ARLIS/NA is seeking volunteer reviewers for the third annual Notable Graphic Novels Review. Reviews for the list will cover the eleven titles that received the most votes from a poll distributed via the ARLIS/NA listserv. Criteria for submitting nominations and for voting were:
- Titles must have been published in 2018
- You may vote for a maximum of 10 titles
- Consider titles that you believe are innovative, memorable, or significant in the field, especially in terms of their artwork
Definition for "graphic novel": "Term used to describe a form of sequential art that typically integrates image and text in book form. Genre and exact length vary. Can be a collection of comic issues originally published as comic books or a standalone publication."
The titles selected for this year's list include:
1. 'Algeria is Beautiful Like America' by Olivia Burton and Mahi Grand (Lion Forge)
2. 'Berlin' by Jason Lutes (Drawn and Quarterly)
3. 'Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World' by Pénélope Bagieu (First Second Books)
4. 'My Brother's Husband, Volume 2' by Gengoroh Tagame (Pantheon)
5. 'On a Sunbeam' by Tillie Walden (First Second Books)
6. 'Passing for Human: A Graphic Memoir' by Liana Finck (Random House)
7. 'The Prince and the Dressmaker' by Jen Wang (First Second Books)
8. 'Sabrina' by Nick Drnaso (Drawn and Quarterly)
9. 'Woman World' by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn and Quarterly)
10. 'Why Art?' by Eleanor Davis (Fantagraphics)
11. 'Your Black Friend and Other Strangers' by Ben Passmore (Silver Sprocket)
Reviewers will be expected to provide the following:
- Spoiler-free summary of the story line
- Commentary on the art
- Recommendation for purchase based on certain user groups, library type, etc.
Reviews should be approximately 200-250 words. All reviews will be due by May 13, 2019.
Completing this form does not guarantee you will be selected as a reviewer for this year's publication. The list co-editors will do their best to match selected reviewers with titles of their choosing. Reviews which do not meet standards for content or length will be edited by the review editors or may be returned to the reviewer for revision. All current ARLIS/NA members in good standing are eligible to submit nominations and vote.
Direct all questions to co-editors: Olivia Piepmeier (
olivia.piepmeier@umassd.edu), Tara Spies Smith (
ts20@txstate.edu), or Andrew Wang (
aandrewwangg@gmail.com).
Priority will be given for those who complete the following form by Thursday, April 11. The co-editors will be in touch by Friday, April 17. Thank you for your interest!
https://arlisna.org/publications/notable-graphic-novels 