For those of you who don’t know, Ellen Lindner (above) is one of America’s up-and-coming graphic novelists. Okay, so she lives in London, but T.S. Eliot also had that transcontinental thing going on, so we’ll let it slide. All humor aside, this young author has recently published her first full-length graphic novel, which she both wrote and illustrated. Although Lindner has illustrated graphic works before, Undertow is the first work for which she has written the text and drawn the frames. The result is remarkable.
just a block from the high school her father had attended in Brooklyn. She wondered what life must have been like, back in the 60s, for her parents. Around the same time, she started spending time at famous Coney Island, and the seeds of her book started to germinate. Further inspiration came from books like Charles Denson’s Coney Island: Lost and Found and Bruce Davidson’s Brooklyn Gang.
dominates a four-page spread, signifying the separation between the uptown boy and the “girl from across the tracks.” The frames later in the chapter that detail an afternoon in 1960s Coney Island, convey perfectly and with historical accuracy, the hot, crowded, and thrilling atmosphere of the place. Her wide-angle interpretation of the more deserted and lonely parts of the beach put a large exclamation point on the isolation and helplessness that her characters feel. This is graphic novel creation at its best.From an educational perspective, graphic novels are unique in their ability to engage students on two different levels: as writers and as artists or art critics. The value of graphic novels (which are sometimes nonfiction, despite the name) in education lies in the connection between the artwork and the plotline of a story. The visual becomes metaphor, simile, personification, or hyperbole, opening up possibilities not available with text alone. Moreover, graphic novels are accessible to those students who struggle with text, but are able to perceive the nuances of figurative language that is presented visually. After comprehending the illustrated language, these students can move on to a deeper understanding of the text itself, including its use of poetic devices and literary techniques.
As for Ellen Lindner, her contribution of graphic storytelling to the education world has been a resounding success. Before Undertow, she used her considerable artistic talent to teach young people in the pages of three Amsco books. You may recognize her work (above) from the New Jersey English language arts ASK series, released earlier this year. In addition, Lindner has worked on Little Rock Nine, a historical piece released this year by Aladdin Paperbacks. I won’t give away what she's working on now, but Lindner is knee-deep in research, and her next project is sure to be just as successful as those that came before.
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