News & Reviews

Stumptown Comics Fest 2012

The wonderful Stumptown Comics Fest 2012 is April 28-29, 2012 at the Oregon Convention Center. There will be many exhibitors, lectures, panels and events happening. Events may already be taking place. Check it out!

Cartoonists Talking Vera Brosgol and T. Edward Bak

In honor of the Stumptown Comics Fest we are having the spectacular Vera Brosgol and T. Edward Bak read at the Central Library Tuesday April 24, 2012 at 6:30-7:45pm.

Marzi: A Memoir

review by Andrea

Set in Poland in the early 1980s, Marzi is the autobiographical story of a family dealing with the harsh realities of communism in Poland. Fans of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi or Joe Sacco's work will be drawn to Marzi's story, as we see her wait for hours in line after line for rationed goods like meat and toilet paper, to the forced annual labor day marches she must "happily" attend with her family, all leading up to the radical decision her father eventually makes to strike at the factory in the days leading up to the fall of the Berlin wall.

What makes Marzi so compelling is not only the personal storyline, as it chronicles a young girl's life in Communist Poland, but the fact that it was a collaboration between the author and her partner, who illustrated the book. Personalized historical narrative, particularly in comics form, is one of the most powerful ways to learn about complicated topics that have historically been overlooked or marginalized. Chronicling history in this way can make it accessible for anyone, no matter if they are an avid comics fan, a reluctant reader, or a student who thinks history is "boring."

There are similar interesting comics-oriented historical projects happening in our own town. The Dill Pickle Club, a local arts and history nonprofit, has embarked on project called Oregon History Comics . Here local comics artists have been paired with researchers to create succinct 30 page mini comics ranging in topics from the Vanport flood to the origins of the Black Panther party to the history of women's suffrage in Oregon. The individual comics were recently released as a 10-volume set on March 4, 2012.

In this way, comics can be more than just an entertaining read — they can educate readers and connect personal stories all across the globe.

You can check out other new graphic novels in the library catalog here. It is one of our popular searches in the catalog. Once you are there you can sort to newest.

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