Linkfest: Superhero decadence?

The big news out of the ALA literary awards was that Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book took the Newbery medal, but there was also a graphic novel in the bunch: Eleanor Davis’ Stinky, my favorite of the Toon books, was a runner-up for the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for best book for beginning readers. Haven’t read it yet? ICv2 has a review by our own Eva Volin.

At PWCW, Evie Nagy talks to Jane Yolen about her new graphic novel, The Last Dragon, but she also casts the net wider to ask publishers and retailers about what comics teenage girls are reading these days. Also at PWCW: Kate Culkin talks to Jeff Smith and Graphix vp David Saylor about the last volume of Bone.

Diamond Bookshelf released a new magazine just in time for ALA, and they have helpfully put up some selected articles as PDFs on their website, including a primer on managing manga for librarians and an interview with Ralph Macchio of Marvel Illustrated. Also at the Bookshelf: an interview with Randy Stradley, editor of Dark Horse’s Star Wars comics.

Johanna Draper Carlson is the only critic I know of who takes Archie comics seriously, and her overview of this month’s issues at Comics Worth Reading is well worth a look.

At The Hooded Utilitarian, Noah Berlatsky considers the possibility that superheroes really are just for kids, which is why today’s superheroes seem so decadent.

New York Magazine’s Culture Vulture blog presents a preview of Shaun Tan’s latest graphic novel, Tales From Outer Suburbia.

This very readable article at The Jewish Daily Forward puts a four-year-old girl at the center of the article to discuss two aspects of superheroes: Why children like them and why superheroes are Jewish. (Found via Blog@Newsarama.)

And here’s a cute Dennis the Menace comic from 1971 in which Dennis encounters a Jewish boy and learns the true meaning of Hannukah. Enjoy!

Reviews

David Matthews on The Arrival (Express Buzz)
Tangognat on vols. 1 and 2 of Happy Hustle High (Tangognat)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Papillon (Comics Worth Reading)
Diana Dang on Heaven’s Will (Stop, Drop, and Read!)

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