Campus News

March 17, 2014 Page 3

Photo and Story by
Steven Harris
Arts and Enertainment Editor
raiderview@lindsey.edu
G
raphic novels have recently become a part of main-
stream American culture. It has only been within the
last 15 years that graphic novels have been pushed
to the forefront of our society. Its easy to pin the rise of
graphic novels on the success of 2008s Iron Man flm,
which led to the fruition of 2012s The Avengers - the third
highest grossing flm of all time. However, the trend started
long before the current revival of Marvel and DC comic
book characters on screen.
Although comic books and graphic novels are very
similar, particularly because of their visual format, there
is a distinct difference between the two. Comic books
are about established characters in a shared universe and
graphic novels are completely new ideas and stories created
by the authors.
The graphic novel trend really started in 2001 with
the quirky and then lesser known publication of Ghost
World, which was originally published in 1993 by cartoon-
ist Daniel Clowes. Ghost World followed the lives of two
female high-school graduates as they slowly transitioned
in to adulthood. Since Clowes created every aspect of the
story and published it independently, Ghost World is a true
graphic novel. Ghost World was adapted to flm almost a
decade later to great critical acclaim.
Soon, Hollywood started to adapt more independent
graphic novels with great success. Films such as A History
of Violence, Road to Perdition, 300, V For Vendetta, Sin
City and From Hell are flms that most people do not real-
ize are based on original graphic novels.
With graphic novels becoming more commonplace in
our media, they have become more commonplace in our
classrooms as well.
While people often dismiss graphic novels as childish
due to their similarities with comic books, several things can
be taken away from graphic novels. Graphic novels, un-
like comic books, are fnite stories that can explore several
mature themes at once without fear of alienating a younger
audience.
For example, A Contract With God by Will Eisner is a
perfect companion piece to anyone studying Jewish culture
and tradition. While A Contract With God is not outright
informative about Jewish culture, it masterfully refects the
customs and values of a people group by a Jewish writer.
At Lindsey Wilson College (LWC) graphic novels are
already being taught in the classroom. Molly Ferguson, as-
sistant professor of english and women studies, uses graphic
novels frequently in her curriculum.
I started using graphic novels in my literature classes as
a way to break up the traditional format of what a novel is,
and to engage the students with a visual element, Ferguson
said. I usually use them at the end of the semester when
students may want a break from reading text-only books.
Ferguson has previously taught Persepolis, Fun Home,
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and
Aryas Ghost in her classes. This spring, she is teaching
Zahras Paradise.
In class we study the relationship between text and
image, and how they layer meanings, Ferguson said. I like
to teach graphic novels that are about unfamiliar cultures or
lives, so that students familiarity with visual (comic book)
texts will help them relate to a foreign setting and culture.
Graphic novels are produced all around the world,
with authors conveying their own culture to the reader.
Jeff Lemire is best known for his Essex County Trilogy
and The Underwater Welder, both of which present lesser
known Canadian culture. Palestine by Joe Sacco shows the
struggles of the Palestinian people through the eyes of a
journalist. While most students will never be able to travel
the world, they can visually experience new lands within the
pages of a graphic novel.
Graphic novels also depict previous cultures and societ-
ies that students can only learn about through text. Students
can study text about ancient civilizations, but graphic novels
allow students to immerse themselves in these worlds. For
example, Assistant Professor of History, Asa Swan has used
the flm version of 300 in his Ancient Civilizations class.
(The flm 300 is almost a literal panel for panel adaptation
with exact dialogue and panel direction being lifted straight
from the page.)
I used 300 because of its iconic status and epic portray-
al of the Spartan 300 at Thermopylae, Swan said. Despite
the usual Hollywood-induced exaggeration of history to
make a good story, the movie conveyed a strong sense of
what it was like to be a Spartan during the classical Greek
period.
In addition, graphic novels serve as powerful mem-
oirs that capsulize some of the most important moments
in history. One of the most renown graphic novels of all
time, Maus, is a semi-autobiographical story about a Polish
Jewish family trying to survive the Holocaust. At frst glance
Maus is a simple story about cat and mice, but it is a im-
portant record of human survival during mankinds darkest
period.
Although graphic novels are traditionally written with
more scholarly concepts and ideas and thus are better suited
for a classroom, comic books should not be dismissed
entirely by an academic audience. Graphic novels are have
a technical defnition of being published in a single volume.
However, there are many comic books (usually a limited
series) that can serve the same function as a graphic novel.
These exceptions include Watchmen, Superman: Red Son,
or Batman: Arkham Asylum - all of which can be used
in the classroom. Superman: Red Son asks the question
What if Superman landed in the USSR instead of Kanas?
and provides a unique look at Soviet politics and culture.
Watchmen can be used to analyze Cold War culture and the
American media of the 1980s. Batman: Arkham Asylum by
Grant Morrison is a disturbing character analysis of Batman
and the Joker that would lend itself perfectly to a psychol-
ogy class.
As graphic novels continue to become widely excepted
by mainstream society, our classrooms are slowly starting to
accepted them as well. Graphic novels provide students with
a new way of looking at not only their area of study, but the
larger world around them.
Local business looks
to attract students
with popular product
By Madison Mills
Multimedia Editor
raiderview@lindsey.edu
W
ith its brightly colored paint job and a back
wall lined with pictures of 14 favors of frozen
yogurt, Yogurtopia is a cool little hangout.
In a small town like Columbia, Ky one would not
expect to fnd a frozen yogurt shop.
Yogurtopia, started by Matt Anderson, Greg and
Jacob Burton, opened earlier this year next to Andersons
Pizzeria.
We looked online (to purchase the yogurt share), and
happened to be in the right place in the right time, Jacob
Burton said.
The group bought an existing place in Orlando, Fla.,
and moved it up to Columbia.
There is always the opening rush
when a business frst opens....
We few down on a Sunday and had it in our posses-
sion the next Saturday, Jacob Burton said. The whole
process went pretty smoothly overall.
This is not the groups frst time starting a business in
Columbia.
Matt, and my dad (Greg) partnered for Andersons
Pizzeria, Jacob Burton said. We rent out the buildings
from Don James, who owns them, as well as James Medi-
cal Pharmacy.
Jacob Burton was born and raised in Columbia,
and after attending University of Kentucky, went on to
optometry school at the University of Indiana in Bloom-
ington.
I noticed a lot of frozen yogurt places around
Bloomington and thought it would be a good thing to
bring back, Jacob Burton said.
Although winter may not seem like the best time to
open a frozen yogurt shop in a small Kentucky town,
Jacob Burton seemed confdent that the business would
still do well.
We werent really worried about it, Jacob Burton
said. There is always the opening rush when a business
frst opens.
With Lindsey Wilson College (LWC) in close prox-
imity to Yogurtopia, it seemed to attract the attention.
Im hoping the students will be our main custom-
ers, Jacob Burton said. We want it to be like a cool little
hangout for the college age.
Like Andersons Pizzaria, Yogurtopia offers free
Wi-Fi for their customers. This may be a draw for college
students, as it provides another place to get together and
do homework or study.
We also offer K cups, which I found to be the best
way to serve fresh coffee in the shop, Jacob Burton said.
The K Cups range in favors, from Starbucks coffee
options to Swiss Miss hot chocolate, and cost $1.50 each.
We are hoping to do some promotions over the
course of time, as we get more familiar with how the
business works, Jacob Burton said.
Yogurtopias hours of operation, as of now, are ev-
eryday, except Monday, from 12 - 9 p.m. However, Jacob
Burton said they look to extend their hours in the future
to stay open until 10 or 11 p.m. on weekends.
During fnals week, we hope to stay open even later
for the students, Jacob Burton said.
Student can follow Yogurtopia on Twitter, (@Yogur-
topia) for updates, including new favors offered, as well
as promotions and discounts. A new Facebook page is
coming soon.
Im hoping the students will
be our main customers... We
want it to be like a cool little
hangout for the college age.
Graphic novels become part of culture and classroom
Comeback
Making a
Yogurtopia offers new options for community