Where is the action going?

As graphic novel collections in libraries continue to grow, more libraries are also serving up the old comic books familiar to the grandparents of our current patrons. Some of these are popular with today's youth, but to many they are basically tie-ins to familiar movie and video game heroes. Now, according to the NY Times, D.C. Comics is trying to "reboot" its comic books by renumbering new issues starting with #1. Will this entice young readers to begin picking up comic books again? Optimists in the comic book publishing field clearly believe it might. Others say that superheroes have found new outlets in movies and video games and the old familiar print comics are inevitably going to disappear. Has anyone looked closely at the relationship between the traditional American comics and the manga and other graphic novels which were originally an Asian format? Do kids switch between one and the other or do they become fans of a particular genre and/or a particular set of characters? How many librarians can answer that question? I'm afraid many of us look at all graphic formats as a kind of substitute for "real books" and don't pay much attention to what it is about them that is so attractive to children. Whether or not this new move by DC Comics is successful in attracting a new audience, perhaps the flurry of news around it will inspire librarians to pay more attention to the media.

Library heroes with Pow!!

Thanks to Stephen Abram's Lighthouse blog for pointing the way to this article about Librarian Heroes in popular media. Most of us probably remember Giles in the old Buffy the Vampire TV series, but how many of today's librarians keep up with comics and graphic novels enough to recognize the other heroic figures that librarians have become? Perhaps it's time we took a look at some of these models. I wonder how many kids today think their school or public librarian could match up with these heroic models. The least we can do is welcome these formats into our collections and encourage kids who love to read them.

Saving money and boosting circulation

With budget cuts threatening libraries across the country, children's librarians have joined in the search for inexpensive, popular materials that will satisfy the rising number of library users. Many of them have found that graphic novels and comic books are a great way to provide materials for kids without breaking the budget. At New York's Comic Com this month, librarians clustered around the ALA booth to learn more about this format and to share news on their push to get a comic book interest group established within ALA. An article in SLJ reports on a number of librarians who have found that comics circulate more heavily than many other materials. They offer suggestions about how to help them circulate even more by, for example, shelving DVDs next to the print version of stories. The downside of comics is that they also tend to raise more complaints than more conventional materials. The surprise is that many of the complaints come from library staff rather than from the public. Perhaps its time to do more continuing education about graphic formats, how they work and what the conventions are. We know that kids love the format--it's time for adults to catch up and discover the roots of the appeal. We may not become great fans, but at least the effort will bring us closer to our patrons.

Not for children, but worth seeing

Graphic novels have become an integral part of children's library collections in recent years--and in bookstores they are almost pushing the more conventional books off the shelves. Now that this format has become more respectable, it's time for librarians to take a respectful look at their antecedents and the perfect opportunity has come up with the publication of Lynd Ward's graphic novels from the 1930s and 1940s. The American Library has produced a lovely boxed two-volume set of Ward's novels reviewed in Sunday's N.Y. Times Book Review. It's difficult to find a link between the comic books so many writers and artists read in their youth and the dark, often grim woodcuts Ward uses in his book. Perhaps the secret is that Ward was not allowed to see comics when he was a child. Instead, he apparently learned from earlier artists and developed an unusual style of telling complex, psychological stories without using words. These books are definitely not for children, but librarians and teachers will enjoy studying the similarities and differences between these books and more recent graphic novels such as Spiegelman's Maus. Some parents and teachers, not to mention grandparents, still resist allowing children to enjoy the strongly illustrated graphic novels, so having some background in the long history of using pictures to tell stories is helpful for a librarian. After an hour spent poring over these wordless novels, a reader will come away with a new respect for the subtle art of telling stories without words. It helps us to understand why children are content to spend enless time studying illustrations in picture books and graphic novels. Reading pictures is an art, just as compelling as reading words. The more we know about both types of art the more we will understand how all types of materials serve the needs of children and help them grow into perceptive adults.

Graphic novels going strong

Kids still love graphic novels, although some publishers find sales are dropping, perhaps as a result of the economic climate. As long as there are good graphic stories available, librarians will continue to buy them because they move quickly in libraries and keep children coming back for more. Lerner has become a leader in providing these books for the school and library market and according to Publishers Weekly has no intention of cutting back. Children are still delighted with stories about King Arthur and Greek gods as well as modern detective stories told in graphic formats. Perhaps it is their grandparents who harbor dim memories of the old Classic Comics who understand best the appeal of mythic heroes in strips of pictures and text. Whatever the reason, the elaborate artistic, and often rather static, illustrations of years past have given way to the stripped-down, action-packed style of comic books of today. Is this a genuine turn in aesthetic taste or a short-lived trend? Only time will tell.

Excitement at ALA

The highlight of Midwinter ALA for youth librarians is usually the book awards and this year was no exception. Great joy over the Newbery and Caldecott winners and Prinz winners BUT dismay about the change in the ground rules for YALSA awards. The Board has unanimously passed a ruling that the former Best Books for Young Adults will soon be Best Fiction Books. Nonfiction and graphic novels will both be left out of the running. Marc Aronson in his blog describes the rebellion stirring in the ranks of many young adult librarians who want the list to be more inclusive. Everyone knows that graphic novels are great favorites with teenagers. Many of them are literate and artistic stories told in imaginative formats. Why exclude them? Will the next step be to set up three different lists? Stay tuned to the blog world to follow this story as it unfolds.

Always controversy

Librarians sometimes feel it's impossible to do everything right. SLJ's report on the recent controversy in Brooklyn, NY, over a Tintin book is a case in point. The 1930s versions of many books were undoubtedly racist. Most of them have disappeared from library shelves, but Tintin is a classic, and Tintin au Congo has been a part of library collections, but has now been moved to a limited-access section of the collection. Showing Africans as childlike and dependent on white people to help them is undoubtedly unrealistic. Most of us do not want our children to see images or read stories that show such dated and unjust portrayals of Africans--or anyone else. But the New York Civil Liberty group objects to removing the book from open shelves because that is censorship. Who is right? When a book is in a restricted collection, it is undoubtedly kept from most children. Should a book like this be available only to adults who can understand the historical context? Many of us would agree that it should be, but that puts us on the side of censors and that's an unpleasant place to have to stand. But we can't have it both ways. Glib anti-censorship statements often don't cover all the situations that arise in real life libraries.

Comics bigger than ever

The recent Comics-Com international conference in San Diego was attended by a crowd of eager fans with a strong representation of publishers, and children's books were a major topic. According to Publishers Weekly the biggest news for children's books was the announcement by Scholastic that they will be publishing new books and stories by Jeff Smith based on Bone, Smith’s bestselling epic fantasy adventure series. There's no questions about the popularity of comics and graphic novels for childen and teens and as librarians, teachers and parents embrace these formats, there will soon be no question about their critical acceptance either. History minded librarians may wonder what Anne Carroll Moore and Frances Clark Sayers might say about this trend.