For June 2012, our Online Book Club continues by discussing Aztec of the City by Fernando B. Rodriguez and the winners of last year's Graphic Novel Contest.   

Each week, we'll put forth a different question to prompt reflection on the books and their ideas.  We hope you will participate in the discussion by leaving comments below!

For Week 1, we'd like to ask:

Comics and graphic novels follow certain formats that have held fast for decades.  Panels depict each scene and carry the story through in a linear fashion.  Sometimes, there are interludes or even mini-comics that are interspersed.  In Aztec of the City, there is a one page comic called Burrito that is placed in the middle of the first story.  What do you think of this formatting style?  Does it enhance the experience?  Can you think of instances in other art forms or media where this breaking up of the story is used?

I'm not a big comic book reader, though many of my friends are.  The process of getting information from the illustrations, layout and text is a new one to me.  When I came across the Burrito comic, it completely confused me.  I found the cartoon to be humorous, but it broke up the story that was being told about Tony.  Though to be fair, the portion before the Burrito comic could be considered exposition and the part after the climax of the story. 

How about you?  What impact does a formatted break in a comic or graphic novel have on you?

See our Online Book Club page for more information about this book and to preview the next weeks' questions