Golden Age
June 1, 2011 7:43 AM Subscribe
School libraries in Japan are well stocked with manga. (At least I presume they are, having only seen one Japanese school library, but I have no reason to believe that Yoshiwara High School was an exception.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:55 AM on June 1, 2011
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:55 AM on June 1, 2011
My library had the first three Sandman novels in the YA comics section. I don't think I could explain what a profound impact that had on me.
posted by wayland at 8:19 AM on June 1, 2011
posted by wayland at 8:19 AM on June 1, 2011
I was enrolled in a french immersion school for the first five years of my schooling. The school library had copious amounts of Tintin, Asterix, les Schtroumpfs, Lucky Luke, Boule et Bill, along with a host of far more obscure French bandes dessinees. I devoured them all - Tintin was by far and away my favourite.
Now that I am an adult, I lend my personal copies of les Aventures de Tintin BD to my nieces, who are learning French. They can follow along with the story, even if they don't get every word.
Comics sure as hell are for kids. And they're for adults too!
posted by LN at 8:39 AM on June 1, 2011
Now that I am an adult, I lend my personal copies of les Aventures de Tintin BD to my nieces, who are learning French. They can follow along with the story, even if they don't get every word.
Comics sure as hell are for kids. And they're for adults too!
posted by LN at 8:39 AM on June 1, 2011
When I was in elementary school they had every volume of Maus in the library. I found them when I was 7 or 8. That pretty much broke me for at least a few years.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:26 AM on June 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:26 AM on June 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I interviewed Scott McCloud, he complained that every article about comics has some variation of Zap, Pow, and Comics Aren't Just For Kids headline.
So, of course, my editor titled it something like, "Zap! Pow! Scott McCloud says comics not just for kids!"
posted by klangklangston at 10:00 AM on June 1, 2011 [3 favorites]
So, of course, my editor titled it something like, "Zap! Pow! Scott McCloud says comics not just for kids!"
posted by klangklangston at 10:00 AM on June 1, 2011 [3 favorites]
When I was in primary school, they had Fungus The Bogeyman in the school library. That was a revelation, and probably did a lot to instill in me a love of obscure words.
Surely I wasn't the only child who insisted on referring to snails as "hodmandods"...
posted by acb at 10:02 AM on June 1, 2011
Surely I wasn't the only child who insisted on referring to snails as "hodmandods"...
posted by acb at 10:02 AM on June 1, 2011
I'll also say that the schizo approach that the Dewey Decimal system takes regarding where to put comics is often vexing at public libraries, where they're divided into Young Adult (including Hellblazer and Sin City), Oversize Fiction, and Drawing and Illustration.
But cheers to this library! It looks pretty good, on the whole. Certainly Tintin and Asterix were big parts of my childhood (along with Claremont's run on X-men).
posted by klangklangston at 10:05 AM on June 1, 2011
But cheers to this library! It looks pretty good, on the whole. Certainly Tintin and Asterix were big parts of my childhood (along with Claremont's run on X-men).
posted by klangklangston at 10:05 AM on June 1, 2011
I am prepared to lobby quite hard to keep Claremont's run on X-Men out of primary school libraries.
posted by running order squabble fest at 10:56 AM on June 1, 2011
posted by running order squabble fest at 10:56 AM on June 1, 2011
Exactly. They should wait until middle school befoire introducing it, and then it should be part opf the curriculum.
posted by Artw at 11:12 AM on June 1, 2011
posted by Artw at 11:12 AM on June 1, 2011
I believe that "befoire" and "opf" are part of Claremont's rendering of Scottish brogue.
posted by klangklangston at 11:15 AM on June 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by klangklangston at 11:15 AM on June 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
So I'm watching a fellow teacher's class of ninth-grade English Language Learners while she's out on an errand, right? I see graphic novels out and about. Being a huge geek, I go, "Ooooh, Batman!" and promptly start reading it.
Then the teacher in me says, "Um...wait...bondage club??"
Can't say I'm terribly offended on a personal level, but I do wish that adults working in schools would think to read the things they put out for the kids. I'm not freaked out by kids reading the same sort of thing they see on TV, mind you, but I'd at least like to think that the teachers will know what parents will inevitably flip out about.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:43 AM on June 1, 2011
Then the teacher in me says, "Um...wait...bondage club??"
Can't say I'm terribly offended on a personal level, but I do wish that adults working in schools would think to read the things they put out for the kids. I'm not freaked out by kids reading the same sort of thing they see on TV, mind you, but I'd at least like to think that the teachers will know what parents will inevitably flip out about.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:43 AM on June 1, 2011
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posted by shakespeherian at 7:52 AM on June 1, 2011 [1 favorite]