



or

![]() |
L-R: Karen, Christie, Pamela, Kat, & Mike |
Notice the microphones? Yea. Well, I’m usually loud enough in *any* room that I don’t need them, and I don’t remember the last time I used one. I didn’t use one to present at the Texas Library Association this past April, don’t use one in my programs, and even our Rock Band microphone is broken so I don’t use it. We were asked a series of questions, and the last one for the panel was has there been any surprises that you’ve had with Free Comic Book Day in your community?
Karen: The first year someone posted on Yalsa-bk, “What are you doing for Free Comic Book Day?” The next year I made sure not to miss it and have done so almost every year since.
Karen: I have had caricature artists several years. I also make comic book panels and graphic novel page layouts using the shapes feature in Publisher to create blank pages for my teens to design their own comics/gns. You can also use the Comic Book app on your iPhone (they were developing one for Android as well) to create pictures and actual comic book pages.
![]() |
Made using Comic Book app on the iPhone |
Karen: Before joining Christie at this library system, I worked at a library in Marion where I had a large teen area. I usually had my program right there in the teen area. I did not have all my programs here, but this one I did because it was usually a come and go program and it worked well in the teen area. Plus, this allowed my teens to browse my graphic novel collection while they were waiting.
Karen: We always got pretty good turn out for our Free Comic Book day events. Even outside of the actual program, we had the comic books available all day at our Reference Desk and we usually gave out 200+. Our comics were donated by the local comic book store, but the current comic book store asks us to pay for them at the discounted price of $.50 a title. The teens themselves are very enthusiastic about the event, and it usually provides me an opportunity to have conversations with adults about the value of comic books.
Karen: I did one year have a local to Ohio illustrator come in and do a drawing workshop with the teens. I found him using my ninja library research skills. Most big cities have a good database of local caricature artists, which is how I found ours. When booking a caricature artist it is important to ask how many caricatures they can draw by the hour. They charge by the hour, and it is not cheap, so we could only ever afford 2 hours. You want an artist who can draw upwards of 10 to 15 per hours as opposed to one who can do five per the hour. Also, they probably have online reviews which you will also want to check out.
Karen: We have a graphic novel collection at both my current and my previous library. To be honest, I am not a huge graphic novel reader – but I am a huge graphic novel supporter. In fact, I get asked daily for graphic novels and they are increasingly popular with my MG readers as well. I would love to pull my MG GNs out and create a separate section in the J FIC area as well to meet this high demand item, but it would require some cataloging and space that are issues for the moment. I am always surprised not only by how popular they are, but they are just as popular with the girls as they are with the boys. In fact, my Tween has recently read quite a few.
Karen’s final words: It was such an honor to be a part of this panel. And it was amusing to me to see my coworker and best fiend turn crimson as “I got screwed” echoed throughout the exhibit hall. It was also an honor to sit up there with Kat Kan and Mike Pawuk and be a representative for those librarians who really don’t know a lot about graphic novels, but support the medium because it has value and teens love them. And yes, yes I did wear my hair in Princess Leia buns, because I was having an epically bad hair day. It happens. But we can pretend I was making some Meta tie in to how Free Comic Book Day was on May 4th this year. Yeah, let’s go with that.
Can I say that I am SO excited for Annual? Chicago is a fun city to visit, but doubly so for me because I have family close by, and some are going to be able to make the drive and see me while I’m there! BONUS! But there are so many fun things to do (aside from meeting authors and meeting up with my conference family)- I’m always double booked on the things I have on my schedule. Here are my MUST DOS for this conference:
Bleak New World: YA Authors Decode Distopia– Friday, June 28, 8-10 p.m., Sheraton Ballroom 5. Join Booklist Publications for this year’s Books for Youth forum, featuring a stellar lineup of YA authors, who will discuss the wildly popular genre of dystopian literature for teens. Speakers will include: Lois Lowry, Cory Doctorow, Veronica Roth, and Patrick Ness.
SRRT All Task Force Committee– Friday, June 28, 7:30 – 9p.m., Hilton- Buckingham Room. I’m going for a bit to this, representing the Rainbow Project as I’m serving as the Chair this year. Interested in learning more about the Rainbow Project or other committees within the Social Responsibilities Round Table? This is the place to start.
Cory Doctorow: More Than a Book-Lined Internet Cafe- Sunday, June 30, 3-4 p.m. McCormick Place Convention Center, S105a-c. LITA President Zoe Stewart-Marshall welcomes digital rights activist, science fiction writer and Boing Boing co-editor, Cory Doctorow. This lively, thought-provoking talk will look at how libraries can and do stand on the front lines of the debate over the role of free information, and free information technology in ensuring the healthy maintenance of a free society. And yes, he will talk about DRM.
Yes, I love a good comic book. And a good graphic novel. I also love tying in my love in comics and graphic novels with teen books. So, for those in the mood, a Take 5 that goes beyond the comic strips and graphic novels, in visual format. Plus a bonus two.
This Saturday marks the 11th year of Free Comic Book Day, and I LOVE this day. Started in 2002, and coordinated by Diamond Comics, participating comic shops AND libraries across the country give comics AWAY FREE to those who come by. These comics are free to customers (not the stores), and the day has three purposes:
1. to introduce people everywhere to the joy of reading comics (we love reading, right?)
2. to gain future comic readers (and gaining future readers is always good)
3. to thank current comic book buyers and customers for their support (generates excellent good will within the community)
However, if you do not HAVE free comics to give away to your patrons, DO NOT PANIC. You can still put together an awesome Free Comic Book Day event with a minimum of effort.
First, check the Free Comic Book Day website for retailers that are participating in your area. Give them a call and explain who you are and that you want to put flyers up in the library pointing patrons to their locations for Free Comic Book Day, and that *NEXT* year you’d love to partner with them. By this time, it’s way too late to expect shops to free up some of their inventory for you, but this way you can start generating the good will with the shops for next year.
Second, think about what type of programming you can reasonably handle on Saturday without stretching your staff too thin. If you have a wonderful manager, or are in charge of your own schedule, then full speed ahead; if you’re not, take a look at when you’re on the desk and how the rest of the library is staffed. Always keep an eye on what you can REASONABLY handle, and what the rest of the library staff can handle as well. The best types of programs will not stress ANYONE out needlessly.
Think about whether you want to do self directed or staff directed programming. Then take a look at the ideas below that can fit into either.
Movie Marathons: Do you have a public performance license? Do you have the equipment to show movies? Do you have the space (teen room, program room, various areas)? If so, pull movies to show throughout the day, and combine them with some of the self directed ideas below. Iron Man 3 will be released in theaters this Friday; show Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Avengers. Need to show movies that are more family friendly as you are in an open space? Go with Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, Despicable Me, Scooby Doo, or Speed Racer. Or if you have the additional anime license, show anime from the Movie Licensing USA Collection.
Low Tech Gaming: Have a space or some empty tables? Put up flyers advertising a Low Tech Gaming day. Let your teens know to bring their Yu-Gi-Oh cards and your tweens to bring their Pokemon decks. See if any of your staffers would be willing to lend their comic based versions of Monopoly (I know I am not the only one out there that has Star Wars The Clone Wars Monopoly or Marvel Monopoly). Maybe someone has Simpsons Operation. Find a copy of Apples to Apples Disney Version. Or maybe someone has Scooby Doo Clue.
Console Gaming: If you have the space and the equipment, set up your console gaming equipment for some free style gaming. Titles like Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, DragonBall Z and Naruto completely fit the bill for a comic based program. An entire page in Wikipedia is devoted to titles (note: not all titles will be appropriate for teen programs in all libraries- you know your library so choose what would work for you).
Costume Party: Get buy-in from your library management, and have a costume party- everyone come dressed as their favorite hero (or villain). If you can’t go all out in dress, see if you can get a waiver for everyone to wear jeans and their favorite comic based T-shirt (within workplace rules- no graphic language, etc.). Then have a costume contest with your teens! Have their secret identity be their normal identity, and then they have a certain amount of time to change into their superhero (or villain) identity (without having to strip). The changing room could be a closet off the program room or a storage area (if needed), and everyone would vote for their favorite costume. Music could be queued up from various comic based movie scores, and the winner announced at the end. Stations could be made from various self directed ideas, and it could be an entire celebration.
SUPER HERO CUFFS: Over at Sewing In No Man’s Land they have a quick tutorial for Super Hero Cuffs… Perfect for all those toilet paper rolls you didn’t know what to do with….
JOURNAL PROMPT: Sometimes all teens want is a chance to draw and doodle, so why not make May a month of self exploration with a Saturday of journal prompts? Comic Book Saturday could start with what type of superhero would I be… Lay out scissors, blank copy paper, leftover magazines, colored copy paper, construction paper, markers, and other craft supplies, and let them loose.
INNER SUPER HERO: Or if art journaling is too much, have them create their Inner Super Hero with the printable forms from KOMBOH.
In the past, I have also hired a Caricature artist to come for a few hours into the teen area and just had an informal program where teens hung out, read comics, and had their caricatures made. You can do online searches to find caricature artists in your area.
What plans do you have for Free Comic Book Day? Or are you celebrating it as Star Wars Day (May the 4th Be With You)…?
Copyright © 2021 · Lifestyle Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in
Recent Comments