What Are Comics and Graphic Novels?
Comics
There are two ways to refer to comics. As an art, comics are sequential images and other symbols deliberately juxtaposed to portray meaning and evoke an aesthetic response, to paraphrase Scott McCloud. Then there are the many forms comics take. These forms or formats differ from each other on levels of material, distribution methods, and content.
Comic books refer to the serialized, print periodicals, episodically portraying the narrative of a character or group. Initially, their content only consisted of popular comic strip reprints, nothing original. However, following the commercial success of Superman narratives in Action Comics #1 in the late 1930s, comic books began to contain original material.
Graphic Novels
Graphic novels offer self-contained narratives, usually, released and distributed all at once in single volumes. While no one disagrees that graphic novels are lengthier in content when compared to comic books, some scholars and fans suggest graphic novels typically portray more mature themes than comic books. Thus "graphic novel " has taken on a cultural or artistic status-signifier.
Manga
In Japanese, Manga (漫画) refers to all cartoons and comics. However, in English speaking markets, Manga primarily refers to comics from and initially made for Japanese culture. They are as much a format as they are a genre of comics. They are typically lengthier than American comic books, but enjoy a serialized publication. Manga is read in East-Asian style: right to left, beginning at "the back" of the book.
Comic Strips
Garfield, Peanuts, and Calvin & Hobbes: These are your classic single or double-strips of comic panels commonly associated with American Newspapers. They are typically very brief, and, to some, very funny!
Webcomics
Not to be confused with digitized comics, these are comics created, distributed, and archived on websites or social media platforms. They are typically shorter in length compared print comics. Some creators take advantage of the digital platform to make their comics more interactive.
(Source: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/c.php?g=1037230&p=7519919)
Collection Highlights
Copley Library's comic and graphic novel collection covers a wide range of themes, including fiction and non-fiction topics related to fantasy, memoir, politics, gender and sexuality, psychology, health, religion, and history and criticism. Examples of more specific topics include Afrofuturism and Graphic Medicine.
Blue in Green by Call Number: PN6790.I43 V23 2021ISBN: 9781534317130Publication Date: 2020-11-03The dark and haunting portrayal of a young musician's pursuit of creative genius-- the monstrous nature of which threatens to consume him as it did his predecessor half a century ago. Fromcreators Ram V (Grafity's Wall, These Savage Shores) and Anand RK(Grafity's Wall), BLUE IN GREEN is an exploration of ambitions, expectations, and the horrific depths of their spiraling pursuit.
Redbone: la Verdadera Historia de una Banda de Rock Indígena Estadounidense (Redbone: the True Story of a Native American Rock Band Spanish Edition) by Call Number: ML421.R45 S7313 2020ISBN: 9781684058181Publication Date: 2020-10-27Experimenta la fascinante y poderosa historia del movimiento de derechos civiles de los nativos americanos y su lucha por la identidad contada a través de la carrera de los pioneros del rock and roll de la costa oeste de Redbone. Ya has escuchado la exitosa canción "Come and Get Your Love" en la película Guardianes de la Galaxia, pero la historia de la banda detrás de la canción es de gran importancia cultural, política y social. Los hermanos Pat y Lolly Vegas fueron talentosos músicos de rock nativos americanos que tomaron por sorpresa el Sunset Strip de la década de 1960. Influyeron a The Doors y se toparon con Jimmy Hendrix antes de que fuera "Jimi", y la idea de una banda compuesta de miembros nativos americanos pronto se hizo realidad.
March (Trilogy Slipcase Set) by Call Number: E840.8.L43 A3 2016ISBN: 9781603093958Publication Date: 2016-09-06March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.
Kusama by Call Number: N6537.K878 M33455 2020ISBN: 9781786277169Publication Date: 2020-09-15In 1960s America, Kusama is a symbol of free love and peace. She fights a constant battle with her mental health, but finds salvation in art. From her childhood in rural Japan through her radical happenings in New York to her groundbreaking international installations, this vivid graphic novel documents the incredible journey of a remarkable icon.
The Complete Persepolis by Call Number: PN6747.S245 S38 2007ISBN: 9780375714832Publication Date: 2007-10-30Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir "of growing up as a girl in revolutionary Iran.... That Satrapi chose to tell her remarkable story as a gorgeous comic book makes it totally unique and indispensable" (Time). Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom--Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
My Father Bleeds History by Call Number: D810.J4 S643 1986ISBN: 9780808598534Publication Date: 1986-08-12The author-illustrator traces his father's imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp through a series of disarming and unusual cartoons arranged to tell the story as a novel.
Black Panther Vol. 1 by Call Number: PN6728.B523 C63 2017ISBN: 9781302904159Publication Date: 2017-08-15A new era for the Black Panther begins as the kingdom of Wakanda enters its final days! Award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates confronts T'Challa with dramatic upheaval in his homeland that will make leading the African nation tougher than ever before. When a superhuman terrorist group that calls itself The People sparks a violent uprising, the land famed for incredible technology and proud warrior traditions will be thrown into turmoil. As Zenzi, leader of The People, poisons the populace against their king, the former queen Shuri's spirit makes an uncanny journey through the Djalia, and a new Crew is formed! If Wakanda is to survive, it must adapt - but can its monarch, one of a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl!
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