Begin at the beginning...

Just to set this up- this blog is part of my independent study project for my library science degree. I’ve decided to spend this semester learning more about graphic novels and manga and their role in the school and public library. I’ve been a public school teacher for a while now, so I’ve seen how well they work for motivating hard to interest readers, and I’ve seen how much kids flat out enjoy reading them.

I’m kind of jealous of kids today, and how easily available graphic novels and manga are. You can wander into any major chain bookstore or independent and find a huge selection to choose from. My own experiences were very different. Around 1985 a TV show appeared on my television, called Robotech. It was love at first sight. Lisa and Rick made my pre-teen heart flutter. My father had raised me on a steady diet of Godzilla and Dr.Who, so I was already predisposed to loving sci-fi. Robotech had everything I needed, aliens, battle mecha, and a love story. It was my first exposure to anime, and it stuck. I loved Robotech, I wanted more. The only problem was, there was no place to get it. My father ended up buying tickets to Star Trek conventions to get me into the exhibit room, which at the time was the best place to get anime materials. I would wander out of the sales room laden with books in Japanese, movies, comics and albums.

Despite starting out with a bang, I drifted away from my interest because it was hard to find, and the only other alternative was comic books. While there were some comics I liked, I’m not a super hero fan, and many American comics are all flash and bang. I was also entering my hard core feminist phase and was offended by all the female super heroes in spandex and bikinis. How did they fight in those things?

I’ve been enjoying reading the manga I’ve found so far, and I know that had it been available to me as a young adult I would have been an addict. I may become an adult addict, I’ve already found a few series that I may keep reading long after I’m done with this class.