viz.

Students in my Rhetoric of Spying Class recently read sections of the 9/11 Commission Report, along with the graphic novel version of the report (for a thorough discussion of the graphic novel version and its critics, including some great links, click here).

Reactions to the graphic novel were mixed, and more students were critical of the graphic novel version than I expected. I was also surprised by why many of the students were critical of the graphic novel. Rather than argue that it was irreverent towards the events of 9/11, many argued that the graphic novel obscured too many of the Authorized Edition's more detailed points. I'm not sure whether the students really thought this or were telling me what they thought I wanted to hear. (I personally can see a lot of advantages in the graphic novel version, such as audience accessibility, which my students also pointed out.)

At any rate, I think that comparisons of related written and visual texts can be very productive in the rhetoric/comp classroom. If you are an instructor or teacher with a story about an a similarly comparative exercise you'd like to share, we'd love to hear about it in the comments section.