Welcome to the 4th Indoorsy “Rabbit Hole”!!
For those of you who are new here (welcome!!) and/or those of you who have simply forgotten, “Rabbit Holes” are themed issues. They appear sporadically and focus on one subject. Usually something I’m all fired up about.
We’ve done the Grammys, A Post Apocalyptic extravaganza and today, we’re coming in hot with Graphic Novels.
If I’m being honest, I started reading graphic novels to bolster my efforts at completing a reading challenge I committed to last year. I was falling behind on my goal of reading 50 books in a year and graphic novels seemed like a good way to bang out a bunch of books quickly.
I know I know. It’s not technically cheating….but speed reading a stack of Graphic novels because it took me a month to read “Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix” isn’t really fair play either.
But what’s done is done, and I have a new genre in my repertoire to show for it. I genuinely enjoy reading them. On this particular occasion, the end justified the means.
Lucky for me, the Alaskan library network has a massive collection of graphic novels to choose from. If I can’t find the title I’m looking for at my local library, they will order it from another location like Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau.
My Happy Place
I spend a lot of time at the library. I find peace among the books when I need to decompress. It’s my favorite place to kill time. Sometimes I even go there to get a book.
Last Friday, I finished running errands and found myself with an hour to spare before I had to pick my teen up from baseball practice. Naturally, I made a beeline for the library. It’s close to the high school and I’d been wanting to spend some time looking through the Graphic Novels.
In our library, there are three separate Graphic Novel sections. One in the children’s room, a few shelves in the YA corner and a row for adults, adjacent to the main fiction area.
I headed to the adult section first, in search of a book that caught my eye the last time I was there. It was easy to find, featured prominently on a little stand with a few other, selected titles.
Once I had the book in hand, I settled into a cozy armchair by the window and read it cover to cover.
To Build A Fire by Christophe Chaboute
“To Build a Fire” by Christophe Chaboute is an adaptation of Jack London’s classic, short story of the same name. Having never read the original, I was impressed by how engrossing the pictorial narrative was. The words are sparse but sufficient. The story is told visually.
I liked it so much, I went home and read the original story. Now that i’ve read both versions, I am even more impressed with how well Chaboute was able to capture and convey the atmosphere of London’s descriptive writing with his artwork.
The story tells the tale of a man and his dog traveling through isolated wilderness while trying not to freeze to death. The beauty and brutality of the northern climate translated perfectly into visual storytelling.
“To Build a Fire” is just one of many classic literature adaptations. Titles like Les Miserables, Anne Frank’s Diary, Jayne Eyre and The Great Gatsby all have graphic novel versions. I was aware they existed, but didn’t have much interest in reading them until I discovered “To Build A Fire”. Now, I’m really curious about the potential they hold for me and other modern readers.
Sitting down to read, let alone retain and understand, older books can be a daunting and time consuming task. A rewarding task worth doing, just challenging. The language and writing styles can be hard to grasp, creating a barrier between many literary works and the readers who might enjoy them.
Starting with a more palatable, graphic novel version could give readers a chance to fully engage with the story.
That’s exactly what happened with “To Build a Fire”. Reading the graphic novel gave me an overview of the narrative and introduced me to the characters and the setting. When I sat down to read the original text, it felt familiar. I was able to fully appreciate the writing.
The whole experience has inspired me to find a Graphic Novel version of “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, a book I’ve been wanting to reread. I read it in high school, working closely with a teacher whos guidance helped me to understand it. Without that valuable resource to draw upon, I’ve been feeling a little intimidated to revisit Dickens’ masterfully layered story. Now, I have a new tool in this endeavor: graphic novels.
I’m going to track down a copy and give it a try! Maybe that will give me the confidence to tackle the original work again.
If you’d like to read Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire”
Here is a link: To Build a Fire
It’s a cool story. I hope you find time to read and enjoy it. In any version!
Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyun-Ju & Ryan Estrada
I found the next book in the YA section of the library. I’m not going to pretend I grabbed this book for any reason other than the title. As soon as I saw “Banned Book Club” in bold print on the spine, I stopped scanning, pulled it off the shelf and started flipping through it.
At first glance, the style felt approachable to me—a graphic novel novice. I’m fairly new to this world and not quite ready for some of the more ambitious storylines. Though I did dip my toe in with Neil Gaimon’s “Sandman” series last year. A dark series I liked and plan to return to someday.
For now, I go for simple artwork and straightforward storytelling. Books like “Hyperbole and a Half” that feel familiar to the kid in me who loved to read Garfield and Archie comics. The part of me that still likes to read “The Far Side” and “Calvin and Hobbes”
I ended up taking “Banned Book Club” home and reading it. The story sucked me in immediately. I devoured the whole thing in a day.
B.B.C. tells the story of a violent, South Korean military regime through the eyes of first year college student, Hyun Sook. We get to know her as she meets new friends, learns about the political unrest in her country and enters the world of activism through the Banned Book Club.
The story takes place in 1983 and centers around the student protests happening in Universities at that time.
The book doesn’t get too deep into Korean culture, although we get little glimpses here and there. The main focus is on the actions of a small group of college students and the implications of their political ideations. It feels personal and relatable, probably because it’s an autobiographical account of the author’s own experiences.
I connected with Hyun Sook’s story on an emotional level, especially the parts where the students were persecuted and imprisoned by government officials.
I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a heartfelt story about injustice and the ways people band together to fight it. Worth an afternoon of your time for sure.
I Kill Giants
This was my favorite of the three Graphic Novels I read this week. I chose it because I recognized it from previews for the movie adaptation released in 2017. I haven’t seen the movie, but I fully intend to after reading the book.
“I Kill Giants” was a nice bridge between the graphic novels I’ve been reading and the more serialized, fantasy type books enjoyed by die hard comic fans. It deals with real life issues with fantasy elements — magical weapons, fairies and giants— woven seamlessly into the story.
Another YA title, “I Kill Giants” is the story of Barbara, a little girl struggling to cope with reality by escaping into a fantasy world.
The reader is made aware that something has gone wrong in Barbara’s life, though it’s not defined until the end. The mystery works well to build suspense and compassion for Barbara as she smashes her way through her small world.
I loved this book. Plain and simple. I connected emotionally with Barbara. She is a spunky little oddball with a tendency to make life harder on herself by refusing to fall in line. She’s a fighter and It’s impossible not to root for her.
This book made me laugh and it made me cry. I loved it. I would heartily recommend it to everyone. I look forward to reading the next installment in the series.
Other Graphic Novels to Consider
If none of these books sound appealing to you, take some time to look into what else is out there. There are so many different types of Graphic Novels, literally one for every type of reader.
I wrote an issue a while back that featured some of the Graphic Novels I loved, here’s a link : A Good Book Is the One You Enjoy Reading
Goodreads is an excellent resource for finding new books. Here is a link to get you started: Best Graphic Novels (3,260 books!!)
Here are a few articles recommending readers who are new to Graphic Novels. Articles like this are what got me started in the genre…
10 Graphic Novels for Readers Who Don't Like Graphic Novels
21 Graphic Novels For People That Don't Read Graphic Novels
BONUS : Here’s an article recommending Graphic Novels for kids!! It’s a new article so the selections are up to date.
Top Graphic Novels For Reluctant Readers
Okay, that’s probably enough for now.
Happy Hunting for your next (or first?!) Graphic Novel. See you Sunday!!