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expression through arrangement and combination of either pictures alone, or words and pictures, to build a narrative.
In Japan comic is known as Manga or sometimes called komikku. Manga
are widely read by children and adults of all ages, so that a broad range of subjects and topics occur in manga, including actionadventure, romance, sports and
games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, and business and commerce, among others. Since the 1950s, manga
have steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry. Manga have also become increasingly popular worldwide.
According to the definitions above, the writer can draw a conclusion that comics is an art form of visual art, using series of images in delicate sequence,
illustrated caricatures intend to convey information and relation stimulating drawing.
2.10 General Concept of Comic Books
The narration of a comic is set out through the layout of the images, and at the same time as there may be many people who work on one work, like films,
there is one vision of the narrative which guides the work. The layout of images on a page can be utilized by artists to convey the passage of time, to build
suspense or to highlight action. In early 20
th
century comics, which were originally a venue for serial and gag humor i.e., the name came from comedy. Comic books developed, coming
to prominence in the 1930s as collections of previously printed newspaper comic
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strips, and carried the name forward. This use of a term traditionally applied to subject matter instead being applied to medium is sometimes confusing.
The most common forms of printed comics are comic strips
in newspapers
and magazines
, and longer comic stories in comic books
, graphic
novels, and comic albums. In the first two forms, the comics are secondary
material usually confined to the entertainment sections, while the latter consist either entirely or primarily of comics.
Moreover, they consider that the teachers who use educational comic books such as these appearing in true comics or classic illustration have found that
they assist readers with the limited reading abilities to experience significant literary works largely in visual medium rather than through words alone
2.11 Choosing the Authentic Comic
In the area of language instruction, teachers are constantly searching for new and innovative materials to enhance learning in the formal classroom
environment. Comics are used as an alternative Educational Tool. One authentic material that has been explored over the past few years is
the comic strip or comic book. Before this form of educational entertainment emerged to the foreground, it was often believed that comic books were so
educationally unsound that their use would lead to mental stagnation. There are several important points to consider when choosing the authentic material. We
should make sure that we should have enough copies of the materials to be used so that each student can have a copy to use.
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When the teacher plans the material to the students by using a comic, remember to choose the appropriate comic that is suitable with the students level,
however, a certain amount of adjustment can be made depending on the type and level of question used in the accompanying question handout.
The comic can be taken from any available sources as long as they are suitable with the theme the teaching learning process.
Comic strips are authentic, and using authentic material is very important in language teaching and learning. It has several advantages, among which is the
fact that if students comprehend a genuine text successfully, that can motivate them and build their confidence. However, it should be noted that the difficulty of
the language presented to the class should be matched with the level of the students. Otherwise, the use of authentic materials will only frustrate them.
Furthermore, by reading comics in class, learners are asked to generate personal responses to something in the text, responses which necessitate the production of
original discourse Hirvela, 1996: 128. Consequently, comic strips can be used not only for reading exercises but also for improving the other three skills.
2.12 Comics as a Media in Teaching writing Skill
