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Comic Artists Forum for Teens and Adults

by K.C.

No matter whether you’re a budding or veteran comic artist stop by Malletts Creek this Sunday for a chance to share your work and get fresh ideas for your next comic or graphic novel project. Bring your favorite drawing tools and drop in for a few hours of drawing, learning, and sharing. For beginners we’ll provide basic supplies (i.e. paper, pencils, erasers, rulers). Jerzy Drozd will be our guest artist sharing a drawing or publishing tip.

Comic Artists Forum | Sunday, December 6 | 1-3 PM | Malletts Creek | Grades 6-Adults

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Everyone's favorite orphan on stage starting Friday

by annevm

The popular musical "Annie" will be presented by Encore Musical Theatre Company in Dexter at 8 p.m. Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 3-6, 10-13, & 17-19. This highly peppy, Tony Award-winning 1976 musical comedy was inspired by the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. Set in New York in the Great Depression, the story follows feisty Annie and her puppy Sandy as they escape from an orphanage and find a home with millionaire Daddy Warbucks. Popular songs from the show include "Tomorrow," "Hard-Knock Life," and "Easy Street." Buy tickets here.

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Books into Graphic Novels

by K.C.

They make books into movies so why not make books into graphic novels? The library has several in the collection like P. Craig Russell’s adaptation of Coraline by Neil Gaiman which is beautifully done and in my opinion better than the movie. The Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan has gone manga. Takahiro Arai’s artwork has made Cirque a manga hit in Japan. After translation it’s now available in the English-speaking world. Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation is another book turned into graphic novel winner. It’s creator, Ray Bradbury provides an intriguing introduction to this adaptation by Tim Hamilton. The storytelling and artwork set a dark and heavy tone that is ever faithful to this classic dystopian tale.

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Fluffy

by anned

Fluffy is a baby rabbit being raised by a single man called Michael Pulcino. Fluffy wonders if he will have black hair like Michael's when he grows up and if he can keep the library book that he loves about tractors. He also wonders what his nursery school teacher is doing visiting his apartment late at night. Michael struggles with relationships, a rabbit in denial, and being a single dad. Fluffy is absolutely adorable.

Simone Lia is one half of Cabanon Press.

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Simon's Cat

by lucroe

If you are a cat lover check out the hilarious wordless comic strip collection called Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield. Tofield, a British animator, started with animated shorts of the same name, available for free on his website. Tofield does all the characters including the 'meows'.

Here is one of my favorites:

If you are interested in knowing more about cats and caring for one, AADL has many books to choose from, click here for a list

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3rd Annual Manga Drawing Contest Winners Announced!

by erin

The judging is done and the winners have been announced! Judging was conducted by Jerzy Drozd and Shannon "Roku-Chan" Townsend. With over 80 entries in four age categories the judges had a tough time this year! The top three finishers in each category received gift certificates to Wizzywig and medals. All of the artwork will be on display through August in the Downtown Youth Department and can also be found online in our image gallery!

Click Read More to see the list of the winners!

Grades K-2
1st Place = Erin Shi
Runner-Up = Abby Deng
Honorable Mention = Raymond Jiang

Grades 3-5
1st Place = Alice Wu
Runner-Up = Rosa Chen
Honorable Mention = Ann Marie Zheng
Fan Art = Angela Wang
Best Original Character = Freyja Hofler

Grades 6-8
1st Place = Wentao Xu
Runner-Up = Hope Lu
Honorable Mention = Susan Doong
Best Fan Art = Taylor Zheng
Best Original Character = Lisa Ruan

Grades 9-12
1st Place = Melissa Wang
Runner-Up = Angela Wang
Honorable Mention = Laura Luo
Best Comic = Desha Stewart
Best Fan Art = Shirley Wu

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Le Photographe (The Photographer)

by lucroe

The French graphic novel Le Photographe ( The Photographer) by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefevre, and Frederic Lemercier has finally been published in the U.S. by First Second with translation by Alexis Siegel. It is the late photographer, Didier Lefevre's, story of his travels with Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) to Afghanistan in 1986. Guibert incorporates Lefevre's photos (he went through some 4000 taken in the 2 months he was there) as well as his own artwork to tell the harrowing story of which Lefevre barely survived. More importantly the novel is about the daily life of the people of Afghanistan who face disease, famine, brutal weather and of course the brutality of war. The courage of the MSF when going into war ravaged areas to perform major surgery or having to ask the Russian doctors for assistance for instance is a big part of this story. All in all an incredibly gripping story with the photos and artwork only adding to the intensity of each scene. Guibert is a well-known French artist. His Alan's War (also just recently published in the U.S.) is an Eisner nominee for best new graphic novel and yet another excellent biography.

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It's Lego and Manga Contest Time Again! Contest Guidelines Released!

by erin

If it's summer it must be time for our annual Lego and Manga Contests! Use the summer to focus your creativity and maybe you will win! In order to enter either contest participants must read and follow the rules and guidelines. Children and teens aged preschool to 12th grade are invited to enter the 4th Annual Lego Contest. This year the Lego contest award ceremony will take place at Weber's Inn (3050 Jackson Ave) on Monday, August 10 @ 8:00 PM. For complete submission guidelines and the talent release form click here. Top finishers will receive gift certificates to Toys R Us, and we'll have medals for winners of the special categories!

It's our 3rd Annual Manga Drawing Contest for grades K-12. The award ceremony will be on Monday, July 27 @ 7:00 PM in the Downtown Youth Room. For complete submission guidelines and the talent release form click here. Top finishers will receive gift certificates for Wizzywig Collectibles!

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The X-Men Stories

by elijah

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" hit theaters today, expanding on the story of that fan-favorite, pointy-haired, claw-waving, Canadian superhero Wolverine. This continuation of the popular X-Men movie franchise promises to lift the fog that covers the hero's past. If this movie appeals to you, you may also enjoy exploring the in-depth universe of the X-Men available at our library. We have the X-men comics, collected in graphic novel form, as well as the popular X-Men movies. Be forewarned, reading of X-Men can be highly addictive!

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Jerzy Drozd Presents: Why Superheroes Communicate to Us

by Caser

On Saturday, April 25th at 4pm in the Downtown library, Cartoonist Jerzy Drozd, author of The Front: Rebirth and other graphic novels, will deliver a dynamic presentation aimed at adult audiences on the greater significance that superheroes have in our world.

From the author: Superheroes have been an integral part of American culture since the late 1930s. Almost everyone knows what effect Kryptonite has on Superman, why Batman has a disdain for guns, or how Spider-Man learned "with great power comes great responsibility". But are these cultural icons merely a power fantasy for young people, or do they speak to wider human experiences and struggles? And why have they until only recently been a genre exclusive to comic books?

Join cartoonist and teaching artist Jerzy Drozd for an interactive discussion about the role of superheroes in fiction as well as the parallels that can be found when one compares them to characters found in mythology and fables.