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I spent the day yesterday at a graphic novels event hosted by the (CILIPS) at the Dunblane Centre. A great opportunity for a day off work, I hear you say. Well, the day was very enjoyable, but it was also very useful, as we're looking into the possibility of making a series of programmes on language and literacy and this was right up our street.

I should perhaps explain at this point for those who don't know, that the Curriculum for Excellence lists comics as a suitable medium for study as 'text'. We're hoping to make programmes about different media that develop literacy â€" and one of the big ideas mooted at the beginning was a short film on graphic novels.

Now that I've hopefully convinced you that I wasn't bunking off work for the day, I should say something about what went on. Gerald (senior producer, and big comic book fan) and I arrived in Dunblane not really knowing what to expect from the day. The event was kicked off by , of Northumbria University, who specialises in teaching comics and graphic novels. Her presentation was both engaging and enlightening, and I really felt that after hearing her talk in such detail about the history of the comic and graphic novel medium I could do my job much better with regards to this project. I took pages and pages of notes, and I get the feeling that my bank manager is going to wonder why I'm buying so many graphic novels from Amazon thanks to Mel's recommendations.

After lunch, there was a presentation from and who are working on a series called - traditional texts like Macbeth and Frankenstein given the comic-book treatment. Gary in particular was a bit of a star draw, if you'll excuse the pun, as he has done the 'inking' (colour) on such illustrious comics as Transformers, Dan Dare and the new satirical comic .

The day ended with a question and answer session with , the man behind the comic (and major Hollywood film) Wanted, and consultant with Marvel Comics. I have to say that hearing Mark talk convinced me once and for all that comics and graphic novels have a serious part to play in raising literacy standards, creativity and a joy of reading in our young people. (The guidance teacher who told Mark at 15 there was no point in wasting his time on comics must have egg on their face now.) Reluctant readers in particular have so much to gain from this shift in thinking, but in addition to this, the potential for cross-curricular work is huge. It's very exciting to be a part of it.

Over the coming months we'll keep you up-to-date with how these programmes are progressing as Gerald and his team develop them. Do leave us your thoughts, though, about comics and literacy - or any other ideas that come to mind!

Extra links:
Â鶹Éç Blast's advice on becoming a comic book artist.
Crash Course Comic, a comic book style game from our Student Life colleagues.
Learning and Teaching Scotland's .