Secret Stacks

“We gave one group the Centers for Disease Control document for teens on HIV/AIDS, and we gave the other group the AIDS In The End Zone graphic novel. We saw better results, not surprisingly, with the graphic novel.” How’s that for demonstrating the power of comics?!

This episode’s guest is Dr. Karen Gavigan, who is and has been closely tied to research involving graphic novels. She is also the interim director of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina. Karen and Thomas talk about her position, past research, professional organizations, and trends in young adult fiction requests, not to mention a couple of fresh picks!

Will Eisner Grants For Libraries – Growth and Innovation

South Carolina Library Association

South Carolina Association of School Librarians

North Carolina Library Association

North Carolina School Media Association

Virginia Library Association

Social Justice Graphic Novels – a Carnegie Whitney Grant project by Kasey Garrison

Fresh Picks

Showtime At The Apollo 9781419731389

Kimiko Does Cancer 9781551528199

Karen Gavigan: kgavigan@mailbox.sc.edu

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Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

By special request, this episode is a monologue about graphic novels in libraries. It was created for Karen Gavigan’s students at Old Dominion University (Go Monarchs!), but I think there’s plenty for a general audience to appreciate and dissect. We talk about the rising popularity of comics, particularly for younger readers and manga, perceived notions of quality in reading material, booktalking, professional reading, and suggestions for classroom activities.

“People used to laugh at me when I said kids liked reading comics. Now everyone laughs while they count their money.” – Raina Telgemeier’s Guts is the bestselling BOOK overall in the US this week – Heidi Macdonald, Comics Beat, 2019

Streaming Anime Lifts Manga Sales – Deb Aoki, Publishers Weekly, 2021

Fresh Picks

Using Graphic Novels In The English Language Arts Classroom by William Boerman-Cornell and Jung Kim 9781350112698

Teaching Artfully by Meghan Parker 9781951038205

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Life – Work – Comics! How have each of these three been affected by Covid-19 and the pandemic sweeping the globe? Kristin and Thomas are trying their best to help people and themselves. Hunker down with another podcast to make the days go by easier. We have links, recommendations, and good ol’ anecdotes from a medical and public librarian! We won’t judge your Animal Crossing town nor your bread-baking abilities!

Epilogue: MLA’s Annual Conference for 2020 already happened!

Indoor/Outdoor scavenger hunt for kids

Fingerplays, Songs, and Stretches for storytime

Pandemic Parenting

How To Do A Storytime From Home

Working Remotely Like a Boss

Digital Resources for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship

Whatcha Got Cookin’?

Breadit

Virtual Weather Exploration: STEAM Learning For Families

Stuck At Home? 14 Activities You Can Do

Vault Comics: Buy a comics shop gift card, receive two PDF ARCs

Valiant Comics: thread of free digital comics

DIY Comics FAQ with G.E. Gallas

Gail Simone’s Five-Day #ComicsSchool

DC Comics Launches Online ‘Kids Camp’

Kristin’s Picks

Not Funny Ha-Ha 9781606998397

Celebrated Summer 9781606996850

Thomas’s Picks

Green Lantern: Legacy 9781401283551

Die 9781534312708

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Do you know a child, size 3T, who loves Spider-Man? No pressure, just asking. Have you considered sponsoring an angel tree child, either through Department of Social Services or Salvation Army? No pressure, just a thought. Can you hold up this anime transparency in front of this library chair? No press… actually, let us explain. All of this, plus piracy chat, review tropes, and our fresh picks!

Banana Fish  Anime Series Leads Obsessed Japanese Tourists To NYPL

Congratulations to Traci on the free Joker viewing! TRACI SAYS – “There was a lot to digest. It was definitely intense – parts that were great, some just eh.”

Tucker Stone’s rant about comics reviews

Ted Brandt comics piracy thread 

Notorious RBG Quote: “When I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”

American Library Association’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table

The Comics Journal’s Feature Look At Raina Telgemeier’s “Guts”

Kristin’s Picks

My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies 9781534308466

Gender Queer 9781549304002

Thomas’s Picks

Magus of the Library 9781632368232

Little Bird: The Fight For Elder’s Hope 9781534313453

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Workin’ out, nerdin’ out, gettin’ the word out! Working the ropes n’ spokes for the new season of The Swole Stacks! 

Rio De Janeiro Mayor tries (and tries, and tries again) to ban Avengers: The Children’s Crusade from a book fair

Cosplayer in residence

Art Spiegelman: Golden age superheroes were shaped by the rise of fascism 

The Far Side 2019?? 

Four Color Fantasies: The Gary Lee Watson Comic Book Collection at the University of South Carolina

Ramona Fradon commissions still available

Autostraddle – queer and nonbinary lifestyle blog

Belgium Comic Expo: The Ninth Art at The Koger Center For The Arts

Kristin’s Pick

Grease Bats 9781684154111

Thomas’s Pick

Stargazing 9781250183880

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

They sent us to shut it down! Kristin and Thomas deliver the Quebec Library Association‘s closing keynote. We aimed for a mixture of history, advocacy, passion, industry trends, and a few laughs along the way. What do a couple of American librarians have to share about comics? Come find out!

(Note: there is a brief audio cut made during a description of EC Comics due to the recording device stopping and restarting. The missing snippet doesn’t seem to harm the overall context of the segment, but please pardon any confusion that may result there.)

ABQLA Keynote Powerpoint (Google Slides)

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Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

This is a mini-episode recorded while waiting for John Wick 3, but there’s more content than ever! Kristin and Thomas talk about the Quebec Library Association Conference and the sessions they saw there. Does your library acknowledge use of native lands? What is the best way to utilize a religious space for community programming? Toronto and Montreal’s Comic Arts Festivals were a blast! Sometimes the best way to vacation outside of America is to sit back in a hotel bed and watch Live PD. All this and just two picks!

Escape rooms with Vickie Chen and Edward Lim (thread)

Violet Fox’s Cataloging Lab session (thread)

Library of Congress’s “Illegal Alien” heading

Toronto Comic Arts Festival’s Indigenous Lands Acknowledgment:

“The Toronto Comic Arts Festival would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Anishnaabe, Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, the Haudenosaunee, and the Huron-Wendat and that Indigenous peoples have lived on and cared for this land for more than 15,000 years. This territory is covered by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Treaty. Today, Toronto is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island. We acknowledge that settlers on the land directly benefit from the process of colonization.

In recognition of our gathering on these lands for TCAF 2018, the festival has made a donation to The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF). We look forward to increasing our support and programs for Indigenous creators in the years to come.”

Margo Gustina’s keynote (thread)

Perry Bible Fellowship: Gnome Bubbles

Montreal Comic Arts Festival

Toronto Comic Arts Festival (photos and audio of various panels)

Kistin’s Pick

Sobriety: The Graphic Novel 9781616495572

Thomas’s Pick

Kino’s Journey: The Beautiful World 9781947194359

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Kristin reports on Wrestlemania, WWE, and C2E2. Buy more indie comics! What are the pros and cons of separating your collection’s DC and Marvel titles within the graphic novel stacks? What about grouping all the manga together? What is the ideal browsing scenario for your patrons? Do you pronounce cholera correctly? We namedrop a fair number of podcasts. What of Captain Marvel and Shazam? It’s a day that ends in Y, so Thomas is excited about another Green Lantern series.

Last Week Tonight: WWE

NashiCon reading list

Quebec Library Association

Association of College and Research Libraries

Tim Smyth – comics in education

Beastlands #1 Kickstarter (plus an advance review)

Interview: La Voz de M.A.Y.O. #2 hits Kickstarter, plus Henry Barajas and Gonzo on capturing the Latinx struggle in comics

Why Captain Marvel is a Recruiting Win For The Air Force

Spoiler-free Shazam! review

DC’s Young Animal Returns with Two New Series, More Doom Patrol

No Flying No Tights (follow them/us on Facebook!)

Podcasts mentioned in this episode, in order of namedrop

Tights and Fights – Covers pro wrestling with the sincerity and hilarity it deserves

The Adventure Zone – A campaign of high adventure

Circulating Ideas – conversations about the innovative people & ideas allowing libraries to thrive in the 21st century

Comics Alternative – Two Guys With PhDs Talking About Comics

Reading Envy – I’ll have what you’re reading!

Bodice Tipplers – A Ribald Podcast

Bellwether Friends – Just a couple of podcasting librarians, talking mostly about pop culture

The Greatest Generation – a comedy podcast about Star Trek

Hey Amie, we’ll see you in Montreal!

Kristin’s Picks

Minus 9781945820328

Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America 9781250154088

Thomas’s Picks

4 Kids Walk Into A Bank (23 homage variant covers) 9781628751888

PTSD 9781626723184

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all