Webinar + Graphic Novel Club + Podcast updates

While we rarely do this, we thought we'd give everyone some quick updates because there are a few things happening. 

WEBINAR

A year ago we got together for our very first webinar, Getting Graphic: Comics Around the World, which you can still watch on our YouTube page here. So we thought we'd get together again and have a second ALIA Graphic webinar. 

We will announce all the details soon but make sure you reserve the day. It will be Wednesday November 30 at 12pm AEDT and we're incredibly excited about the event and the speakers who will be joining the conversation. This is one you definitely don't want to miss.

GRAPHIC NOVEL CLUB

Our Graphic Novel Club returns this Sunday at 3pm AEDT and we will be discussing horror in comics. As usual, there are three suggested readings but even if you haven't read those three you can definitely join the conversation and discuss your favourite horror comics. 

Join the fun and feel free to wear something spooky!

If you've never registered for our Graphic Novel Club, check out all the details here and find the Zoom registration link here.

PODCASTS

We have published two podcast episodes recently. First we had a chat with comic book creator Gary Proudley who has published several comics, most importantly Talgard: Tome 2 this year (Gestalt Comics). The Talgard series is interesting as it depicts a barbarian who uses intelligence rather than brute force. Every Talgard story is four pages long and with art by a different Australian artist. 

The other podcast is an in depth chat with Paul Metcalfe who is the library coordinator for the Albany Campus Library of South Regional TAFE WA. He published an article on Incite recently and with him about building a graphic novel collection at TAFE. The episode notes also include some interesting resources.

We have also created an ALIA Graphic Podcast blog where all our podcast episodes can be enjoyed and have added a Podcast tab on this blog to make it easier to find and navigate. 

Of course, you can still continue to listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

That's all for now. Light up your whole brain, read comics!

Let's talk comic book bans and challenges

Unfortunately we have to talk about challenges, bans and censorship of comics and graphic novels. This is not something we'd like to talk about but it's an important conversation and there are some uncomfortable truths we must face.

In this special podcast episode, we discuss challenges and bans to books and specifically to comics in libraries across the United States of America. 

Looking from a distance, the current wave of challenges and bans the US is going through seems alien to us. We are concerned about what’s going on. We are concerned that teachers and librarians are being targeted and intimidated. 

We are concerned that comics, graphic novels, and books are being pulled off the shelves. Even titles that have won awards, have received world wide recognition and have been part of the curriculum for years. 

We’ve been concerned for months and we have shared our support and solidarity with our American colleagues. But, of course, to be concerned from a distance is not enough. 

While we may feel that what’s happening has nothing to do with us in Australia, we know that very often these kind of actions get exported to other countries. It could happen in Australia and we should not be complacent.

We’re also aware that while we don’t suffer the kind of challenges that we’re seeing in the US, there are still issues in Australia. Teachers and librarians who are prejudiced against comics. Parents who question their kids and insist that they read a 'real' book.

But reading is reading and reading comics we use multiple literacies, we use more parts of our brain. 

We wanted to reach out to our friends in the American Library Association’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable. Specifically, we wanted to talk with members of the Addressing Comic Book Bans & Challenges Committee. We had a great discussion with Amie Wright chair of the committee, together with Kara Baker, Shawn Norton and Julia Lanter.

Iurgi Urrutia from Kingston Libraries in Victoria and James Baker from the Athenaeum Library in Melbourne hosted this wide ranging, and we believe, very relevant conversation.

You can listen to this really special podcast episode on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, right now. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast and leave us a glowing review, every review helps and it will also leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling - totally guaranteed!

Finally, don't forget that our Graphic Novel Club session this month is all about challenged and banned comics. As always, the Graphic Novel Club session will be on Zoom and it's totally free. A great way to have a great discussion about comics and do some PD at the same time. All the details including the Zoom registration link are here. Please note, you don't need to read all three comics to join the discussion. They're just recommendations. 

Episode Notes: 

GNCRT Toolkit: https://www.ala.org/rt/gncrt/preparing-and-addressing-challenges-comics-library-committee

GNCRT Checklist: https://www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.rt/files/content/GNCRT/ComicsChallenges/GNCRT%20Be%20Prepared%20Postcard_PRINT.pdf 

GNCRT Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScY2TYLrurWP6sT9ifMSsne-98AEYJylUTDUgBvWB3n1RJtJA/viewform 

No Flying No Tights: Ask the Comics Librarians series of articles: https://noflyingnotights.com/browse-our-ask-the-comics-librarians-columns/ 

‘Divisive Concepts Law’ New Hampshire - op-ed piece on the impact of the law in classrooms and on teachers https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2021/08/10/commentary-new-hampshires-divisive-concepts-law-and-the-big-chill/ 

History of Comics Censorship in the United States via CBLDF https://cbldf.org/resources/history-of-comics-censorship/ 

History of Comics Censorship in Canada via Ryerson University 1950s - “Crisis of Innocence: Comic Books and Children’s Culture, 1940-1954” https://crisisofinnocence.library.ryerson.ca/exhibits/show/a-crisis-of-innocence

Jason Reynolds When I was the Greatest https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/When-I-Was-the-Greatest/Jason-Reynolds/9781442459496 

Fobazi Ettarh, "Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves." In the Library with the Lead Pipe. January 10, 2018. www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/ 

American Academy of Pediatrics and Gender Affirming Care: https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/19021/AAP-continues-to-support-care-of-transgender?autologincheck=redirected?nfToken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 

ACLU American Civil Liberties Union - advocacy on fighting book bans https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/artistic-expression/banned-books 

What to expect at PCAF and the CAAA

The first weekend of August the Perth Comic Arts Festival will be taking place and it's going to be bigger than ever with about 85 comic book creators from W.A. and across Australia tabling and presenting their comics on the market day, on Sunday 7 August. 

But that's not all, on Saturday, there will be plenty of panel talks and workshops. 

Best of all, entry to PCAF will be totally free! 

On the Saturday, as part of PCAF, the Comic Arts Awards of Australia will also be presented. These are Australia's most important awards, celebrating excellence in Australian comics. 

Entry is also free for the ceremony and if you attend in person you also get one of the very special and highly cherished CAAA annuals outlining all the awarded comics and creators. 

We had a chat with Bruce Mutard and he told us what to expect from the festival. The episode is out now on our Apple Podcasts feed here. 

To stay up do date with PCAF: https://pcaf.org.au

To stay up to date with the Comic Arts Awards of Australia: http://ledgerawards.org 

Talking Manga with Ashley Hawkins

ALIA Graphic's Tara talks to our second international guest, Ashley Hawkins otherwise known as @MangaLibrarian on Twitter. They discuss different types of Manga, the different ratings, collection development and shelving.

Ashley also suggests lots of great titles for different age brackets. 

You can follow Ashley on her blog: https://mangalibrarian.com and Twitter.

If you like what we're doing, hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel to stay up to date with our chats. You can also follow us on Twitter and don't forget to check our blog for updates, monthly roundups of news and new release titles. You can also subscribe to our blog and receive an email every time we post (a couple of times a month).

Remember that all our video chats are also released as podcasts. We also publish more content as podcast only so please subscribe to the ALIA Graphic Podcast.

These are the titles recommended in the video by Ashley.

Jnr readers ( 5-10)

Chi’s Sweet Home

Yokai Watch

Middle grade 10-12 yrs

Must have shonen: My Hero Academia (early volumes)

Must have shojo: Kitchen Princess, Flying Witch

New titles to look out for:

Yotsuba&! Is coming back

Penguin & House by Akiho Ieda

Teens 13 - 16

Must have shonen: Case Study of Vanitas

Must have shojo: Horimiya, The White Cat's Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King's Lap

New titles to look out for: 

Play It Cool, Guys, Blue Period, Hello, I am a Witch and my Crush Wants me to Make a Love Potion! 

Older teens

Must have shonen: Chainsaw Man

Must have shojo: A Sign of Affection

New titles to look out for: 

My Dad is the Queen of All VTubers?!, Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway!

Mature/Adult

Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan, Eniale & Dewiela, Our Fake Marriage, Perfect World, Way of the Househusband, Escape Journey

New titles: 

They Were Eleven (2022), Lil Leo

Light novel suggestions for purchase

Marielle Clarac

Full Metal Panic

I'm in Love with the Villainess

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!!

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki

I Have a Secret (by author of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas)

Creator Chat with Nicola Scott

In this month's episode we chillout and have a long chat with Nicola Scott, the Wonder Woman of Australian comic creators. 

We talk about how she got into comics, her experience breaking into the comics industry and San Diego Comic Con, working for DC Comics and Black Magick the creator owned series written by Greg Rucka with amazing art by Nicola, published by Image Comics.

You can visit our YouTube right now, set a reminder and watch the countdown if you're as excited as we are.

You can find out more about Nicola on her website: https://www.nicolascottart.com 

This episode will go live on Tuesday April 20 at 6pm AET. 

If you like what we're doing, hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel to stay up to date with our chats. 

You can also follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ALIAGraphic​.

Teaching With Comics, with Tim Smyth

In this episode we chat with Tim Smyth, a Social Studies secondary school teacher from the east coast of the US, our first international guest, who's been using comics and graphic novels as teaching tools for years. 

We discuss how he got into comics, what made him start using them in the classroom, the great benefits of comics in teaching literacy and Tim gives us some of his top tips for teachers who are thinking of starting to use comics in the classroom.

You can find out more about Tim and his teaching resources, which he makes freely available online, on his website: http://www.historycomics.net​ 

If you like what we're doing, hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel to stay up to date with our chats. 

You can also follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ALIAGraphic​.

Creator Chat with Cameron Davis of Rose and Dahlia

In this creator chat we talk to Cameron Davis. He has been publishing comics for more than ten years and Cameron works with a cartoonish all ages style with a very broad appeal. 

We discuss how he got into comics, why he decided to transition from game developed to comics and what that transition was like. We also discuss some of his influences and the origin of his most popular comic book series: Rose.

Finally, we discuss his newest release "Rose and Dahlia" and, since so much of Rose revolves around food, we also discuss some yummy curries.

Thanks for listening to ALIA Graphic Podcast. Hit the subscribe button on our YouTube page and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts. You can also follow us on Twitter: @ALIAGraphic, email us at aliagraphicinfo@gmail.com and check our blog, aliagraphic.blogspot.com, for updates, monthly roundups of news and new release titles.

Creator Chat with Darren Close of Killeroo

For our latest and last ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics Creator Chat during the isolation and lock down period we talk with Darren Close, the soft spoken creator of the powerful Killeroo. Darren has been publishing comics for more than 20 years and Killeroo is his biggest creation a comic book series that he's overseen as main writer and that he's developed together with a wide range of talented artists.

Killeroo is a gritty and violent action comics. You can feel the dirt and dust but you can also feel the heart.Apart from Killeroo, we also discuss Australia Burns, an anthology of comics that brought lots of Australian creators together to tell stories about the bushfires that ravaged Australia at the end of 2019 and the start of 2020. The proceeds of Australia Burns all go to charity. The book can be purchased at: https://www.australiaburns.online/ and through ALS Library Services: https://www.alslib.com.au/

Finally, we also discuss #Aussies4Comics, where Australian artists have put their art for auction and all proceeds go to Australian local comic stores. For the latest auctions check #Aussies4Comics on Twitter.

You can follow Darren Close on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/killeroo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killeroo_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/killeroo/

Creator Chat with Ariel Slamet Ries

ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics presents a Creator Chat with Ariel Slamet Ries, the creator of celebrated YA webcomic Witchy.

The first volume of Witchy was published by Lion Forge in 2019 and tells the story of Nyneve in the Kingdom of Hyalin where power of you magic is linked to the length of your hair. The Witch Guard forces those strong with magic to join them but those who are too strong, those whose hair is too long and powerful are considered enemies of the kingdom.

Ariel is producing really interesting work with a strong emphasis on diversity. To find out more check out:
https://twitter.com/cousineggplant
https://arielries.tumblr.com/

Creator Chat with Ben Hutchings

This week's Creator Chat is with Ben Hutchings, the founder of Squishface Studio in Melbourne, where a whole gang of creators share the work space as a collective and organise lots of different events and workshops for the public. 

Ben is also a comic book creator who's been around for a couple of decades now. He contributed with his art to The Invisible War, a graphic novel about WWI and dysentery that has been used at Secondary Schools and last year he published Mini Mel and Timid Tom, an excellent junior graphic novel adventure. 

To find out more about Ben Hutchings please check out: http://www.hutcho.net/ 

And the Squishface Studio website: https://squishfacestudio.com

ALIA Graphic Creator Chat with Gaving Aung Than

ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics presents the fifth of our Creator Chat series where we have conversations with different creators about all things comics and libraries.

This week we have Iurgi Urrutia in conversation with Gavin Aung Than, the creator of Zen Pencils, where he adapted inspiring quotes from famous people to short comics.

In the last year he's published three graphic novels of a new series: Super Sidekicks. This is a brilliant series where the young side kicks have had enough and decide to form a super group of their own. You can find out more about Gaving Aung Than and his books on: https://aungthan.com/

ALIA Graphic Podcast

The videos we've been publishing on our YouTube page have been very well received but we recognise that sometimes it's more convenient to just listen to a podcast.

We recognise this because a few people let us know that it would be more convenient for them to have the conversations published as a podcast.

So we listened and we're happy to provide. The first two videos have now been released and are available on iTunes.

The rest of the videos will be available soon and we also plan to have some original podcast only episodes. So follow the link to iTunes or search for ALIA Graphic Podcast and subscribe.

Creator Chat: A Conversation with Mike Barry

ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics presents the third of our Creator Chat series where we have conversations with different creators about all things comics and libraries. 

This week we have Gabrielle Cundy in conversation with Mike Barry, the creator of Action Tank, a fast-moving adventure for readers of all ages. 

This is a junior graphic novel series with two books published, where a boy suddenly finds himself on the other side of the Solar System and must rely on his brains, his courage and the advice of a mysterious talking unicorn if he wants to get home in time for his Mum's spaghetti carbonara. 

You can find out more about Action Tank on: https://actiontankcomic.com/

Comics and Libraries: A conversation with Leonee Ariel Derr

 This week we talk to Leonee Ariel Derr, about youth services, engaging teens at libraries and, of course, graphic novels. 

Creator Chat: A Conversation with Stephen Kok

We're very proud to present our third creator chat. This week we're in conversation with Stephen Kok.

Stephen has published a few comics already. His first book was Tabby, a Romeo and Juliet story with cats. His latest is Terralympus Volume 2, which is currently being funded on Kickstarter. In this conversation, we talk about getting comics to libraries, how to get some money from libraries adding your book to the catalogue, Kickstarter, etc.

Watch, enjoy and comment. Let us know how we're doing.

Our next conversation will be Leonee Ariel Derr, where we talk youth services, how to engage young adults at the library and, of course, comics and graphic novels.

Creator Chat 2: A conversation with Ryan K. Lindsay

We're very proud to present our second video in our Creator Chat series.

Ryan K. Lindsay is a teacher by day and a comic book writer by night. We recently had a great conversation with him during the school holidays. He took a break to talk to us about remote learning, parents and kids knowing about his comics, what it's like to review comics, his own comics and Kickstarter adventures, among many other things. 

Ryan also shares with us three books he's recently read and really enjoyed. Watch, enjoy, let us know what you think and support Ryan's work if you can.

ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics now on YouTube!

The world's on lock down. We're stuck at home and all the conventions and author talks have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. It's also hard to connect with people, so we thought we'd have conversations with comic book creators as well as librarians working with graphic novels and champions of the medium in general.

That's why we've opened a YouTube page, and are planning a series of videos. We have the first two videos up (watch them below), where we're still finding our feet and there are many more to come. 

Here's the schedule: 

April 9: Creator Chat: Christian Carnouche.

April 14: ALIA Graphic Introduction with James Baker and Iurgi Urrutia.

April 21: Creator Chat: Ryan K. Lindsay

April 28: Creator Chat: Stephen Kok.

TBA: Leonee Ariel Derr (Graphic novels, comics collections and comics advocacy)

TBA: Karen Dwarte and Queenie Chan (Comics at Libraries)

TBA: Darren Close (Killeroo and Australia Burns bushfire relief comics anthology)

Our first video (which was improvised in the spur of the moment at the end of a meeting), where we talk about how ALIA Graphic came to be and some of what we plan to do.

Our first Creator Chat, where we talk with Australian creator Christian Carnouche about his first graphic novel The Resurrected, a sci-fi thriller that deals with issues of identity and how we face and confront death and loss.