marvel

This Summer In Review: A Comics Retrospective Presented By Your Students

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

 

“I retire for what, like, five minutes, and it all goes to shit.” -Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Captain America: Civil War

Summer break is long and short at the same time: long enough for the kids to miss their friends and drive their parents/grandparents/babysitters/siblings nuts, short enough for it to feel, one week into school, as if they’d never left in the first place.

A lot happened in the superhero world in just a few short months. Captain America: Civil War, the comic event Civil War II, Batman: The Killing Joke, Suicide Squad, and of course San Diego Comic-Con. There have been Doctor Strange trailers and Punisher teasers, and both Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo posted great photos from the set of Ragnarok.

mark_ruffalo_twitter_h_2016

{Image is a photograph of Mark Ruffalo on the set of Thor: Ragnarok. He is wearing massive Hulk fists and punching towards the camera.}

What was your class’s favorite comic event of the summer? This week’s lesson plan is an essay that answers this question.

Students will engage in whole group instruction, discussion, peer tutoring, and a project.

Materials Needed:

  • Notebooks and black pens/pencils for first drafts
  • Red pens for revisions
  • Computers for student use with access to the Internet for research + with Microsoft Word for final drafts

Standards Met:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.D Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
  1. Ask the students what important comic-related events happened over the summer. This can include films, comic books, graphic novels, Comic Con panels, and etc. Discuss. This should take five to ten minutes.
  2. Tell the students that they will be researching and writing a one-and-a-half to two-page essay about what they think was the most important comic event of the summer. Tell them again that this can include live action films (such as Civil War, Suicide Squad), animated films (such as the Batman: The Killing Joke adaption), comic books (such as Civil War II), graphic novels, Comic Con panels, and etc.
  3. Have the students raise their hands and remind you of the steps of the writing process (planning/outline, the draft and revision cycle, peer editing, and the requirements of a final copy). This should take five minutes.
  4. Have the students make a plan or outline of their essay on notebook paper. If they need ideas, they may look up comic book news articles on the computer.
  5. For the rest of the class period, have students write their rough draft on notebook paper. Have them double-space so that they will have room for edits.
  6. During the next class period, pair up the students and have them peer edit each other’s papers. Students may use the rest of that class period to work on a final draft of their paper.
  7. A final typed and double-spaced draft of the essay will be due at the beginning of the third class period. Have students volunteer to present their papers to the class, either by summarizing their ideas or reading the essay in its entirety.

What was the most important comic event of your summer? What issues did your class discuss during the essay-writing process? As always, let me know what you thought about this lesson plan in the comments!

Surprise! I’m Still Here!

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree by the river of truth, and tell the whole world “No, you move.”  -Steve Rogers

It’s been a long few months filled with all kinds of pain and trauma. Yes, I am talking about Captain America: Civil War. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to SuperLessons. I apologize for being MIA. All Cap 3 jokes aside, I’ve had an incredibly busy semester that culminated in my graduation:

IMG_20160507_160851

{Image is a photograph of two graduation caps. The one on the left is my graduation cap. It has Cap’s shield painted on it, encircled by the words “Write like you’re running out of time.” The cap on the right is my fiancee’s graduation cap. It has a teacher’s apple sticker on the top, followed by the words “Going with all the light you can manage try to grab them.”}

I saw Civil War:

civil war faces blurred

{Image is a photograph of my friends and me at the midnight–well, 7 PM–opening night showing of Civil War. All faces but mine and my fiancee’s are blurred to protect privacy. I am holding Cap’s shield.}

And I’m currently spending my morning going on a Twitter rant about the twist at the end of the new Captain America comic (click for spoilers). The Steve Rogers rage is real.

Now what? Well, it’s summer, which means that I get my classroom back! This summer, I’m working with the “bigs” classroom, which this year includes fifteen 4th-8th graders. I’m looking forward to science projects, field trips to the library, and, of course, our annual Superhero Week.

This summer, this blog will be a repository for superhero-related summer activities. There’ll probably be a series of anecdotes about my kids as well.

Happy summer! (Unless you’re Steve Rogers. Sorry, Steve.)

Where Do You Get All Those Neat Comics?

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“Comics will demand next to nothing from some people even as it demands almost everything from others.” –Tom Spurgeon

The hardest part about teaching comics in the classroom is actually acquiring the comics. If you’re teaching long-form comics or graphic novels about serious (often autobiographical) subjects, you may have an easier time getting the materials you need for your students. If you’re teaching Persepolis, there’s a minuscule chance that a parent or alum or grant writer will take pity on you and give you money or used copies of the book. Batman, though? Captain America? Cape comics? Unless your school is cool on a level unknown to even me, you’re on your own.

This poses a problem when you need copies of comics for lessons. In earlier lesson plans, I’ve recommended downloading ebooks, finding used copies of comics on Amazon, or buying a subscription to Marvel. There are a few more ways to acquire the comics you need. Some are extraordinarily expensive. Some are surprisingly cheap.

Although it’s expensive–you’re going to be buying comics at list price, and if they’re old comics, they’ll be more expensive, not less (I will discuss comic collectors another day)–supporting your local comic book shop is always a good option. Comic Book Resources has a store locator which can be used to find stores near you. Comic shops do have deals sometimes. Free Comic Book Day is coming up on the first Saturday in May. There, you can get free comics and possibly discounts on other comics. Some stores turn this into a party with face-painting, artists’ booths, and trivia competitions. Mark your calendars.

Amazon has some good deals on comics; they’re also a good place to search if you’re looking for a specific issue of a comic. The Kindle ebook system, as mentioned above, can be a good resource, though that depends on your budget and whether or not you have access to ebooks.

One store that has surprisingly good deals on comics is Five Below. If you’ve never been to a Five Below before, the premise is that every item in the store costs $5 or less. Marvel sells four-packs of recent comics there for $4/pack. To put this in perspective, a single issue of a comic today sells for $3.99 at the comic book store. Instead of spending $16, you’re spending $4. Unfortunately, the outside of the package doesn’t tell you what comics are inside; the package is clear plastic, so you can see the two outside comics, but the two inner comics are a mystery. However, Five Below usually sells only a couple variations of these packages at a time, which means that you can pick up four matching packs of comics for your students and have 16 comics (4 sets of matching issues) for $16.

Your local library may also have copies of comic collections. These comics will vary wildly from library to library, and they usually won’t have more than one copy of a particular comic collection at a particular time, but library cards are free.

Finally, I recommend searching through tumblr or other similar sites for issues of comics that might interest your class. Some bloggers are going through the process of scanning comics, especially older ones. I’ll add the links here when I find them.

Where do you get your comics? Do you have any cheap alternatives? As always, let me know in the comments.

Substitute to the Rescue!

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

superhero-sick-day

{Image is a picture of Spider-Man lying in bed in costume. There are a glass with a straw in it and a bottle of cough syrup on the bedside table. The caption reads, “SUPERHERO SICK DAY”.}

Last week, for the first time in the history of this blog, I didn’t post a lesson plan. Now, I’ve been late with a post before, but I always managed to get something written by Tuesday.

That is, until strep struck. I don’t know about you, but with me, the older I get, the sicker I get when I catch strep. I feel as if I had it every other week as a child. (I wasn’t too upset. I liked the bubblegum medicine.) Sore throat, low-grade fever, whatever. I was fine.

As an adult? Not so fine. I spent last Monday sleeping and the rest of the week sleeping. Luckily, my city’s been plagued by a combination of snow and paranoid school superintendents, so I didn’t miss much school anyway. But what if I had?

This week’s post is a series of simple superhero lesson plans you can leave behind for your sub whenever a disease catches you.

  1. Superhero Identities: Sometimes students try to sink the sub by switching names. A good way to prevent this is to leave the substitute an attendance sheet which includes photographs of each student beside their name. At the beginning of the school year, have each student pick a superhero identity. They can be a hero from a current comic, such as Daredevil, or one they’ve created on their own. Write this identity by their real name and photograph. When they have a substitute teacher, have them wear “Hello, my name is _____” badges with their superhero identities on them. Leave a note with the sub saying that the students should be referred to by their superhero identities if at all possible. Even the biggest grumps cheer up when they’re being called “Superman.”
  2. Superhero Hangman: This game is almost the same as regular Hangman. The two twists are all answers must be related to comics in some way, and the hanged man only dies when he has a cape as well as the rest of his body parts.
  3. Flash Superhero Fiction:  The substitute has the students pull out their journals. They give them fifteen minutes to write a superhero story. This may be in comic or prose form.
  4. Superhero Newspaper Analysis: Collecting newspaper articles for your students is always a good idea. Have the substitute give each student one article, preferably an article with a lot of tension or action. Then each student should write either a story or an essay about what a particular superhero would do about the events happening in the article.
  5. Superhero Twenty Questions. 
  6. Superhero Pictionary. 
  7. “Where’s My Teacher?” Comics: Leave the sub with a lot of blank paper, pencils, pens, colored pencils, and other art supplies. Have the sub pass out these materials and have the students draw a comic about what they think their superhero teacher is doing while they’re gone.
spiderman with flu

{Image is a cell from an old Spider-Man comic. Spider-Man lies in a hospital bed (still in his full suit). His doctor is holding a clipboard and speaking to him. The doctor says: “I didn’t want to wake you, but I thought you’d like to know.. You’ve had the worst case of flu I’ve seen in years!” Spider-Man says, “The…FLU?!!” The doctor says, “Well, it wasn’t an ingrown toenail!”}

Superhero Mock Elections

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

shield your vote

Cruz. Rubio. Trump. Fiorina. Carson. O’Malley. Clinton. Sanders–tonight’s a whirlwind of presidential candidates at the Iowa Caucus. But what exactly is a caucus? How does it work? What does it have to do with the real presidential election, anyway?

Today’s lesson plan is a multi-day unit: a mock election with superheroes as candidates. Links to more detailed explanations of terms will be provided as necessary.

Students will engage in lecture, whole group instruction, cooperative learning, hands-on activities, and discussion.

Materials Needed:

  • Poster board
  • Markers, glitter glue, Elmer’s glue, pens, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, and other art materials that can be used on poster board
  • Printer paper
  • Computers for student use with access to Power Point, Google Image Search, and a printer
  • Computer/Projector
  • Laser pointer (optional; don’t perform Lasik surgery on each other, kids)

Standards Met:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

PART ONE: THE PRIMARY

  1. Ask your students if they have been paying attention to the presidential election. If they say yes, ask them if they paid attention to the Iowa Caucus (did they watch it on Snapchat?). Then ask them if they know what a caucus is.
  2. Define caucus for the students. A caucus is a meeting of members of a political party. In the Iowa Caucus, Iowans meet up at local voting precincts and choose which delegates from their political party will represent them in county conventions. These county conventions vote for delegates for Iowa’s state political party conventions, who choose delegates for presidential nominating conventions.
    1. Tell your students that a primary election is one in which members of each political party choose which candidate they want to run for President. Right now, there are many Republican candidates and more than one Democratic candidate. Once people have voted in primaries across the country, the candidate with the most votes will continue running for President. So, while right now the race is Trump vs. Rubio vs. Cruz VERSUS Clinton vs. Sanders, etc., after the primaries, it’ll be narrowed down to ONE Republican vs. ONE Democrat.
  3. Explain to your students that people put so much importance on the Iowa Caucus because it’s a fairly successful (47%) predictor of who will be in the presidential election. Whichever Republican wins the Caucus has a pretty good chance of going on to run against whichever Democrat wins the Caucus.
  4. Tell the students that as a class, you are going to run a mock primary election using superhero candidates. Tell them that they will be separated into two equivalent groups. (Don’t name these groups Democrats and Republicans. I can see the bloodshed already. Name them the Marvels and the DCs.) Then, within those two groups, three people will run for president in-character as superheroes. They will advertise; they will debate; they will give speeches. They will do everything they can to gain supporters within their own party. Then, in a primary election, people within their party will vote for a candidate to go on to the main election.
    1. It’s important to note to the students that political parties in real life aren’t restricted to only having three candidates for the primary. Point out how many Republican candidates there are. The students are limited to three candidates because otherwise the vote could easily be split. You have a class of 30ish people, not thousands.
  5. Divide the students into Marvels and DCs. Within these groups, YOU pick the three who want to run for office.
  6. Give the candidates time outside of class to think of their superhero personas. Have them come up with a vague outline of their political platforms. These can be real–healthcare, immigration, etc.–or imagined–superhero registration! Batman v. Superman! They should have a small speech (it can be as simple as “Vote Cap. FOR JUSTICE!” Or it can be more involved) and some debate points prepared. They should present their persona and platforms to you at the beginning of the next class.
  7. The next class period should be campaign time. Set up six stations for the students, half for the Marvels and half for the DCs:
    1. Speech area #1 in front of the projector–for candidates with (pre-approved) PowerPoints or images to be displayed behind them
    2. Poster station #1–with poster boards, art supplies, etc. to make banners
    3. Handshake station #1–for candidates to speak with their voters
    4. Speech area #2
    5. Poster station #2
    6. Handshake station #2
  8. Optional step: debates. Debates work well if you have a mature class and moderators. They work even better if you have covered speech and debate in your class before. No matter how immature the current US Presidential candidates act, we need to raise a generation that knows how to behave in a debate.
  9. Remind the students that the next class day will be primary election day!
  10. Primary Election Day. Before class begins, set up two closed-off, private areas where students from each party can fill out their ballots.
  11. When students come into the classroom, have them line up in front of their respective ballot boxes. Display the image at the beginning of this post prominently. Remind them frequently that their ballots are secret. In real life, they cannot take a picture of their ballot! They can, however, post about their favorite candidate just as much as they want.
  12. Once the voting is over, tell the students that their ballots, like many ballots in Iowa, will be hand-counted. This may be done by you or by some volunteers from another class.

PART TWO: THE ELECTION

  1. In the next class, reveal the winners of the primary. Have them both come up and make a quick speech.
  2. Tell the class that for the general election, they may cross party lines. You may vote for the DC candidate even if you’re a registered Marvel voter. In fact, this is encouraged. Listen carefully to each candidate.
  3. Campaign time, part two! Set up your stations again. Allow the students to move freely around the classroom. The candidates can make speeches and shake hands; the voters can make posters, listen, and ask questions.
  4. Optional step: debates.
  5. Remind the students that the next class day will be Election Day.
  6. Election Day: same procedure as Primary Election Day.
  7. Count ballots. Find appropriately-designed celebratory material. Decorate your classroom in those colors/designs before the students come in. Allow for celebration and consolation.
  8. Once the students have recovered from the shock/rage/glee, bring them back together. Tell them that the election process does not always go smoothly. For example:

There are many painful, convoluted aspects of the election process. Your classroom’s version was a streamlined procedure.

 

What did your students think of the mock election? Who won? Who will win the real election? As always, leave your thoughts in the comments.

What (Not?) To Wear: Analyzing Heroes’ Costumes

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“Of the people in this room, which one is A – wearing a spangly outfit and B – not of use?” -Tony Stark, The Avengers (2012)

As your students may have already realized in earlier lessons, one of the most important parts of designing a superhero is settling on a costume. The best artists consider multiple elements while creating a costume: practicality, flashiness, and continuity with comics canon, for example. They might also consider cultural elements:

kamala khan

{Image is of Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, a young Pakistani-American woman with dark hair. She is wearing a black mask and a uniform that consists of a blue-and-red top with a yellow lightning bolt on it and a red cape. Her top includes a red turtleneck. She is holding up her fists.}

But even characters whose costumes seem straightforward, such as Iron Man or Captain America, experience evolution.

jack kirby original iron man

{Image is Jack Kirby’s original concept art for Iron Man. Iron Man’s suit is entirely silver. Each piece of the armor is blocky; his helmet is almost square. He looks heavy.}

iron man 1980s

{Image is an Iron Man comic cover from the 1980s. The subtitle reads, “An Iron Man You’ve Never Seen Before!” Iron Man stands in front of glass cases filled with previous Iron Man suits. Iron Man himself is lifting off his helmet. His face is in shadow. His suit is contoured to his muscles, particularly his biceps and abs.}

iron man films

{Image is Iron Man as he appears in the films. His armor is sleek red-and-gold chrome. The armor has distinct pieces that are sleek and seem to be close to his body, but his muscles are not visible.}

Why do heroes wear what they wear? In today’s lesson plan, your students will complete a formal artistic analysis of superhero costumes. Your students will learn the definition of formal analysis and be able to write an essay examining the formal elements of art as they are represented in superhero costumes.

Students will engage in visuals, lecture, discussion, group work, whole group instruction, and a project.

Materials Needed:

  • Computer
  • Projector
  • Notebooks/writing utensils
  • Various comics from a wide range of time periods so that students can see how certain characters’ costumes change over time

Standards Met:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.D Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
  1. Begin class by showing your students the above pictures of Iron Man. If you have more pictures of Iron Man handy, show them. Especially original Iron Man. He’s hilarious. Like the Tin Man’s chubby cousin. This should take five minutes.
  2. Once your students have settled down, ask them why they think the original Iron Man was designed the way he was. Then ask them why you think those specific changes were made to his costume in the 80s and 2000s. What changes did they particularly notice?
  3. Define formal analysis for your students. According to the University of Texas at Austin, “Formal analysis is…an analysis of the forms utilized in the work of art: …color, shape, line, mass, and space. The formal analysis moves beyond simple description in that it connects the elements of the work to the effects they have on the viewer.”
    1. This webpage includes definitions of each of the formal elements, as well as a student-friendly handout about them.
  4. Divide your students into groups. Pull up the Iron Man images on your projector screen again. Have each group analyze these images of Iron Man using their knowledge of formal analysis.
    1. Make sure to remind your students that they have just now learned how to use formal analysis! Encourage them to ask each other for help (NOT to gossip, I see those kids’ minds churning, too) as well as to consult their worksheet.
  5. Bring the class back together. Have each group briefly discuss what formal elements they discovered: color, line, etc.
    1. What effect do those formal elements have on your students? For example, the use of line varies greatly between the original Iron Man and the 1980s Iron Man. What adjectives would your students use to describe these costumes? Comical? Imposing?
    2. If the students struggle, encourage them. Have more examples ready to go over in class. Captain America in the films is a pretty good example of variation in costumes. See today’s opening quote: in Avengers, he’s wearing a skin-tight spangly suit (thanks, Coulson) that’s a lot more similar to his “dancing monkey” chorus outfit in the early scenes of Captain America than it is to his battle uniform in Captain America. By the time we see him in Cap 2, he’s wearing a suit with muted colors (since he’s working in covert ops); even his shield seems dimmer. In Avengers 2, though, his costume seems to have come full circle to his original battle uniform from the first Captain America film.
  6. For homework, your students will write a three-to-four-page formal analysis/compare-contrast essay about superhero costumes. Each student will choose a specific hero. They should have two examples of this hero’s costume, which preferably do not look much alike. They should compare the color, line, space, etc. of these two costumes. In their essay, they should also briefly address the setting and action of the comic their images appear in. Why do your students think that the artist dressed this hero this way at this time? Your students should finish their essay with a paragraph detailing their personal thoughts about both costumes. Which one do they prefer? Why? They should reference formal elements in order to back up their preference.

How did your students handle this lesson? What did they think of the original Iron Man? As always, if you have any ideas, or if you and your class are doing something super, please let me know in the comments!

Trailer Techniques

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

Unless you’ve been shot into space, possessed by Loki, or frozen by Hydra in the past week, you’ve probably already seen the Captain America: Civil War trailer. If you’re me, you’ve seen it so many times that you have it memorized. (“He’s my friend.” “So was I.” Cue continuous pained sobbing.) Bucky remembers Steve stuffing his shoes with newspapers. Tony wants to punch Steve in his perfect teeth. Sam Wilson is worried that he’ll be caught in the crossfire, and STEVE ROGERS CAN HOLD DOWN AN ENTIRE HELICOPTER WITH THE FORCE OF HIS RAGE. Oh, yeah, and Steve and Bucky apparently find the time to practice throwing the shield back and forth like a Frisbee just so they can beat the holy hell out of Iron Man. Fun times all around.

If you’re me, you like watching trailers repetitively for a variety of reasons: spoiler-hunting, character analyzing, or something in between. Trailers are addicting–that’s why they’re such good marketing tools. If a trailer makes you stare at your computer screen while emitting high-pitched shrieks of glee, it’s doing its job.

How do trailers convince us to buy movie tickets half a year in advance? How much of the film’s plot do they reveal anyway? With this week’s lesson plan, your students will analyze trailers for plot, character, and theme, and then compare their analysis to the plot, character, and theme of the film itself. They will also discuss which marketing techniques work on them and which don’t.

Students will engage in visuals, lecture, whole group instruction, discussion, and a project.

Materials Needed:

  • Computer
  • Projector
  • Computers available for student use, with (monitored) access to YouTube

Standards Met:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
  1. Tell the students that they will primarily be watching trailers today. Give them a moment to process this and then calm down. Remind them of the rules for watching films in class (be quiet, pay attention, etc.).
  2. Play the Civil War trailer for the students. Once the trailer is finished, ask them what film techniques they noticed in the trailer. What colors did they notice? Was the trailer dark or light visually? What was the mood of the trailer? What does the film’s plot seem to be from the trailer? Did they notice any spoilers or easter eggs? This discussion should last five to ten minutes.
  3. Tell the students that this trailer analysis is the basis for their large project. In class, they will watch two trailers of their choice, one for a film they have not seen and one for a film they are familiar with. These trailers do not have to be superhero-themed, but they may be, as this is a superhero-themed unit.* They will analyze both trailers as stand-alone pieces of work; they will write a short description of both discussing the visual and plot elements of the trailers. Their short description will conclude with a few sentences describing what they expect the plot arc of the film to be, based on the trailer. Then, for the trailer of the film they have seen, the students will write an additional paragraph discussing what actually occurs in the film. How is it different from the trailer? Is the mood different? Is the plot substantially different from what they see represented in the film? With all of these issues considered, do your students think that this trailer accurately represents the film?
    1. The students will have time to type up this short analysis as homework.
  4. When the students turn in their analyses, have them discuss what they found. Overall, did they find that trailers were true to the films, or did they seem to be false advertising? With what they have discovered in mind, do they think that the Civil War trailer accurately portrays what will occur in the film? What sort of important parts of the film do you think the trailers’ makers purposely left out?
  5. Conclude class by watching another trailer. Or rewatch Civil War. Rewatching Civil War is always an option.

*Here are a bunch of links to superhero film trailers!

What did your students think of the Civil War trailer? What do you think? As always, if you use this lesson plan or any of the others in your classroom, let me know in the comments!

Writing Stan Lee-Worthy Comics

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“I don’t think anything can really beat the pure fun and pleasure of holding a magazine in your hand, reading the story on paper, being able to roll it up and put it in your pocket, reread again later, show it to a friend….I think young people have always loved that. I think they always will.” —Stan Lee

EXCELSIOR!

One of the most gleeful moments as a Marvel fan is spotting the latest Stan Lee cameo. He’s ridiculous and funny, kind of like your grandpa when he gets a little tipsy at Christmas dinner.

He’s also a writing god. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby–everyone who’s come after them has had to fight to live up to the standards they set. Jack Kirby passed away (before I was born, which is a damn shame. I’d like to take that up with whoever’s running this whole universe show). But Stan Lee’s still around, drinking too much Asgardian mead, being oblivious to Spider-Man, and dispensing advice to wannabe comic writers.

Recently, Buzzfeed interviewed Stan Lee. Out of this interview came five pieces of advice for people who want to create superheroes.

This week’s lesson plan is a unit on creating heroes based on Stan Lee’s advice.

Writing Stan Lee-Worthy Comics

Students will engage in lecture, whole group instruction, discussion, and a project.

Materials Needed:

  • Loose leaf lined paper
  • Blank white sheets of paper
  • Pencils, pencil sharpeners, rulers, pens, markers, and other art supplies for drawing comics
  • A computer
  • A projector and whiteboard/something to project onto
  • Optional: copies of comics previously used in the classroom

Standards Met

  • “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.”
  • “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.A Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.”
  1. Have the students take out a loose leaf sheet of lined paper. On one side of this sheet, have them list each superhero they have studied so far in class. Make sure they leave a few lines between each name. Then have them describe each hero’s character traits in the space by each character’s name. This should take about ten minutes.
  2. Have the students flip over their sheet of paper. On this blank side, have them expand on the character traits of one superhero. Why does this hero have these traits? How are these traits shown in the comic–through dialogue? Through art? This should take about ten to fifteen minutes.
  3. Pull up the Stan Lee interview linked above on the whiteboard. Go through his advice with your students. This should take about ten minutes.
  4. Introduce them to the main project by telling them that they are going to use Stan Lee’s guidelines, as well as their own observations about superheroes, to create a short (one-to-three-page, not including a cover) comic about their own original superhero. This comic should reveal the hero’s character. The first draft will be sketched. Then, after a peer review and revisions, a full-color or fully-inked comic will be submitted for a final grade.
  5. For the rest of the class period, have the students map out a plan for their superhero. Who are they? What do they look like? Where are they from? What are their powers? What is their family/their friends like? If the students finish this task early, they may get a blank piece of white paper to start sketching their comic’s cover.
  6. Over the next few class periods, and/or outside of class, depending on time constraints, your students should continue to work on their comic. Remind them that, as a first draft, their comic does not have to be colored or ink. Keep Stan Lee’s interview pulled up on the whiteboard so the students can review his advice.
  7. When the students turn in their first drafts, have them exchange these drafts with another student. Provide them with a checklist for peer review: Does the comic fit the required structure of a cover and one-to-three pages of actual comic? Does the other student seem to have used Stan Lee’s advice? Is the superhero’s character obvious through action and dialogue? What doesn’t make sense? What does? Remind your students that this review is meant to be constructive.
  8. Have your students revise their comics while bearing in mind their peers’ advice as well as your own advice. Remind them frequently that their final draft should be colored or inked.
  9. Enjoy reading all of their comics!

What superheroes did your students create? What heroes have you created? If you use this or any other lesson plan in your classroom, please let me know in the comments!

Not the Winter Soldier: Cosplay, Trick-or-Treating, and Safety

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

As evidenced by my Halloween post, I cosplay fairly frequently. I don’t hand-sew my costumes like some people do. To be honest, most of my cosplays are thrown together the night before the event I’m dressing up for—or the day of.

{Image is of me cosplaying as Tony Stark for the Iron Man 3 premiere. I am wearing a black Iron Man t-shirt from the boys' section of Target and purple sunglasses I got for free somewhere. I have an arc reactor button pinned to my shirt. My hair is dyed brown, and I've painted a goatee on my face with mascara. All of this outfit was decided on just hours before the movie started.}

{Image is of me cosplaying as Tony Stark for the Iron Man 3 premiere. I am wearing a black Iron Man t-shirt from the boys’ section of Target and purple sunglasses I got for free somewhere. I have an arc reactor button pinned to my shirt. My hair is dyed brown, and I’ve painted a goatee on my face with mascara. All of this outfit was decided on just hours before the movie started.}

I enjoy dressing up. I’m willing to bet that most of your students do too, even the ones who don’t enjoy comics. High schoolers might be older kids, but they’re still kids. Ask who dressed up for Halloween, and I’m sure almost all of your students will raise their hands. Ask who went trick-or-treating, and some hands might go down, but you’ll still have some hulking teenage boys (and tiny teenage girls) with their hands half-raised.

The problem with big kids in costumes isn’t that they don’t deserve to have fun. But adults tend to view these huge costumed people shuffling to their door as a sham, or worse, as a threat. Not me, of course. I trick-or-treated through my freshman year of college, guys; I won’t turn anybody who wants candy way.

What happens when fully-grown adults wander the streets in costume? How about when they do so, and it’s not Halloween? This is the dilemma cosplayers are often faced with. Nobody wants to have to get dressed at the convention center, especially if they’re going to wear a handmade replica costume of, say, Iron Man. Con restrooms can be gross and awkward, and besides, some of the best photo ops happen when you’re in line for big events.

This leads to people wandering the streets as Captain Marvel or Harley Quinn. Not a big deal, right? Sure, cosplayers probably get funny looks (and unfortunately, cat-calls), but they aren’t generally perceived as dangerous.

Until they get ahold of replica weapons.

A man cosplaying as the Winter Soldier was arrested in Canary Wharf the other day because people mistook his replica gun for a real weapon. He was in town for a convention and, therefore, wandering in costume. As someone who spent a good amount of Halloween wrapping their fiancee’s arm in tinfoil, I can only imagine how much effort it would have taken him to apply and remove his extraordinarily realistic-looking metal arm. He probably wasn’t thinking about how he might appear to people who aren’t familiar with the erstwhile Bucky Barnes.

As some people have pointed out, cosplayers are supposed to leave the tips of their replica guns unpainted—usually they’re orange, if the gun is Air Soft. But even with a bright orange tip, from afar, guns look like a threat.

I sort of think the cosplayer’s bright silver metal arm should have been a hint that he was in costume. Not that people don’t have prosthetic arms, but usually they aren’t indestructible metal.

Still, I understand why someone called the police. Gun violence is no joke. It’s better to be prepared, to take action every time a gun might be present, than to let something slip.

Though this whole situation reminds me of an anecdote Viggo Mortensen tells in the behind-the-scenes clips from Lord of the Rings. He took his prop sword everywhere with him in order to practice his moves. One time, he was wandering the streets half-in costume, swinging his sword. A cop started tailing him. Somehow I think that a police officer working near the set of one of the biggest fantasy films of all time could have assumed that the sleep-deprived sword-wielder was an actor.

I can’t help but to think of the effect this must have had on the cosplayer, who didn’t have the good fortune to be a famous actor working on a film. I’ve been scouring tumblr to see if he has a blog so I can send him encouraging messages. He might have made a stupid mistake, but being arrested like that must have been traumatizing. In all of the photos of his arrest, he’s shielding his face.

{Image is of a police officer leading the cosplayer away. The cosplayer is handcuffed. He is shielding his face with his non-metal hand.}

{Image is of a police officer leading the cosplayer away. The cosplayer is handcuffed. He is shielding his face with his non-metal hand. Image (c) the Daily Mirror.}

Let’s say one of your larger boys, six foot tall—big guy, football player or basketball player—decides to be the Winter Soldier for Halloween. He goes all out for it—his best friends will be Cap, Falcon, and Black Widow, and they’re all designing their own costumes, so builds a metal arm and buys a replica vest. He even borrows Black Widow’s eyeliner to smear on his face as war paint.

As the final touch, he spray paints an Air Soft gun black.

Your big Winter Soldier goes trick-or-treating. Late at night: he’s fifteen or sixteen or seventeen, not a baby. He has his gun. He has his mask.

Somebody calls 9-1-1.

I have questions for your students and for you. What should the man on Canary Wharf have done differently? What are your thoughts/your students’ thoughts on older trick-or-treaters? On guns as part of costumes? On the culture of cosplay in general?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. Just more questions. Sometimes being a geek sucks.

Daredevil and Religion in Comics

Posted on by Kirt Ethridge

“[You] have someone who believes in God, and believes in divine order, and God’s will, and the almighty. Who, at the same time, is going out and playing God.” –Charlie Cox

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I haven’t been to Confession in years—not since high school, when our teachers herded us into the auditorium and forced us to do penance. This gap has a lot to do with my own cowardice, but another part of my skittishness stems from the fact that Confession on television is nothing like Confession in real life. Most confessional scenes shown on television today are based on the old confessional booths from the mid-20th century. The partition between the priest and the penitent emphasizes the separation between God and man in a visual way that works perfectly for dramatic TV moments.

Daredevil’s Confessional scenes are gorgeous. Matt Murdock’s Catholicism is part of what spurs him to superhero action in the comics. This faith carries over into the recent Netflix series. The trailer for the first season begins with a voiceover: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been too long since my last Confession.” As Matt, still in voiceover, confesses his sins, he is seen taking down bad guys in his masked costume.

daredevilstill-1024x575

{Image is a still from the Daredevil Netflix series. Matt Murdock is in the background, seen through the screen of a confessional. He is in plainclothes and wearing dark glasses. The priest’s face is blurry in the foreground.}

This combination of religious virtue and brutal violence defines Matt Murdock’s character. He’s the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen who worries about his immortal soul. What makes this religion-based story work, even for audiences who haven’t been raised Catholic? What makes other religious characters, such as Kamala Khan, relatable?

Today’s lesson plan is about how religion is portrayed in superhero stories, and how it isn’t.

Daredevil (2015 Netflix series), Drew Goddard

Students will engage in lecture, whole group instruction, discussion, and a project.

Materials Needed:

  • Computer with access to Netflix
  • Projector
  • Computers for Research
  • Comics for Research (such as previous comics read in class, especially Marvel #1)

Standards Met:

  • “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.”
  • “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.”
  1. Ask the students how much religion they expect to see in a superhero story. This discussion should take no more than five minutes.
  2. Show the students the first episode of Have them take notes about the episode, paying special attention to any religious motifs.

NOTE: Daredevil is the equivalent of a “mild” R-rated film. It may be prudent to send students home with a permission slip before you show it.

  1. Have the students discuss the various religious motifs they noticed in Which did they immediately recognize? Which were more subtle? How do they think religion motivates Daredevil’s character, and how does it influence the show’s mood?
  2. Inside or outside of class time, depending on your preference, have the students research religion in comics. They will write 750-1,000 word paper (3-4 pages, double-spaced) comparing the representation of religion in Daredevil and at least two other comics. Remind them of the Marvel comic they read earlier in the semester. If you have a Marvel.com account, you can allow the students to browse comics there. You can also provide them with paper copies of comics as you see fit.
  3. On the day that the students turn in their research reports, have them each briefly (five minutes per person or less, depending on the amount of students and length of the class) summarize their findings. What is their opinion on religion’s representation in comics? Is it fair? Is it realistic? Is it too much or too little? Remind them ahead of time that discussion like these should be civil and respectful.

What did your students think about Daredevil? Are you excited for season two and Punisher? Tell me all about it in the comments.