“assuming that Eternal Smile and the manwha books have an all-ages appeal” Just for accuracy, :01 puts Smile at a 14+ range. So for YA, not All Ages.

No doubt that Librarians helped make comics more acceptable for teachers (Bone being a good example), but my local library has no idea what to do with the ones they have bought. I have had a number of conversations and one full on meeting with the administration of my local about how they shelve and lable their titles. My most recent example is seeing a Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane digest (marked by Marvel as being all ages) intentionally on the same shelf as Joe Matt’s Spent (a book about a guy that masturbtes a lot). I think this kind of thing could hurt the acceptance comics have gotten more recently. Or, maybe I am nuts.

And just to be clear, I don’t think that questionable books should be put behind the desk or anything, just shelved better.

Thanks for the rant space

(let’s ignore curious use of the word ‘puerile’, whose primary meaning is ‘of or pertaining to children’)

“Educator and comics specialist Peter Gutierrez attributes much of the growing interest from schools to the support and advocacy of librarians, many of whom responded to growing mainstream interest in graphic novels by developing significant library collections. “In the last two years, there’s been an explosion of interest, spurred by the popularity and obvious quality of graphic novels in libraries. It’s created more fertile ground for the kind of lateral movement of sequential art narratives into the classroom itself,” says Gutierrez.”

I started observing the trend a couple of years back. In and of itself it is a good thing. But I found a problem with this general shift when a publisher recently (not First Second, and not a ‘New York publisher (Tom Spurgeon tends to lump all of the book trade under NY, which I take to be a handy shorthand)) first rejected the book I was pitching (a fairly mature piece of work dealing with sexuality in a comical way) but then invited me to illustrate a ‘young readers’ text. When the same thing happened a second time I felt that it must be more than a coincidence and have been noting events as they occur. The change of First Second’s position in the structure of MacMillan Publishing, where it is now under the “children’s’ department is just one more piece in the picture.

Anyway, have a good weekend, Chris.
best
Eddie

In fact the most recent project First Second asked me to consider illustrating was too dark for my taste and I declined. But I do think the marketplace will encourage them to incline more toward the kids stuff.

Sorry if I mischaracterized your original statement. I meant to imply that you were concerned the company — and by extension the book industry at large — was heading in a direction more towards kids’ books, not that you felt they were already there, or that there was any malicious intent on anyone’s part.

Here’s what you said in our interview (re: the book you were currently shipping around):

Q: First Second doesn’t want it?

A: It’s kind of outside of their range. I haven’t even showed it to them actually. They’re tending mostly to kids books. I don’t think they want to go that way. I don’t think it would be a home for this book. I think Leotard will be good for them because it kind of looks like a kids book on the outside. I just hope they still think that even by the time they get to the bearded pirate.

Again, I apologize if I misconstrued or misinterpreted your statement.

e.c.

That’s not what I said. I have never made any comment whatsoever on First Second’s catalogue. I said the whole business is shifting in the direction of ‘young readers’. Ten years ago I don’t remember ever hearing the term ‘young readers’. Now I hear it all the time. It’s part of having won America’s libraries over to comics. They have accepted the package on the principal that it’s a young readers genre, a tool they can use to get the kids reading. And all good things to librarians everywhere.

Eddie Campbell