Book Week Costume Ideas

Book Week is fast approaching, and there isn’t a better time to showcase your love for Manga and Graphic Novels! So put on your creative caps and let's dive into some exciting costume ideas that go way beyond the typical Marvel and DC superheroes.

First up, we have Nimona, the talk of the town with the new Netflix movie adaptation! Be ahead of the curve and slip into this easy-peasy outfit. A cool tip for some added fun: toss on an animal onesie, and voilà, you've transformed into Nimona's animal form. It's a win-win!

Calling all Dog Man fans! Want to be an instant hit with kids everywhere? Sport a Dog Man costume! Deck yourself in all shades of blue and stick on that famous Dog Man symbol. Boom! You're ready to fight crime and look awesome.

Oops, did Book Week sneak up on you? Fear not! Grab those old bed sheets and transform yourself into Wendell the Ghost from Sheets. Scaring people has never been so comfy and effortless!

Looking for a little whimsy and comfortable footwear in your outfit choice, try Anya from The Moth Keeper. Bonus points if you have a battery-powered light that you can attach to a big stick! Instant lunar moth protector. 

Now, let's take a trip down memory lane with an all-time favourite. Remember Goku from Dragonball Z? Get that hairspray ready and prepare for an explosive transformation into this iconic character.

And speaking of hair, prepare for the ultimate head accessory challenge with Nyneve from Witchy, the Aussie favourite! Get creative with that big bow, and you'll surely stand out like a magical whirlwind. 

Last but not least, if you're up for some pirate adventure, grab your best gardening hat, brush off the dirt, and tie a scarf around your waist. Boom! You're none other than the beloved manga icon, Luffy from One Piece. Set sail for Book Week greatness!

For more info and to join the fun, head over to the CBCA Book Week page.

Celebrating Pride Month

Photo: Note Pride month over a rainbow lgtbt flag by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0

It’s Pride Month and we highly recommend all library workers who are interested to get involved with ALIA Rainbow, a new special interest group dedicated to facilitating networking, support, professional development and resources for LGBTQIA+ library people and allies. Check out their details and join their eList.

At ALIA Graphic we’re celebrating Pride Month in a couple of ways. 

Of course, we have our Pride themed Graphic Novel Club this month, on Thursday June 23 at 8pm AEST, where we’ll be discussing three excellent graphic novels with LGBTQIA+ themes. Check out the details and how to join our online graphic novel club here.

We also wanted to recommend graphic novels by LGBTQIA+ creators, as we believe graphic novels are fantastic vehicles for representation and recognition. So here’s a list of some of our favourites and some recent releases for Pride Month.

• Bloom (First Second) by Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganucheau
• Fence (Boom!) by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad
• Fun Home (Mariner Books) by Alison Bechdel
• Gender Queer (Oni Press) by Maia Kobabe
• Blue Is the Warmest Colour (Arsenal Pulp Press) by Julie Maroh
• Given (SubLime Manga) by Natsuki Kizu
• The Greatest Thing (Allen & Unwin) by Sara W. Searle [Australian creator]
• The Girl From the Sea (Scholastic) by Molly Knox Ostertag
• Heartstopper (Hodder and Stoughton) by Alice Oseman
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (First Second) by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero O'Connell
• Magical Boy (Graphix) by The Kao
• The Magic Fish (Random House) by Trung Le Nguyen 
• Mooncakes (Lion Forge) by Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu, Joamette Gil
• My Brother's Husband (Pantheon Books) by Gengoroh Tagame
• Nimona (HarperCollins) by ND Stevenson
• Our Dining Table (Seven Seas) by Mita Ori
• Patience & Esther (Iron Circus) by Sarah W. Searle [Australian creator]
• The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second) by Jen Wang
• A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities (Limerence Press) by Mady G, J.R. Zuckerberg
• Slip (Algonquin) by Marika McCoola, Aatmaja Pandya
• Spinning (First Second) by Tillie Walden
• Stars in Their Eyes (Fremantle Press) by Jessica Walton, Aśka [Australian creators]
• Stone Fruit (Fantagraphics) by Lee Lai [Australian creator]
• The Tea Dragon Society (Oni Press) by Kay O'Neill
• To Strip the Flesh (Viz Media) by Oto Toda
• A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow (Viz Media) by Makoto Hagino - final volume, #9,out in July
• Welcome to St Hell (Scholastic) by Lewis Hancox
• Witchy (Lion Forge) by Ariel Slamet Ries [Australian creator]
• Young Men in Love : A Queer Romance Anthology (A Wave Blue World) edited by Joe Glass and Matt Miner
• You Brought Me the Ocean (DC) by Alex Sanchez, Julie Maroh
• Runaways (Marvel) by Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona / Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka
• The Wicked + the Divine (Image) by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie

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.

Adventures in Space and Time - ALIA Graphic celebrate Library & Information Week 2021

This week ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics celebrates Libary & Information Week!

To celebrate this year's theme of Adventures in Space and Time, the team have decided to share a few of their very favourite comics about space and time. There are of course hundreds, if not thousands and even millions of comics and graphic novels that delve into the adventures in space and time theme. 

I mean practically every superhero comic ever written has a main character from another world and lets face it, a browse through any collection would likely see almost every comic having some connection to this genre! 

We have some obvious ones, but our team also thought it might be a nice change to check out a few of the less mainstream titles that you wouldn't usually come accross. Please enjoy this eclectic selection of comics to take you on an adventure through space and time.

Here by Richard McGuire is a comic about a corner of a room and the events that have occurred in that space over the course of hundreds of thousands of years. For an in depth review check out this article by Wired - 5 reasons to read the time-traveling graphic novel Here.

Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image Comics) - This series is an epic space opera/fantasy that follows a mixed-race family from opposing sides of an interstellar war. This best selling series has 54 issues to date (which in Brian Vaughan's words is the half point of the story) and is currently on hiatus, so you have time to catch up.

Park Bench by Christopher Chabouté is a silent comic that details a simple park bench and the lives that it witnesses over time. Un peu de bois et d'acier (The Park Bench) was adapted into a silent black and white 45-minutes short film directed by Antonin Le Guay (Sandgate Productions) in 2014.

Black Hammer series by Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston (Dark Horse Comics) - This Eisner Award-winning super hero saga follows a group of super heroes who get trapped in space and time after saving Spiral City from the Anti-God.

Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities by Jason Shiga  - This children's original graphic novel is a new take on a “choose your own adventure.” A boy stumbles upon the lab of a mad scientist who asks him to choose between testing a mind-reading device, a time machine, and a doomsday machine.

Laika by Nick Abadzis - a young adult / children's graphic novel based on the true story of the Soviet space dog that was the first living creature to orbit the Earth on Russia's Sputnik II in 1957. Laika has been continuously in print since it was first published in 2007, when it received numerous international storytelling awards and has been translated into ten foreign language editions. It is widely considered to be a classic of the medium and continues to be a gateway book for those who have never experienced the joy of graphic novels and comics.

The Time Machine By H.G. Wells, Illustrated by Rajesh Nagulakonda Adapted by Lewis Helfand. Wells’ classic adventure gets the graphic novel treatment in this ultra-compelling and concise adaptation. Just one of at least 6 comic adaptations of the classic.

We hope you've enjoyed our picks. Stay tuned at the end of the month for our monthly roundup blog post and podcast of all latest news, resources and graphic novels.

Seeya!

International School Library Day and Children's Book Week

 

This week ALIA Graphic has been celebrating Children’s Book Week and International School Library Day.

International School Library Day is a campaign run by ALIA that focuses on promoting all the ways in which school libraries contribute to their communities. We have been promoting some fabulous books that would fit into any school library collection. Graphic novels and comic books within school libraries are a valuable resource and they are fast becoming the most borrowed collection.

 

While there is no specific category for Graphic Novels in the CBCA awards (yet), the ALIA Graphic group wanted to share with you some of our favourites and a selection of some of the books and series that are most popular with young readers in our libraries. 

 

Young readers

 

Australian titles

• Action Tank 1 and 2 by Mike Barry
• The Adventures of Anders by Gregory Mackay (Allen & Unwin)
• Bad Guys (Series) - Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)
• Landing with Wings by Trace Balla (Allen & Unwin)
• Mini Mel and Timid Tom - Ben Hutchings (Squishface Studio)
• Rivertime by Trace Balla (Allen & Unwin)
• Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery - Renee Treml (Allen & Unwin)
• Super Sidekicks: Trial of Heroes by Gavin Aung Than (Penguin)
• Word Smith Books 1 & 2 (Series) - Stephen Kok & P.R. Dedelis (TL Creative)

 

International

• Beetle and the hollow bones by Aliza Layne
• Catwad by Jim Benton (Scholastic)
• Chi’s Sweet Home by Kanata Konami
• Hocus Pocus by Manuro
• Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk
• The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner
• Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson
• The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill
• Time Museum by Matthew Loux
• Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag

 

Authors and series

• Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
• Babysitters Club series
• Everything by Ben Hatke
• Berrybrook Middle School series by Svetlana Chmakova
• Catstronauts by Drew Brockington
• The Click series by Kayla Miller
• Hilda series by Luke Pearson
• Percy Jackson comics
• Phoebe and her Unicorn series by Dana Simpson
• Everything by Raina Telgemeier
• Wings of Fire series

  

Older readers

 

Australian

• Arrival, The - Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)
• Evermore - Isobelle Carmody & Daniel Reed (Windy Hollow Books)
• Fence (Series) - C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joana La Fuente (Boom! Box)
• Home Time Books 1 and 2 (Series) - Campbell Whyte (Top Shelf Productions)
• Rose (Series) - Cameron Davis (Cameron Davis)
• Terralympus Books 1 and 2 (Series) - Stephen Kok, Von Randal, Shaun Keenan (TL Creative)
• Ubby’s Underdogs Books 1-3 (Series) - Brenton E. McKenna (Magabala Books)
• Witchy - Ariel Slamet Ries (Lion Forge)

International

• Bloodlust and Bonnets by Emily McGovern
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
• Mariko Tamaki in general
• Ms Marvel by G Willow Wilson and Saladin Ahmed
• The Old Guard by Greg Rucka
• Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang
• The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
• Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki
• The Umbrella academy by Gerard Way
• Watchmen by Alan Moore
• Witch Hat Atelier - Kamome Shirahama

So why not add a few of these excellent books to your collection today, and remember to encourage reading in all forms. Sometimes even the best of us struggle to get through a wordy classic. You might be surprised at how many have been adapted to graphic novels - check out this great list by Long Island Librarian Amanda Borgia.

Happy International School Library Day and we hope you had a wonderful and safe Children's Book Week!

Graphic Novels to dive into this National Science Week

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. Running each year in August, it features more than 1000 events around Australia, including those delivered by universities, schools, research institutions, libraries, museums, and science centres.

The theme for National Science Week 2020 is Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans.

The team at ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics have been busy this month putting together a selection of graphic novels and non-fiction titles that would make great reading this National Science Week.

There are comics inspired by science, others that have inspired scientific enquiry, and non-fiction graphic novels about science that make reading to learn so much more enjoyable! Here are a few of our favourites:

"There is evidence that reading can increase levels of all three major categories of intelligence. I believe my discovery of Spider-Man and other comic books turned me into a straight-A student." Science writer Dan Hurley, The Guardian, 2014. 

The Invisible War: A Tale on Two Scales - Ailsa Wild, Briony Barr, Gregory Crocetti, Ben Hutchins, Jeremy Barr (Scale Free Network)

Medicine: A Graphic History -Dr. Jean-Noël Fabiani and Philippe Bercovici (SelfMadeHero) 

Heroes of Science: Who Changed the World -Dave Shephard and Emily Sohn (Graphic Greats Series)

Graphic Science: Seven Journeys of Discovery - Darryl Cunningham (Myriad) 

Science Tales: Lies, Hoaxes and Scams - Darryl Cunningham (Myriad)

Heroes of Science: Who Changed the World - Dave Shephard and Emily Sohn (Graphic Greats Series)

Heretics!: The Wondrous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy - Steven Nadler, Ben Nadler (Princeton University Press)

Keeping our focus towards the oceans, the following comics all have a definite saltiness about them:

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 - Lauren Tarshis, Gervasio, Jok (Graphix)

Low. Volume 1, The delirium of hope - Rick Remender (Image Comics)

Dept. H: Vol. 1: Pressure - Matt Kindt (Dark Horse)

For younger readers, the Science Comics series by First Second offer a complete introduction to a wide range of science topics in a beautifully illustrated graphic format. Currently I am reading Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks and in one night I have learned so much about corals and other cnidarians (that’s right! I learned a huge word from this adorable comic). I have also had a good giggle while reading. The excellent imagery and sassy narrating character make absorbing the knowledge contained in this graphic so easy and enjoyable. 

Fish Feud! (Squidding Around) - Kevin Sherry (Graphix)

Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean - Maris Wicks (First Second)

Sharks: Nature's Perfect Hunter - Joe Flood (First Second)

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #1) - Ben Clanton (Tundra Books) and WINNER - Eisner Award 2017, Best Publication for Early Readers.  

The deep. 1, Here be Dragons - Tom Taylor (Gestalt)

Still aren't sure that graphic novels and Science Week go together? Believe it or not, numerous inventions and scientific investigations throughout the years have been inspired by comic books. Think about exoskeletons based on Iron Man's suit; 2-way wrist radios (smartwatches) based on Dick Tracy; grappling hooks - thanks Batman; and spider silk, well, we can't swing from the rooftops with it, but scientists are investigating how it can be used as a biodegradable glue alternative. 

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk" Thomas A. Edison.