In library land, schools and parents' circles we keep hearing there’s a crisis in reading. Parents bemoan that their kid has stopped reading. Doesn't read anymore. At schools teachers say that students read less than ever and remember when kids used to read books all the time in some distant past. And librarians try to help parents and grandparents who come to the library asking for something good to read, something that will hook the child, because they just don't read.
I'm not saying kids don't read. They do. I work at the library and plenty of kids come through the doors excited about books and fill up their bags with loans. But, that perception that reading has slumped among young people, is real.
A recently published article on The Reading Agency, sheds some light on all of this with some interesting data and new research from the UK that confirms (once again) there’s no reading crisis when it comes to comic book readers. Hannah Berry and Karrie Fransman of The Comics Cultural Impact Collective report on the research carried out in the UK with more than 64,000 participants. Among the findings:
- nearly twice as many young people who read comics enjoyed reading compared to those who didn’t read comics in their free time (58.6% vs 33.1%)
- Children and young people who read comics were more engaged with reading, regardless of their age
- More of those who read comics rated themselves as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ readers compared with those who didn’t read comics (86.0% vs 76.3%)
- More of those who read comics told us that they read something daily in their free time compared with their peers who did not read comics (35.7% vs. 22.8%) (Reading Crisis? Well, not among comic readers, 2025)
The study carried out by the National Literacy Trust demonstrates that while reading time has gone down significantly for young readers (particularly in the 11-16 age bracket), that decline in reading and reading enjoyment has not taken place among comics readers. In fact, the report concludes "that reading enjoyment, confidence and frequency is higher for those who read comics [which] suggests that comics may be a valuable tool for counteracting such a trend."
It's also great that the study includes information and responses from the young participants related to why they read comics and their own engagement in creating comics. These responses were not sought in the questionnaire but it's information the children offered in their responses.
Among their responses is interesting to see that young readers say they read comics:
- for their own mental health and well-being
- because they find them more accessible, relatable and fun and
- because they find them more interesting, creative and engaging
Among the responses many participants also highlighted that reading comics had inspired them to write and draw their own stories. In other words, many credited comics with engaging them in creation, storytelling and comics making. I find this really exciting.
Getting back to the article on The Reading Agency, the authors report similar data when it comes to adults that demonstrates adults who read comics rank higher than general prose readers in lots of aspects. They're more likely to...
- Be regular readers (55% vs 50% UK average)
- Like talking to people about books and reading (62% vs 41% UK average)
- Say that reading is an important part of their life (73%, rising to 83% of daily graphic novel or comics readers vs 60% UK average)
- Have read together with a member of their family when they were a child (64% vs 58% UK average)
- Say there are lots of things they want to read (72% vs 59% UK average)
- Say reading makes them feel better (71% vs 61% UK average)
- Say they want to read more books featuring characters with experiences similar to their own (59% vs 35% UK average) (Reading Crisis? Well, not among comic readers, 2025)
It's clear, those who read comics associate reading with pleasure. It's something they love and fills their bucket. Then, reading becomes a habit and an important part of their wellbeing and life. And, in a world where most of the texts we read are multimodal texts (websites, social media, memes, posters, infographics, videos, etc). Where visuals mix words seamlessly with a rich blend of art (visuals) and literature (written word). In this world, comics are just that, another multimodal text that challenges the reader to use multiple literacies to decode the layered mixt of art and words.
I hope more and more people realise the power of this medium and the old prejudices fade into the dark abyss form where they came. Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics was a turning point. It made understanding comics and their complexity more accessible. It didn't reach the massess but a lot of people including young comics creators paid attention.
I'm pretty confident that works like Dav Pilkey's Cat Kid Comic Club and Raina Telgemeier's The Cartoonists Club, co-created with Scott McCloud, will inspire a whole new generation of readers and creators.
And the comics devices website created by Reimena Yee, which catalogues, features and explains all the storytelling devices unique to comics in a website that is freely accessible to everyone, is another outstanding initiative that I'm sure educators and creators will use all over the world.
These initiatives together, I think, will bring about really positive changes and I can't wait to see the range of comics continuing to grow. More importantly, I can't wait to see how the language of comics will evolve and what comics the new generations of comics writers and artists will create.
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