Graphic Novels are the New . . . Books

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Teaching a course on graphic novels has allowed me to spend these opening weeks of summer immersed in comics. I’ve visited quite a few comics stores in Grand Rapids. By far the best bang for the buck is the Grand Rapids Public Library, which has a huge selection of graphic novels by classic and contemporary [...]

What I Learned at NCTE 2011

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

My stay at NCTE 2011 was uncharacteristically brief–only two days at a conference that lasts almost a week. Still, I attended some valuable sessions, networked with friends, and got a better idea of how to pitch a new book I’m working on. A few random observations from my experience at the centennial convention: Graphic novels [...]

Blankets by Craig Thompson Beautiful, Sad

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

This graphic novel has been around for nearly a decade, so I am a little late to the party here. I’ve seen Blankets mentioned on many top ten graphic novels lists, and I finally got around to reading it today. It was worth the wait. Blankets is a terrific graphic novel about first love and [...]