March 2024 Roundup

It is a very exciting month to be a graphic novel and film fan! We have a bumper edition of monthly roundup news in the space of film adaptations for graphic novels, as well as lots of library and collections information for you. 

Riding on the coattails of the Netflix series adaptation of ONE PIECE, Naruto is next to take on the big screen with a live action series approved by author Masashi Kishimoto. This is big news for fans of the long-running series and may have repercussions for your manga shelves. Speaking of manga, the School Library Journal has published an excellent article on the intricacies of manga for different age groups if you’ve ever found it difficult to recommend manga for children between the years of 8-12. In a similar vein, you might find a new guide on weeding superhero comics by No Flying No Tights and a list of the best graphic novel adaptations of classic literature helpful as we move closer to the end of the financial year.

In case you missed it, we published our Notable Australian Graphic Novels of 2023 long list earlier this month. You can check the long list here and watch out for the shortlist, which will be published soon. As always, we are also wrapping up this month in comics and graphic novels with our March Roundup Podcast, which you can find here.

Finally, right at the bottom of this roundup we have information about four libraries planning comics and pop culture events at the library that we’ve heard about. It’s so good to see libraries organising big community events like this and we’d love to hear from any other library planning an event like this.

News

• Columbus, Ohio has a place that all librarians who love comics would like to visit. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum is a very special place as it holds the largest collection of cartoons and comics in the world. If you’d like to visit but can’t, you must read Nora Hickey’s excellent article discussing her visit and Billy Ireland’s history. 
• Brigid Alverson has published a very interesting article on Publishers Weekly exploring comics retail, the issues the direct market (comics stores) are facing and the changes afoot. The debate on the future of the direct market continues. You can find the article here.
• In an exciting pivot for Giancarlo Esposito of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad fame, the actor has announced a debut graphic novel is in the works. Co-created by screenwriter Matt Wheeler and storyboard artist Jay Martin, The Venetian will be released by Gallery 13 via Simon & Schuster. Read more via Deadline Hollywood and keep an eye out for a release date.
• To celebrate a new graphic novel from one of the Greats, read an interview with Marjane Satrapi in The Guardian where she speaks about moving on from seminal work Persepolis and looking to the future with her new work Woman, Life, Freedom.
• Adaptations roundup: Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys is being adapted to TV and a comics mini series published by Dark Horse as The Beat reports here. If you were considering whether it’s time to weed Naruto volumes or stock up, the announcement of a live action film may make your decision easier. Naruto is an incredibly popular series and we bet this announcement will increase its popularity again. Stock up, definitely. And, finally, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal series is being adapted to TV series by Prime and sales of the beloved comics have seen a surge. Expect new reprints in time for the TV series. 
• Following on from Pablo Berger’s film adaptation of Sara Varon’s whimsical graphic novel Robot Dreams, read an interview with the filmmaker on the power of the graphic novel and how the ending of Robot Dreams moved him to tears. Check it out via the British Film Institute.

Collections

• The team at No Flying No Tights have published a nice article discussing the issue of weeding superhero comics. A lot of things have to be considered when weeding any collection and when weeding a superhero collection, it gets even more complicated. See what their suggestions are here.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender is considered by many of the best animated series ever. Now that the live action TV series has come out and there are animated films in development with the original creators of the series in charge, it may be a good time to ensure your library has all the comics, which continue the story after the animated series and act as a bridge to The Legend of Korra series. You can find a handy article from Popverse here.
• Comics retailers and publishers have united to create standard guidelines for metadata for comics. About a year in the making the Comet Standard was announced recently so all publishers ensure that all information about a specific product is the same across publishers and distributors. Read all about it in this article on ICv2 here.
• Brigid Alverson has published a great article in the School Library Journal about manga for junior readers. Most manga published in English has been for YA and adult readers for a long time but things are changing and publishers are starting to prioritise manga for young readers. Read There’s Not Enough Middle Grade Manga. U.S. Publishers Are Changing That here.
• ScreenRant have put together a list of the 10 Best Comic Book Adaptations of Classic Literature – a must for any school library (or classic literature buff).

Podcast

• We are also wrapping up this month in comics and graphic novels with our March Roundup Podcast, which you can find here and we recently published a great Creator Chat with Australian manga creator Queenie Chan that you definitely don’t want to miss. You can listen to the creator chat here.

New Releases

Junior

• Attack of the Zombies by Shea, Louis (Scholastic Australia) [9781761299650]
• Avatar the Last Airbender: Team Avatar Tales by Hicks, Faith Erin & Yang, Gene Luen (Scholastic Australia) [9781760269319]
• Dog Man 12: The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic Inc) [9781338896435]
• Hilo Book 10: Rise of the Cat by Judd Winick (Random House) [9780593488126]
• Joe Pidge Flips a Lid by Paul Gilligan (Scholastic Australia) [9781761521041]
• Kitten Ninja by Colleen AF Venable, Marcie Colleen, Ellen Stubbings (Andrews McMeel) [9781524888190]
• Magic Girls: Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess by Megan Brennan (Random House) [9780593709894]
• Out of Darkness by Quinn, Jordan (Little Simon) [9781665940306]
• Owly, Vol. 5: Tiny Tales by Runton, Andy (Graphix) [9781338300734]
• Paulina and the Disaster at Pompeii by Barbara Perez Marquez, Makia Jenai (Stone Arch Books) [9781669013136]
• Power Button, Vol. 1: The First Invasion by Soto, Zack (Graphic Universe) [9781728462943]

YA

• 49 Days by Agnes Lee (Levine Querido) [9781646143757]
• Army of One Vol 1 by Tony Lee, Yishan Li (Oni Press) [9781549307980]
• The Baker and the Bard: A Cozy Fantasy Adventure by Haught, Fern (Feiwel & Friends) [9781250828514]
• The Fox Maidens by Ha, Robin (Andersen Press) [9781839134876]
• The Gulf by Adam De Souza (Tundra Books) [9781774880753]
• Monster Crush by Erin Ellie Franey (Dark Horse) [9781506726878]
• Out of Left Field by Jonah Newman (Andrews McMeel) [9781524884826]
• Silver Vessels by Steve Orlando, Katia Vecchio (Mad Cave Studios)  [9781952303586]
• Tengen Hero Wars Vol 1 by Kubaru Sakanoichi, Yasu Hirmoto (Titan Comics) [9781787741287]
• Third Shift Society Vol 1 by Meredith Moriarty (Webtoon Unscrolled) [9781998854295]

Adult

• A Call to Cthulhu by Konyu, Norm (Titan Books) [9781787740655]
• Adversary by Blue Delliquanti (Silver Sprocket) [9798886200386]
• Anna by Mia Oberlander (Fantagraphics) [9781683969211]
• The Awl Vols 1 & 2 by Gyu-seok Choi (Ablaze) [9781684971909]
• Blessed Be by Rick Altergott (Fantagraphics) [9781683967781]
• Degas and Cassatt: A Solitary Dance by Salva Rubio, Efa (NBM) [9781681123240]
• How War Begins by Igort (Fantagraphics) [9781683969242]
• The Last Queen by Jean Marc Rochette (SelfMadeHero) [9781914224195]
• Masters of the Nefarious: Mollusk Rampage by Pierre La Police (New York Review of Books) [9781681378343]
• Merriment by Steinhardt, Joe & Paternoster, Marissa (Microcosm Publishing) [9781737524533]
• The Mushroom Knight by Oliver Bly (Mad Cave Studios) [9781960578792]
• No Remorse: The Illustrated True Stories of Lemmy Kilmister and Motörhead by Various Story and Artist Contributors (Z2 Comics)
• Tezucomi Vol 2 of 2 by Osamu Tezuka and various creators (Magnetic Press) [9781951719883]
• Tokyo These Days Vol 1 by Taiyo Matusmoto (Viz Media) [9781974738809]
• Woman, Life, Freedom by various authors, edited by Marjane Satrapi (Seven Stories) [9781644214053]

Libraries celebrating comics and pop culture

At ALIA Graphic we’ve believed for a long time that libraries are a perfect place to celebrate comics and pop culture. Australia’s big cities are lucky to have big events like Supanova, Oz Comic Con, Metro Comic Con, PAX, Animaga, etc. We’re also lucky to have comics festivals such as Papercuts, Perth Comic Arts Festival, and more. But not everyone can attend those cons and having one at the library is a perfect opportunity to have fun and open the doors of the library to a big celebration for the whole family.

We’ve talked in the past about Comic Con-versation in Sydney’s libraries and Comic Gong in Wollongong and they’re coming up again. With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of upcoming library cons in NSW and Victoria for you to attend if you, like us, are excited to learn more about how libraries can engage with graphic novel creators and collections in a fun and engaging environment.

If we’ve missed any and there are more happening, please let us know.

Comic Con-versation (Ashfield Library, Sydney, NSW)
This was a huge coordinated festival dedicated to comics across multiple libraries in Sydney. The festival had a strong focused on Australian comics creators and it’s finally back at Ashfield Library. Inner West Sydney Libraries is putting out an expression of interest call out for creators. You can find all the info and apply here.

Comic Gong (Wollongong City Libraries, NSW)
This one is probably the largest library comic con in Australia. It’s been around for many years and it’s really well established. Comic Gong 2024 returns Saturday 11 May. All the info for this event can be found here.

Dandy-Con (Dandenong Libraries, VIC)
This festival started before Covid times and it’s finally back. Dandy-Con returns Saturday 27 April from 11am – 4pm at Harmony Square and Dandenong Library. All the info for this event can be found here.

King Con (Kingston Libraries, VIC)
This is the youngest con of the lot and we’re happy to see it return Saturday 25 May from 10am to 4pm, after the resounding success of the first edition. The program hasn’t been announced yet but an expression of interest for the artist alley is out on their website. You can find all the info and apply here.

If you know of any other libraries organising a comic con or comics festival, anywhere in Australia, please let us know and we’ll add them to the list.