Parsons Public Library

Graphic Novels

We have a small collection of graphic novels in the adult collection at the library. Graphic novels are kind of like comic books, but with a little something more added. They are illustrated and in some ways look like a comic book, but they are much longer, often not funny in the "ha, ha" sort of way and cover a wide range of issues. One of the earliest graphic novels that I remember seeing was Maus by Art Spiegelman which is part of our young adult collection. I had never read a graphic novel until during my Christmas vacation when I received Persepolis I and II by Marjane Satrapi as a gift. Both books were fascinating and hard to put down. We have both of these books at the library plus Satrapi's latest book Embroideries. In Persepolis I Satrapi writes about growing up in Iran during the 1979 revolution. I found it much more accessible and easy to read than Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi which I almost finished reading last February. For more background on Marjane Satrapi start here:

Powells.com Interviews - Marjane Satrapi

Another Interview

This year we will be making an effort to add more graphic novels in our young adult area and continue to add to the adult collection too. In the young adult area our most popular graphic novels are called manga. We currently have Yu-gi-oh! and YuYu Hakusho plus a few others. We would love to hear from teens about which titles the library should be purchasing.

posted by Anonymous @ 8:25 AM