Banned Books Week Gets Graphic

by Rebecca Weber

The American Library Association features Graphic novels as the focus of this year’s Banned Books Week.

Graphic novels tell stories with pictures as well as words, and are often used as a medium for writing about cultural issues. Graphic novels are written for teens and adults, but some titles for young children are on the market as well. Everyone from Jane Austen to the Centers for Disease Control has a graphic novel.

According to the Internet Public Library, comics have a long history, but graphic novels have taken a medium that focused mostly on entertainment and pushed into the mainstream.  Many titles have been challenged or banned, because often graphic novels deal with controversial issues. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, an organization concerned with the first amendment rights of comic book creators and readers, has released its own guide to Banned Books Week.

In support of Banned Books week from September 21-27, Evans Library is getting started a little early this year. We will feature a display of graphic novels beginning this month, and also host a virtual read out, where you can be recorded on video while reading your favorite banned book and talking about it.

So, join us as we get a little graphic and celebrate our freedom to read!

Image above is from Cory Doctorow’s Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now, released under a Creative Commons license.