Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries http://ccgclibraries.com Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries Mon, 29 Feb 2016 05:39:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.7 Captain America: Civil War Choose a Side Program http://ccgclibraries.com/captain-america-civil-war-choose-a-side-program/ Mon, 29 Feb 2016 05:39:31 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2157 Whether you like it or not, it’s time to choose a side.

It’s a lesson I learned this past Black Friday. Generally, it’s one of the least popular days to be stuck working the reference desk.  Everyone’s either grumbling about missing out on Black Friday shopping deals, or bitter about not getting to sleep in and eat leftover pie with friends and family. But last November’s Black Friday was different. Since several staff members hadn’t seen each other because of Thanksgiving, there was only one thing to discuss—and it had nothing to do with pumpkin pie or shopping.

I’ve been waiting for you to get here. Did you see it?”

“Are you kidding? I watched Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans introduce it on Jimmy Kimmel.”

“What? How did I miss that?”

“It was pretty epic. After Kimmel I watched it a few more times on YouTube. Just a few more, though, like, twenty…five.”

“Seriously, who am I to judge? I figured you’d love it, because…so much Bucky!”

“I know, and the music? Oooh, and that last scene, where Cap and the Winter Solider—or Bucky— or whatever he wants to be called—were wailing on Iron Man?”

So good! It looked like Iron Man was holding his own, though.”

“Wait…what?”

“Look, I know, I know, but…it’s Tony Stark. I sort of…might be Team Iron Man on this one. Is that a problem?”

“No, no, it’s fine. I just didn’t realize you were a crazy person.”

 

So…it looks like Captain America: Civil War is going to cause an actual civil war or sorts—with friends and coworkers falling on different sides of the superhero divide.  As long as we’re fighting, though, we may as well use it to our advantage by turning it into a program (after all, we’re librarians. It’s what we do.)

“Choose a Side” is a passive program I’ve used before, to great success. It works with any major rivalry, whether it’s Ohio State vs. Michigan, or Captain America vs. Iron Man. All you need is two clear containers, one for each side, decorated with “team colors,” and with entry slips in the corresponding colors (for example, blue and red for Cap, gold and maroon for Iron Man.) All patrons need to do is fill out the entry slip with their contact information, and drop it in their team’s jar. At the end of the program, you draw a winner, who gets a small prize—like a gift card, or a gift certificate to your local movie theater.

Civil-War-Recap-Infographic

If you’d like, you can add another element to the contest—for example, you can ask patrons why they’re on Team Cap or Team Iron Man, or how they think Captain America: Civil War will end. You can even print out some of the best responses, and post them around the contest containers. Patrons walking through may be drawn in by the colors, and by the fact that it’s easy to see which side is the most popular by the number of slips. It’s also an amazing opportunity to display your graphic novel collection, get people reading and discussing comics, and a way to start conversations with your patrons about the original Civil War comics, and how they ended (because…the movie won’t end the same way, will it? Will it?!)

Captain America: Civil War is coming, and it’s great opportunity to engage our patrons, try and increase the circulation statistics of our graphic novel collections, and have a little fun while we’re rooting for Captain America (like I said…we all have to choose a side.)

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Vertigo’s New Wave, Reviewed http://ccgclibraries.com/vertigos-new-wave-reviewed/ Wed, 24 Feb 2016 05:12:54 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2137 Vertigo seemed to be in dire straits the past few years, recruiting fewer creative teams on fewer books and returning to the (admittedly brilliant) Sandman well. That all changed in the Summer of 2015, when the publisher announced it would launch a dozen new series by the end of the year, with interesting creative teams and conceptual pitches that ran through fantasy, horror, sci-fi, suspense, comedy, and good old weirdness. I was hyped to the roof at this news, partly to see a comics publisher swinging for the fences (a rising publisher tide lifts all comics boats) and partly to see so many original series (with the exception of Lucifer, which is a spinoff of the Lucifer series that’s a spinoff of The Sandman).

Between October and the end of 2015, all twelve series have debuted, with some up to their third issue, and others only having just begun. I have willingly thrown my wallet to the flames of idle curiosity and collected them all (see top photo), and before I go through the review gauntlet of evaluating each one, let me just say… they’re all good. I was kind of counting on some stinkers in the bunch, even if just comics I’m not personally into enough to keep buying, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised (and impoverished) to enjoy them all.

That does not mean they will each be to your (or your library collection’s) taste, though. Keep in mind that these are all for mature readers. Twelve reviews did I volunteer, and twelve reviews have been written before Wednesday, January 6, when new issues would resume in the new year. If you would like second opinions, allow me to recommend Brian McNamara and Dave Accampo’s writing over at Panels, where they have teamed up to discuss the #1 issues for each series by month: October, November, December.

Without further ado, here’s one librarian’s response to the new Vertigo wave, and why you will or won’t fall for them too. In alphabetical order…

289459._SX580_QL80_TTD_Art Ops #1-2

Writer: Shaun Simon

Artists: Michael Allred, Matt Brundage

Covers: Michael Allred

Colors: Laura Allred

Letterer: Todd Klein

Editors: Molly Mahan, Shelly Bond

Premise: Paintings are inhabited by sentient beings, and the Art Ops want to protect them from vandals.

Impressions: Does it get more Vertigo than this? This series plays with exactly the sort of off-the-wall thought experiments I relish, especially for its examinations of how we interact with art. This is a series where the Mona Lisa is replaced in-painting with a decoy model, only to run away and join a rock band, flustering the Art Ops agents assigned to protect her. The Allreds and Brundage are clearly having a blast with each page, as panel borders sometimes interact with crowd shots and pages flow easily. “More color! More life! Let’s dance!” a doctor declares, saving a man with whose arm has been town from his body by painting one into place. This series can be read as a fairly straightforward fantasy adventure with odd mechanics, but there are interesting interpretations everywhere about the nature of art and how we interact with it. The major villain of the series, who turns works of art into grotesque servants, seems to believe art is only taken seriously when it threatens the audience. This comic has already been fun enough to disprove her claim, but I would love to see that theory develop.

 

Clean Room #1-3289464._SX580_QL80_TTD_

Writer: Gail Simone

Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt

Covers: Jenny Frison

Colors: Jon Davis-Hunt + Quinton Winter

Letterer: Todd Klein

Editors: Rowena Yow + Shelly Bond

Premise: Chloe Pierce is investigating a therapist, Astrid Mueller, whose books and treatments either grant enlightenment or drive people insane. Chloe wants to investigate Astrid’s methods, such as her cult-like organization and mysterious “Clean Room” that terrifies former disciples.

Impressions: While the first issue sets up the mystique of the Clean Room and places the reader in a world where nightmares appear to manifest in one form or another, the second issue is where the premise really takes off. Davis-Hunt’s monsters are genuinely creepy, and the Clean Room as a place for bringing fears to life plays out with wicked aplomb, including Astrid as its enigmatic host. Seemingly harmless memories can be revisited in the Clean Room to find the demons lurking in one’s psyche, whether out of trauma, guilt, or full-blown psychopathy. Whatever you may know of Gail Simone’s work, strip away all the costumes and powers and consider only her treatments of internalized battles as you enter this.

289504._SX580_QL80_TTD_Jacked #1

Writer: Eric Kripke

Artist: John Higgins

Covers: Glenn Fabry & Ryan Brown

Colors: John Higgins + Sally Jane Hurst

Letterer: Clem Robins

Editors: Ellie Pyle + Shelly Bond

Premise: Sad-sack Josh is in a mid-life crisis that pelts him from all sides. He’s unemployed, engages with porn more readily than with his wife, he can’t teach his son how to hit a baseball, and age is wearing his body down. But a new pill called “Jacked” brings superpowers and rejuvenation.

Impressions: Everyday slobs existing in a world of superheroes are becoming a tired trope, but Kripke provides enough detail about Josh’s doldrum life that when Higgins busts loose with the visual splendor of what it’s like to be in a “jacked” state, readers will be happy to take another trip on Josh’s emotional rollercoaster of a new identity. Josh slamming a home run out of a batting cage wouldn’t have nearly as much impact without first seeing him and his son whiff and get offered pointers by more chiseled, tanned, successful guys. His stumbling into heroism won’t mean anything without unintended consequences, and the second issue shows how he may have bitten off more than he can chew.

 

Last Gang In Town #1289474._SX580_QL80_TTD_

Writer: Simon Oliver

Artist: Rufus Dayglo

Cover: Rufus Dayglo

Colors: Giulia Brusco

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editors: Molly Mahan, Jamie S. Rich, Shelly Bond

Premise: Hopping between England, 1977 and a near-futuristic 2018, the story follows a punk girl named Joey who spent the 70s raising hell with her band and seems to be ready to raise hell again in the future.

Impressions: Of all the Vertigo titles in this new wave, this one screams “cartoon” the loudest. Everyone is sharp, vicious, and full of expression, with unreal gestures like a mushroom cloud coming out of someone’s head to show anger or characters’ teeth going razor-sharp to show… also anger. The lady on the cover lighting her cigarette with a molotov cocktail screams edgy punk rocker, but Dayglo’s cartooning lends a ton of personality to even throwaway characters in the backgrounds. “I’m not anyone’s fuckin’ sweetheart,” Joey declares on her way out of a bar, bashing the bouncer over the head with a guitar and punting his crotch. She calls people wankers and dodges double-decker buses, but the time-hopping conceit could lead anywhere. For now, the “playful past, wisened future” angle has plenty of promise.

 

289509._SX580_QL80_TTD_Lucifer #1

Writer: Holly Black

Artist: Lee Garbett

Cover: Dave Johnson

Colors: Antonio Fabela

Letterer: Todd Klein

Editors: Molly Mahan, Ellie Pyle, Shelly Bond

Premise: God is dead, and a host of angels wants to find the murderer. They attack Lucifer, who has fallen back to Earth since his last story, and he agrees to also join the investigation.

Impressions: Am I a bad YA librarian if this is the first Holly Black story I’ve read? I liked Zombies Vs. Unicorns, which she co-edited, and now I’ve held her writing in my hands, and I like that, too. This issue sets up a lot of players for future issues, from the angelic host to Lucifer and his cat-headed butler to a wicked lady who might be hunting for Lucifer. As far as first issues go, it’s a solid introduction, but everything depends on how these pieces collide and collaborate. There seems to be a pattern of things glowing or burning on nearly every single page, and it’s a credit to Johnson and Fabela that they pull off the effect in all of the settings here. Will these supernatural people remain so bright?

 

New Romancer #1289514._SX580_QL80_TTD_

Writer: Peter Milligan

Artist: Brett Parson

Cover: Brett Parson

Colors: Uncredited (Brett Parson?)

Letterer: Todd Klein

Editors: Rowena Yow, Shelly Bond

Premise: Computer genius Lexy is working on an artificial intelligence program to match profiles on a dating site. Lexy’s also coded it to simulate the personalities of historical figures, which goes awry when her software merges with another company’s body-incubation chamber, bringing them back to life with the minds of the old romantics, including Casanova and Lord Byron.

Impressions: Is the title a take on William Gibson’s “Neuromancer?” This comic is a serious genre mashup, with touches of sci-fi, romance, and thriller, meaning it will either pay off each of those elements brilliantly or all of them will fizzle by the end of the first arc. For now, the prevailing effect is one of packed content, with the constant surprise of learning what the comic is really “about.” Lonely computer geek needs to save her employer… Lord Byron is playing ladies’ hearts without knowing how romance has changed… Casanova is back too, but seems to have changed drastically into a serial killer.

 

289469._SX580_QL80_TTD_Red Thorn #1-2

Writer: David Baillie

Artist: Meghan Hetrick

Covers: Uncredited (Hetrick?), Choong Yoon

Colors: Steve Oliff

Letterer: Todd Klein

Editors: Rowena Yow, Shelly Bond

Premise: Isla Mackintosh is looking for her sister, Lauren, and Isla’s drawings happen to come to life. While she has struggled with understanding her illustration power, she has unwittingly been giving power to a demon named Thorn, who is about to break his ancient bonds.

Impressions: Another “what of art?” title, but with a fantasy horror bend. It’s also really Scottish, down to the redheads and “bonnie wee thing” accent. A variety of text bubbles contain runic symbols, text messages, ancient manuscript on parchment, and several colors assigned to different speakers/narrators, all courtesy of Todd Klein. Hey, he letters about a third of Vertigo’s new wave, he was going to get a shoutout eventually, and this comic is a good showcase. The story and art, much like the proverbial Scottish fairy tale, is alternately charming and savage. Isla pacifies a barbarian gnome Stanash by illustrating his long-lost wife Morag, only for Morag to appear, snap his neck, and gleefully return to Isla’s notebook (Stanash had fallen for a cackling killer, turns out). The perpetually shirtless (or just nude) Thorn is a playfully nasty spirit, and it will be interesting to see how Isla resists (or succumbs to!) his charms.

 

The Sheriff of Babylon #1289489._SX580_QL80_TTD_

Writer: Tom King

Artist: Mitch Gerads

Covers: John Paul Leon

Colors: Mitch Gerads

Letterer: Nick Napolitano

Editors: Molly Mahan, Jamie S. Rich, Shelly Bond

Premise: Christopher is an officer in charge of officer training in Baghdad, ten months after the city’s fall directly after 9/11.

Impressions: “Does this place have a sheriff?” Christopher asks near the end of the first issue, signaling the void of authority or control in Baghdad. He may as well be hunting Harry Lime, for how much he’s in over his head. Arranged and revenge killings have taken place, and Chris is only becoming aware of a body found out on the street in the green zone. He still tries to give people a fair shake, as when he tries to talk down a suicide bomber, only for her to get shot down before his eyes. Every gunshot in this comic is signaled with an all-black panel containing a single “bang,” with multiple gunshots filling up the page with black panels. Gerads is absolutely killing it on art and colors, and Napolitano’s font and bubble choices convey the different languages and roles in the story well. Some of these series didn’t truly sell me until their second issues, but this is one hell of a start.

 

289494._SX580_QL80_TTD_Slash & Burn #1-2

Writer: Si Spencer

Artist: Max Dunbar

Inker: Ande Parks

Covers: Tula Lotay

Colors: Nick Filardi

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Editors: Molly Mahan, Jamie Rich, Shelly Bond

Premise: Rosheen Hayes is a brilliant firefighter with a close relationship with fire… because she’s a pyromaniac.

Impressions: I was relatively cool to this book, but Spencer’s treatment of pyromaniac addiction fanned my flames until I couldn’t wait to get the next chapters. Seriously, scroll back through these descriptions and tell me where “firefighter who loves fire” fits in, but this is easily one of my favorites. Spencer humanizes Rosheen with well-worn flashbacks that show she was committed to the life of flame from a young age, spending her formative years associating with some comparably amateur hellraisers. Lotay’s covers get across the mixture of passion, danger, and duty that makes for a unique mixture that leads directly into the payoff of Dunbar, Parks, and Filardi’s interior art.

 

Survivors’ Club #1-3289479._SX580_QL80_TTD_

Writer: Lauren Beukes + Dale Halvorsen

Artist: Ryan Kelly

Covers: Bill Sienkewicz

Colors: Eva De La Cruz

Letterer: Clem Robins

Editors: Rowena Yow, Shelly Bond

Premise: A huge pull for anyone who uses the term “final girl” in casual conversation, this series follows six survivors of separate traumatic horrors that all took place in 1987, each strongly resembling the premise to a horror movie. One of the survivors thinks she has found a common thread between them that points to a larger scheme, and soon the relatively recovering group must face their old demons.

Impressions: Did you enjoy the movie Cabin In The Woods, or the videogame Until Dawn? This ought to win you over fairly quickly. I’m a sucker for horror figures interacting and even being pitted against one another, which happens plenty enough in this series, and cools down somewhat as it follows the characters meant to seriously investigate what in the world has brought the survivors together. The Beukes and Halvorsen’s setup allows Kelly, De La Cruz, and Robins to play to whatever style fits the horror in the spotlight for the moment. Japanese “Ringu” horror? Haunted house? Swarm of bugs? Living doll? This has all of those and a few more, and when I’m not creeped out, I’m still thrilled just to see what’s next and how it’ll be incorporated with the cast.

 

289499._SX580_QL80_TTD_ copyThe Twilight Children #1-3

Gilbert Hernandez, Darwyne Cooke

Writer: Gilbert Hernandez

Artist: Darwyne Cooke

Covers: Darwyn Cooke

Colors: Dave Stewart

Letterer: Darwyn Cooke

Editors: Rowena Yow, Shelly Bond

 

Premise: Glowing spheres descend on a beachside community, weirding out its residents young and old as a mysterious woman arrives.

Impressions: Three issues in, I’m scared to see how this four-issue series ends. There have been some deliciously magical mysteries and dramas courtesy of Hernandez, but there are so many loose threads! Silver-haired lady shows up, sometimes glows, blind kids can see, people get teleported in a flash of light, men are panting over women, and I can’t see how this will all end in a coherent, satisfying fashion. And you know what? That’s okay, because Cooke and Stewart put together spectacular art in every issue.

 

Unfollow #1-2289484._SX580_QL80_TTD_

Writer: Rob Williams

Artist: Mike Dowling

Covers: Matt Taylor

Colors: Quinton Winters

Letterer: Clem Robins

Editors: Ellie Pyle, Molly Mahan, Shelly Bond

Premise: The most dangerous game, played out according to a list of Twitter followers. When a dying billionaire selects 140 beneficiaries to receive his personal fortune, someone begins killing them off to increase the payout.

Impressions: All of these series jump into their central premise fairly quickly, which speaks well to their pacing but also begs the question of which ones will get adapted into film and television. This was already optioned into a TV series before its first issue hit the stands, and it’s clear why: the setup is perfect for serialization. 140 people getting hunted for money? That’s carte blanche for diverse casting, lush locations, a range of tones – everything a production crew and writer’s room can dream. As it stands in print, Dowling’s textured art style and Williams’s colorful cast of characters -any of whom seem like they could steal the spotlight- are ready for prime time readership.

 

Epilogue: Some Stray Observations About These Series In General

-Nearly all women in the editorial department supervising a majority-male workforce.

-Many of these series contain at least one scene/panel of either frontal nudity or characters putting their clothes on post-coitus; nonetheless, none of these feel exploitative of their ladies or gentlemen (well, maybe with Thorn, but he seems to enjoy the attention as his M.O.).

-I am prepared to eat a lot of crow if these series have weak endings and the trades come out and fellow librarians have to tell me, “Wow, your taste sucks.”

-Lest anyone think I’m a Vertigo fanboy and enjoy everything they publish, let me defensively declare that Get Jiro: Blood & Sushi and The Names were both glaring disappointments from the publisher.

-Image has risen to prominence as the reputed go-to publisher for indie comics*, with their straightforward terms for creative teams in terms of ownership (everything belongs to the creators) and payout (30% to Image, everything else to the creators). Vertigo used to be in that position, and it’s interesting to see them stage a comeback, but what changed? Does Vertigo have more connections with studios to secure high-profile adaptations? Did Vertigo change its basic contract? Are they offering more money by not hiring inkers? Hmmm, just curious.

*Shorthand for “not Marvel or DC,” and with all due respect to Dark Horse, Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, Boom, IDW, Oni, Top Shelf, MonkeyBrain, and other fine publishers

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Serving Your Tween Anime Population http://ccgclibraries.com/serving-your-tween-anime-population/ Mon, 22 Feb 2016 05:42:03 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2130 In public libraries, anime clubs have become a more mainstream and expected part of teen programming. In my first library job, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to start a successful young adult anime club. While we occasionally did planned activities, it was clear that the teens were mainly interested in having a space to relax, watch anime, chat and eat snacks. They were also instrumental in planning our annual convention. Over those five years, I watched as teens of different ages and backgrounds became friends while bonding over a shared interest; they would often talk about school, life and other things that demonstrated they felt comfortable in the environment created for them. Before relocating to my current library job, a state away, I handed the torch to two former teens who continue running the club.

 

Teen to Tween

One of the first programs I started as a full time children’s librarian was my tween anime club, geared for children in fourth through seventh grade. While the teens were happy to veg out and watch anime, eager to try obscure series and re-watch mainstream shows they were already familiar with, I noticed this wasn’t the case with my tweens, especially the younger ones.  I knew after our first meeting that I would have to restructure what I had done in the past to fit the needs of my new population, and it took some trial and error before finding out what worked with my new group. Here are some of my favorite activities that I’ve done so far.  All of the activities are low cost and easy to adapt to meet the needs of your young anime fans. I also love including raffles, prizes or little giveaways when I can.

Food Activities

pkachucookie

  • Candy sushi is a fun activity that I have done with a variety of age groups and has been a big hit with my tweens. Rice Krispy Treats, Swedish Fish, Fruit Roll-ups and any other candy you have on hand is transformed to look like sushi.
  • Cookie or cupcake decorating is another popular activity at our library. We’ve made Poke Balls and Dragon Balls out of both cookies and cupcakes, which simply required red and white and yellow and orange icing respectively. I also purchased Naruto, Pikachu and generic ninja cookie cutters, which allow for more intricate cookies.

 

 

 

pyramid

Crafts

  • Using old Shonen Jump magazines and other discarded comics and magazines, we used Mod Podge to decoupage wooden boxes, stones, glass jars and other items I had in the craft closet.

 

Game Shows

  • Game show programs are a personal favorite of mine, and I love creating anime-themed programs based on Jeopardy, Minute to Win-It, $25,000 Pyramid, and Trust Me: I’m a Game Show Host. Questions and challenges can easily be adapted to reflect the knowledge and interest of your patrons.  See my previous post on Anime Game Show Programs.

 

Planning Tosho-con

  • As I did with my teens, I immediately brought my anime club regulars on board to help plan our annual comic and anime convention. Doing so provides them with unique leadership opportunities, as well as the ability to share their knowledge and passion while helping to create a large scale library program. See my previous post on Tween Convention Volunteers.

 

Screenings

Being younger and just beginning their foray into the world of anime and manga, I noticed that most of the their exposure was limited to Pokemon, Dragonball Z and Naruto–all excellent series–but they were not as interested in experiencing new material. It has been three years since I first started the tween anime club, and my fourth graders, the largest portion of the group at the time, are now all seventh graders. It has been fascinating to see their interests change and mature during that time. Their newfound interest in a wide variety of series has trickled down to the current fourth graders, who are very willing to try something new.

Similarly, lot of my tweens are already watching and reading series that are not age appropriate like Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul. While they can read and watch what they want–I remember reading manga that was meant for older teens/adults when I was younger–and I am happy to chat with them about those series, I make it clear that in anime club, we will be sticking to shows that are targeted to their age group. While what we watch often depends on the demographics of who is there that month, some of my general favorite go-to series include:

Chi’s New Address: In the sequel to Chi’s Sweet Home, adorable cat Chi has more adventures with her friends and human family.

Joker: Phantom thieves can make miracles happen, and unlike burglars, they use cool gadgets and always give advance notice for what treasures they plan to steal.

RWBY: With magic, plenty of action sequences, and graphics that resemble a video game, this cartoon is sure to appeal to tween anime fans.

Sailor Moon Crystal: Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts fight for love and justice in the reboot of the classic series that more closely follows the original manga.

Yakitate!Japan: Kazuma Azuma’s dream is to create Ja-Pan!, a bread that will be as iconic in the eyes of the Japanese as other breads are around Europe.

Zatch Bell: Every thousand years, one hundred Momodo go to Earth, find a human partner, and battle to become the next King of the Momodo world.

All of these can be accessed via Crunchyroll.com, a legal anime streaming website that allows libraries to set up free premium accounts. http://www.crunchyroll.com/outreach

Other series recommendations include:

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo: With his giant yellow afro and extendable nose hairs that are good in a fight, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo battles the evil that wishes to make the world bald.

Card Captors Sakura: After finding out that she has magical powers when she releases the mysterious Clow Cards into the world, she is tasked to retrieve them and save the world.

Digimon: Follows the adventures of children who enter the digital world and meet the Digimon or Digital Monsters.

Glitter Force: A team of magical girls are recruited to fight against evil fairy tale characters that threaten Earth and the mystical Kingdom of Jubiland, where the fairy tale characters reside. (Series is called Pretty Cure in Japanese)

Hikaru no Go: Hikaru finds an ancient Go board that is inhabited by a former Go master from the Heian Period (794-1185) of Japan.

Pokemon: Follows the adventure of Pokemon trainer Ash on his journey to the become a Pokemon Master.

Shugo Chara: Amu is not as confident as her outward appearance leads her classmates to believe. When she wishes for the courage to be her true self, three eggs appear which house her Guardian Characters, giving her the ability to change into who she really wants to be.

Yo-kai Watch: An ordinary boy is given a watch that allows him to see and identify the various Yo-Kai (monsters, ghosts, etc.) living in the human world.

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Getting Nerdy this Winter Season: 3D Printing Your Favorite Fandoms http://ccgclibraries.com/getting-nerdy-this-winter-season-3d-printing-your-favorite-fandoms/ Wed, 17 Feb 2016 06:54:52 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2119 If you’re a nerd like me, and let’s face it…you must be if you’re here, you are in love with the 3D printer. It carries so much awesome present potential, holiday happiness, winter wonder.

I wanted to share with you some winter-themed applications; namely making ornaments, snowflakes, cookie cutters and other festive objects. The snowflakes and ornaments make fantastic decorations around the house, the office, or the library. And they are not for any specific holiday, apart from the winter-theme. They are simply all-inclusive and fun. They brighten up any space they’re in, and are an easy way to decorate while still showing your geeky pride. Especially when you find awesome objects like Star Wars themed snowflakes and baubles!

Thermal Detonator ornament: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:185165

Star Wars Snowflakes: www.thingiverse.com/thing:1034193

Rebel Alliance or Galactic Empire Ornament: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:595515

BB-8 Keychain: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1238179

And hey, maybe Star Wars isn’t your fandom of choice—which is fine! There are tons of options, but here are some of my favorites.

Space Invadorzhttp://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5080
Mario: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:190014

Pacman/ghost: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:210342

I find the majority of my objects on Thingiverse, whose virtues I’ve extolled before, and with good reason. The builds work, and work well, in the majority of cases. Nothing is wonky, and if you aren’t up to the challenge of designing your own objet from scratch, all the frustrating design work has already been done for you. I had never dreamed that I would be creating my own designs, nor could I have imagined just how easy designing them could be. Even if you don’t get out there and print anything, I encourage you to checkout Thingiverse and cruise around for a few minutes. It is really neat what people are coming up with.

tie-ornament

 

Now, on to cookie cutters…because who doesn’t love a good cookie? With the cold weather keeping us inside, it is fun to experiment with new recipes and new prints! I enjoy baking and making something unexpected, and what better way to do that than by baking up a batch of IronMan shaped cookies? The cookie cutters, and the cookies for that matter, make great gifts for your comic obsessed bakers. And as an added bonus, the cookie cutters can even be used to cut fun sandwich shapes! Sure, the sandwiches will be a tea party sized, aka teeny tiny, but that just makes it more whimsical. Here are links to some of my favorites.

Supermanhttp://www.thingiverse.com/thing:934299

Pacman: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13951

Dr. Whohttp://www.thingiverse.com/thing:14533

Batmanhttp://www.thingiverse.com/thing:35796

Ironmanhttp://www.thingiverse.com/thing:225431
WonderWomanhttp://www.thingiverse.com/thing:636317

I enjoy sharing how accessible and fun 3D printing can be. With the ease of finding objects on Thingiverse, and helpful librarians everywhere, the doors of possibility are thrown open. I wish you fun and joy in your printing, decorating, and baking endeavours!

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Random Fandom Program: Star Wars http://ccgclibraries.com/random-fandom-program-star-wars/ Mon, 15 Feb 2016 05:45:07 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2110 As I’m sure most of you are aware, a program that you think will be wildly successful completely bombs. That is what happened at my Random Fandom program for Star Wars. My Teen Advisory Group chose the fandom and planned it all. I marketed it just as I had every other Random Fandom program, and… I had three people, two of whom knew nothing about Star Wars but came anyways because they said Random Fandom is always fun. (I have to admit, that made me feel tons better.)

While I heard all week from my teens the reasons they couldn’t be there, the three that did attend had fun, even though I had to modify most of the activities for a smaller group. Hopefully, some or all of these will work for you.

Get a Jedi Name

There are Jedi name generators online, but if you want a pen-and-paper version, I found one from the Facebook page for Jedi Alliance, a vodcast all about Star Wars. Here’s how you find out your Jedi name: Combine the first three letters of your first name and the last two letters of your last name to get your Jedi first name. For your Jedi last name, combine the first two letters of your middle name and the first three letters of the city where you were born. Place apostrophes or dashes wherever it makes sense in the name. Give your teens name tags to write their Jedi name have them answer to only that name for the program. It’s quite funny!

Trivia

I had a TAG member who is very into Star Wars create a Jeopardy-style game for the program. Suggested categories include Technology, Places, and Characters. With two of my three attendees knowing nothing about Star Wars, my trivia became more of a Star Wars mini-education.

RandomFandomStarWars2

Use the Force

Before the program, I made a few lightsabers out of pool noodles from the dollar store and duct tape for the handles.
You can choose to do this during your program, but I have learned from previous programs that I never get any teens interested in crafts. Using their lightsabers, they had to keep a balloon in the air as long as they could. Play some themed music and get ready to laugh.

 

Death Star Hot Potato

The intention of this game was to play hot potato with a ball that looked like the Death Star. You can find a Death Star beach ball on Amazon, but it was unfortunately out of stock at the time. Luckily, Star Wars merchandise was everywhere in December, so we were able to find a Star Wars-themed ball. The game as it was planned was to play hot potato with the ball to the cantina music until only one person was left. With only three people, that would have made for a very short game, so my attendees decided to turn the game into a combination of dodgeball and baseball using their lightsabers. They played this until the end of the program.

Snacks

I don’t usually have themed snacks because my teens are happy with whatever chips, candy, and soda I put out, but honestly, I can’t resist a good pun. While looking at Pinterest for ideas for the program, I found a ton of recipes with printable labels. We had Yoda Soda, Obi-Wan Kabobies (fruit kabobs), Wookie Cookies (Star Crunch cookies, with or without the Chewbacca face in icing), Vader Tater Chips, and Luke Skywater.

Our anime mini-con is happening soon, so to celebrate, our next Random Fandom is on Attack on Titan! If you have any questions about Star Wars Random Fandom, or any other fandom program, email me at heather.botelho@flower-mound.com!

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Secret Stacks Podcast Episode 10 http://ccgclibraries.com/secret-stacks-podcast-episode-10/ Wed, 10 Feb 2016 05:31:03 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2154 Comics are seeing a new golden age – of talent, readers, and resources. Secret Stacks invites you to join a conversation between Kristin Lalonde and Thomas Maluck, two librarians who share comics and graphic novel news, readers advisory, guest interviews, and tales from the front lines of conventions and library services. Each episode appears here on CCGC Libraries on the second Wednesday of each month, with show notes to accompany topics covered in each episode.

Listen now

Secret Stacks Podcast Episode 10

You can also find us on iTunes, Stitcher, or whatever podcast app of choice!

Show Notes

Send a question to our Mailbag!
Follow the show on Twitter: @SecretStacks
Follow Kristin and Thomas on Twitter: @shinyinfo and @LiberryTom
Email the show at secretstackspodcast@gmail.com

Audio link: http://secretstacks.libsyn.com/secret-stacks-episode-10

 

Free Comic Book Day – May 7, 2016

Library ebook circulation boosts sales

Amazon’s influence on Comixology becoming more apparent

That Oxymoron, The Asian Comic Superhero

Coming Out As Gay Superheroes

The Valkyries – Comics Discussion & Advisory For Female Retailers & Librarians

Women In Refrigerators

 

Kristin’s Picks

Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat #1

Moongirl & The Devil Dinosaur #1-2

Through The Woods (9781442465954)

 

Thomas’s Picks

The Sandman: Overture (9781401248963)

Martian Manhunter (9781401261511)

Hereville: How Mirka Caught A Fish (9781419708008)

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Adding Star Wars to Your Comic Collection http://ccgclibraries.com/adding-star-wars-to-your-comic-collection/ Mon, 08 Feb 2016 06:29:54 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2099 Even if you aren’t a Star Wars fan, you have likely noticed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has revitalized the Star Wars fandom in recent weeks. Given its great popularity, and the fact that there will be another movie set in the same universe released next December, now is the perfect time to add some Star Wars flavor to your library’s graphic novel collection. Fortunately, the recently released Star Wars graphic novels offer a little something for everyone in terms of both artwork and storytelling. Below is a brief look at some recent comics that would be a great addition to virtually any library’s collection.

shatteredStar Wars: Shattered Empire – If you are going to add only one book from this list to your collection, this should be it. Written by Greg Rucka, not only does this volume provide details of the events that take place after the Battle of Endor at the end of Return of the Jedi, but it also provides some backstory for Poe Dameron, one of the main characters of The Force Awakens. The artwork does a nice job of conveying action sequences and the cast is diverse. The volume also includes a reprint of a Star Wars comic by Stan Lee from 1977 and a peak at the new Princess Leia series.

Princess Leia: Volume 1 – This book is perfect for Princess Leia fans of all ages. Set leiashortly after the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the series follows Princess Leia as she strikes out across the galaxy to save the remaining citizens of Alderaan. Mark Waid captures Leia’s voice well and Terry Dodson’s artwork brings a great deal of style to the story. They introduce new allies for Leia, including Evaan Verlaine, a human female who serves as her pilot throughout the story. This is a fun read that is approachable even for readers who do not typically read comics.

vaderDarth Vader: Volume 1 – Another, albeit very different, option is this series that focuses on Darth Vader. Written by Kieron Gillen, the author of Phonogram and Wicked + Divine, this story is packed with action sequences and fills in gaps in what fans know about Darth Vader’s actions during the original Star Wars trilogy. Fittingly, Salvador Larroca’s artwork for this story is darker than the other Star Wars comics series. This is a great option for fans of action-oriented comics.

Skywalker Strikes: Volume 1 – Set a while after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, this skywalkerstory is structured like a heist story, and has a nice combination of plot and action. The characterizations are true to the original Star Wars trilogy and there is plenty for Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, C-3PO and R2-D2 to do. Though this is technically a first volume, it works particularly well as a standalone volume.

landoLando – Written for everyone who has ever wanted to know more about Lando Calrissian’s past, this book fills in some much needed information about one of the most popular characters from the original trilogy. The book is created by the all-star team of Charles Soule and Alex Maleev, which will give it a broad appeal. It will be a sure fire hit for Lando’s fans, but also for those who enjoyed Soule’s work on She-Hulk and Death of Wolverine.

Chewbacca – Have you ever wondered what Chewie got up to when Han wasn’t around? chewbaccaIn this story, readers follow the Wookie as he heads off on a job of his own – only to crash land and end up with a very different mission indeed. When he runs into a teen girl who is desperately in need of help, how can he say no? Particularly since she won’t let him. Pulled into saving her father and friends from the clutches of an imperial collaborator, Chewie gets far more than he bargained for. The story by Gerry Duggan works perfectly with Phil Noto’s artwork to bring this story to life while still offering its fair share of laughs along the way. This volume won’t be released until March, but it is well worth taking a look at when it comes out.

Poe Dameron – Though this series isn’t out yet, it is definitely worth keeping an eye on and recommending to patrons who are looking for recommendations of new comics. Written by Charles Soule (who created the Lando series) and featuring artwork by Phil Noto (who created the art for Chewbacca), this series will follow rebel pilot Poe Dameron’s exploits prior to The Force Awakens. The series is set to debut in April.

Hopefully you will find something here to satisfy the Star Wars fans among your patrons! These are all great reads and all work well as standalone series too. In addition, though this post concentrates on comics, in the lead up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens a number of other tie-in books have been published. With options for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers, as well as a number of books focusing on the art and design of Star Wars, these are well worth adding to your library’s collection.

 

 

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Lady Killer Review http://ccgclibraries.com/lady-killer-review/ Wed, 03 Feb 2016 05:54:10 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=1875 Lady Killer
Author: Jamie S. Rich
Illustrator: Joëlle Jones
Publisher: Dark Horse Books

The conceit of this comic is simple: What if a housewife in Midcentury America was secretly an assassin on the side? From this jumping off point, Jamie S. Rich and Joëlle Jones create a picture of a world that looks a lot like Mad Men crossed with a Quentin Tarantino movie. The story centers on Josie Schuller, who is a seemingly perfect housewife with stylish clothing, a happy husband, two adorable children, and a suspicious mother-in-law. In addition to all of this, she also has a successful side business as a paid killer, unbeknownst to her family.ladykiller

The book doesn’t ease readers into the subject matter. Instead, it opens with Josie out on assignment and readers quickly realize that she is willing to go the distance to ensure that her hits are carried out. In a bit of thematic whiplash that sets the tone for the story as a whole, readers jump from her first assassination to her at home cooking dinner for her family. Over the course of the rest of the book, Josie struggles to balance these two sides of her life, a struggle which is hampered by her increasingly pushy handler. Going into too much more depth risks giving away the story, but interspersed with impressive action scenes is an equal amount of emotional growth, making Lady Killer a satisfying and entertaining read.

Though the story here is very engaging, it is the artwork that really stood out in my opinion. Joëlle Jones has succeeded in bringing to life a different time period while simultaneously conveying emotion, particularly Josie’s emotions, throughout the book. In addition to the great artwork in the story itself, the collected volume also includes Sketchbook content that shows how Josie’s character was developed and includes spoofs of ads from the period.

This is a fun book for older teen and adult comic book fans. The violence may be a bit intense for younger audiences and some fans who prefer to avoid violence in their comics, which is why I have not given this five stars in the category of suitability for libraries. However, if your library collects for older comic book fans, this is a great new comic to add to your list. It is a good option for patrons who like content set in the 1950’s and 1960’s, fans of Mad Men, and those who like stylish action movies. It is also a great book to recommend to anyone with an appreciation for strong artwork in their comics.

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Outreach – Let Your Library’s Geek Flag Fly! http://ccgclibraries.com/let-your-librarys-geek-flag-fly/ Mon, 01 Feb 2016 06:12:00 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2071 outreach

From left to right: Yami Hymel, Mary Frances Cely, Amanda Holland, Thomas Maluck

Outreach events are always fun for me. It is easy to get absorbed in a “bubble” by being in the library full-time, so spending time with the public in other locations tends to energize me as I hear from people who may not use the library that much. Even better, the pop culture conventions that take place in my city are open to library outreach, meaning I get to spread the gospel as well as let my geek flag fly. Lots of both took place at this year’s BanzaiCon in Columbia, South Carolina, as I assembled a team of like-minded people from Richland Library to stump for the library’s resources over the three-day weekend event.

 

Getting In The Door BanzaiConFacebookLogo

 

First things first: getting into the show. I contacted BanzaiCon’s organizers through the event’s website, and they offered us a table and asked how many free passes we would need (ticket prices ranged from $15-45, depending on which days). I sent an email to my library’s teen services mail group as well as some anime-friendly coworkers I knew, and wound up with a total of seven participants, including myself. The convention organizers said they could offer four free passes. I made it clear to the group that no one should have to pay to perform outreach, and I distributed the passes according to which four people could cover the table for the most time.

 

Some friends and coworkers advised that we simply hand off our passes as people come and go so that everyone could volunteer, but I wanted to stay honest in case a convention staffer caught us red-handed and blacklisted my library from future events – or worse, told other conventions that we disrespected their rules. Despite my straight-laced policy, when I arrived on the first day, I was asked “How many passes do you need?” and no one checked on us or tried to narc on our activities. Granted, BanzaiCon is a smaller convention in the scheme of things, with attendance around 2,000, so your mileage may vary for your local cons.

 

Outreach provided handouts, pencils, stickers, oversized library cards, and tablecloth, but this was no middle school job fair. My biggest goal in performing outreach at an anime convention for a weekend was anything but a passive, quiet operation. When asked if we would be allowed to cosplay during outreach, I gave an emphatic YES! My key conspirator and organizer toward this end was Amanda Holland, who brainstormed activities with me and did all the work so that they would be at the show. In other words, we are at the part of the article where you hear how great a job we did and steal our ideas! Wooooo!

 

Trivia Board

 TriviaBoard

As a piece of passive outreach, the trivia board worked great. Our table was located not too far past the registration table and entrance to the convention, meaning we got 100% of the eyeballs on their way in. Our trivia questions tested all kinds of pop culture knowledge, from YA fiction to manga, anime, Walking Dead, comics, and facts about the library’s collections. The trivia board seemed to appeal most to people who wanted to prove their knowledge, especially if they were wandering the convention floor with friends or family. Convention attendees are often the sort of people who want to participate and prove themselves, and this was a low-key way to do so. Next time we do this, however, we will make sure to stock up on more questions so we can refresh the board each day.

 

Convention Bingo

Bingo

As chaotic as some conventions may seem, there are still fairly predictable elements to the events and cosplays that will be found. Amanda and I made up a list of things we expected to see at BanzaiCon and she uploaded them into a bingo card generator/randomizer at bingo.seksena.net. These were great to hand out to people who wanted some loose idea of “the convention experience” or even just something to do while they waited for a specific panel. Once these bingo sheets were out in the crowd, we would hear people squee when they spotted certain things that completed their bingo, like certain hair colors or outfits.

 

Response Sign

 ResponseSignThe picture says it all, doesn’t it? We were happy to see such a variety of responses, from earnest to snarky to wordy to illustrated. It’s also a great takeaway for the outreach team to show off as a metric of success – look how people at this event feel about the library! And nobody drew genitals on it!

 

 

 

Oversized Library Cards

 EarthboundRichland Library has different library card designs that are ostensibly for children, teens, and adults, with the phrases “Play Freely,” “Think Freely,” and “Access Freely,” respectively. In the context of a convention, we looked for opportunities to match our oversized cards to certain characters. Anyone from a videogame was a natural match for “Play Freely,” for example, and we would offer to email each photo to the cosplayer who posed for us. I flipped out upon meeting a group of cosplayers embodying the cast of the Earthbound (Mother in Japan) series of videogames, and posed with them.

 

Incentives: Family Fun & Sweet, Sweet Candy

Were people interacting with the library out of sheer interest and civic responsibility? Heavens, no! Plenty of people waltzed by without responding at all to our greetings or smiling faces, and that’s fine. However, each activity performed was rewarded with a small printed token, which could be redeemed for fun-sized candies at a rate of two tokens per candy. As many conventioneers would prove that weekend, it’s hard to stomp around a convention center for several hours day without a sugar boost. We also represented a family-friendly attraction that didn’t rely on specialized knowledge of a specific franchise (as many panels did) or a means to separate attendees from their cash (as the artist alley, vendors, cafe, and flea market did).

 

If you have any reservations about representing your library at a convention, I would say you have nothing to worry about. Everyone in attendance paid to be there (or got a free pass from volunteering/presenting), and you will inevitably run into power-users of your library who will tell you all about the dozens of manga they read thanks to your collection. As an added bonus, conventions are the perfect environment for the geekier folks within your organization to mix personal and professional interests, which does a world of good for making a good impression on passerby. Ideally, the crowd will win you over, too, and you’ll have a whole new kind of outreach to look forward to and generate stories.

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Super Storytimes: How to Host a Superhero (or Supervillain) Storytime http://ccgclibraries.com/super-storytimes-how-to-host-a-superhero-or-supervillain-storytime/ Fri, 29 Jan 2016 06:15:01 +0000 http://ccgclibraries.com/?p=2059 Frieda BAs a children’s librarian, I love storytime; it is my bread and butter. It is my chance to really help children (and parents) have fun with reading, and show them a more playful side to the all-important skill of reading. Just because you are helping a child learn doesn’t mean it has to be a chore!

I started up a Superhero Storytimes once a month in my library, in the evenings, as a way to bring my love of storytime together with my love of superheroes. These special storytimes feature a superhero (or super villain as the case may be) who comes to the library to share a story and participates some games and songs.

I wanted to share with you my plan for running this type of program, in the hope that any of you can adapt, and possibly improve upon, it and run one in your own library. (And if you do improve on it, let me know! I would love to hear from you!) As of now, I run this storytime once a month, since September 2015. I don’t want to oversaturate the kids and parents with superheroes, and I want to keep it fun. That means building up the hype, getting people excited about the hero, and putting on a quality storytime.

Your first step, once this program has been ok-ed by your higher ups, is finding the hero(es). I am lucky in that I am heavily invested in the cosplay community. I attend cons regularly, have many cosplay friends, and am able to get those friends to volunteer to come in to storytime in their amazing costumes. If you are looking for heroes, and don’t have the same kind of connections, ask friends, family, or the community at large. As always, only go with someone that you feel comfortable with, and who will adhere to the rules of the library and your department.supertruck

Next, I figure out which character I can get for the day. Then I organize the storytime plan around that hero. I always include fun, or funny, superhero themed books. I’m not talking about only Marvel stories or only DC. While those types of stories are fun to read one-on-one, doing them in a group setting can be difficult. So I suggest going with a broader hero theme. So far I’ve read Supertruck by Steven Savage, with StarLord; Superworm, by Julia Donaldson, with Spiderman; Baron Von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident, by George McClements, with Captain America; and Frieda B. Herself , by Renata Bowers, with Harley Quinn. I will attach a list at the end of other great superhero themed stories that I love.

Now, not everyone is comfortable with reading. So, sometimes I do the reading and the singing and have the hero help me with games. Some of the most fun games that we have played are limbo, freeze dance, and Spidey says (which is just like Simon says, but with Spiderman…or any superhero, really). Kids love getting the chance to interact with their favorite superheroes by doing things they do on a regular basis. Sure, storytime is always fun, but having a superhero attend? Out of this world.

I also know that not all librarians may have access to the cosplaying community in the same way that I do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t throw a fantastic hero-themed storytime! All of the ideas I’ve shared here can be Baron von Baddieimplemented without having a special guest. And, don’t forget about local heroes! [Police, Firemen, EMTs, Doctors, Vets]

With a little planning, and a heap of fun, you can throw your very own superhero storytime!

Here are the other suggested picture books:

The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by Michael Chabon

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer

Do Superheroes Have Teddy Bears? By Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod

Ten Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb Pilutti

 

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