My first encounter with a graphic novel was holding a rather thick comic book with the title “Death of Superman” that belonged to a neighbor. I had no idea what a graphic novel was at the time (only a comic book) but it got me reading all right. Having watched Superman and Batman when I was younger, I wasn’t new to the world of comic heroes. Our dog was even called Sheena. Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Sound familiar? Reading comics was a different thing because my parents couldn’t afford them. I resorted to borrowing Archie double digests from classmates, and Tin Tin and Asterix from the school library. An Archie Double Digest was a luxury and when they eventually bought me one, I was the happiest little thing on Earth. When I got older and my parents could spare some money for my voracious appetite for reading, I bought X-Men and X-Files comics.
Alice famously said, “What is the use of a book… without pictures or conversations?” While we might all agree with Alice on that, books intended for a more ‘mature’ audience don’t have any traces of pictures- well, at least most of them, but we still read them, don’t we? So when graphic novels emerged, I’m sure children of all ages rejoiced. You bet I did.
Having discovered graphic novels lately, I posted a personal challenge to read five graphic novels next year but when I discovered the 7th Annual Graphic Novels and Manga Challenge hosted by Nicola, I decided to join that instead. My aim is to read 12 graphic novels or comics.
The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31, 2014. This year has three levels of play:
The Five-Eyed Bookworm 