Today, while considering some of the changes the IB has made to the A2 English courses, I started thinking about using graphic novels in the classroom. 

What spurred this on was a discovery that the IB has listed some six graphic novels for possible use in the IB English course.  Having been a resident of Portland, Oregon, home of Dark Horse Comics (one of the biggest independent graphic novel publishers), I have been in trying to argue for the inclusion of this literary genre for several years.

I have also been an AP (Advanced Placement, aka. The College Board) Lit. teacher for several years and believe that this format of literature can create analytical reading skills on a level that traditional text can not. 

You can check out these two links to the AP and see the arguments they create for yourself:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/158535.html

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/180039.html

Consider scaffolding up to this form by studying an archetypical form (the hero and the quest for instance) in three areas, ending with the graphic novel.  You can study the Iliad in text, in movie, and in graphic novel form and discuss how each format adds and subtracts something about the tale.  You could also look something like coming of age literature (bildungsroman), and track it through multiple time periods. 

Kids are sure to love you for it!