Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at Illinois, recently published her research in School Library Monthly saying that comics are just as sophisticated as other forms of literature, and children benefit from reading them at least as much as they do from reading other types of books.

“A lot of the criticism of comics and comic books come from people who think that kids are just looking at the pictures and not putting them together with the words,” Tilley said. “Some kids, yes. But you could easily make some of the same criticisms of picture books — that kids are just looking at pictures, and not at the words.”

“If reading is to lead to any meaningful knowledge or comprehension, readers must approach a text with an understanding of the relevant social, linguistic and cultural conventions,” she said. “And if you really consider how the pictures and words work together in consonance to tell a story, you can make the case that comics are just as complex as any other kind of literature.”

• Click here to read the entire article about Professor Tilley’s research on the Science Daily website