ABSTRACT
Second, I hope more scholars in the field will seriously consider studying comics and explore how the medium may contribute to existing and ongoing technical communication theories and practices. Armed with theories, we can more readily and more knowledgably offer comics as a sound solution to prac - titioners, their customers, clients, and mangers. Once again, I hope this book offers a starting point for us to theorize those possibilities. Third, my proposal also faces undeniable practical obstacles, which this book has largely sidestepped. The use of comics may, and will, complicate the process of technical communication production, whether it is in added steps, added personnel (not all technical communicators will be adept sequential artists), added consultation and collaboration, added page counts, added deliberation on appropriate visual choices-and bottom line, added cost. None of these, I suspect, is particularly appealing to project clients and managers. But many other things our profession and practitioners are invested in, I suspect, are not particularly appealing either, at least not initially, to our clients and managers: iterative documentation review, consultation with subject-matter experts, usability testing, earlier involvement of technical communicators in project life cycles, and so on. We do or fight to do these things nonetheless. Why? Because we believe they help to improve product and documentation and because accumulated research and experiences have proved us right. So, if we believe that comics, when the context is right, can improve product and documentation, we need to invest in or fight for them just as we do for other practices we value. Only time and successful examples can prove to all stake - holders that the added challenge and cost is worthwhile. And once again, con - tinued research and evidence col lection is essential. Last, for my proposal to be feasible, changes are needed in the technical com - munication curriculum. As far as my research shows, comics are not a common component in our courses or programs. If we expect tomorrow’s technical com - municators to be able to use comics in their work, to persuade their clients and managers of the merit of such work, we must prepare today’s students. This will entail the teaching of comics theories, comics-style technical communi cations, and hands-on work in comics-style projects. I hope this book will be of help for our educators to consider or pursue these efforts. U.S. mainstream society has not exactly offered a favorable environment for the growth of comics, and the medium has suffered in its development, repu - tation, and usage. While we cannot undo the history, we can effect change in the present and in the future. The recent popularity of graphic novels in the United States; the contemporary audience’s general preference for visual-rich, multi - media communication; and the field’s sustained efforts in user-centered design, visual rhetoric, and intercultural communication offer a fitting background for us to consider and reconsider comics and evaluate and reevaluate their tremen - dous potential in technical communication.
