Tag Archives: Comics

Heroes from Our Shelves

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? The ability to fly? To be a webslinger with Spidey senses? Or maybe someone who’s really good at bowling, an ability that could unexpectedly dish out some justice, as you’ll see if you keep reading this post! Personally, I wish I could read books faster, so that I don’t have to be a sloth juggling half a dozen books at once. But that’d only count as a superpower if you consider readers or library workers to be superheroes!

Photo of a stack of comic books beside a black coffee mug. Photo by Rahul Mishra via Unsplash.
Photo by Rahul Mishra on Unsplash

Relatable superheroes who specialize in serving justice in fiction books, graphic novels, and TV shows are always fun to root for. When it’s backed by a gripping good versus evil narrative, what’s better than flipping through the pages of a comic book to see flashy fights with onomatopoeias or watching the high-octane and colourful action scenes on the big screen?

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Secret Santa 2: 2 Secret 2 Santa

Cover-image-for-Such-Sharp-Teeth-by-Rachel-Harrison

Continuing our new holiday tradition, next up we have my recommendations for fellow blog team member Maya. After conducting extensive research, including scouring Maya’s previously published posts, I’ve come up with some bespoke picks for her enjoyment. For those among you who may enjoy horror with a supernatural/paranormal tinge, graphic novels, Kate Beaton, and the like, these choices just might do double for you. I hope there’s something here that you haven’t already heard of and that interests you, Maya! Since Maya is an undisputed horror fan (with several blog posts in evidence), I had to include a horror novel in my gift of recommendations. This one was on Book Riot’s 2024 Summer Scares List, which is an annual tradition the website has in collaboration with the Horror Writers Association in the US and several other book and/or library-related organizations. What better way to play to Maya’s steadfast and unceasing love of summer and hatred of winter then to pull from this list. It aims to boost the popularity of the horror genre for readers at any age and for all seasons. Too often the spoopy and gothic are linked to Halloween, the colder months, and autumnal vibes. Check out the list linked above if you’re interested! There’s books for adults, young adults, and middle grade. Such Sharp Teeth is about Rory Morris. After a move back to the place she was born and an encounter with a man from her past, she gets in an accident with a wild animal, or so she thinks. Paranormal transformation ensues, along with romance.

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What’s In A Comic?

Collaged-image-of-Marvel-comic-covers-throughout-the-years

What’s in a comic book or a graphic novel? What is it about the illustrations and the stories inside their covers (or their covers!) that keep bringing readers back for more? Well, that’s a loaded question, isn’t it? But I am nothing if not overly ambitious and I just so happen to be a giant nerd (and self-proclaimed graphic novels aficionado), so to break in my first shiny new blog post I thought we could get into it a little. Plus, it’s a big month for the comics industry, at least in North America. It was Free Comic Book Day on May 4th and, on the Canadian side of things, several comics arts festivals will be running in major cities across the country including Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, which I’ve visited a few times myself. It’s always such a fun surprise to see what indie artists have been cooking up and you never know who you might run into (Ryan North in 2010 was a big highlight for me).   

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Maybe we should start at the beginning. After all, what’s in a comic, a graphic novel? What is a comic, really? After a Google deep dive (and a scouring of several encyclopedia listings, all hail Brittanica), here’s what I’ve got for you.

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