Throwback Thursday! This review was first written for my Special Topics in Librarianship: The Graphic Novel class in October 2014.

(c.) 2014 by DC Comics

Title: Batman: Li'l Gotham: Vol. 1
Creators: Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs
Published: 2014 by DC Comics

Batman: Li’l Gotham, Vol. 1 is SO adorable! I love the artwork by Dustin Nguyen. They’re sort of reminiscent of Japanese chibi (a cute stylized manga/anime style characterized with large proportioned heads and eyes in relation to body).  This along with the watercolor-like illustrations add to the lighthearted feel --it was great to read after the more serious/violent/intense storyline in Batgirl. This volume was published in 2014, but many Batman characters show up in this "Li’l Gotham" regardless of space, time or the New 52 universe.

Each issue (there are six collected in this volume) has a holiday theme: Christmas, Halloween, Mother’s Day, etc. There are a lot of “easter egg” extras, jokes, and cameos regarding characters that only Batman savvy audiences would get. For example, one of my favorite stories of the bunch featured Batman/Bruce Wayne and all his “Robins” (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne) trying to make Alfred dinner for Father’s Day while Barbara Gordon and her dad (Commissioner Jim Gordon) run into a more villainous father/daughter pair …

I’d recommend it wholeheartedly, even to elementary aged students who are independent readers. If you needed to do a readers' advisory for a patron that wanted something similar, I’d recommend the Tiny Titans comic book series by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani.

Do you have any favorite "kid-friendly" comic book series?

This review was first written for my Special Topics in Librarianship: The Graphic Novel class in October 2014.


Title: Batgirl: Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection
Author: Gail Simone
Illustrators: Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes
Published: 2012 by DC Comics

I've wanted to read a Batgirl comic for awhile, because I heard that she was a librarian in her origin story!

This Batgirl volume was published in 2012 and is a part of the “New 52” universe. It brings Barbara Gordon back as Batgirl, which was a controversial move since she had been paralyzed since the 1980s “Killing Joke” storyline (which was also controversial itself). Between this time, she had come into another persona, The Oracle --an expert computer hacker and information specialist, proving her value even as a “handicapped” individual. This was one of the reasons why some objected to her mobile return as Batgirl: there are not many wheelchair bound comic book characters and as Oracle she was a role model for others like her.

One of the things that kept me away from Batman titles is that I didn't know how “dark” the titles are … and the 1980s-current titles seemed kind of dark to me. This volume was right at the edge of my tolerance level (violence-wise, language-wise, situation-wise, etc.) … Anything more I don't think I could enjoy, but the story was pretty interesting and I ended up enjoying most of it.

In this volume, Batgirl’s back on the scene and determined to prove to her mentors and to herself that she is ready to rejoin the fight for justice as she works to take down the mysterious new villain, Mirror. She isn’t a librarian (apparently that’s from her Silver Age origin), but has a degree in forensic psychology and an eidetic (“photographic”) memory.

I personally would recommend it for high school and up … unless a younger audience watched a lot of Criminal Minds or CSI types of shows, then perhaps they could handle it. If someone liked this title, I’d recommend one I’d like to get to eventually myself: Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey run which starred several female superheroes (Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, etc.) and is considered one of the best from that series (though it’s previous to the New 52 era).

Who's your favorite super-heroine?  Why?

This month is getting pretty busy!  With just about three weeks of the semester left and my lack of posting last month, I thought I'd have to take a break from blogging.  However, I just realized that I actually have some old reviews I haven't posted and material from my LIS classes from last semester I could blog about.  So if you guys are interested, I'll post from time to time about some of my required reading lists for my Library & Information Science classes. 

*Note - I don't necessarily recommend every title listed, this is meant to be a sample of reading lists from my LIS classes. As always, please do your own research before reading or purchasing titles for yourself or before giving them to your children.*

Special Topics in Librarianship: The Graphic Novel:

"... explore Graphic Novels and Comics in libraries for all ages with an emphasis on children and young adult titles. We will study collection development, programming, the history of graphics, censorship, and booktalking. A particular focus will be on Asian and Asian American titles including web comics and online comic resources ... This course is intended for librarians who plan to provide or already are providing library services in either a public or school library; teachers; and anyone else who is interested in graphic novels for any age." (Syllabus excerpt) 

Required Reading List:

Weeks 1 & 2 (Introduction and General Comics History):
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

Week 3 (History of Asian American Comics and Graphics):
Any Usagi Yojimbo comic book by Stan Sakai
Usagi Yojimbo: Duel at Kitanoji (Book 17) Review

Week 4 (Hawaii Comics and Graphics):
Any comic book by Jon Murakami

Week 5 (Elementary Age Graphics):
Smile by Reina Telgemeier
Any Little Lit book edited by Art Spiegelman
Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies Review

Week 6 (Non-Fiction Graphics):
March, Vol. 1 by John Robert Lewis & Andrew Aydin.  Illustrated by Nate Powell.
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

Week 7 (DC and Marvel):
Your choice, one of each featuring Batman and Spider-Man:

Batman comic book
Batgirl: Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection Review
Batman: Li'l Gotham: Vol. 1 Review
Spider-Man comic book
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.1 Review
Spider-Man: Blue

Week 8 (Collection Development):
None (midterm due)
Booktalk Assignment - "3 Graphic Novels Princess Leia Would Read"

Week 9 (Webcomics):
Your choice, any webcomic

Week 10 (Manga):
Attack on Titan, Vol. 1 by Hajime Isayama
Attack on Titan, Vol. 1 Review

Week 11 (Middle School Graphics):
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang
Saints by Gene Luen Yang
Ichiro by Ryan Inzama

Week 12 (Intellectual Freedom & Censorship):
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan. Illustrated by Fiona Staples

Week 13 (Outreach & Programming):
None

Week 14 (High School Graphics):
Night Fisher by Kikuo R. Johnson
Night Fisher Review

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen. Illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks

Week 15 (Graphics for Adults):
A Bride's Story, Vol. 1 by Kaoru Mori
A Bride's Story, Vol. 1 Review
Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami
Stargazing Dog Review

What are your favorite comic books or graphic novels?  Have you ever read any of the ones listed?

San Diego’s Comic Con is one of the largest pop culture conventions in the world and has become not just a place for comic book enthusiasts as its name suggests, but one of the premiere events for those in the television, film, book, toy, collectible, and gaming industries to unveil new products and information about upcoming releases.  Multiple panels and workshops feature actors, directors, artists, costumers, authors, and other guests.  This year the event runs from July 24^th – 27^th and though many fans (such as myself) won’t be able to attend, I thought it’d be fun to go through the San Diego Comic Con Event Schedule and write about some interesting panels and workshops I’ll be keeping an eye on as I count down to Comic Con.

Countdown to Comic Con - Superheroes

Marvel Television Presents

The cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (c.) Disney/Marvel

Marvel Studios

Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment: The Flash, Constantine, Arrow, and the World Premiere of Gotham with Special Appearances by Casts and Producers, Hosted by Arrow's Stephen Amell

      The Flash and his allies quickly became one of my favorite superhero “families” ever since first watching Young Justice last year.  Though Grant Gustin’s version of Barry Allen/The Flash is younger and not as bulked up as the comic book depictions, he won me over in his appearances in Arrow (from whence The Flash will be a spin off of). Though I couldn’t really get into Arrow (though I do love Felicity Smoak), I’m definitely going to be watching The Flash this fall! Check out the extended trailer below ... pretty neat, right?