As most of us booksellers do, I have a couple of customer-friends who share my taste in books, so when they come in, we get to gab excitedly about the stuff we're reading and loving. The excitement is extreme when we speak about graphic novels, and especially with my friend Evan, a professional pop culture critic and long-time comics geek. Every time he stops by, the two of us get to talking a mile a minute about Brian K. Vaughan, Scott Pilgrim, the newest X-Men development, Mat Johnson and Kyle Baker and Grant Morrison and on and on. What's surprising is how long it took one of us (I think it was Evan) to say, "Hey, we should really start a graphic novel book club."
Party this was an excuse to indulge our own interest in discussing and dissecting our favorites; partly it was prompted by the fever around the Watchmen movie, which brought many new fans to a classic of the medium. We sensed that many readers were interested in exploring graphic novels for the first time, and also that many of the die-hard comics fans were coming to bookstores as well as comics stores for their fix. In the interest of bringing them together, the McNally Jackson Graphic Novel Book Club was born this past March.
In speaking to other booksellers, I've found that while some traditional book clubs may be willing to explore certain graphic novels, it's much more successful to have one group devoted exclusively to the medium, just as we have a separate section in the bookstore (see the recent PW profile of our section). The intersection of art and dialogue, and the interplay of a writer and artist (or multiple artists), make for a different kind of conversation and attract a different group of fans.
One challenge of a graphic novel book club is the serialized nature of many comics: we could devote years to reading the 12-volume Sandman series alone, for example. In our group, we tend to pick one representative book from a great series to discuss and let attendees choose to read the rest on their own if it strikes their fancy. But it might be wonderful to have a book club devoted to a long series like Y: The Last Man (Brian K. Vaughan, 10 volumes) or Buddha (Osamu Tezuka, 8 volumes); there are plenty of themes that develop over time that would be great for in-depth discussion.
We had our third book club meeting in early May. Already it's one of the more successful discussion groups in the store, drawing 8 to 20 attendees to each monthly meeting. And it's definitely not just for overgrown teen boys: our group is incredibly diverse in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and exposure to comics. Some are awkward teenagers; some were alive during the Golden Age of Comics. Some are reading comics for the first time ever; some can debate arcane points of the Avengers mythology or the retcon decisions of the DC Universe. As with any group discussion, this multitude of viewpoints makes the discussion interesting. We promote our group with signage in the graphic novels section, in our bi-monthly events e-mails and (a first for us) through a Facebook group, where membership continues to increase.
If you're interested in starting a graphic novel discussion group at your bookstore (or proposing the idea to a bookstore you frequent), there are a million conversation-worthy books to choose from. I've organized my sections here by loose themes, which you might choose based on your own interests or the makeup of your group. (I've refrained from my usual editorializing to leave room for more great book ideas, but you can click through to the IndieBound page for more information about each title.) An asterisk indicates a title in a series.
History/Development of the Medium
Some foundational texts and keys to understanding graphic novels' unique language.
- Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (Harper Perennial, $22.99, 9780060976255/006097625X, paperback, 224 pp.)
- The Contract With God Trilogy by Will Eisner (Norton, $16.95, 9780393328042/039332804X, paperback, 182 pp.)
- Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon, $35, 9780679748403/0679406417, boxed set)
Contemporary Literary Classics
Critically acclaimed and accessible to readers of prose literature
- Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (Mariner, $13.95, 9780618871711/0618871713, paperback, 232 pp.)
- The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, $24.95, 9780375714832/0375714839, paperback, 341 pp.)
- Black Hole by Charles Burns (Pantheon, $18.95, 9780375714726/0375714723, paperback, 368 pp.)
The Best of the Superheroes
Nuanced, self-contained takes on classic superhero characters
- Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics, $19.99 , 9780930289232/0930289234, paperback, 416 pp.)
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (DC Comics, $14.99, 9781563893421/1563893428, paperback, 224 pp.)
- DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics, $19.99, 9781401203504/1401204619, paperback, 208 pp.)
Creators of Color
Great comics by African American and Latino writers and artists
- Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece (Vertigo, $14.99, 9781401210984/1401210988, paperback, 136 pp.)
- Nat Turner by Kyle Baker (HNA Books, $12.95, 9780810972278/0810972271, paperback, 207 pp.)
- Love & Rockets, No. 1: New Stories by Los Bros Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books, $14.99, 9781560979517/1560979518, paperback, 100 pp.)
Adult/Teen Crossover
Sometimes rated "guidance suggested," with themes that adults and teens will find engrossing
- * Runaways 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona (Marvel Comics, $7.99, 9780785113799/0785113797, paperback, 144 pp.)
- Blankets by Craig Thompson (Top Shelf Productions, $29.95, 9781891830433/1891830430, paperback, 592 pp.)
- * Sandman 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman , Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III (Vertigo, $19.99, 9781563890116/1563890119, paperback, 240 pp.)
Pushing the boundaries of comics narrative. And often funny.
- * Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press, $11.95, 9781932664089/1932664084, paperback, 168 pp.)
- Pop Gun War by Farel Dalrymple (Dark Horse Comics, $13.95, 9781569719343/1569719349, paperback, 136 pp.)
- Castle Waiting by Linda Medley (Fantagraphics Books, $29.95, 9781560977476/1560977477, hardcover, 457 pp.)
Once you get started with comics and graphic novels, one discovery leads to another, and there's no shortage of great books with discussion potential on the comics shelves. I'd love to hear your ideas for great graphic novels for book clubs, and how your own conversation is going!--Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, events and publicity coordinator, McNally Jackson bookstore, New York City, and future co-owner, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y.