Children’s Comics

Introduction

The Year 9 Comics module started life as a scheme of work for Year 11 students preparing for their Media Studies exam. Below you'll find copies of many of the resources distributed in class. Some additional resources and handouts are only available on paper - ask your teacher if you've misplaced any!

A selection of excellent books are available to study in the school library - and the web links (right) should offer you plenty of further opportunities for research.
 

Week 1: Covers, genres and audiences

• Comics and Me
• Definition of comics
• Dandy relaunch
• Comics codes and conventions
• Micro Analysis
   

Week 2: Representation and audience

• The name's the thing - naming of comics
• Meet the Bash Street Kids
• Design your own Bash Street Kid
• Character types
• The Beano and The Dandy
   

Week 3: Tykes and heroes

• Naughty names
• The story of Dennis the Menace
• Who is Batman?
   

Week 4: Narratives and comic language

• Comic narratives
• The cut-and-paste faces toolkit
   

Week 5: speech, Sound and Movement

• Speech Balloon shapes and fonts
• Neologisms: POW!
  

Week 6: history and regulation

• Sherryn's fantastic history presentation
• Additional handouts on comic history and regulation are available on paper.
• Also, check out 26Pigs, a website with fantastic background on the last 50 years of British comics.
  

Week 7-8: making your own comic

As well as creating your own comics, you were issued with some important homework for over the Easter break. This may help you with task one on the exam paper!

• Task 1 (with instructions)
• Task 2

Not a complete list, but some links to get you started on your own exam prep. Comics UK Terrific amateur site celebrating British comics. Tons of historic material on The Beano, The Dandy and others. BritishComics.com Another amateur site, and a little patchy, but has a very useful history section. BBC Cult site The BBC's micro-site on British comics includes extracts from a range of titles and detailed coverage of the bizarre world of 2000AD. The Beano Britain's most successful children's comic goes digital... The Dandy ... as does its rival and DC Thomson stablemate. DC Thomson A legendary comic institution. 26 Pigs A terrific library of information on British comics of the past, including front pages. Entertaining and useful. Panini Comics No, nothing to do with toasted sandwiches - this is the company that buys licences to established characters, turns them into comics and makes a lot of money! Comic World News American-centric but very detailed with some useful articles on the British market if you go looking. 2000 AD Proof that we do the superhero thing a little differently this side of the pond.

IN THIS AUTUMN'S MEDIA MAGAZINE...

Broadcast Fiction Fantasy and the Police: Ashes to Ashes

Media in context When subversion becomes the mainstream

Audience Torchwood: The Doctor Who spin-off and its fans Theories of fandom, and the power of audience Cults and the film industry

Media skills Analysing media texts

And much more!

Available now in the Sandringham Library, Subscribe through school for £10 (pay to Sandringham School), or... Subscribe to your home address for £12.95