The history of comics has shown that some have tried arguing that comics corrupt children, but the irony is in the truth: comic books make you smarter.
People learn in different ways. For some, they learn by sight. From others, they learn by hearing. For the rest, they learn by touch or experience. Comic books uses the visual style of learning, but it goes deeper than that. Comic books make you smarter by combining pictures, which already provide a plethora if information, and supplements it with narration and written description.
Because comic books have visuals (like movies) and text (like literature) it combines two methods of communication to accelerate learning and understanding. So not only can comic books makes you smarter, but it helps avoid barriers such as illiteracy.
The combined and sudden increase of information allows it all to be processed much quicker than just words on paper. A typical novel can be exhausting with the endless pages of description. With graphic novels, a single panel could provide everything that is needed within seconds.
If you are to believe that reading is good for your mind, then you should know that comics can be a bridge for children switching from picture books to short novels. The younger you learn, the easier it is to comprehend. The tool of pictures and text combined eliminates confusion.
Now established that comics and graphic novels help you learn faster, you may wonder how stories could increase your intelligence. The answer is emotional intelligence, which helps you interpret feelings. As humans are a social being, this could make all the difference, regardless of age.
The same people that love reading novels may ridicule graphic novels as not being real stories. For the reasons mentioned above, not only is it just as acceptable, but it is an improvement over standard reading.
It is not hard to find comic shops that supply some great material, for those who are not familiar. Give your opinion on the manner. Do you agree that comic books make you smarter? Leave a comment.
Hello! I am a student at Northbrook Junior High School and I am conducting an experiment to see whether reading comic books would increase IQ. I found your article helpful in my studies and I’d love it if you could find the time to share some of the sources you used to write this. Thank you for your time.
There are two links in the article that include my sources. Neil Fleming came up with the VARK model that says we have different preferences of learning. These are visual, auditory, reading, or kinesthetic. Daniel Goleman wrote a book on emotional intelligence, which is the ability to interpret your emotions, as well as those of others. You can read more about these topics on Wikipedia.
Thank you so much!