December 4, 2009
Hello, and welcome to the latest newsletter from GraphicNovelReporter.com, the first after Thanksgiving. I hope you had a nice, relaxing, and good-food-filled holiday. I did, although I’m still recovering from too much food and too much relaxing. It was a nice week, but I’m far behind on work, and that includes reading.
Jordan Boaz is a librarian at the Sam Garcia Western Avenue Library in Avondale, Arizona.
Just weeks after the sad death of Sheldon Dorf, Ken Krueger, who cofounded the world-famous San Diego Comic-Con, has also died. Krueger, who helped found the con in 1970, passed away from a heart attack in Lockport, New York, on November 21. Krueger had worked as a publisher and distributor, as well as a retailer, in the industry.
The current issue of Entertainment Weekly (December 4) has an interesting letter in it. It's from a guy named Roy in Springfield, Virginia, who describes himself as "a 57-year-old comics fan" and thanks EW for including a comics bestseller list in a recent issue. So far so good. But then comes the parenthetical: "and yes, I also have a life."
A few weeks ago, we sent out a request to writers, teachers, librarians, pros, and more to tell us the graphic novels they’d recommend as the best of the year. We keep getting their responses in, and we plan to unveil a more complete list in December. But just to give you a taste of the big books (and just in case you want to get a head start on your holiday shopping), we’re starting the list early. Here’s a sample of some of the responses we’ve gotten. Keep checking back to see more picks added for the best comics, manga, and graphic novels of the year!
Eric Federspiel is a middle school teacher living in Chicago with his wife, Stephanie. He's been using comics in the classroom (primarily with struggling readers) for the past eight years. His website is outfromthecomicshop.com, and you can find him on Twitter as well (@comicsteacher).
