From School Library Journal

This accessible tome serves as both a readers’ advisory tool and a collection-development aid for graphic novels and collected comic books in English. Symbols help readers gauge age-appropriateness, awards earned, and core-collection status. Within each genre, the works are organized by title. This helps because most readers know titles more than authors. Appendixes offer vital information on further reading, publishers, and useful Web sites. Each entry has good documentation and summaries, though some series titles are more up-to-date than others. Classics are included, but the vast majority of the titles are from the last decade. Books are well chosen and the genre-based organization makes this volume an especially good resource for school librarians seeking to provide graphic-novel options for classroom subjects and units. The broad age range covered (grade six to adult) and the lack of similar titles on the market make this volume a smart buy.?Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library
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From Booklist

If anyone still has any doubts that graphic novels and mangahave crossed over into the realm of mainstream literature, just consider this newest addition to the Genreflecting Advisory Series. Readers are guided through nine main graphic groupings: “Super-Heroes,” “Action and Adventure,” “Science Fiction,” “Fantasy,” “Crime and Mysteries,” “Horror,” “Contemporary Life,” “Humor,” and “Nonfiction.” These main categories are further divided into subsets. For example, “Fantasy” encompasses “Sword and Sorcery Fantasy,” “Fairy Tales and Folklore,” and “Dark Fantasy,” to name a few. Despite this array of subjects and more than 2,000 annotated examples, author Pawuk maintains that he has included only a small fraction of current graphic offerings. Still, librarians and media specialists will find this a helpful resource for both readers’ advisory and collection development for this rapidly expanding medium.

Following the established Genreflecting format, detailed bibliographic citations accompanied by brief annotations are sorted according to genre, subgenre, theme, and series. Works are listed by title or by the name of the main character, when more relevant (Superman, Transformers, etc.). The annotations are descriptive, as opposed to critical, and provide plot summaries and overviews of main characters. Appropriate age levels are indicated (all audiences, 10 and above, 13-15, 16-17, and 18 and older). Icons indicate media crossovers (films, television shows, electronic games, Japanese anime). First-priority selections for core collections are identified. The introduction (which appears in graphic format) offers tips on locating, evaluating, ordering, cataloging, displaying, and promoting selections. Graphic publishing industry award winners are noted, as are winners of various ALA awards. Appendixes list additional print and online resources and contact information for publishers.

This year’s winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, is the first graphic novel to win a major book award. Because of this recognition, interest and demand for graphic literature will probably escalate. This timely and helpful resource will be a welcome addition to public- and secondary-school collections. Kathleen McBroom
Copyright ? American Library Association. All rights reserved