Graphic Novels Added
The Open Book Collection at College Library has a number of new graphic novels coming soon! Among the titles being added are Books 1-10 of Dave Sim’s Cerebus the Aardvark. Cerebus, which began as a simple sword-and-sorcery parody of Conan the Barbarian, is now one of the greatest achievements in the history of comic books. As the longest-running independent comic book, with all 300 issues being written and drawn by Dave Sim and Gerhard, the titular character has conquered countries, become the pope, gotten married (and divorced), and travelled throughout the solar system. While the series is often surrounded by controversy (mostly due to Sim’s increasingly prevalent and controversial opinions in the latter volumes), it is undeniably a masterpiece within the medium. “Cerebus, as if I need to say so,” Alan Moore (nonetheless) said, “is still to comic books what Hydrogen is to the periodic table.”
Grant Morrison’s Seaguy and Flex Mentallo are also being added to the collection. One of his less known works, Morrison once called Seaguy his Watchmen, saying “This is where I’m really getting to talk about the nature of the superhero… it’s something like The Prisoner.” Flex Mentallo is Morrison’s other seminal (and semi-autobiographical) philosophical treatise on superheroes and one of artist Frank Quitely’s most stellar works. Along with the better-known All-Star Superman (also available in Open Book) and The Invisibles, Seaguy and Flex Mentallo are some of Morrison’s most critically-lauded works.
Another less known work from a big-name creator, Neil Gaiman’s The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch hits College Library’s shelves soon. With wonderful art by Dave McKean (who also worked with Gaiman on The Sandman and Black Orchid) and some of the best writing of Neil Gaiman’s career, Mr. Punch is a can’t-miss read, especially for Sandman fans.
The Open Book Collection is located in College Library and exists to meet students’ extracurricular reading, viewing, and gaming interests in browseable sections such as Fiction, Graphic Novels, Travel, Entertainment, Videos, and more. The collection provides the latest popular fiction and nonfiction titles.
These additions to Open Book were selected by Kieran Ilango Villoth, College Library’s most recent ISIP intern. “These are all some of my favorite graphic novels,” Kieran writes, “and I think they all have something of real value in them. I wanted to bring in items that college students would have heard of and be interested in, but might not have otherwise picked up.”
College Library thanks Kieran for his efforts on behalf of the Open Book Collection and invites patrons to check out and/or request the volumes mentioned above.
