It’s February and that means ALIA Graphic’s Notable Australian Graphic Novels of 2022 list is out now! This is a list that doesn’t include everything published, but includes the best of what’s been published by Australian creators last year that we believe every Australian library and school libraries should have. We’re still in discussions about the short list and we will publish the notables short list mid-March.
As we have always done with the Notables, the list is divided into three categories: Junior, YA and Adult. From now on, we will be dividing our monthly roundup of new titles into these same categories.
Please note that the ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable has also published their lists of Best Graphic Novels for Adults and Children. And YALSA has also published the Great Graphic Novels for Teens long list and Top Ten. We highly recommend that you have a look at their lists.
Finally, ALIA Graphic Book Club is up and running again. You can check all the upcoming dates and recommended reads here. The ALIA Graphic Book Club is totally free and on Zoom and it’s a great way to discuss graphic novels and reader development. The friendliest, most awesome way to have some comics related PD.
News
Bill Watterson retired at the height of Calvin & Hobbes’ popularity. He retired suddenly and now, suddenly, he’s back! The Mysteries marks Bill’s return, a book described as a fable for grown up that he’s created together with John Kascht. Go and visit Popverse for more details.
Netflix has acquired Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto anime for global distribution. Urasawa’s Pluto manga was completed in 2009 and is a more adult reimagining of Astro Boy. Interestingly, Tezuka’s son is involved in the production of the anime. Check out Anime News Network for more details.
The Los Angeles Review of Books published an interesting article about Graphic Medicine worth a read. You can find it here.
Bone, the classic comic, gets a chance to connect with new readers later this year with Scholastic announcing a new anthology planned for September. Read more here .
Bill Watterson may have suddenly returned, but Dilbert's author may be forced into early retirement after making multiple strongly racist remarks. More info here.
A recent court case in the US concerning AI imagery in comics has raised some interesting points. Read more here.
Collections
The ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable has released their Best Graphic Novel Reading Lists for both adults and children. The Best Graphic Novels for Adults list can be found here and the Best Graphic Novels for Children list can be found here. We’re thrilled to see that Remy Lai’s Surviving the Wild series and Mike Barry’s Action Tank have made it to the children’s long list.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) in the U.S. has published their annual Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. You can find the full list here. And we’re very happy to see Tom Taylor has made it to the list twice, with Seven Secrets and Superman Son of Kal-El, this latter title even make it to the Top Ten. Sarah W. Searle’s The Greatest Thing and Ariel Slamet Ries’ Witchy have also made the long list. We are thrilled to see three Australian creators in the list.
No Flying No Tights has published a great article about cataloguing comics with members of the GNCRT’s Committee, Best Practices for Cataloging Comics and Graphic Novels Using RDA and MARC21.
Webinars
The ALA’s GNCRT organised a webinar to discuss how to get ready before someone challenges a book at your library. This is obviously more of an issue in the US where libraries and schools are suffering a big wave of challenges and bans but it’s still an interesting topic and something we believe libraries and schools in Australia should be ready for. You can find the recording of Preparing for Challenges - How to be ready before you get one here.
NEW RELEASE TITLES
Junior
Diana and Nubia Princesses of Amazons by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale (Random House US)
Fetch: The Journey by Mike Size, Dave Kennedy, Pete Kennedy (Storm King Productions)
A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat (First Second)
Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulson (Harper Collins Publisher)
Housecat Trouble: Lost and Found by Mason Dickerson (Penguin Random House)
Scurry by Mac Smith (Image Comics)
Super Pancake by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Abhi Alwar (Random House US)
Super Sidekicks: Ocean’s Revenge - Now in Full Colour by Gavin Aung Than (Penguin Australia) [Australian Creator]
Super Sidekicks: Trial of Heroes- Now in Full Colour by Gavin Aung Than (Penguin Australia) [Australian Creator]
Wings of Fire: Moon Rising by Tui T Sutherland & Mike Holmes (Scholastic)
Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan Vol.7 by Sasami Nitori (Random House US)
Yokai Cats Vol.1 by Pandania (Random House US)
YA
Clock Striker Volume 1 by Issaka Galadima, Frederick L. Jones (Rockport Publishers Inc)
- Choujin X by Sui Ishida (Viz)
Confessions of a Shy Baker by Masaomi Ito (Tokyopop)
The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend by Mieri Hiranshi (Viz)
Guardian of Fukushima by Fabien Grolleau and Ewen Blain (Tokyopop)
Helck Vol 1 by Nanaki Nanao (VIZ Media)
The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-be Wife by Iwatobineko (Seven Seas)
Monkey Prince Vol 1: Enter the Monkey by Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang (DC Comics)
Never Satisfied: Volume One by Taylor Robin (Seven Seas)
Adult
Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story by Catherine Pioli (Graphic Mundi)
Friday Book 2: On a Cold Winter’s Night by Ed Brubaker, Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vicente (Image Comics)
Marry Me: A Little Graphic Memoir by Rob Kirby (Graphic Mundi)
Pusheen: The Cat’s Guide to Everything by Claire Belton (Simon & Schuster)
