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Feature Article

Comics: The Superheroes of Classroom Diversity

It’s a bird…It’s a plane…It’s a champion of diversity!
Published: April 4, 2025

Key Takeaways

  1. Comics can supplement traditional curriculum materials to engage more students.
  2. Research shows that combining visual and textual elements deepen student connection to lessons.
  3. Build critical thinking skills with simple comics lessons you can try tomorrow.

In the current political climate, would a Superman comic be considered too “woke” for school kids? The idea makes for an interesting classroom discussion, especially in an environment that threatens anything that smacks of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Consider this: In 1949, DC (National Comics) produced a school book cover featuring Superman talking to school children, drawn by Superman artist Wayne Boring.  

“…And remember boys and girls, your school – like our country – is made up of Americans of many different races, religions, and national origins. So…if you hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion, race, or national origin—don’t wait: tell him that kind of talk is UN-AMERICAN.”

Was the Man of Steel “woke” or was he voicing a core American value? Discuss!

Tim Smyth, a social studies teacher in Pennsylvania. Credit: Tim Smyth

Tim Smyth, a social studies teacher in Pennsylvania, regularly uses comics in his classroom to supplement traditional texts for discussions about history and current events.

“Comic books serve as a time capsule that reflect the news of the day as history is happening,” Smyth says. “History isn’t just kings and queens, battles and dates, it’s made up of stories from a time and place, and comics, which come out weekly, can be used as historic artifacts from different eras.”

Smyth isn’t alone – teachers across the country use comics and graphic novels to supplement classroom lessons as students’ interest in these formats explodes. Comic and graphic novel readership grew by 56 percent in the 2022-2023 school year, according to the School Library Journal.

“Comics and graphic novels allow students to connect with curriculum more deeply, especially if they see themselves in the story,” Smyth explains. 

Vintage book cover with Superman

“Truth, Justice, and the American Way” - Superman

It’s not surprising, he says, that Superman would make a statement about acceptance in the wake of World War II as waves of refugees and immigrants arrived in America – just as there are refugees and immigrants today.

“Superman, too, was once an outsider, a newcomer to America,” Smyth says. “A superhero reminding us that we are all Americans sends a powerful message to students.”  

For lessons on World War II and other conflicts and the aftermath on societies, Smyth uses a Superman comic from 1985, where he is the sole survivor of a nuclear war. The comic reflects society’s fears of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear bombs more viscerally than a traditional text.  

He also uses contemporary comics for lessons, like Marvel’s Madaya Mom, a comic that is also the true story of a mother and her five children who were trapped inside the Syrian town of Madaya for more than a year.  

The comic is based on texts she was able to send to ABC News, who partnered with Marvel and Dalibor Talajić, a Marvel artist from Croatia who lived through war during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.  

It shows how the mom fights off starvation, unsanitary living conditions, and threats of violence as they are caught between warring factions in Syria’s civil war.  

“Students connect with this comic very emotionally,” Smyth says. “It’s very hard to comprehend 13 million people displaced from their country, but when you boil it down to one person, one family, and show war’s impact through a medium like a comic, it creates a very deep connection.”

They discuss the comic’s historical and social implications and apply them to the human experience of groups experiencing war and persecution throughout history. 

ABC News presents Madaya Mom
ABC News screenshots

“Anyone Can Wear the Mask” – Miles Morales

Reading Madaya Mom, students see that not all superheroes are men in tights with capes.

“Superheroes are not defined by their powers or their physique. Superhero is in the heart. Madaya Mom fits within this category because she finds strength to be human and unhardened,” Dalibor Talajić told ABC News.

It’s in that way that comics can humanize lessons on history and current events, especially when students can see themselves in the characters, Smyth says.

“As Miles Morales says in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, ‘anyone can wear the mask,’” Smyth says. “That’s the power of comics – being a hero is not limited to one accepted monolithic experience.”

Jana Tropper at ComicCon

Jana Tropper, who also uses comics in her practice, says that students not only see themselves in comics and graphic novels, but that the format helps reinforce vocabulary from lessons.

“The science shows that brains simultaneously interpret the visual and textual information, and the connection is stronger when they’re together,” says Tropper, a speech and language pathologist at a K-5 elementary school outside of Chicago.

“Images augmenting the word opens a new way of making connections,” she adds. “Teaching with comics embraces brain differences and engagement in visual learning.”  

“In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night...” – Green Lantern

The students in Tropper’s classroom have disabilities, including students who are autistic. Tropper has found that comics help them connect with the world around them and build their own communication skills, particularly in lessons where they create their own comics. To do that, Tropper and her students use a popular comic-creation program called Pixton.

She has an autistic student who strongly dislikes storms.

“He was reluctant to go outside when there was even a hint of a cloud. He’s very uncomfortable with weather, and tornado drills make him extraordinarily anxious,” she says.

Enter Captain Coud. There’s a storm forming on the horizon? That’s a job for Captain Cloud!  

Tropper helped the student create a comic where he’s a superhero, a version of himself where he could cope with weather changes. They created a visual of him in costume on the playground.  

“It gives him a preview of what he could be like outside on a cloudy day,” Tropper explains.  

Captain Cloud

Holy [Literacy] Batman! - Robin

Comics are powerful storytellers, with the art helping to tell the story and conveying its own information, Tropper explains, much like evacuation instructions on airplanes or IKEA furniture assembly guides.

Comics and graphic novels can be used for all students as options to augment, broaden, and deepen curriculum. They can engage reluctant readers, increase comprehension for students working on decoding or working memory, and tap into the power of visual literacy.

“They might not be for every student, but they’re a great option for visual learners,” Tropper says. “One student could read Little Women, while another could read Jo and they could talk about the same concepts without decoding being a gatekeeper. Visual literacy needs to be brought to all content areas.”

“You’ve Got the Costume. You’ve Got the Power.” - Spiderman

Educators in any classroom can use comics in their lessons and be a superhero for their students.  Just reach for a comic strip, Tropper suggests.

Make a copy of a comic page, and block out one panel, then ask students to fill it in. 

“By drawing attention to the details in the images in the panels before and after the blocked panel, you’re teaching students about inferring,” she explains.  

“Calvin and Hobbes or Garfield are good ones—they usually have a setup, a disaster, and then an explanation. If you remove the disaster panel, the wild ideas the kids can come up with about what happened never cease to amaze me!”  
Or try removing the dialogue from a word balloon so students have to examine what happens before and after by looking at how others react and what facial expressions convey to infer what the word balloon might say.

“The students make their case about what was said by offering evidence, which is higher level reasoning.”  

A panel from Freestyle by Gale Galligan. The red lines coming out of the boy's head to show anger is an example of emanata.

Next, introduce students to emanate (eh-mah-NAH-tah), the visual elements that emanate from a character that symbolize a character’s internal state – like lightbulbs for ideas, rain clouds for anger, or question marks for confusion.

“Ask students to interpret the enamata in a comic or come up with a set of their own to build critical thinking skills,” Tropper says. 

“I Could Do This All Day” – Captain America

“Meeting kids where they are is the only way we can connect with them in this era of increasing needs and decreasing resources to serve them,” Tropper says.

There is an ever-increasing number of students who want to read comics and graphic novels, and they have fun reading and learning from them, she says.  

“Educators can get them to learn what we want them to learn with the materials they choose,” she adds. “By letting them choose the medium, they’ll be more engaged.”

Tropper acknowledges that some find comics and graphic novels less serious than traditional prose, but she disagrees strongly, and has seen time and again how effective they are with her students.

“There are incredibly moving tales in ‘just comics.’ We take fine arts seriously, and we take literature seriously, but put them together and some people lose their minds. They decide it doesn’t count. My question is, why can’t school and learning be fun?” 

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Graphic Novels Reflect Everyone in Your Classroom

Choosing graphic novels from the vast array of titles can seem daunting. A good place to start is to find out what your students are interested in and search for titles that align with your curriculum. To help give you a start, check out these recommendations from Jana Tropper and Tim Smyth.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

The Arrival by Shaun Tan - a remarkable wordless comic about a migrant moving to a new land. It is my dream that a whole school district would do this as a novel study; it can be differentiated from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Wartime Ghetto

Irena: Wartime Ghetto is the first of three graphic novels about Irena Sendlerowa, who sneaked 2500 children out of a Jewish ghetto in Warsaw during WWII.  

Here I Am, I Am Me by Cara Bean

Here I Am, I Am Me by Cara Bean - This graphically illustrated guide to mental health, written by an art teacher, is geared toward high schoolers as a whole, but there are definitely pages that are absolutely adaptable to middle school and even elementary.

Vamos! Let's Go to the Market by Raul the Third

Vamos! Let's Go to the Market by Raul the Third - This is the best of both worlds as t's picture book size and imagery but with sequential art elements like word balloons and insets. It's mainly told in English, but there's plenty of Spanish. It reminds me of the Richard Scarry books I loved growing up. He has a whole series, but this one is my favorite.

Seeker Society by Jana Tropper and Kyle Higgins

Seeker Society by Jana Tropper and Kyle Higgins - This is X-Men meets Lost for the middle grade set. Each of the kids have special gifts that allow them to explore their world, which comes in handy when they're shipwrecked on a mysterious island during a school trip that goes awry. The struggles the students have with impulsivity and sensory experiences and self-worth are all inspired by my own students.

More Picks by Social Studies Teacher Tim Smyth

 

New Kid by Jerry Craft

New Kid by Jerry Craft 
A timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real.

March Trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

March Trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell 
An autobiographical graphic novel about the civil rights movement told through the perspective of civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman John Lewis.

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka 
A graphic novel about  growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 
A graphic novel that tells the story of 13-year-old Melinda, who was raped at an end-of-summer party and feels she can tell no one about it as she begins her freshman year.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang 
A graphic novel that tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he's the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny's life with his yearly visits.  

When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson

When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson 
A graphic novel about growing up in a refugee camp told through the eyes of a Somali refugee.

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani 
A graphic novel recounting a second-generation teenage Indian-American's quest to understand her identity.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang 
A graphic novel about a young prince who loves dresses and a young seamstress who accepts him for who he is.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

El Deafo by Cece Bell 
A graphic novel origin story of a student with hearing loss and a hearing aid becoming a superhero.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Smile by Raina Telgemeier 
A graphic memoir about the author’s long and frustrating journey through sixth grade with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached.

Librarian leans over seated students at the library who are reading a book

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