Presented by Emily R. Brown at the 1/21/12 professional development day for Providence Public School librarians at Central High School, Providence, RI.

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Graphic Novel Collection
Development

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What are graphic novels?
 Long comics
 Gained popularity after Will Eisner put the term on A Contract
with God
 Scott McCloud defines “sequential art” in Understanding
Comics
 Books with panels

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Superhero Comics
 Mostly published by DC (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman)
and Marvel (Spider-man, X-men).
 Publishers own the characters.
 Stories about different characters take place in the same
“universe.”
 First published as “floppies” and then collected into trade
paperbacks (tpb).

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Superhero “Events”
 Secret Invasion/Civil War/Death of Capt. America/The Seige
 New Heroic Age
 Ultimate Spider-Man’s new identity
 New 52
 Upcoming Films: Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, Batman Dark
Knight

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Superhero Strategies
 Avoid continuity issues: Invincible
 Collect Origin Stories: Marvels, Mythos, Ralph Cosentino and
Marvel picture books
 Identify standalone titles like All-Star Superman, the color
series, Batman Hush, Spider-Man Noir
 Focus on important artists: The World’s Greatest Superheroes
 Look for Teen characters: Spider-man loves Mary Jane, Teen
Titans, Superman: Earth One

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Manga/Manhwa
 Reads right to left and usually black and white.
 Targets different age groups (shojo, shonen, josei, seinen, etc.).
 Series have a beginning and an end, unlike superhero comics
that are usually open-ended.
 Characters are more stylized or cartoonish, and often distort to
show emotion.

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Recommended Manga/Manhwa
 Shonen Jump Magazine
 Naruto
 DragonBall Z
 Full Metal Alchemist
 Death Note
 Sailor Moon

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Manga Publishers
 Tokyo Pop
 VIZ Media
 Yen Press (Hachette Group)
 Kodansha (Del Ray/Random House

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Graphic Novels and Nonfiction
 Aren’t necessarily serialized
 Often the work of only one or two people

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Publishers I Like
 TOON books
 Blue Apple (Balloon Toons)
 Stone Arch (Capstone)
 Top Shelf
 Boom! Studios
 First Second (:01)

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What else is out there?
 Picture books with panels
 Hybrid novels
 Light novels
 Web Comics
 Comic strips in newspapers

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Setting Goals
 What are your reasons for collecting graphic novels?
 How do graphic novels fit into your larger collection
development goals?

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Goal Ideas
 Accessible versions of the classics, fairytales, and myths
 Graphic biographies
 American history and other social studies curriculum tie-ins
 Beginning readers (follow them up the grades)
 Teaching genre
 Reluctant readers
 Expand art section

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Popular Titles
 Smile by RainaTelgemier
 Babymouseby Jennifer Holm
 Yummy by G. Neri
 Amuletby KazuKibuishi

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Selection Criteria
 Artistic merit
 Durability of the format vs. cost of replacement
 Availability of other volumes/replacements
 Alternative review sources

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Selection Tools
 YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens
 Texas Maverick List
 Diamond Book Shelf
 ICv2
 Wizard
 No Flying No Tights
 Good Comics for Kids on SLJ website
 JLG
 GNLIB

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Core Title Lists
 Diamond Book Shelf
 Good Comics for Kids
 Graphic Novel Reporter

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Cataloging Questions
 Separate section?
 What about nonfiction?
 By author, title, series title, publisher, or character?
 What about comic-like books in picture book format?

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Tools for teaching about graphic novels
 Adventures in Cartooning
 Lila and Ecco
 Understanding Comics
 ReadWriteThinkcomics creator
 Drawing Words Writing Pictures
 Graphic Classroom