We’re on a rave…a Graphic Rave!

Do you like comics? Superheroes? Manga? Graphic novels? So do we!

And, at OYAN, we’re thankful for artists and authors who create these beautiful, intense, humorous, heart-wrenching, action-packed, poetic, and otherwise awesome reads for us to enjoy. If you’re thankful, too, then print a copy of the brochure below to share with friends and teens who will, well… thank you for it!

Check out the OYAN picks for this year’s all-new Graphic Rave in an all-new PDF format – yay!

Happy Thanksgiving – and, as always, happy reading – from OYAN!

2012 OYAN Graphic Rave Brochure

Graphics Rave nomination list is set

The Graphics Rave nominees are set.  Please read what you can of the titles linked to below on our good reads page and be prepared to start voting on your favorites from June 15 to July 15.  There are some great titles on the list and a lot of variety, so we should be able to come up with an interesting, useful list this summer.  Enjoy your reading!

Graphics Rave Nominees

Getting Graphic with Ruth Allen

Previously published on Multnomah County Library’s Embarrassment of Riches blog at http://blogs.multcolib.org/readers/

I must confess that I loathe manga. I think the characters’ huge eyes are disturbing, and I find most of the plots mystifying at best and insipid at worst. Even though I’ve had a number of people explain the appeal, I still don’t find them appealing. I’m sure the problem is with me since millions of other people seem to enjoy manga. I do, however, occasionally enjoy a good graphic novel and I’ve read three this past week that hit the spot.

I was recently in Amsterdam, and when I got back, I read A Family Secret, a graphic novel that is set in that city during World War II. The story is about two girls – one Dutch and the other a Jewish German who left Germany with her family to escape the Nazis. The Dutch family members represent a variety of Dutch people’s positions during the war: one brother joins the Resistance; another joins the army and fights in Russia with the Germans; the father is a policeman who finds no other choice than to keep doing his job even when the Nazis require him to do things his family would rather he didn’t; and the girl and mother are sickened by what’s happening in their city. The story was compelling and the twist at the end was satisfying. I’m looking forward to reading the companion book, The Search.

Oregon is the home of the most recent women’s Olympic gold medalist in fencing (2008), and so I decided to read a bit more about the sport when I saw Foiled by Jane Yolen on the shelf. Aliera is a loner at school who is awesome at fencing. She basically goes from high school to fencing lessons to home, and then does it all over the next day. She doesn’t need anyone, and the other students certainly don’t seem to need her. But then the new school year starts and a gorgeous new boy ends up being her lab partner. What to do?Her fencing instructor has always said she needs to protect her heart, but that’s now proving to be difficult. I thought this was going to be a straightforward romance, but it turned out to be something a little different.

Another sort of different story is Prime Baby by Gene Luen Yang. Many of us who have siblings have wondered at one time or another if our brothers and sisters might have come from outer space. When Thaddeus’s young sister begins making noises, all of which come out in prime numbers (eg. “ga ga ga” and “ga ga ga ga ga”), he thinks his sister might be an alien. Everybody thinks he’s crazy, but then something happens that surprises everyone BUT Thaddeus. I liked the sassy, snarky kid – he’s got brains, imagination and, in the end, heart.

Genreflexes: Super Heroes, sorta

Superheroes for People Who Don’t Like Superheroes: A Brief List! by Ian Duncanson:

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

In Dark Knight, Batman is just as mentally anguished with his role of vigilante as the burdened superheroes of Alan Moore’s Watchmen comic series. Gotham is rotting and crime-ridden, not the sanitized comic book metropolis that is lucky to only suffer from the occasional super villain problem. Look no further than this for the basis of Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in the last Batman film. 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

I neglected to include Watchmen on this short list because the movie was too hyped and recent, but here’s a less famous, still awesome graphic novel by Moore that was also made into a disappointing movie. If you’ve ever wanted to see classic characters from famous Victorian novels team up to save a steampunk version of England, this is the superhero comic for you! Think of League as the most over-the-top “superhero” graphic novel in Moore’s canon. It’s non-traditional, but nowhere near as serious or brooding as V for Vendetta or Watchmen. I would stick with older teens when recommending this one! Steer clear of the movie at all costs.

20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa

I absolutely had to include a manga on this little list, and there was never any question which one would make it here! Although it has been available in Japan for nearly a decade, 20th Century Boys finally began making its way to the United States last year, and Western Otaku breathed a sigh of relief! When Kenji and his friends begin an investigation into the bizarre suicide of their childhood friend Donkey, they don’t know that they’re involving themselves in a battle that will decide the fate of humanity. What connection does a symbol from their youth have to the fate of the world? This series should appeal to even non-manga fans through its mature artwork and engaging mystery. Kenji & co. aren’t superheroes, per se, though they will be forced to save the world. Recommend this series to older teens!

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware

Jimmy isn’t a superhero…but he often daydreams that he is. Saddled with a boring office job, non-existent family relations, and no hope for a love life, Jimmy spends much of his days in a fantasy world where he dons a costume that mysteriously resembles that of Superman and becomes “the smartest kid on Earth!” As the story progresses, we learn that a history of familial abandonment throughout the Corrigan family tree is once again threatening to consume the current generation. Chris Ware’s cartoon art is architecturally detailed without being overwhelming, and he is amazingly gifted at using distance to portray alienation and finding hope and pathos in bleak ordinariness..