An avid reader of this genre, he explained character sketches, traits, as well as how the text "works". He read several pages with great expression and included background knowledge from other texts to help me understand. What I didn't know was that he was considered a "struggling reader" prior to this school year!
These texts build on students' interests in art (I often see students drawing anime), video games, and other popular media. Scholastic now has their own site of graphic novels to read.
How could students create their own graphic novels? ReadWriteThink has a comic creator students could use, but has limitations in design and limitations inherent in a web 1.0 tool. Another site (at a minimal cost) allows the student be the producer and creator of their own graphic novels. Negotiating these limitations can lead teachers and students to become creators as well as consumers of this engaging genre.
