In days of yore, when schools located on hills in the morning and in valleys in the afternoon were accessible only by foot, and the world was a benighted place yet to be illuminated by the soft glow of iThings, it was not uncommon for a student to fight the ennui of a pre-social media existence by secretly enjoying a comic book smuggled from home and cleverly hidden between the pages of their assigned reading.
But no more! You, fortunate modern student, now have access to scores of brand-new, exciting, critically-acclaimed graphic novels right in your library, most of which are far too large to secret away behind any textbook, no matter how nearsighted you think your teacher may be.
Now, some of you are no doubt rolling your eyes in that exasperated way which says both “I was into rolling my eyes before it got big” and “Superheroes are so lame and unrealistic and played-out and fuddy-duddy, etc., etc.” You will be pleased to the point of squee (or non-squee, if you’re not into squee this week) to know that our newest additions carry the Edna Mode “No Capes!” Seal of Approval. Which is to say, that while this crop of sequential art is chock-full of tales set in worlds ranging from the far past to an alternate present to the distant future, most are about very recognizable times and places, except they have speech balloons.
In addition to these works of fiction, we now bring you a burgeoning suite of graphic NON-fiction. Works of memoir, history, sci-non-fi, current events, and even the hard-to-think-about category of graphic nonfiction about graphic fiction can be checked out at your leisure. And because they are not only comics, but also nonfiction books which often have their own bibliographies, you might just get to experience the subversive thrill of citing a comic book in your next research assignment.
- RET3, Guest Blogger
Free Comic Book Day 2013
Although you can read and check out comics of all sorts from your library here on campus at no charge, you have to bring them back unless you want the librarians to send the bounty hunter Biblio Fett after you. This Saturday, May 4, 2013 is Free Comic Book Day, the best holiday this side of Talk Like a Pirate Day, when comic book stores across the nation will be throwing open their doors to just give comics away! Go to http://www.freecomicbookday.com to find participating comic shops.