We must make kids want to read before we can make them read what we want. Jacquelyn McTaggart. Graphic Novels, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Teaching Visual Literacy. Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, Editors.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

All Ages Manga: Legend of Zelda Vol 9

On Feb. 2, 2010 the 9th volume in the series, A Link to the Past, was released. The author of the Legend of Zelda series is Akira Himekawa. The name is a pseudonym for two manga-ka, A. Honda and S. Nagano, who together have created the series based on the highly popular Legend of Zelda Nintendo game. The series first began publication in the US in 2008 and is not an exact replica of the game. As the series grew the authors seemed to focus on the personalities, thoughts, and history of characters.

A young man with swashbuckling swordsmanship, Link, is involved with Princess Zelda, ruler of the kingdom of Hyrule. Himekawa brought to young readers fast-paced swords and sorcery action with all the artistic flare of traditional manga in 200 pages. The Legend of Zelda is published by Viz Kids. These are appropriate for the young reader and are only available in paperback. The appeal may be more for young women who enjoy romantic fantasy. For those young female reluctant reader manga fans this might be just the series to get them interested in reading.

Monday, February 1, 2010

uclick: Good but Expensive Comic iPhone Apps

The publisher uclick has many graphic novel apps. Be aware that some of the apps are just for one chapter, therefore, making the total book as expensive as the physical book. Some are for the graphic novels loved for ages 8-12, for example, Bone. Each panel is in excellent full color, slide page turn, and very easy to read. However, you do not get a look at the total vertical page and you end up with 6 or 7 icons on your iPhone representing each chapter. In a pinch it is easier especially when traveling than dragging around the physical book.



They also have the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Ghostbusters. Many are $0.99 per chapter, but some are the full issue. Read carefully before you download. Chapter by chapter takes up a lot of app space. When your iPhone apps are on page 11 as is mine, you have to really want the book to allow it to take up your precious space.

You can get Manga on the Kindle for the iphone through Amazon.com, but it is also expensive and not that easy to read. Download the first chapter or so for free just to see how it works. It's tricky to zoom in to make the print readable. If the young ones have to have Manga, the get light Manga such as the Oz series available on iverse. The horizontal display makes it easy to read. For those who want serious Manga, there are companies such as Digital Media Productions working on making Manga displays easier to read on the iPhone, but right now it's a work in progress.