Friday, August 27, 2010

ALA Great Graphic Novel Nominations for 2011 (1)

I wrote this way back when the list was first published and am only now getting around to posting this. Yay for Grad School distraction! I have since read some of the titles, which I will post reviews of soon.

Somewhere on my Twitter feed, I saw this Tweet that the Nomination for the Great Graphic Novels of 2011 is available. While this is excited news, can I be honest with you? As a librarian and an avid graphic novel reader, even though I'm not as in touch as I have been, about 80% of these titles are no where to be found on my blog rolls nor what I have seen circulating in the library. I mean, where's Gaiman's Whatever Happened To the Caped Crusader? (Ok, a little research shows this should have been on the 2010 list. I nearly CRIED over the brilliance of it). Where's Chi's Sweet Home which looks like it is going to be everyone's favorite all-ages GN (DAWWWWWWWWWW! Expect a review!). I find it uneasy that I don't recognize even half of the nominations.

I honestly feel like I shouldn't complain. I'm not on the committee (yet, but intend to after grad school), but honestly, I'm not that excited about this list. I mean, 2010 had many titles I recognized, wanted to read, and were, I thought, good picks, but this list? I recognize more titles as I look at it, but then I notice all the "book-to-graphic-novel" suggestions, which are seriously hit and miss. I just read a Marvel adaptation that almost killed the book for me (except there are great movie adaptions-expect a review) and one title on this list, when I post the review, isn't pretty as well. And speaking of book-to-GN adaptations, where is the infamous (I didn't/couldn't finish it) Twilight GN? Didn't the book make it to one of the other lists?  Or Maximum Ride?

Maybe as a GN reader, I have different expectations of the Great Graphic Novel list, but I think there should be more to the list than book adaptations, or just what looks like it'll work. Yes, plot is important, but we also like pure fluff and sometimes the really zany.

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