Many of you have watched a Superman cartoon or movie. But did you know he first appeared in comics(连环漫画)? Do you want to learn more about popular comic books around the world? Take a look!

    Do you find reading boring? Have a read of some comic books. You will learn to love their colorful pictures and simple language.

    Comic books usually tell stories through cartoons. The US and Japan have some great comic books. But they are not the same.

    Their names are different. People say "comic books" in the US but "manga" in Japan.

    American comics are often about superheroes—characters like Superman and Spider Man. So action is a major part of American comics. But Japanese manga like to tell stories of ordinary people. Luffy in One Piece is such an example.

    American comics make people excited with super powers, while Japanese manga comfort(安慰) people with moving stories. Natsume's Book of Friends is about a teenage boy. He can see spirits（精灵）. He is confused(困惑的) at first but later he makes friends with spirits.

    If you are not interested in these two kinds, why not try some from China? Xia Da, 32, is a great comic book artist from China. Some of her comics are about school life. Others show the beauty of Chinese culture.

    Deep in the forest of southeastern Mexico, scientists found a surprise. They found an ancient pyramid. There were colorful murals (壁画)in it. A mural is a painting on a wall. Those murals are helping scientists unlock a mystery about people who lived in ancient times.

    The murals are about 1,350 years old. That's more than five times older than the United States. Scientists say the paintings belonged to the Mayas. That was a group of Native American people. They lived many years ago in what is now Mexico and Central America.

    Scientists are excited about the discovery because they don't know much about the Mayas' daily life, explains Michael Coe, an expert on the Mayas. The paintings show how the Mayas worked, shopped and dined. One mural shows a man drinking from a bowl. Another shows a woman selling food to a crowd of people.

    "Mostly we get the murals that show gods and kings, never anything about the daily life," Coe said. "This is like walking into a Maya supermarket." So far, scientists have found more than 30 murals in the pyramid. They are not sure why the Mayas created them. The experts hope to learn more as they continue their search.

    "We never had anything like this before," said Coe. "These are really special murals."

    Scientists learned a lot about the Mayas from the murals. The Mayas were known for more than paintings. Now the murals tell us some fun facts about the Mayan way of life.

    Sweet Home

    The Mayas lived in what is now Central and North America. Today the area includes parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

    Smart Starts

    The Mayas invented a type of Maths. They also created a type of writing that used symbols or pictures. Mayas used bark (树皮)to make books.

    _____

    The Mayas often ate com and used it to make other foods. They grew many crops (庄稼), including beans and sweet potatoes.

    Cool Clothes

    Mayan men dressed themselves up with some cloth while women wore long dresses. Rich Mayas wore jewelry (珠宝).