hear when you read be Chadwick Boseman (RIP) or sound like someone you knew or another actor you could see in that role?  The reader creates the voice.

The current Corvid restrictions have turned our homes into schools. If your world is anything like mind, young people spend a great deal of time in front of a screen looking at pictures.  It is our responsibility to keep our young people engaged in learning by any means necessary or available.  Comic books and graphic novels are a way to bring fun back into the fundamentals of reading.  Reading practice is essential.  The more people read, the better they get at it.  Practice is practice, no matter what form it takes it benefits the reader.  The best practice is engaging.  Engagement leads to better practice. Interest leads to more practice. And comic books offer both.

Comic books contain basic story elements such as setting, characters, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Each panel in a comic book equals one paragraph. By interacting with both the text and images, the reader can comprehend and visualize the story. The reader can explore complex ideas such as theme, motivation, characterization, and setting without having to struggle through sentences or paragraphs to get all the information they need.  Comics help build vocabulary. Because so much of the story is told in pictures, comics provide the ideal medium for learning how to use context clues when a reader is confronted with a new or unfamiliar word. 

An extra benefit of getting your young people involved in reading comic books will be a greater opportunity for communication.  A simple question of what is going on in the comic can result in a 15 – 20 minute conversation with your child providing you with a greater insight into the reading comprehension of your child and their level of creativity. 

I like reading comic books.  I enjoy the simplicity of spending 20-30 minutes in other worlds.  Worlds that are only limited by my interests.  Characters whose dialog voices are as I perceive them to be not as I experience thru hearing an actor’s voice. Stories that require me to fill in the blanks with my imagination and a new appreciation of artists frequently. 

Why Now???

Over the next four months, there will be a significant increase in stories centered around Black characters. 

The Other History Of DC Universe

This five-issue series reframes iconic moments from DC history, exploring them through the eyes of DC Superheroes representing traditionally disenfranchised groups. The series centers around the perspectives of Jefferson Pierce, a.k.a. Black Lightning; his daughter Anissa, also known as Thunder; Mal Duncan (Herald) and his wife, Karen Beecher (Bumblebee); Renee Montoya (The Question); and Tatsu Yamashiro (Katana).  Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Let It Fall) reframes iconic moments of DC history in a previously unexplored sociopolitical thread as seen through the prism of a diverse group of DC Super Heroes. Ridley approached each installment by first placing the characters in the context of real-world, but less widely known, events.  In an Entertainment Weekly interview Ridley stated the following:

“If you don’t know who Latasha Harlins or Vincent Chin were, or what Executive Order 9066 was, you’re going to get a lesson,” says Ridley, who is currently writing Future State: Batman, expected in January 2021. “It was very important for me to [put] these stories on a real timeline. Why [also] did the Justice League not to do anything in the Iranian hostage crisis? What was it like to watch Arthur Ashe win Wimbledon? It’s one thing to be able to [generically] save a planet. It’s another thing to watch an uprising in Los Angeles where the city is torn apart.”

DC Future State, a two-month, line-wide event beginning in January. Through February 2021, the full title lineup will feature a combination of monthly and twice-monthly oversize anthologies, as well as a monthly schedule of miniseries and one-shots.

DC Future State spotlights the World’s Greatest Super Heroes in fresh new roles, with all-new characters taking up their iconic mantles.

Batman Family

In the future, Gotham City is controlled by the Magistrate. This villainous regime has taken control of the city, now under constant surveillance. All masked vigilantes have been outlawed and Batman has been killed. But led by an all-new Batman, a new assembly of Gotham’s guardians rise to give hope to all of those who lost it! The Next Batman: a brand-new Batman has risen up to take them on. DC hasn’t confirmed who this new Batman is yet but has hinted that they have a connection to Batman ally Lucius Fox.

Future State: The Next Batman

Number of issues: 4 Price per issue: $7.99 Pages per issue: 64 Number of stories per issue: 3

Superman Family

Due to his involvement in an international crisis happening in the near future, Clark Kent has been rejected by Earth, causing him to focus his lifesaving efforts outside his adopted home. Back in Metropolis, Clark’s son Jon has taken on the mantle of Superman. After seeing the horrors that befell Gotham, he bottles Metropolis to keep it safe, putting him at odds with Supergirl. Connecting the two oversized Future State: Superman titles, Shilo Norman, the man known as Mister Miracle, finds himself caught between the city he grew up in and the battle-torn planet that could be his downfall.

Future State: Superman of Metropolis

Issue #1 Available: January 5th, 2021 Issue #2 Available: February 2nd, 2021

Future State:  Superman: Worlds Of War

Number of issues: 2 Price per issue: $7.99 Pages per issue: 64 Number of stories: 4

Justice League Family

A new League is built upon secret identities (even from each other), but an old and evolved enemy will use these secrets to try and overthrow the world. Off-world, John Stewart and the remaining Green Lanterns are stranded in the shadow of a dead power battery; Jackson Hyde and Andy Curry are separated across the galaxy, and Amanda Waller executes her ultimate plan with a new but terrifyingly familiar Suicide Squad on Earth-3. Nubia:  will leave Paradise Island and go out in the wider world to protect people from mythic and magical threats.

Future State: Justice League

Number of issues: 2 Price per issue: $5.99 Pages per issue: 48 Number of stories: 2

Issue #1 Available: January 12th, 2021 Issue #2 Available: February 9th, 2021

Future State: Aquaman

Number of issues: 2 Price per issue: $3.99 Pages per issue: 32 Number of stories: 2

Issue #1 Available: January 26th, 2021 Issue #2 available: February 23rd, 2021

Future State: Green Lantern

Number of issues: 2 Price per issue: $5.99 Pages per issue: 48 Number of stories: 3

Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman

Immortal Wonder Woman: 

Number of issues: 2 Price per issue: $5.99 Pages per issue: 48 Number of stories: 2

Issue #1 Available: January 19th, 2021 Issue #2 Available: February 16th, 2021

Future State: Suicide Squad

Number of issues: 2 Price per issue: $5.99 Pages per issue: 48 Number of stories: 2

Issue #1 Available: January 26th, 2021 Issue #2 available: February 23rd, 2021

Graphic Novels/Trade Paperbacks

Graphic Novels/Trade Paperbacks contains comic books, reprinted in book format, usually presenting either a complete miniseries, a story arc from a single title, or a series of stories with an arc or common theme.

November 24             12 Reasons to Die GN Ghostface   Killah/ Rza

November 24            Shuri GN TPB Wakanda Forever

February 3                Miles Morales TPB Vol 04 Ultimatum

February 3                 Luke Cage Epic Collection TPB Retribution

February 10               Strange Academy GN TPB First Class

February 14               Black Panther Who Is Black Panther Marvel Select