Marshall Public Library, Missouri [corrected from Michigan]has been building up what the International Herald Tribune
article describes as the "literary world's hot new thing."
Graphic novels which use a comic book format to portray sophisticated stories are the publishing industry's fastest-growing sectors.
Many graphic novels are geared for young adults and as such, contain themes that are much more mature than typical comic books. Parents are becoming concerned that children may be attracted to the format and read books that have too adult a theme for them.
Blankets by Craig Thompson and
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel have set off the first challenge in the library's history. Both books deal with mature themes of turbulent childhoods, strict religious upbringings, and homosexuality. The books contain pictures of a naked couple, albeit in cartoon form.
Parents are mostly concerned with the illustrations and that they may be accessible to children. Louise Mills, a Marshall resident, asks, "Does this community want our public library to continue to use tax dollars to purchase pornography?"
The library board has removed the books until it can develop a policy to determine how it collects materials in the future.
While the perception might be that comics are only for children, the comic book has grown up and taken on some mature themes but also established itself as a legitimate form of literature over the past few years.
Maus, a Holocaust memoir by Art Spiegelman, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.
Maus and
Maus II were challenged in 2005 in Oregon as anti-ethnic and unsuitable for younger readers.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang became the first graphic novel to be nominated for the
National Book Award in the US.
The
American Library Association (ALA) reports 14 challenges relating to graphic novels in U.S. libraries over the few years, including
The Watchmen by Alan Moore, which by the way, joins regular novels on Time's list of
100 Best Novels since 1923 (while you are there, see which other banned or challenged books appear),
Akira, Volume 2 by Katsuhiro Otomo,
New X-Men Imperial by Grant Morrison, and
Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics. In the wake of these challenges, the ALA has developed
"Graphic Novels: A Guide for Librarians" which includes information on choosing books, cataloguing them, and dealing with challenges.
Ulysses "Seen," the comic novel was not made available until Apple's demand for cuts was met. All cartoon nudity had to be removed because of Apple's strict guidelines, something Rob Berry and Josh Levitas, the creators of the web comic had not counted on. They had expected to cover areas with "fig leaves" or pixelate certain areas but Apple's policy did not allow for that, so the images were cropped for the iPad.
A challenge to a graphic novel series written for children is ironic because it is so close to Free Comic Book Day. A recent story in the Minnesota Sun explains that parent Ramona DeLay was shocked that Jeff Smith's popular "Bone" graphic novel series has illustrations related to drinking, smoking, and gambling, activities the DARE program taught him not to do. She had filed a request to have the materials reconsidered for inclusion in the library. She objected to the book's portrayal of gambling, alcohol and tobacco use, and "sexual situations between characters" and indicated that she wanted the book "withdrawn from all students."
While the perception might be that comics are only for children, the comic book has grown up and taken on some mature themes but also established itself as a legitimate form of literature over the past few years. Maus, a Holocaust memoir by Art Spiegelman, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Maus and Maus II were challenged in 2005 in Oregon as anti-ethnic and unsuitable for younger readers. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang became the first graphic novel to be nominated for the National Book Award in the US.
The American Library Association (ALA) reports 14 challenges relating to graphic novels in U.S. libraries over the few years, including The Watchmen by Alan Moore, which by the way, joins regular novels on Time's list of 100 Best Novels since 1923 (while you are there, see which other banned or challenged books appear), Akira, Volume 2 by Katsuhiro Otomo, New X-Men Imperial by Grant Morrison, and Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics. In the wake of these challenges, the ALA has developed "Graphic Novels: A Guide for Librarians" which includes information on choosing books, cataloguing them, and dealing with challenges.
Like comic books which came before them, graphic novels are sometimes getting a bad rap. The dilemma is sometimes about where to catalogue them -- Juvenile, Young Adult, Adult? Some libraries, especially school libraries might be wondering if they should even have graphic novels in the collection. 
