Graphic novels owe their existence to comic books. Did you know that comic books were cited by some as the cause of juvenile delinquency in the 1950’s? The Ten-Cent Plague: the Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu discusses the controversy that lead to comic book censorship. He’ll be in Buffalo as part of WBFO’s “Meet the Author” series. See David Hajdu on Mon. May 19th at 7p.m. at U.B.’s Allen Hall on the South Campus. On Thurs. May 22nd, the Central Library welcomes Art Spiegelman for a presentation at 4p.m. Two great events in one week–see you there!

Join us during National Library Week for two films that were inspired by comic books and graphic novels! The X Men will play in the state-of-the art auditorium in the Frank E. Merriweather Library  on Monday, April 14 at 5:00 p.m.

On Saturday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m. the Julia Boyer Reinstein Library will show League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .

Screenings are free of charge–see you there!

Gene Yang —  award winning author of American Born Chinese – will give a presentation at the Central Library, July 9th  and a graphic novel workshop on July 10th.  More information will follow.

Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis, recently appeared on PBS’s Tavis Smiley television show. Satrapi was born in Iran and  Persepolis is her story about growing up during the Islamic Revolution.  To listen to the interview and/or read a transcript, click here. Btw, Persepolis was made into a film. It received an Academy Award nomination for Animated Feature Film. The Associated Press   also spoke to Satrapi about her life and her new movie. The film is now playing in Buffalo area theaters.

“The appeal of comic books is as basic as an ancient cave painting. Comic books present a gripping narrative embellished by an artist’s hand. You might say that this is no different from a storybook, but it is. A graphic novel or comic book often addresses themes that are way beyond the comprehension a child. Some people will say that even though this is true, comic books do not possess literary merit. This is not true. Imagine if Charles Dickens and Pablo Picasso had collaborated on a creation. In fact Charles Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities was originally published in a serialized format. The truth is comic books are social commentaries that are often times more accessible to readers than classic literature. If a true graphic novel is created perfectly you should be able to take away the pictures or the words and still have a complete story. That is the general appeal of comics.”

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