Comics in the Library

For many years I have enjoyed reading comic books and graphic novels, many of my students do as well. Graphic novels and comic books are both things that are seen more and more in the library. These stories are extremely creative and are able to condense their message to short sentences and communicate more through pictures, which is why many of our reluctant readers enjoy reading them.

Now there are many different online services where students can create their own comics. These are great ideas for teachers to use for student projects where students can demonstrate their understanding of a topic, create a book trailer, or many other projects.

Here are a couple of different online sites and apps that you can use for your students to create their own comics in your library or classroom, I have arranged the three options in order from the easiest to hardest, as well as the one that I like the most to the one I like the least.

• Pixton
• This site was easy to use once I got an account set up. This creation site offered more options than any of the other three as far as backgrounds and characters. 
• For student use, this site is a little bit complicated. In order for students to use this site they will need some basic computer skills and knowledge, as well as some time to play around before being expected to create their own comics with this service. 
• When editing, I would recommend choosing the full editing capabilities, instead of the basic editing. You have more to work with and you will get better looking comics.

• ToonDoo
• This site was a little difficult, but once you get the hang of it is a great site for creating your own comics.
• There is a decent range of characters, talk/thought bubbles, and backgrounds. Users also have the ability to manipulate the characters and other objects in a variety of ways.


By Mrs_Emory | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

• Make Beliefs Comix
• This site was a little confusing at first. When using the commands on the left hand side you have to select the command first, then click the character or item you would like to manipulate.
• This site does not allow you to create an account and you are only able to save your comic to your computer, not to the site for future editing or access.
• Over all, if I were to use this site it would be for a quick demonstration, or for a simple project. For student use I do not like that you are unable to save the work for future access, and it is too complicated for student use.

All in all I like Pixton the most and I am considering purchasing an educator account to use this service in the future. In my library I have a couple of TV screens set up around the library that are used for different things. I would like to create a slide show of different student created comics to put up on these screens for book promotions/recommendations. I think that students would respond to these and would enjoy seeing their comics on display. Also, I would like to create comics as reminders and for announcing things for the library.

Comics are fun for everyone and I think that these services are great resources for creating comics for the classroom and for students to create comics as well.

Happy Learning!

Naomi Emory