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Enter the Claudia Ann Seaman Poetry Award Contest

Does ALA have any reading lists or suggested books for adults? Learn the answer to that and more on I Love Libraries' Ask the Librarian page.

Free Comic Book Day

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. An annual tradition for the past several years, Free Comic Book Day occurs on the first Saturday of May.

The comics to be given away are created especially for Free Comic Book Day and represent a wide range of publishers and genres. Offerings for 2008 include many great comics for kids, such as Top Shelf’s endearing Owly and Friends; modern superhero comics including DC Comics’ reprint of critically acclaimed All Star Superman #1; manga such as Viz’s Shonen Jump Sampler; edgy adventures such as Dark Horse Comics’ Hellboy/B.P.R.D; sophisticated comics for older readers such as Fantagraphics Books’ I.G.N.A.T.Z: International Graphic Novels at Their Zenith; and more! It’s a great opportunity for newcomers to learn more about comics and for longtime fans to expand their horizons.

Aside from providing free exposure to many of the most exciting projects in the comics industry, Free Comic Book Day also presents an opportunity for libraries with graphic novel collections to partner up with local comic book stores. The expertise and product familiarity of the people at your local comic book store can often prove to be an invaluable resource, and the community outreach emphasis of Free Comic Book Day makes it an ideal situation for letting graphic novel fans know about what your library has to offer. In the past, stores have donated comics to libraries in exchange for assistance in publicizing Free Comic Book Day. In March, Diamond Comic Distributor’s Bookshelf website will post a directory of comic book stores that are interested in working with local libraries. The Comic Shop Locater will also help you to find the comic shops nearest you.

Free Comic Book Day will take place on May 3rd 2008 at participating stores. Please refer to www.freecomicbookday.com for more information, as well as a complete list of available titles.

Portland Mayor Declares April Comics Month

Originally published in Scoop, a free e-newsletter devoted to comics.

Portland (Ore.) Mayor Tom Potter has declared this April Portland Comics Month! This proclamation officially recognizes both the cultural importance and creative influence of this vibrant art form on the entire city.

Portland has deep roots in the comic-book publishing world, as it is home to scores of comics industry professionals and to three of the nation’s most prominent independent comics publishers, Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, and Top Shelf Productions. Moreover, the local comics community has seen sizable growth in the past few years, further bolstering the Rose City’s defining ties to the creative arts and industries.

To champion and support Portland Comics Month, the Stumptown Comics Foundation has catalogued a staggering number of comics-related events in the Portland metro area for the entire month of April.

Join us in this month-long celebration of sequential art—culminating in the Stumptown Comics Fest and Free Comic Book Day.

Head over to the Stumptown Comics Fest website for a complete list of Portland Comics Month events. Lots of awesome events are already listed, and no doubt there will be more to come.

New! University of Minnesota Gets Major Collection—Of Comic Books.

A Minnesota family donates its comics collection to University of Minnesota’s Elmer Anderson Library.

Author Judith Yates Borger has been active in journalism for many years, most recently as a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She’s also written for the New York Times, the StarTribune, Twin Cities Magazine, Corporate Report Minnesota, Mpls. St. Paul Magazine, and CityBusiness. She’s written two nonfiction books, now out of print.

Judith started writing fiction in 2002. Her first book, Lost in January is a mystery about Skeeter Hughes, a reporter in suburban Minneapolis who sets off in search of a missing teenaged girl. The tale involves a prostitution ring run out of the Mall of America, a meth lab explosion, and a very real car fire bombing. She’s well into a second book, Frozen in February.

In November Judith returned to journalism as a contributor to MinnPost.com, a not-for-profit news website operated by experienced, premier writers and editors from the Twin Cities, where you can read the full University of Minnesota story. Visit www.judithyatesborger.com for more information.