How will you spend Banned Books Week?
It’s nearing the end of September, which means Banned Books Week is right around the corner on October 1-7, 2023. This presents a challenge and an opportunity for library professionals as censorship makes waves in libraries across the country. To get into the spirit of Banned Books Week, we would like to share the American Library Association’s resources, including the Top 10 Most Challenged Books, Censorship by the Numbers in the United States, as well as Banned Books Week Display Ideas and other resources. Fittingly, Maia Kobabe, whose graphic novel graces the number one spot on the Most Challenged Books List, has penned a comic ‘I Made the Most Banned Book in America’ which was published this month and details how libraries are championing the right to accessing information.
However, this is not an isolated problem in the United States. We have already written about the Australian Classification Board’s decision to classify Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys comic book series and it will be interesting to see what kind of a ripple effect this decision has on graphic novels and comics in our libraries. In fact, out of the 15 publications that have been referred to the Australian Classification Board this year, 12 of them are graphic novels, with the remaining books being a format that would not be collected by libraries.
While we don’t know what the future holds for the censorship of graphic novels and comics in Australia, it can be fun to get involved in Banned Books Week and learn more about what books are being challenged and why.
News
- The Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards have been announced and are worth checking out. We’re also happy to see that Melbourne based writer and artist Sas Milledge’s Mamo has won the Best in Children’s Fiction Graphic Literature Award. Congratulations to all the winners and especially Sas Milledge! You can see the winners here.
- The Ringo Awards were announced at the start of the month. Congratulations to the Comics2Movies team. Fractured Shards was nominated for Best Series together with Saga, Something Is Killing the Children and others. Fractured Shards didn’t win but what a great recognition! And congratulations to all the winners. You can see the full list of nominees and winners here.
- Maia Kobabe has published a great comic on The Nib about publishing the most banned book in the USA, the support from libraries and the current state of challenges and bans. You can read the comic here.
- Daniel Clowes’ new graphic novel Monica is looming. The New Yorker caught up with Daniel and had a great chat about the influences in this new book. A really interesting conversation you can find here.
- A really interesting new initiative in the UK has caught our attention. A new group, calling themselves The Comics Cultural Impact Collective, has been created in the UK with the aim of raising awareness of the cultural impact and importance of comics. All their information and initial research can be found here.
- You want to be or you know someone who wants to be a comic book artist? Think again. Popverse was at San Diego Comic Con where Tom Taylor and Tom King asked questions of Nicola Scott and Mitch Gerads who talked about what it’s like drawing art for comics. You can read the lowdown here.
Collections
- No Flying No Tights has published another of their great thematic lists. This time they compiled a list of graphic novels for kids that are adaptations of books. You can find the list here.
- School Library Journal has published a list of visual books (it includes pictures books and graphic novels) that show the power of visuals convey complex emotions. You can see the list here.
Podcasts/Media
- Tom Taylor was interviewed on ABC Radio about Neverlanders winning the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers Award, and the awesomeness of comics. You can listen to the interview here.
NEW TITLES
Junior
8 Tiny Reindeer by Robert Tinkler (Kids Can Press)
Adventuregame Comics Book 2: The Beyond by Jason Shiga (Abrams - Amulet Books)
Captain Marvel: Game On by Sam Maggs, Sweeney Boo, Mario del Pennino (Marvel Comics)
Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust by Neal Shusterman & Andrew Vera Martinez (Scholastic)
Evil Emperor Penguin: The World Will Be Mine! By Laura Ellen Anderson (David Fickling Books)
Four Eyes by Rex Ogle & Dave Valeza (Scholastic)
Hooky Volume 3 by Miriam Bonastre Tur (Clarion Books)
I Really Want to Make Lemonade! By Harriet Ziefert (Red Comet Press LLC)
Kariba by Daniel Clark, James Clark & Daniel Snaddon (Catalyst Press)
Lights by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)
No Place for Monsters: School of Phantoms by Kory Merritt (Chicken House)
P.I. Butterfly: The Birthday Bandit by Karen Kilpatrick & German Blanco (Kayppin Media)
Saving Sunshine by Saadia Faruqi & Shazleen Khan (St Martin's Press)
Wildfire by Breena Bard (Hachette Children’s Books)
Witches of Brooklyn: Spell of a Time by Sophie Escabasse (Random House)
Zoo Patrol Squad: Kingdom Caper by Brett Bean (Penguin Group)
YA
Big Bangs and Black Holes: A Graphic Novel Guide to the Universe by Herji, Jérémie Francfort (Helvetiq)
The Deer King Vol 1 of 2 by Nahoko Uehashi (Yen Press)
Elle(s) Vol 2 by Kid Toussaint & Aveline Stokart (Ablaze)
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham (St Martins Press)
Giant Days Volume 1 Library Edition by John Allison, Lissa Treiman & Max Sarin (Boom! Studios)
Glitch Vol 1 by Shima Shinya (Yen Press)
Kamen Rider Zero-One by Brandon Easton and Hendry Prasetya (Titan)
Mexikid by Pedro Martin (Guppy Publishing)
Not a New York Love Story by Julian Voloj, Andreas Gefe (Fairsquare Comics)
Lights by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)
Talli Daughter of the Moon Vol 2 by Sourya Sihachakr (Oni Press)
Our Stories Carried Us Here: Chasing Dreams, Becoming a Doctor by Kim Uy, Sunshine Gao (Green Card Voices)
Sea Serpent’s Heir Book 2: Black Wave by Mairghread Scott & Pablo Tunica (Image Comics)
Adult
Blackward by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)
But You Have Friends by Emilia McKenzie (Top Shelf)
Cat Eyed Boy Vol 1 by Kazuo Umezz (Viz Media)
Earthdivers Vol 1 Kill Columbus by Stephen Graham Jones, Davide Gianfelice (IDW)
Eden II by Kenny Wroten (Fantagraphics)
A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll (First Second)
Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas by Paco Roca (Fantagraphics)
Middle Distance by Mylo Choi (SelfMadeHero)
The Naked Tree by Keum Suk, Gendry-Kim
Of Thunder and Lightning by Kimberly Wang (Silver Sprocket)
Okinawa by Susumu Higa (Fantagraphics)
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Utown by Cab, Caroline Breault (Oni Press)
