Ray Bradbury was a regular at the annual San Diego Comic-Con for several decades. He made no secret of his love for comics and comic art. To hear some remarks he made at the 1974 Comic-Con, including his rather scathing comments about the pop art of artist Roy Lichtenstein, click on the link below. (And I believe that in the shot of the audience at around the 20 second mark, that is Forrest J Ackerman and his wife Wendayne sitting in the first row on the right):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRQnBx4aK_M

Back in the day.... I actually applied carefully selected comic publications as a motivation to get younger students who were reluctant or somewhat challenged in reading skills to develop their interests in turning the pages in front of them. This was done during "independent" reading assignments which were allowed for about 20 minutes at the conclusion of a class.


In the very back of the room, we had a small library of shelves filled with books by classic and high interest authors as well as a table organized with Readers Digest, American History, National Geographic, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Sports Illustrated, Mythology, and the humorous and hero comics. Copies of Omni Magazine were also always available: https://vocal.media/futurism/m...hed-in-omni-magazine

The personal reading time was intended to strengthen students' interest in topics beyond assigned s.s., plays, and novels. We were always reading something! Grammar, composition, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension were ongoing throughout each unit of study. State Rated Tests in writing and reading / comp. levels were important in those days.

Mr. Bradbury's comment on Roy Lichtenstein is indeed quite critical. After a quick look at his images, I would say he would not have been included in our class selections: https://www.google.com/search?...1401&bih=738&dpr=1.8

fjp451, my mother always allowed and encouraged me to read comic books, even when very young (like, from age 5 on). My personal favorites as a youngster were the Dell comics based on Walt Disney and Warner Bros. cartoon characters. Later in life, she told me that she believed that those comics had helped teach me how to read. Hence, she had no problem whatsoever with them.

Richard, exactly!! In those days, the main screen we were allowed to view was in the living room. Family time or Saturday morning kids' programs (great cartoons and westerns) were the primary viewings typically allowed. Now, the screen, unfortunately, is always right in a youngster's hands, 24/7 in many cases

The encouragement you received from your Mom ties in with an extremely significant reading "bump-in-the-road" our younger son experienced as a 2nd grader. He was at an age when young readers start to venture off on their own with books of special interest right in hand.

His class was being taught primarily by way of a strictly phonics based reading program. We had worked on basic reading skills with our sons in their early pre-school years. However, for some reason the "phonics based" approach completely turned our younger son off to reading. Up to that point, he had been coming along well. Basic word recognition was not being reinforced. As parents and educators we were immediately very concerned.

Consider the word "However." Is it "Ho Weaver" or "How Eaver" or "Howe Ver"? Frustration X 100 was his situation!

I bought a large box of old comic books at a local business and began placing 3 or 4 selections on his bed prior to the boys turning in for the night. His brother, 2 years older, would read with him and look at the great characters and colors - Superman, Batman, Captain American, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Spiderman, Archie, Classics Illustrated, Casper, and, of course, many of your "Walt Disney and Dell" editions. We enjoyed reading comics with them frequently throughout their elementary years.

Several months in, things changed and he was well on his way. (We now have numerous boxes shelved away that I should probably take another look through!?) Both boys had very successful academic experiences. "However!" Comic Books truly played a key role in their successes. They gained independent reading and comprehension skills. They were motivated to turn to the next page to find out what was going to happen next!?

Or more precisely stated: "My parents read the comics to me, and I fell in love with comic strips. I've collected them all of my life. I have a complete collection of all the "Buck Rogers" Sunday funnies and daily paper strips, I have all of "Prince Valiant" put away, all of "Tarzan," which appeared in the Sunday funnies in 1932 right on up through high school. So I've learned a lot from reading comics as a child." -Ray Bradbury

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