Some high school students dislike reading, saying that books are boring, uneventful, or dry. They are desperately searching for adventure, romance, and action set into a fast-paced, explosive story. They want super heroes, evil villains, and hopeless damsels in distress. They need comic books. 

For decades super heroes such as Spider-man, Batman, and the Green Lantern have been kicking butt and taking names, while entertaining the wildest dreams of teens around the world. Senior Chloe Loesch said she has been enjoying comic books since she could read and that they still play an adamant part in her life.

Loesch is also a fan of graphic novels, which are similar to comic books but longer, and tell the entirety of the story as opposed to just being one part of an one going story line. “I like them both for different things’ said Loesch ‘I like comic books when I’m riding the bus, since they are short and I can finish them. But if I’m going to sit down and read, I want something with more substance, like a graphic novel.”

Comic books can also come in the form of trade paperbacks, which collect a run of comic books into one book. Sophomore Henry Huber is a serious fan of trade paperbacks, which he calls trades, because they are frequently easier to get a hold of and catch up to current issues. Huber even got this start in the comic book world through trades.

“My mom brought home two trade paper backs from Target when I was six.” said Huber, who then named them as “Marvel VS DC” and “JLA: Strength in Numbers”. Though Huber loves trade paperbacks, he said that regular length comic books are his favorite to read. “It’s like a TV show,’ said Huber ‘…its always exciting. While a graphic novel is more like a movie, and sure, you could watch it a bunch but after a while it gets boring.”

The comic book gene runs in the Huber family, and is a past time that Huber shares with his sister Libby, a 2009 graduate. Libby Huber started and ran the Comic Book Club here at South two years ago with advisor and math teacher Kip Krasean. 

 Krasean has been reading comic books since the summer of 1983, when he found comic books as the perfect way to escape. “I did a lot of reading and it started with that,” explained Krasean “I’m pretty introverted, I needed to be by myself to recuperate and (comic books) allowed that to happen.”

Though comic books and graphic novels may not be very relative to math class, they can still be seen in Krasean’s classroom. Comic book questions are sometimes asked as extra credit on tests, as well as used as a way to re-enforce good grammar in the classroom. “When someone says they did good on the test, I reply ‘Superman does good, you did well on the test,” said Krasean.

English teacher Michelle Ockman also references graphic novels in her class, but she uses them as a way to engage students in reading. Ockman has taught both “Persepolis” and “Persepolis 2” in her ninth grade classes and has frequently alternated between graphic interpretations of a story with the original text. “When we read ‘Malcolm X’, we used the graphic novel for the students who needed that support,” said Ockman.

Not only can graphic novels sometimes be easier to understand, but they can also get students who may not be avid readers interested in reading. Huber often has trouble getting interested in regular novels, saying that “they have to be the right kind of book to get my interest.” However, Huber will give almost any graphic novel a fair shot before putting it down.

 “I think that they just respond better.” said Ockman “You don’t get a better understanding from a graphic novel, it just offers a way for students who are intimidated by the reading a way to get into it.”

Loesch does not know many teens who read comic book, saying “I think that a lot of people who don’t like regular books would really like comic books if they gave them a shot.” 

“A graphic novel can be just as profound as a ‘regular text’”. said Ockman “They are a way to give reluctant readers an option to read (popular) stories as well.” For comic book readers, they are not only a way to learn a story, but also a rewarding past time.

 “It was purely an escape.’ said Krasean ‘It developed my ability to suspend disbelief.” Huber also uses comic books as a way to expand friendships, saying that the subject frequently is brought up in conversation. “Its a good way to get to know people because you have something to connect about,” he said.

Loesch agreed, saying “When I meet someone else who is really invested in comic books, its just one more things to have in common with someone and have fun discussing.”