ACCESSING THE COMICS
   - While I will assist in finding the comics, students will need to acquire the comics that will be "assigned" on a weekly basis.  
    - I am excited to assist in finding physical copies of comics and graphic novels for students who have wanted to collect the stories they love!  I will scour my sources to get you and your student access to the reading they enjoy

NOTE: THIS COMIC COURSE IS FOR MATURE READERS *AGES 13+ IS RECOMMENDED* 
I WILL ALLOW YOUNG READERS IN MY COURSE but keep these parental guidance rules in mind:

We will read comics created for a mature audience.  Their official comic rating is TEEN PLUS which is consider acceptable for an audience between the ages 13-16.  Parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger students. Comics will contain violence, profanity, imagery and/or suggestive themes.   
The best way to describe how graphic these comics are is to imagine them as somewhere between a PG-13 and R rated movie.   Violence, drug use, and profanity, may be explicitly depicted.  Sexual content is more veiled. For more specifics on this, read below.

VIOLENCE
Comics are  violent and intense including images with:
- Blood and bruises
- Death on-panel and off
- Graphic violence such as vividly depicted breaking bones, gore, killing 

SEXUAL CONTENT
- Characters (both male and female) wear skin-tight and revealing costumes.  
- Romance will be seen and sexual themes may be strongly hinted at but will not be graphic

LANGUAGE
- Profanity is often present including explicit language

DRUGES/ALCOHOL
- Drug use is a theme but is mostly depicted as a negative action (besides an occasional hero smoking a cigarette or cigar). 

MENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Psychology is often central to character-building.  
- Characters are often used as "case-studies" for insanity or heroes being pushed to their limit.  
- Darker psychological themes will be discussed. 
- Some older comics may display misogynistic, racist, or other negative social themes.

*** NOTE: Negative themes found in the comics will be addressed in discussion:
- With maturity, care, as a learning opportunity and in a manner that all student perspectives and sensitivities are valued and respected
-  It should be noted that I cannot control the perspectives of all members of the class, however, I will hold students to respect for and acceptance of their peers ***