Tag: graphic novels

258: The Last Comics on Earth: Too Many Villains by Max Brallier

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Steve chats with Max Brallier, author of The Last Comics on Earth: Too Many Villains, the second book in the Last Comics graphic novel series spun off from his bestselling Last Kids on Earth series. They chat about balancing an apocalyptic background with a light-hearted tone, the differences between the Last Kids and Last Comics series, which jokes may’ve been 4am jokes that slipped through editorial, and much more!

Read the transcript!

During a quick pause from defeating monsters, Jack, June, Quint, and Dirk face their trickiest challenge in THE LAST COMICS ON EARTH: TOO MANY VILLAINS!, the second graphic novel in the best-selling spin-off starring the beloved heroes, monsters, and side-kicks from THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH series.

Set on creating an epic follow-up to their Z-Man: Defender of Apocalyptia spin-off graphic novel, Jack, June, Quint, and Dirk plan an action-packed story featuring tougher villains, puzzles, and more in THE LAST COMICS ON EARTH: TOO MANY VILLAINS! Their superhero alter-egos discover that supervillains will do whatever it takes to stop the even more mysterious evil boss from carrying out the biggest evil plan ever and destroying the world, featuring monsters our heroes have battled in the pages of THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH.

THE LAST COMICS ON EARTH: TOO MANY VILLAINS! is the second story in a four-book spin-off series features original content in Max Brallier’s signature witty storytelling style along with Emmy-Award-winning writer, Joshua Pruett. Full-color illustrations by Jay Cooper and Douglas Holgate share bright and engaging scenes that’ll bring readers into the middle of the action. Leaping into new territory, younger and newer fans, as well as existing fans can enjoy new adventures within the apocalyptic world of THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH.

THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH novels continue to bring monsters into the lexicon with over 10 million copies in print worldwide, toys, video games, an Emmy-award-winning animated Netflix series, and a graphic novel spin-off series in THE LAST COMICS ON EARTH.

Max Brallier is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His books and series include The Last Kids on Earth, Eerie Elementary, Mister Shivers, Galactic Hot Dogs, and Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? He is a writer and producer for Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning adaptation of The Last Kids on Earth. Visit him at MaxBrallier.com.

SHOW NOTES:

THE LAST COMICS ON EARTH: TOO MANY VILLAINS! [affiliate link]

202: Library Comic by Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne

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Steve chats with Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne, the writer and artist of Library Comic, about the transition from Unshelved to Library Comic, integrating spiders into the strip as much as possible, creative Kickstarter merch ideas, and Gene’s terrible taste in books and movies (according to Willow).

Gene Ambaum is a library guy who lives in the Pacific Northwest. In his spare time he reads and dreams of having more spare time. He co-created and wrote Unshelved.

Willow Payne is a Florida-based artist who has worked with Gene on Unshelved Book Club comics and their as-yet incomplete epic Barbarian Girl: The Burning Blade of the Badlands. She graduated from The Center for Cartooning Studies in 2014 and will inevitably take over the comics world. Her favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, and Philip Pullman. She took over as the artist for Library Comic in June of 2019 with strip 581.

Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

SHOW NOTES:

Subscribe (FREE!) to the Circulating Ideas newsletter!
Library Comic
Barbarian Girl
Fiends of the Library
Bookstabber podcast

199: The Library’s Guide to Graphic Novels

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Steve chats with John Ballestro, editor of The Library’s Guide to Graphic Novels, along with many of the contributors, to discuss the ever-changing ways that graphic novels are created, packaged, marketed, and released, exploring such topics as the history of comics, collection development, cataloging, and specialized resources.

Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

SHOW NOTES:

The Library’s Guide to Graphic Novels
ALCTS
Fantagraphics
“The Differences Between Manga, Manhwa & Manhua, Explained” [CBR.com]
Graphic Medicine
The Comic Book Collection (Library of Congress)
Cataloging Graphic Novels (Library of Congress)
LCSH 1430
DC Archive Editions

Recommendations:

Digger by Ursula Vernon
Graphic Medicine – Penn State Press
Graphic History Series – Oxford University Press
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Guy Delisle
Joe Sacco
East Asia Comics Collection – University of Pennsylvania
Mom’s Cancer by Brian Fries
The Bad Doctor by Ian Williams
Epileptic by David B.
Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor by Lynda Barry
What It Is by Lynda Barry

176: Thane Benson

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Steve chats with Thane Benson, librarian at Denver Public Library and author of Murder Mystery, Graphic Novels, and More: Innovative Programs for Engaging Teens in Your Library, about his path to librarianship, coming up with creative programs for teens, and his own artistic projects.

Thane Benson is a librarian for Denver Public Library. He works with teens to create original programming that fosters creativity and encourages expression among young people. He is the author of the book Murder Mystery, Graphic Novels, and More: Innovative Programs for Engaging Teens in Your Library, published by ABC-CLIO. When he is not at the library, Thane moonlights as an independent comic book and graphic novel creator. His work is online at www.thanebenson.com.

SHOW NOTES:

Murder Mystery, Graphic Novels, and More: Innovative Programs for Engaging Teens in Your Library
Thane’s artistic projects
Support Thane’s work

169: Amie Wright

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Guest host Matthew Murray chats with Amie Wright, President of the American Library Association’s newly formed Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table, about her path to librarianship, coming back to comics as an adult reader, working in NYC to connect libraries and schools, and the work of the GNCRT.

Amie Wright is a Public History Graduate student at Concordia studying how educators use comics books and graphic novels to teach history; formerly, she was the Manager of School Outreach at the New York Public Library and has more than 15+ years experience in Canadian and US libraries. A recipient of Library Journal’s Mover and Shaker Award in 2017, Amie is the first President of the American Library Association’s newly formed Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table. Follow Amie @librarylandia for the ongoing tales of a nomadic comics librarian/historian-in-training. 

Matthew Murray is just about to complete a one-year contract as a Research & Scholarship Librarian at the University of Guelph. He is co-host of Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcast, editor for Two-Fisted Library Stories, and a Member-at-Large on the board of ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table. You can find him on Twitter @MidniteLibrary.

157: Tim Smyth

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Guest host Thomas Maluck chats with Tim Smyth, MS Reading Specialist, about how comics can be a powerful tool in education.

Tim Smyth, MS Reading Specialist, has been teaching social studies at Wissahickon High School in Pennsylvania since 2001 and travels the United States giving professional development on the use of comics in education. His presentations and workshops have been given at numerous comic book conventions (including San Diego Comic Con), museums, universities, schools, and educational conferences on both state and national levels. His teacher guides and articles, which focus on the integration of comics and the classroom, have been published by many notable organizations including MacMillan and PBS. Smyth maintains a comprehensive website at historycomics.net that shares many resources for educators around the world.

Thomas Maluck is a teen services librarian at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina with an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. He served on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens committee for its 2014 and 2015 lists and has presented about teen programming and collections at various library and pop culture conventions. When he’s not reading as a juror for book awards, he reviews and promotes for No Flying, No Tights, reviews and edits for Do You Even Comic Book, and co-hosts a podcast about comics and libraries, The Secret Stacks. A member of the library’s anime club gave him a Star Build Strike Gundam, the most prestigious award in teen librarianship.

SHOW NOTES:

Tim Smyth’s website

Tim’s PBS columns:

How I Use Comic Books As A Learning Tool In My Social Studies Classroom

How Bringing Comics Into The Classroom Made Me Love Teaching Again

“Comics” vs “Graphic Novels”

Comics, education, and literacy

Padlet: online collaboration tool

Cross-curriculum applications of comics

ALA Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table

Issues vs Collected Editions vs Digital

Comics Discussed In This Episode

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.

153: MK Czerwiec

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Steve chats with MK Czerwiec about her career as the Comic Nurse, what graphic medicine is, and why libraries should have it in their collections.

MK Czerwiec is a Senior Fellow of the George Washington School of Nursing Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement (Washington, DC) and the Artist-in- Residence at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL). Her clinical nursing experience is in HIV/AIDS care and hospice care. MK has been making comics under the pseudonym Comic Nurse since 2000. She has an MA in Medical Humanities and Bioethics from Northwestern University, where she teaches a course she designed called “Drawing Medicine” to first and second year medical students. She also co-teaches a cross-curriculum course on Graphic Medicine at the University of Chicago. She has a BSN from Rush University in Chicago and a BA in English from Loyola University Chicago. 

She is the creator of Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 (Penn State University Press, 2017) which was chosen as one of JAMA’s “Best of Graphic Medicine 2017″ and nominated for a 2018 Excellence in Graphic Literature award. MK is a co-author of the Eisner-nominated Graphic Medicine Manifesto (PSU Press, 2014). She is a co-manager of GraphicMedicine.org and host of the Graphic Medicine podcast. MK travels widely to teaching about about Graphic Medicine, with specific focus on comics and end of life. Her next book will be an edited anthology of comics about menopause. She is also contemplating her next graphic memoir, which will be about medical decision making, the history of medicine, and her mother. 

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.

138: Karen Green

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Steve chats with Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the creator of the graphic novels collection in Columbia’s Butler Library, about her (Eisner-winning!!) path to librarianship, defining comics, and how she teaches comics as literature. 

SDCC2012Laughter

Karen Green is the Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the creator of the graphic novels collection in Columbia’s Butler Library. She has been an Eisner Awards judge, a Pulitzer Prize juror, a co-producer of the documentary “She Makes Comics,” and has spoken about comics at universities and comic cons across the country and around the world.

SHOW NOTES:

A Life in Comics

133: Matthew Noe

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Steve chats with Matthew Noe, Collection Outreach Librarian at Harvard Medical School, about what graphic medicine is, his “early” experiences with comics, why libraries should collect comics, upcoming conferences, and his work on an annotated bibliography of graphic medicine.

Comic Me!

Matthew Noe is a health sciences librarian specializing in graphic medicine and the medical humanities. He earned his BA in Philosophy (2012) and MS in Library Science (2016) from the University of Kentucky and is currently the Collection Outreach Librarian at Harvard Medical School, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Kentucky, School of Information. He maintains the “This Week in Graphic Medicine” blog series for Graphic Medicine and regularly provides aid in developing graphic medicine collections. When not working, Matthew spends time devouring all-manner of books, re-watching childhood cartoons, and goofing off with his fiance, Gabrielle, and their two dogs, Luna and Belle.

SHOW NOTES:

Graphic Medicine Book List
Graphic Medicine Database

127: Matthew Murray

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Guest host Thomas Maluck chats with Matthew Murray about zine libraries, diversity in comics, and podcasting in the library world.

MatthewMurray

Matthew Murray is a Visiting Library Fellow at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries. When he’s not trying to read all of the comics ever Matthew spends his time recording and editing the Book Club for Masochists readers’ advisory podcast, editing for the graphic novel review site No Flying No Tights, helping to run the Zine Pavilion at ALA, making the fiction anthology zine Two-Fisted Library Stories, and playing with Raspberry Pi computers and maker/technology stuff in general. He’s also willing to talk about why libraries are bad at cataloguing graphic novels for basically forever (or until they get better at it).

FCBD-Tom

Thomas Maluck is a teen services librarian at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina with an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. He served on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens committee for its 2014 and 2015 lists and has presented about teen programming and collections at various library and pop culture conventions. When he’s not reading as a juror for the Cybils and SEE-IT awards, he reviews for No Flying, No Tights and co-hosts a podcast about comics and libraries, The Secret Stacks. A member of the library’s anime club gave him a Star Build Strike Gundam, the most prestigious award in teen librarianship.

SHOW NOTES:

Zines!

Two-Fisted Library Stories!

Maker Stuff!

Work Stuff!

Comics!

Podcasting!

Other Links!

Matthew!