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Graphic Novels and Comics June 2016
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Hello there! My name is Patrick Holt, and I'm a librarian at Southwest Regional Library. I'm also a lifelong reader of comics and graphic novels. Check out the contents of this month's newsletter in the box to the left, and get access to past editions in the archive at the bottom of the page. I hope you find these recommendations worthwhile, and please email me at pdholt@dconc.gov if you have any thoughts or questions.
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Kaijumax season 1: Terror and Respect
by Zander Cannon
A fascinating and bonkers concept, Kaijumax follows Electrogor, a giant monster (kaiju) taken to a prison island run by Ultraman-like jailers. When he tries to engineer an escape so that he can take care of his children, Electrogor quickly learns of the island's complex and messy criminal ecosystem: corrupt guards, power hierarchies, and connections to outside syndicates. But nothing will stop him from getting out... (Note: in spite of the humorous set-up and cute aesthetic, this is definitely not a book for kids.)
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The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein story
by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew Robinson, and Kyle Baker
From the publisher: "In 1961, twenty-seven-year-old Brian Epstein walked into a dank Liverpool basement to see an unknown rock band perform--and our world was forever changed. The Fifth Beatle is Epstein's untold true story: the tale of a genuine visionary who discovered, managed, and guided the Beatles to unprecedented international stardom, rewriting the rule of the pop music business in the process. But Brian Epstein was also the ultimate outsider, constantly searching for a place where he might belong. He helped spread the Beatles' message of love to the entire world, yet died painfully lonely at the young age of thirty-two, consumed by staggering ambition and the endless, seemingly insurmountable struggles that came with it."
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Long Walk to Valhalla
by Adam Smith and Matthew Fox
From the publisher: "There are many things that Rory would like to forget about his childhood growing up in rural Arkansas. He’d like to forget his alcoholic father or absent mother. He’d like to forget about his ex-girlfriend, now married to his ex-best friend. Sometimes, he’d even like to forget about his older brother Joe. Joe saw the world differently than other people--sometimes in beautiful ways, seeing what he always called 'the Pretty Things.' But sometimes the Pretty Things turned ugly and bad things happened. Those are the things Rory wishes he could forget most of all.
"When his car breaks down on the side of the road just out of town, a young girl named Sylvia appears from the corn fields. Sylvia is a Valkyrie sent by the Norse god Odin to deliver Rory to Valhalla. Because today is the day he’s going to die. Together, Rory and Sylvia walk back through the memories of Rory’s childhood, this time seeing them the way Joe saw them. Rory must face the Pretty Things, the Ugly Things, and all the real life in between before it’s time to say goodbye."
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Batgirl volume 2: Family Business
by Cameron Stewart and others
From the publisher: "There's a new Batman in town--and that's bad news for Barbara Gordon! She's already got enough upheaval in her life, with her roommate Frankie now in on her biggest secret. And what happens when the evil Livewire joins the fight with the intention of taking out both Batgirl and the mysterious new Batman?"
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Invisible Ink: My Mother's Secret Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist
by Bill Griffith
From Comic Book Resources: "The man behind Zippy the Pinhead, Bill Griffith has been drawing the daily comic strip for almost thirty years. And if being a nationally syndicated cartoonist weren't enough, Griffith has also had a long career beyond the newspaper page, his work appearing in The New Yorker and National Lampoon, among many others. "His new book is the graphic memoir Invisible Ink: My Mother's Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist. The book is a look at his parents' marriage, and his mother's affair with her boss, Lawrence Lariar, a well known cartoonist and writer in his own right. In the book, Griffith looks at Lariar's life and work, what he knows of the events from his mother's recounting. But he also depicts fiction that Lariar and his mother wrote, considers what might have been had the two married and Griffith had been influenced by Lariar's style, and other twists and turns as he considers family and longing."
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Everything is Teeth
by Evie Wyld and Joe Sumner
From the publisher: "When she was a little girl, passing her summers in the heat of coastal Australia, Evie Wyld was captivated by sharks—by their innate ruthlessness, stealth, and immeasurable power—and they have never released their hold on her imagination. From the award-winning author of All the Birds, Singing, here is a deeply moving graphic memoir about family, love, loss, and the irresistible forces that, like sharks, course through life unseen, ready to emerge at any moment."
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7 Miles A Second
by David Wojnarowicz
Nicole Rudick at Artforum writes, "7 Miles a Second, a comic book based on Wojnarowicz’s autobiographical writings ... is a stark, often hallucinatory portrayal of Wojnarowicz’s childhood years spent hustling on the streets of New York and exploring the city’s more forlorn quarters, and of his adulthood-he died at age thirty-seven-during which he created an unflinchingly personal body of work and raged on behalf of social and medical justice for AIDS victims." A difficult but important work.
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Saturday, June 25, 2 p.m. Main Library - 300 N. Roxboro St. Questions? Call John Davis at 919-560-0125 Join our MeetUp group at meetup.com/graphic-book-club Enjoy comic books or graphic novels? Join us for the monthly meeting of Main Library's Graphic Book Club. This month we're reading BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR! Check out some recommended titles above.
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Durham Comics Project: Drink & DrawWednesday, June 15, 7-9 p.m.This monthly meetup is for those new to comics and seasoned vets alike. The hardest part of making comics is often making the time to draw, so let’s make that time together! We'll have an exercise or two (often collaborative), but you're welcome to just come to work on your own thing.
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Durham Comics Fest! July 6-10
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Ultimate Ladies Book ClubThursday, July 7, 7:30 p.m. Ultimate Comics Raleigh,1301 Buck Jones Rd, RaleighThe first Thursday of each month the Ultimate Ladies Alliance meets to discuss a different comic or graphic novel. Join the Ultimate Ladies’ Alliance on Facebook for more info and to vote on your top picks for the next month’s meeting, plus suggest books for future discussion and share your favorites. July's pick is Neil Gaiman's Death!
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For personalized reading recommendations from Durham County librarians, try My Next 5! Simply complete an online form to tell us a little about what genres, books, and authors you like (or dislike). A DCL librarian will review your submission and reply with a list of the next five books you should read!
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NoveList Plus is a comprehensive database of fiction and nonfiction titles for all ages, including recommendations, articles, and lists for your fiction and nonfiction needs. DCL cardholders can access NoveList Plus from any computer.
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Check out the library's top ten checkouts! Lists include top tens for adult fiction and nonfiction, movies, young adults fiction, picture books and kids' fiction.
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Links to newsletters from the past year:
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If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Durham County Library at
919-560-0100, 300 N. Roxboro Street, Durham, NC 27702
librarywebmaster@durhamcountync.gov
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