Comics come of age at Reedsburg Public Library
(Submitted photo)
Though many of us think of comic books as the juvenile leisure reading of yesteryear, today comics have come of age in the form of graphic novels. Graphic novels are book length fiction or nonfiction works made up of comics, where the drawing and the speech balloons tell the story. Reedsburg Public Library currently boasts a number of young adult and adult graphic novel selections.
Local resident Jim Hofrichter has been a graphic novel enthusiast for several years and a frequent user of Reedsburg Public Library’s graphic novel collection. Hofrichter has been reading comics since he was 10 in 1967, and never quit reading or learning their history. From enjoying DC comics as a child he has come to appreciate as an adult the book length works of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, where science fiction and fantasy intersect with the superhero story.
In 1976, when the graphic novel format was first evolving, Hofrichter read “Red Tide” by Jim Steranko, a private detective story in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. The experience would fuel an inveterate interest in the graphic novel representations of various fiction genres, nonfiction and biography, in addition to superhero and fantasy stories.
According to Hofrichter, “a good graphic novel combines the best of film and written media. Like a film, a good graphic novel can immediately draw you into a setting, whether that’s a far away planet, a war zone or a modern urban environment. And it can show you that what a character is feeling, might be the opposite of what the person is saying or doing. Graphic novels can be pure fun, moving, or both at the same time.” His most recent recommendation is “Dragon Hoops,” by Gene Luen Yang, the autobiographical story of a guy “who doesn’t get sports,” but who is inextricably drawn into following the basketball team at the school where he teaches.
A look at the Reedsburg Public Library’s graphic novel section confirms the variety of stories and subjects covered by the medium. Classic fiction such as Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” has been adapted to graphic novel format. “Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees” written and illustrated by Don Brown, effectively employs illustrations to chronicle the plight of those persecuted under the Assad regime. Derf Backderf conducted extensive historical research and interviews for his recent graphic novel “Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio.”
Reedsburg Public Library is one of over 50 libraries in the South Central Library system with graphic novel collections. Hofrichter comments that he is usually able to find the books he is interested in reading through LINKCat or on Hoopla, the new resource for digital download available on Reedsburg Public Library’s homepage.
If you have questions about graphic novels, or any library program or service, call Reedsburg Public Library at 768-READ or email info@reedsburglibrary.org.
