Running an Apocalypse Graphic Novel book club (2hrs)

Materials needed

A Device to play music on (an iPod with lead and speaker)

Internet access

Objects to make a cozy space - rugs, mood lighting

Informal seating for participants

Photocopies of relevant Maus text

Snacks/pizza

Water (One dispenser with fruit)

Mood board/spyder display (made out of cork, cardboard or velcro)

Pens and paper

Preparation

Research Apocalypse (Looking at the difference between pre and post apocalypse)

Choose some key talking points from Maus

Recommendations

Keep the pace up but not rushed.

Communicate by playing music and both your body and words (body language)

Keep playful. The point of the workshop is for people to communicate with each other and to enjoy the experience of discussing ideas.

Be sure to get a photo of the group and to see if anyone wants to write a blog post about their experience or to point them to where they can see yours and comment.

Further Reading

Meta Maus by Art Spiegelman

Who will be Present: Facilitator/co-facilitator /Co-ordinator: Daniel Flood

INTRODUCTION

Give people time to arrive. Socialise. Grab a drink. Have music playing. Have Maus books available to look at.

Get Started

Co-ordinator will welcome everyone to the book club session - not your ordinary one. They will introduce you.

Introduce yourself and your interest in this topic.

Ask participants to share their names and past book club experiences.

Introduce the theme of Apocalypse (show spyder board) and the Maus books (it is OK if you have not read the book)

DISCUSSION

Introduce the history of Maus and Graphic novel genre. (Meta Maus- pg 165, 168- see photos below)

Maybe read excerpts from Meta Maus. Open this content out for discussion.

Open a discussion around the symbology of cats, mice and pigs and any other relevant animals or objects.

Break off into pairs with a piece of text per pair. Read aloud to the group. Then discuss the content of it in pairs.

Come back as a group and discuss.

Break for pizza.

Discuss the use of a graphic novel as the genre for the content in Maus. Explore what it might have been like if it had been written in another form.

If you were to talk to the author, what would you want to know?

SHARE

Anything else anyone wants to discuss or share?

END

Possible texts to read as a group:

1. Opening pages (sets the main characters and the father/ son/ past devise)

Page 53:

Shows Pigs & Mask on Train:

“What is most interesting about comics to me is the abstraction and structurings that come with the comics page, the fact that moments in time are juxtaposed. In a story that is trying to make chronological and coherent the incomprehensible, the juxtaposing of past and present are always present - one doesn't displace the other the way it does in film' (pg165 meta maus)

Reflection

We were in a smaller space this week due to the Science event being on in the DML. The same aesthetic to the set up was used (lounge room feel with different seating options and intimate lighting). It was a little crazy to try to identify the book club people with so many people waiting for the science event.

It was a lively discussion and the group really wanted to be there to talk about ideas and the book. Four of the five people in attendance had their own copy of the book and also took their own personal notes throughout.

Using the visualiser was great and added a moving visual element that made the space a little more alive. I would suggest that as everyone had a copy of the book they could have selected pages and brought it up to show the group as well.

I did not collect any data on devices this week as the group was very intimate and also there were a few repeat attendees and it just didn't feel right.

Evaluation

Graphic novel bookclub data

Photos