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The Center for Cartoon Studies

Teaching comics.

This page both archives teaching content from National Association of Comics Art Educators, along with dozens of additional teaching comics resources for all ages developed by The Center for Cartoon Studies community.  In recent years the comics medium has flourished, generating much interest from the literary, art, and educational communities. This site will continue to expand with more content as it is developed. Recommended grades, along with Common Core subjects are noted on several resources.

For more information or suggestions, contact [email protected]

Teaching Resources

• Individual Exercises • Complete Lesson Plans • Study Guides and Handouts • Complete Syllabi • Books and Magazines

• Individual Exercises

This section contains a list of short exercises. This material has been contributed by various cartoonists and educators. All items are available in printer-friendly adobe .PDF format.

• The Wrong Planet: Timing, Closure and Editing contributed by Paul Hluchan • Design Vs. Drawing contributed by James Sturm • It’s Easy as Changing the Film contributed by Patrick Welch • Editing contributed by James Sturm • Show Time Passing contributed anonymously • Basic Storytelling… Lights, Camera, Action! contributed by Patrick Welch • Intro to Lettering contributed anonymously • Intro to Inking contributed anonymously • Describing the Complex World contributed by Patrick Welch • Silent Gag Cartoon Exercise contributed anonymously • Poetry and Comics contributed by James Sturm • Comic Strip: Character/Place/Situation contributed anonymously • The Irony of Humor contributed anonymously • Autobiography Do’s and Don’ts contributed anonymously • Think Before You Ink contributed by James Sturm • Scenes as Building Blocks contributed by Tom Hart • 20 Questions for Characters contributed anonymously • Intro to Caricature contributed anonymously • Character Exploration Initial Writing Exercises contributed by Tom Hart • Form and Chaos contributed anonymously • A Definition of Comics contributed by James Sturm • Closure Exercise contributed anonymously [ closure_handout ] • Expressive Lettering and Balloons contributed anonymously [ lettering_template ] • Iconographic Language in Comics contributed anonymously • Cartoon Characters Doodled from Memory contributed by Ivan Brunetti • Practicing Text-Image Relationships contributed by Christian Hill

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Complete Lesson Plans

This section contains a list of lesson plans. This material has been contributed by various cartoonists and educators. All items are available in printer-friendly adobe .PDF format.  Each lesson plan has, listed after its title, a grade range for which the exercise is most appropriate. Many lesson plans, though, can be modified to suit older or younger classes as needed.

• Little Orphane Annie: Leapin’ Through the Depression contributed by Joanna Boyd Richards [ sample Annie strips .pdf 2.4MB]
• Teaching Literary Devices with Comics contributed by Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher [ sample narrative .pdf 2MB]
• The Serious Business of Graphic Novels contributed by A. David Lewis [ slideshow .ppt 8.5MB]
• Creating and Self-Publishing Your Minicomics contributed by Mac McCool
• Study Guides and Handouts

This section contains study guides which are geared toward English/literature classes as well as a studio environment. Also available here are handouts useful for class discussion. Several of the study guides contain reading questions designed to facilitate the teaching of prominent comics works.  All items are available in printer-friendly adobe .PDF format.

Study Guides: • The Complete Peanuts Volume I by Charles M. Schulz contributed by Art Baxter • Buddy in Seattle by Peter Bagge contributed by Ben Towle • Above and Below by James Sturm contributed anonymously • Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories by Jaime Hernandez contributed by Art Baxter • Jimbo in Purgatory by Gary Panter contributed by Joel Priddy • You Can’t Get There From Here by Jason contributed by Christian Hill • Flies on the Ceiling by Los Bros Hernandez contributed by Rocco Versaci • My Troubles with Women by Robert Crumb contributed by Rocco Versaci • Ghost World by Dan Clowes contributed by Rocco Versaci • Daddy’s Girl by Debbie Drechsler contributed by Rocco Versaci • Sandman: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman contributed by Rocco Versaci • Palestine by Joe Sacco contributed by Rocco Versaci • Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon contributed by Rocco Versaci • Maus by Art Spiegleman contributed anonymously

Handouts: • The Creation of a Page contributed by Tom Hart • Three-Act Story Structure contributed anonymously • Women in Comics: An Introductory Guide contributed by Trina Robbins • Critique Talking Points contributed anonymously • Usagi Yojimbo: Step by Step contributed by Stan Sakai • Mix and Match Rows: Comics Handouts for Younger Students contributed by Ben Towle • Comics Terminology contributed anonymously • How To Read Nancy contributed by Mark Newgarden and Paul Karasik

• Complete Syllabi

In this section you will find a number of complete course syllabi, most if which are intended for teaching at the undergraduate level. The syllabi are divided into sections for studio classes and non-studio classes and have been contributed by instructors from institutions such as Yale, The Savannah College of Art and Design, The University of Florida, and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as others.

• Comics As Literature contributed by Rocco Versaci
• Comics and Animation contributed anonymously
• Comics in American Culture contributed by Professor Touponce
• Media in Cultural Context: Comics, Cartoons and Graphic Storytelling contributed anonymously
• Survey of Sequential Art contributed anonymously
• Writing About Comics contributed anonymously
• Writing Scripts for Comics contributed by Mark Kneece
• Introduction to Comics Art: Gateway to Visual Storytelling contributed anonymously
• Reading Comics as Literature contributed by Isaac Cates
• Studies in Literature and Culture: The Graphic Novel contributed anonymously
• Comics Studio Class contributed anonymously
• Explore Chicago: The Art of Chris Ware contributed anonymously
• An Aesthetic History of Comics contributed by Dan Nadel
• History of Comic-Book Art contributed by Andrei Molotiu
• Image, Text, and Story: An Exploration of Graphic Novels contributed by Rachel Williams
• Books and Magazines

The reference material here consists of books and magazines which may be useful to educators teaching classes in comics or cartooning. Most of the items listed are instructional in nature, but a few are critical or analytical texts relating to the cartooing artform; Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics is probably the most well known of these. Several items listed are currently out of print, but reasonably priced copies can usually be located via bookfinder.com .

The Arbor House Book of Cartooning by Mort Greenberg ISBN 0-87795-399-6 New Yorker cartoonist Greenberg shares his knowledge in this comprehensive volume. There seem to be thousands of these “how-to cartoon” books. This (along with Polly Keener’s book) is one of the better ones.

The Art of Comic Book Inkin g by Gary Martin ASIN: 1569712581 Pretty good introduction to inking tools and concepts. Especially good at identifying methods of implying shade and weight on a human figure. A number of variations on the same pencils by differing comic book inking pros offer a good look at many ways a page can be successfully inked.

The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri ISBN: 0-671-21332-6 A seminal 20th century book on playwriting, and the introduction to the “dramatic statement” inherent in any play. The book is very instructive in looking at the elements of your story and examining which are contributing to the greater theme, and which are not. Like David Mamet’s book, it has little room for other opinions of how drama is constructed but certainly presents its own thesis clearly and completely.

Cartooning by Polly Keener ISBN: 0131179128 Although geared towards gag cartooning and comic strips, this book offers a great deal of information from generating ideas to tools and techniques. Covers a lot of the same ground as The Arbor House Book .

Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner ISBN: 0961472812 Taken from Amazon.com reader reviews: “Written years before Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics,” Will Eisner expounds upon how comics are a visual, reading experience using both words and pictures. He instructs the reader in how words and pictures can be used together to tell a story. The author must lead the reader with visual clues to each sequential image. Mood, emotion, even time can be expressed visually in a comic. Camera angles, panel borders, typefaces, all play a part in the effectiveness of a story.”

Comix 2000 by L’ Association Editors Essential cross section (2000 pages) of silent comics from across the globe. Countless examples of innovative silent storytelling.

The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics by Klaus Janson ISBN: 0-8230-1028-7 Klaus Janson’s book is a distillation of all his techniques and theories. A great book divided into 3 parts: drawing, storytelling and pencilling. Drawing focuses mostly on human anatomy. In Storytelling, he discusses the art of panel juxtaposition, including a nuanced look at juxtaposing unrelated images. He also offers an extensive and detailed look at panel arrangement, including composition both on the page and within the panel. The pencilling section offers a look at Janson’s process on an entire short story, from script to finishes. Overall intelligent, humble, and masterful.

Drawing Comics Lab: 52 Exercises on Characters, Panels, Storytelling, Publishing & Professional Practices (Lab Series) ISBN: 9781592538126 This easy-to-follow book is designed for the beginning or aspiring cartoonist; both children and adults will find the techniques to be engaging and highly accessible.Featured artists include:- James Stu

DRAW! Magazine Quarterly , published by: TwoMorrows Publishing PO Box 2129 Upper Darby, PA 19082 This weighty magazine features numerous useful columns each issue. Past columns have included an extensive look at inking by Klaus Janson, a look at character design by Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Cartoon Network’s Samauri Jack ), an article on observation and set design by Batman set designer Paul Rivoche, and figure drawing by Brett Blevins.

Graphic Storytelling by Will Eisner ISBN: 0961472820 From the publisher: “A companion to Comics & Sequential Art , this book takes the principles examined in that title and applies them to the process of graphic storytelling. Eisner shows comic artists, filmmakers and graphic designers how to craft stories in a visual medium. They’ll also learn why mastering the basics of storytelling is far more important than the hollow flash and dazzle seen in lesser work. Readers will learn everything from the fine points of graphic storytelling to the big picture of the comics medium, including how to: * Use art that enhances your story, rather than obscuring it * Wield images like narrative tools * Write and illustrate effective dialogue * Develop ideas that can be turned into dynamic stories. These lessons and more are illustrated with storytelling samples from Eisner himself along with other comic book favorites, including Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb, Milton Caniff and Al Capp. “

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell ISBN: 0691017840 Seminal and definitive look at world mythology and the “shared stories” therein. From African mythology, to Norse, to American Indian, the elements of myths are often similar. Campbell outlines these and as such, furthers Jung’s mapping of humanity’s unconscious hopes, desires and fears.

On Directing Film by David Mamet ISBN: 0140127224 There is no better description (told in essay form and also transcribed dialogues with his students) of how to proceed from an idea to a no-nonsense visual, dramatic rendition of that idea. The book is a perfect expression of its goal to outline the thinking steps involved in planning out a scene or series of scenes. For Mamet, all the expression lies in the script and in the SHOT LIST. Even his use of actors (as people who just get up, hit their marks and say their lines and shut up) is extreme. Nonetheless, he is completely self-assured of his points of view, and in learning his method of outlining a scene before beginning the filming or drawing, I can’t imagine a better explanation.

Perspective for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea ISBN 0-8230-0567-4 Both an introduction and comprehensive course in perspective tailored specifically for Comic Book artists (and told in comics form.) People who don’t know perspective will finally learn what they’ve been doing right. Even those that think they know perspective will probably walk away with their heads spinning and full of new insights. Exhaustive and somewhat confusing if you don’t want to do the math.

Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard ISBN 0-87474-172-6 Essential introduction to the comic strips of the early 20th century.

Story by Robert McKee ISBN 0-06-039168-5 One of the world’s premiere screenwriting teachers dissects and defines the elements of a story. Sort of the Understanding Comics for screenwriters.

Syllabus by Lynda Barry ISBN 1-77046-161-2 Barry teaches a method of writing that focuses on the relationship between the hand, the brain, and spontaneous images, both written and visual. It has been embraced by people across North America—prison inmates, postal workers, university students, high-school teachers, and hairdressers—for opening pathways to creativity.

Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching Children to Write Poetry by Kenneth Koch ISBN 0-05-080530-7 A classic in its field, this book is a vivid account of a poet’s experience teaching Manhattan schoolchildren to write verse. The book provides great ideas for creating assignments that excite students and get the creative juices flowing.

The Writer’s Journey: Dramatic Structure for Storytellers by Christopher Volger ISBN: 0941188701 Overview of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” ideas and their use in Hollywood storytelling. Though simplistic, it is surprisingly useful if used correctly, meaning not as formulae, but as dramatic tools. Outlines a series of 12 steps in many stories — exemplified by Wizard of Oz but also evident in Titanic and surprisingly, even Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. All in all a good job of cracking open the traditional story structure and peeking inside.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg ISBN 0-87773-375-9 Lots of exercises to get writers going. Exercises, like the Kenneth Koch book, can be easily translated for a comic artist.

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard ISBN 0-06-016156-6 A great writer writing about the creative process. Dillard offers bits of technical information but more importantly she lays out a realistic perspective on the trials and challenges of making art and the dedication needed to persevere.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud ISBN: 006097625X Comprehensive examination of the mechanics of the art form; from mapping of iconographic imagery to an new nomenclature for transitions between comic panels (and a mapping of those as well.) Great overview and introduction to the intellectual tools involved in creating comics.

Your Career in Comics by Lee Nordling ISBN 0-8362-0748-3 If you want to make it as a comic strip artist, then this is the book for you. Nording looks at cartooning from three perspectives: the cartoonist’s, the newspaper editor’s, and the syndicate editor’s. He interviews dozens of professionals providing both a broad-based view of the art form and the nitty gritty of fashioning a solid comic strip.

• Promoting a Comics Curriculum

One of the primary the goals of NACAE was to assist educational institutions and individual educators interested in establishing a comics art curriculum.  The materials below are collected from various sources and outline some of the advantages of implementing sequential art/comics art classes and curricula.

• A Case For Comics contributed by James Sturm
• Seika University’s Department of Comic Art contributed by Matt Thorn
• How Comic Books Can Change the Way Our Students See Literature: One Teacher’s Perspective contributed by Rocco Versaci
• Comics in the Classroom contributed by James Sturm
• Interview with Michael Bitz of The Comic Book Project contributed by Christian Hill

Using These Materials

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A: Unless otherwise noted, materials on this page are free to use, reproduce, and distribute as long as they are being used for non-commercial educational purposes. Please follow these guidelines when using these materials:

• You may not use any materials contained on this site for commercial purposes
• You must attribute the work as described below
• If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one.
• To properly attribute content copied, distributed or displayed from this site, include the following information: Copyright © [name of originating author] via NACAE

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The Assignment

Genres:   Crime , Movies & TV

Publisher:   Titan Comics

Writer:   Matz , Walter Hill

Artist:   Jef

Publication date:  January 11 2017

Status:  Completed

Views:  34,243

Hitman Frank Kitchen's assignment to kill a celebrated fashion designer who's fallen behind on his debts takes a turn when his victim's sister, a sociopathic surgeon, decides to punish him in the unique way only she can. Abducted and operated on against his will, Frank awakens in an altered condition – but with a hitman's hunger for revenge.

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Assignment, The (2017 Titan) comic books

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Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art and Cover by Jef. Hitman Frank Kitchen's assignment to kill a fashion designer, who's fallen behind on his debts, takes a turn when his victim's sister, a sociopathic surgeon, decides to punish him in the unique way only she can. Abducted and operated on against his will, Frank comes to in an unexpected place - but with a hitman's hunger for revenge… 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

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Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Pasquale Qualano. Hitman Frank Kitchen's assignment to kill a fashion designer, who's fallen behind on his debts, takes a turn when his victim's sister, a sociopathic surgeon, decides to punish him in the unique way only she can. Abducted and operated on against his will, Frank comes to in an unexpected place - but with a hitman's hunger for revenge… 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Fay Dalton. Hitman Frank Kitchen's assignment to kill a fashion designer, who's fallen behind on his debts, takes a turn when his victim's sister, a sociopathic surgeon, decides to punish him in the unique way only she can. Abducted and operated on against his will, Frank comes to in an unexpected place - but with a hitman's hunger for revenge… 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Steve Scott. Hitman Frank Kitchen's assignment to kill a fashion designer, who's fallen behind on his debts, takes a turn when his victim's sister, a sociopathic surgeon, decides to punish him in the unique way only she can. Abducted and operated on against his will, Frank comes to in an unexpected place - but with a hitman's hunger for revenge… 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Francisco Paronzini. Hitman Frank Kitchen's assignment to kill a fashion designer, who's fallen behind on his debts, takes a turn when his victim's sister, a sociopathic surgeon, decides to punish him in the unique way only she can. Abducted and operated on against his will, Frank comes to in an unexpected place - but with a hitman's hunger for revenge… 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Alex Shiboa. Former hitman, Frank Kitchen battles liqour, lecherous glances and his own inner demons, while coming to terms with his new identity. But after finding solace in the arms of a former lover, it isn't long before his violent past comes back to haunt him... 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Simone Di Meo. Former hitman, Frank Kitchen battles liqour, lecherous glances and his own inner demons, while coming to terms with his new identity. But after finding solace in the arms of a former lover, it isn't long before his violent past comes back to haunt him... 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art and Cover by Jef. Former hitman, Frank Kitchen battles liqour, lecherous glances and his own inner demons, while coming to terms with his new identity. But after finding solace in the arms of a former lover, it isn't long before his violent past comes back to haunt him... 60 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Alex Shibao. Comic book behind the upcoming file The Assignment starring Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez and directed by Walter Hill. A crime noir thriller from the team of critically-acclaimed Hard Case Crime series Triggerman - Walter Hill, Matz, and Jef! 52 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Wagner Reis. Comic book behind the upcoming file The Assignment starring Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez and directed by Walter Hill. A crime noir thriller from the team of critically-acclaimed Hard Case Crime series Triggerman - Walter Hill, Matz, and Jef! 52 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $6.00.

Written by Walter Hill and Matz. Art by Jef. Cover by Steve Scott. Comic book behind the upcoming file The Assignment starring Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez and directed by Walter Hill. A crime noir thriller from the team of critically-acclaimed Hard Case Crime series Triggerman - Walter Hill, Matz, and Jef! 52 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $5.99.

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The Assignment #1 – Comic Review

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, has lots of guns and boobs. well, of course you’ll accept it.

Being a hitman isn’t a glamorous life – it’s lonely, dingy and full of fear. That’s the message that the first issue of The Assignment conveys with great gusto. The protagonist of the piece is a killer for hire named Frank Kitchen. I use the term protagonist quite deliberately here, because Frank, by his own admission, is no hero. We first see him calmly gunning down an indebted fashion designer who is pleading and begging for his life. Frank’s no vigilante or avenging angel – he kills people for a paycheque. He knows he’s going to hell and his reckoning is coming, but he never could’ve predicted quite how it would come.

Frank may not leave his heart in San Francisco, but he does leave behind another important body part!

The Assignment is drawn by talented French artist, simply known as Jef. There’s also a movie, which was released last year, featuring Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez. Both the movie and comic are adapted from a script by Denis Hamill that’s been kicking around since 1978. The fact that the story comes from the seventies seems apt, as the art style of Jef reminds me a little of a younger Milo Manara, with its lighter colours and well rounded women whose clothes just seem to fly off a panel or two after they’re introduced. The backgrounds and landscapes are even more stunning than the bodacious ladies though. There’s one panel with an immaculately detailed cityscape of downtown San Francisco, and it’s really staggering in the amount of effort the artist must have put into it. The proceeding panels then swoop down onto the bus station where Frank is stepping off, following him into a wide angle panel showing a lampshade dappled street in Chinatown. The artwork undeniably captures the diverse, rich beauty of San Francisco, even as the art style gives it a slightly more muted, noirish twist.

She only looks so pissed off because she can’t find a comb.

The dialogue is The Assignment is just what you’d expect from a taut thriller, and we really get a showcase of this as Frank is in his dingy hotel room, hearing the offer for a suspiciously well-paid job. Like a typical alpha male, he butts heads with one of his contacts, an insidious Triad member called Jin Tao. Seeing them bounce pithy one-liners and veiled threats off eachother is like watching a tennis match of zingers! However, Frank puts his suspicions and dislike of Jin aside in the interests of a big payday. He just has to spend a week in San Francisco, hanging out and waiting for his target to arrive in the city. What could possibly go wrong?

Frank’s fun week in the Bay Area naturally starts with him drinking whiskey in a bar (because he’s too gosh-darned hard-boiled to go on a sightseeing tour). Here he meets Johnnie, a sexy lady who likes low-cut tops, skin-tight pants, red hair dye and looking irritated. She exchanges a couple sentences with Frank before dragging him off to a nearby hotel so the comic can squeeze in its requisite sex scene. She explains she just wants a sexy romp to forget her mysterious and apparently tragic past. Johnnie’s post-coital character development reveals that she’s a free-spirited girl who always ends up falling for jerks. Clearly what she needs is a romance with an amoral hitman. Johnnie’s character feels like a vehicle for crowbarring in some more boobs into the comic. Still, I did enjoy her coquettishly offering Frank her number while claiming it’s better if he never calls, playing every inch the intriguing femme fetale. It’s especially interesting to think what might happen in their relationship given the twist at the end of the issue.

Talking of which, the end of the first issue (which I’ll spoil because it’s telegraphed so heavily it’s hard not to see it coming) sees Frank being incapacitated, waking up months later to discover he’s now a woman. We see in a cutaway that the forcible gender reassignment is down to a mad but brilliant surgeon, whose brother was killed by Frank. The surgeon even provides a sexy red dress and heels for Frank to wear, as if to taunt the virulent alpha male.

Despite Frank having to live as a woman being protrayed as a terrible revenge, let’s get this straight: I don’t think The Assignment is intended as a transphobic or misogynist work. In an interview included at the end of the comic, Walter Hill (who adapted the original story for the comic and movie versions) even notes that Frank’s experience is actually analogous to many trans people: feeling trapped in a body you don’t identify with. However, this shock and terror isn’t conveyed particularly well. Frank just strips off his (or her) clothes, calmly looking in the mirror, checking out his curvaceous new bod, before smashing a chair in rage. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t any “phantom pain” of altered body parts and appendages. There’s not thought Frank gives to the implications of having to live as an entirely different sex. The gender-bending doesn’t do much more than give Frank a motivation to go on what will surely be a blood-soaked revenge spree (for the tragic loss of Frank Jr.) Hopefully there will be more interesting exploration of the topic in future issues.

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman… especially when you have no experience!

Then again, the basic premise of The Assignment is pretty contrived, and it undermines the more gritty, realistic tone the piece is going for. If the mad plastic surgeon wanted revenge, why not go for the person who ordered the hit rather than the middleman? Why make the female version of Frank stunningly beautiful? How is it even possible to alter Frank’s entire build and physique so completely using present day technology? Luckily, I quickly dropped my illusions about The Assignment being a down-to-earth, coherent comic quicker than Frank’s obligatory love interest drops her skin-tight jeans. The Assignment is littered with enough beautiful women, gorgeous artwork and pleasantly pulpy noir overtones to make me wonder how its deliciously absurd plot rolls forward.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Art: Jef ; Story: Walter Hill, Dennis Hamill ; Adapted by: Matz ; Publisher Titan Comics

Full disclosure: This review is based on a review comic given to Hey Poor Player byt the publisher.

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Book Report Alternative: Comic Strips and Cartoon Squares

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Students examine graphic novels and comic books and discuss  the important components of the genre, such as captions, dialogue, and images. They then use an online tool to create a six-panel comic highlighting six key scenes in a book they have read. By creating comic strips or cartoon squares featuring characters in books, students are encouraged to think analytically about the characters, events, and themes they've explored in ways that expand their critical thinking by focusing on crystallizing the significant points of the book in a few short scenes.

Featured Resources

Comic Creator : This online tool allows students to easily create and print comic strips.

Comic Strip Planning Sheet : Use this worksheet for students to plan their comic strips before using the online tool.

From Theory to Practice

This activity invites the student to think symbolically. The students choose key scenes for their characters and books, find landscapes and props that fit the scenes, and compose related dialogue. These student representations of the books, with their multifaceted texts using symbols, images, texts, and metaphor, succeed in the classroom because they provide a snapshot of the students' comprehension of the ideas in the texts. As Vokoun describes, the alternative to a traditional book report "allows students to create something unique and show their understanding of what they read."

Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Graphic novels and comic book versions of well-known books for inspiration and comparison (optional)

• Comic Strip Planning Sheet
• Comic Strip Rubric

Preparation

• Before this lesson, students will read a book independently, in literature circles, or as a whole class.
• Ask students to bring copies of the book that will be the focus of their comic strips to class for reference.
• Make copies or overheads of the planning sheet and the rubric.
• Practice the steps for using the Comic Creator with your computers.
• Visit the Website of Scott McCloud , author of Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics , for background on the genre, inspirations, and sample comics. Additional information can also be found at  Integrative Art: American Comic Strips from Pennsylvania State University.

Student Objectives

Students will

• identify appropriate landscapes, characters, and props that relate to the events and characters in the books they've read.
• interact with classmates to give and receive feedback.
• explore how audience, purpose, and medium shape their writing.
• Share the example graphic novels and comic books with students and explain the assignment, pointing out each of the parts that are included.
• What are the important characteristics of a caption? What do the words in the captions tell you about the scene depicted?
• What kind of landscape makes sense for the scene?
• What props can you associate with the scene?
• How kind of dialogue bubble makes sense for the interaction?
• What connects one scene to the next in the comic strip?
• Once you're satisfied that students understand the assignment, demonstrate the Comic Creator student interactive and discuss its relationship to the Comic Strip Planning Sheet . Be sure to cycle through the options for characters and dialogue bubbles to show students the range of options available.
• Have students begin work with the Comic Strip Planning Sheet to plan their book reports. Students can work individually or in groups on this project.
• Encourage students to interact with one another, to share and receive feedback on their plans for comic strips. Since these comics will be shared in the class as well as in the library, hearing the feedback and comments of other students helps writers refine their work for their audience.
• Students can continue working on the project for homework if desired.
• Remind students of the goals and elements included in this project. Answer any questions students have.
• For the comic title, name the scene (or scenes) that will be depicted.
• For the comic subtitle, name the book where the scene is found.
• Include your name or the names of the members of your group as the authors of this comic strip.
• Choose the six-frame comic strip. (Alternately, have students choose the one-frame cartoon square and focus their work on an important scene in the book).
• In each of the six frames of the comic strip show a significant event from the book.
• Under each picture or cartoon, write a caption that provides additional detail on the scene.
• Print at least three copies of your finished comic strip.
• While students work, again encourage them to interact with one another, to share and receive feedback on their plans for comic strips.
• After the comic strips are printed out, students can decorate them with markers or other classroom supplies.
• As students finish, ask them to turn in two copies of the comic strip (one for you and one for the librarian-the third copy is for the students to keep).

Student Assessment / Reflections

For more formal assessment, use the Comic Strip Rubric which is tied to the elements included in the planning sheet. On the other hand, nothing is as useful as the feedback that they'll receive by sharing their comic strips with their peers. Informal feedback from students who read the comics and search out the related book are excellent feedback for students.

• Lesson Plans
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• Student Interactives
• Calendar Activities

In this article, Versaci details the many merits of using comics and graphic novels in the classroom, suggests how they can be integrated into historical and social issues units, and recommends several titles.

The Comic Creator invites students to compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts (prewriting, pre- and postreading activities, response to literature, and so on).

Students create a short, humorous story with at least one action character, and then use online tools to make a flipbook.

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Creative Ways to Use Comic Strips in High School Literature

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Ways to Use Comic Strips in High School Literature

Comic strips sometimes have a reputation for being less-than-literature, but the reality is that they offer a very unique mode of storytelling that kids and teens are naturally drawn towards.

Today I’m sharing a secret weapon for teaching literature that – especially if you have middle- or high-school-aged students – is going to be a game-changer. And by now you’ve guessed what it is.  (Gee, did the title give it away?) Comic strips!

Comic strips are a super-effective, cheap, and fun tool that you can use to make high school English/literature extra creative, fun, and engaging.

While you can definitely use published/written comic books in your English or literature class (there are even some classic works of literature that have been re-imagined in that format ), that’s not what this article is about.

Instead, I’m talking about getting older kids and teens to create their own comics. There are several ways to use comic strips in high school literature to make difficult material easier to understand and a lot more fun, too.

Why Comics Help

There are several reasons it can be a good idea to utilize comics with your homeschooled high schoolers. And (confession time) I think these strategies can be just as helpful with younger kids, too. And if you think that older kids or teens won’t like this kind of thing—it’s just not true! Even adults can use comic doodles to make sense of complicated material.

Here are a few reasons I think comic strips can be a powerful superweapon, particularly for older kids and teens.

1. They’re familiar and low-pressure.

Comic strips are a much more laid-back format for expression than some of the more standard forms of high school-level assessment. Why add extra intimidation, particularly if your student happens to get overwhelmed by a particular subject (like literature or English)?

For example, if you have a student who has trouble writing summaries, you may want to use comic strips to guide the summaries instead. Alternatively, you could add comic strips as an assignment in between reading and writing a more formal report. That way, students can use their completed comics as guidelines for more formally-written work. Comic strips can be a low-pressure way for students to organize their thoughts.

2. They’re so much fun, you don’t realize how much you have to think about them.

Comics, by nature, are super-condensed reflections of insight/understanding. You know what they say: “If you want to learn something, figure out how to teach it.”  Creating comics is kind of the same deal. You have to understand something really well in order to be able to creatively summarize it in a small space. So even though teens will enjoy the creativity of using comics in their study of English or literature, they will still be effectively challenged, too!

3. Creativity inspires ownership of learning.

Personally, I’m a big believer in utilizing creativity as much as possible in homeschooling (and in life in general!) One reason is that we always learn from creating. We also typically feel pride, ownership, and connection with the things that we create.

When students get to create something as part of their learning experience, they gain a sense of ownership over the things they’ve learned, too! This may have even more impact on teens, who are in a constant process of gaining responsibility, independence, and ownership over their own opinions.

What better time to embrace assignments that nurture creative expression?  As a homeschooling alum, I know that educational moments that I remember the most from my homeschooling years were tied to assignments in which I got to apply my learning in a creative way.

A Few Ways to Use Comics in English/Literature

Here are some specific ways you can get your high schooler using comic strips to help make English or literature more fun and accessible! There are endless possibilities, but here are a few of the methods I love.

1. Use comics to illustrate a grammatical concept.

The next time you introduce a new concept in grammar, get your homeschoolers to see if they can think of some real-life examples and turn those examples into comics! This requires your students to understand the concept well enough to “tell a story” with it. However, they will have so much fun being creative that it will seem more like an engaging challenge than an assignment.

In the picture below, the concept is that of the double negative. When the boy says, “I swear I didn’t not do it!” he accidentally says the opposite of what he means to say.

You could use this idea to explore almost any grammatical concept: from prepositions to pronouns to run-on sentences! (Don’t forget to give extra points if it’s funny!)

2. Comics can bring a literary device to life.

Similarly, use comic strips to bring literary devices to life (and make them more fun too)!

These concepts beg for solid examples in order to be properly understood! If you are studying literary devices with your student, you may even want to have him/her create a comic for each one and keep it in a book. Things like metaphors, similes, alliteration, and foreshadowing are much easier to understand when you have a story and image to go with them!

You can get some inspiration on these sites:

• Read this article on mikekerr.com for examples of funny similes and metaphors .
• Learn all about alliteration (See what I did there?) and read some fun examples at Alliteration Examples for Kids . (They work for teens too!)
• And take a look at these great explanations and examples of foreshadowing .

3. Comics make great visual organizers for note-taking or creative writing planning. 

Use the boxy format and doodling space of comic strips for a unique type of note-taking space that your student will actually want to use! (This is particularly great if you’ve got a visual learner.)

Are you trying to help your student consistently recognize elements of a story (plot, characters, setting, conflict, and resolution)? Comics can help.

Your students could keep up with each chapter of a book this way. Or they could even plan out their own short stories using this hybrid form of doodling/note-taking. (P.S. Especially if used to keep track of works of literature, this helps tremendously for stories with a lot of characters or confusing character names).

4. Comics can be used as an alternative for a book summary (or even a persuasive essay).

There are a lot of ways to use comic strips in high school literature as an alternative to a larger project, such as a traditional book report or persuasive literary essay.

For example, your homeschooler could:

• Use several pages to create an original, illustrated summary of the work of literature.
• Create different sections for characters and possible themes (as shown below for A Midsummer Night’s Dream ). Then, he or she could choose to expand on each theme, choosing sections from the work to illustrate in defense of that point (just like in a persuasive essay, but visual).
• Choose favorite quotes from a particular work to illustrate or re-create as a comic strip scene.

There are so many options, and -honestly- all of them are pretty fun!

I hope this gives you some simple ideas about how you can start using comic strips to teach English or literature with your older child or high schooler!

By the way, you can CLICK HERE to go to an article on our sister site, Only Passionate Curiosity, to download your own comic strip book report template to use with your kids and teens! You’ll also find ideas for how to use the templates.

What do you think about these ways to use comic strips in high school literature? Will you give comic strips a try with your older homeschooler? Let me know what you think or share your own ideas for creative ways to use comic strips!

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Comic Strip Book Report Template for Kids and Teens

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Katie Gustafson  has been a member of the world of “weird, unsocialized homeschoolers” for a long time–first as an alumnus and now as a homeschooling mom to a fiercely fun little girl! She’s very into anything creative, especially writing, dancing, and painting. She’s also particularly passionate about literature and owns more books than she will probably ever be able to read. However, she reassures herself with the belief that, in the event of a digital apocalypse, she’s cultivating a much-needed physical library for future generations. Katie is happy to contribute articles to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers,  Hip Homeschool Moms   and  Sparketh . She also has a personal blog on  writewhereuare.com .

• Kathryn https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/author/kathryn-gustafson/ Make this Whimsical The Cat in the Hat Diorama to Celebrate Dr. Suess Day!
• Kathryn https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/author/kathryn-gustafson/ Who's Helping You Homeschool? 10 Places to Find Support
• Kathryn https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/author/kathryn-gustafson/ 5 Lessons for Homeschooling in Tough Seasons
• Kathryn https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/author/kathryn-gustafson/ 30+ Gift Ideas for Moms Who Homeschool

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The Assignment Paperback – March 14, 2017

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• Part of Series The Assignment
• Print length 136 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Titan Comics
• Publication date March 14, 2017
• Dimensions 6.7 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• ISBN-10 178586145X
• ISBN-13 978-1785861451
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Titan Comics; Illustrated edition (March 14, 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 136 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 178586145X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1785861451
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.7 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
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Exploring Writing Through Comics

Pairing Images with Words

Jason DeHart

In my experience as a middle school teacher, I often found that some students were hesitant to engage with the written page, either as readers or writers. On the other hand, colorful characters and even segments from popular superhero movies were almost always uniquely engaging for students. Comic books and heroic characters made regular appearances in my classroom, and my students even made their own comics.

Comic books work by pairing images with words in a way that can be visually intriguing, while inviting students into a reading experience. Moreover, comic books often feature characters from popular films and television shows, creating an additional media connection for students. Sometimes in my classes, making comics was an introduction to a concept; other times moving ideas into the physical space of comic book panels was a creative way of reviewing material. Grammar concepts, as well as concepts of composition—including mood, tone, and dialogue— could be worked into a comic strip. What follows is a brief lesson plan outline for a three-day unit using student-created comic strips to review concepts of character and plot.

Day One: The Planning Phase

Begin working with students so that everyone has a meaningful role in developing the comic strip. Each student should be involved in the planning, the writing, and the design phases.  This activity took a variety of shapes in my classroom, from individual to collaborative work—I usually organized the activity as a small group assignment where students worked together to produce one comic book/comic strip product. This allowed for team work, creative engagement, and dialogue about the process. I typically introduced the activity with a brief model for the entire class before splitting the students into groups.

On the first day of this teaching segment, briefly review character development and plot structure with students. This can be done very efficiently with graphic organizers, including character webs and plot diagrams. These simple visuals are freely available in a wide variety of places on the Internet, including Read Write Think .

Have students choose elements to include in their comic strips, including characters, attributes of these characters, special powers, and a central conflict that can drive the narrative. This step can be quite creative and allows students to begin to feel like writers as they make choices about their work.

Day Two: The Writing Phase

Once students have made decisions about the elements to include in their comic strips, day two begins the writing phase. Remind students about the structure of plots and how characters work. Consider posting visual reminders around the room so students can reference them as they work.

Each student should be involved in the process of writing the narrative. In fact, I always like seeing multiple examples of handwriting on the page so I know the students are working collaboratively. Writing can focus on developing a script that includes where the story takes place and how the plot develops over time, including conflicts. Students can also include a sense of the dialogue in the story, outlining what the characters will say to one another in the final product.

Day Three: The Design Phase

The final part of the process is actually translating the script and narrative into a comic strip. This can be done by providing a large poster board or individual pages that have been folded and marked to form panels. Students will be making decisions about how to adapt their scripts and narrative writing documents visually. Sometimes this involves decisions about what to cut, what to keep for the final product, and the best way to show details in panels. The process should be collaborative throughout, and all students should have a voice in deciding how to adapt their ideas into images.

Conclusions and Accommodations

The middle schoolers who found their way into my English/Language Arts class were almost always very well engaged by the comic strip activity. Over time, I learned the best way to implement this plan was by exploring large-format comic strips on chart paper, and then ultimately settling on smaller page formats. I also found that the activity was much more successful as a group process, with the exception of a small number of students who were already interested in comics and comic book creation. The groups often had two to three students, although this grouping could increase or decrease depending on the needs of students and the teacher’s observations about how well all members are included in the process. Sometimes I provided character names, but often students enjoyed coming up with their own. In most cases, they designed a protagonist, a sidekick as a support figure, and an antagonist.

When space allowed, students enjoyed spreading out and designing their work on larger pages. This allowed more access for all group members. Small pages were useful as well, but involved additional planning. Group members would then assemble the individual sections into side-stapled, student-created books.

Additional time may be allowed for any part of the process: for expanding the unit should students require more time, or for accommodating the class time allowed for the activity. I would also recommend a variety of mentor texts that demonstrate the nature of the comic book/graphic novel format. The work of Doug TenNapel (especially Ghostopolis ) comes to mind, as well as the graphic novel adaptations of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle and Coraline by Neil Gaiman . Also , Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay is a high-quality choice from two writers who are exploring new genres and media. As part of exploring the world of comic books and graphic novels, this provides the added benefit of expanding the classroom library.

Jason DeHart is a PhD candidate in literacy studies at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. DeHart has worked in the education profession for over a decade, and taught 8th-grade language arts at Ocoee Middle School in Cleveland, Tennessee.

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10 funniest far side comics about food.

Always wacky and kooky, The Far Side's best comic strips featuring food have everything from a magic lobster to a gun-toting potato salad.

• Food in The Far Side comics takes a surreal turn, from wish-granting lobsters to carnivorous animal crackers.
• Hilarious scenarios unfold in mundane food settings, like a cow drinking milk on a lifeboat.
• Gary Larson's unique humor shines in food-based comic strips, like a bowl of potato salad being heaven for flies.

The Far Side has covered a myriad of topics, with comics featuring everything from aliens to animals, with food being a subject that's led to a number of classic comic strips. Since it is The Far Side , it should come as no surprise that these comic strips, even with a focus as universal as food, present the subject matter in a way that few other comics could attempt, all through creator Gary Larson's surreal sense of humor.

While the comic strips feature food, there is little chance of these works stirring up an appetite as Gary Larson creates crazy vignettes. From presenting food in a magical way, such as a wish-granting lobster, to unique restaurant situations, like actual mythological gods ordering at a diner, The Far Side serves up some sidesplitting culinary-themed comic strips.

10 "My Fly"

Published in 1991.

When eating, there are some things that even the most adventurous eater does not want to see enmeshed in their food. Hair and bugs tend to rank highly on the list of grossest things to find. However, in The Far Side , every day is opposite day. Therefore, rather than a diner finding a fly in their soup, there is soup on a human-sized fly. That sight is bound to turn some heads in a restaurant.

The whole strip is completely ridiculous, just as fans would expect from the comic series. Gary Larson always knew how to twist the most mundane, if not annoying, moments in life, like getting a fly in soup, to be incredibly surreal and nearly nightmarish (who wants to see a gigantic insect?). As a result, a comic about food becomes completely weird and silly, a perfect encapsulation of The Far Side's sense of humor .

9 "Wendall Zurkowitz"

Published in 1987.

While most love a good waffle, good old Wendall Zurkowitz takes his love of the breakfast favorite to obsessive heights.

Those who love to eat know the feeling of waiting with excited anticipation for the microwave, oven, or any cooking instrument, even waffle makers, to be ready with their hot, fresh food. In The Far Side , one man in particular, Wendall Zurkowitz awaits with bated breath by his waffle maker just aching for the ready light to flash, signaling to him that his waffle is finally ready. Absolutely no one wants a burnt, gross waffle, especially not Wendall Zurkowitz, so he has become ruled by his own waffle maker.

Some workaholics are called slaves to the grind, but The Far Side imagines a different kind of subservient person, but, of course, one who is unexpected but still oddly relatable. While most love a good waffle, good old Wendall Zurkowitz takes his love of the breakfast favorite to obsessive heights.

10 Funniest Far Side Comics With Talking Animals

8 "animal crackers", published in 1983.

It's like if Gary Larson imagined Jumanji but with food.

Animals crackers are a beloved childhood treat. While not the most flavorful treat in the world, animal crackers are tinged with nostalgic feelings. Also, how could anyone resist food in the shape of animals? Regardless, in The Far Side , animal crackers are no simple, safe childhood cookies. Rather, these vanilla concoctions have some bite, literally, in the alternate reality of The Far Side .

In an early '80's comic strip, a young boy sees his hand being nibbled at by his carnivore-shaped snacks. It's like if Gary Larson imagined Jumanji but with food. It's a weird imagining, but definitely not Larson's strangest. The poor kid in question will think twice before picking up that classic box of animal crackers ever again. In this strip, readers get a look at what it is like when food bites back.

7 "Fly Heaven"

Published in 1984.

There are few things that are as annoying at outdoor get-togethers than pesky flies on the food. It makes everything unappetizing to the party goers and is prone to giving the heebie jeebies to those who can't stand bugs. Yet, the ire of having bugs in the food is not shared by the bugs themselves. In fact, The Far Side points out that a big bowl of potato salad, ripe for the taking, is a fly's version of heaven.

Complete with fluffy clouds and blue skies, a big red bowl of potato salad is nirvana for every fly the world has ever seen. No wonder the potato salad is always the first to attract the winged insects at barbecues. The best part of this Far Side version of fly heaven is that there are no human hands swatting them away, making this scene paradise for the bug members of the animal kingdom.

6 "Four Wishes"

For those unaware, there is a folk tale about a fisherman who catches a magic fish, who will give the fisherman three wishes if he lets them go. This clever Far Side strip is a take on the Fisherman and the Magic Fish fable. A lobster, about to meet his end, bargains with the determined chef that he will up the ante and grant him four wishes instead of the usually promised three if he will finally release him.

The chef is either quite the bluffer or does not care one bit about having his wildest wishes granted, because he seems so disinterested in the pleas of the magic lobster that will do whatever he wants. Three wishes are not enough for the chef, who cares more about just getting the lobster in the pot than having his dreams (four of them, at least) come true.

The Fisherman and the Magic Fish has also been taken on in The Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" in addition to The Far Side .

5 "Earthworms Alfredo"

Published in 1985.

Pasta Alfredo is a tried and true staple in a majority of Italian American restaurants. However, the pasta part seems horrible to the winged and feathered customer in The Far Side . It is not every day that a bird is a diner at a restaurant, so it is more than understandable that the waitress brings the avian animal a bowl of spaghetti with Alfredo sauce. Much to the bird's chagrin, he has been brought actual human food instead of his favored earthworms in Alfredo sauce. Spaghetti may look like worms, but that is not close enough for this picky-palated bird. Unfortunately, it looks like the human diner behind them got the bird's earthworm dish instead, creating two unsatisfied customers. A preposterous set-up is made all the more funny by the mix-up scenario in the strip , creating a farcical comic that is typical of The Far Side .

4 "That's Milk!"

Published in 1986.

One would think that being stranded at sea with a cow would ensure a consistent supply of calcium. However, if that cow turns out to be a sneaky, stingy castaway, then there are bound to be some rows, as shown in this Far Side comic. Being falsely told that his cow friend is out of milk, the man is furious to see that the cow has been sneakily drinking a glass of milk and puts them at odds at sea.

Gary Larson adds an absurdity to the whole thing through the characters' choices and actions, ensuring that the whole thing is too funny to take seriously.

When survival is on the line, people (and cows) will resort to some crazy lengths. With an already outlandish situation, setting a cow and man on a lifeboat together, the comic adds an element of surprise with the revelation about the cow's milk. Most times, individuals being stranded would be a tense and distressing setting. However, Gary Larson adds an absurdity to the whole thing through the characters' choices and actions, ensuring that the whole thing is too funny to take seriously.

1 Far Side Comic Proves Creator Gary Larson's Humor Was ALWAYS That Dark

3 "food for the gods", published in 1994.

"Food for the gods" is a term designated solely for food that is out-of-this-world delicious. In The Far Side , however, things get taken a little more literally. When a group of genuine mythological gods is ready to order at a diner, the waitress reveals that nothing they find will be up to their standards. An example of Gary Larson's exceptional use of puns and word play in his work, this comic makes the phrase "food for the gods" a reality. Likewise, the comic shows Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, in the booth with the other mythological gods, prompting the waitress to recommend seafood. Larson had a wide range of knowledge on a multitude of subjects, which made him able to use all his stored facts to inform his comics. A perfect example is the use of his knowledge of mythological gods seen in this strip.

2 "Omelettes R Us"

Published in 1988.

Everyone knows the nursery rhyme of "Humpty Dumpty" and his literal fall from grace. However, no one knows what happened after all the king's horse and king's men couldn't put Humpty back together again. The Far Side answers this lingering question with a comic strip that sees the remains of Humpty Dumpty as a huge platter of omelets. At least something good came out of Humpty's terrible accident; he's able to feed the patrons of the small restaurant of Omelettes R Us all on his own.

A darkly funny comic, this strip positions Humpty Dumpty's last days as a breakfast entrée, in line with Gary Larson's previous strips that have skewered well-known children's stories and nursery rhymes. Using tales that are embedded in culture, Larson presents his own unique take on the subject matter, filling in the blanks for the audience but in a morbidly funny way.

1 "Bad Potato Salad"

Potato salad is one of those foods that are always a bit dicey to eat after it has been sitting around for a while, gaining the reputation of being a food that goes bad easily. However, Gary Larson has another meaning in mind when discussing potato salad going bad. With a gun in its hand and the other refrigerated items keeping their terrified arms up, this potato salad is embracing his bad side, turning for the worse. With a witness watching everything, the potato salad may have some tough decisions ahead of him in this outrageous situation.

Gary Larson could be a genius at wordplay , using the double meaning of a word to its full effect, always simultaneously going for a laugh. Using both uses of the word "bad," one meaning spoiled food and the other meaning dangerous, Larson gives The Far Side 's readers a ludicrous yet hilarious scenario, as only he can.

The Far Side

The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.

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