If you were to teach a course on comics...

[SPINE]

I did teach a course on making comics. Everyone loves superheroes, so I decided to force kids to read other stuff. Everyone already knows superman, batman etc. They were also highschoolers, so I tried to avoid anything to crazy like R. Crumb - although, I think they'd love it.

But it's a school.

I started with European influence - Herge with his Tintin and Casterman with his Asterix. This was a nice innocent start to the works of comics. The stories are full of adventure and exotic locations.

Throughout the class, we studied a contract with God, because that book is a turning point in American comics history.

I then jumped to Palestine - because it's a documentary. Most people thought all comics are fiction. So, that was an eye opener for most kids.

Then finished the class withunderstanding comics. This was a great experience and then I gave them my recommended, outside school reading:

Black Hole
Velvet glove cast in iron
Summer blonde.
Watchmen and maus.

[pell]

Maus should be part of their history curriculum.

[Commantis24]

For an intro to comics class I'd probably go with:

1. Invincible (easy read, modern origins story, class get's to see the progression without reading any terrible Stan Lee stories)
2. Scott Pilgrm (not REALLY manga, but still fun easy, somewhat introduces the manga format)
3. Y: The Last Man (doesn't read like a comic, no ridiculous superpowered storytelling)
4. Life in Pictures (to not include Will Eisner would be pretty ludicrous)
5. Superman for All Seasons (Loeb and Sale are masters of the medium, and this story is subtle and emotional, something a lot of superman stories lack)
6. Batman: Year One (more origins)
7. DC: The New Frontier (deals with the origin of some second class DC superheroes. Good to show depth of the universes, I think)
8. Ultimate Spiderman (another modern take on a classic, which doesn't involve trudging up some out of context comics)
9.Maus (.... Is there an explanation really needed?)
10.Understanding Comics

But if this was indeed just for an expanded reading list, a few I'd definitely suggest are:

The Starman Omnibus' (James Robinson)
Infinite Kung-Fu
The Dark Tower series (at least the first 5. Just stunning art)
Chew
Sandman (pretty out there, and some of the stories are just terrible, but with such an eclectic mix there's some greatness there)
Tom Strong (Sort of a superman meets Suicide Squad, but with Invincible's unashamed attitude)
Daredevil: Born Again (I personally think this is the best DD story Frank Miller churned out)
Astonishing X-Men (pretty much just a blockbuster of a comic, but sometimes that's all you need)
Naoki Urasawa's Monster (still one of the shorter Manga out there at a dainty 18 volumes)
Planetary (Maybe not Warren Ellis' BEST work, but my favorite)
Preacher (doubt most avid comics fan haven't read the series, but it's just so damned good)