As we celebrate another Pride Month, now is a good time to remind everyone that books by queer creators are among the most challenged books in American libraries. There are a number of small things that you can do, however, to ensure that readers can continue accessing This One Summer, Flamer, Our Colours, and Gender Queer: A Memoir. The simplest is to support the work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which has been helping public and school libraries challenge book bans since 1986. As the CBLDF’s latest newsletter points out, activists regularly target manga and graphic novels, arguing that their images are especially harmful to young readers. The American Library Association, which compiles data on banned books, is another organization worthy of your support. The ALA has created a number of resources for combatting censorship, offering advice on how to challenge a banned book, how to make a meaningful impact at a school or library board meeting, and how to report book censorship in your community. These tools aren’t just for librarians; anyone can use them to defend readers’ right to access books.
NEWS, VIEWS, AND INTERVIEWS
Lynzee Loveridge interviews Sumiko Arai, the creator of breakout hit The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All. [ANN]
UDON has joined a long list of companies that are no longer distributing comics through Diamond. Brigid Alverson has the details. [ICv2]
Josh Piedra has the skinny on the latest licensing announcements from Seven Seas. [The Outerhaven]
Wondering what’s new in stores this month? Katy Castillo has you covered with a comprehensive list of manga, books, and light novels slated for June release. [Yatta-Tachi]
The folks at Anime Feminist want to know: what’s the rarest manga in your collection? (FWIW, my answer would be Four Shojo Stories.) [Anime Feminist]
Muraktama Rodrigues explains why you should be reading Golden Kamuy. [How to Love Comics]
In honor of Pride Month, Anime UK News discusses “the anime and manga characters that break gender norms, the ones who do not conform to the binary, the ones who celebrate who they are and make us love them, regardless of how they choose to identify.” [Anime UK News]
Last but not least, the latest issue of the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics offers an in-depth essay by scholar Ashley Morningstar, who argues that “Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon helped spark a turning point in the shōjo genre, introducing a subversive trend of action-oriented narratives that featured fighting girl protagonists.” [Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics]
REVIEWS
Erica Friedman recommends Class X, an “obscure but wonderfully astonishing story”… Kara Dennison weighs in on Snowball Earth, a new VIZ title… and Jackson Brown is back with a fabulous review of The Great Snake’s Bride. “Don’t let the winking and nudging and giggling from us adult children fool you,” he notes. “The Great Snake’s Bride by Fushiashikumo is a brilliantly crafted story about family, trauma, healing, and how to find kinship in unlikely places. Alongside these themes is a salient commentary on womanhood and misogyny, which is expected from a gothic tale, and this manga is a fitting contribution to the genre.”
New and Noteworthy
- Black Blood (Reuben Baron, Yatta-Tachi)
- The BS Situation of Tougetsu Umidori, Vol. 1 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store, Vol. 1 (Hagai Palevsky, The Comics Journal)
- Dear Hongrang (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Detectives These Days!, Vol. 1 (Hayame Kawachi, The Beat)
- Four Lives Remain (King Baby Duck The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy At All, Vol. 1 (Penn, Yatta-Tachi)
- Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- I Want Your Mother to Be With Me!, Vol. 1 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- New Saga, Vol. 1 (MrAJCosplay, ANN)
- Ponyo Film Comic All-in-One Edition (Kara Dennison, Otaku USA)
- The Remarried Empress, Vols. 1-6 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Shout Loud, My Heart (Lisa De La Cruz, The Wonder of Anime)
- Spacewalking with You, Vol. 1 (soy, Behind the Manga)
- Spider-Man: Kizuna (Kara Dennison, Otaku USA)
- Stay By My Side After the Rain, Vols. 1-3 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series
- The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride, Vol. 2 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 25 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Cheerful Amnesia, Vol. 4 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- Cheerful Amnesia, Vol. 6 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Dara-san of Reiwa, Vol. 1 (Giovanni Stigliano, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Drifters Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Ian Wolf, Anime UK News)
- Firefly Wedding, Vol. 2 (Lisa De La Cruz, The Wonder of Anime)
- Go For It, Nakamura! (Kelly S., Yatta-Tachi)
- Last Quarter, Vol. 2 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Mao, Vols. 24-25 (SKJAM! Reviews)
- Mission: Yozakura Family, Vol. 16 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Mujina Into the Deep, Vol. 2 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- The Summer You Were There, Vols. 1-6 (Marquan, Behind the Manga)*
- Vampeerz, Vols. 4-5 (Christian LeBlanc, Okazu)
- The World After the Fall, Vol. 10 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- X-Gender, Vols. 1-2 (Eleanor Walker, Okazu)*
* Complete series review
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