Bam! and Pow! might be iconic terms associated with graphic novels, but readers apply words such as dynamic, engaging, and riveting to these works. This season the Wow! of the format is showcased especially in horror (continuing the trend LJ highlighted in 2022) and genre blends that incorporate horror elements. Patrick Godfrey, co-owner of Velocity Comics in Richmond, VA, describes his customers as possessing “insatiable appetites for tales of the spooky, creepy, or supernaturally weird variety—without regard for any other factor.”
With themes ranging from nature and climate change to love and war, these 18 resonant collections from debut and established poets make strong suggestions for reading during National Poetry Month.
In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than 3.5 million enslaved people living in Confederate states to be “forever free.” It wasn’t until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX, on June 19 two years later, however, that the enslaved first learned of their freedom. That date became known as Juneteenth, first celebrated in 1866, first declared a federal holiday in 2021. This book list is a Juneteenth commemoration in the form of fiction and nonfiction about its history and the long-standing implications of enslavement and the Jim Crow era.
A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute with a BFA in illustration, K. Wroten is a Brooklyn-based artist. Their work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Vice, Them, and many other publications. Cannonball (2019) won the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Graphic Novel, and their graphic novella Crimes won the 2019 MoCCA Arts Festival Award of Excellence. They talk with LJ about their creative process and the concepts explored in Eden II (Fantagraphics).
There are awards announcements for the 2023 Carol Shields Prize shortlist and the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 honorees. Featured author conversations include interviews with Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Susanna Hoffs, Nicole Chung, Fred Van Lente, Ilyon Woo, and Dina Nayeri. There are adaptation announcements for Lore by Alexandra Bracken and Hugh Howel’s book series.
Lately, graphic novel readers have “insatiable appetites for tales of the spooky, creepy, or supernaturally weird variety—without regard for any other factor.”
Dark Angel by John Sandford leads library holds this week. Other titles getting buzz include Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez and The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda. Two LibraryReads and four Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is The Society of Shame by Jane Roper. The May 2023 Indie Next List Preview is out now, featuring #1 pick Happy Place by Emily Henry.
Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It, by Emily Kenway, is a starred social sciences selection. "Opening with a moving but brutally honest testament to her mother’s last days, this book offers deep witness to end-of-life caregiving.... Highly recommended for all library collections." Thomas D. Lee's debut novel Perilous Times is a starred SFF title. "Highly recommended for lovers of Arthurian reinterpretations and climate-disaster thrillers." In poetry, Charif Shanahan's Trace Evidence: Poems is a starred selection. "Shanahan’s new work meets anguish and pain directly and ultimately proposes a tender and expansive possibility: 'If you are on this earth/ You are of this earth.' Emotionally vulnerable and insightful; a work in which all readers likely will find something of themselves." And Uncle of the Year: & Other Debatable Triumphs, by Andrew Rannells, is a starred performing arts title. "A candid and thoroughly enjoyable read."
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