Graphic Novels
A Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More, 2nd Edition
by Michael Pawuk and David S. Serchay
May 2017, 719pp, 7x10
1 volume, Libraries Unlimited

Hardcover: 978-1-59884-700-0
$85, £66, 74€, A117
eBook Available: 978-1-4408-5136-0
Please contact your preferred eBook vendor for pricing.

With an ever-expanding fan base, graphic novels comprise an area of tremendous growth in book publishing.

Covering genres from adventure and fantasy to horror, science fiction, and superheroes, this guide maps the vast terrain of graphic novels, describing and organizing titles to help librarians balance their graphic novel collections and direct patrons to read-alikes.

New subgenres, new authors, new artists, and new titles appear daily in the comic book and manga world, joining thousands of existing titles—some of which are very popular and well-known to the enthusiastic readers of books in this genre. How do you determine which graphic novels to purchase, and which to recommend to teen and adult readers? This updated guide is intended to help you start, update, or maintain a graphic novel collection and advise readers about the genre.

Containing mostly new information as compared to the previous edition, the book covers iconic super-hero comics and other classic and contemporary crime fighter-based comics; action and adventure comics, including prehistoric, heroic, explorer, and Far East adventure as well as Western adventure; science fiction titles that encompass space opera/fantasy, aliens, post-apocalyptic themes, and comics with storylines revolving around computers, robots, and artificial intelligence. There are also chapters dedicated to fantasy titles; horror titles, such as comics about vampires, werewolves, monsters, ghosts, and the occult; crime and mystery titles regarding detectives, police officers, junior sleuths, and true crime; comics on contemporary life, covering romance, coming-of-age stories, sports, and social and political issues; humorous titles; and various nonfiction graphic novels.

Features

  • Introduces users to approximately 1,000 currently popular graphic novels and manga
  • Organizes titles by genre, subgenre, and theme to facilitate finding read-alikes
  • Helps librarians build and balance their graphic novel collections
Michael Pawuk is librarian at Cuyahoga County Public Library. He received his master's degree in library and information science at Kent State University.

David S. Serchay is librarian in the Broward County Library system, where his responsibilities include selecting graphic novels. He is the author of The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens and The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Adults. He has also contributed to various reference books on graphic novels, including The Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels, Comics Through Time, and Icons of the American Comic Book. Serchay has spoken on the topic of graphic novels and libraries at ALA conferences and the San Diego Comic-Con as well as in libraries around Florida.

Reviews

"The Genreflecting Advisory series remains the gold star for librarians who have to talk about books they haven’t read, and this is a much-needed update from the first edition of Graphic Novels, in 2006. . . . Recommended for librarians who know their patrons like graphic novels, but they just need to know where to point them."—Booklist Online, December 20, 2017
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