At the Library: Comics are for kids – aren’t they?

“Do you have any more graphic novels? The collection upstairs isn’t that great.”

Most would deem it a simple, off-hand remark considering all the other volumes the University of Idaho Library offers. In fall 2022, the above question was posed to one of our reference librarians and fortunately, the library dean heard it as well, leading to a revamp of our small graphic novel collection.

As an avid reader of graphic novels, comics, manga and webtoons, I took the collection development of this section to heart. Well-read in comics though I may be, while undertaking this project I reminded myself that my preferred genres and styles might not be what’s best for our Vandal readers. I decided to curate new orders based on trending series to include a broad range of diverse characters and creators. I collaborated with several UI Library staff members on what would fit our readers best.

In addition to the main UI Library, there are two other subset collections with graphic novels. The Gary Strong Curriculum Center, on the third floor of the Education Building, has a small but well-curated shelf of young adult graphic novels that have been used in education classrooms. A title from the Curriculum Center I recently read was, “When the Stars are Scattered,” a graphic memoir depicting the life of a young Somali boy and his brother in a Kenyan refugee camp. The manager of the Curriculum Center, Suzie Davis, said the graphic novel with the highest circulation is “Coraline” by Neil Gaiman, followed by “Sisters” by Raina Telegemeir, “Little Mouse Gets Ready” by Jeff Smith, and “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang.

The second UI campus location contains a variety of manga and is passed by dozens of Vandals on a daily basis during the academic school year. Room 204 of the Administration Building houses the Asian Studies Collection of books, manga and anime. Manga is the term for a particular style of drawn comics, originating from Japan. The collection was highlighted last year during the Remembering Hiroshima series on campus. Several manga were added to the collection, including the entire box set of “Akira,” a story made famous in the United States with the release of the accompanying anime film in 1990.

Compared to these two subsections of graphic novels, the collection at the main UI Library is a hodge-podge of titles, encompassing classics like “Calvin & Hobbes” and “Superman” to acclaimed titles like Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” and Will Eisner’s “A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories.” Eisner’s book, originally released in 1978, has been claimed to be the first graphic novel published in the United States. To spruce up the main UI Library collection, I began reading dozens of manga, comics and graphic novels.

While reading and searching for titles, I discovered that several webcomics were being printed as physical copies. Webcomics can be accessed through various apps on either a handheld or desktop device. The apps are online platforms dedicated to scrolling panels of comics which portray a variety of art styles with creators from all over the world. With instantaneous access to the internet, apps created solely to house webcomics are in the back pocket of millions of readers, however only the most popular titles make it to physical form. The three series I have recommended for the UI collection are “Solo Levelling,” “Villains are Destined to Die” and “The Remarried Empress.”

You may be asking yourself, “Aren’t students supposed to be studying? Why are comics being added to an academic library?” Sure — comics are entertaining, but they can also introduce new understandings to concepts that may be too abstract to grasp with text alone. In addition to finding graphic novels that resonate with our readers, either through the art, story or characters, graphic novels are a good way to promote diversity and inclusion into our collection. In the past four years, more stories from people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds and the LGBTQ community are being created, celebrated, and advocated for in the United States.

In the 2023 spring term, the UI Library obtained the graphic novel, “Queenie: Godmother of Harlem,” about legendary mobster Stephanie Saint-Clair depicted in 1930s Harlem. Not only is the art and historical storytelling phenomenal, but “Queenie” also is one of the books highlighted by Abrams’ publishing house subcollection, “Megascope.”

Here are a few new titles I’m excited to share with the University of Idaho community:

“Never After” — located in a parallel universe, this nontraditional love story is told in reverse chronological order.

“In” — a graphic memoir of loss and human connection.

“Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women” – a short piece detailing daily life from real autistic women.

“The Many Deaths of Laila Starr” — a peek inside belief and values, this surreal story has the Hindu god of death banished to earth, reconciling the fact that human immortality has put them out of the job.

“Night Eaters: She Eats the Night” — from the creators of “Monstress,” Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, this will be a new classic in the field of horror graphic novels.

“Paradise Kiss” — a blast from the past, the 20th anniversary edition of a classic manga shows a group of friends transitioning from college students pursuing their passions to getting ready for “adult” life after school.

Hope you’ll stop by this fall term to check out our new additions.

Omodt is a first-year experience librarian at the UI Library.