When
responding to requests for purchase for the Graphic Novel collection, I
often come across problems when the customer has requested a title that
is out of print, hasn’t been printed yet or isn’t even available in
English Language format.
Very often they are relying on the vast number of
comics discussion forums where speculation and wishful thinking play as much a role as any real fact.
To
sort out these issues, I visit the websites of the publishers
themselves. I would recommend introducing them to any comics fans you’re
helping. This will help them make informed decisions about their
favourite characters and authors.
The big names are of course
Marvel, which has a searchable catalogue and
DC which provides a very helpful list of their graphic novels currently in publication.
Don’t forget
Vertigo, DC’s very popular line of graphic novels for adults. A large part of our adult collection has been sourced from here.
Other notable names in the superhero publishing universe are
Dark Horse,
Image Comics and relative newcomer
Dynamite Comics.
For adult readers looking for the more literary works, the
Fantagraphics and
Drawn and Quarterly (which publishes New Zealand’s own Dylan Horrocks) sites are well worth a look.
Lastly, the Japanese-originating
manga
world is a force that has had an increasing impact on the Western
comics world. Weekly Shonen Jump magazine has been running in Japan
since 1968, spawning many of the more famous comics lines.
Viz Media publishes the English language versions of many of their titles. The other major English-language publisher of manga is
Tokyopop.
As
you can see there is a world of resources available in helping patrons
with every comics preference. With many of the sites offering previews,
informed choices are easy.
