Comic Book Month, Baby!

It's my favourite month of the Auckland Libraries year - September! This means...

Comic Book Month!

Every year we in the Libraries host a whole bunch of comic/fandom themed events, and generally go crazy about one of my most favourite formats for reading. At first, September was all about celebrating comics and graphic novels, but slowly, this month has also been expanded to include things like movies, cartoons, zines and other geekery and pop culture.

Already underway, Auckland Libraries has had some awesome events such as LibraryCon, a fantastic Panel of comic artists/cartoonists, and other community library based events (I myself ran a small cartooning workshop in one of my fave libraries, ho ho ho).

Displays are up, people are buzzing, and as always we have our comic book card comp - where you get a stamp for each comic you read, open to all ages (not staff, unfortunately ): before I was staff, I went crazy for this!) to get awesome prizes.

If you've ever read any of my posts, you'll know that I am crazy for comics. I go wild for graphic novels, I fangirl over fanart and cry over cartoons. So you can expect, with the amount of buzz about them this month, that I'll be preparing some awesome graphic novel-related posts soon.

But for now, I'll share with you the place to check if you wanna see if there are any events near you - and remind you (or share for the first time, if you don't already know!) about our cosplay workshops! Although they start at the end of this month, I'm still gonna pop the info here so you can check it out.

And remember to have a gander at our new titles page, where you can see all the new graphics we've gotten our mitts on for adults, as well as teens and kids, so you can pass your geekery on to the next generation (and always take some time to scroll through our non-fiction lists for some hidden gems, like this or this).

If that isn't even for you, also check out the popular culture nextreads eNewsletter. Not just for comics, this newsletter puts the light on some new releases, actor/screen related biographies and general popculture-y awesomeness.

KAPOW! SHAZAM! Comics But Not As You Know Them

Surprising enough, I've never been much of a comic book fan.  I just never saw their appeal.  Recently though I have been making an effort to try out more of this much misunderstood, and sometimes maligned, way of reading.

And I'm so glad I did because comics have come along way from the ones I remember as a kid.  The art work alone in some of them is truly amazing, and beautiful.  And in many ways they have helped me appreciate stories that never held all that much of an allure for me.

Which is really the point, don't you think?

If something gets you to enjoy, even love a story, then I'm all for it.

Personally I can't wait to discover more great comic delights.  Of course knowing me it will probably just end up as yet another addiction...

Romeo and Juliet : the war / reimagined by Stan Lee and Terry Dougas.

A recommendation from my fellow blogger Tosca, this is Romeo and Juliet as you've never seen them before.

Combining beautiful illustrations with a classic story and giving it a sci-fi twist.  Just wonderful.

Batman. Volume 1, The court of owls / Scott Snyder, writer.

In the argument of who you prefer Batman versus Superman, Batman has always been the one for me.

Mysterious, broody with a touch of bad boy and unlike Superman he has to rely on his own 'very human' abilities.  There's no flying or x-ray vision with this superhero and that's just how I like it.

Pacific Rim. Tales from year zero / writer, Travis Beacham.

Aliens from outer space. Earth under attack.  War machines. Yeah I am so there.

Even better there's a film coming out.  So double yay.

Until then check out this comic to see what all the fuss is about.

Star Trek the next generation / Doctor Who. Assimilation / [written by Scott & David Tipton with Tony Lee.

The moment I found out that someone had done a Doctor Who/Star Trek The Next Generation crossover I just had to check it out.

Because seriously this is so awesome and for a fanfic lover like me the ultimate kind of story..

If you've never read a crossover's before then you're in for a treat and if you're anything like me will probably want to hunt down every kind of crossover you can find.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer : the long way home / script, Joss Whedon.

I'm a Buffy fan so it will come as no surprise that I've read all the Buffy comics.

Because why not? Or better yet, why haven't you?  Especially if you a Buffy fan and wanted to know what happened after Season seven.

This series of comics carries on from where the TV show ended and will give you all the answers you've been craving and even better it's written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon.

Spike: the complete series / written by Brian Lynch

Buffy. Vampires. Bad boys...

I'm sensing a theme here but really can you blame me when the bad boy in question is none other than Spike.  He was (and is) the ultimate bad boy with a British accent (God aren't they the best), dressed all in black who underneath it all was really a hero.

Personally I would chosen him over Angel any day.  Buffy was a fool.

Winter Soldier / writer, Ed Brubaker

Men in tights?

Sorry doesn't really do it for me.

Men in black. With guns no less.  Well that's a whole different story.

Move over Captain America and hello Winter soldier.  Now this is my kind of superhero.

Now all I need to find is western comic with guns and cowboy hats and bad boys - who look super hot - because why the hell not.  So if you have any recommendations let me know.

Comic Book Month - Week 1

Scott Pilgrim

23 years old
Rating: Awesome


You may have heard of Scott Pilgrim already - they made the comics into a film a couple of years back, and while they did a pretty good job, the source material is better. I can't really do better than the blurb on the book to describe the scenario for you, so here it is:


Everything is totally sweet.
Scott Pilgrim's life is so awesome. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. but the path to Ms. Flowers isn't covered in rose petals. Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends stand in the way between Scott and true happiness. Can Scott beat the bad guys and get the girl without turning his precious little life upside-down?


Scott... well, basically he's an idiot, but you can't help rooting for him anyway. His complete cluelessness and optimism that everything will work itself out is kind of endearing. There's so much to love about the series, from Bryan Lee O'Malley's artwork to the wonderful character names (Knives Chau? That's one for the list). With six volumes and a movie, there's plenty to keep you going, and if you read them all that's one and a bit cards filled up for the Comic Book Month competition!

Edited to add: Try as I might I cannot get a link to this book on the catalogue to work, but you can find it on the catalogue if you search for Scott Pilgrim or Bryan Lee O'Malley

Comic Book Month!

I'm super excited. September is Comic Book Month at Auckland Libraries, which means we get a whole month to celebrate one of my favourite storytelling formats. There's plenty to sink your teeth into, with competitions and events galore.

Show off your art skills and enter our create a character competition. There are some great prizes up for grabs in four age groups, which means that anyone can enter. That amazing picture to the left is of last year's winner, and we've used it on our posters and fliers - so not only are there prizes on offer, but fame too is up for grabs!

If art isn't your thing, and you just want to get reading, all you need to do to enter our other competition is borrow five comics, graphic novels, or manga. You'll go in the draw to win a cool prize, and the top 5 readers in Auckland will also get their hands on some goodies.

There's more information about these competitions and events on our website, or you can come into the library and ask your friendly neighbourhood librarian! Keep tuned throughout September for comics recommendations and reviews.