An Interesting Press Release From Boom! Studios

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December 3, 2007 @ 09:16 PM

I don’t usually repost press releases I’m sent because I blog here because I don’t want the blog to beÂ a clearinghouse for whatever hype publishers feel like e-mailing me (and the rest of the contributors here), and I assume Cronin and the rest of the guys around here agree.

However, this one’s different, as you can read below the fold. Just because I like pretending I sell these things well enough that you have to see the rest. Indulge me.

For Immediate Release:

BOOM! STUDIOS’ COVER GIRL A HIT IN CLASSROOMS, TOO!

December 3rd, 2007

Los Angeles, CAÂ — BOOM! Studios today announced that one of its recent hit titles, COVER GIRL, had found an unusual new audience – in the college classroom.Â Jeff Stolarcyk, who teaches Thinking and Writing at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, used the title as the starting point in a week-long lesson, where students read and discussed the comic, created new situations featuring the characters, and create new dialogue over the existing comics pages.

“Comics are an excellent tool for teaching all the basics of good, concise storytelling.Â They provide a unique way for students – who may not necessarily be readers – to interact with a text and be creative.” Stolarcyk said.

More information about Stolarcyk use of COVER GIRL in his classroom can be found on his blog at http://www.conditionalaxe.com/2007/11/educational-ruminations-comics-project.html .

COVER GIRL tells the story of Alex Martin, a down-on-his-luck actor who is forced to accept the aid of a female bodyguard after a happy accident makes him the center of an international conspiracy. The series, written by EUREKA creator Andrew Cosby and Kevin Church, earned praise from critics for its fast-moving dialogue and skewering of Hollywood stereotypes.

“It’s really a strange honor to see COVER GIRL get this sort of treatment,” said Kevin Church, co-writer for the miniseries.Â “A lot of the material I saw was fantastic!”

COVER GIRL will be available in trade paperback format at comic shops around the country in early January.Â More information about the title is available at http://www.boom-studios.com/node/1375.

I enjoyed the one issue I read of this, but I never expected to see it make its way in to a college class (although it’s not like they’re doing a literary analysis on it and it is a fairly novel idea, to be fair). Also, I expected another blogger scripted comic, like something by Dave Campbell, Chris Sims, or Mark EvanierÂ gain entrance in to the ivory tower; that’s oneÂ guy who should really write comics someday. Anyway, congrats on breaking in to academia, Kevin Church!Â We can all say we knew you when! Even if some of us barely knew of you at all, but just felt like they were left out that so many other bloggers did. In order to interject some sincerity in this (while still mocking Cronin), I have to say that this is very cool; neat, even. That’s as far as I can go towards snark-free content, though. I probably should have just waited for Cronin to write this.

Comments below

12 Comments

FunkyGreenJerusalem

December 3, 2007 at 11:52 pm

I probably should have just waited for Cronin to write this.

BC has been beaten!

All hail… BC!

lurker

December 4, 2007 at 11:18 am

wow. a college class using comics to teach…not because of the particular works’ merit but because it enables students “who may not be readers” to learn about such things as “storytelling”? WTF? It’s college, people! Open your damn books and start reading some damn literature already!

MarkAndrew

December 4, 2007 at 1:35 pm

“Thinking and Writing” is probably nor a literature class.

(Don’t know what kind of class it might be, to be honest.)

Corey

December 4, 2007 at 2:23 pm

“(Donâ€™t know what kind of class it might be, to be honest.)”

Well let’s see. King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA is a liberal arts Catholic school sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross from the University of Notre Dame. According to their site (http://www.kings.edu), Thinking and Writing is a Writing I course, CORE 099.

Jeff

December 4, 2007 at 3:42 pm

Thinking and Writing is part of the school’s developmental curriculum. It’s designed for students who aren’t strong writers or critical thinkers. Some of these students have learning disabilities, and introducing content via a non-textbook media is an amazingly useful way to communicate ideas to them.

When it comes to text selection, I absolutely enjoy Cover Girl as a comic book. There were plenty of criteria I used when I designed these lessons, and quality was definitely one of them.

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