News and views from the A-blogging we will go...
"Me too, me too!" said the librarian. "I want my own blog!" And so she got one. And, you might ask, what will she do with it? She will blather and shout, as will her co-conspirators in the Uni Library, about great and wondrous Undiscovered Tomes in the Library. And about anything else that strikes her fancy.
So, for starters, what do the following have in common?
Meridian
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Planet Ladder
Goodbye Chunky Rice
The Complete Concrete
Fushigi Yugi
Fax From Sarajevo
Yes! They are all graphic novels, mosly newly arrived this summer, mostly untouched by student hands. So be the first on your block to check them out!
And then write about them in the Book Chat...
So, for starters, what do the following have in common?
Meridian
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Planet Ladder
Goodbye Chunky Rice
The Complete Concrete
Fushigi Yugi
Fax From Sarajevo
Yes! They are all graphic novels, mosly newly arrived this summer, mostly untouched by student hands. So be the first on your block to check them out!
And then write about them in the Book Chat...
9 Comments:
I don't have much time, but I was so entertained. I hope to have time to say more in the future. Have a Happy!
A library blog — very cool idea!
Graphic novels, when done well, are amazingly powerful and moving. Some of the best works are the graphic equivalents of nonfiction novels (i.e., nonfiction books, such as John Hersey's "Hiroshima" and Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," that are written with all of the storytelling devices of traditional fiction). Check out Artie Spiegelman's masterpieces about the Holocaust, "Maus I" ("My Father Bleeds History") and "Maus II" ("And Here My Troubles Began").
Some of the best journalism is being done in the form of graphic "novels." "Fax from Sarajevo" is one example. (Fans of the old Sgt. Rock WWII comic book will recognize the illustrator, Joe Kubert.) Joe Sacco's "Palestine" and "Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995" are amazing works of graphic journalism as well.
But the best marriage of graphic art and nonfiction reportage, in my view, is Marji Satrapi's "Persepolis," about her experiences growing up in the midst of Iran's Islamic Revolution. Read it if you haven't already! Read it again if you have. The sequel, "Persepolis II," is coming out this Tuesday, Aug. 31. Anyone who wants to participate in the community discussion of "Reading Lolita in Tehran" should make a point of reading both "Persepolis" volumes.
Finally, be on the lookout for the back-to-school issue of the Gargoyle. Agatha Kim is debuting with a full page of her own graphic journalism. She wanted to write a column about the recent scoring controversy at the Olympics involving gymnast Paul Hamm. But instead of writing a traditional column, she did it in the form of a graphic column. At the risk of embarrassing her, let me just say: It's fantastic!
David Porreca (Gargoyle adviser)
I'm sorry, but I've got to say that these graphic novel additions are kind of blah. It's good that the library is stocking up on them, but in my opinion the books themselves are badly chosen. Of these new additions, the only ones that seem to be worth reading are "Good-bye, Chunky Rice" and "Jimmy Corrigan."
Why get a so-so title like "Meridian" when the library still doesn't have some of the best, most highly respected graphic novels -- Alan Moore's "Watchmen," "From Hell," and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles" as well as his blockbuster "New X-Men," Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Sin City," a sizeable chunk of Kurt Busiek's "Astro City," the rest of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" books (the library didn't have that many of them the last time I looked), Warren Ellis's "Planetary" or early issues of "The Authority," Garth Ennis's "Enemy Ace" or "Born," or DC's reissues of classic 2000AD stories, or Brian Michael Bendis's run on "Daredevil" or his "Torso," "Jinx," or "Goldfish" limited series? There are really too many good graphic novels to name, and the library doesn't seem to be buying many of them.
Again, I apologize, but some of the new additions seem blatantly awful. As far as Japanese comics go, you can't get any more formulaic or trite than "Fushigi Yugi" or "Planet Ladder." Why not buy any number of volumes of Kazuo Koike's brilliant (though admittedly more gung-ho) "Lone Wolf and Cub" series? If you want good art, why not Hiroaki Samura's "Blade of the Immortal," one of the few Eastern comics with storytelling on par with the best Western ones?
It's certainly a good thing that the Uni High library is buying graphic novels; my concern would be that whoever is selecting them isn't a comics fan.
Wow, great comments, much food for thought.
First, in response to Dave Porreca, I agree with you completely about the potential power of the graphic format to portray difficult historical subjects and morally ambiguous situations. I'm pleased to report that we have several of the books you mention - Persepolis (though it seems to be checked out all the time), Safe Area Gorazde, both Maus titles, Johnny Jihad, and other treatments of the wartime experience (such as one of Harvey Pekar's American Splendor titles, this one about a soldier in Vietnam). I like your term "graphic journalism" for these books, or maybe I could suggest "comic book documentaries." They certainly aren't novels in the traditional sense. I can't wait to see Aggie's spin on this. For difficult subjects like these, the visual component adds a great deal to the textual component.
In response to the (beautifully articulated) anonymous comment, first let me say that you have hit on some of the core challenges librarians face in selecting materials for a diverse audience. Because we are just getting started in this collection development project, we've sort of been in a "get one of everything" mode. That's why you aren't seeing much depth in certain areas yet. We also have to please a variety of tastes. We've had many, MANY requests for series like Fushigi Yugi and Planet Ladder. There's a saying in library circles along the lines of "Give 'em what they want!" We try to balance quality and popularity, and it's not always an easy thing to do. One person's garbage is another person's treasure, and so on.
The graphic novel/comic book universe has suddenly become HUGE. You have hit the nail on the head by noting that we are not "native" comics fans (Robin and I have done the selection), but the scope of the thing has gone way beyond what people have thought of as comics. In a way, we're all neophytes. But some of us are certainly bigger neophytes than others. Finally, we welcome (no, crave) your advice and suggestions about what to get. Come in and sit with me sometime so we can work up a plan. Another good way to provide input is through the Book Chat, since posts can be added as you think of things and will remain in a relatively logical-to-find place. You can use the "Suggest a book the library should buy" category or, if it's easier, we can start a top-level Graphic Novel category.
Keep those comments coming!
Looking back on it, my comment seems kind of childish. I don't mean to blame the library for not having books I want to read, and it does seem pretty ridiculous, given the number of graphic novels out there, to demand some sort of comic book canon (which, if it existed, would be highly debatable) to be available at the Uni High Library. Considering the large number of graphic novels available (as you mentioned), and the fact that library staff are not rabid comic book fanatics, you guys are doing a terrific job picking up good stuff like "Jimmy Corrigan," which a lot of comic nerds missed out on.
I guess what I really mean to say is that I'd like to suggest that the library get one of the few comic book titles that have really been accepted as great examples of the medium: if I had to pick a big three, I'd say "Watchmen," "From Hell," and "The Dark Knight Returns." Again, this is going to sound obnoxious, but to me, having a graphic novel collection that accumulates volumes of "Planet Ladder" and never gets these titles is like a library stocking up on Anne McCaffrey books without getting a copy of "Moby Dick."
Will do!
As the person who chose a lot of our newer graphic novels, I can perhaps shed some light on what we do and don't have. I considered a lot of the titles suggested in a previous post (just about all of them, I think), and decided that most were too explicit for our mixed-age audience (either violent, sexual, or both). This is too bad, since it rules out some of the best authors/titles/series out there (I personally enjoy the _Hellboy_/B.P.R.D. series quite a lot, as well as much of Gaiman's work), but necessary. Librarianship in school settings (where library staff and teachers are _in loco parentis_, or "in place of parents") is about walking the very fine line between censorship and selection. Books that would be fine for older Uni students might be a little much for younger Uni students, and we don't really have a way to separate the two (public libraries often have physically separate spaces). Even where just the older students are concerned, some parents might object to the (very!) graphic nature of some graphic novels, so (I think) our tendency is to go for the best stuff we can that isn't too terribly bland. The whole genre is in its infancy; as many pundits have pointed out, Spiegelman (_Maus_), Satrapi (_Persepolis_), and others have given us fine examples of works that aren't gratuitously violent or sexual. It's safe to say that there will be more and more such books soon (check out _The Yellow Jar_ and _Louis Riel_, two more strong titles, if you haven't yet). For now, I'd be among the first to admit that a lot of what we've bought recently is not as good as I hoped it would be.
I think it is so great that the Uni High library is stocking graphic novels. I'm a big fan of graphic novels, and I think back when I was a subfreshman/freshman I would have loved to have been able check out Fushigi Yugi and Meridian.
Way to go with the blog!!!!!
-Anna N. (ex Uni student and librarian)
So... the first post. While I was still in Portland at FAIS. Uhh.... at this point I believe it was the last week of my summer vacation before 4th grade. *sigh* that was a LONG time ago.
To make this a longer comment, i will be silly. lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll akjhdflkajhsdflkjashlk lskjhdflkasjhfdlksajhdf asdf saldkjfhsaldkjhflkj haskjhdflskjdhflkj askjdlhfalskjdhfalskjdhfaslkjhflkjh askjdfhalskjdf lksjhdfalskjhdf akljsdfhlaskjdhflaksjhdflkjsha.
Ha ha, now I don't have the shortest comment! And, NO, i'm not hyper right now. just tired. (i know that doesn't make sense, but i'm weirder when I'm tired).
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