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| Reader's
Corner - Graphic Novels |
| Graphic novels are a relatively new
literary form using the comics medium to
present a wide range of subjects and
attitudes. While developing mainly from
the tradition of comic books and strips,
many graphic novels are also influenced
by humor magazines such as Mad
and by film. The underground comics of
the sixties and the zine movement
associated with punk rock have also been
significant in the development of
graphic novels. |
| Graphic novels frequently take on
subjects not associated with the comic
book form. Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer
Prize-winning Maus, dealing with
the Holocaust and its long-term effects
on his family, is the best known example
of this, but there are many other fine
cases, including Ho Che Anderson’s
biography of Martin Luther King, Osamu
Tezuka’s life of Buddha, Joe Sacco’s war
journalism from the Balkans and the
Middle East, and emotionally complex
personal stories of young adulthood by
Daniel Clowes and Peter Bagge and of
middle age by R. Crumb and Harvey Pekar. |
| When graphic novel writers do take
on traditional comics materials, it is
often in an unusual and challenging
manner. Alan Moore’s League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen assembles
Victorian celebrities and characters
from popular fiction of the time into a
team of adventurers, while Frank
Miller’s Dark Knight books imagine
Batman as a troubled vigilante, a
representation that influenced Tim
Burton’s 1989 film. |
| All Library patrons have access to
all the materials in the Library’s
collections. Readers (and parents of
readers) should be aware that graphic
novels, like many other contemporary art
forms, can be intense or explicit. To
avoid unpleasant surprises, approach
these books as you would a
non-illustrated book rather than as you
would a cartoon.
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Because of their relationship to comic
books, some readers may assume that
graphic novels are only aimed at certain
kinds of readers or tell a limited range
of stories. Browse the Library
collection and try some of the following
recommendations. You may be pleasantly
surprised.
| If you
like this... |
...try
this graphic novel |
| The Diary of Anne Frank
and Elie Weisel’s
Night |
Maus by Art Spielgelman |
| Caleb Carr’s The
Alienist,
Patricia Cornwell’s Portrait
of a Killer or Umberto Eco’s
Foucault’s Pendulum |
anything by Rick Geary |
| Anne Rice’s vampire books |
The Sandman series by Neil
Gaiman |
| J. D. Salinger, Lost in
Translation |
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes |
| 1984, Brave New World,
Brazil |
2024 by Ted Rall |
| Anzia Yezerskia, Isaac
Bashevis Singer |
Dropsie Avenue,
The Name of
the Game, and
Minor Miracles by
Will Eisner |
| High Fidelity by Nick
Hornby, Neal Pollock |
anything by Peter Bagge |
| Repo Man, Mi Vida Loca, Los
Lobos |
Love and Rockets series by
the Hernandez brothers |
| Michael Chabon |
The Golem’s Mighty Swing by
James Sturm |
| The Joy Luck Club by
Amy Tan or The Woman Warrior
by Maxine Hong Kingston |
The Four Immigrants Manga by
Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama |
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Graphic Novels Websites |
Comic Books and Graphic Novels A guide
to web resources from College & Research
Library news, Feb. 2005.
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The Comics
Journal A magazine that covers from
the comics medium from an arts
perspective with news, interviews and reviews.
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Comics Scholarship Annotated
Bibliographies Annotated
bibliography of books on comics, and
graphic novels by ComicsResearch.org.
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Graphic Novels for Public Libraries
An annotated list recommended by a
public librarian.
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Image Text: Interdisciplinary
Comics Studies "Publishes solicited
and peer-reviewed papers that
investigate the material, historical,
theoretical, and cultural implications
of visual textuality."
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International Journal of Comic Art
"Publishes research on any aspects of
comic art, defined as animation, comic
books, newspaper and magazine strips,
caricature, gag and political cartoons,
humorous cartoons, humorous art, and
humor or cartoon magazines."
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No Flying, Not Tights Graphic novel
reviews for kids, teens, and adults. |
This page was last modified on
09/09/2008 |
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This page was last modified on
09/09/2008 |
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