Tag Archives: Comics

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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So what are Publishers Pushing? Or: A Public Library Association Conference Adventure.

My alternative title might make this post sound more grandiose than it is, but if you’ve already fallen for the clickbait, you may as well read the rest of the post, right? I’m a nerd, I make no attempt to hide or apologize for this fact. And it should be evident that one of my flavours of nerddom is library nerd. So imagine my elation when my application for Vaughan Public Library to send me to the Public Library Association Conference was approved. VPL coordinated with libraries across southern Ontario to send a busload of librarians across the border and down to Columbus, Ohio, for three days of library programming and learning. It was a blast, and I’ve come back with ideas I can use for my programs and things that I need to talk to people higher up to implement. Sorry, there are no spoilers about any of that, but since VPL is constantly innovating, you shouldn’t be at all surprised when new things happen; just astonished by what they are.

The cover of Llama Destroys the World by Jonathan Stutzman, Illustrated by Heather Fox. Read this book. I don't care if it's a picture book. Read it! It's amazing and hilarious and laughter is good for you.

So, why am I even mentioning this if I won’t divulge what I learned? Because alongside the informative lessons was a giant vendor hall packed with all kinds of neat stuff. Including therapy dogs! I very much want some of it for my own branch, but precisely what I’m hoping for is another thing I’m keeping hush-hush1. Aside from the doggos and cool STEAM stuff, though, there were a whole lot of publishers there giving out books. Sometimes advance copies, sometimes signed copies, sometimes just regular copies, but the point is: I brought back a whole bunch of books. Piles of books. More books than any librarian should ever collect2. But it’s soooooo hard to say no to a free book! And, to be fair, I mostly tried to be a good uncle and took books for my..? I had to look this one up: Niblings. So, I don’t have to worry about storing them, and get to thrust that issue on my siblings while still being the cool uncle.

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