Saturday, March 04, 2006
ALA mode
The new edition of Sequential Tart has a look at the American Library Association’s current nominees for their list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens (found via MangaBlog). Rebecca Salek suggests some additions to the list and provides a brief overview of what’s already there.
Now, you all know how much I love librarians. Had I made better choices during my youth, I might be among their number. But what in the name of all that’s decent and sensible is Identity Crisis doing on that list? Maybe Brad Meltzer or Rags Morales has a librarian in the family.
But I won’t let this aberration (which can certainly be corrected by the time the final list is assembled in 2007) shake my faith in the profession, because there are plenty of worthy titles on this list.
I’m glad to see books like Off*Beat, Girl Genius and Moped Army up for consideration. They all deserve more attention. (The list makes me a little nervous that I’ve somehow missed the fourth volume of GG, Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams, but Amazon reassures me that it’s not due until March 25. Sneaky librarians and their preview copies!)
It’s also nice to see good popular stuff like Fruits Basket, Death Note, Crimson Hero, and Nana make the cut. And, as always happens with things like this, I’ve found more books to add to my list of titles I really should try some time. (It also provides a reminder that I really should catch up with Prince of Tennis. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far, but there’s so much manga and so little time. Boy, it would be great if my local library had a decent selection of graphic novels, wouldn’t it?)
And, because I can’t resist putting my two cents in, here are some other books I think would make fine nominations (though in some cases I think I’m fudging the “released after September 1, 2005” date):
Now, you all know how much I love librarians. Had I made better choices during my youth, I might be among their number. But what in the name of all that’s decent and sensible is Identity Crisis doing on that list? Maybe Brad Meltzer or Rags Morales has a librarian in the family.
But I won’t let this aberration (which can certainly be corrected by the time the final list is assembled in 2007) shake my faith in the profession, because there are plenty of worthy titles on this list.
I’m glad to see books like Off*Beat, Girl Genius and Moped Army up for consideration. They all deserve more attention. (The list makes me a little nervous that I’ve somehow missed the fourth volume of GG, Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams, but Amazon reassures me that it’s not due until March 25. Sneaky librarians and their preview copies!)
It’s also nice to see good popular stuff like Fruits Basket, Death Note, Crimson Hero, and Nana make the cut. And, as always happens with things like this, I’ve found more books to add to my list of titles I really should try some time. (It also provides a reminder that I really should catch up with Prince of Tennis. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far, but there’s so much manga and so little time. Boy, it would be great if my local library had a decent selection of graphic novels, wouldn’t it?)
And, because I can’t resist putting my two cents in, here are some other books I think would make fine nominations (though in some cases I think I’m fudging the “released after September 1, 2005” date):
- Antique Bakery, by Fumi Yoshinaga (Digital Manga)
- Banana Sunday, by Root Nibot and Colleen Coover (Oni)
- Cantarella, by You Higuri (Go! Comi)
- A Few Perfect Hours, by Josh Neufeld (Alternative)
- Livewires: Clockwork Thugs, Yo, by Adam Warren, Rick Mays, and Jason Martin (Marvel)
- Lost at Sea, by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
- Northwest Passage Vol. 2, by Scott Chantler (Oni)
- Runaways: True Believers, by Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, and Craig Yeung (Marvel)
- Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
- Sgt. Frog, by Mine Yoshizaki (Tokyopop)
- The Ticking, by Renée French (Top Shelf)
- A Treasury of Victorian Murder: The Murder of Abraham Lincoln, by Rick Geary (NBM)
- Young Avengers: Sidekicks, by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung (Marvel)
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I'm a manga fanatic who is currently a grad student in Library Sci. - you can imagine I'm incredibly excited that some librarians are finally getting into the whole deal.
In a few years they will hopefully have ironed out some of their confusions (I spent time in my YA fiction class explaining manga/manhwa terms during our graphic novel section.) but I think we will definitely see libraries with decent collections in the coming years.
Right now, I think part of the problem is that the books fall apart too quickly! And anything published as paperback is generally skipped by professional literature (reviews) so librarians were a bit in the dark and rather surprised by manga's popularity. But like I said, I don't think that will last long since no librarian likes being surprised - they are just itching to classify the books properly, lol.
In a few years they will hopefully have ironed out some of their confusions (I spent time in my YA fiction class explaining manga/manhwa terms during our graphic novel section.) but I think we will definitely see libraries with decent collections in the coming years.
Right now, I think part of the problem is that the books fall apart too quickly! And anything published as paperback is generally skipped by professional literature (reviews) so librarians were a bit in the dark and rather surprised by manga's popularity. But like I said, I don't think that will last long since no librarian likes being surprised - they are just itching to classify the books properly, lol.
In fairness, I should admit that the public libraries in my area are badly underfunded. (Did I just hear a chorus of librarian voices sarcastically muttering "How unusual."?) They have a smattering of manga mixed in with other paperbacks (which, as you note, are sometimes bagged because they've been read so often). Ah, well. It's good to know that interest in the category is growing, though I don't envy you all the task of classifying titles.
Have I bragged lately about how good my local library is? Last week I stopped to pick up several books on hold for me (Concrete Vol. 2: Heights, Soundtrack: Short Stories 1989-1996, The Essential Avengers Volume 2, Capote in Kansas, and Cromartie High School Vols 2 & 3) and today I received notice that I already have a couple more waiting for me (Batman: Child of Dreams, Catwoman: Crooked Little Town). I love my library system. It's allowed me to keep up with fun manga that I probably wouldn't spend my own money on (Prince of Tennis) and it's allowed me to give a second look at series that didn't impress me much the first time (such as Cromartie High School, which finally won me over with such bits as Pillow-Jutsu)
Surprised (but glad) to see that Death Note was a pick. After reading the first four volumes, I thought perhaps the subject matter (amoral, murderous teenager finds the power to kill (practically) anyone) was the reason my library still isn't carrying the series.
And I have no idea why Identity Crisis is on the list. Perhaps all the media attention makes it a pick simply because it's something teens have heard of and may be interested in checking out?
Surprised (but glad) to see that Death Note was a pick. After reading the first four volumes, I thought perhaps the subject matter (amoral, murderous teenager finds the power to kill (practically) anyone) was the reason my library still isn't carrying the series.
And I have no idea why Identity Crisis is on the list. Perhaps all the media attention makes it a pick simply because it's something teens have heard of and may be interested in checking out?
Next time you're browsing, do me a favor and see if they have CMX's Monster Collection. It's a lot of fun, but it's got some nudity and some fairly graphic violence, so I'm curious to see if it's in libraries anywhere. (It's rated Mature, so maybe that would preclude it being there.)
It doesn't show up in their online catalog. The only CMX books I see in their system are MADARA, MUSASHI #9, and SWAN, and weren't those all part of CMX's first "wave" of titles? Maybe it'll take awhile for other series to show up.
I looked up Monster Collection in the WorldCat database, which shows books in all libaries in the US (very cool database that most libaries have access to). It's only owned by four libaries -- St. Louis county, Denver Public Schools, Finney County (KS) Public Library, and Washoe County (NV) Public Libary.
(very cool database that most libaries have access to)
Covet... covet... covet...
You people are really trying to drive me into graduate school, aren't you?
Covet... covet... covet...
You people are really trying to drive me into graduate school, aren't you?
You can get at a few records in Worldcat through the Open WorldCat program:
http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/open/tryit/default.htm
This doesn't get you into the whole worldcat database though.
http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/open/tryit/default.htm
This doesn't get you into the whole worldcat database though.
David, your wish is our command. Cantarella has been nominated! (Do we at Go! Comi take care of our fans or what?)
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