Comics Plus Spotlight: Summer 2023 | Rob’s Advisory

Over the all-too-short summer you likely had any number of distractions to lure you away from your Comics Plus shelf, but we were as busy as ever adding a whole bunch of new comics and manga to our platform every week. While I can’t speak to everyone’s tastes, I literally look at every comic we add to our ever-growing collection, and every week I pick the featured titles that appear in our curated Recent Additions list. I’m always finding a handful of new titles for readers of different ages and interests that stand out for one reason or another, and starting with this inaugural Summer recap, I’ll be spotlighting a handful of them every month.

5 Things Librarians Should Know About Comics and Manga in 2023

Comics are hot, especially manga, but comics content challenges are also on the rise, while access and affordability issues persist. Digital access to comics and manga is a viable option, but only when publishers and creators believe in the full value of the library market and make their titles available in multiple formats, at affordable prices. There is a lot of work to be done, but no librarian is alone in their efforts, and the monetary payoff is worth it for vendors and publishers if they remain focused on reaching and engaging new readers at every possible opportunity.

Bringing Comics into the Classroom | Engage, Excite, Educate

Comics and manga are important for supporting independent reading but can also be effective tools for improving literacy, language learning, and reading for pleasure across a broad audience. With increasing availability of classroom-appropriate titles addressing a variety of educational subjects, educators should work with their librarian partners to include comics and manga in their lesson plans.

How Manga Took Over the World | Archive & Resources

In “How Manga Took Over the World,” a panel of manga experts — Deb Aoki (Mangasplaining), Frederick Jones (Saturday AM), and Kae Winters (TOKYOPOP) — share their insights on everything you need to know about manga to serve new and avid readers alike. This LibraryCon Live session was moderated by LibraryPass’ Guy LeCharles Gonzalez.

Using Graphic Novels as Mentor Texts for Personal Narratives

By reading graphic memoirs and first-person narratives as mentor texts, students can get ideas and inspiration from other writers. They can see how the writers have a clear focus, and a beginning, middle, and end to their stories; how they develop their ideas with engaging details. Most importantly, students can see how the writers use their unique voices when telling their personal stories, helping them find their own voices and share their own stories.