OUT OF THE BOX:
EXPERT READERS ALLOCATING TIME AND
ATTENTION IN GRAPHIC NOVELS
By
Laura M. Jiménez

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Educational Psychology and Educational Technology – Doctor of Philosophy
2013

ABSTRACT
OUT OF THE BOX:
EXPERT READERS ALLOCATING TIME AND
ATTENTION IN GRAPHIC NOVELS
By
Laura M. Jiménez
Graphic novels are currently used in a variety of ways in the classroom, but, they
appear most often in contemporary educational literature as a method to motivate a
myriad of marginalized readers.
The unexplored assumption that graphic novels are easier to read than printdominant novels because of the lower print-text load is often cited for using these texts
with marginalized readers. An alternative hypothesis is that the medium may not be less
cognitively taxing, and instead graphic novels may require different reading strategies
from print-dominant texts. This qualitative multiple case study utilized think-aloud
protocols, stimulus interviews, and a new attention-mapping activity to better understand
how expert readers use metacognitive reading strategies and attention shifts to read
graphic novels.
Eight expert readers, 17-20 years old, sat for two sessions: The first session
included a semi-structured interview and a 30-minute think-aloud; The second session
included a stimulus interview and a Visual Attention Map (VAM) activity. The thinkaloud data was analyzed for time, metacognitive strategies used, and the sequence of
those strategies. The VAM was designed to make visible the attention patterns of readers
of graphic novels.

The findings of the current study show the time spent reading varied across
individual readers. The most important aspect was not the time spent, rather it was the
way these readers used the time. The metacognitive strategies put in place varied greatly
depending on the readers experience with graphic novels. All readers used individualized
patterns of metacognitive reading strategies during their think-alouds, but the graphic
novel readers were adept at using both illustrations and written text to better understand
the stories whereas expert print-dominant readers tended to rely on the written text alone.
In addition, the VAM analysis showed that expert graphic novel readers initially attended
to the illustrations, followed by decoding the written text, and finally synthesized the two.
Expert print-dominant readers were able to bring to bear their expertise on the written
text, but they were unable to use the illustrations available on the page.
This study complicates current assumptions about the ease of reading graphic
novels by observing expert-print dominant readers and expert graphic novel readers
negotiate written text and illustrations.

Copyright by
LAURA M. JIMENEZ
2013

For Leslie, Jacob, and Alexander
without which nothing is possible

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and
collaboration of many individuals that make up the fantastic and vibrant learning
community at Michigan State University. The thanks I owe my dissertation co-chairs Dr.
Laura Apol and Dr. Douglas K. Hartman are endless. They both deserve so much more
than a few lines of text for helping me build a foundation of understanding that spans the
literature and literacy divide.
Dr. Apol’s initial recognition of my passion for non-traditional children’s
literature and the potential that literature held for serious study were important beginnings
for this dissertation. I thank her for believing that the idea of a study of the cognitive
affordances of graphic novel reading was worthwhile and achievable, along with
acknowledging her help in developing that idea into a coherent document.
Doug promoted my curiosity and exploration while always helping me keep a
watchful eye on the data. His continued support and collaborative nature is an aspect of
his professionalism that I value and hope to emulate.
I was lucky to have Dr. Julie Lindquist as a committee member. She generously
and enthusiastically talked me through critically engaging with puns and fart jokes in
Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey, and suggested that I think about non-verbal signs of
frustration from participants.
I am also indebted to Dr. Cary Roseth, who critically read this document,
challenged me, and eventually helped shape a stronger dissertation.

vi

The generosity of the Michigan State University faculty, both in formal and
informal settings, continues to amaze me. Specifically, I want to thank Dr. Nell K. Duke
for guiding me in the first years of my doctorate program. In many ways she allowed me
to see the kinds of thinking I was capable of by pointing me in directions I was not aware
existed and helping me begin to develop an academic voice. In her teaching, research,
and role as advisor, she modeled the challenge, rigor, and care I strive for in my own
work.
Dr. Kelly Mix provided teaching experiences that helped shape my understanding
of college students, content, and course design. In addition, Kelly’s ability to listen and
ask challenging questions that gave me pause and sent me back to the literature continues
to be appreciated.
Dr. Natalie Olinghouse (now at University of Connecticut) provided me with my
first research experience and modeled the care and rigor I have tried to emulate in my
own research.
Proving that it is possible to be both a mentor and a colleague, Dr. Janine Certo
allowed me the pleasure of working with her on a project focused on aesthetic
experiences of young students learning to read, write, and critique poetry in school. That
experience helped propel my own research in aesthetic cognition.
Friendship and community are as important as software and peer-reviewed
articles in successfully completing a dissertation. I want to thank the community of
scholars who wrestled with big ideas, played with words, and cooked fabulous food with
me during the creation of this dissertation, including Aaron Brakoniecki, Abu Bakar
Razali, Kate Johnson, Dr. Katherine Roberts, Dr. Rebecca Johnson Norman, Dr. Meagan

vii

Sugar Shedd, Dr. Sam McIlhagga, Dr. Adam J. Greteman, and Michelle Schira
Hagerman, Dr. Carlin Borsheim-Black, Megan Reese Block, Lynne Watanabe, and
Brenda Errichiello. In addition, I want to thank my children’s and young adult literature
collaborator, Kristin K.A. McIlhagga, who pored over graphic novels and picturebooks
and talked endlessly about literary theory, visual literacy, and data analysis with me while
our kids roared around and our partners talked about music, teaching, and us.
Lastly, I must thank my family for the love and support. My wondrous partner,
Dr. Leslie Dietiker, who believes in everything I do, listens to even my worst ideas, and
never lets me forget that I am loved. And our kids, Jake and Alex, who don’t care if we
need to read, or write or grade because they know what is important in life: silliness and
questions.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

xiii

CHAPTER 1
How to Read Comics and Graphic Novels
Literature Review
A Brief History of Comics
Reading Strategies
Developing Reading Strategies
Metacognitive Reading Strategies
Utilizing Picturebook Research to Inform Graphic Novel Scholarship
Picturebook Research That Supports Graphic Novel Reading
Graphic Novels in the Classroom
Graphic Novels for Whom?
Why Teachers Need to use Comics
How to use comics in the classroom
Theoretical Framework
Reader Response Theory
Dual Coding Theory
Research Questions

1
3
5
6
10
11
12
14
15
18
19
20
22
24
24
27
30

CHAPTER 2
Methods
Participants
Expert Reader Criteria
Individual Participants
Data Sources
Reading Habits Survey
Think-alouds with Individually Selected Graphic Novel
Retrospective Stimulus Interview
Visual Attention Maps
Data Analysis
Think-aloud Data
Retrospective Stimulus Interview
Visual Attention Mapping (VAM) Activity
VAM Patterns and Pauses
Created Stories
Complexity
Alignment

32
33
35
35
45
45
46
48
49
52
52
56
56
56
58
58
59

ix

CHAPTER 3
Readers Allocate Time
Reading States: Bonk and Flow
Examples of Flow
Examples of Bonk
Individual Reading Rates
Graphic Novel Readers’ Think-aloud Reading Rates and Behaviors
Gidget’s reading rate
George’s reading rate
Ginger’s reading rate
Garth’s reading rate
Print-Dominant Readers’ Think-aloud Reading Rates and Behaviors
Paul’s reading rate
Parker’s reading rate
Penelope’s reading rate
Paige’s reading rate
Metacognitive Reading Strategies
Sequence of Metacognitive Reading Strategies
A close examination of a graphic novel reader
A close examination of a print-dominant reader
Summary of Findings on Time and Sequence
CHAPTER 4
Visual Attention Map Findings
Visual Attention Maps
Example of Visual Attention Map
Analysis of Fun Home Visual Attention Maps
Parker
Paige
Paul
Penelope
George
Gidget
Ginger
Garth
Discussion of Visual and Verbal Elements
Macro-reading
Meso-reading
Micro-reading
Summary of Macro-, Meso-, and Micro Reading
CHAPTER 5
Discussion and Implications
Q1 - How do expert readers allocate time while reading a graphic novel?
Q2 - What metacognitive reading strategies do expert readers use to understand
graphic novels, and how do they use them?
x

60
61
62
62
63
64
64
66
68
69
71
71
72
75
77
79
83
83
89
92
93
93
95
103
105
106
107
108
109
111
113
114
116
116
118
120
124
126
128
131

Q3 - What attention patterns do expert readers show when reading the first
pages of five different graphic novels?
Implications
Implications for Literacy Research
Implications for Practice
Implications for Methodology
Limitations

134
136
137
139
141
143

APPENDICES
Appendix A: Reading Habits Survey
Appendix B: Think-Aloud Instructions
Appendix C: Visual Attention Map (VAM) Instructions
Appendix D: Graphic Novel Pages Used for VAM Activity
Appendix E: Code Key For Complexity Of Created Stories
Appendix F: Visual Attention Map Prompt

145
146
150
153
154
160
161

REFERENCES

162

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1

Definitions of Terms from Multiple Sources

17

Table 2

Final Participants’ Expertise Results

34

Table 3

Think-aloud Books by Participant

53

Table 4

Metacognitive Reading Strategies Coded in Think-Alouds

54

Table 5

Panel-by-Panel Action Sequence of Gaiman’s Coraline (2009b) Page 28

70

Table 6

Coding Guide for Metacognitive Reading Strategies

81

Table 7

Garth’s Think-Aloud Time and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence

85

Table 8

A subset of Garth’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence

87

Table 9

Garth’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence with Utterances

87

Table 10

Penelope’s Sequence of Metacognitive Reading Strategies

89

Table 11

Penelope’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence (p. 17)

90

Table 12

Penelope’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence (p. 27)

91

Table 13

Sequence of Books Across Readers

95

Table 14

First Five Pages of Individual Reading Rates (in Minutes)

129

Table 15

Last Five Pages of Individual Reading Rates (in Minutes)

130

Table 16

Code Key For Complexity Of Created Stories

160

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1

Search results for graphic novels and reading comprehension

2

Figure 2

Illustrations of the order to read panels

4

Figure 3

Illustrations of the order to read panels

4

Figure 4

Cat

28

Figure 5

Sphinx

28

Figure 6

Camera 1 oriented to capture participant’s expressions and voice

45

Figure 7

Camera 2 orientated towards book during think-alouds

45

Figure 8

Camera 2 orientated towards enlarged graphic novel pages during VAM

50

Figure 9

Gidget’s individual reading rate

64

Figure 10

George’s individual reading rate

67

Figure 11

Ginger’s individual reading rate

69

Figure 12

Garth’s individual reading rate

70

Figure 13

Paul’s individual reading rate

72

Figure 14

Parker’s individual reading rate

74

Figure 15

Penelope’s individual reading rate

76

Figure 16

Paige’s individual reading rate

78

Figure 17

Wonder Woman: Love and Murder

96

Figure 17 A. Text between panel 1 and 2

97

Figure 17 B. Text at bottom on panel 2

97

Figure 17 C. Text in panel 3

97

Figure 17 D. Text in panel 4

98

xiii

Figure 17 E.

Text in top of panel 5

98

Figure 18

Initial attention sweep

99

Figure 19

Second attention sweep

99

Figure 20

Third attention sweep

100

Figure 21

Attention sweeps 1-3 superimposed on first spread

100

Figure 22

Complete Visual Attention Map

102

Figure 23

Fun Home page for VAM.

103

Figure 23 A. Text above panel 1

104

Figure 23 B. Text above panel 2

104

Figure 23 C. Text above panel 3

104

Figure 23 D. Textbox in panel 3

104

Figure 24

Parker’s Fun Home VAM

105

Figure 25

Paige’s Fun Home VAM

106

Figure 26

Paul’s Fun Home VAM

107

Figure 27

Penelope’s Fun Home VAM

108

Figure 28

George’s Fun Home VAM

110

Figure 29

Gidget’s Fun Home VAM

112

Figure 30

Ginger’s Fun Home VAM

113

Figure 31

Garth’s Fun Home VAM

115

Figure 32

Attention Focused on Circled Area in Panel 1

117

Figure 33

Allison Bechdel’s illustration of herself as a young girl

121

Figure 34

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC © 2006 by Alison Bechdel

154

Figure 35

GARAGE BAND © 2007 by Gipi

155

xiv

Figure 36

LAIKA © 2007 by Nick Abadzis, Page 1

156

Figure 37

LAIKA © 2007 by Nick Abadzis. Page 2

157

Figure 38

STORM IN THE BARN © 2009 by Matt Phalen

158

Figure 39

WONDER WOMAN: LOVE AND MURDER © 2007 by Jodi Picoult

159

xv

CHAPTER 1
“I started off at the high level, in the slick magazines, but they didn't use my name, they used
house names. Anyway, then I went downhill to the pulps, then downhill further to the comics.”
Mickey Spillane
Comics lie at the bottom of the literary heap. They have been banned, suspected, and
generally blamed for the downfall of adolescent youth (Carter, 2008; Versaci, 2007), but static,
sequential stories have been part of the human literary experience since before the advent of
paper or the printing press (McCloud, 1994). Comics, anime, Manga, and graphic novels
continue to be part of the literacy landscape for today’s students.
Scholars who investigate the use of comics (including comic strips, comic books, and
graphic novels) in education can be categorized into two groups: longtime comics readers who
value the medium and use their knowledge and passion as a way into the research (e.g., James
Bucky Carter) and researchers who observe students reading, enjoying, and doing the work of
comprehending comics and then follow those readers (e.g., Katie Monnin). These different
research positions—reader and observer—have provided important forays into the scholarship of
comics in education. Currently, most of the literature focuses on providing teachers with help in
order to harness the motivational aspects of bringing comics into the classroom.
My own interest in comics and, specifically graphic novels in education grew directly out
of an interest in adolescent reading motivation. After completing a study of fourth graders’
reading comprehension in high and low interest text topics, I began searching for recent research
in reading motivation. An upward trend in using graphic novels in the classroom quickly
emerged, with the majority of literature being produced for and published in library science and
practitioner-based books and journals. A search with Google Scholar using the terms “reading

1

comprehension” and “graphic novels” yielded 341 articles, book chapters, and books published
between 2000 and 2010. More importantly, I saw a significant increase in the number of pieces
published over time: 39 pieces published in a five year period from 2000-2005, 302 published
from 2006-2010, and 104 published in 2011, and 90 in 2012. The same search using ERIC
(ProQuest) with the addition of the “peer reviewed” filter netted much different results—only 5
peer-reviewed articles were published between 2005-2012 (see Figure 1 for details). Clearly,
there has been an increased interest in practitioners using comics and graphic novels in the
classroom, but there is a noticeable lag in peer-reviewed research.

Figure 1. Search results for graphic novels and reading comprehension
An extensive review of the practitioner literature available points to a focus on
marginalized student populations, including struggling readers, unmotivated readers, boys,
English Language Learners and English as a Second Language learners, atypical readers, and
poor comprehenders (see McPherson, 2006; Monnin, 2010; Thompson, 2008). The oft-repeated

2

trope that comics and graphic novels were both appealing and helpful for struggling readers
piqued my interest.
After an exhaustive review of the literature, I realized that the scholarship about the use
of comics in the classroom, especially graphic novels, hinged on a number of assumptions that
were bound together in a single idea: Graphic novels are motivating to readers. But there were
many assumptions about the ease of reading comics and graphic novels coiled within this
seemingly simple phrase, including:
•

Comics, graphic novels, comic arcs and series, manga, anime, and comic books are
basically the same and are equally useful

•

The process of reading a graphic novel or a print-dominant text is the same, and so the
materials can be used interchangeably

•

Strategies developed from reading graphic novels will automatically transfer to reading
print-dominant texts

•

Graphic novels are easier to read because there is a lower text load (fewer words, easier
words, and illustrations provide context clues for vocabulary)
These assumptions, on which current research is based, have thus far been almost

completely unexamined.
How to Read Comics and Graphic Novels
Two pieces are most cited as providing clear instruction for how to read graphic novels:
Rudiger’s Graphic Novels 101: Reading Lessons (2006), and Thompson’s Adventures in
Graphica (2008). Both Rudiger and Thompson provide definitions for elements commonly
found in comics. For example, panels are the boxes that are used as boundaries for the
illustrations, gutters are the spaces between the panels, and scenes are the information conveyed

3

within the panels. Both authors agree that the correct way to read comics is to read each page
from left to right, from top to bottom, as illustrated by Rudiger (Figures 2 and 3). In this way,
Rudiger argues that reading a graphic novel is like reading print text.

Figure 2. Illustrations of the order to read panels (Rudiger, 2006, p. 130)

Figure 3. Illustrations of the order to read panels (Rudiger, 2006, p.132)
However, scholars of graphic novels and comics emphatically state that these texts are
not synonymous with print-dominant books. McCloud, a comics artist and the most often cited
4

comics scholar, is adamant that comics are not merely a literary genre; rather, they are a different
media: “The artform—the medium—known as comics is a vessel which can hold any number of
ideas and images”, but the medium is not restricted to any particular set of “trends, genres,
styles, subject matter and themes” (McCloud, p. 6). Instead, he defines comics as “juxtaposed
pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to
produce an aesthetic response in the viewer” (p. 20). If McCloud is correct, and comics are a
medium, then perhaps graphic novels are not easier to read as compared to print-dominant books.
Instead, perhaps they are different to read.
The remainder of this chapter describes the extant literature, including empirical research
where it exists and rigorous scholarship focused on graphic novels, metacognitive reading
comprehension, the utilization of picturebook1 research, and the theoretical framework that
informed the overall study design. Chapter 2 details the method, including an overview of the
multiple data sources, as well as a rationale for the foci chosen. Chapters 3 and 4 detail the
findings from the analysis of the data. Chapter 5 provides an in-depth discussion of the study as
well as directions for future research.
Literature Review
In this section, I review several bodies of research that provided a context for the study.
First, I will present a brief review of the history of comics and graphic novels to clarify and
define the medium. Next, through an overview of reading comprehension and metacognitive
reading strategies I will outline a perspective on reading processes and strategies that focus on
metacognitive reading strategies. Because this study is concerned with the ways the readers
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
1
The word picturebook is intentionally represented as a single word in accords with Sipe’s
reflective stance “to emphasize the unity of words and pictures that is the most important
hallmark of this type of book” (2001, p. 23).
5

comprehend books that include both images and text, I have included a review of existing
literature on picturebook reading and finally, I discuss two important theories: Reader Response
theory, which informed the focus of the study on the ways individual readers interact with the
selected texts, and Dual Coding Theory, which informed the ways this study was designed and
analyzed.
A Brief History of Comics
In order to differentiate between comics and graphic novels and to show the development
of graphic novels as a unique media, I will begin with a brief overview of the history of comics
in the United States. From their inception as newspaper extras to the present day, multi-billion
dollar industry, comics in America have been an object of commerce. The printing technologies
that enabled production had (and continue to have) enormous influence on the media. This link
between technology and artistic endeavor is inexorable, according to Maus author Art
Spieglman: “Comic has been the history of printing. It starts, maybe you can go back to the
Middle Ages and the wood cut, then to a certain kind of lithography, the color comics of the
newspapers, high-speed, short-run Web presses that made my underground comics moment
possible” (Conan, 2011). The first American comic books were printed in the 1920s and were
collections of reprinted newspaper comics such as Tillie the Toiler by Russ Westover (collected
into book form in 1925). One particularly popular comic book was Harold Gray’s Little Orphan
Annie (1926), a bound reprint of the Chicago Tribune’s four panel comics of the same name. The
reprinted book was bound and sold for $0.75 (or six-bits, as it states in the forward) under a onetime use contract with Cupples & Leon publishing company. The book was so popular the
Tribune produced Little Orphan Annie In The Circus by Harold Gray (1927) under the same
single use contract, which ran through 1933.

6

While comics initially varied in size, length, and format, they were eventually
standardized into the form we see today. The earliest reprints of newspaper comics in comic
book form varied in page number and size because there were various printing presses in use at
the time by newspapers. Between 1935 and 1938, however, newspaper printing presses became
standardized. This development resulted in the 32-page comic book, which is still the industry
standard. Comic books provided a cheap, easy-to-assemble, and profitable product, allowing
newspaper publishers to repackage strips with little extra expense. These early comic books
usually contained seven pages of advertisements, one page for reader’s letters and either two 12page story episodes, or a single 16-page lead story with an 8-page backup.
Beginning in the 1930s, there was a small market for original material in comic books
alongside the more popular and profitable reprints of newspaper comics (Cary, 2004; Eisner,
1985/2001; McCloud, 1994; Versaci, 2007). The first all-original comic book, New Fun: The Big
Comic Magazine, was published in February of 1935. Although there was a small audience for
New Fun, the real American comics revolution occurred in June 1938, when Action Comics #1
introduced Superman. This all-original comic book featured the Superman, along with other long
running characters like Zatara: Master Magician and Sticky-Mitt Stimson. Action Comics
eventually became DC Comics and, along with Marvel Comics, both companies dominated the
comic book industry until the present day (Harvey, 1996).
In the 1950s, publishers again recognized the profit in repackaging one form of comics
into another and began producing book-length collections of comic books, also known as “multiissue story arcs” (Versaci, 2007, p. 30). These continue to be lucrative for publishers as indicated
by the current popularity and availability of the volumes. Some examples of this particular form
are DC Comic’s Batwoman: Elegy (Rucka, Williams, & Jones, 2010) and the repackaging of

7

serialized comic books like Echo: The Complete Edition (T. Moore, 2011) by the independent
publisher Abstract Studios. As a matter of interest, arcs make up about 60% of the overall
graphic novel market share (according to Comichron.com). It is important to note that while
these comics are repackaged in book-length form, they are neither conceived nor originally
published as single stories. Instead, they are created as a series intended to be read in sequence
with one another, much like a television series where each episode builds on the previous
episodes.
While book-length collections of shorter, serialized comics have been available for over
sixty years, the form we know today as the graphic novel did not develop until much later. There
was a forty-year gap between Action Comic’s Superman and the first graphic novel written and
published in America, Will Eisner’s A Contract with God (1978). Eisner both invented and
defined the term graphic novel in the preface to the book when he stated that the difference
between a comic book and a graphic novel is that a graphic novel is “written without regard to
space” and is “allowed to develop its format from itself; that is, to evolve from the narration” (p.
x). Eisner’s understanding of the medium was born out of his artistic endeavors within it. Prior to
writing A Contract with God he had written several comic book series, and found the page length
requirements too restrictive to tell the kind of stories he had in mind. He knew without this
artificial page limit he would be free to create a novel in the best sense of the word. Eisner
highlights one of the primary differences between book-length collections of comics and graphic
novels: while each issue of a comic has a standardized format for length, graphic novels have no
external limitations placed on structure. His preface predicts another direction for comics as a
storytelling medium: “If I have been successful at this, there will be no interruption in the flow of
narrative because the picture and the text are so totally dependent on each other as to be

8

inseparable for even a moment” (p. xix). Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, which has appeared
as a novel, a movie, and a graphic novel, writes in multiple mediums. On his blog, he addressed
how he chooses between genres and mediums for his stories: “You don't choose what will work.
You simply do the best you can each time. And you try to do what you can to increase the
likelihood that good art will be created” (2009a). For Gaiman, the story he wants to tell drives
the medium he chooses. Although collections or story arcs of comics are shelved alongside
graphic novels, the book-length comic collections are neither conceived of, nor written as, a
single story, and thus are not graphic novels by definition.
Although many have tried, graphic novels and comics have defied strict definitions, and
experts do not agree on how to classify the medium. Eisner refers to comics as sequential art:
“an art and literary form that deals with the arrangement of pictures or images and words to
narrate a story or dramatize an idea” (1985/2001, p. 5). However, there are many other sequential
art forms that are not comics (such as film and picturebooks), and as a result, the idea that comics
are primarily and only about a sequence of images was problematic, as McCloud pointed out in
Understanding Comics (1994), and so a more precise definition is needed. Thus far, no single
author has been able to define comics as a medium without regard to the form. Thompson (2008)
attempted to provide a clarification by calling comics graphica as a way to escape the seemingly
childish view of the medium that the term comics has come to signify. He explained, “Graphica
is a medium of literature that integrates pictures and words and arranges them cumulatively to
tell a story or convey information; often presented in comic strip, periodical, or book form; also
known as comics” (p.6). Thompson’s definition does not provide much clarity about what does
and does not fall within the definition of comics. Instead, his definition provides a more

9

respectable-sounding word to take the place of comics as a description of the medium, which
includes graphic novels.
To clarify, in this study the term comics will be used to refer to the sequential storytelling
form of literary works including comic books, Manga, anime and graphic novels. Graphic novels
are a genre within the comics medium that is defined as book-length narratives in which verbal
and visual semiotics work in partnership to tell a story impossible to convey in the same way
using only one or the other (Eisner, 1985/2001; McCloud, 1994; Versaci, 2007).
Now that the terms “comics” and “graphic novels” have been defined for this study, I will
broadly review literature about reading comprehension, followed by a focus on the
metacognitive strategies that inform this study. Reading comprehension research is important to
this study because it foregrounds how it is possible to think about what an individual reader is
doing as they read graphic novels.
Reading Strategies
There have been more than 100 years of research on reading comprehension and
strategies (also referred to as skills, processes, and tools), beginning with Edmund Huey’s
Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading in 1908 and continuing to the present day. The volumes of
practitioner books, research articles and handbooks on reading strategies make a thorough review
prohibitive. Instead, I include a brief review of research on reading strategies as defined by
Afflerbach, Pearson, & Paris (2008) as a deliberately-controlled, cognitive process put into use
by the reader in a purposeful manner. In other words, a reading strategy must be consciously
controlled and monitored by the reader in order to be considered a strategy. In addition to a brief
overview of recent research on reading strategies, a review focusing on a subset of reading
strategies, known as metacognitive reading strategies, is important to this study. Metacognitive

10

reading strategies demonstrate the ways readers shift attention, monitor their own understanding,
and most importantly, construct and change predicted stories as they read and are important
cornerstones of this study.
Developing reading strategies. There is little doubt that to become a successful reader
one must have a rudimentary set of processes and strategies in place to decipher text (Pressley,
Duke, Gaskins, Fingeret, Halliday, Hilden, et al., 2008). To move from decoding to
comprehension, a reader needs to develop cognitively taxing reading skills, such as developing
letter-sound awareness, decoding words, and recognizing grammar cues. These cognitively
taxing strategies become automatic reading processes over time and with practice. With these
processes in place, readers begin developing reading comprehension strategies, such as rereading
or restating text for better understanding. For this study, reading comprehension is defined as
“the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and
involvement with written language”(Snow, 2002, p. xiii ). In Stages of Reading Development
(1983), Chall laid out an order of reading development that progresses from oral language
recognition (Stage 0) through constructing meaning from text by balancing one’s own
assessment of text with prior knowledge, thus synthesizing meaning from text (Stage 5). Chall
was clear that readers must develop basic reading processes, such as letter-sound recognition,
word level decoding, and grammar cues. This automaticity of the foundational aspects of reading
frees cognitive capacity for the higher-order thinking (also referred to as metacognitive) needed
to move beyond simple recitation of the written word to comprehending ideas that are written
(Afflerbach et al., 2008).
Much of reading research relies on good or expert readers to demonstrate the best
practices under investigation. A synthesis of reading research by The RAND Reading Study

11

Group found that “students who are good comprehenders use strategies in reading to learn new
concepts, get deeply involved in what they are reading, critically evaluate what they read, and
apply their new knowledge to solve practical as well as intellectual problems” (Snow, p. 5).
Reading comprehension is not a summative learning event; instead, it is an evolution over time,
wherein the reader learns how to ask questions, make predictions and check for understanding.
The path taken by developing readers mirrors the accumulation of skill seen in any other arena,
and missteps and wrong turns are necessary to help the learner understand which strategies to
employ and when to employ them (Afflerbach, 1990; Duke & Pearson, 2002). There is a
preponderance of evidence that the strategies readers choose and the effectiveness of those
strategies varies depending on genre knowledge, purpose, prior knowledge, and motivation (see
Guthrie, Anderson, Alao, & Rinehart, 1999; Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002; Scott, 2008). Some
readers rely on a narrow selection of better-known or more familiar strategies, while others use a
wide array of strategies in order to comprehend text (Fox, 2009; Jiménez & Duke, in progress).
Metacognitive reading strategies might be the most instructive tool of observation for reading
researchers to understand how readers who have multiple well-developed reading strategies to
choose from make sense of what they read.
Metacognitive reading strategies. Metacognitive reading is active and engaged reading
that uses higher order thinking, also referred to as executive order processing or executive
functions, to pose questions, activate and evaluate prior knowledge and existing schemas, and
question the text and adjust reading behavior when necessary (Dewey, 1910/1980; van den
Broek, 1990; van Kraayenoord, 2010). The reader uses these metacognitive strategies to
recognize and fix comprehension problems instead of simply reading and accepting what is
written. Readers that are meeting grade level expectations begin to develop these metacognitive

12

strategies in early adolescence, usually between the ages of 10 - 14 years old (Chall & Jacobs,
2003; Miller & Smith, 1990). As adolescents and adults, these same readers are able to use these
strategies effectively across genres and purposes (Snow, 2002).
Past research on metacognitive reading strategies focused on error monitoring in young
readers (see August, Flavell & Clift, 1984; Baker 1985; Paris and Winograd, 1990). Not
surprisingly, these studies have found that young readers are not adept or flexible in the ways
they monitor understanding or implement reparative strategies (van Kraayenoord, 2010). One
study that goes beyond young readers and error monitoring is Berkowitz and Cicchelli’s (2004)
research with low- and high-achieving gifted adolescent readers’ metacognitive strategy use. The
participants in the study were all labeled “gifted,” but not all performed well in school. Five
participants (high achieving) were successful students with high grade point averages and
corresponding high self-efficacy in school-related measures. The other five students had low
grade point averages and low self-efficacy in the same school-related measures. In the study, the
authors coded for a set of seven strategies: meaningful processing, inference, monitoring,
interpreting, evaluating, paralinguistic production (based on Abrams, 2000), and inter-textual
connection. The authors found no difference between high and low achieving students in the
types of strategies used. There was a difference, however, in the ways the groups used the
strategies. High-achieving students shared a common sequencing of strategies when confronted
with text they did not understand; whereas the low-achieving students showed no particular
pattern.
As this section shows, reading comprehension is a complex and multi-layered concept;
thus a complete review of the literature is beyond the scope of this study. The goal in reviewing
these few studies was to provide background for the study’s focus on questioning what

13

participants are doing from a cognitive perspective while they read. Although this study is
focused on reading graphic novels, it is appropriate to include a review of scholarship regarding
readers and picturebooks, another genre wherein images and text collaborate to form a unique
reading experience.
Utilizing Picturebook Research to Inform Graphic Novel Scholarship. The vast
majority of scholarship in reading comprehension is structured around print-dominant texts
where the reader must understand verbal sign systems (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996) or written
language. My own experience reading comics led me to believe that there was more to reading
graphic novels than simply decoding the text on the page. In an effort to understand the ways
visual signs were used and recognize the strategies needed for comprehending these multimodal
texts, I read far afield, exploring a variety of scholarly traditions including film studies,
communication arts, and advertising, in addition to completing research in specific genres such
as informational text. Through my exploration of alternate fields, I came to understand all the
applications I investigated lacked one pivotal aspect of comics and graphic novels—the story.
None of these alternative fields of study focused on texts that told stories.
Returning to Rudiger’s (2006) tightly-structured map on how one should read a graphic
novel (from left to right, top to bottom) did not prove to be helpful in creating my own
understanding and implementation of reading strategies appropriate for reading comprehension
in graphic novels. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, she insisted that illustrations
transmitted the story, an instructive bit of information: “A good visual storyteller creates
suspense and anticipation through the artwork as much as, if not more than, through the text” (p.
127). Now it seems surprisingly obvious, but as a reader, I was making a mistake in thinking that
the images were there as secondary support in service of the written story. Instead, as Rudiger

14

asserts at the end her article, the images were not there to “supplement the story. They were the
story” (p. 134). Author Jon Scieszka explains, “[Picturebook design] is the subtle weave of
words and pictures that allows both to tell one seamless tale” (Scieszka, Smith, & Leach, 2010,
p. 52). Graphic novels and picturebooks share this interconnected nature—in both media,
comprehension relies on the reader “reading” illustrations.
Picturebook Research That Supports Graphic Novel Reading. Defining picturebooks,
another multimodal narrative media or genre, is just as problematic and complex as defining
comics. Perhaps the problem with defining these multimodal texts is in the fluidity of the forms.
Sipe provides an in-depth and careful definition of picturebooks, using several sources:
The present discussion follows Kiefer’s (1995) criterion of interdependence of text and
illustrations and adds Marantz’ (1977) elucidation: “A picturebook, unlike an illustrated
book, is properly conceived of as a unit, a totality that integrates all the designated parts
in a sequence in which the relationships among them—the cover, endpapers, typography,
pictures—are crucial to understanding the book” (p. 3). In semiotic terms, each part of
the picturebook functions as a sign and has the potential to contribute meaning to the
book.
Picturebooks and graphic novels rely on a symbiotic relationship between verbal and visual
information that authors and illustrators must balance to create an aesthetic experience that
conveys a story (McCloud, 1994; Nikolajeva & Scott, 2006). Picturebooks were once
constrained to 32 pages because of printing technology, much like comic books. The page
restraint remains a tradition, but there is presently flexibility in not only the number of pages, but
in the size of the page and whether or not the book is printed on paper with ink or pixilated for
digital reading (Scieszka et al., 2010). The most obvious difference between graphic novels and

15

picturebooks is not simply the length (graphic novels are typically much longer) but also the
reliance on panels and gutters to sequence the story. Similar to the ways comics scholars describe
how verbal and visual sign systems work together, picturebook scholars often refer to the
synergistic nature of picturebooks that create a text, which results in “a combined effect greater
than the sum of their separate effects” (Sipe, 1998, p. 98).
Picturebooks and comics utilize both verbal and visual sign systems to develop and
communicate stories that can be complex and compelling. I am not alone in noticing the
connection between the two; in fact, in their chapter focused on movement and time, picturebook
scholars Nikolajeva and Scott state, “Scott McCloud’s comprehensive study of comics contains
many useful tools for picturebook analaysis” (Nikolajeva & Scott, 2006, p. 140). In addition,
literacy researchers such as Pantaleo found direct links between picturebooks and graphic novels:
“Indeed, the artwork, the design and the compositional features of picturebooks and graphic
novels all constitute part of the telling of the story” (Pantaleo, 2011b, p. 40).
Research about reading picturebooks provides additional understanding of the ways
readers allocate attention, an especially important metacognitive process for this study. In his
article, Sipe illustrated the choices readers made in picturebooks by attending to or suppressing
one semiotic system over another, which creates multiple and related interpretations of the text.
If we consider the picturebook as an object and the reading of the book as the experience, then
Sipe posits that each sign system (verbal and non-verbal) works independently within the text. It
is left to the reader to shift between the images and the text in order to make sense of the
experience as a whole (Sipe, 1998). In a later study, Sipe provides tantalizing details about the
ways very young readers make predictions about what is going to happen (Sipe, 2008, p. 78) at
page turns in 5 different picturebooks used during read-alouds in a second grade classroom. The

16

study focused on the ways students filled in gaps or predicted what happened next in
picturebooks and helped me better understand the importance of readers co-creating the story as
it happens by using visual and verbal sign systems as well as prior knowledge.
Using resources from both picturebook research and comics, I have created a glossary of
terms (see Table 1) for visual story elements found in comics. These terms will help the reader of
the current study understand the visual elements that the participants utilize in the creation of
stories. These visual elements, including hue, line, panel, gutters, and sequence are useful in the
analysis of graphic novels as objects, and in the analysis of readers’ responses to those objects.
Table 1
Definitions of Terms from Multiple Sources
Term
Hue

Definition
Gradation between segments of the
visible light spectrum. Provides the
stimuli that allows us to distinguish color
– e.g. blue, turquoise and green. Also
known as color.

Source
(Bang, 1991; Sipe, 2001)

Saturation Dominance, intensity or purity of the
color. In printing, it refers to the amount
of pigment used in creating the ink.

(Eisner, 1985/2001)

Line

A basic building block of illustrations.
Lines can be used to express mood and
evoke senses, including the sense of
motion. Lines have style and expressivity
from feathery and light to angular and
heavy.

(Bang, 1991; Sipe, 2001)

Gutters

The space, usually white, between the
panels of a comic. The reader imagines
the action that links the two static images
and transforms them into a single idea.

(Eisner, 1985/2001; McCloud, 1994)

Panel

Acts as a general indicator that space and
time is being divided. Usually
constructed by a line.

(McCloud, 1994)

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Table 1 (cont’d)
Term
Definition
Panel
The sequence from one panel to the next. Further
transition defined by the types of movement:
Moment to Moment: Almost no time passes between
panels.
Action to Action: A little bit of time passes. McCloud
uses 2 panels showing the progression from a player
about to swing a bat to the image of the same player
hitting the ball.
Subject to Subject: Here, a little more time has passed.
Usually used to show a conversation between two
characters in which the perspective of the reader
changes for looking at one speaker to the other.
Scene to Scene: A jump in either time or space (or
both) that moves the story to a new scene.
Aspect to Aspect: Time stops to illustrate different
aspects of the same scene.
Non-Sequitur: There is no logical or obvious
relationship between panels.

Source
(Eisner, 1985/2001;
McCloud, 1994, pp. 7072).

Although I have tried to assemble a thorough lexicon of visual elements found in graphic novels,
there may be additional elements not included here. This table will be revisited in chapter 4.
Thus far, the literature reviewed for this study has primarily focused on comics, reading
strategies, and picturebook research. In order to bring those elements together for this study, the
next section will return to literature mentioned in the introduction that helped pique my interest
in readers reading graphic novels: literature focused on using graphic novels in the classroom.
Graphic Novels in the Classroom
The research on graphic novels in education is predominantly concerned with examining
the effect bringing comics into the classroom has on students’ motivation to read. There is little
argument, given the plethora of research on adolescent reading comprehension, that motivation
(intrinsic, situational, and extrinsic) has a measurable affect on reading comprehension (e.g.,
Boardman et al., 2008; Flood & Lapp, 2000; Franzak, 2006; Guthrie, Hoa, Wigfield, Tonks, &
Perencevich, 2006; Ivey & Broaddus, 2001; Schiefele, 1991).
18

I reviewed the most cited practitioner books and articles (according to Google Scholar)
for reading comprehension and graphic novels in the K-12 classroom. There were several
recurring themes that appeared: (a) why teachers should incorporate graphic novels into their
teaching, (b) what types of students benefit from reading graphic novels as part of the
curriculum, and (c) how to use graphic novels most effectively as part of the classroom
experience. All of the literature presupposed that student motivation to read comics and graphic
novels would improve reading comprehension; however, none of these studies measured reading
comprehension as an outcome in any way (e.g., Brozo & Flynt, 2008; Hughes-Hassell & Rodge,
2007; Zigo & Moore, 2004), an issue I explore in this study.
Graphic novels for whom? There is an overwhelming push to use graphic novels with a
wide array of readers. Carter asserts that “there is a graphic novel for virtually every learner in
your English language arts classroom” (2007b, p. 1) because there is such a diversity of subject
matter. Botzakis (2010) claims that comics are especially useful for struggling readers because
the illustrations provide support for vocabulary and aid in comprehension. Many scholars (e.g.,
Cary, 2004; Gorman, 2003; McTaggart, 2008) claim that graphic novels are easier to read than
print-dominant works because they have a lower text load and therefore a lower cognitive load.
This ease of reading, along with the novelty of reading out-of-school texts in school leads to
lower student anxiety and better reading comprehension. This reasoning is seen repeated in many
articles and books that connect low text load with ease of reading comprehension (Connors,
2010; Pantaleo, 2011b; Tabachnick, 2009).
However, it is difficult to align this assertion of easy reading with the insistence that
readers must understand and adhere to a preset format for reading graphic novels. According to
Cohn (2009), as well as others, it is important to teach students not only to look at but also to

19

gain meaning from the illustrations. Cohn goes on to explain that much of the meaning in
complex graphic novels, like Alan Moore’s Watchman (1987), is lost on many students because
they lack the vocabulary and knowledge to adequate recognize visual elements of the story. The
contradiction that graphic novels are easy to read but difficult to understand seems to work
against assigning these texts to marginalized readers. Or perhaps the authors are subtly
suggesting that easy (less complex) graphic novels should be given to marginalized readers and
more complex texts given to more successful students.
Why teachers need to use comics. There are many reasons used to urge teachers to
include comics into the classroom curriculum, including the popularity of the medium with
adolescents, the strong and ever-increasing market share enjoyed by comics, and the benefits of
using multimodal texts. Next, I will review the pertinent scholarship that espouses these
arguments.
The popularity of comics in America, in all their varied forms, is one reason proponents
use for supporting the addition of the texts into the curriculum. Teachers are urged to take
advantage of students’ willingness to read comics outside of school and use that motivation in
the class (e.g., Carter, 2007a; Gorman, 2003; McTaggart, 2008; Tabachnick, 2009). These
authors argue that bringing comics into the classroom will provide a way for teachers to
approach students (especially marginalized readers) as peers, friends, or trusted mentors. These
authors generally agree that giving students texts that fall into the arena of popular culture to read
in class (including comics, manga, and Anime, in addition to graphic novels) helps teachers gain
access to students’ reading lives (Carter, 2007b; Cary, 2004; Hart, 2010). In fact, the forward of
Thompson’s (2008) book provides a anecdotal example of being the “cool teacher” (p.16) who
lent comic books to reluctant readers as a way to get them “hooked” on reading.

20

Another reason for bringing comics in the classroom is the growing market-share they
enjoy. Hart states, “According to School Library Journal, U.S. readers spent approximately $330
million on graphic novels and comics in 2006” (2010, p. 3). She goes on to advocate for the
media based on the fact that without comics the publishing industry might not survive. Carter
(2008) advocates for the inclusion of comics and graphic novels because of the popularity and
the ease with which students and teachers can purchase the texts. What Carter and Hart and other
authors do not discuss is the possibility that part of the seduction of comics might be that the
medium is unsanctioned by teachers, librians, parents, and other authoritarian establishments
(Smith & Wilhelm, 2002).
In addition to the popularity of comics, there are other reasons to introduce and use the
texts in the classroom provided in the literature. The New London Group (1996) suggested that
reading comprehension encompassed more than simply reading traditional print-dominant texts
and advocated for education to include a variety of literacies. Proponents argue that students
need to critically engage with texts to develop multi-literacy skills and that reading comics has
the advantage of both isolating and building those skills (e.g., Carter, 2007a; Tabachnick, 2009;
Thompson, 2008). Carter (2007a) states that at no time in the history of education have students
been more attuned to or saturated by visual media. He asserts that using graphic novels is a
natural outcome of the students’ expertise with visual media and that the medium is easier for all
students to read and comprehend. Monnin (2010) also stresses that print and image literacy is
equally important because students are experiencing a communication revolution wherein they
read and communicate by visual means. She contends that if education does not take the time
and opportunity to formally teach multi-model literacy with comics, then a great opportunity has
been missed.

21

Up to this point, the literature reviewed has concentrated on why comics should be a part
of the curriculum in the classroom. Authors provide reasons ranging from the idea that these
texts are motivating to read to the power of popular culture to the need to teach multi-literacies.
Next I will review some of the literature that deals with instructing teachers how to teach graphic
novels, especially when they are not expert graphic novel readers themselves.
How to use comics in the classroom. A substantial amount of the literature about using
graphic novels in classrooms is designed to show teachers effective methods to use the texts. A
repeated assumption in the literature is that the reading strategies developed by reading graphic
novels transfer to print-dominant novels (see Carter, 2007a; Frey & Fisher, 2004; Monnin, 2010;
Rourke, 2010; Thompson, 2008). However, there is no empirical evidence in the extant literature
that the reading strategies needed to comprehend graphic novels are the same as those needed in
print-dominant reading. Instead, authors simply assume the act of reading graphic novels is
similar enough to ensure, through the magic of transfer, that the strategies used by readers are the
same.
In stark contrast, Goldsmith (2010) contends that reading graphic novels is not easier and
instead states, “The reader must work with both visual and verbal literacies with this format” (pp.
2-3). This idea that these texts are complex or at the very least, not simplistic, is similar to the
complexity researchers found in online reading where non-linear reading was key to
comprehension (Coiro & Dobler, 2007). It seems that unlike reading online, where the object
being read is very different (a computer screen), the reading of graphic novels is considered to be
so similar to print-dominant books that researchers have not considered the change in medium.
Instead, there is an ongoing and unrecognized conflict within the literature: Graphic novels are
easy to read, but students and teachers must be taught how to read them properly.

22

Overall, the practitioner literature promoting the use of graphic novels assumes teachers
are not well-versed in the media and therefore focuses on the structure (see Buffalo and Erie
County Public Library, 2007/2011; Gravett, 2005; Monnin, 2010). These resources provide the
vocabulary to identify the discrete elements that make up the form but do nothing to help the
reader understand how both visual and verbal symbols work together. Moreover, the authors rely
on literary elements common to both graphic novels and print-dominant novels to simplify the
medium into a more familiar form. Fisher and Frey guide teachers using a metaphor of
universality: “As with all composition [emphasis added], it is necessary to understand the
vocabulary of the genre in order to teach students how to use the tools needed in sequential art”
(Fisher & Frey, 2010, p. 9). Bitz wants teachers to be familiar with the medium, but sees no
reason for them know more than what is deemed necessary: “My goal is to provide educators
with a broad base of knowledge and understanding of comics in the classroom” (2010, p. 5). The
problem is that these authors often do not go beyond the surface elements.
One example of this surface treatment of comics is found in Thompson’s book,
Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension (2008).
He provides a single page of explanation about how readers should move from one element on
the page to the next, stating, “The natural and intricate way [comics’] artwork, panels, speech
bubbles, and lettering work together to steer the reader to the meaning is nothing short of a
literary ballet” (p. 52). This is the same method that Rudiger (2006) relies on, providing a
structure for reading without regard to actual readers. In another example of contradictory
thinking, Bongco (2000) notes that each reader must decide on the method used to gather and
organize information in a given panel or page and create a coherent story. She understands that

23

the reader is given cues but also that the reader has the freedom to follow, reject, or reorganize
those cues.
Rudiger and Thompson assert that all the cues for meaning making reside on the page
and the reader simply needs to follow them. Bongco and Goldsmith believe the reader must be
involved and strategic in using the illustrations in the page. These scholars demonstrate the
inherent contradictions in the literature about reading graphic novels and comics. This
inconsistency is problematic because teachers are using these texts with student populations,
including marginalized readers, with no empirical evidence to guide their pedagogical decisions.
Theoretical Framework
Having reviewed the relevant research literature, I will now describe the theories that
were instrumental in the development the current study. The following section provides an
outline of the theories that inform the both the study design and the analysis, Reader Response
Theory (Rosenblatt, 1978/1994) and Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1969). Although these
theories are not usually thought of as partners in research, this pairing provided a strong
underpinning for the current research. Reader Response Theory (Rosenblatt, 1978/1994)
provided the rationale for expecting each reader to interact with the text in unique ways and not
to expect the text to dictate the behavior of the reader. Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1969)
provided a way to frame the development of the research design. Both theories were instrumental
to the analysis of the data and the interpretations of the findings.
Reader Response Theory
This study is primarily focused on interpretations of the observable (both verbal and nonverbal) behaviors of readers as they interact with a specific kind of text, the graphic novel. As
such, Rosenblatt’s (1978/1994) concept of meaning making is central to this study. She

24

envisioned reading comprehension as a dynamic interchange or transaction between the reader
and the text. To her, the meaning of the text did not reside in either the reader or the object.
Instead, the meaning occurred within the shared space and action between the two. This
transaction is unique to each reader because each individual brings his or her own reading model
to the act of making meaning from text. Building on Rosenblatt’s conceptualization, Fox (2009)
theorized that reading depends on multiple variables: “Not all models are created equal, and not
all readers create all models” (p. 202). The ways individuals enact reading depends on genre
knowledge, prior reading experience, cognitive abilities, and the purpose of the interaction
(1998; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995; RRSG, 2002).
This study is grounded in the conceptualization of reading that Rosenblatt, Fox and others
have developed over time: reading is more than decoding and is a highly personalized and
individualistic phenomenon. Rosenblatt asserted, “The paradoxical situation is that the reader has
only the black marks on the page as the means of arriving at a meaning – and that meaning can
be constructed only by drawing on the readers own personal linguistic and life experiences”
(1994, pp. 1369). Instead of separate, static objects acting independently, Rosenblatt considered
the reader and the text as part of a complex, multidimensional, and dynamic system. In this
study, there is also the addition of verbal (written text) and non-verbal (illustrations) elements at
work in the text with which the reader must engage in order to create meaning.
Thus far, the overwhelming understanding of how graphic novels are read primarily
attributes the meaning to the text alone and positions the reader as responsible for following the
clearly defined trail left by authors and illustrators (see Pantaleo, 2011a; Rudiger, 2006;
Schwarz, 2002; Tabachnick, 2009). This passive construct of reading graphic novels is typified
by Thompson (2008) who wrote, “The natural and intricate way its [graphica] artwork, panels,

25

speech bubbles and lettering work together to steer the reader to the meaning is nothing short of
a literary ballet” (pp. 52). Thompson’s ballet is a performance in which the reader passively
follows the performance of the book but does not participate in the creation of the meaning.
Rosenblatt, on the other hand, places the reader on the stage.
Although the reading event for the current study is unique to research and does not mirror
reading either in school or for pleasure, Rosenblatt’s theory of the transactional nature of reading
provides a framework. This study investigated what kinds of cues these readers attended to when
reading graphic novels. Attention served as an important element of Rosenblatt’s theory:
The reader's attention to the text activates certain elements in his past experience—
external reference, internal response—that have become linked with the verbal symbols.
Meaning will emerge from a network of relationships among the things symbolized as he
senses them (1978, p. 11).
Even though her focus was on print-dominant texts, the idea might apply to graphic novel
reading as well. It is even possible that attention is more important when reading multimodal
texts because the reader needs to simultaneously attend to and suppress aspects of the visual and
verbal signs on the page (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996). Reader Response Theory proposes that
the reader is not simply a passive vessel receiving the author’s intended meaning; instead, reader
and author are in conversation, co-creating a unique experience each time. Ideally, readers
actively connect elements of the story with prior knowledge and build meaning through those
connections (Rosenblatt, 1995).
Although reading comprehension is often thought of apart from meaning making, for this
study it was important to conceptualize meaning making as more than isolated cognitive
processes and strategies. Instead, Rosenblatt’s theory of a dynamic transaction that exists

26

between the reader and the book allowed me to explore the ways these readers created the story
along with the author. The synthesis of written text and illustrations that resided on the page but
must be read by the individual is the meaning making demonstrated by this small group of
readers.
Dual Coding Theory
Adjacent to the experiential and affective ways that Rosenblatt theorizes readers making
meaning with written texts in a dynamic, flexible, and active transaction, Paivio developed a way
to explain readers’ cognitive processing in texts which contain both written text and illustrations.
Dual Coding Theory (DCT) (Clark & Paivio, 1991; Paivio, 1969) explains the ways verbal
(words read) and nonverbal (images read) stimuli activate different cognitive processes in the
reader. It is important to note that Paivio and others do not suggest that text should or should not
include both verbal and nonverbal, rather DCT is a way to explain how readers process dual
stimuli when the text contains both. The sense-making tools readers use (semantic mediators)
often depend on the abstractness or concreteness of the stimuli provided. For example, imagery
of concrete objects like ball or house or fire are the most efficient mediators for those concepts,
but imagery is much less efficient and can even be meaningless with more abstract concepts like
love or patience. Providing readers with simultaneous stimuli, both words and images, has an
additive quality, providing a richer and more efficient meaning-making experience for the reader.
As this is a study of the processing effectiveness of different stimuli, it may be illustrative
at this point to provide an example of the way DCT plays out for the reader in texts that provide
both visual and verbal stimuli, such as those found in graphic novels. As stated previously,
Paivio found the visual cortex processes concrete ideas such as objects much faster and more
efficiently. This means that when a reader sees an image (see Figure 4) she is able to identify the

27

object faster and with more accuracy than if she sees the word CAT. But when an idea is
complex, abstract, or falls outside the reader’s existing schema, the reader must use both the
language centers as well as the visual centers to process and make sense of the concept. For
example, if the reader sees an image such as Figure 5 she may not understand what she is
looking at until she is able to connect the new and unfamiliar image with her existing schema by
reading the caption “Among the many breeds of hairless cat, the most common is the Sphinx.”

Figure 4. Cat
NOTE: For interpretation of the references to color in this and all other figures, the reader is
referred to the electronic version of this dissertation.

Figure 5. Sphinx
Paivio also explored how images can be less effective at communicating ideas. In his
experiments, he found that complex or abstract ideas, such as states of emotion like love, hate, or
jealousy, are not well represented by images (Sadoski & Paivio, 1994). In fact, these kinds of
28

abstract ideas lead to Paivio’s understanding that verbal and visual stimuli have an additive
power. Dual Coding Theory explains how readers use these two different stimuli to form a more
complex, complete and retrievable understanding of the text as a whole (Sadoski & Paivio,
1994).
One important aspect of DCT is the mechanism by which the duel sign systems are
negotiated. Clark applied Paivio’s DCT to the educational experience and argued that the
additive quality of DCT is best manipulated when the learner is able to mediate her
understanding of texts that have both verbal and non-verbal stimuli by being a metacognitive
reader. In other words, readers are best served by knowing how to monitor their own
understandings and misunderstandings and by being aware of the need to use strategies in order
to manipulate both abstract (verbal) and concrete (non-verbal) cues. This theory can be applied
to multiple domains including math and science, and can be found in reading research that
focuses on when and how students understand, use, or ignore graphs and other illustrations in
textbooks (Goetz & Sadoski, 1995; Paivio, 1991; Sadoski & Paivio, 1994). In reading research,
DCT is seen as a way to understand picture books (Nikolajeva and Scott, 2006), as well as
illustrations in expository texts (Norman, 2011). DCT has not yet been used as a way to
conceptualize the additive and perhaps complex ways readers use non-verbal stimuli
(illustrations), the fundamental element in graphic novels, to make sense of the story in
combination with, and possibly intertwined with, verbal stimuli.
The current study utilized Paivio’s work to examine how readers monitor their
understanding while manipulating both verbal and non-verbal stimuli in conjunction with
existing prior knowledge to read graphic novels. Paivio’s DCT and Rosenblatt’s Reader
Response Theory provide theoretical support for a study design that includes a 30-minute think-

29

aloud, a stimulus interview using the think-aloud video, and the Visual Attention Map activity in
which readers represent their attention across the first pages of five different graphic novels.
The current study is unique in the use of both Reader Response Theory (1978/1994,
1994) and Duel Coding Theory (Paivio, 1969). These foundational theories provide both a robust
view of the dynamic interaction of text and reader, and the specific cognitive activities employed
by readers of texts with both written text and illustrations. Researchers often rely on Reader
Response Theory (1978/1994, 1994) to explain readers’ aesthetic responses to or stances
regarding particular texts. Rosenblatt’s theory focusing on the transaction that occurs between
the reader and the text to make meaning is central in this study. Although Duel Coding Theory
(Paivio, 1969) has been used to explain how comics should be read (see Carter, 2008), the theory
has not been used in empirical research to guide study design and analysis. DCT provides an
important reason to focus the think-aloud analysis on reader’s metacognitive reading strategies as
they read. These two theories are paired in this study because the participants are reading and
actively engaging with verbal and nonverbal stimuli in the graphic novel and bringing their
individual prior knowledge and reading profile to the activity. This pairing is important because
the goal of this study is encompasses more than either (1) the strategies used to comprehend the
text devoid of meaning making or (2) meaning making without consideration of the reported
metacognitive strategies put into play by the reader. Rather, this is a study exploring how the
metacognitive reading, including attention shifts and patterns, and meaning making come
together when experts engage with graphic novels.
Research Questions
The assumptions made about students’ reading comprehension of graphic novels are
based on little empirical evidence. These spoken and tacit assumptions found in practitioner

30

pieces and peer reviewed research include the following interconnected ideas: 1) graphic novels
are easy to read, 2) graphic novels develop reading strategies that can and will be applied to
print-dominant reading, and 3) graphic novels can be effectively used with little to no change to
instruction models used for print-dominant novels. In an effort to extend and complicate the
research thus far, this study aims to explore the first of these assumptions: Graphic novels are
easy to read. In exploring this assumption, I designed a study in which expert readers were asked
to interact with graphic novels in several different ways. The questions that guided the study
design are:
1.

How do expert readers allocate time while reading a graphic novel?

2.

What metacognitive reading strategies do expert readers use to understand graphic
novels, and how do they use them?

3.

What attention patterns do expert readers show when reading the first pages of five
different graphic novels?

31

CHAPTER 2
Methods
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half
million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the
answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known
what the question is."
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The current study addressed question that had never been asked and assumptions that
were simply accepted. Qualitative, multiple-case study design was implemented to examine key
assumptions about graphic novels, specifically the assumptions that graphic novels are easy to
read, and lacking in cognitive challenge. In order to closely explore this assumption, 8 expert
readers were asked to participate in a think-aloud with a graphic novel, respond to questions
posed based on the think-aloud in a stimulus interview, and map their attention across the
opening pages of several graphic novels. Fifty-nine participants completed a Reading Habit
Survey (RHS) that identified readers’ possible expertise in either print-dominant or graphic
novels (see Appendix A); eight expert readers were selected from this larger pool of readers.
Four participants were expert print-dominant readers (i.e., they read print-dominant novels for
pleasure and were involved in multiple venues that centered around reading print-dominant
novels) and four were graphic novel readers (i.e., they read graphic novels for pleasure and were
involved in multiple venues that centered around reading graphic novels and comics). Each
participant agreed to meet for two sessions (up to 3.5 hours in total length), during which data

32

were collected from four sources: 1) a guided reading habit interview, 2) a think-aloud with a
graphic novel including a retelling, 3) a stimulus interview using think-aloud video, and 4) a
Visual Attention Map activity with a created story based on opening pages of five graphic
novels.
In the first session, participants were interviewed about their reading habits and expertise
and were trained in think-aloud protocols using a graphic novel selections exercise. In addition,
they completed a thirty-minute think-aloud with a selected graphic novel and finished with a
retelling of the selection read. The second session began with a stimulus interview based on the
individual think-aloud followed by the Visual Attention Map (VAM) activity.
This study included multiple points of data in order to gain a better understanding of the
ways experts use the multimodal elements available to them in graphic novels. These methods
include verbal protocols, stimulus interviews using video playback, and a new method of
mapping readers’ attention across the page (VAM). By using a variety of interconnected data
points, the current study offers evidence on the time spent reading, the metacognitive reading
strategies used, and these readers’ attention patterns. The analysis of these separate data offers
the field a new way of understanding the phenomena of reading graphic novels.
Participants
A total of 58 people responded to various calls for participants with a completed Reading
Habits Survey (RHS). The RHSs were read and tabulated into a spreadsheet and randomized
identifications were assigned. The responses were used as a selection tool with particular
attention to age (item 1), individual expertise (items 5-10), and the reader’s status as either a
print-dominant reader or a graphic novel reader. Genres read and activities individuals
participated in were scored as either 1 for yes or 0 for no for a possible total of 9 genres and 8

33

activities for a final total of 17 (See Table 2). Although respondents could include additional
genres or activities not on the list, this option was not used.
Table 2
Final Participants’ Expertise Results
Participant

Age

Gender

Garth

19

M

Reader
(GN/PDN)
GN

Level of
Expertise
14

George

19

M

GN

12

Ginger

16

F

GN

13

Gidget

17

F

GN

13

Parker

19

M

PDN

12

Paul

17

M

PDN

12

Penelope

19

F

PDN

12

Paige

17

F

PDN

14

The expert readers that participated in this study, four graphic novel readers and four
print-dominant novel readers, ranged in age from 17 to 20 years old. As explained previously,
expertise in this study was not determined by a self-ascribed label or a title given by an
institution, rather it was determined by a proof of habit. Participants were recruited from multiple
sources: public libraries with active reader participation in social groups, comic shops with a
high volume of graphic novel and comics readers, the local gaming community, and social media
outlets including Facebook and Goodreads. I was also able to develop relationships with multiple
informants such as teen librarians, independent bookstore owners, comics artists, and members
of formal and informal social networks. These informants helped me in multiple venues,

34

including finding participants, locating and evaluating texts, and teaching me to better
understand the texts I was reading.
Expert Reader Criteria. The criterion for expertise in this study is consistently applied
to both graphic novel readers and print-dominant readers. All readers were between 16 and 20
years old and had been actively engaged in reading independently, for pleasure, for a minimum
of 5 years. This requirement turned out to be a very low threshold for these readers. Even the
youngest readers had been independently reading their chosen text type for at least seven years.
Each of the participants spent more free time reading then all other media choices (TV, internet,
magazines, movies, and gaming) combined.
One important marker in adolescent identity development is the establishment of peer
groups that focus on common interests. Adolescent experts become mentors in these formal and
informal peer groups, often acting as expert practitioners (Lave & Wenger, 2003). The
participants in this study had spent substantial time communicating with other interested
individuals about graphic novels or print-dominant novels. These readers reported developing
their expertise independently of any sanctioned institutions, such as schools, organized clubs, or
churches. Each participant, instead, spent substantial time and energy finding less formal
communities to participate in. These informal communities allowed these readers to educate
themselves and mentor others. In addition, they were dedicated and extensive readers. Some
participants could be described as voracious readers, individuals who read almost anything and
everything without regard to genre (Stergios Botzakis, 2009; Simon, 2012).
Individual Participants. Twenty-seven graphic novel readers and 32 print-dominant
readers completed the Reading Habit Survey. Of these individuals, 11 were expert graphic novel
readers and 13 were expert print-dominant readers. The eight final participants were selected

35

based on age, gender (2 male and 2 female in each of the two groups), and the highest level of
expertise for a balanced sample.
I have elected to provide detailed participant profiles based on the Reading Habits
Surveys (see Appendix A), email communications prior to and following formal study, a
structured interview based on RHS, the stimulus interview following the think-aloud, and an
unstructured conversation following the Visual Attention Mapping activity. Although all
participants were asked to provide a pseudonym beginning with either G (graphic novel readers)
or P (print-dominant readers), only the female readers chose a specific name. As a matter of fact,
none of the male readers showed any interest beyond one response; “Sure, use G.” As such, the
female pseudonyms are self-selected and the male pseudonyms are assigned.
George is a twenty-year-old White male with some college education. The owner of a
local comics and gaming shop recommended him as a participant, saying, “George is a stand up
guy. He knows tons and respects lots of work, like guys from Alan Moore (author of V for
Vendetta) to Bob Kane (author of the original Batman series).” George is a mechanical
engineering major who was preparing to leave for an internship at a major sound engineering
company on the East Coast when I met him. Although he reads some print-dominant books, he
only reads them at the behest of his friends and “because the stories aren’t available in comics
yet.” The last print-dominant book he read was the latest installment of the Game of Thrones
series by George R. R. Martin, “…because I’d invested hours already, it seemed silly not to read
it.” All other print-dominant reading he does only because it is assigned as class reading.
On the other hand, George reads comics and graphic novels every day for “at least an
hour, but probably more. I read in bed before going to sleep and sometimes I end up awake at
two in the morning because I’m rereading something I just finished.” He began reading when he

36

was a young child by reading comics (both newspaper comics and comic books). His father has a
large collection and was “majorly responsible for teaching me about comics and reading them
and understanding art and all that.” He attends Comic-Con annually with his father and some of
his close friends. He has a group of friends that he trades, talks about, and reads comics and
graphic novels with on a regular basis: “Yeah, there’s about ten of us all together, but we are all
in college or working, so we don’t get together all the time anymore. We game (Interactive
multi-player, real-time video games) so we talk about books and stuff then, too.” When I asked
George if he mentored or acted to bring others into the comics world, he laughed at the idea: “I
don’t talk to non-comics folks and try to convince them but if someone’s interested, sure. I took
my ex-girlfriend to the shop I go to on Michigan Avenue and she was a little freaked by the guys
there and how they all know me by what I read, but after a while, she got into some of the grim
Indy stuff.” Although they no longer date, he continues to recommend graphic novels that he
believes she will enjoy “…even though I don’t like most of it. She really got into Echo (By Terry
Moore). I like his pen work a lot, so much detail, but it wasn’t a story I really ever got into.” He
does not draw or illustrate, but he appreciates the artistic aspects of comics and graphic novels,
specifically pen and ink work that detail expressive faces and body language.
Garth is a twenty-year-old White male who is finishing his undergraduate degree and is
currently applying to master’s programs around the country: “I’d love to get into Berkeley. It is a
top school, and I’d like to see where the Freak Brothers were originally published.” Garth selfidentified as a person with Asperger’s syndrome. His print-dominant reading is restricted to
historical fiction, non-fiction, and what he terms “school reading.” When I asked him about those
choices, he replied, “I feel that comics, and I include graphic novels in that realm, are for

37

pleasure. If I want to learn something—for school or for pure knowledge—I read a book for that
knowledge. It is very directed reading.”
Garth exclusively reads fiction when he is reading graphic novels and comics. He reads
DC comics (Batman, Superman, and the Green Lantern) but does not appreciate the DC Reboot
(rewrites of the origin stories across the entire DC catalogue): “I mean, how do they take Barbara
Gordon (Batgirl) out of the chair2 as if it never happened? It is insufferable.” He was quite
passionate about the changes in origin stories for several characters and often sounded as if his
friends were being slighted by the changes DC Comics has made. Although he does not
participate in face-to-face social groups focusing on comics or graphic novels, he spends time
talking about comics in online forums, including Goodreads, Comic Geek Speak, and others. In
addition, he reads memoirs and design books by comics authors such as Comics and Sequential
Art (Eisner, 1985/2001), Kirby: King of Comics (Evanier, 2008), Understanding Comics: The
Invisible Art (McCloud, 1994), and The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History (Harvey,
1996). In general, Garth reads comics and graphic novels and reads about them. He does not
aspire to write or create these works. He sees himself as “an informed consumer” instead.
Ginger is a seventeen-year-old White female. At the time of this study, she was a senior
in high school and was planning on attending one of three large colleges in the state of Michigan.
She is planning to major in psychology “to start with and see if I like it. I mean, I, like, might
actually hate hearing about people’s problems, but right now, I love it and read a bunch of stuff
about mental illness and stuff.” She started reading Manga in 3rd grade, when she was nine years
old, but “it got kind of the same.” She read Anime through elementary school and into middle
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
2
Bat Girl/Barbara Gordon, renamed Oracle, was shot by The Joker and paralyzed. She became a
wheelchair-bound martial arts expert who hacked world-wide computer networks in an ongoing
effort to continue to fight crime.
38

school but wasn’t interested in traditional comic books: “I kinda didn’t even see comic books. I
mean, they are all so about Superman and all that Justice League stuff. Then someone showed
me Hellboy3 and that changed everything.” She now reads comics and graphic novels that she
characterizes as “indie/goth” and fantasy.
She often re-reads graphic novels; sometimes as soon as she is finished she goes back to
page one. The graphic novels and comics she listed as her current favorites focus on fiction that
tends towards goth culture, high fantasy, and personal melodrama: Emily The Strange by Rob
Reger, The Good Neighbors Series by Holly Black and Naifeh Teb, and Blankets by Craig
Thompson. Ginger spends her free time at the local public library stacking books in exchange for
preview rights on new graphic novel acquisitions. She enjoys her status as an expert among her
peers and sees her role as a book tester: “See, I understand, or I’m learning to understand, what
makes a good book [graphic novel]…like the art and the story and how it’s made. I’m way into
authors and publishers like Dark Horse and stuff, because of my work with the librarians, and I
totally share that with my friends.” Her dedication to graphic novels and her relationships with
the teen librarians at the public library contributed to her being selected to work as a consultant
in graphic novel acquisitions for the high school she attends.
Gidget is nineteen-year-old White female recruited through the local Comics Forum. At
the time of this study, she worked as a tattoo apprentice, attended classes at the local city college
in the comic arts program, and hoped to publish her own work someday. She reads and listens to
“everything [she] can find about comics” especially interviews and blogs by comics artists. She
began reading her father’s old Archie comics when she was “around 6 or something ridiculous

	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
3
Hellboy, a comicbook superhero who is a demon. The series is written by Michael Mignola.
39

like that” but now prefers graphic novels because of the ability of “good artists to stretch and
show a multitude of perspectives while telling a compelling story.”
Gidget takes a feminist stance on comics illustrations and describes herself as a “lone
voice in a sea of idiots” when talking to other fans: “Let’s be honest, most comics readers and
writers are boys and they, for some reason, need to see nipples all the time.” Gidget is passionate
about what she sees as the misrepresentation of women in comics. She discusses this and other
social issues in face-to-face social groups, in local comics shops, and various online forums,
including a dedicated Facebook page and Goodreads. During our first interview she complained,
“The view of women as nothing more than a pair of huge breasts, especially in the super hero
genre, is a problem, a big problem. I mean, it’s worse than Seventeen [Magazine] and Vogue!”
She admires graphic novels such as Persepolis by Majane Satrapi, Blankets and Goodbye
Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson, and Ghost World by Daniel Clowes.
Penelope is a twenty-year-old White female with an associate’s degree, and at the time of
this study she was pursuing a bachelor’s degree from a large university. She stated in our initial
interview that she “always has a book or two on [her].” When asked, she was able to produce
three novels from her backpack: Janice Galloway’s The Trick Is to Keep Breathing, Steig
Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire, and Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers. The first two
were for “pure pleasure” and the last was for school. When asked about her thoughts on the
novel for school, she said, “I sort of hate it but I’ll get it read before the test.” She also reads
magazines such as People, US Weekly, and National Geographic. At the time of this study she
had read one graphic novel: “Something stupid … about a blob thing that was lost or something.
There was a dragon, I remember that.” I asked, “Could the title be Bone?” and she responded,
“Yes, maybe. I really don’t remember. As soon as I read it, I forgot it.”

40

She tutors during the school year, working with middle school students in an after-school
program, and hopes to teach upper elementary or, ideally, middle school: “I don’t really want to
teach them how to read, but I want to help them love to read.” Her peer group (both face-to-face
and online) provides her with most of her recommendations for novels. She reads across several
genres, including historical fiction, biographies, realistic fiction, social sciences, and
inspirational/religious books. Her mother, sister, and best friends often share books and form
impromptu book groups (again both face-to-face and online) to discuss a particular book or
series. For example, she and three friends read Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy together: “We
spent last summer reading the Dragon Tattoo books. We rented the Swedish version of the
movie and then saw the English one. It was interesting to look at the book from so many angles
with such different people.” She is organizing another such reading/watching group for The
Hunger Games by Susan Collins. She has a reading schedule and is currently working to develop
questions for her reading group by rereading The Giver by Lois Lowry and reading articles about
YA fiction and dystopia novels. Her goal as facilitator of the reading group is to get the
conversation started and keep the group discussion lively and focused. The group will be
meeting face-to-face and virtually before and after they see the movie. She is taking the lead on
this activity and that is typical for Penelope (and other experts) in that they want to learn and
guide others at the same time.
Paige is twenty years old and identifies as White, middle class, and a “lifelong
bookworm.” She does not remember a time when she could not read and, according to her
mother, she entered kindergarten reading Winnie the Pooh and other early chapter books:
“Fourth grade was super hard. All of a sudden it wasn’t OK for me to read all the time, I
mean…I read books, like novels, all the time and got in trouble a couple of times.” At the time of

41

this study, Paige was an English major, but she was applying to the college of education. She
hopes to be a high school English teacher and will perhaps move on to teaching college
someday: “Actually, all I want to do is read.”
One year prior to the study, Paige took a position as an unpaid intern at a publisher for a
semester. Of the experience, she said, “All I did was read. I read for 18 hours a day! I’d read and
then write a memo about the book, and then I’d read some more. Some of the stuff was just
garbage, but a few things were great. One even got a contract!” I asked if she wanted to write
and she responded with a laugh, “God no! I actually hate writing, and I’m not very creative. I
love to read, to go to different places and times, and be different people and have other
experiences. That’s what I love about reading, the not being me so much.” She reads multiple
genres including YA dystopia novels, romantic thrillers, mysteries, memoirs, historical accounts,
and more. Book clubs are an important social outlet for Paige. She joined her mother’s book club
when she was in high school, started a book club in the dorms that continues to meet, and started
another one at her current apartment complex. She also volunteers with the local library’s teen
book club: “I help make the selection for the kids to pick from.”
Because she reads so much and so widely, she has a wide variety of “online reading
buddies” on Facebook and Goodreads that recommend new books, authors, and series to her:
“Yeah, series can be a problem for me. I can pick one up, and if I don’t like it, I can put it down
again, no problem. But, if I like it, I have to read it all right away.” She read the six books in
George R. R. Martin’s series over the course of two weeks because her brother recommended the
most recent book A Dance with Dragons (2011). After reading it, she got the first four and read
them all in order, ending with a reread of A Dance with Dragons. At the time of the first

42

interview for the study, Paige was reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca
Skloot, The Host by Stephenie Meyer, and Daisy Miller by Henry James (for a class).
Parker is twenty-year–old White male pursuing an undergraduate degree from a large
Midwestern university. He is planning to apply to masters programs in his field of study.4 During
the think-aloud, Parker told me he has Tourette’s syndrome, and although the condition affects
his physical behavior, it does not affect his mental capacity. He was glad to be part of a study
because of his chosen behaviors, like reading, and not because of his condition. Parker was an
average reader until his Tourette’s behavior surfaced in the third grade: “It was so weird for
everyone; it was just easier to put me in a corner so I could tic and read and not bother everyone
else.” In the fifth grade, a teacher, Mr. Yates, helped Parker deal with school and “totally turned
me on to sci-fi and fantasy books like Ender’s Game (by Orson Scott Card) and The Hobbit by J.
R. R. Tolkien.” He read to escape, but eventually others noticed that Parker knew more about
The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter than most. His social circle centered around reading and
rereading science fiction and fantasy books and eventually expanded to online role playing
games.
Parker reads voraciously: “The meds I take can make it hard to sleep through the night,
so I have a lot of time to read.” He rereads books and series often, but doesn’t hesitate to add
new authors when he finds them. If he begins a book, he finishes it, even if he does not enjoy the
book. This was even true for the Twilight series, which he read at the behest of his girlfriend. He
also reads what he calls “political memoirs,” including all of the books by President Obama, the
Clintons, and the Bushes. He works part-time in a local bookstore and sometimes writes reviews
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
4
Parker requested key identifiers be omitted from his profile to protect his privacy.

43

for the store. He trades books with friends and is an avid second-hand bookstore customer, often
talking to and getting recommendations from other bookstore employees and patrons: “I like
talking to science fiction and fantasy folks. They don’t judge when I tic so much because they’re
all a little freaky, too.”
Paul is a twenty-year-old White male who considers himself a reader but not an expert in
any one subject. He is currently enrolled at a city college and plans to transfer to a nearby fouryear college in the English department. After working at many jobs, he has decided to become a
high school English teacher partially because the only constant in his life has been reading
books. He often reads in “batches,” where he becomes interested in a subject, person, or event
and then reads everything he can around the focus. These foci often spiral or “web out” into
other things that connect to the original foci. For example, Paul read the 9/11 Commission Report
last year and then read “about seven or eight other books by people that were there. Reluctant
Hero (by Michael Benfante and Dave Hollander) was terrible, but Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close (by Jonathan Safran Foer) was great. I even cried a little.”
Paul shares his knowledge of books in multiple informal and formal settings including
writing book reviews for blogs and on Goodreads, as well as creating Listmania lists on
Amazon.com detailing his reading “webs.” He belongs to a book club that meets at a local
comics and gaming shop and regularly swaps books with a large group of people at work and in
school. He purposely takes courses from professors that assign large book lists: “I love to look
down a reading list and check off the ones I’ve already read. Makes me feel like I’m finally
getting ahead of the game.” His wide-ranging taste in books also takes him to local used books
shops where he often trades books and has become a “sort of … regular, like, they know me and
hold stuff for me that I might be interested in.” But unlike some of the other readers in this study,

44

Paul does not use the library, saying, “I hate having to give a book back. I want to keep them
until I’m ready.”
Data Sources
The Reading Habits Survey (see Appendix A) was sent to each participant via email. All
think-alouds, interviews, and the attention mapping activity were video recorded with two
cameras: one oriented towards the participant’s upper body and face in order to best capture
expressions and physical actions (see Figure 6), and a second camera oriented towards the text to
capture the participant’s manipulation of the text (see Figure 7). The recordings of the thinkalouds were used as the stimulus for the retrospective interview with each participant. During the
retrospective interview, the participants were directed to watch selected portions of their own
think-aloud and explain or elaborate on their thinking.

Figure 6. Camera 1 oriented to capture participant’s expressions and voice.

Figure 7. Camera 2 orientated towards book during think-alouds.
Reading Habits Survey
Each participant was asked to complete a Reading Habits Survey (RHS) developed for
this study (See Appendix A). The survey was modeled on subsections of the 2003 National
Assessment of Adult Literacy (Baldi, 2009) with modifications focusing on internet, multimedia
45

and graphica reading. The genres that participants were asked about are common across both
print-dominant and graphic novels (Johnson, 2009; McCloud, 1994; Nikolajeva & Scott, 2006). I
have been unable to find such genre conventions or categories in regard to online reading in the
extant literature.5
Think-alouds with Individually Selected Graphic Novel
In order to gain access to the most immediate information about the strategies used by
these readers, this study utilizes think-aloud protocols (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). Because of
the exploratory nature of this study, the verbal protocols were designed to be open and flexible,
providing an abundance of data for thick descriptions of expert readers’ negotiations of verbal
and visual sign systems (Geertz, 1973; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). Although think-aloud data
is often fragmented and somewhat disorganized, these chaotic reports provide a view of the wide
array of thoughts and impulses active during reading. One important aspect of think-alouds as a
research tool is their ability to show the sequence of attention and thought as it happens.
For the think-aloud portion of the study, each participant was asked to choose from a
selection of three graphic novels he or she had never read for the think-aloud (see Appendix B
for complete prompt). The graphic novels for this portion of the study were all full color, had
varying panel sizes and complex story lines with multiple characters, interconnected plots, and
similar text loads. At the advice of local informants (including three local bookstore owners, two
librarians, and several readers active in the local comics scene), I choose to focus on graphic
novels that are categorized as fantasy. The expert readers in the area, according to local
informants, were more likely to read graphic novels that were encompassed by three main
genres: superhero comics (including DC, Marvel or Dark Horse), Manga and anime, or historical
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
5
For a review of the recent scholarship on the theoretical development of online genres, please
see Rhetorical Genre Studies and Beyond (2008), by Natasha Artemeva and Aviva Freedman.
46

(both fiction and non-fiction). Therefore, I avoided these genres. The graphic novels used for the
think-aloud portion of this study are written and/or marketed as YA literature: Coraline: The
Graphic Novel (2009) by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell (Illustrator), Hatter M, Vol. 1: The
Looking Glass Wars (2008) by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith
(Illustrator), and The Rabbi’s Cat (2005) by Joann Sfar.
After choosing one of the three graphic novels, each reader was directed to begin reading
at the second chapter. The graphic novel selection process was used as a training tool for the
think-aloud. I provided the following prompt to each participant:
I am going to show you several graphic novels that you said you have not read. You will
choose one to read today. While selecting the novel, tell me what you are thinking while
selecting the novel. Please do whatever you would usually do to choose a graphic novel
(or print-dominant novel) and keep me aware of what you are thinking by saying it aloud.
This selection process gave me the opportunity to scaffold the participants’ think-aloud skills.
When the participant showed the ability to verbalize his or her thinking instead of narrating
physical action or asking questions directed towards me, we continued to the think-aloud. If the
participant did not show an understanding of the think-aloud (e.g., tried to include me in the
dialogue, asked me questions, or looked to me for approval or answers), I asked questions to
encourage utterances focusing on his or her thinking. I used additional prompts when necessary,
including:
•

I see you are spending a lot of time on that page/section. What are you thinking?

•

You put that book down very quickly. Can you tell me what made you decide you did not
want to read it?

•

Can you tell me anything more about that?

47

•

What were you looking at on the page that prompted that?
Having the readers begin in the second chapter allowed me to observe the ways these

readers oriented themselves within the story. The directions for the think-aloud are designed to
be open-ended and ask the participants not to narrate or explain their thinking but rather to report
their thinking as it occurs and while negotiating the text. Pressley and Afflerbach (1995) provide
guidance for designing verbal protocols: “If the goal is to have as naturalistic cognition as
possible, then participants should not be provided information about the particular processes of
interest to the researcher” (p. 11).
After the think-aloud, I asked the participants a set of open-ended questions to elicit a
recall, including their aesthetic responses:
1. What do you remember about what you read?
a. Anything else?
2. Often in a text, there are clues that build on other pieces to help you understand the text.
What was most helpful for remembering what you read?
3. What was most interesting?
4. How would you communicate what is most important about this story to a friend?
5. What are you pretty sure that people who don’t read these books wouldn’t understand?
6. Is there anything you would like to add about the way you understand the book?
Retrospective Stimulus Interview
According to Pressley and Afflerbach (1995), one of the challenges of using think-aloud
protocols with skilled adult readers is one of automaticity: “Protocol analysis is much more
sensitive to processes that have not been automatized, ones that are still under conscious control”
(p. 9). The authors suggest that a possible solution to this issue is retrospective reporting. Newell

48

(1996) found that interrupting readers while they were reading challenging texts in order to get a
more accurate portrait of comprehension was problematic because the readers were more likely
to anticipate Newell’s questions rather than report on their processes. In an analysis of
assessment strategies, Scott (2008) found that think-alouds provided the most comprehensive
data on reading strategies while interviewing provided more metacognitive data. It is possible
that using both strategies will provide a richer, more complex view of the work these readers put
into comprehending graphic novels. In this study, the retrospective interview provided
explanations of the ways readers negotiated or failed to negotiate text and image.
Visual Attention Maps
This activity was specifically designed for this study and provided a variety of surprises
that I will detail in Chapter 4. The method and analysis will be outlined here in a manner
consistent with the original proposal.
One aspect of reading that may be unique to graphic novels is the reader’s negotiation of
visual stimuli, including line, color, saturation, implied motion and other graphical features
(McCloud, 1994; Nikolajeva & Scott, 2006). Dual Coding Theory (Clark & Paivio, 1991; Paivio,
1991) stresses that the more complex and contextualized the meaning of the text, the more
important controlling attention is for making sense of the text. To observe how these readers
negotiated the stimuli of full color images and verbal elements of text and the ways these expert
readers mete out their attention, each participant was asked use his or her finger to illustrate his
or her attention across the opening pages of five different graphic novels (Percy Jackson was
used a training tool).
Each of the opening pages was be enlarged by 225% and mounted on form core board to
allow the image to be placed in front of the participant at a 90-degree angle (see figure 8).

49

!

Figure 8. Camera 2 orientated towards enlarged graphic novel pages during VAM.
Enlarging the entire page kept the integrity of the text intact while allowing me to
observe the participant’s movement across the page even as they talked about their attention
shifts throughout the page. Some of the graphic novels that were used for this activity are
produced on high gloss paper (Percy Jackson, Wonder Woman, and Laika). The enlarged
versions used for this study were also printed on photo-quality, high-gloss paper using a highgrade plot printer capable of layering colors to achieve the same bright colors and rich hues.
Likewise, matte paper was used for the enlarged images for the graphic novels published on
matte paper (Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Garage Band, and Storm in the Barn). The edges
of the enlarged images were cropped to match the white space of the book page. This is similar
to the method used by Norman (2011) to observe the ways second-grade readers used graphics in
informational texts. Before revealing the enlarged page, I read a short statement:
I’m going to show you an enlarged page for the beginning of six different graphic
novels. Some are one page and some are two pages. As soon as you can, please
point to the first thing that draws your attention. From there, please point out what
draws your attention. Don’t try and make sense of what you see, simply move
from one attention point to the next.
This was an untimed activity, and participants took as long as they needed. After they indicated
they were finished providing a visual representation of their attention, I then asked, “What do
you think the story is about?” This created story was again an untimed activity. When the reader

50

finished explaining the created story I asked if there was anything more to add. If not, I then told
the participant the title of the book and asked if they wanted to change anything about the story
they created (see Appendix C for prompts). This open-ended protocol was used after the
participants had already spent time talking about graphic novels, detailing their own reading
habits, and performing a thirty-minute think-aloud and retelling with a graphic novel.
The VAM provides a unique opportunity to visually represent attention shifts across the
opening pages of these novels, but the second task in the activity also offered insight into the
reading of graphic novels. The story predictions, or created stories, the readers produced from
being asked, “What do you think the story is about?” before and after they were told the title
helps illustrate the differences between these two groups of expert readers.
The books chosen for this particular activity were selected because they represent the
variety of genres and styles typical of modern graphic novels. It was important to find and use
graphic novels that my participants had not read previously. In order to select from the thousands
of titles available, I sought guidance and recommendations from various experts in the field,
including local comics shop owners, online teacher resources, graphic novel scholars, librarians,
readers, publishers, and bloggers. The books had to have an opening sequence that provided
enough material (either written text or images) for the readers to make some sort of reasonable
prediction of the story. A final list of fifteen graphic novels was vetted by two different local
comics shop owners and a teen librarian to assure the books were not popular with the readers in
this geographic region and provided enough information in the opening pages. After an
exhaustive search, six texts were selected for the activity (see Appendix D for images).
•

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (Bechdel, 2006)

•

Garage Band (Gipi, 2007)

51

•

Laika (Abadzis, 2007a)

•

Storm in the Barn (Phelan, 2009)

•

Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (Picoult et al., 2007)
Data Analysis

Video recordings were used as the primary data source, with the exception of the Reading
Habits Survey and the VAM’s created stories, which were transcribed. The use of video as a
primary data source allowed for a more detailed and targeted analysis of physical gestures of
attention, such as pointing to images or mimicking actions seen in the novels. It also afforded the
possibility to watch the readers’ actions multiple times, each time focused on a different aspect
of the reading. Using video allowed me to account for time-on-page during think-alouds and to
create an accurate and representational map of readers’ VAM.
Think-aloud Data
An initial analysis looking for reading patterns and breaks in patterns in the 30-minute
think-alouds was completed by three different researchers who were not well-versed in graphic
novels, video data analysis techniques, or think-aloud protocols. Inter-rater reliability (IRR) for
these patterns and breaks in patterns reached 84% after discussions. These patterns and breaks in
patterns were then used as the basis for the stimuli interviews.
Along with an analysis of the reading patterns, I also measured the rate at which each
participant read his or her selected graphic novel (see Table 3). The video of each of the thinkalouds was used as the primary data source for the reading rate, which was measured by page
turns. IRR for the reading rate was also completed with three other scholars and had a 92%
agreement after discrepancies were discussed.

52

Table 3
Think-aloud Books by Participant
Participant
George

Book Choice
Hatter M, Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars (2008) by Frank
Beddor and Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith (Illustrator)

Gidget

Hatter M, Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars (2008) by Frank
Beddor and Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith (Illustrator)

Garth

Coraline: The Graphic Novel (2009) by Neil Gaiman and P.
Craig Russell (Illustrator)

Ginger

Hatter M, Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars (2008) by Frank
Beddor and Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith (Illustrator)

Paul

Hatter M, Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars (2008) by Frank
Beddor and Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith (Illustrator)

Paige

Coraline: The Graphic Novel (2009) by Neil Gaiman and P.
Craig Russell (Illustrator)

Penelope

The Rabbi’s Cat (2005) by Joann Sfar

Parker

The Rabbi’s Cat (2005) by Joann Sfar

Lastly, an analysis of the sequence of metacognitive reading strategies (see Table 4) was
completed using the video data of the think-alouds. This study focused on metacognitive reading
strategies and although there were other reading strategies in evidence, they were not coded at
this time. The same inter-raters viewed the video data and coded participant utterances for
metacognitive reading strategies. IRR for the metacognitive strategies with three scholars
achieved 90% agreement after discrepancies were discussed.

53

Table 4
Metacognitive Reading Strategies Coded in Think-Alouds
Metacognitive
Strategy
Meaningful
processing of
text

Code

Definition

Example

MPT

Hypothesizing, substantiating, paraphrasing, and restating
ideas from the text

Reads “Sploosh” aloud and says “he’s
there… (points to a sign in the background
written in French) in France but he’s
speaking English…he looks like the main
guy so that’s what I’m going with.”

Inference

INF

Determining the meaning of a word or symbol within the
text, relating prior knowledge to text information, making
inferences about the characters or the setting, and
confirming or disconfirming an inference

“Tea but that is a lot more than just tea…
(points to table laid with sandwiches and
cakes) must be in England.”

Interpreting

INT

Constructing conclusions, generalizations, or
“ …why are they swimming? The cat’s
categorizations by identifying and providing interpretations having a hukkah dream or he’s high.”
for either written text or illustrations

Monitoring

M

Perceptions of word difficulty, perceptions of text
characteristics, recognizing or resolving problems in
reading, distorting text to fit hypotheses, and questioning

“OK, I’m lost here.” (Flips back to
previous pages). This guy isn’t the same
rat guy…he’s actually made out of rats.
Totally changes the story.”

Evaluating

E

Judgments related to content and style of text, expressing
affective reactions, and expressing approval or disapproval
of the characters, places, or circumstances in the story

“Oh! Evil monkeys! Yay! I love evil
monkeys!”

54

Table 4 (cont’d)
Metacognitive
Strategy

Code

Definition

Example

Paralinguistic
production

PP

Self-talk, parenthetical comments, pauses with no
explanation by the reader, referential comments, fillers,
prosodic shifts in stress or intonation, and paralinguistic
features such as sighs, laughter, or throat clearing

“Oh my god!” Sustained laughter while
pointing at an illustration of the Rabbi’s
cat getting kicked. “Bonk!”

Proximal Intertextual
connection

P-InCon

Connecting the text being read to other texts. Proximal
texts (near) would be either from the same genre or
medium

“A retelling…reminds me of Wicked.
Same story, just from a different view.”

Inter-textual
connection

D-InCon Connecting the text being read to other texts. Distal texts
(far) would be either from the unrelated genres or
mediums.

55

“A magic rock? Like Sylvester and the
Pebble.” (Referring to a ruin stone given
to Coraline. Sylvester and the Magic
Pebble, by William Steig, is about a
donkey who wishes on a rock).

Retrospective Stimulus Interview
After all the think-alouds were completed and the initial analysis was done, the
participants returned for a stimulus interview based on the information gathered from their thinkalouds. The stimulus interviews were reviewed to provide context for the readers’ actions when
trying to make sense of a graphic novel. The stimulus interviews were used to provide context
for the think-alouds.
Visual Attention Mapping (VAM) Activity
The VAM activity was specifically designed for this study to investigate the ways expert
readers direct their attention through the first pages of graphic novels. There are some
practitioner resources (see Rudiger, 2006; Thompson, 2008) that provide examples of the correct
way to attend to the page, but these pieces do not include information about readers. Because the
cost of eye tracking equipment was prohibitive for this study, I designed an activity and an
analysis method that would provide a way to illustrate readers’ attention. The orientation of the
second video camera (over the participant’s shoulder, toward the poster) was crucial for
capturing the hand movements of the participants as they mapped their attention across the first
pages of the graphic novels. The contents of the participant-created stories (before and after the
title was given) were transcribed from the first camera’s recordings for analysis.
VAM Patterns and Pauses. It took several iterations of analysis of the video footage to
build the final product that represented readers’ attention shifts while reading. Each participant’s
video recording of the VAM was loaded into Apple’s iMovie 2009 to edit the clips for easier use
and transfer across platforms for analysis and IRR scoring. The software allowed clips to be
watched using Quicktime so that the playback could be focused on the poster boards and played
at slow speeds and reversed. The features of this software allowed me to create a visual

56

representation of their attention pattern. To capture the pattern, I used two large screen monitors
with the video on one monitor and a copy of the image set to 70% transparency in Microsoft
Word 2008 on the other monitor. Using this two-screen method I was able to carefully transcribe
the pattern, along with the readers’ pauses, to the computer image.
An unexpected result, detailed in Chapter 4, was readers’ use of multiple layers of
attention across the opening pages of the graphic novel selections. All of the readers, without
being prompted to do so, took their hand away from the poster board, paused, and then returned
their hand to the poster. These breaks in their attention were often not verbalized but were so
consistent across all readers that I devised a way to represent these breaks as layers. These layers
are referred to as attention sweeps. The first attention sweep, from the time the participant
pointed to the first place his or her attention was drawn to through the spot that their hand left the
board, was coded in red. If, as many readers did on most of the boards, their hand returned to the
board, a green line was used next. A yellow line was used for the third attention sweep. No
reader used more than three separate attention sweeps on a panel. Also unexpected were the
pauses that were observed as the readers made their way across each page. Sequentially
numbered black dots were used along the line of the attention sweep to indicate pauses. A pause
occurred when a reader’s progress along an attention sweep slowed or stopped but the reader did
not lose contact with the board.
Three research assistants were trained to translate the participant VAMs from the video to
a static, graphic representation. Each research assistant created VAM representations for all of
the participants. The images from the graphic novels were placed on standard 8.5 inches by 11
inches pages with 1 inch margins. The lines used to indicate the attention sweeps were 3.5 pt,
and the pauses were indicated by 0.15 inch circles. Both the lines of the attention sweeps and the

57

pauses had to be within 2mm between all three raters to be considered in agreement. This was
measured from the edge of the line or the dot for a .5% margin of error. If all three raters were
not in agreement, we discussed the differences, consulted the video, and tried to come to
consensus. The IRR for the print-dominant readers’ attention sweeps was 93%. Pauses were
correlated at 89%. The IRR for graphic novel readers’ attention sweeps was 90%, and the IRR
for pauses was 87%.
Created Stories
This was the last element of the study for these participants. They had all conducted a
thirty-minute think-aloud and participated in two different interviews focused on graphic novels
and their own reading of graphic novels. Each of the participants seemed to be comfortable
talking about their thinking by this time. Reflecting on the process, Paige said, “It’s like I’m
letting you in my head when I read.” The audio from the first camera, oriented towards the
readers’ faces and upper body, was used to create transcripts of the readers’ stories. The
transcripts were separated into two sections, before and after the title of the book was given.
Each created story from the participants was read for overall complexity as well as alignment
with the actual graphic novel.
Complexity. In order to understand the opening pages in the overall context of the novels
used for the VAM, the three research assistants read the six books used. Each participant-created
story was read and coded for complexity. Each was rated on a three-point complexity scale
(accuracy was not considered part of complexity for this analysis). The created stories were rated
as a whole, including before and after the title was revealed. The stories were scored using the
following scale: 1) Reader used either visual or verbal cues (not both) and reported what was
present on the page; 2) Reader used both visual and verbal cues but relied on one more than the

58

other, did not develop a coherent story; 3) Reader used both visual and verbal cues along with
prior knowledge to support the creation of a coherent and detailed story (see Appendix E).
Alignment. The created stories were also read for general alignment with the story of the
graphic novels used for the VAM. The raters read and provided a holistic score, along with
notations when the participant’s story aligned with a specific aspect of the book (either visual or
verbal). We met as a group to read and discuss our responses and created an overall response
memo that included all areas deemed important. Using both the initial analysis and the response
memo provided a fuller understanding of the ways these readers used and did not use the visual
and verbal stimuli available to them in the pages presented.

59

CHAPTER 3
Readers Allocate Time
Every single pleasure I can imagine or have experienced is more delightful, more of a pleasure, if
you take it in small sips, if you take your time. Reading is not an exception.
Amos Oz, Israeli author of Black Box, Vintage (March 13, 1989).

Good readers are active readers, utilizing multiple reading strategies in order to gain and
organize the information afforded in the text (Afflerbach, 1990; Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002).
Tobias (1994) asserted that one of the hallmarks of a good reader is the constant metacognitive
nature of reading in which prior knowledge and sense making are vital. He contended that the
reader’s prior knowledge is as important to the process of reading comprehension as is the ability
to recognize new information. Active, engaged, and metacognitive reading takes time.
This study was designed to capture some, but not all, of the multiple aspects that make up
any single reading event. These aspects can include the reader’s purpose, their abilities, and the
environment (Snow, 2002). In this study, the focus was on individual reading rates, reading
stances, and metacognitive reading strategies that contributed to comprehending a graphic novel.
The readers’ description of the ways these fragments worked together helped to build an
understanding of how these readers use their cognitive abilities to try and understand a graphic
novel. In this study, participants received the same prompts, read and were interviewed in the
same place, and read for the same amount of time (30 minutes). Analysis of differences in the
ways individual reading events unfolded provided insight into how graphic novels are read that
has not been seen in previous research.

60

The following findings section describes the reading performances (referred to as bonk
and flow), individual reading rates, and metacognitive reading strategies and sequences seen in
the think-alouds. These separate data points provide multiple lenses on the same reading event
thus giving a layered and rich reporting of a complex system. These elements address the first
two research questions: How do expert readers allocate time while reading a graphic novel? And
What metacognitive reading strategies do expert readers use to understand graphic novels and
how do they use them?
Reading States: Bonk and Flow
Reading in a flow state, characterized by a loss of time or awareness outside the text, has
lead to a better understanding the importance of deep engagement in reading comprehension
(See Csikszentmihalyi, 1990a; McQuillan & Conde, 1996; Shernoff, Csikszentmihalyi,
Schneider, & Shernoff, 2003). Studies find that individual readers that are engaged in a text show
higher reading recall and understanding for a longer period of time. The opposite of flow,
referred to in this study as bonk6 (Watson & Gray, 1978, p. 255). Competitive cyclists coined the
term bonk to describe the state when an individual suddenly cannot continue with the activity or
the activity becomes so draining and daunting that no matter the individual’s skill level, they
cannot continue (also known as hitting the wall). This state of reading has not been studied in
detail. In the current study, the dichotomy between bonk and flow are illustrated. The choice to
include descriptions of the reading behaviors was driven by this fact: when reading rates were
measured, these two states appear to take the same amount of time: reading five pages in flow
with deep engagement using multiple metacognitive reading strategies can take the same amount
of time as reading five pages in bonk with little to no comprehension. Even though the reading
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
6
First seen in London’s Daily Mail April 14, 1952 but entered popular vernacular later with the
publication of Penguin’s guide to cycling.
61

rates for these two very different states were similar, the readers’ behaviors and commentary
were very different.
Examples of Flow. Csikszentmihalyi’s term flow has been applied to multiple
phenomena in education including reading (Shernoff et al., 2003). It has been described as a state
of deep engagement in a challenging, intrinsically interesting, and enjoyable activity to the
degree that the individual loses track of time and finds the activity effortless (Csikszentmihalyi,
1990a). Reaching a state of flow when reading has been described as the reader losing her sense
of time along with total immersion in what is being read (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990b). For
example, after reading for 30 minutes, Gidget looked up from the book and said, “Wow, like
that’s it? I mean, I just sort of got the hang of it.” Ginger closed the book at the end of 30
minutes, rubbed her eyes and said, “Yeah, that [losing track of time] happens a lot. I didn’t think
it would here because I had to talk to you, but, yeah, that got easier, like you were just in my
head and the cameras just sort of faded. So, like, I guess I was just lost.” George actually ignored
my request to stop reading (illustrating engaged behavior) and when I asked him a second time,
he sighed, “No way. There is no way that was, like, half an hour. No.” This loss of awareness of
time because one is engaged is a typical response to being in a flow state.
Examples of Bonk. On the other side of the spectrum, far away from the effortless
balance between challenge and skill is bonk. Bonking is what happens when an individual
becomes totally disengaged and unable to continue with the activity. An example of bonking
during reading comes from Parker when he said, “I hit it, man. I hit the wall, bad. It was like…I
couldn’t even read anymore. Not like I couldn’t read THAT book but, like I couldn’t read ANY
book anymore.” Prior to this study, the term has not been to describe readers who may have the

62

cognitive ability to continue but lack the motivation and who ultimately hit a level of extreme
frustration and are no longer able to continue reading.
Individual Reading Rates. Along with bonk and flow, fluency is an indication of
individual reading comprehension. Although fluency does not lead inexorably to comprehension,
it is thought to be an important indicator of a reader’s ability to automatically decode, this
allowing them more cognitive space to construct meaning from written text (Oakhill & Cain,
2007; Wolf, 2007). Fluency is often measured by using read alouds and by calculating the
number of words read correctly in a given time (Afflerbach et al., 2008; Oakhill & Cain, 2007).
However, reading words without understanding the meaning of the text is not truly reading
comprehension; rather, it is word calling (Pressley et al., 2008). In this study, the participant’s
reading rate was calculated as the number of pages read during the 30-minute think-aloud. One
limitation to this measurement of reading rate is that this exercise required participants to
verbalize during reading, which surely take more time and cognitive effort than reading alone.
The participants were all given the same instructions and the same text selection to choose from
and so their reading rate includes not only the pages read during the elapsed time but also the
time it takes for them to think-aloud.
Although reading rates cannot be considered a measure of reading comprehension, they
are an indicator of many facets that contribute to reading comprehension, including fluency,
prosody, and accuracy (Afflerbach et al., 2008). Pressley and Afflerbach (1995) found that good
readers adjust the speed at which they read in order to achieve better understanding of the text.
This adjustment can be accomplished in multiple ways, including slowing down, speeding up,
rereading, rephrasing, skimming, pausing, and self-talk. The reader’s perception of ability,
difficulty, importance, and purpose mediate the reading rate. Anderson (1994) noted

63

comprehension of a text was only achieved when readers applied multiple cognitive processes
that occur simultaneously at varying degrees of consciousness. This effortful reading takes time
on the part of the reader to build and adjust new or existing schemas.
Graphic Novel Readers’ Think-aloud Reading Rates and Behaviors
Participants’ reading rates and their experience of either bonking or flowing as they read
are described in detail. Some readers clearly expressed entering into a state of flow or bonk,
which included either losing track of time or having a sense of time slowing. Others, however,
were less clear about their status but still fell somewhere on the spectrum. Each participant,
beginning with the expert graphic novel readers and ending with the print-dominant readers, is
described.
Gidget’s reading rate. She was a slow and steady reader who spent nearly ten minutes
selecting among the three options for the think-aloud. Her selection strategy was thorough and
foreshadowed the way she read during the think-aloud. First, she looked through each book

Gidget
0:02:53
0:02:36
0:02:18
0:02:01
0:01:44
0:01:26
0:01:09
0:00:52
0:00:35
0:00:17
0:00:00
1

3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27

Figure 9. Gidget’s individual reading rate.
64

separately. She read the reviews and commented if she recognized any of the reviewers. Then,
she flipped through the book and commented on the artistic style of the book. She then compared
the three books: “[Rabbi’s Cat] looks like a complex book—there is some animism or
paranormal stuff, which would take some time to figure out. And this one, well, I’m just…I’ve
never been able to get into this near-to-real fiction (Coraline).” She returned to Hatter M., and
said, “Alternate universe…Total fantasy…dark…this is more my interest.”
She was also the slowest of all the readers in the think-aloud, taking two minutes and
forty-four seconds to read the first page of Hatter M., her chosen text. She expressed confusion
and used questioning to help herself: “The background is this very detailed-painted look…like I
know it is pen and paint but it could be a painted photograph the line work is so fine. But this
man…this character…he looks disheveled and totally out of it and the style is in such conflict.”
She continued to review the two pages: “I can see the artistry in this work so I know the author is
technically capable, so why it is so messy?” Later, coming back to this conflicted style, she
observed, “The page is dark overall (the borders of the panels are black) but these flashes of
light…hmmmm…‘splosh’ it has to be water but why is water white?” After two minutes of
looking between pages 14 and 15, the pages I gave her as a starting point, she held page 15 in a
half-turn, her body close to the table, and head directly over the book, as if getting closer would
provide clarity: “Ok, I’ve gotten all I can from these pages. Moving on.”
Although there was little written text printed on these first pages, she spent substantial
time on these pages. In the stimulus interview, I asked about the time spent on those pages, and
she responded:
I knew it was a weird book, I mean, a comic based on a character from a Victorian
children’s book by a guy who was high all the time [Alice in Wonderland]? There was so

65

much to take in…the use of light and dark…the golds…it was all so much. I mean,
maybe if you’d let me start at the beginning, but starting without an explanation made it
important to figure out what the author was doing, why he set up the world like that. I had
to figure out the world I was given before I could understand the story.
Although Gidget’s reading rate was initially quite slow, her page rate increased over the
30 minutes. By the time she was finished, she read the last page in 59 seconds (See Figure 9).
The increased rate did not occur incrementally; instead, there was a noticeable drop in reading
speed around minute 10, or pages 20-23. In this section of her think-aloud, she was able to
answer many of the questions she posed to herself at the beginning of the think-aloud. She then
settled into a rate of approximately 50 seconds per page (the range was from 48 to 60 seconds)
for the rest of the read-aloud. Her reading rate increased to match the challenge of the text. Her
first minutes were spent “untangling the story”, as she described it. After she “hit her stride”, she
was able to read faster. She describes the experience in the retrospective interview: “oh, yeah, I
totally, just like, got the story and everything. I didn’t have to spend all the time figuring it out. I
had it.” She experienced a flow state with the text.
George’s reading rate. He was the fastest graphic novel reader. During the initial
interview he described an experience of reaching a flow state when reading:
I was in New York [Manhattan] last summer, but I was staying in Queens with a bunch of
friends. We had a sublet for, like, almost no money and I was working and hanging out a
lot. So, I’d take a train into New York to go to clubs and stuff. The train was supposed to
take like 22 minutes but it was always stopping so it usually took 45 minutes. On
weekends it would take like an hour, so I’d read. This one time, I totally remember, I was

66

reading From Hell.7 I was in the middle of the book and it was beautiful and so intricate I
got lost. Like, not lost on the train…I totally blew past New York and ended up in like
Coney Island or something and had to get back. I mean, I was totally in Queen Victoria’s
England and in dark alleys with this total psycho. I got off the train at the end, crossed the
tracks and got back on. I was totally going to go to this club, meet my guys, but it
happened again. I was reading and all of a sudden I was in Queens again! I gave up, went
back to the apartment and read until like 10 in the morning.

George
0:01:26
0:01:18
0:01:09
0:01:00
0:00:52
0:00:43
0:00:35
0:00:26
0:00:17
0:00:09
0:00:00
1

3

5

7

9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33

Figure 10. George’s individual reading rate.
Directly after his 30-minute think-aloud with Hatter M. he expressed the same kind of loss of
time, and commented on the balance between the challenge of the task and his ability:
“So, I get to take the book, right?” He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles.
“Not yet. I’d like you to wait and not read it until after I look at the video and we have a
chance to talk.” I responded, taking the book out of his hands.
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
7
From Hell (2000) is Alan Moore’s historical-fiction novel about Jack the Ripper.
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“OK. That makes sense. How much more time do we have today?”
“None, you’re done. You read for half an hour.” I was a bit confused by his question.
“No, I mean, so…like, that’s it? I thought it would be longer. Like, I mean it was half an
hour but it felt really short and, like, I’d just gotten into it.”
His reading rate was not as smooth as other readers (See Figure 10). In fact, one might
infer from the graph that the irregular rate of his page turns reflects an inconsistent or stop and
start pattern. It is therefore interesting that in his retrospective interview his comments reflect a
flow state: “I guess … well, I guess it was hard at first, like you dropped me into the middle of
the book. I didn’t know where or when and then the guy, Hatter, was sploshing and hacking and
then there was a random monkey and zombies! You gotta love a book with zombies and random
monkeys, right?” He continued, “But then, really quickly, it came together. Hatter was on a total
mission. He was a total badass but for the good of his charge [Princess Alysse] and he was
extreme in his chivalry. Once I had that down, you said it was time to stop. It was like sitting
down after dinner to play World of Warcraft (online multi-million player role playing game) and
all of a sudden your alarm goes off and it’s time to go to class.”
Ginger’s reading rate. She read smoothly, slower at the beginning of the think-aloud but
quickly coming to a speed that she was able to stay with throughout the book (See figure 11).
Her reading rate could be characterized as steady or even plodding. Her report of the think-aloud
illuminated how she experienced the event, and although she did not report losing track of time,
she did say, “It was pretty easy to get into a groove and pretty much stay there.” I asked about
the section in which her reading becomes a bit erratic, minutes 8-14, and she said, “That is where
things got a little weird. The entire color scheme changes (from blues to golds) and I needed to
figure that out.” She saw a change in the illustrations, recognized that the change might be

68

important and took an appropriate action (slowing her reading). “After that, I knew what it meant
when things changed like that … It was a change in mood and space but not in time.” Her ability
to monitor, evaluate, and interpret provided her with a better understanding of the book.

Ginger
0:01:18
0:01:09
0:01:00
0:00:52
0:00:43
0:00:35
0:00:26
0:00:17
0:00:09
0:00:00
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33

Figure 11. Ginger’s individual reading rate
Garth’s reading rate. His reading pattern was very similar to the other expert graphic
novel readers (See figure 12). He begins more slowly, finds a pace and then stays within that
pace until he has a need to change. Around pages 13-17 in his think-aloud of Coraline (Gaiman,
2009b), he slowed his page turns. The change in rate was because he was using more
metacognitive reading strategies, and therefore he took longer to verbalize what he was thinking.
Garth also increased verbalization and exhibited a slower reading rate beginning at page 28 (he
was asked to begin reading the second chapter) where Coraline pilfers a key and opens a door.

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Garth
0:01:44
0:01:26
0:01:09
0:00:52
0:00:35
0:00:17
0:00:00
1

4

7

10

13

16

19

22

25

28

Figure 12. Garth’s individual reading rate
The pages have multiple frame sizes and the transitions are primarily action to action, but
the action is illustrated in minute detail (see Table 5).
Table 5
Panel-by-Panel Action Sequence of Gaiman’s Coraline (2009b) Page 28
Panel
1 (with
three
inlaid
panels)

Description
A small sequence of Coraline spotting a key
on top of a door frame, and dragging a chair

2

Close view of Coraline’s hand reaching for
a large, old fashion key

3

View from behind of Coraline approaching
a closed door

4

Close view of the key being inserted into
the keyhole

5

Close view of Coraline’s hand on the knob

6

Medium, rear view of Coraline standing in
the open doorway.

Written Text

The door opened into a dark hallways,
it was as if the bricks had never been
there

Note: No copyright for the images in Coraline was granted at the time of publication.
70

After this change in reading rate, Garth returned to a quicker rate. When asked about the
change in rate he responded, “Yeah, well, you know doors always hold the potential for change. I
knew Gaimen’s work and this was going to be fantasy … so like Witch in the Wardrobe
(referring to C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, 1950) her walking through
that door meant something. Like, something big.” It is important to note that although there was
much less text on these pages than on other pages, Garth spent more time on this page. He spent
the time focusing on the illustrations and gathering information from the illustrations that helped
him understand the story. His used the illustrations to make meaning, and just as active and
engaged print-dominant reading takes time, so does reading images.
Print-Dominant Readers’ Think-aloud Reading Rates and Behaviors
In the next section, each of the print-dominant readers’ think-aloud experiences and
reading rate will be described in detail. Again, if the readers did not indicate a change or
awareness of a change in their reading behavior, none is assigned.
Paul’s reading rate. He was the fastest reader of the entire group. He read the first page
of Hatter M., his chosen text, in 22 seconds (See Figure 13). His reading rate seemed erratic,
speeding up and slowing down throughout the thirty-minute think-aloud. Although he did not
express his status as clearly as other readers, his reading stance seemed closer to bonking. During
the stimulus interview, he described the experience of reading Hatter M.: “It was like driving a
stick (manual transmission car) for the first time. I never could find the groove and just go.” His
reading was also accompanied by a corresponding physical and mental restlessness. He asked
how much time had elapsed almost every five minutes of the 30-minute think-aloud, more than

71

Paul
0:01:44
0:01:26
0:01:09
0:00:52
0:00:35
0:00:17
0:00:00
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41
Figure 13. Paul’s individual reading rate.
any other reader. His physical restlessness was indicated by sighs, coughs, throat clearing,
moving his chair, and continually adjusting the book. This was an unusual reading stance for
Paul. As he watched the video of himself reading he said, “Jeez, yeah, I hated reading that book.
I could not believe how long it was taking and I guess I just wanted it to end.”
Parker’s reading rate. His reading rate in this study was the slowest of all the printdominant participants, which is interesting considering his Reading Habits Survey interview in
which he spoke about reading George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones (approximately 800
pages) twice over a single weekend with “plenty of breaks and lots of sleep.” He described the
first time he could remember losing track of time while reading:
I was just starting to read the Tolkien books for the second time. I mean, I was young, so
yeah, I had to read them a couple of times to really get them. It was summer and I was
with my mom in Grand Haven, I hated going to the beach because my ticking was so

72

obvious and weird and people just stared. Anyway, I stayed home one day, just me and
my book. Yeah, I started reading, I remember I was on the back porch and it was
screened, and I must have read for like 4 hours. The only thing that brought me out was
my mom coming in and talking to me from the kitchen.
It was obvious Parker had reached the balance between interest, challenge, and ability while
reading print-dominant books. Although his experience of reading in a flow state was not unique,
his description on bonking during the think-aloud was detailed and provided a counter-balance.
As with all the other readers, he was instructed to begin reading in the second chapter of
his selected book, The Rabbi’s Cat. He read at what he considered to be a normal pace in what
he later termed “the normal way,” explaining, “You know, starting up here [upper left corner]
and … reading [motioning towards the right and back again multiple times].” In the first five
minutes, he read at a mean rate of 57.2 seconds a page. At the about the five minute mark, on
page 20 and 21, Parker stopped reading, looked at me and said, “I have no idea what is
happening. None.” I asked what he wanted to do, and he responded, “Start over. I just … what
the hell? I mean, the cat-thing [main character is a talking cat owned by a rabbi] is talking and
thinking in English but he’s Jewish? Or, maybe he’s not, but the rabbi is…I don’t know. It’s
just…and now the rabbi’s got a daughter? Can they do that?” He pushed the book away from
him, but kept it open. He looked to me for guidance and I asked again, “What would you like to
do at this point?”
He started at the first page of the reading, this time taking almost twice as long to read
each page. He flipped back and forth between pages before going to the next and with every
page, said, “I just don’t want to get lost again. I mean…is this the same guy? That doesn’t make

73

sense, so must be two different dudes.” After page 20, he increased his speed and his reading rate
was relatively consistent until page 32 (see Figure 14).

Parker&
0:04:19
0:03:36
0:02:53
0:02:10
0:01:26
0:00:43
0:00:00
1

3

5

7

9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

Figure 14. Parker’s individual reading rate.
At the twenty-two minute mark Parker was fidgeting his legs and alternating his right
hand between drumming the table and running his hand through his hair. He was frequently
yawning, blinking, and generally ticking more than when he began or at any other time I saw
him. After reading page 36 (around minute 22), he closed the book and pushed it away from him
with such force it landed out of his reach. He rubbed his forehead and sighed loudly, then said,
“Jesus, this shit is just… What is going on in this book?”
I asked, “Do you want to continue, or are you done?’
His hands rubbed his face, as if washing. “How much time is left?” he asked.
“A little less than ten minutes” I responded.
He sighed, coughed, blinked, and shook his head a few times. “Yeah, Ok. I can do this,
but man! I am just not getting into this book at all. I thought it was going to be funny or

74

something but it isn’t at all. I mean, there is serious shit about religion, westernism [sic], and all
kinds of other crap. I think there was some sort of cat-sex thing going on too, but I’m really not
sure.”
He leaned across the table to retrieve the book and continued reading, but both his
reading rate and his verbal utterances were substantially slowed: “I know this guy [pointing to
the Rabbi] is having some deep talks with this freaky cat, but I don’t know what they are even
talking about anymore. I mean, the hookah dream was weird enough!” Parker sat and read three
more pages to himself but did not say anything more for the remaining time.
During his stimulus interview I asked him to describe the end of the think-aloud. He
explained: “I hit it, man. I hit the wall, bad. It was like…I couldn’t even read anymore. Not like
I couldn’t read THAT book but, like I couldn’t read ANY book anymore.” He went on to express
his frustration and his inability to continue: “It was just…so much. Too much. I couldn’t hold it
all in my head all at one. Jesus, why do people read this shit?” He was overwhelmed by the
book, expressing deep disengagement. He bonked, expressing frustration with the complexity of
the story and the way the story was presented. He wanted to make sense of it, but the strategies
he was able to call on with automaticity in print-dominant reading did not provide the clarity he
was accustomed to when reading.
Penelope’s reading rate. She also choose to read The Rabbi’s Cat, and like Parker she
expressed frustration and in the book and in her ability to make sense of the book. “It is just
so…aghhh!” I asked her to explain her frustration in more detail during her stimulus interview:
“Ok, look. I know I am supposed to use the pictures. OK? But the pictures don’t make any sense
so I read the words. I keep going back to the words because I can read, right? I mean, I know I
can read! ” During the think-aloud, her erratic reading rate (see Figure 15) was especially

75

noticeable beginning around pages 31 and 32 (again, she began reading at the second chapter of
the book). In the book, the last panel on page 28 shows the cat asleep and the written text reads,

Penelope
0:02:18
0:02:01
0:01:44
0:01:26
0:01:09
0:00:52
0:00:35
0:00:17
0:00:00
1

3

5

7

9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

Figure 15. Penelope’s individual reading rate
“Giving me those sweet gentle caresses that only women can give. Then I’d fall asleep. A young
cat’s dream.” (Gaiman, 2009b, p. 28, panel 6). The cat had been describing his dreams before
and after he gained the ability to speak. The first panel on the next page (page 30) illustrates the
cat’s more complex dreams that all take place underwater (there are fish swimming around him)
and the background color for the panels has changed from a more realistic representation of the
cat’s world to an underwater world washed in blue.
Penelope did not realize the importance of the background color schemes that occurred
beginning on page 29 and it was not until she reached the bottom of page 31 that she realized the
story was no longer taking place in the real world and instead reflected the cat’s dream-world.
Referring to panel 5 on page 31, which depicts the Rabbi towering over the buildings as he walks
through the city, she says, “Whoa. The priest [sic] is a giant? What? Wait.” She then flipped

76

back to page 28 and said, “No.” She then flipped between these two pages three more times,
nodding, rereading, and uttering sentence fragments (later coded as paralinguistic productions).
This monitoring of her understanding continued, each time resulting in a slowing of her progress
through the book. Although her reading stance was not as drastic as others, she was closer to
bonking and very far from reaching any kind of flow.
Paige’s reading rate. Her reading rate was unique among the participants in this study
(See Figure 16). She begins reading, just as other print-dominant readers, from top to bottom and
from left to right. Her reading rate is fairly stable, spending under a minute on each page. On
page 8, her rate begins to dramatically slow from around 40 seconds per page to over a minute,
finally spending as much as 2 minutes on a page. She did not flip back and forth between
sections as other readers had done. Instead she skimmed pages, verbalizing what she saw (coded
as paralinguistic productions) and asking questions. On page 22, panel 5, she read off the list of
items seen on the page: “Duck, thimble, coin, and paperclips? Not one but two…why so
specific?” When asked about this list in the stimulus interview she stated, “I guess I saw the
pictures—especially the little duck, but no…I was really reading. It was so hard to understand
this book, I mean, there is just so little to read.”

77

Paige
0:02:18
0:02:01
0:01:44
0:01:26
0:01:09
0:00:52
0:00:35
0:00:17
0:00:00
1

3

5

7

9

11

13 15 17 19

21 23 25

Figure 16. Paige’s individual reading rate.
Her definition of reading relied on using and understanding the written text. During her
think-aloud she rarely commented directly on the illustrations. Instead, she spoke almost
exclusively about the written text. The exception occurred when she read the center panel on
page 34, which shows a pile of red-eyed rats living under Coraline’s bed (Sfar, 2008, p. 29, panel
6). This is also the page on which she spent the most time during her think-aloud. She gasped,
held her hand over her mouth and stared at the page for over 2 minutes. She was silent for the
first 40 seconds and then she said, “This is seriously twisted. I mean, what is wrong with this guy
(referring to the author)? Red eyes on rats? Are they devil rats? Or are they…like mutant rats?”
She read aloud, “They came out from under the bed…” (Gaiman, 2009b). When asked about the
2 minutes spent on the page she said, “Ok, so yeah, like, that was seriously freaky. I mean, like
those rats? And then this little girl, who was weird from the start, was all ‘Hi rat guys!’ like it

78

was totally fine. I sort of lost my train of thought there. I was just, stuck. None of it made sense.
Like, none.” Although she spoke of being lost at this point, she was not particularly frustrated.
It was not until later that her frustration was expressed at all. When asked what she hoped
to accomplish by staying on one page for that long, she said, “I wanted it to make sense. It’s a
book, right? Like, I read all the time. I love books. It felt so bad.” At this point, she was
frustrated with her own inability to read or to understand the book.
Paige was a strong, dedicated reader who stressed many times how much she looked
forward to the experience of reading graphic novels for the first time. But the experience was
ultimately one of disconnection. She described the experience of bonking as one of effort that
surpassed her ability, “I guess I just don’t get it. Like, I know I’m supposed to read the pictures
but... I thought it would be like watching a movie or something but it is so much harder and I’m
just, like…lost.” Her realization that she was unable to use all the information that was available
to her in the book was instructive in coming to an understanding that reading graphic novels may
not be easier or harder than print-dominant books. Instead, reading graphic novels may be a
matter of difference, not ease or effort.
The next section explores the metacognitive reading strategies used and the sequence of
the strategies used during the think-aloud. Although these are being treated as separate sections,
the data for both was collected simultaneously during the 30-minute think-alouds. The focus of
analysis changed from the observable behavior of reading rate to the participants’ utterances as
they read. These utterances provide one way of understanding the higher order cognitive
functions at work while reading.

79

Metacognitive Reading Strategies
The open-ended verbal protocols used for this study were designed to illuminate readers’
strategies as they happen in real time. In order to observe the metacognitive reading strategies
(see Table 6) these participants were asked to begin reading at the second chapter, after
characters had been introduced and scene setting had taken place. This method was used to stress
these reader’s expertise in reading novels and figuring out stories. In addition, the video data was
used as a stimulus for follow-up interviews, providing each reader an opportunity to provide
clarity about his or her thinking and use of metacognitive reading strategies.

80

Table 6
Coding Guide for Metacognitive Reading Strategies
Metacognitive
Strategy
Meaningful
processing of
text

Code

Definition

Example

MPT

Hypothesizing, substantiating, paraphrasing, and
restating ideas from the text

Reads “Sploosh” aloud and says “he’s
there…(points to a sign in the background
written in French) in France but he’s speaking
English…he looks like the main guy so that’s
what I’m going with.”

Inference

INF

Determining the meaning of a word or symbol
within the text, relating prior knowledge to text
information, making inferences about the characters
or the setting, and confirming or disconfirming an
inference

“Tea, but that is a lot more than just tea… (points
to table laid with sandwiches and cakes) must be
in England.”

Interpreting

INT

Constructing conclusions, generalizations, or
categorizations by identifying and providing
interpretations for either written text or illustrations

“…why are they swimming? The cat’s having a
hukkah dream, or he’s high.”

Monitoring

M

Perceptions of word difficulty, perceptions of text
characteristics, recognizing or resolving problems in
reading, distorting text to fit hypotheses, and
questioning

“OK, I’m lost here.” (Flips back to previous
pages). This guy isn’t the same rat guy…he’s
actually made out of rats. Totally changes the
story.”

Evaluating

E

Judgments related to content and style of text,
expressing affective reactions, and expressing
approval or disapproval of the characters, places, or
circumstances in the story

“Oh! Evil monkeys! Yay! I love evil monkeys!”

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Table 6 (cont’d)
Metacognitive
Strategy
Paralinguistic
production

Code

Definition

Example

PP

Self-talk, parenthetical comments, pauses with no
explanation by the reader, referential comments,
fillers, prosodic shifts in stress or intonation, and
paralinguistic features such as sighs, laughter, or
throat clearing.

“Oh my god!” Sustained laughter while pointing
at an illustration of the Rabbi’s cat getting
kicked. “Bonk!”

Proximal Intertextual
connection

P-InCon

Connecting the text being read to other texts.
Proximal texts (near) would be either from the same
genre or medium.

“A retelling…reminds me of Wicked. Same
story, just from a different view.”

Distal Intertextual
connection

D-InCon Connecting the text being read to other texts. Distal
texts (far) would be either from the unrelated genres
or mediums.

“A magic rock? Like Sylvester and the Pebble.”
(Referring to a ruin stone given to Coraline.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
is about a donkey who wishes on a rock).

NOTE:
For interpretation of the references to color in this and all other tables, the reader is referred to the electronic version of this
dissertation.

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Although many studies provide a number of reading strategies used by readers with a
focus on specific criteria such as interest (Guthrie et al., 2004; Hidi & Baird, 1988), expertise
(Afflerbach, 1990), or method type (Scott, 2008) most do not provide evidence of the sequence
of those strategies. Fox (2009) found that readers tend to have individual styles of reading or a
particular set of strategies that they rely on more heavily, especially when reading more difficult
texts.
In general, reading rates corresponded with the number of metacognitive reading
strategies these readers used. Because the number of readers in this study cannot be used to
generalize, this section of the findings focuses on the sequences seen in individual readers, rather
than differences between print-dominant readers and graphic novel readers. This was a small,
exploratory study, so the findings in this area can only serve to illustrate one avenue of
investigation for a later, more robust study and cannot stand as grounds for generalized
observations for all readers.
Sequence of Metacognitive Reading Strategies
The reading rates of these groups of expert readers reflect the metacognitive reading
strategies that were in use during the think-aloud. The longer a reader spent on a page, the more
metacognitive strategies they used. In this report of the research, Garth and Penelope’s entire
reading sequences will be presented. These two readers provide stark contrasts to each other and
are exemplars of the ways this small group of readers used metacognitive reading strategies. In
addition, the sequences have been color coded so that the reader might recognize patterns over
the entire think-aloud more easily.
A close examination of a graphic novel reader. Garth was a very purposeful reader
from the start, with a pattern of metacognitive reading strategies that began broadly and then

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became more focused as he read (see Table 7). Although he was familiar with other Gaiman
works including The Sandman series, he had never read Coraline (Gaiman, 2009b). The time he
spent on the first page was primarily exploratory in nature. He evaluated the artwork before
anything else: “Wow, cool artwork, bold lines and bold but somehow dull or muddy colors.”
Then he questioned the reason for the artistic decisions: “I wonder why (referring to the
colors)?” Then, he answered his own inquiry by connecting the artwork to other sequential art:
“Maybe looking for a 50s look, like the crime stuff that Lichtenstein copied.” After this set of
utterances, he checked himself: “Yeah, that makes sense,” and moved on.

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Table 7
Garth’s Think-Aloud Time and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence
Page Time on Page
Metacognitive Reading Strategy
14
0:01:32
E
M
P-InCon PP
INT
MPT INF MPT
E MPT E
M
MPT
15
0:01:30
MPT
M
MPT
M
INT
M
E P-InCon MPT M INT
E
16
0:01:32
MPT
M
INT
E
PP
MPT
M
INT
INF MPT M
INT
17
0:01:25
E
MPT
PP
MPT
M
INT
M
INF MPT M INT P-InCon
18
0:01:24
MPT P-InCon INT MPT
E
P-InCon M
MPT
PP MPT M
INT
INF
19
0:00:44
P-InCon
PP
M
INF
20
0:00:48
MPT
PP
MPT
M
INT
21
0:00:39
PP
M
INF
22
0:00:40
E
M
INT
M
23
0:00:48
MPT
PP
E
INT
E
24
0:00:49
E
M
INF
INT P-InCon
25
0:00:49
PP
M
INF
INT
M
26
0:00:58
E
INT
E
MPT
E
MPT INT
27
0:00:56
PP
E
INT
E
INF
M
E
28
0:00:57
M
INF
INT
E
INF
29
0:00:55
PP
M
INF
30
0:00:58
M
INF
E
INF
31
0:00:48
E
INF
INT
M
32
0:00:44
M
E
INF
INT
33
0:00:44
P-InCon MPT
M
34
0:00:43
PP
M
INF
INT
35
0:00:43
M
INF
INT
36
0:00:46
PP
M
INF
INT
37
0:00:32
M
INF
INT
38
0:00:45
M
INF
INT
39
0:00:38
M
INF
INT
PP

85

Table 7 (cont’d)
Page Time on Page
40
0:00:28
41
0:00:34
42
0:00:41
43
0:00:32
44
0:00:38
45
0:00:34
46
0:00:40
47
0:00:40
48
0:00:41
49
0:00:48

Metacognitive Reading Strategy
INF
PP
E
INF
M
E
INT
PP
PP
E

M
INT
MPT
MPT
INF
MPT
M
E
INT
MPT

M
M
INT
INT
INF
INT
M
E

INT

INF
M
INT

INF

86

After the initial 6 pages he stated, “Ok, got it,” and his reading rate immediately
increased and was consistent over the remainder of the think-aloud. In addition to speeding up
his reading after page 7, he also used a new and highly effective set of metacognitive reading
strategies that allow him to read the text, fit it with the illustrations, and move forward.
Beginning on page 34, he follows a pattern of asking himself leading questions (M), addressing
the issue he raised by making an inference (INF), and finally voicing an interpretation based in
his observations that answers the question(s) posed (See Table 8 and 9).
Table 8
A subset of Garth’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence
Page
34
35
36
37
38
39

PP
M
PP
M
M
M

Metacognitive Reading Strategy
M
INF
INF
INT
M
INF
INF
INT
INF
INT
INF
INT

INT
INT

PP

Table 9
Garth’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence with Utterances
Page
34

35
35

PP
Huh. Weird.
M
Smiling and
singing rats?

Metacognitive Reading Strategy
M
INF
Rats … What’s up Rats usually can’t be
with these guys?
trusted.
INF
INT
Creepy smiles.
She’s not scared,
Red eyes.
but…nope, not gunna’
Seriously evil
trust these guys.
singing. Rats are
just never good.

INT
These rats are like
double agents.

He repeated his concentrated investigation of the rats and what the rats might mean to the
story and to Coraline over the next few pages. He continued to pose questions, make inferences,
87

and decide on interpretations. During the stimulus interview I asked him about this page and his
think-aloud and he had no trouble recalling: “So, yeah. There were all these creepy-ass rats with
red eyes and every time they showed up there was that old guy. But, sometimes it was like they
were there to help her (Coraline), like when one brought the key on his tail. So, were they good
because they were going to eventually help her get back to her world, or were they bad and just
messing with her? I thought a lot about those rats.” His attention to the rats in the story was not
simply because they were rats; rather he explained his attention to “the iconic rat” as they are
often used as a metaphor for evil: “Sometimes rats are, like totally evil … but then sometimes
they act against that. Like in V for Vendetta (A. Moore & Lloyd, 2005).”
Describing the evolution of Garth’s use of metacognitive reading strategies shows the
way he approaches and works to understand this graphic novel. In the beginning of his thinkaloud, he evaluated various visual elements more consistently then textual elements. For
example, a close examination of the metacognitive reading strategies used on page 17 (the fourth
page in his think-aloud) shows active and flexible reading that includes evaluation of the overall
vibe of the illustrations: “Very modern look.” He also provided evaluations on page twentythree, where he commented on the dream that Coraline finds herself in, when he said, “Very
weird dream world.” The other noticeable change over the course of his think aloud is that his
inter-textual connections become less frequent the longer he reads. In the beginning, he noted the
similarity to other artists, “total pulp comic-look [Lichtenstein] to it all (page 16),” and “total
Van Gogh sunflowers, even the crinkly leaves [petals, no leaves are visible].” Both references
are made but left unanswered, as if he is observing the facts.
Once more, the stimulus interview provided the opportunity to review the connections he
made to both “pulp comic-book” and Van Gogh’s sunflowers. He clarified: “Yeah, well,

88

sometimes stuff like that is important. Like, was he’s using that reference [points to sunflowers]
to cue something. I mean, it isn’t by accident that he used big, yellow flowers in the sort of
muted world. He wanted to say something, and it’s up to me to figure it out.” Garth spent much
of his time utilizing many metacognitive strategies on the first few pages as compared to the rest
of the reading. He was figuring out what Gaiman was showing him through the images. Garth
needed to understand what the rules of Gaiman’s created world was in order to best use the cues
provided to understand the story.
A close examination of a print-dominant reader. Penelope’s think-aloud shows a spike
in usage of metacognitive reading strategies on the first page of her think-aloud, then a drastic
drop, a rise towards the middle, and then none at the end of the think-aloud (see Table 10).
Table 10
Penelope’s Sequence of Metacognitive Reading Strategies
Page Time on page
Metacognitive Reading Strategy
14
0:01:00
PP
E
M
E
PP INT E
15
0:00:53
PP
E MPT
16
0:00:22
PP
E
PP
INT
17
0:00:41
M
E
PP
18
0:00:59
PP
E
M
19
0:00:33
PP
E
INT
20
0:00:47
M INT
E
PP
MPT M
21
0:01:00
MPT INF
M
22
0:00:35
M
23
0:01:03
PP
E
24
0:00:54
E
PP
25
0:01:32
PP
E
M
26
0:01:41
PP
E
27
0:00:21
M INT M
INT
M
28
0:00:22
PP
29
0:01:01
PP
E
M
INT
M
14/29*
0:01:12
M
30
0:01:01
M INT M
PP
31
0:01:10
MPT M
E
PP
32
0:01:15
PP INF
E
D-InCon
89

Table 10 (cont’d)
Page Time on page
33
0:01:02
34
0:00:45
35
0:01:44
36
0:01:23
37
0:01:12
38
0:02:00
39
0:01:45
40
0:01:13
41
0:01:33

INF
E
E
M
E
PP
----

Metacognitive Reading Strategy
M
INF
M
INF
M
PP INF
M
INT
PP
PP

* Penelope flipped back to these pages and reread.
Penelope is a reader that showed a strong pattern in the sequencing of strategies
throughout her think-aloud. In the beginning of her think-aloud, she tended to use paralinguistic
productions (usually sighs or laughter) either before or after evaluating the text, along with
monitoring her perception of the text. One such sequence occurred while Penelope was on page
17 (see Table 11).
Table 11
Penelope’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence (p. 17)

Monitor

Metacognitive Reading Strategy
Evaluation

I really don't understand who is talking
or telling the story…is it the dog [cat]
or this skinny man (motions to rabbi’s
rabbi) or the fat guy (rabbi)?

So confusing!

Paralinguistic
production
<Sigh>

As she progressed in her reading she became more confused by the novel and began to
pair interpretations with monitoring. One example of this kind of pairing occurred twice on page
twenty-seven (see Table 12). She asked questions that she hoped would help her understand the
story or the characters and then tried to answer those questions. She relied on her understanding
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of the Bible in order to understand the reference to Exodus in the written text. When asked
during the stimulus interview about her statement. “OK, Exodus?” she said, “Yeah, well, I spent
a lot of time in Bible study when I was a kid and I knew that was an Old Testament book … I
think it is right after Genesis. And, it made sense ‘cause they were Jewish. Except, you know, the
part where he’s a cat! That still doesn’t make sense, but yeah.”
Table 12
Penelope’s Metacognitive Reading Strategy Sequence (p.27)
Metacognitive Reading Strategy
Monitor
Interpretation
Monitor
Ah jeez, why does the cat thing He’s showing his OK. Exodus…
all of a sudden feel conflicted big, googly, guilty from the Bible?
and confused?
eyes so he must
really feel bad.

Interpretation
I guess that makes
sense…they are
Jewish, living
someplace Jewish,
and the guy’s a
rabbi, so it makes
sense the cat’s
using the Bible.

Penelope asked and answered her way, step by step, through the novel. She rarely used
the illustrations, instead she relied on the written text almost exclusively. Penelope ended her
think-aloud with a slower reading rate and her production of utterances dwindled to nothing
during the final pages, thus giving no evidence of any metacognitive reading strategies .
During the stimulus interview, when shown the last few minutes of her think-aloud, she
explained what she was thinking: “Just turn the page. I had no idea what the hell was going on. It
was like that part where it’s a dream or whatever—when they are underwater—see, I still don’t
know what that was all about! I was just done. I was totally just callin’ it in on those last pages,
not even reading.” She took the book and opened to page 34 that showed the rabbi praying using
Tefillin, a set of leather straps are used to attach small boxes to his head and his forearm: “Yeah,
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so I didn’t know what the heck this was about…he’s got a headache or something and then he
gives the cat to his daughter?” She flips the pages back and forth: “Yeah and then I don’t even
know, did I read this part?” When informed she read to page forty-five, she expressed
incredulity: “No way! It’s all just a blur. Wow.”
Summary of Findings on Time and Sequence
The think-aloud data from this study provided several interesting findings. Each
individual used her or her time differently, regardless of the book. George, Ginger, Gidget and
Garth used their time during the beginning of the think-aloud to establish the rules of the books
they read. All four of these readers noted in their stimulus interviews that authors set parameters
to their stories, no matter the genre, and readers need to take the time to understand those
parameters. The time these readers took at the beginning of the think-aloud seemed to be spent
establishing the relationship between the visual and verbal stimuli, and to ground themselves in
the setting of the book.
Although all of these readers had the capacity for achieving a state of flow while reading
and none expressed a habit of bonking while reading, it was evident that Penelope, Paul, and
Parker hit frustration levels during the think-aloud. In addition, each reader used multiple
metacognitive reading strategies throughout the think-aloud and each individual used a
difference sequence. This finding is consistent with reading comprehension research overall.

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CHAPTER 4
Visual Attention Map Findings
“The opening is everything.”
Nick Abadzis, author of Laika (2007b, p. 2)
The first lines of a novel can arouse curiosity, proffer images, draw the reader’s attention,
and propel her into the story. The opening page of a graphic novel is no less important. Nick
Abadzis, author of the prize-winning graphic novel about Sputnik 2, addressed this issue in the
creation of Laika (2007a): “I began the book about sixteen times, maybe more, playing with
page layouts and different dialogue to get what I hoped would be the most effective opening
sequence. The opening is everything” [emphasis added] (2007b, p. 2, Promo Art).
This chapter focuses on addressing the attention patterns that expert readers show when
reading the first pages of five different graphic novels. The Visual Attention Map (VAM) was
designed to make visible the readers attention across the page as they read a graphic novel.
Because prior scholarship asserts that the text must simply be followed, which is in sharp
contract with Reader Response Theory in which the reader actively co-creates the story, this
activity provided one way to capture the reader’s engagement with the page. The following
sections will first explore examples of attention patterns seen from both graphic novel and printdominant readers. The findings include the attention patterns mapped by individuals as well as
the stories created by each participant. These created stories provide insight about readers’ use of
written text and illustrations when they are asked to predict what the story is about.
Visual Attention Maps
The Visual Attention Map (VAM) was designed to isolate readers’ navigation of
illustrations and written text in graphic novels. Illustrations can be broken down into their

93

components of line, color, saturation, visual tropes (such as implied motion), and other graphical
features (McCloud, 1994; Nikolajeva & Scott, 2006). These terms were detailed in Chapter One,
Table 1, and are revisited here in Table 13. Written text is described as the verbal stimuli that
must be read to be meaningful. Both illustrations and written text are at work in graphic novels.
In print-dominant reading, much of the research has been and continues to be focused on
strategy use, including most recently, metacognitive strategies (see Afflerbach et al., 2008). The
strategies at work while comprehending graphica have not been well researched, but there are
indications that shifting attention may be a particularly salient strategy exhibited during graphic
novel reading (Connors, 2010; Pantaleo, 2011a; Wilhelm, 2012). The Visual Attention Map
activity targeted the reader’s attention shifts between and among illustrations and written text.
According to Dual Coding Theory, (Clark & Paivio, 1991; Paivio, 1991) the more
complex and contextualized the meaning of an illustrated text is, the more important it becomes
for the reader to control attention in order to make sense of the text. Therefore, attention shifts
between written stimuli and illustrations may be a uniquely important strategy when reading
comics and graphic novels.
The Visual Attention Map activity was administered at the second session, following the
stimulus interview. All participants were trained using Percy Jackson and the Olympians
(Riordan, Venditti, Futaki, & Villarrubia, 2010) and were given as much time as required (See
Appendix F for prompt). After each participant showed an understanding of the process with
Percy Jackson, they were each then asked to create a Visual Attention Map (VAM) for each of
five different graphic novels. The selection was counter balanced across readers (see Table 13).

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Table 13
Sequence of Books Across Readers
Name
Garth

Garage Band

Laika

Gidget

Fun Home

Garage Band

George

Laika

Fun Home

Ginger

Garage Band

Fun Home

Paul

Fun Home

Garage Band

Paige

Fun Home

Garage Band

Penelope

Garage Band

Fun Home

Parker

Storm in the
Barn

Order Given
Wonder
Woman
Storm in the
Barn
Garage Band

Laika

Wonder
Woman
Laika
Wonder
Woman
Wonder
Woman
Wonder
Woman

Fun Home
Laika
Storm in the
Barn
Laika
Storm in the
Barn
Laika
Laika
Fun Home

Storm in the
Barn
Wonder
Woman
Wonder
Woman
Storm in the
Barn
Wonder
Woman
Storm in the
Barn
Storm in the
Barn
Garage Band

Example of Visual Attention Map
Because the VAM is a new method of exploring reader’s attention across graphic novels,
a step-by-step example of the analysis process is shown The findings of the VAM emerged
during the video data analysis, including the way these readers interpreted and enacted the
prompt. Although providing a detailed example of the analysis process is not typical, it was
deemed appropriate at the point for the reader to better understand the representations of the
VAM. George’s Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (Picoult et al., 2007) VAM is presented to
help illustrate the process. First, the illustration as the participants saw it (see Figure 17),
followed by the individual stages of the analysis for the VAM are given (see Figures 18-21) to
provide a complete version.

95

Figure 17. First pages of Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (Picoult et al., 2007). Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is
for visual reference only. Figures 17 A-E shows enlarged text for clarity.
96

	
  
Figure 17 A. Text between panel 1 and 2.

	
  
Figure 17 B. Text at bottom on panel 2.

	
  
Figure 17 C. Text in panel 3.
97

Figure 17 D. Text in panel 4.

	
  

	
  
Figure 17 E. Text in top of panel 5.
George began his attention sweep at the textbox in the top center of the left page. He
indicated this by pointing to the box with his index finger and continued down the page in a
serpentine pattern until he took his hand away from the page. That was coded as his first
attention sweep (see Figure 18). He then returned to the page, again using his index finger. This
time he began at the bottom on the first page, in the same area that ended his first attention sweep
(see Figure 19). He once again took his hand away from the board, and returned for a third time,
concentrating on the area around the male characters on the second page (see Figure 20).
98

Figure 18. Initial attention sweep. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual
reference only.

Figure 19. Second attention sweep. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.

99

Figure 20. Third attention sweep. 	
  Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual
reference only.	
  

Figure 21. Attention sweeps 1-3 superimposed on first spread. Text in the figure is not meant to
be readable, but is for visual reference only.

100

When these attention sweeps are placed together and superimposed over onto the graphic
novel page, a picture of the reader’s attention across the pages can be mapped (see Figure 21).
In addition to attention sweeps, careful analysis of video data showed pauses when the
reader’s hand stopped but contact with the page was not broken. These pauses were numbered
and then overlaid on top of the attention sweeps. The complete attention map provides a complex
and detailed view of the reader’s attention across the page (see Figure 22).

101

1

2

3

4
	
  

2
	
  

5

3

	
  	
  6

7
4

5

6
1
4

2

	
  	
  	
  7

5
3
8
6
7

9

10

1

Figure 22. Complete Visual Attention Map. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual reference only.
102

Analysis of Fun Home Visual Attention Maps
Analysis of VAMs showed that individuals used similar patterns of attention across each
of the book openings. That is to say, George followed the same general pattern in all five of the
texts he read, but that pattern was different from the one Penelope used. To illustrate the
attention patterns used, VAMs for Fun Home (Bechdel, 2006) will be shown in detail (see Figure
23). The novel is a memoir about Bechdel’s experiences growing up with emotionally distant

	
  
Figure 23. Fun Home page for VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only. Figures 23 A-D shows enlarged text for clarity.
103

parents. The story focuses on her relationship with her father and the discovery that he is a
closeted gay man (which closely follows her own coming out), and culminates in his death
(which may or may not have been a suicide). Using Fun Home provides a view of readers’
attention patterns across a single text. First the print-dominant readers are presented, followed by
the graphic novel readers.

Figure 23 A. Text above panel 1.

Figure 23 B. Text above panel 2.

	
  

Figure 23 C. Text above panel 3.

Figure 23 D. Textbox in Panel 3.

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Parker
As with the other print-dominant readers, Parker began at the top-left of the page and
read the written text in the first panel, continued to the second panel’s written text, and so on
until he reached the end of the page. He then lifted his hand from the page, indicating a break,
and then attended to the title of the book on the floor (panel 3), then moved to the panel 1 to the
open book. He then indicated he was finished (see Figure 24).
!

2

1

!

2

3

4

1

Figure 24. Parker’s Fun Home VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.
105

Paige
She began in panel 3 at the child’s back and then moved to panel 2, the father’s leg. Her
second attention sweep looks almost exactly like Parker’s first sweep. She reads the text from
top-to-bottom and then left-to-right (see Figure 25).
!

1
2

2

3

4
1

5

	
  

Figure 25. Paige’s Fun Home VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.
106

Paul
In a deviation from the strict left-right, top-bottom pattern seen thus far, Paul’s attention
is first drawn to the middle of panel 3 (see Figure 26). He simply pointed to a spot and then took
his hand away. His next attention sweep follows the illustration of the father’s leg from panel 1
!

2!
!

1
!

1
!
!

2

3

4
1
!
!

	
  
Figure 26. Paul’s Fun Home VAM.
Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual reference only.
107

to the same leg in panel 2. Finally, he read the text in traditional order. Paul showed a similar
pattern on all of the pages he read. He first looked to the mid-point of the largest panel followed
by a sweep across the top most panels and finally reading the written text from left-to-right.
Penelope
Her VAM was an interesting departure from the rest of the print-dominant readers (see
Figure 27). Typically, her attention was first drawn to what she referred to as “some random
!
3
	
  4
!

1
!
2
5

6

Figure 27. Penelope’s Fun Home VAM.
Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual reference only.
108

spot.” When asked why, she responded, “I know I’m supposed to be looking at the pictures, so I
start there, but I don’t get much, so back to reading I go!” Her attention to the illustrations started
in the lower-right quadrant of the second panel and focused on the father’s leg. She swept to the
left to the lower right corner of the first panel, and proceeded to the upper portion of the panel.
At that point she read the written text from left to right until the end of the page.
Overall, these print-dominant readers relied on the traditional pattern of reading that is
used in print-dominant novels. The exception to this pattern was Penelope, who was aware that
she needed to do something different, i.e. “looking at the pictures,” but she was unsure of how to
use the information to engage with the illustrations.
Although the study does not attempt to be generalizable to all readers or directly compare
all graphic-novel readers to all print-dominant readers, it is noticeable that these print-dominant
readers provided little detail or extension of the story beyond the page. In other words, printdominant readers reported what they saw in the images and read in the written text but predicted
stories with few details that extend beyond the page.
George
He is an expert graphic novel reader, and his VAM (see Figure 28) appeared
uncoordinated at best. His attention went across the page, swooped this way and that,
overlapping until one was unsure what he was paying attention to on the page. But in the analysis
of the recorded video, a pattern clearly emerged from this seemingly random manner.

109

	
  
Figure 28. George’s Fun Home VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.
His attention was first drawn to a space in panel 1 (red, 1) that lies between two picture
frames on the wall. His attention then goes in an almost circular pattern until he leaves panel 1
and goes to the panel 2. Note that he paused on the faces of the two characters in the panel 1
before leaving. In the second panel, he traveled across the image and paused on the characters
110

hands where they are clasped together. He then goes in another circular pattern in panel 3,
pausing on the father’s face, the child’s head and hand, returning to the child’s head, and ending
on the father’s hand (red, 5-10).
The next attention sweep (yellow) began where the first one stopped: the father’s hand as
it lay next to an image of Anna Karenina in panel 3. George’s attention went in a figure eight
pattern. He read the written text in the text box in panel 3 (yellow 3) and proceeded to the text
box in panel 1, followed by the text box in panel 2. This attention sweep ended near the place
where it began, the father’s face in panel 3.
His last attention sweep (green) begins where the second ended, panel 3 near the father’s
face. George then proceeded to reread the last text box in panel 3 (green 2), traveled up through
the single speech bubble in panel 2, and returned to the spot in panel 3 where his attention has
been drawn to several times; the Tolstoy novel laying on the floor (green, 4).
Gidget
Gidget began her attention sweep (see Figure 29) on the child’s back, in the midpoint of
panel 3 (red, 1). This was typical of Gidget’s attention maps. She would find a point in the
largest panel and then move back from that point to panel 1. In this case, she moved upward,
paused on the rug below the text box in panel 3. She did not read the written text in the box at
this time, instead moving on to the midpoint of panel 2 (red, 3). Again, she did not read the
written text, instead she moved to the left. This time she paused in panel 1, first on the father’s
face and finally on a midpoint of the panel, below a framed picture in the background.
Gidget’s next attention sweep (yellow) began in panel 1, near the child. She moved up
and read the written text in panel 1 and then moved to the right to panel 2 and read the written

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Figure 29. Gidget’s Fun Home VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.
text. She then moved down the page, curved to the left and paused on the father’s hand, the
carpet, the space below the father’s face and on the father’s other hand (yellow 5-8). She
completed the sweep by moving across the child’s back and reading the written box in panel 3.
Gidget’s use of midpoints in this VAM was seen across all her attention maps.
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Ginger
Her attention sweep began, just as Gidget’s did, at the mid-point of panel 3, centered on
the child’s back (see Figure 30). But, instead of going up and over to the right, Ginger went
towards the left. She paused at the father’s face and headed upwards. She again paused at the
wall in the background and went to the right, pausing on the child’s face in panel 1 and the
child’s head in panel 2.

	
  
Figure 30. Ginger’s Fun Home VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.
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Ginger began to read the text at the beginning of her second attention sweep, but she did
not stay with the written text. Instead, she alternated between the written text (yellow 1, 3, and 7)
and the illustrations (yellow 2 and 4-6). She stayed within panel 1 and 2 on this attention sweep.
Her third and final attention sweep (green) began in panel 3 by reading the written text.
She moved from the written text to the illustration of the child’s head and then up to pause on
panel 2’s midpoint (green 3). She then moved back down and across, pausing at objects along the
path: the father’s hand (green 4), the book (green 5), and the textbox in the third panel, where she
ended.
Garth
His attention patterns intersected multiple times (see Figure 31). He began his attention
map in panel 3, just as Ginger and Gidget did, but his starting point was not the midpoint of the
panel. Instead, the first image that drew his attention was the father’s hand on the left side of the
page. Garth then curved upwards and paused on the father’s face and paused on the child’s face
in panel 1 (red 2 and 3). He then moved to the right and paused at the intersection of the child
and the father in panel 2. His attention continued to circle and ended on the father’s hand in
panel 3.
Garth’s attention was next drawn to the written text (yellow 1-4). He read all the text
from top to bottom and left to right. His last attention sweep was focused on the left side of the
page, on panels 1 and 3 (green). He began this last sweep on the father’s face in the third panel,
moved to the child’s face in the first panel, moved back down to the child’s head in the third
panel and ended on the book that lay on the carpet, beside the father in the third panel.

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!

2

1

!

3
!

2

4

!

!

5
!

2
!

3
!

6
!

1

3

!

!

4

1

!

!

4
!

Figure 31. Garth’s Fun Home VAM. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for
visual reference only.
The participants created a Visual Attention Map (VAM) for each of the five graphic
novels. Many of these readers used the same starting points, chunking, and had similar patterns
across the pages. Each of the individual readers in the current study had a unique pattern to the
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way they allocated their attention across the page. This is consistent with Fox’s (2009) findings
wherein readers relied on a set of strategies to read print-dominant texts. Although individual
readers’ attention patterns looked similar across the different texts, the amount of time paused
was varied.
Discussion of Visual and Verbal Elements
Participants in this study applied a variety of reading strategies and attention patterns
while reading graphic novels. The print-dominant readers entered into the book the same way
they read print-dominant novels—top to bottom and left to right, without regard to illustrations.
On the other hand, the graphic novel readers started in different locations on the page. These
readers layered their attention, gathering information from both illustrations and written text to
create a complex, flexible, and overarching story based on the opening page(s). An analysis of
the VAMs along with the created stories presented a clear sequence for layering meaning based
on the visual, the verbal, and the combined elements. These reading patterns of layered meaning
making were found to be macro-, meso-, and micro-reading.
Macro-reading
In order to understand the story, readers first looked for and interpreted visual clues about
the genre, time, and setting of the story, in addition to any exposition details that helped clarify
their understanding of the story. Again referring to the Fun Home VAMs, George begins his first
attention sweep in a spot between the two framed pictures on the wall, Gidget ends her first
sweep just below that spot, Ginger attends to the same wall, just to the left of the pictures and
crosses over to the right midway through her first sweep, and Garth has a very similar pattern at
the beginning of his first sweep. All of these readers attended to the area (noted by a circle) in the
first panel very early on in their VAM (see figure 32).

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Figure 32. Attention Focused on Circled Area in Panel 1. Text in the figure is not meant to be
readable, but is for visual reference only.
This specific area of the illustration seemed lacking in detail or even importance as
compared to other areas that readers could have chosen, including the main characters face that
lays to the right of this small subsection. After listening to the ways these readers thought about
the exercise, I began to understand why they focused on this particular area. For these readers,
this subsection of the illustration, a seemingly meaningless rear wall, established the setting for
the novel. Utterances from many of the readers highlight this phenomenon:
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George (quietly): “Lots of detail, velvet curtains…molding. Fancy house.”
Gidget (quietly): “I love the monochrome (color) but with such details!”
Garth (quietly): “Hmmm, old stuff, but they (the characters) look modern.”
Ginger (excitedly): “The pen work is amazing. That rug and the way the curtains fall.”
Each reader in turn looked to other parts of the page to help them establish the setting of
the story, a contemporary family living in and refurbishing an old house.
Meso-reading
For those readers who crafted an understanding of the genre and setting in the first
attention sweep, the second sweep moved on to building a schema of the characters. George,
Garth, and Ginger each used their second sweep to gain an understanding of the characters.
Gidget often only used 2 sweeps but her second sweep was usually intricate and included
characters and text in a single pass. These readers looked for specific cues to establish the
emotional state of the characters. the relationship between characters, and the relationship of the
characters to the world.
Gidget began her second sweep near the child’s profile in the first panel, read the text in
the first and second panels, and then continued to the hands and the father’s face in the last panel.
While pointing to the father’s face in the 3rd panel she said, “Probably due to the father’s
generally dismissive demeanor evidenced by his lack of enthusiasm at playing with the author.”
There are several important elements to Gidget’s utterances: a) she inferred the father’s
emotional life from the illustration, b) she interpreted the image of the young girl as “the author”
and used a gender-neutral term, and c) she kept track of the placement of the characters’ hands in
relationship to each other and to objects in the room.

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Ginger had a similar observation during her second sweep: “They are touching or there is
implied contact all over the place.” I later asked her the significance of implied contact, and she
responded, “At first I thought that meant they were really close, but now I’m not sure. Neither of
them looks happy to be touching or even to be near each other.” Again, her interpretations are
formed based on the images on the page, “Neither of them looks…” Her attention to the images
coincides with the interpretations of the book.
During Garth’s second attention sweep he said, “Maybe his dad is emotionally neglectful.
I mean just judging from this guy’s face he really doesn't care.” After he completed all the
VAMs, I asked Garth to return to Fun Home and asked, “What specifically about the father's
face makes you say he doesn't care?” His response drew almost solely on the illustrations: “The
lack of a smile. 'Cause normally if this was a flashback in a good way the dad would be smiling,
the kid would be smiling or even laughing...showing some sort of happiness. But they don't even
show the kid smiling...it's more like, ‘Hey, it's time. Let's do this.’ Both of them are really
neutral.”
For some of the readers, there was an additive effect to the attention sweeps. George’s
first sweep focused on the elements that established the time and place, but as he moved through
the panels, he began to focus on the character’s hands and faces. This focus continued
throughout his VAM of Fun Home. The importance of this additive effect was not apparent until
the readers were asked to predict what the story was about. These created stories are detailed in
the next section.
The other readers in this study seemed to begin their reading on this meso-reading level.
They did not attend to the background and instead began their reading of the story by looking to
the characters. This method of reading often resulted in these participants making distal inter-

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textual connections. For example, near the end of her Fun Home VAM, Penelope said, “That
shirt kills me. He (the child) looks like a Peanuts character…like Charlie Brown, except in blue.
I wonder if he’s going to be pathetic like that?” She did not follow up on this idea, but instead
moved to the next point. Much like Penelope, Parker made an important observation about the
characters near the end of his second attention sweep, Parker said, “He’s [the father] reading
Tolstoy, and he’s closer to the book than to his son.” When asked to clarify this observation of
proximity Parker replied, “You know, he’s closer…like physically…or, literally closer to the
book. That’s got to mean something, right?” Parker was correct in his prediction that the father’s
affection for books and objects far out shadowed his feelings for his children.
Micro-reading. Paivio (1969) noted that verbal and non-verbal stimuli had additive
properties when reading complex texts. But the additive nature depended on readers’ ability to
attend to both. In this study, this additive relationship became apparent when participants
engaged in micro-reading. At this level, the reader becomes acutely aware of and begins to
utilize visual and verbal cues and combines them to create a more complex and far-reaching
prediction. As stated earlier, after each VAM, the participants a) were asked what they thought
the story was about, b) were told the title of the book, and c) were asked if they wanted to change
or add anything to the story they created based on the first page(s) of the book. The poster
remained in place so the reader could refer to it if desired. Each participant had as much time as
he or she needed to complete this task.
Once again, Fun Home (2006) is a memoir of Bechdel’s childhood, and in the first pages
she depicts herself playing airplane with her father. There is no clear indication of gender in the
written text, nor is there any clear gender identification in Allison’s appearance, such as ribbons
in her hair, wearing a dress, or having earrings (see Figure 33).

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Figure 33. Allison Bechdel’s illustration of herself as a young girl.
After making an initial prediction about the story each participant was told the title of the
book and given the opportunity to amend or add to his or her prediction. Parker, Penelope, Paul,
and Paige did not return to the illustrations or the text and did not change their original
predictions. In fact, these readers did little predicting of the story and instead reported out on
what they saw on the page. Paul provided a typical answer to the question “What do you think

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this story is about?” He answered, “I'm thinking his father might be dead or it’s an older narrator
who is speaking about his past because he uses past tense, like, ‘Mine could occasionally be
prevailed upon for a spot of airplane’.” Paul used the text, referring to the past tense, to infer that
the author was an adult looking back on her childhood. Paul, like many readers, indicated that
Bechdel was male.
Penelope inferred that the scene was a flashback: “It's weird. Like he's narrating about his
dad, maybe. I don't know, his dad...yeah. I don't know, but it is definitely like a flashback.” She
used the text on the third panel (“In the circus, acrobatics where one person lies on the floor
balancing another are called ‘Icarian Games’”) to draw an inference that the story might be about
a boy joining the circus.
In Garth’s first statement about the story he also indicated that Becdel was a boy,
“Clearly it is a father and a son playing a game.” Ginger referred to the child as a male as well: “I
don't know...[the story] is definitely about the little boy.” George and Gidget, however, began
their reading using neutral pronouns to refer to the child’s gender. George pointed to the page
and referred to Bechdel’s character as “that child” before he heard the title. Gidget began her
prediction by saying, “It seems like it’s going to be the story of this kid’s...like seeing the family
through the child's eyes.”
As these expert graphic novel readers progressed in the process of building their
predictions, they referred back to the page, often pointing at an element to confirm, add to, or
change the original idea. Before hearing the title, George pointed to the first panel and said,
“That child.” Then he reread the written text in the third panel and said, “Judging by the circus
reference I am guessing one of them ran away…either the father or the child. Maybe not literally,
but figuratively, someone ran.” He took time to talk about the pen work and the obvious talent of

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the artist and then came back to the idea of Icarian games: “Yeah…you know, Icarus died. I
think someone’s gonna die and ‘cause this looks like it’s written in American English, I think the
narrator is alive telling the story. The dad must die.” Also, note the gender neutral references,
“the child” and “the narrator.”
After the title was revealed, George had a very strong reaction, “So yeah, that's like,
never good. So yeah...this kid's life must have totally sucked and this is the story the kid is telling
as an adult...I bet the dad did some heinous stuff, maybe to the kid but maybe not, but the kid
totally needs to deal with it. Yeah, the kid needs to deal.” As it turns out, the creation of the
memoir was a way for Bechdel to work through the issues she had with her neglectful father. He
was also a closeted homosexual and was charged with giving beer to and having sex with a
minor male when Bechtel was still in high school. Her father later died in a traffic accident that
Bechtel believes was suicide.
Garth also used the circus reference and the title of the book as cues and came to the
same conclusion as George. After the title was revealed he said, "Fun home? …hmmm, so
clearly this is probably not a fun home, judging by the way this is written. A relatively neglectful
household or just Stepford-y would be a good word for it. It seems perfect but,
but...creepy...something rotten underneath, something unseen. I mean, clearly it is about this
kid’s life and ... possibly running away but from this I really can't tell if it is the father or child
who is running or who will run...possibly both.” Again, his understanding of the overall gestalt
of the book from the first page is impressive.
Ginger had more difficulty with the gender issue but after hearing the title she focused on
the issue of emotional neglect: “Fun Home? Hmmm. Well, for me, because I'm kind of a
cynic...‘Fun Home’ makes me think this is the story about a kid … boy … I mean, this kid

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(points to child in first panel) who doesn't exactly have a fun home. I mean, you know if you say
‘fun’ it either means it is actually or…but that doesn't sound like a good story. So if you want to
make a point you say ‘Fun Home’ but it's really not a fun home at all.” After another moment:
“Yeah. I think this dad (points to father’s upturned face in panel 3) isn't a good dad and somehow
this kid is going to try and deal with whatever his dad did. Either did to him or someone else.”
Her vacillation between using the male pronoun or neutral pronoun illustrates the flexibility of
her working hypothesis. She finally settles on male pronouns by the end: “…whatever his dad
did. Either did to him or…” [emphasis added].
Summary of Macro-, Meso-, and Micro Reading
These readers addressed what they thought the story was about based on the first page of
Fun Home (Bechdel, 2006). Some readers were able to combine visual cues such as the father’s
disinterested look and the distance between the characters’ hands with the verbal cues such as
“In the circus…” to create accurate and nuanced stories. These findings are not unique to Fun
Home; rather, they represent the kind of reading some participants were able to engage in with
each of the opening selections.
The first page(s) of the graphic novels selected for this study were as intricate and
purposeful as the first sentences or paragraphs authored by print-dominant writers. The Visual
Attention Maps and predicted stories that were produced provided evidence of the kinds of
features (both visual and verbal) readers attended to when reading graphic novels. It is evident
that some readers build an understanding of the book in stages or layers. First, they attend to the
setting and genre by reading the illustrations, then they look to the characters’ features, which
can include written text, and lastly they read the written text. Most importantly, they create a

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working hypothesis from these multiple layers of attention and return to the page to confirm or
challenge their hypothesis.
In contrast, other readers rely primarily on the text to understand the story. They tend to
read the page in the same pattern they read print-dominant pages and use illustrations to simply
support an inference constructed from the written text. For example, these readers established
early that the child in Bechtel’s memior was a boy and never swayed from that interpretation of
the illustration, calling her “he,” “the boy,” “son,” or “him.” By itself, the reading of Bechdel’s
gender is not an important issue for the gestalt of the story. What this indicates is the difference
between readers who attend to both visual and verbal cues and then are able to construct meaning
by combining those elements. Attention to and relience on details such as a character’s gender is
an indication of the cognitive processes at work during this activity.

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CHAPTER 5
Discussion and Implications
“In the world of comics, we must learn to see for ourselves since the whole truth is always a
complex interrelation of words and images."
Michael Chaney (2011)

This study was designed to explore an unrecognized and mostly unchallenged
assumption: graphic novels are easier to read then print-dominant novels. The history of literacy
is punctuated with scholarship that has challenged the status quo. Coiro and Dobler’s (2007)
study of online reading practices showed that the reading of print-dominant paper texts was not
the same as reading multi-model, online texts. Duke’s research on the prevalence of
informational text in the classroom and the genre specific aspects of reading comprehension
were important steps in challenging the overabundance of narrative texts in the early grades
(Caswell & Duke, 1998; Duke, 2003; Duke & Kays, 1998). In fact, each change in the literacy
landscape brings about challenges to the status quo. This has been true since Plato’s Phaedrus
(Hackforth, 1972) in which Socrates worried that reading would bring an end to deep and
independent thought.
In a modest sense, the data from this study challenges the status quo too. Using multiple
research methods to understand the ways readers make sense of print and illustrations graphic
novels, for a richer understanding of the act of reading as well as the texts being read. In this
way, Rosenblatt’s (Rosenblatt, 1978/1994, 1985) conception of reading comprehension as a
transaction that occurs between the reader and text was especially salient. Prior to the current
research, the process of reading graphic novels has been construed as a one-dimensional act,

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where all meaning lay on the page and the reader must simply follow along. By applying
Rosenblatt’s theory, this study instead imagines that each time a reader engages with a text is a
unique act wherein the reader and the text are both responsible for constructing meaning.
Dual Coding Theory (DCT) helped guide an understanding how readers utilize the
illustrations (visual stimuli) and written text (verbal stimuli) when both are present (Paivio,
1969). Clark and Paivio (Clark & Paivio, 1991) further explained that when a text has both
images and text, the reader’s metacognitive negotiation of the two is the most important factor of
sense making. Furthermore, the more complex the text, the more the reader must negotiate
between and among writing and illustrations (Sadoski & Paivio, 1994, 2007). DCT is often
mentioned in scholarship about graphic novel comprehension (see Carter, 2008) but because
there is little empirical research on the subject, no one in the extant literature has yet applied
DCT to the process of reading graphic novels as a theoretical framework. This study used
Paivio’s DCT as a rationale for focusing on the metacognitive strategies these readers utilize
when reading graphic novels.
This study utilized discrete but overlapping data elements, which informed an overall
picture of how these expert readers allocated time, metacognitive strategies, and attention while
reading graphic novels. As with other studies that have explored reading in different
environments, the findings of the current study are clear. Reading graphic novels is neither easier
nor less cognitively taxing than reading print-dominant novels, especially when the reader
attends to and synthesizes both the written texts and the illustrations. The following sections
provide a detailed discussion of the findings in relation to each research question, followed by
implications for literacy research and practice. In addition, implications for using Visual

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Attention Mapping as a methodology in visual literacy research and the limitations of the study
are provided.
Q1 - How do expert readers allocate time while reading a graphic novel?
Although this is not a comparative study pitting expert print-dominant readers against
expert graphic novel readers, it is worthwhile to look across the groups for similarities and
differences in the ways they allocate time. The think-aloud protocols for the 30-minute thinkaloud were designed to be as open-ended and broad as possible in an effort to provide readers
with the freedom to illustrate their own individualistic reading styles (Fox, 2009; Pressley &
Afflerbach, 1995). Each reader was asked to talk about what they were thinking while they read
a graphic novel. Each reader chose a book to read from a selection of three graphic novels. The
selection process each reader took part in was used as both a training tool for the readers and a
way to understand their pre-reading activities.
Each reader showed a different rate of reading in the think-aloud. These reading rates
corresponded with his or her own individual reading style. Although it would be easiest to
address reading rates by group, to do so would misrepresent the individualized nature of reading
(Rosenblatt, 1978/1994). These readers all began the thirty-minute think-aloud in different ways
and at different rates (See Table 14). The ways these readers allotted time in the beginning of the
think-aloud varied from a little over two minutes for the first five pages to over 10 minutes for
the first five pages. This variation in time was not correlated with the books. George, Gidget,
Ginger and Paul all read Hatter M by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith
(Illustrator) and yet the reading rates are clearly quite different. This illustrates the unique nature
of reading as these readers read the same text at different rates. This might indicate that the
reading rate is a product of the individual and not the text but, because the participants were

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asked to perform a think-aloud with a single text, that conclusion is beyond the scope of this
study.
Table 14
First Five Pages of Individual Reading Rates (in Minutes)
Paul

Parker

Ginger

Paige

George

Penelope

Garth

Gidget

:22

:44

1:14

:41

1:35

1:00

1:32

2:44

:32

:47

1:10

:44

1:10

:53

1:30

2:33

:31

:46

1:05

1:10

:57

:22

1:32

1:58

:21

:50

:56

1:05

1:01

:41

1:25

1:32

:23

:43

1:11

1:18

1:08

:59

1:24

1:24

2:09

3:50

4:36

4:58

5:51

5:55

7:23

10:11

Note. This is a re-representation of the graphs seen in Chapter 3.
The variation shown in these reader’s initial reading rates is consistent with research
about individual readers using idiosyncratic styles to read and comprehend (Ivey & Broaddus,
2001; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995; Pressley & Hilden, 2004). All of these readers were experts,
but the expertise they possessed affected their reading quite differently.
Toward the end of the think-aloud, reading rates changed. In general, the data indicates
that Garth, Ginger and Gidget began more slowly and sped up over the course of the 30 minutes
(see Table 14 and Table 15). This was not the case with all four of the graphic novel readers,
however, as illustrated by George, whose steady pace throughout may or may not place him as
an outlier in this sample.

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Table 15
Last Five Pages of Individual Reading Rates (in Minutes)
Garth

Paul

Ginger

Gidget

George

Penelope

Paige

Parker

:45

:40

:42

:50

1:23

1:12

1:48

:31

:38

1:30

:54

:45

:58

2:00

2:07

1:22

:28

:20

:55

:58

:49

1:45

1:53

3:38

:44

:34

:50

1:00

:31

1:13

1:22

2:55

:51

:45

:52

:59

:51

1:33

2:01

2:05

3:26

3:49

4:13

4:32

4:32

7:43

9:11

10:31

Note. This is a re-representation of the graphs seen in Chapter 3.
To address the first research question, these expert readers allocated their time differently
across their think-alouds. The expert graphic novel readers used more time at the beginning of
the book to establish an understanding of the illustrations before reading the written text.
Therefore, attending to and reading illustrations is a key element in graphic novel reading that is
not needed or present when reading print-dominant texts. The ways these graphic novel readers
used their time during the think-aloud illustrates this point well. These readers were slow and
methodical at the onset of reading. They established an understanding of the illustration style, the
setting, and the characters.
In sharp contrast, the print-dominant readers began their think-alouds with an expectation
of ease. As a group these readers relied on the established form of reading from top-to-bottom
and left-to-right. They read the written text almost without regard to the illustrations, and in
some cases completely ignored illustrations that contradicted the text. These print-dominant
readers attended to the written text with confidence and speed until confusion set in. At that
point, they chose to either slowed down to try and regroup or they stopped and returned to the
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beginning. Penelope, who was aware of the need to “look at the pictures” repeatedly tried to use
the pictures to aid her understanding, but she was unable to combine the visual with the verbal
into a coherent story. Paul and Parker both expressed frustration with not being able to read the
graphic novel they chose. These readers showed dedication and engagement in the study, but
their experiences attempting to decode graphica created high levels of frustration and fatigue
which ultimately created a situation where they were unable to comprehend the text.
The initial reading rate of this small sample of expert graphic novel readers suggests that
these readers spent time gathering information from the multiple sources available to them from
the page, including the written text and the illustrations. The second research question addressed
what these readers are thinking during the time they spend reading.
Q2 - What metacognitive reading strategies do expert readers use to understand graphic
novels, and how do they use them?
Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1969, 1991) provided the impetus for the focus on
metacognitive reading strategies. Clark and Paivio (Clark & Paivio, 1991) found that readers
who knew what they did and did not understand and were able to efficiently direct attention were
more likely to make sensible meaning from texts that used both illustrations and written text.
This research question directly addressed reader’s use of metacognitive reading strategies to
determine if this phenomenon could be observed when expert readers interacted with graphic
novels.
These readers applied multiple, varied, and unique metacognitive combinations of
reading strategies when performing a think-aloud with a graphic novel. The individual reading
styles or methods are less interesting than what the readers gain from putting those styles in
place. The expert graphic novel readers were able to utilize their extensive prior knowledge to

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meaningfully process the text. This application of previous knowledge is most evident in the use
of proximal inter-textual connections where readers (including George, Gidget, Garth, and
Ginger) made reference to other comics or graphic novels to better understand the one they were
reading. In contrast, when Penelope made an inter-textual connection, it was not only distal but it
also interfered with her understanding of the story. She referred to the main character, the cat in
Sfar’s Rabbi’s Cat, as a dog, and then she could not understand why it was meowing. It turned
out that she was making a connection to movies that had talking dogs.
In addition to the metacognitive reading strategies that are commonly applied to both
print-dominant books and graphic novels, there were indications that graphic novels provide
physical cues not found in print-dominant novels that required application of a different array of
strategies. For example, Garth and Gidget considered the entire book as an object, including the
size, paper type, and ink, as part of the overall reading experience. This is typified by Garth
when he commented on the tactile sensation of the paper, saying it was “thick, like it has some
clay in it. I’m guessing it needs to be like this to take all the ink. The [printing] presses must have
just been monsters.” His awareness of the book as an object signified his understanding of the
process that is used to produce graphic novels and this depth of knowledge is used to focus his
attention on the visual elements of the book.
The awareness of lines, colors, panels and transitions, gutters and all the other visual and
non-verbal elements the expert graphic novel readers were able to utilize during their thinkalouds provided these readers with a much richer and complex reading experience. Gidget,
perhaps more than any other reader, illustrated Paivio’s (1969) Dual Coding Theory in her thinkaloud. She consistently used a recursive reading style to pose questions, hypothesize multiple
possible scenarios to address those questions, and finally evaluate the evidence she created

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through the act of synthesizing the illustrations with the written text to come to an interpretation
that made sense to her.
Garth was able to succinctly explain why he uses the pattern of processing text,
monitoring, processing, and interpreting over and over. He needs to understand why the author
uses the elements that are on the page: “Once I feel like I got it, I can cruise, but I need to get it. I
need to get why he’s using brights or darks. Why rats with red eyes and not dogs with, like blue
tongues.” Once he feels that he has a sense of the work, he is able to use his cognitive resources
to understand the story. In a similar fashion, as Ginger reads, she moves from an effort to
understand the circumstances of the story through evaluating and making inter-textual
connection to focus on creating a richer understanding of the text that is reflected in a deeper
interpretation of the story and monitoring in the form of questions.
Dual Coding Theory posits that readers that use metacognitive reading strategies to
synthesize written text and illustrations are able to create a complex and complete meaning. That
kind of synthesis is demonstrated in this study in several ways. During the think-alouds, those
readers who were able to use both to extend an idea, to evaluate and solve a misunderstanding,
and to connect events or characters within the novel showed a greater understanding of the novel
they read. In addition, when predicting what the story was about, as they were asked to do in the
Visual Attention Map activity, the readers who were metacognitive about their attention created
more complex and nuanced stories.
The analysis of the ways these readers systematically utilized their metacognitive reading
strategies provides evidence that argues against the idea that graphic novels are easy to read.
These readers were engaged and challenged by these texts and used considerable time and effort

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to understand the stories they read. The third research question addressed how readers attention
moves across the graphic novel page.
Q3 - What attention patterns do expert readers show when reading the first pages of five
different graphic novels?
The third question for this study asked what readers attention patterns were across the
opening pages of different graphic novels. This is especially salient to the current study because
graphic novels are not simply a haphazard collection of pictures and words. Instead, the author
and illustrator, along with a team of editors, are responsible for the content. Although there are
agreed-upon elements for both illustrations and written text that creators and readers must
understand (McCloud, 1994) these elements are made fresh each time a new story is told. Just as
Rosenblatt (1969, 1978/1994) stated, the meaning of the novel resides in the transactional space
between the text that was created by an author and the reader who brings experience,
expectations, and purpose to the reading. Graphic novels provide both written text and
illustrations for the reader to attend to in order to comprehend the story.
DCT asserts that the reader must be metacognitive to what he or she attends to on the
page. One way to understand how reader’s attention is being directed is to employ an eyetracking system, but as this was an initial and exploratory study, it was necessary to find another
way for readers to show the way their attention moved across a page. Although there is no way
to absolutely ensure that these readers accurately illustrated their attention, it is reasonable to
assume that they tried in good faith to follow the prompt and to show their attention patterns. In
addition, the Visual Attention Map activity was designed to activate their metacognitive reading
strategies, not their unconscious reflexes.

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On the issue of readers attending to and suppressing the various elements on the page,
Hatfield, an alternative comics scholar, stated:
The reader’s responsibility for negotiating meaning can never be forgotten, for the
breakdown of comics into discrete visual quanta continually foregrounds the reader’s
involvement. The very discontinuity of the page urges readers to do the work of
inference, to negotiate over and over the passage from submissive reading to active
interpreting (2005, p. xiv).
McCloud (1994), a comics author and scholar, repeatedly reminds the reader that comics artists
co-create the story with “an equal partner in crime known as the reader” (p. 68). McCloud
stresses this co-creation of meaning, and his book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
(McCloud, 1994), provides a guide to help the reader by laying bare all the elements on which
the writers of comics rely. Art Spieglman, who received the first Pulitzer awarded to a graphic
novel, also addresses the importance of the reader as co-creator in his “Talk of the Nation”
interview about his book Maus (1991): “I wanted all the flaws to be on a one-to-one relationship
with the reader so that it would feel more like looking at a diary, although it's a forged diary, as
you get to see when you're looking at all the sketches and preliminary work.” (Neal Conan
[interviewer] & Art Spiegelman [interviewee], 2011). Graphic novelists expect the reader to
attend to and decode verbal and visual cues in order to fully comprehend the story.
The readers in this study showed enormously different ways of approaching, utilizing,
and synthesizing the written text and illustrations. Providing five different opening pages for the
readers to interpret allowed for an analysis across genre and style. The analysis of the video data
from the VAM clearly indicates that some readers developed a systematic method of entering
into, chunking, and synthesizing the elements on the page. George and Gidget had the most

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layered and elaborate VAMs of all the readers, followed by Garth and Ginger. In addition to the
complexity of their attention patterns, the predicted stories they created were also the most
closely matched to the actual scope of the novels and most far-reaching. Although both Paul and
Penelope knew they were supposed to use the illustrations, they simply did not know how to go
about the process, and so they quickly abandoned the illustrations in favor of the written text.
These readers were all committed to this research; each one engaged in the effort of
reading and reporting their thinking. But some readers were better equipped to navigate the text
and more capable of understanding and making connections within and across texts in order to
make meaning from the written text and the illustrations, and in many cases, more able to
synthesize beyond one or the other.
Implications
The findings in the current study indicate that graphic novels are not “easy to read" or
"less cognitively taxing" because they have fewer words. Instead, the findings show that readers
who have developed an active expertise in reading graphic novels read them differently than
expert print-dominant readers read traditional texts. In fact, there is a structure and pattern to the
way graphic novels are read by experts that is not a natural simply a reaction to the change in
medium. In other words, if reading a graphic novel was an easy or natural activity then expert
print-dominant readers could switch seamlessly from one medium to another. They could not.
The current study finds one important difference is the development of prior knowledge and
multiple metacognitive strategies that include attention to illustrations and the synthesis of
written text and illustrations to create meaning.

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Implications for Literacy Research
Clearly, graphic novels are not the effortless texts some have espoused them to be, nor
are they the silver bullet of literacy. Instead, much like print-dominant texts, graphic novels can
be complex and nuanced. The difference is that the field needs to recognize that not all reading is
synonymous and, much like Coiro and Dobler’s (2007) work found that online readers must use
different strategies in different ways to comprehend online texts, so too graphic novels must be
read in a way that enables the reader access to the available complexity. This study shows that
expert print-dominant readers read graphic novels differently than expert graphic novel readers.
Literacy research has a long tradition of examining expert readers to better understand how to
read in order to eventually learn how to teach others to read. This study was designed in that
tradition and contributes to the understanding of graphic novel comprehension.
Each reader in the current study used unique combinations of reading strategies,
depending on their own experiences, ability, and familiarity with the medium and the genre. This
finding is consistent with other work, especially Fox’s (2009) review of think-aloud literature.
What emerged as a new finding in the current study is the readers’ use of clear patterns to decode
the text. Previously, the few pieces of scholarship that explained the ways readers should read
graphic novels relied on how the text was designed, not how readers actually read the text (see
Rudiger, 2006; Thompson, 2008). Careful analysis during the current study showed patterns of
attention used by these readers differed across readers but not across the text. Those with the
most experience reading graphic novels and comics chunked the information presented to them
by the page and were able to build a more complex understanding of the whole, even when each
individual utilized a unique approach to the text. Furthermore, this creation of a complex story

137

by using all the elements available enabled these readers to extend their prediction well past
reporting what was seen on the page.
Another well-publicized reason for including graphic novels in the classroom is the
motivational aspect of using both out-of-school and intrinsically interesting texts, as they have
been found to be an effective means to improve some marginalized students’ overall reading
engagement (Guthrie, 2004; Guthrie & Cox, 2001; Pierson, 1999). However, there is little
evidence in the current study to show that reader engagement with graphic novels leads to
reading print-dominant novels. The expert graphic novel readers were divided in this area, with
two of them stating they still read print-dominant books and two stating they did not unless they
were required to do so for school or work. Developing a survey of graphic novel readers to
determine if reading graphic novels propels readers towards print-dominant texts and whether
they were more skilled when they got there as a result of graphic novel reading would help us
understand how these texts are best used in the classroom, whether employing them in the
classroom would actually lead students to engage more readily with print-dominant texts, and
what strategies might help such readers with a transition between graphic-dominant and printdominant texts. A study to determine print-dominant literacy in graphic novel readers would also
go a long way toward understanding what kinds of transfer can and should be expected between
the two. It may be that graphic novel literacy has no correlation to print-dominant literacy, or that
graphic novel literacy may develop readers’ skill with inference, prediction, or a whole host of
metacognitive reading strategies that might be readily applied to print-dominant text. On the
other hand, it is also possible that so much of the information gleaned from graphic novels
resides in the illustrations that the act of reading graphic novels might distance readers from the
act of decoding text.

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Overall, the current study takes us one step closer to understanding how readers
comprehend these complex, multimodal texts. By observing the time taken, the sequence of
reading strategies used, and the attention patterns put into place by expert graphic novel readers,
this study provides a possible model for reading these texts strategically that could be utilized as
a teaching device for readers that are not currently fluent in reading graphic novels.
Implications for Practice
The extant research in graphic novels in the classroom shows that teachers, as a group,
are not expert graphic novel readers. Lapp, Wolsey, Fisher, and Frey (2011/2012) found that
although most teachers in their study thought there was value in introducing graphic novels into
the classroom, they did not know how. Furthermore, the Lapp, et. al. study revealed that the
teachers who responded to their survey had minimal familiarity with reading graphic novels.
Instead, the teachers that responded were more familiar with the research and practitioner pieces
about using graphic novels than the graphic novels themselves.
The current study, although not generalizable, suggests that print-dominant readers need
support and time to learn how to read graphic novels. The population of teachers that we
currently have in education are less familiar with graphic novels and therefore must be supported
(Lapp et al., 2011/2012). Again, it is important to note the current study found print-dominant
and graphic novel readers approached graphic novels in very different ways. The expert graphic
novel readers have highly developed strategies that they are able to apply to new texts. Printdominant readers, on the other hand, apply the strategies they have developed by reading printdominant novels to the graphic novels they read in this study. Because of this misalignment these
readers found themselves frustrated, confused, and generally dissatisfied with the experience and
the medium.

139

If teachers who are less familiar with graphic novels intend to integrate graphic novels
into the curriculum, and not simply make the books available for free reading, teachers might
first need to understand how the texts should be read. Lapp et al. (2011/2012) posit some
possible reasons for the gap between teachers’ belief in using graphic novels and their actual use
in their article. The authors state the gap may be due to availability, restrictions on teacher
autonomy, or standards. One possible reason not cited by the authors is that teachers may be
uncomfortable with their own lack of experience and feel unsure of how best to guide their
students.
Based on trends in the recent research and scholarship, it seems likely that the interest in
using graphic novels and comics in the classroom will continue to grow (Connors, 2013;
Pantaleo, 2013; Wilson, Bakis, & Botzakis, 2013) A model of reading for this media would help
teachers to read, evaluate, and teach graphic novels more effectively. Findings from literary
research and research in library science might help us understand where graphic novels should be
placed in the curriculum. According to the research on graphic novels, especially Young Adult
graphic novels, done by librarians and literary scholars, there is a wide array of topics presented
in the texts, such as teen pregnancy, race relations, issues of LGBTQ identity, and alternative
perspectives on current and historical events (such as 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan) that are of
high interest to teens (Carter, 2008; F. Goldsmith, 2010; F. Goldsmith, 2005). Currently, graphic
novels are most often being used as an alternative to print-dominant novels for many
marginalized readers. Instead, perhaps graphic novels should be used for their own sake as a
different way to tell stories and not as a way to get away from or around print-dominant novels.
One goal would be to design explicit instructional models for teachers to use with the diverse
student populations seen in classrooms today.

140

Implications for Methodology
There are at least three implications from this study about think-aloud data methodologies
as they are used for the study of graphic novel. The first is the use of video data and verbal
protocols to elicit participant attention patterns. Using enlarged, high-quality reproductions of the
graphic novel pages in combination with multiple-camera video to capture participants’
behaviors for later analysis proved very profitable and interesting. This method could be used for
other static media, including picturebooks, comics, informational texts, graphic novels, and
illustrated texts (such as Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time Indian). The VAM method could also be used in online environments to
explore what elements readers attend to and in what order they attend to those elements. If initial
research using Visual Attention Mapping shows promise, then the next step of using eye tracking
or neuroimaging equipment, which range in cost from $16,000 to $40,000 (Arrington Research,
2012), would be a worthwhile investment.
Although a small sample size is typical for exploratory research, the sample size of the
current study does limit the kinds of analysis that can be done on the data. The data from the
Visual Attention Map activity yielded important and somewhat surprising findings. The next step
would be to create a study using the VAMs with a larger number of younger participants. This
would allow for the development of a set of statistical analyses focused on the number of
attention sweeps and pauses used by a variety of readers. A larger number of participants would
confirm if the patterns seen in the current study hold true across a wider range of readers. A
range of readers across age levels, such as 8, 10, 12, and 14 years, would show a pattern of
development across age. These two elements would allow for the next important step in the
research of reading comprehension in graphic novels: developing a curricular model for teachers.

141

The motivational aspect of using both out-of-school and intrinsically interesting texts has
been found to be effective in providing a means to improve some marginalized students’ overall
reading engagement (Guthrie, 2004; Guthrie & Cox, 2001; Pierson, 1999). However, there is
little evidence in this study to show that reading engagement with graphic novels leads to reading
print-dominant novels. As previously noted, the expert graphic novel readers were divided in this
area, with two of them stating they still read print-dominant books and two stating they did not
unless they were required to. Developing a survey of graphic novel readers to determine if
reading graphic novels propels readers towards print-dominant texts would help us understand
where these texts are best used in the classroom and the transition between graphic-dominant and
print-dominant texts.
The implications for expert readers’ use of time, reading strategies, and attention when
reading graphic novels should be considered when decisions are made by teachers and other
stake holders about when and how to use graphic novels in the classroom. Simply giving these
books to marginalized readers because of an assumption of ease is probably a disservice to those
readers, but not only because those readers cannot understand the work. Instead, the underlying
assumption that graphic novels are easy to read does nothing to serve an already marginalized
population. However, the readers in this study who were able to utilize time, metacognitive
reading strategies, and attention to synthesize written text and illustrations to glean the
complexity available to them in these novels illustrated a way to comprehend these texts that
their print-dominant counterparts might be able to learn.
A study to determine print-dominant literacy in graphic novel readers would also go a
long way towards understanding what kinds of transfer can and should be expected between the
two media. It may be that graphic novel literacy has no correlation to print-dominant literacy, or

142

that graphic novel literacy may develop readers’ skill with inference based on visual stimuli to
the point where it can actually help them distance themselves from reading, which would be the
opposite outcome that teachers would be expecting when introducing the graphic novels to the
classroom.
Limitations
All research methods have affordances and constraints. Given the purpose of the
research, to examine if expert readers would find graphic novels easy to read, this study was
designed to minimize the limitations but there were a few that could not be avoided. The use of
think-aloud protocols is limited by the fact that the participant reports upon their thinking and the
researcher is responsible for interpreting those utterances. Although think-alouds do allow for an
“as it happens” view of reader’s thoughts, the reports are no doubt affected by the cognitive
capacity of the readers, their individual demeanor around talking, and the researcher’s ability to
make reasoned interpretations (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995; Scott, 2008). In addition, the
automatic nature of reading for older readers affects their ability to even recognize strategy use
as it happens. In order to ameliorate these limitations, I sought participants who were already
engaged in and able to talk about their own reading. All of these experts acted as mentors in
formal and informal learning communities based on the practice of reading. In addition, the
stimulus interview allowed for questions and considerations of the more automatic strategies
used by these readers.
The most substantial limitation to the current study is the number of readers and the
general homogeneity of the group. All of the readers were successful readers, although the expert
graphic novel readers were not experts in print-dominant reading and the print-dominant readers
were not experts in graphic novel reading. The readers were also racially and ethnically

143

homogenous—all self-identified as White. Five of the eight participants are from middle or
upper income level homes. Paul, Garth, and Ginger self-identify as coming from or living in
“working class” backgrounds. Lastly, the ages of the participants may be problematic for
education research because they ranged in age from 17-20. Pilots with ten, twelve and fourteen
year olds showed that younger readers tended to change or adjust their answers to align with the
implicit research agenda. In addition, finding expert readers that were younger proved
exceptionally challenging.
Lastly, the Visual Attention Map method was designed and implemented for the first time
in this study. Although the method was designed and extensively piloted, as stated in the
previous chapter, there is no way to guarantee that the method is absolutely accurate. Future
research in which the VAM is compared to eye tracking might garner a better understanding of
the differences between the methods. If we understand those differences, we can better decide
when to administer one or the other method in visual literacy research.

144

APPENDICES

145

Appendix A
Reading Habits Survey
1. Highest level of education completed?
(Choose one)
o Less than high school
o GED or high school equivalency
o High school graduate
o Some college
o Vocational College: less than two years
o Associate's degree: two years or more
o College graduate (B.S. or B.A.)
o Other
2. How often do you read a printed newspaper?
(Choose one)
o Every day
o A few times a week
o Once a week
o Less than once a week
o Never
3. Which sections, if any, of the printed newspaper do you usually read?
(Choose all that apply)
o Arts and Entertainment
o Front Page
o World News
o Local or Regional News
o Sports
o Business
o Lifestyle
o Comics
o Real Estate
o Classified
o Editorial Page
o Other
4. How often do you read print magazines?
(Choose one)
o Every day
o A few times a week
o Once a week
o Less than once a week
o Never

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Reading Habits Survey, page 2
5. Number of different print magazines read on a regular basis?
(Choose one)
o 6 or more
o 3-5
o 2
o 1
o None
7. What are the titles of print magazines read on a regular basis?
–
–
–
8. How often do you read online?
(Choose one)
o Every day
o A few times a week
o Once a week
o Less than once a week
o Never
9. What are kinds of online reading do you do regularly?
—
—
—
—
10. How often to you read print-dominant books?
(Choose one)
o Every day
o A few times a week
o Once a week
o Less than once a week
o Never

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Reading Habits Survey, page 3
11. Which of these genres of print-dominant books have you read in the last six months?
(Choose all that apply)
o Fiction
o Current affairs or history
o Historical fiction
o Inspiration or religion
o Science or social science
o Biography/memoir
o Reference (encyclopedias or dictionaries)
o Manuals for cooking, operating, repairing, or building
o Poetry
o Any other type of books?
12. Do you participate in activities that center around reading print-dominant books?
o Yes
o No
13. If yes, please check all activities that apply
o Member of an organization, such as a reading group, etc.
o Write blog about books
o Follow blog(s), twitter feeds, etc. about books
o Maintain social network space (Facebook, MySpace, Good Reads, etc.) about books
o Belong to social network space (Facebook, MySpace, Good Reads, etc.) about books
o Work with books (creating, selling, teaching, etc)
o Attend book store or library events around books
o Other
14. How often to you read graphic-dominant books (comic books and/or graphic novels)?
(Choose one)
o Every day
o A few times a week
o Once a week
o Less than once a week
o Never

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Reading Habits Survey, page 4
15. Which of these genres of graphic-dominant books (comic books and/or graphic novels) have
you read in the last six months?
(Choose all that apply)
o Fiction
o Current affairs or history
o Historical fiction
o Inspiration or religion
o Science or social science
o Biography/memoir
o Reference (encyclopedias or dictionaries)
o Manuals for cooking, operating, repairing, or building
o Poetry
o Other type of books?
16. Do you participate in activities that center around graphic-dominant books (comic books
and/or graphic novels)?
o Yes, see next question
o No, thank you for your time
17. If yes, please check all activities that apply
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Member of an organization, such as a comic/graphic novel reading group, etc.
Write blog about graphic-dominant books
Follow blog(s), twitter feeds, etc. about graphic-dominant books
Attended Comic-Con
Maintain social network space (Facebook, MySpace, Good Reads, etc.) about graphicdominant books
Belong to social network space (Facebook, MySpace, Good Reads, etc.) about graphicdominant books
Work with graphic-dominant books (creating, selling, teaching, etc.)
Book store or library events around graphic-dominant books
Other

18. Where (location) do you do most of your leisure reading?
What kinds of technologies do you regularly use for leisure reading?
(Choose all that apply)
o
o
o
o
o
o

Desktop computer
iPad
Kindle
Laptop computer
Nook
Other, please specify
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Appendix B
Think-Aloud Instructions
Initial instructions:
“Thank you for helping me with this study. Teachers don’t know everything about how
people read graphic novels, so I need you to teach me and others what you do when you
read. I’m trying to learn what readers think about while reading graphic novels. To do this, I’m
going to ask you to think-out-loud while reading a graphic novel. I’ll be videotaping everything
so it can be reviewed later. There is no right or wrong way to think-aloud while reading a graphic
novel. The idea is that you do what you normally do while reading, but talk me through it, which
will help me understand how you read graphic novels.”
“There are three phases to what you’ll do. First I’m going to have you choose a graphic
novel to use for the think-aloud, then I’ll ask you to think aloud for 30-minutes while reading,
and finally I’ll ask you to recall what you read.”

First step—Text selection:
“I am going to show you several graphic novels that you said you have not read. You will
choose one to read today. While selecting the novel, tell me what you are thinking while
selecting the novel. Please do whatever you would usually do to choose a graphic novel (PRINT
DOMINANT NOVEL) and keep me aware of what you are thinking by saying it aloud.”

Show texts:
•

Coraline: The Graphic Novel (2009) by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell (Illustrator)

•

The Rabbi’s Cat (2005) by Joann Sfar

150

•

Hatter M, Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars (2008) by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier and
Ben Templesmith (Illustrator)

•

Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel (2007) by Colfer, E., Donkin, A., Rigano, G., &
Lamanna, P.

•

Neil Gaiman's Murder Mysteries (2002) by Russell, P. C., & Gaiman, N.

Prompts used:
•

I see you are spending a lot of time on that page/section. What are you thinking?

•

You put that book down very quickly; can you tell me what made you decide you did not
want to read it?

•

Can you tell me anything more about that?

•

What were you looking at on the page that prompted that?

Second step—Think-Aloud instructions:
“Great. Thanks for talking me through that process. Again, I am asking you to put into
words your thinking while you read. I am interested in what you notice, what you feel you have
to stop and figure out while reading and how you come to understand the story.”
I will open the book to second chapter and hand the book to the participant.
“Please start reading here and talk about what you are thinking while you read. Again,
there is no right or wrong, I really want to understand what you know and how you know it while
you are reading this graphic novel. I won’t interrupt, so please try and remember to speak as you
read.”

151

Third step—Recall instructions:
After the think-aloud, I will ask the participants to take a short five-minute break before
the recall task. I will try and engage the participant in conversation away from graphic novels. I
will also suggest they get up, walk around, and generally clear their minds.
After five minutes I will ask the participant to join me again. The novel will not be in
sight. I will ask a series of questions to elicit a recall of the text read.
1. What do you remember about what you read?
a. Anything else?
2. Often in a text, there are clues that build on other pieces to help you understand the text.
What was most helpful for remembering what you read?
3. What was most interesting?
4. How would you communicate what is most important about this story to a friend?
5. What are you pretty sure that people who don’t read these books all the time wouldn’t
understand or not get?
6. Is there anything you would like to add about the way you understand the book?

152

Appendix C
Visual Attention Map (VAM) Instructions
After a five-minute break, I asked each participant to provide a map of his attention
across the opening pages of five different graphic novels. Before revealing the first enlarged
page, I stated, “I’m going to show you one page from the beginning of a graphic novel. As soon
as you can, please point to the first thing that draws your attention. From there, please point out
what draws your attention next, and so on until you have exhausted the page. Don’t try and make
sense of what you see, simply move from one attention point to the next. After that I’ll ask you
what you think the story is about. After you finish telling me, I’ll ask if there is anything else. If
you don’t want to add anything, I’ll tell you the title of the book and ask if you want to change
your idea of what it is about. I don’t want to cut you off, so after you finish I will ask you if there
is anything else you want to add.”

153

Appendix D

Figure 34. FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC © 2006 by Alison Bechdel, Reprinted by
permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Text in the figure is not meant to
be readable, but is for visual reference only.
154

Figure 35. GARAGE BAND© 2007 by Gipi. Reprinted by permission of First Second Books.
All rights reserved. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual reference only.
155

Figure 36. LAIKA © 2007 by Nick Abadzis. Page 1. Reprinted by permission of First Second
Books. All rights reserved. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual
reference only.
156

Figure 37. LAIKA © 2007 by Nick Abadzis. Page 2. Reprinted by permission of First Second
Books. All rights reserved. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual
reference only.
157

Figure 38. THE STORM IN THE BARN. Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Matt Phelan. Reproduced by permission of the publisher,
Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual reference only.

158

Figure 39. WONDER WOMAN: LOVE AND MURDER © 2007 by Jodi Picoult. Reprinted by permission of DC Comics. All rights
reserved. Text in the figure is not meant to be readable, but is for visual reference only.
159

Appendix E
Table 16
Code Key For Complexity Of Created Stories
Rating
1

Description
Participant reports on either visual or
verbal cues but does not infer beyond
either one to develop a coherent or
plausible story. Participant used general
or vague statements that could be applied
to almost any story.

Example
“Well, the narrator is using past tense, so
this must be about the past.” -Paul, reading
Fun Home.

2

Uses both visual and verbal but relies on
one more than the other to make
inferences beyond the page but does not
develop a coherent story.

“Hmmm. OK, so it I'm totally guessing
here, but I think it will be about her
[Wonder Woman] trying to choose who to
be, like I said, that whole identity thing
going on up here (sweeps upper portion of
first page). I wonder if she's going to have
to kill someone or if someone, like,
someone she loves is evil and has really
killed someone important. That would be a
bummer.”
-Ginger, reading Wonder Woman

3

Participant utilized both visual and verbal
cues along with prior knowledge to
develop a coherent story.

160

“Well, clearly they were looking for a
place to practice... And it looks like a farm
or a more rural community, so they
probably aren't welcome in a lot of places.
Maybe they have to find somewhere out of
the way, isolated in this rural community in
order to practice… I can surmise that this
is going to be about these guys, maybe a
few more...usually 4 guys in a band.
Probably working out personal
issues...even guys have personal issues,
usually with our fathers...and trying to get
better, maybe get big. I'm guessing they
would run into some trouble, perhaps need
to decide between taking responsibility and
doing something childish because, again,
they are clearly teens... yeah, that's it ...
Music, growing up, becoming the person
they will be, dealing with issues.”
-Garth, reading Garage Band

Appendix F
Visual Attention Map Prompt
Each participant was asked to provide a verbal map of his/her attention across five
different opening pages of graphic novels. They were each trained with Percy Jackson and all
were given the following prompt.
I’m going to show you the first page of a graphic novel. As soon as you can, please point
to the first thing that draws your attention. From there, please point out what draws your
attention next, and so on until you have exhausted the page. Don’t try and make sense of what
you see, simply move from one attention point to the next. Take as much time as you want.
After that I am going to ask you what you think the story is about. When you are finished,
I’ll ask you if there is anything you want to add.
At that point I’ll give you the title of the books and ask you if you want to change or add
anything to what you think the story is about. When you are done I’ll ask you if there is anything
you want to add.
Any questions?
Ok, let’s get started.

161

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