There was a time when adults would steer children away from books like Captain Underpants, an illustrated children’s novel series, or Marvel Comic’s Captain America, claiming that the books weren’t educational enough or weren’t “real books.”
In recent years, Golden Triangle’s libraries and the literary community began embracing the genre as graphic novels and their Japanese counterpart, manga, started to gain in popularity. In fact, in 2020 the John Newberry Medal was awarded for the first time to a graphic novel, “New Kid” by Jerry Craft.
The genre offers a way to introduce people to classic novels and educational subjects, such as general chemistry and history.
Bryan Public Library in West Point has a collection of graphic novels and manga for juveniles, young adults and adults, said Youth Services Librarian Jayme Evans.
“We have lots of popular titles for each, as well as some classics that are simply must reads,” Evans said. “Before 2017, there may have been 20 graphic novels in the entire building.”
Since being hired in 2017, Evans has helped expand each section for West Point library patrons and within the Tombighee Regional Library System, which serves Clay, Monroe and Webster counties.
“Graphic novels are always popular with kids and teens, but gradually adults are realizing that graphic novels aren’t just the Batman/Superman comics of the past,” Evans said.
Tori Hopper, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library children’s and teen services and programming coordinator, agrees.
“They’re actually more helpful in a lot of circumstances than reading just a regular book would be,” Hopper said. “You have children with different accommodations, whether it be learning accommodations or autism. … The graphic novel will help any child slow down and read something on a lower level, but still gain that reading competence and confidence that they need to build their skills.”
During a recent tour of the upstairs section of the library, Hopper pointed out graphic novels in the children, parenting, biography, art and history sections.
Newer additions to the library’s collection that are either graphic novels or manga feature yellow and red stickers with “Pow!” on the top of the book’s spine. Books can be found throughout the collection due to how they were cataloged.
Starkville-Oktibbeha Public Library in Starkville has an Anime Club for children ages 12-18 that meets in the facility’s teen room.
Loraine Walker, children service librarian, said the group usually meets at 4 p.m. every Tuesday, but has been posting special meeting times on the library’s calendar and on the app, Remind.
What is manga?
In the United States, manga is a term used refer to comics originally published in Japan. Anime is the term used for manga’s animated version.
Like comic books and graphic novels in the United States, manga features various drawing styles and genres. Some are action based, while others are more introspective. There are plot-driven manga books, like a TV series where you have to follow along to understand what’s happening.
How to read manga
English versions of manga books keep the characteristics of their Japanese counterparts.
Hopper demonstrated how to read manga with a copy of Library Wars, a series set in a future in which the federal government and libraries battle over which books are suitable for society. The book starts in the back. A page is read starting in the upper, right-hand corner and reading across and over, going from right to left in the panels.
“When you read manga, you can tell when you’re reading it wrong because the images and phrases will jump around in action,” she said.
By learning to read in a different way that a reader is used to, the reader’s brain is learning to pay attention, Hopper said.
“They’re having to kind of rewire their brain to follow that order of events,” she said. “So it also puts sequencing and plot development right back into the focus of their mind, because they really have to pay attention when they’re reading a manga to understand it.”
Gateway to chapter books
Having manga or graphic novel versions of some classics can benefit some students, Hopper said.
Manga versions aren’t word-for-word, but it helps readers understand a classic book’s plot. The publisher Manga Classics specializes in retelling old stories, such as Romeo and Juliet, the Scarlet Letter and Jane Eyre.
“If you have that additional image and some kind of character that they can see in their book, it helps a lot,” Hopper said. “We’ve been building that collection up a little bit at a time, because it’s such a great resource. It puts classics in the hands of people who aren’t going to read them.”
If a visitor likes a particular kind of graphic novel, library staff can steer that person toward other graphic novels that may be based on the classics, she said. For example, if someone likes action-packed books, a graphic novel of Frankenstein may be suggested.
Related library programming
Columbus-Lowndes Public Library has an Anime and Manga Club which meets bi-monthly. The program is for teens and offers a safe space where they can feel comfortable sharing their love for the Japanese books and their animated counterparts, Hopper said.
During the summer, the club had about four to five regular visitors. The library is now seeking input on meeting times to best accommodate students.
Through the club, teens learn about what anime and manga is. They also learn about manga drawing and practice with supplies provided by the library.
The library also has a subscription to Crunchyroll, a streaming subscription service like Netflix that features anime and manga, Hopper said.
Before getting the subscription, the library was limited in what anime it could share with the public because of copyright laws. Now, Crunchyroll content can be shared with the club and at other events on the library property, Hopper said.
“It may not seem like a big deal to the people who can afford it for 15 bucks a month, but there are some families where that’s just an extra cost that they can’t afford,” she said. “We’re also providing a community service. Normally streaming is a pretty isolating thing to do unless you have a bunch of friends who all watch the same thing. Then you have to coordinate your schedules to meet. … We’re trying to provide that space for them to be able to watch and maybe make new friends at the same time.”
The Bryan Public Library, in West Point, currently does not have any programs exclusively for graphic novels and/or anime, but they have been incorporated into the library’s current programs.
“For example, the young adult reading challenge this summer required teens to pick out one graphic novel and one manga,” Evans said. “Before COVID, the adult’s book club chose a graphic novel as one of their monthly book reads. In the future, I would like to have a book club exclusively for graphic novels for young adults and adults.
“My hope for National Literacy Month, and every month after, is that people realize that graphic novels, comics and manga are books and there are no age limits,” Evans continued. “Never judge a graphic novel by its cover art!”
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