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 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 7:56 am |
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Local News 
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Teens fuel the rise of the graphic novel Cheyanne Lee wandered up to the Mukilteo Public Library checkout scanner with 13 bright, gleaming books bundled up in her arms.The 12-year-old figured she would zip through the stack of Japanese manga and quickly come back for more. Cheyanne is part of a growing generation of young people who devour graphic novels, a type of comic book that usually has a longer and more complex plot. "I love reading these books," she said. "They are not like any other kind of books. They are like comic books, but the story just goes on and on and on." Their popularity is a big reason circulation of teen fiction in the Sno-Isle Regional Libraries system has nearly doubled over the past five years. By comparison, circulation among adult fiction rose by 11 percent. Last year, 44 percent of books checked out by teens in Sno-Isle's 21 libraries were graphic novels. Some Sno-Isle libraries now break out graphic novels in the children's, teen and adult sections. It's nothing to fear, local librarians and educators say. Western society remains safe. "It's taking art and taking literature and putting them together like a Reese's peanut butter cup," said Dawn Rutherford, teen services coordinator for the Sno-Isle system. "It's always hard to see people just dismiss them. Graphic novels have definitely reached the point where they are more accepted by librarians if not the public." Graphic novels have seeped into culture everywhere. "Maus," a tale told through comics of surviving the Holocaust, won a 1992 Pulitizer Prize. Even the 580-page Sept. 11 Commission report was adapted into a graphic novel. America's two top grossing movies of 2008 -- "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" -- were based on comic book characters, according to movieweb.com. "Watchmen," which made the New York Times Bestsellers' List, opens today in movie theaters. Sno-Isle has a list of 110 patrons waiting for their chance to read the 1987 graphic novel, which won a 1988 Hugo award. Many local schools have anime clubs where students watch and sometimes draw characters from Japanese animation and from their favorite graphic novels. In 2008 alone, Sno-Isle bought 11,500 graphic novels. For Jim Demonakos, 31, the appeal started at age 7 with his first Fantastic Four comic book. Today he is part of the multi-million dollar comics and graphic novel industry. The 1995 Kamiak High School graduate co-owns comic book shops in Everett, Lynnwood and Redmond and organizes the Emerald City ComiCon, an annual convention at the Washington State Convention Center that draws 10,000 comics enthusiasts to Seattle. Some purists draw distinctions between comics, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, but to Demonakos they are all part of an entertaining branch of literature. Hollywood has helped popularize the printed product, he said. "I read 'Watchmen' more than 10 years ago, but now all of a sudden there is like this hipness to graphic novels," he said. "I think a lot of it had to do with the movies. The stigma is moving away." In the schools, teens checking out graphic novels cover a wide spectrum. Arlington High School librarian Kristine Copenhaver has witnessed that firsthand, where she has seen struggling readers and students in advanced placement literature classes pull the graphic novel version of "Macbeth" off the shelf. She tries to order new graphic novels that are tied to the curriculum, such as Shakespeare and World War II history. "I rope them in with the one and get them interested in the other," Copenhaver said. "There is no literary value if they never open a book." Graphic novels are a big draw at Explorer Middle School in south Everett. "I don't really remember how I first got addicted to graphic novels, but to me it's really cool," said Duncan Brown, 12, a seventh-grader. "I like them because I actually get to see the action going on." Duncan has read different works in graphic novel form and then sought out the original books. Last year, he wrote a 10-chapter graphic novel of his own, "The War of the Dreams," and has started on a second. Explorer's librarian Cheryl Jackson watches graphic novels snatched off shelves by students from special education through the Summit program for gifted students. "It's a great way to get those reluctant readers reading," she said. "I think that part of the appeal is they are easy to finish. It's not a book that's going to take two or three days." At the Mukilteo library, students from elementary through high school browse the graphic novel sections after classes each day. Kamiak High School sophomore Jonathan Nguyen, 15, doesn't have as much time to read them as he once did, but he still enjoys the literary escape. "It's not a children's book," he said. "It's a novel, but with pictures. It's easier to see what the author sees." The other day, Kamiak sophomore Emily King was looking through the teen section for "Persepolis," the story of an Iranian girl's upbringing that became an award-winning animated movie in 2007. The artwork lures her into the story. "It becomes more personal," she said. "It makes you fall in love with the characters more." Mukilteo teen librarian Kathleen Fernandes said in quality graphic novels, it's intellectually more challenging than parents realize." She's eagerly awaiting the arrival of Charlotte Bronte's 1847 classic "Jane Eyre" as a graphic novel. It's on order. Now get in line. Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com. |
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