In late 2016, I was invited to join the Great Graphic Novels for Teens selection committee, made up of Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) members from around the country. Together, the 11 of us were tasked with finding the best Graphic Novels of the year, creating an annotated list of these and choosing the Top Ten for 2018. We met face to face during day long meetings at two annual gatherings of the American Library Association. In 2017, I was again invited to join the Great Graphic Novel committee. For the 2019 lists, the work would all be virtual, the number of committee members rose to 16, and we would now be expected to post reviews of titles on YALSA's blog The Hub.
While some of the format and expectations of the committee shifted from my first year to my second, both years provided me with an unprecedented opportunity. This was my first time volunteering for a national library committee, and I was constantly in awe of the work my fellow committee members do within their communities. Like other book and media award committees within ALA, all the members were volunteers. Their dedication and knowledge of comics and Graphic Novels never ceased to impress me.
My two years on this committee provided me with the opportunity to read over 400 Graphic Novels of all shapes, styles, and sizes.
The Top Ten List for 2018 and the Top Ten List for 2019 are now both available, as well as the full list of Great Graphic Novels for 2018 and 2019. I am proud to have been a part of their selections. As with any list, there are always a few personal favorites that didn't make it to either Top Ten, and I'd like to highlight a few of my personal favorites here:- Belonging: a German reckons with history and home, by Nora Krug pushes the concept of graphic memoir in its format and wrestles with issues of collective memory and responsibility.
- Erased, by Kei Senbe focuses on one simple man's hope to change his future and find a mystery killer. The manga series also became an anime and live action series.
- Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang follows four girls from the 1980's from their paper routes into and out of their past and future towns. My review for Vol. 4 is on The Hub.
- Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide, by Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña is a biographical title that seemlesly weaves together text, illustration, and photography. You can read my review of it on The Hub.
In 2002, after reading Scott McCloud's, Understanding Comics, I created a small comic panel defining the form. 
But, if I were to create this now, it would be different. Nothing in my illustration addresses the emotive style of manga or the serialized aspect of webcomics. Nothing in my piece highlights the multiple literacies necessary to understand each panel in any Graphic Novel. Nor do I mention how the form currently includes storytellers with varied representation. And on a personal note,my small panel does not do enough to show the way Graphic Novels, like libraries, can help build communities.My work on this Graphic Novel committee strengthened critical reading skills, my professional librarian network, and friendships across the nation.
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| My colleagues, who also served 2 terms, had never seen so much snow. |