Comments on: our books, our shelves

By: elswhere

elswhere — Tue, 09 May 2006 04:17:00 +0000

I’m a school librarian and am starting to see some nonfiction books in graphic-”novel”/comic format through library-oriented publishers. Biographies, books about Pearl Harbor, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, that kind of thing. I’ve bought some, and have been wavering about where to put them, since unlike booksellers I can’t shelve them in two places (unless I get two copies, and I won’t b/c it’s a small library).

This post is pushing me in the direction of shelving them by their subject, not necessarily in 741.5 with all the other comic books. Though I kind of had this hope that Garfield-crazy kids might get interested in the civil rights movement that way…

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:44:00 +0000

The kind of funny thing, I guess, is that this arrangement was brought about intentionally by some pretty well-known comics people — Chris Oliveiros of D&Q, Art Spiegelman, and others, who appealed directly to the Book Industry Standards And Communications (BISAC) group . The plan was to remove graphic novels from the science-fiction and roleplaying game ghetto and into a new graphic novel section with subcategories, so you wouldn’t have to find Powerpuff Girls right next to Preacher. The thing is, most bookstores focus on manga more than any other kind of comic, so it’s not really in their best interest to subdivide things into categories when the rest of what you have could apparently be split into “autobiography,” “politics,” and “other” (or “both”).

That said, the format of comics is still a major draw for would-be buyers, such that it does make some sense for bookstores to be shelving these things together for the time being. Clever bookstore owners will shelve things in two places as needed, I’ve found.

By: Jaibe

Jaibe — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 22:16:00 +0000

Maus is truly awesome and amazing, but so is Persepolis. In 1986 I read Dark Knight & Maus and thought there was a new artistic genre, but then I had to wait two decades to read something that went even further. (I haven’t read V yet, to be fair; I have heard about it.) Anyway, anyone who doesn’t put Persepolis on the same grounds as Maus is not doing us any favours in winning any hearts and minds.

If I had a billion dollars, I would send a copy of Perspolis to every 14 year old girl in America and hope that would head off the war with Iran. (Someone in the administration must be related to a 14 year old girl…)

I guess to be fair though “graphic novel” didn’t mean anything in 1986, maybe Maus helped change that.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 15:11:00 +0000

Fascinating discussion.
More on libraries…

Maus is one of the few graphic novels that has been classified by the Library of Congress as a work on a topic rather than a work by format. This means it gets shelved with other books on the Holocaust rather than with other graphic novels.
The call numbers for Maus are:
LC: D810.J4;
Dewey: 741.59/73
The LC call number is with books on the Holocaust, the Dewey call number is with graphic novels.

Persepolis has call numbers of:
LC: PN6747.S245 (graphic novels)
Dewey: 955.05/42/092 (Biography)

Fun Home has been classified as a graphic novel by the LC.
The LC and Dewey call numbers are:
LC: PN6727.B3757
Dewey: 741.5/973

LC does not seem to have added any additional subjects to the books other than:
Bechdel, Alison, 1960- –Comic books, strips, etc.
Cartoonists–United States–Comic books, strips, etc.

This means that in most libraries the book will be shelved with items by format rather than by topic.

Not very consistant.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:54:00 +0000

Starrai says:

Sadly, this is really not uncommon practice. Graphic Novels and Comics in general have been all lumped together for so long, it’s hard for people to realize that they might actually be different genres, as opposed to “those funny books for kids”. To be honest, I was a comics nerd first, and it came as a great surprise to me that comics material could be found outside the Graphic Novel or Humor section.

However. DTOWF and stuff like Curbside Boys and Ethan Green are all in the “Gay/Lesbian” section of most major bookstore chains instead of the Graphic Novel section. I can’t tell if this is marginalization or recognition. Such is the conundrum of two oppressed literary traditions coming together.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 04:48:00 +0000

V for Vendetta is a graphic novel and is perhaps one of the best pieces of literature ever written and it’s kept beside comic books as well. Many graphic novels are extremely well written and kept beside the latest issues from DC and Marvel. I don’t see this as a slight at all, rather more like giving you an opportunity to present a novel to a pretty wide audience. More people read comic books than one would normally think.

By: bea

bea — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:24:00 +0000

Strikes me as a little odd that of the four upcoming releases they mentioned, 3 appear to be about cancer. The fourth being Fun Home.

Fun Home isn’t also secretly about cancer, is it?

By: Jaibe

Jaibe — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:39:00 +0000

To be fair to Batman, I’d be happy to ever write something as good as The Dark Knight (Frank Miller)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:51:00 +0000

and let’s see where the highstreet bookshops shelve it, too – my local (Waterstones in Gower Street, London WC1 likes to hide the DTWOF books in the upper shelves of sociology!

By: Minnie-sota

Minnie-sota — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 02:55:00 +0000

I was just about to mention libraries, but Megan beat me to it. In any case, it will be interesting to see where libraries in my area shelve your new graphic memoir.