Professional Connections: Resources for Teachers and Librarians

Marcus, Leonard S., ed. Comics Confidential: Thirteen Graphic Novelists Talk Story, Craft, and Life Outside the Box. Candlewick, 2016 192p illus. with photographs
ISBN 978-0-7636-5938-7 $24.99

In his introduction, Marcus offers a short overview of the graphic novel format, highlighting its origins in comic books, briefly looking at the 1950s opposition to comics, and noting that Art Spiegelman’s winning of the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for Maus caused a huge change in public perception of the format. Marcus follows with thirteen interviews with different graphic novel artists, including Gene Luen Yang, Matt Phelan, Sara Varon, and Hope Larson. Each profile begins with a short biography, followed by Marcus’ Q & A with the artists and peppered with reproductions of their various works. Though this will likely be most valued by kid fans of the assorted artists, this could easily serve as a source for a variety of programming both in the classroom and the library.