A review of the cognitive and emotive mechanisms underpinning the facilitatory effects of comic features on reading comprehension

Comics have gained popularity in both formal and informal education across cultures. While their attractive layout and artwork are thought to be salient features that engage readers, it is essential to identify and validate the possible benefits induced by comics. In this review, we describe the main features of comics and discuss psychological principles relevant to why readers may learn better with comics, as oppose to pure text. The major areas under review are threefold. First, comics’ valence-rich content and engaging plots entice readers and motivate them to read the whole material. Second, conventions in comic design aid conveyance of intuitive ideas to readers and an understanding of the context. Third, the graphical presentation utilized within comics facilitates a chunked representation of information, either within a single mode or across visual and verbal modes, thus further optimizing use of readers’ cognitive resources. We conclude this article with a discussion of the pedagogical value of comics and future research directions.