Suggestions for Comics at the Public Library ??

[Eli]

Hey all,

I'm new here, and new to Anime & Manga. I work at the Taylor County Public Library in Perry, FL, about an hour south of Tallahassee. We don't have much in the way of comics here but thats gonna change.

I'm looking for suggestions from you guys on some books that would be good to get, books that people would read. They can't be single issues, have to in TPB, multi-issue form. They also can't be vulgar, this is a library.

So, PLEASE, help me out with your suggestions

Thanks,

Eli

[The Xenos]

Hurm. Well, some of my favorite ones are a bit too mature for a public library.

I'd definitely go with some popular Shonen Jump ones.

One Piece - An amazing pirate saga. It's still being published in Japan. Don't let its cartoony style fool you. It's got a lot of good drama and action. It's a bit bloody and by US standards it's more of a PG-13 compared to the more PG audience in Japan.

Naruto - I'm not a fan, but everyone else seems to love this. It's about a clan of ninjas in the woods and a certain young ninja in trained with a hidden secret. And there are tons of other plots going on. It's also ongoing.

Death Note- A thriller and cat and mouse game. A young boy finds the notebook of a Shinegami, a god of death. If he sees someone's face and writes their name in the book, they die. He decides to purify society and rid it of criminals and those who do it ill. Of course, when criminals start dropping dead, the law takes notice and doesn't take too kindly to this vigilante who's judge, jury, and executioner. Plus a major opponent appears in the mysterious detective known only as L and who never shows his face to anyone. Viz just published the 12 and final volume in English.

And some other books

Monster - A bit more for older teens, if only for it being more dry than content. It's about a doctor framed for murder and on the run. It seems like a patient he once saved is behind it all. This is more like a TV crime drama like Law & Order than any comic book.

Battle Angel Alita - A very cool cyberpunk book set in a post apocalyptic future. It's a bit violent as there's a lot of fights with cyborg limbs being ripped off and such, but also quite intelligent and very good science ficiton. Make sure you get Battle Angel Alita first. There's a alternate / sequel series called Battle Angel Alita: Last Order.

Blame! - Another far out and deep cyberpunk series. I think both of these put stuff like The Matrix to shame. Blame! is even more far far future. Humanity is so altered, it's an amazing facet of the book itself. There's not too much dialog and what is said is pretty out there. If you want a fascinating and complex post-singularity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity) look on humanity, check out Blame!. Even if it takes a few reads to understand the setting and story, the art is amazing. The artist originally studied architecture and it shows. Though this book can be a bit gorey and violent at times, I think moreso than Alita, so definitely for older teens.

Fulll Metal Alchemist - In a world where alchemy dominates instead of science, two brothers are out looking for redemption after destroying their bodies while attempting the taboo of bringing someone back from the dead. Somewhat like a typical shonen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dnen) adventure manga, it can also get pretty deep and dark at times.


Yotsuba&! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Yotsuba_vol1_cover.jpg) - A hilarious comic that follows a little girl who moves into a new neighbor hood with her dad. It shows you the world through the eyes of a little girl and the goofy and hilarious situations she gets into in everyday life. Appropriate for all ages and it will have you laughing out loud. Warning: This manga may be too adorable and cute for your own good.

Nodame Cantible - A more shojo (girls/romance) manga. This story follows a guy named Chiaki who attends a music conservatory in Japan. There he meets a goofy sloppy girl named Nodame. If only she cleaned up her act, she could be a great musician. I picked it up on a whim due to the different musical setting and that I didn't have too much shojo. I found it was a delightful romantic comedy.

Love Roma - Another romantic manga. This is drawn in a more cartoony way. It' s a comedy about a couple who meets in high school and them falling in love. While cartoony and funny, it is a bit more for older teens with some jokes, but nothing too risque. It maintains a pretty good and innocent tone.

Genshiken - This is the Japanese Freaks and Geeks. It follows the friendships and romances of a bunch of Japanese comic book, animation, and video game nerds, known there as otaku. You see how they get along in society and with each other. It's downright hilarious. Though it does get raunchy in later chapters with hilarious results. (In particular with certain female members that join and like drawing guys having sex with other guys. Nice to see female geeks can have filthy minds just like male geeks.)

[Sanagi]

Go with the classics - Stuff like Nausicaa, Akira, Barefoot Gen.

[Alex L]

Welcome, Eli!

Many Japanese comics tend to rate at the PG-13 level or higher, based on nudity/borderline nudity, violence, or comedic pervertedness. So you might want to be careful.

I might recommend:

Ranma ½, about a boy who, upon being splashed with cold water, physically (but not mentally) transforms into a girl. Hilarity ensues.
Warning: There is a panel featuring naked breasts in the first volume. This is not meant to be sexualized in any way at all, but regardless -- it's there.

Magic Knight Rayearth -- three middle-school girls are spirited into a distant fantasy land, where they must embark on a quest to save the queen and the world of Cephiro.

Hikaru no Go: Middle school boy Hikaru Shindo is bonded to a ghost who wishes to continue playing the board game go. As he learns more about the game, his own desire to win begins to shine through.

Rurouni Kenshin: Set in the early Meiji period of Japan, former swordsman Himura Kenshin wishes for nothing more than to escape his past as an assassin and soldier for the revolutionaries.
Violence.

[ChrisIII]

Might want to be careful with Ranma.


Also avoid Dragonball in all incarnations, despite it's popularity. Apart from the high violence content, there's a lot of stuff that you didn't see in the cartoon network versions.... (In fact there was an inciddent when Toys R' Us started carrying the manga). Although I do believe there are 'censored' versions available.

"Gundam" has a few mangas out which are easy to find, not sure about the content although there is definetly some violence.

[Allen Klingelhoets]

This is what we have at my library.
Scooby doo pocket books collecting five or six issues in one Book.
Lions, Tigers and Bears trade. Mike Bullock wrote excellent book which won awards for story telling.
Sandman trades
Justice League of America trades.
Essential Fantastic Four and incredible Hulk books.
We have access to many other types through inter library loan.
Graphic classics books. these adapt stories like Frankenstein and War of Worlds into comic book stories.

[Toadsanime]

Go with the classics - Stuff like Nausicaa, Akira, Barefoot Gen.
Sorry to be stupid for a minute, but last time I remember Nausicaa and Akira do not have any manga...
...get a range of different mangas. Shonen ones and shojo ones - shonen ones is boyish ones like GetBackers, Saiyuki and Dragonball and shojo ones like Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket and Love Hina.

[Sanagi]

Sorry to be stupid for a minute, but last time I remember Nausicaa and Akira do not have any manga...
Since you were courteous about it, I forgive you for being stupid for a minute. :)

[Totoro Man]

Sorry to be stupid for a minute, but last time I remember Nausicaa and Akira do not have any manga...
...get a range of different mangas. Shonen ones and shojo ones - shonen ones is boyish ones like GetBackers, Saiyuki and Dragonball and shojo ones like Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket and Love Hina.


actually, Nausicaa and Akira were manga before they got made into movies--and they're both absolutely fantastic. they're classics for a reason... and both are so much better than the movies they inspired it's hard to compare them favorably. I mean I LIKE both of those movies, but the manga are so much better that they make the movies look... well, not exactly bad, but just not nearly so good.


Barefoot Gen (a semi-autobiographical comic about Hiroshima that pretty much rules) it's a historically based book, and it's definitely worth it.

[Sabrina_Fried]

Osamu Tezuka's Buddha is a personal favourite of mine and a really interesting discussion of religion and politics in an easy-to-digest comic form. For the most part, it is PG by North American standards. My only caveat is that since the books did originate in a culture with a different concept of what is appropriate levels of nudity, you might want to reserve it for older patrons only (ie not kids, or at least not kids without adult supervision). Some of the characters spend most of the comic naked, or nearly so, though in a highly stylized, cartoon form.

It's one of those stories that really makes you question things though. And to date it's the only manga that has ever made me cry, so powerful is the connection forged to the characters. For a comic based on a major religious figure, it's also very non-preachy.

Sabrina

[Toadsanime]

Since you were courteous about it, I forgive you for being stupid for a minute. :)

sorry, I guess it was just one of those moments where you just turn dumb for a minute... I get them all the time :D
In that case, Akira and Nausicaa is a great idea

[Tami]

Ranma 1/2 isn't really that mature, except for the occasional nudity which is not drawn in detail, so it should be safe to add it to a public library collection.

For the younger kids, Marvel Comics' Power Pack TBP is a good choice.

I do agree on getting the classics, though some of them might be rated Teen+.

This may be a controversial choice, but I would recommend Cyborg 009.

Another suggestion is Usagi Yojimbo, which provides alot of insight into Japanese history, mythology and culture.

If your library doesn't have them already, you might want to add Scott Cloud's series of books on understanding, reading and creating comics.

[K'Nort]

Hey all,

I'm new here, and new to Anime & Manga. I work at the Taylor County Public Library in Perry, FL, about an hour south of Tallahassee. We don't have much in the way of comics here but thats gonna change.

I'm looking for suggestions from you guys on some books that would be good to get, books that people would read. They can't be single issues, have to in TPB, multi-issue form. They also can't be vulgar, this is a library.

So, PLEASE, help me out with your suggestions

Thanks,

Eli

The best thing you can do (if you haven't already) is join GNLIB-L (http://lists.topica.com/lists/GNLIB-L). It's specific to comics in libraries. About 75% of the conversation is manga and anime. Mostly comparing notes on what circulates, which library vendors carry it, what attracts parental complaints, which age range to put it in, etc.

[Retro]

Well, I like plenty of manga and quite a few comics. For a library I'd suggest educational stuff and the classics. (Plus I'm sure all the popular things people will want to read will already be listed.) Sooo....

Barefoot Gen
Vagabond
Buddha
Akira
Astro boy
Dragonball
Dr. Slump
Sandman
Watchman
Fables

And pretty much anything that wins/has won a Tezuka manga award or an Eisner award.