What do Batman, Ms. Marvel, Constantine, andHellboy have in common? We’ve recently rescued them from obscurity in the Dewey 741s and have given them a shiny new home in a fresh collection, aptly named Graphic Novels.
*Cue happy dance!*
Not only do these lovely books now have simplified labels and bright purple stickers, but we’ve also worked hard to put series together. We’re still working to get all the outliers together, but we’re getting somewhere and I truly believe this is a collection we can all be proud of. We finally have a graphic novel collection for adults and older teens that compliments the collections we already have for children and young adults. I’m not sure I can aptly describe how happy this makes me, so instead I’ll just do another happy dance.
It just so happened that we debuted this shiny new collection the week before Emerald City Comicon at the end of March. It was my first time attending ECCC and I was completely overwhelmed with the number of artists, authors, celebrities, and vendors that were announced. There was no way I could go to everything, but I did download their convention app and created a schedule of best bets. In the end I got to meet some awesome people in the world of comics, got a sneak peek at what’s coming down the line from publishers, bought some awesome swag on the showroom floor, and got insight behind-the-scenes from various comic panel interviews. I even got to tell Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover ,the creators of Bandette, about our new graphic novel collection, an idea which they loved!
Oh, and I met some Ewoks. I’m nerd enough to say that I probably fangirled over the Ewoks just as much if not more than the real live people I got to meet.
The debut of this collection also capped off the year I first started reading comic books and graphic novels. As you may be able to tell from some of my previous posts, I’m a full-on nerd and totally own it. But I admit that I hadn’t really given graphic novels or comics a real fighting chance. All that changed when I read Bandette and I’ve been on the lookout for strong female characters in comics ever since. Here are some awesome ladies I’d like to introduce you to:
Lumberjanes
Friendship to the max! Lumberjanes is the very first comic book I ever bought. The camping theme caught my eye in the aisle of Everett Comics and I bought it on sight. After reading it at home I was hooked! The story centers around a group of girls at summer camp who become fast friends over campfires and crafting. However, they soon discover that lurking in the woods is a whole other world of adventure, mythical creatures, and plot twists! This series is aimed at grades 5 &up, but don’t let that stop you from picking up the trade paperback (out later this month!) and getting caught up in the adventures of Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley.
Ms. Marvel
Kamala Khan is just your average girl from Jersey City dealing with typical teenage problems: hormones, strict parents, school stresses, and the like. Trapped one day in a dangerous situation, she wishes she could be like Captain Marvel and have her superpowers to get out of trouble. Through a twist of fate Kamala suddenly gains those superpowers and becomes Ms. Marvel! Join her as she discovers how to control her superpowers and learns just what it means to be a superhero—no matter your religion or skin color.
Captain Marvel
And speaking of Captain Marvel, she has her own comic books, written by superstar comic writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. I’m still making my way through Carol Danvers’s back-story so I can dive into her current adventures. She’s strong, witty, and compassionate, definitely my kind of superhero. The fact that her name is also Carol is just an added bonus. In the process of writing this post I happened to run into the graphic novel buyer in the hallway. I mentioned we didn’t have any of Kelly Sue’s Captain Marvel books yet and do you know what he did? He immediately purchased them for the library! They’ll soon be on the shelves, but if you can’t wait you can place your holds here.
Now it’s your turn. What comic books do you read? Graphic novels? Heroes and heroines who stand out? If you can’t think of any answers for my questions, I urge you to get to either branch of EPL and surf the purple stickers today.
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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