comics

  • Wordless Comics

    In the influential graphic novel Understanding Comics, creator Scott McCloud defines comics as: “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in a deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.” Notice that this definition does not include any specific mention of comics requiring words in order to be considered comics. Words,… Continue reading

  • Avengers Spoiler Alert: Andy Serkis is playing WHO?

    Ms. Marvel, White Wolf, Mantis, Drax, Falcon, Peter Dinklage as Pip the Troll!… Just when you thought the burgeoning cast of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn’t get any more crowded, Hollywood Insider has gained access to leaked scripts for an as-yet-untitled Avengers movie due out in April 2020 that reveal a veritable avalanche of… Continue reading

  • Comics Anthologies

    Sequential art is a very flexible storytelling medium. Styles range from serialized or one-shot stories, published as individual comics issues and larger graphic novels, to very short comic strips and political cartoons. A favorite comics type of mine is the thematic comics anthology. Anthologies tend to highlight stories from up-and-coming creators, creators from under-represented groups… Continue reading

  • Own Voices Comics

    #ownvoices is a social media hashtag, first suggested on Twitter by Corinne Duyvis in September 2015 as a tool “to recommend kidlit about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group”. It is related to, and overlaps with, the “We Need Diverse Books” movement/non-profit organization. As a tool and a movement, #ownvoices can… Continue reading

  • Kickstarter Comics at the Library

    Kickstarter Comics at the Library

    Generally comic book collections or original graphic novels are purchased by the Library from a book distributor. The titles offered by these companies typically include materials from major publishing companies. But many wonderful titles are produced by smaller presses or individuals, and funded through crowdsourcing sites such as Kickstarter. Many of these titles, after their… Continue reading

  • Worldbuilding in Comics

    Worldbuilding in Comics

    Emerald City Comicon is coming up March 1 – 4, and also coming to The Seattle Public Library for a day aimed at educators and librarians! To celebrate, let’s take a look at the idea of worldbuilding in comics and graphic novels. Worldbuilding is the process by which the writer and the artist (in the case… Continue reading

  • A Tale of Two Comix Celebrations: ICAF and Short Run Comix

    During the first weekend in November, Seattle will be hosting both the International Comic Arts Forum Conference, and the Short Run Comix & Arts Festival, both free to attend! Continue reading

  • Comics are a Medium, Not a Genre

    I hear it on occasion at the library, parents telling their children, comics in hand, “you need to choose a real book,” or, “I don’t want you only getting superhero stories.”  After the infamous campaign against reading comics in the middle of the 1950s by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham and the resulting self-censorship by the Comics… Continue reading

  • Comedy in Comics Spotlight: Chip Zdarsky

    Rose City Comic Con is coming up, the weekend of September 8-10, in Portland, OR. Comic book artist and writer Chip Zdarsky will attend as a guest. As he rarely travels south from the wilderlands of Canada (urban Toronto), this is a unique opportunity for fans to meet him in person. Chip Zdarsky is the pseudonym… Continue reading

  • Hoopla for Comics

    Hoopla is an online streaming service available to Seattle Public Library patrons, offering 20 checkouts of movies, TV shows, music, and comics each calendar month, accessible on both web browsers and mobile devices. On mobile devices, the app, which is available for free through the Apple App store, Google Play, and Amazon, allows users to… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Maximize your Blackout strategy with comic books

    Comic books are one of your greatest strategic resources in scoring a blackout on your Summer Book Bingo card. Don’t feel like you should limit comics to the Graphic novel square. There’s a comic for any square, many of which are quick reads (helpful for that Finish in a day square). Here are comic book… Continue reading

  • Immigration and the Refugee Experience Presented in Comics for Kids and Young Adults

    Comics can be an effective gateway toward empathy and understanding. Both fiction and non-fiction comics can help the reader visualize and develop context for a wide variety of human experience. Here are a few comics which may help younger readers learn about the lives and experiences of refugees and immigrants. Continue reading

  • Notable Comics of 2016

    There were a lot of great comics published in 2016. Here are a few of my favorites from this year: March: Book Three by John Lewis The National Book Award winning conclusion to Congressman John Lewis’ comics memoir (created with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell) is a visceral, unsentimental portrayal of the civil rights movement… Continue reading

  • Quick Reads That Make My Queer Heart Skip A Beat

    Introducing Teddy by Jess Walton. I don’t even know where to begin with this sweet and tender children’s book without spoiling it. Jess Walton knocks it out of the park with this one: it’s a children’s book that has a transgender character that isn’t rejected and who doesn’t perpetuate the stereotype that transgender people are… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: Graphic Novels

        – posted by Sven This summer The Seattle Public Library in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures is excited to offer a summer reading program for adults called Beach Blanket Book Bingo! In order to help you along on your quest to complete your bingo sheet, we’ve pulled together some reading suggestions based on each… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Checklist Challenge: Graphic Novels

    ~Posted by Daniel S. Science fiction and graphic novels go together like a cape and a mask. You may not have considered it before, but the superhero genre really is just another version of sci-fi. Think about all the sci-fi concepts that pop up in your favorite comics: Radiation turns an ordinary man into a… Continue reading

  • Read some comics: Avengers

    The release of the Avengers: Age of Ultron in theaters this Friday signals a great opportunity to peruse some of the library’s comics collections starring the World’s Mightiest Heroes. The recently-published Age of Ultron, Brian Michael Bendis’s capstone to a six-plus-year stint writing the series, imagines the team in an alternate universe overlorded by the archvillain… Continue reading

  • Comics: Focus on Matt Kindt

    By Sven For those on the lookout for unique voices in comics, if writer/illustrator Matt Kindt has not blipped on your radar, it’s time to fine-tune your scanners. Specializing in complex, reality-shattering narratives, and a fluid illustration style soaked in watercolors, Kindt’s decade-plus long career in the industry has resulted in some of the most… Continue reading