A high school teacher in Florida is looking to put together a comic book curriculum for a course on comics. The book budget will likely be non-existent. He's looking to score forty copies each of UNDERSTANDING COMICS and Parts 1 and 2 of MAUS, I presume either for as cheaply as possible or free.
Anyone who thinks they can help out, in whole or in part, please e-mail me at padguy@aol.com, and I'll give you the specifics.
Thanks.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at April 21, 2005 08:39 PM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingDamn, I should have thought of this.
I'm planning a course on bright red sports cars, by the way.
I'm planning a course on bright red sports cars, by the way.
I'd like to enroll in that class, please...
Has he tried calling the publisher directly, at least for UNDERSTANDING COMICS? Many books are marked up as much as 40-50% in retail. Some publishers let customers order direct and are willing to give nice discounts for bulk orders, since they keep a larger cut of the profit. It all depends on the publisher, though.
Sorry for multiple posts. When I was getting my BA in Japanese, I received credit for taking a Japanese Pop Culture class. I had to buy manga and watch movies for class (boohoo). Every school should offer these sorts of classes--wish my high school had. (^.^x)
My college offeres a course in comic book literature. This is the course description:
English 243: Currents in American Literature - Comic Book Literature
Comics are an often maligned art form in the grown-up world, but they represent a unique story-telling medium that deserves far more attention and respect. This course will examine the comic book as a form of literary and artistic expression by discussing the ways in which comics operate on an intellectual and emotional level to tell a story. Readings will focus on selected American comic books and graphic novels from the 1930s to the present.
To augment Elissa's suggestion, if the school won't reimburse him for the bulk purchase, he can write off the difference against 2% of his income when he files his tax return on Schedule A under Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses.
I would love to teach those as well in my ninth grade English class! Maus is exquisite. Let me know where he scores the grant!! Because I would do it right now if I could here in Bremerton, Washington.
I e-mailed you a couple of days ago and would love to help with this. If the teacher is still looking for individual donations and hasn't decided to go another route, please count me in.
I recommend the public libraries. I work for the Miami-Dade Public Library System and we have multiple copies of the titles listed. It wouldn't be a long-term solution, but it could serve as a stop-gap measure.
As a side note, I remember getting jealous when two years ago a string of high schoolers came in looking for Maus, because a teacher assigned it. I had teachers who let me write term papers on comics, but never one who assigned them. *le sigh*
EM
"I recommend the public libraries. I work for the Miami-Dade Public Library System and we have multiple copies of the titles listed. It wouldn't be a long-term solution, but it could serve as a stop-gap measure. "
Broward (Ft. Lauderdale area) libraries also has a lot of copies of Maus, and over a thousand other graphic novel titles. There are a number of other library systems in Florida with decent-sized graphic novel collections.
David
No Maus or Understanding Comics, but I do buy at least 4 or 8 "4 for a dollar" comics a week (ahhh, the aftermath of the early 90's) which I read once or twice on my lunch break and then "donate" to my local library. (I drop them in the book return bin and hope the librarians relealize they're a donation.)
If the this guy in Flordia wants them, he's more then welcome to them. I'll even pay for the shipping.
PS. if anyone else out there can suggest a better way to get rid my "disposable" comics (kids clubs, Boy Scouts Children hospitals, etc..) let me know and I'll gladly send/take them there instead.