NYC public schools bring their own free civics comics to Comic Con at the Javits Center

Cosplayers and superhero fans fill the Jacob K. Javits Center for Comic Con this weekend. One familiar exhibitor there is New York City’s public school system, which is handing out comic books it makes itself.

The giveaway comes from a publishing team inside the education department. Called the Civics for All Comics Group, the team has put out 46 titles so far. Officials said 6 million copies have been printed. By their count, that puts New York City Public Schools in the top 10 of all U.S. comic book publishers.

What the NYC schools comic books cover

The department started making comics for its social studies lessons in 2020. The subjects range widely across history. One issue follows the rise of hip-hop, and another is set during the 1863 Draft Riots. Readers can also find profiles of Dolores Huerta, Jack Kirby and John Lewis, while other titles take on climate change and voting rights.

Copies go to the city’s public schools. Teachers and comics fans anywhere in the country can also download every title for free. Department staff have come to the convention for years to hand out comics and sit on panels.

One recent title, “Know Your Rights,” explains what readers can do when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approach. Its cover puts the city’s top leaders front and center: Kamar Samuels, the schools chancellor, stands with Mayor Zohran Mamdani beside the Statue of Liberty and a diverse group of New Yorkers. The opening pages say people may stay silent, may ask officers for a warrant and may keep the door closed if officers don’t have one. The last pages list emergency phone numbers and groups that can help.

Why the education department teaches with comics

Joe Schmidt works on the social studies and civics team in the department’s central office and with the comics group. He said students learn through many kinds of media. “Students really learn well from comics,” he said.

Schmidt didn’t read comics as a child. He came to them as a classroom teacher, when he noticed students reaching for a comic in a way they seldom did with ordinary prose books. He said the format could tell a story out of order and explore symbolism and representation.

Comics also help with literacy, Schmidt said. Their vocabulary is often harder than in grade-level books, and readers have to put together what the words and the pictures are telling them. “For many students, they actually learn better with comics as the text,” he said.