Banned Books Week 2014: Graphic Novels

Banned Books Week’s theme for this year focuses on comic books and graphic novels.  Comic books and graphic novels have become very popular in the last few years, and we see more of them popping up in library collections.  The Mississippi Library Commission has even added a new graphic novels collection.

According to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, comic books are challenged for the same reasons as other books, but are more vulnerable because of their visual content.  Comic books are commonly challenged for “adult content,” “inappropriate language,” “violence/horror,” “sex/nudity,” or not being “age appropriate.”  Some have the misconception that comic books are a low value of speech and only for juvenile audiences.

Banned/challenged comic books and graphic novels from MLC's graphic novel collection:

Blankets 
by Craig Thompson

•     Sexually explicit/nudity

Fun Home

by Alison Bechdel

•          Sexually explicit/nudity

•          Homosexuality

Maus

by Art Spiegelman

•         Anti-ethnic

•      Unsuited for age group

Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi

•           Offensive language

•            Violence

•            Unsuitable for age group

Stuck in the Middle

edited by Ariel Schrag

•           Offensive language

•           Sexually explicit/nudity

•           Drug reference

      

Watchmen

by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

•           Violence

•           Sexually explicit/nudity

•           Offensive language

•           Unsuited for age group

For more information about comic books and graphic novels that have been challenged visit http://cbldf.org.
Don't forget to stop by MLC or your local library to check out more banned books.