ALIA Graphic August 2021 Roundup

Welcome back to ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics monthly roundup of all the latest and greatest comics’ news for the library industry.

This month we held our second Librarians' Graphic Book Club where we discussed graphic novel adaptations. Join us next month on the 26th of September when we'll be discussing women and comics and looking at: Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy (Boom! Box) by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooklyn Allen; X-23: Family Album (Marvel) by Mariko Tamaki, Juann Cabal, and Nolan Woodard; and Esther: A True Story (Write and Wrong) by Sarah Broman.

Also this month we have a much shorter list of new releases for you to pick through, but to make up for it we have included not one, but two excellent creator chats to keep you entertained until next time. So until then, please stay safe out there, or stick with the preferable alternative and curl up at home with a great comic. Later!

News

• The ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable talks about the what the GNCRT is doing and plans for the future in a great interview published by Diamond Bookshelf.
• Shannon Sandford has published an article on The Conversation about graphic medicine and how comic creators are changing our understanding of illness. 
• One of the comic industry's oldest and most prestigious awards, the Harvey Awards which have been around since 1988 released their list of nominees this month recognising outstanding achievement in multiple categories. You can find the whole list of nominees here. Australian Lee Lai, now living in Montreal, has been nominated for the Book of the Year category for Stone Fruit. Australian Simon Hanselmann now living in Seattle, has been nominated for Digital Book of the Year for Crisis Zone. You can read an interview with Simon Hanselmann published on Comics Beat talking about Crisis Zone here.
• Digital comics, particularly of the Webtoons endless scrolling type are incredibly popular. DC Comics is now partnering with Webtoons to offer some original DC content on their platform. More on this on Publishers Weekly.
• If you want to support indie Australian comic creators you can check the projects that are now live on Kickstarter and seeking funding right here.

Collections & PD

• This well-regarded website, No Flying No Tights, is packed with resources for librarians involved with graphic novel collections in the Comics 101 tab https://www.noflyingnotights.com/
• The ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable has a handy archive of webinars and panels with lots of content if you want to catch up and have some free PD.
• Catch up with what’s happening in the world of Manga with free chapters at Shonen Jump  https://www.viz.com/shonenjump
• Access the Reading Graphic: Part One (July 2021) and Part Two (August, 2021) from the Booklist webinar archives. https://www.booklistonline.com/webinars-archive
• Have a look at the Digital Review Copies from Diamond Book Distributors https://diamondbookdistributors.org/
• The yearly report that Comics Beat publishes looking at graphic novels sales for the previous year is finally out (later than usual). This is a report with US book sales data that includes 80% of bookstores and some comic stores who use the Bookscan system. It shows higher sales than ever. It’s quite an extensive report with lots of data crunching well worth a read, including top titles and top authors.

Media & Resources

• The Comics Beat Graphic Novel Club talks to Alison Bechdel about the recently published The Secret to Superhuman Strength. A great conversation worth checking out.
• We have published two creator chats this month. We talked to Mirranda Burton about her new graphic novel Underground that explores the Vietnam War and the conscription protests in Australia. We also talked to three young Indigenous creators who have published three exciting graphic novels with Stick Mob Studio. You can find all our podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts.
• Graphic Nature has a long chat with Campbell Whyte of Home Time. Listen to the podcast on your preferred podcast distributor or right here.

New Releases for August 2021

Junior 

• 
  Avatar The Last Airbender - Suki,Alone - Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse Books)
  
• Big Apple Diaries - Alyssa Bermudez (Macmillan)
• The Smurfs Tales - Peyo (Papercutz)
• The Super Adventures of Ollie & Bea: It’s Owl Good - Renee Treml (Allen & Unwin)
• The Super Adventures of Ollie & Bea: Squeals on Wheels - Renee Treml (Allen & Unwin)

YA

• The Witcher Volume 5: Fading Memories (16+) - Bartosz Sztybor(Dark Horse Books)
• Sailor Moon 1 (Naoko Takeuchi Collection) - Naoko Taekuchi (Kodansha Comics)
• Sweet Tooth: The Return - Jeff Lemire (DC Comics)

Adult General

• 
  1984 - George Orwell, Fido Nesti (Houghton Mifflin)
  
• Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? - Eric Powell, Harold Schecter (Albatross Funnybooks)
• Dune: House of Atreides - Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, Dev Pramanik (BOOM! Studios)
• Eve - Una (Virago Press)
• Run Book 1 - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, L. Fury, Nate Powell (Abrams)
• Sensor - Junji Ito (VIZ Media)
• Underground: Marsupial Outlaws and Other Rebels of Australia's War in Vietnam - Mirranda Burton (Allen & Unwin)
• X-Men Vol 3 - Jonathan Hickman, Various artists (Marvel Comics)

Food for Thought: a Selection of ALIA Graphic's Favourite Foodie Comics for National Science Week 2021

Food may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one is considers science and technology...

...but this National Science Week, running from the 14th to the 22nd of August, is an excellent opportunity to challenge that. Think about the humble grain of salt. From pickling vegetables, to historical preserving methods, and the pinch of salt in baking that brings the whole cake together, salt is highly chemical and endlessly interesting in cooking as in science. 

This Science Week, the theme is 'Food: Different By Design' and so we have compiled a list of comic book cookbooks and graphic novels that feature a recipe or few, which celebrate food in a variety of ways and show a connection between food, science, culture and community. The following graphic novels, from junior to adult-level materials and comprising fiction, non-fiction and memoir, span food and cooking in many guises (as well as serving up some delectable drawings of food). We hope you enjoy these sweet and savoury stories.

 
For starters, there are the colourful comic book cookbooks Let's Make Dumplings! (Penguin, 2021) and Let's Make Ramen! (Penguin, 2019) by the delightful due of Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan. These stunning graphic novels are absolutely packed with recipes, accurate and informative art, as well as information on food preparation, historical tidbits, and input from renowned chefs and foodies.

ALIA Graphic July 2021 Roundup

Welcome back for another month of ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics' roundup of all the latest news, media and professional development opportunities from the world of comics.

NAIDOC week was the 4th to 11th of July and some terrific new graphic novels by indigenous creators were released. There is also a lot of new information available relating to Manga and as well as some terrific lists to help fill out your collections, and we have an enourmous list of New Releases for you to check out this month!

It's been a big month for awards with the Eisner, Aurealis and Comic Arts Awards of Australia (formerly Ledger Awards) all being announced. These events were of course hosted online again this year due to the continuing pandemic, along with San Diego Comic-Con's slightly underwhelming event.

And July was ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics' first online bookclub! Thanks to everyone who joined the Zoom - we can't wait to see you again next month when we discuss some comic versions of other media. Just follow the link here to book your spot. So, without further ado, here is this month's roundup!

News

• UniSA published an excellent article by a bunch of their academics about comics. “Comic book and Superheroes: Escapist fantasy, a moral code, or literary Trash?” is an excellent read.
• The Eisner Awards have been announced. Follow the link for all the winners.
• The Aurealis Awards for Best Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction were announced early in July. The winner of the Best Graphic Novel/Illustrated work was Under Earth by Chris Gooch. You can check out all the winners here.
• Disney attempted to trademark Loki the Marvel movie character, upsetting many fans.
• For the second year in a row, the streets of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter will be quiet this July as Comic-Con goes online again.
• The data is out thanks to Comichron and ICv2. Comics and graphic novels sales hit a new high in 2020, despite the pandemic. Also, after a dip in popularity in the early 2010s, anime viewership and manga sales reached an all-time high in 2020 with Manga sales soaring to an all-time high in 2020. You can read more on this topic here.
• A recent Hollywood Reporter article looks at how creators are paid for adaptations of their work at Marvel and DC, especially for characters and storylines they created.
• Something is Killing the Children, a Boom! Studios horror comic and one of the biggest indie titles currently on shelves is being adapted into a series thanks to Netflix and the makers of The Haunting of Hill House.
• Congratulations to all 2021 Comic Arts Awards of Australia recipients! 

Collections & PD

• The ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable is building quite a library of panel talks and programming. You can access their archive here.
• No Flying No Tights is always an excellent resource and they have recently updated their suggestions for ‘Core Lists for Libraries’. Highly recommended!
• The Manga for Libraries catalogue by Viz Media is out and it’s worth checking out.
• The Penguin Random House LibraryCon archive is out.
• The New York Public Library has an excellent Beginner’s Guide to Manga worth exploring.
• A great selection of classic Manga adaptations.

Media & Resources

• Three new graphic novels written by young Aboriginal people in Alice Springs and produced by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation in partnership with Stick Mob and Gestalt Publishing and launched for 2021 NAIDOC week. The three graphic novels are written and illustrated by Declan Miller, Seraphina Newberry, Alyssa Mason and Lauren Boyle. Listen to the interview on NITV Radio.
• The Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians is online, and the recorded sessions are available for viewing. We’ve also made a playlist with some of the best San Diego ComicCon @ Home panel talks in the online event.  

New Releases for July 2021

Junior

• Batman Adventures: Riddle Me This! - Scott Peterson(DC Comics)
• Black Sand Beach 2: Do You Remember the Summer Before? - Richard Fairgray (NZ) (Holiday House)
• Cardcaptor Sakura Collector's Edition 9 - CLAMP (Kodansha Comics)
• Curse of the Crystal Cavern (Pathfinders Society book 2) - Francesco Sedita  (Viking)
• Dinosaurs Before Dark: Magic Treehouse - Jenny Laird(Random House)Mel The Chosen - Rachele Aragno (Random House Graphics)
• The Fox & Little Tanuki - Tagawa Mi (Tokyopop)
• Goosebumps Secrets Of The Swamp - Marieke Nijkamp (IDW Publishing Children’s)
• Max Meow Book 2: Donuts And Danger: Donuts and Danger - John Gallagher(RH USA Kids)
• Miles Morales: Shock Waves - Justin A. Reynolds, Pablo Leon (Scholastic)
• Plants vs. Zombies Volume 18: Constructionary Tales - Paul Tobin(Dark Horse Books)
• Sonic The Hedgehog: Bad Guys - Ian Flynn(IDW Publishing Children’s)
• Sue and Tai-Chan Volume 3 - Konami Kanata (Kodansha Comics)
• Super Geeks 2 : Planet Pancake - James Hart (Puffin)
• Tiny Titans: Pet Club! - David Lebovitz, Franco Aureliani(DC Comics)

Young Adult

• Attack On Titan 33 - Hajime Isayama (Kodansha Comics)
• Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 5 - ALAN GRANT(DC Comics)
• The Black Ghost - Monica Gallagher, Alex Segura (Dark Horse Books)
• Dark Nights: Death Metal: War of the Multiverses - Various (DC Comics)
• Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy - Jody Houser, Adriana Melo, Mark Morales (DC Comics)
• Hellboy Universe Essentials: Hellboy - Mike Mignola, Various (Dark Horse Books)
• Justice League : Galaxy of terrors - Simon Spurrier, Jeff Loveness, Aaron Lopresti, Robson Rocha (DC Comics)
• Sabrina: Something Wicked - Kelly Thompson, Veronica Fish, Andy Fish (Archie Comics)
• A School Frozen In Time, Volume 1 - Mizuki Tsujimura (Vertical Inc.)
• Shikimori's Not Just A Cutie 4 - Keigo Maki (Kodansha Comics)
• Stone Star Vol 1: Fight or Flight - Jim Zub (Dark Horse Books)
• Stranger Things: Science Camp - Jody Houser, Edgar Salazar, Keith Champagne (Dark Horse Books)
• Superman Vol 4: Mythological - Brian Michael Bendis, various artists (DC Comics)
• Weathering With You, Volume 3 (manga) - Kubota Wataru (Vertical Inc)
• The Witch And The Beast 5 - Kousuke Satake (Kodansha Comics)
• Devil’s Candy, Vol. 1 - by Rem (Creator), Bikkuri (Creator)

Adult General

• Berserk Deluxe Volume 8 - Kentaro Miura (Dark Horse Books)
  
• Celestia - Manuele Fior (Fantagraphics)
• Injustice: Year Zero - Tom Taylor, Roge Antonio (DC Comics)
• Raptor: A Sokol Graphic Novel - Dave McKean (Dark Horse Books)
• Everyone Is Tulip - Dave Baker  (Dark HOrse Books)
• One Line - Ray Fawkes (Oni Press)