What is a graphic novel?
Graphic novels are comics. They can be newspaper strips or individual issues reprinted as a single volume, or a book length original work, but at the end of the day graphic novels are comics, words and pictures working together to tell stories.
Are graphic novels just for children?
The Auckland City Libraries graphic novels collection has works for all ages. Parts of our collection are more suitable for children and teens, and other parts are more suitable for adults. To ensure these collections remain separate the different collections are located in age appropriate parts of the library.
Will there be something for me?
Graphic novels cover the whole spectrum of story type and subject matter. Our collection includes works that fit into popular genres like science fiction, fantasy, crime and horror, and works that could easily sit alongside any contemporary literary fiction. Autobiography, biography, history and journalism in graphic format are part of our collection, and you will also find Manga [Japanese comics] and English translations of European comics. Last, but not least, we have good old-fashioned superheroes.
Comics related material in the magazine and Non-fiction collections
The
Comics Journal is available at the Central City Library and the libraries have a range of comics related material in the non-fiction Arts collection. At Dewey Decimal number 741.5 you will find introductions to the art of cartooning, collections of interviews with artists and authors, biographies of prominent cartoonists, and criticism and history of comics.
