War Comics On Tour In Scotland

On a day of protests to keep UK libraries open we are pleased to bring you a positive library story. In early December 2010 Carnoustie Library opened an exhibition of war comics that was due to run of the entire month and which we covered here. Due to the unprecedented snow that blanketed the country in December the exhibition was extended into January 2011 to allow visitors to see it.

As well as Commando images taken from the World War 1 story The 11th Hour, written by Ferg Handley, and with artwork of by both Ian Kennedy (right) and Olivera, the exhibition covered Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun’s Charley’s War and Jacques Tardi’s It Was The War Of The Trenches. Other war titles in the exhibition included DC’s Enemy Ace and anthologies showing work by Reed Crandall, John Severin, Art Spiegelman and Alex Toth. The exhibition also looked at how British comics dealt with war through the years with Adam Riches’ book When The Comics Went To War.

Exhibition organiser David Robertson, who is Senior Library Assistant at Carnoustie, has been back in touch with downthetubes to tell us that Commando artist Ian Kennedy visited the library to see the exhibition for himself while it was on. He goes on to tell us that the response to the exhibition has been so positive that it is now going on tour around five of the other Angus region libraries.

In February it is in Arbroath Library, in March it will be in Brechin Library, April will take it to Kirriemuir Library, in May it will be in Forfar Library, and finally in June it will be in Monifieth Library.

Dates for the exhibition at each of the libraries will be available closer to the time while the opening hours for each of the five libraries are available on the Angus Council website.

Winter Combat In Carnoustie

Carnoustie Library will be hosting a war comics exhibit during the month of December.

As well as Commando images taken from the World War 1 story The 11th Hour, written by Ferg Handley, and with artwork of by both Ian Kennedy (right) and Olivera, the exhibition will also cover Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun’s Charley’s War and Jacques Tardi’s It Was The War Of The Trenches. Other war titles in the exhibition include DC’s Enemy Ace and anthologies showing work by Reed Crandall, John Severin, Art Spiegelman and Alex Toth. The exhibition will also look at how British comics dealt with war through the years with Adam Riches’ book When The Comics Went To War.

Senior Library Assistant David Robertson told downthetubes, "The library was planning an exhibition on World War I anyway and so I suggested doing a section on comics. I know from experience in other councils that Charley’s War goes down very well in libraries, so that was a good starting point.

"We are also quite near to D.C. Thomson’s in Dundee and I thought they might supply some material, which they did. Bill McLoughlin was very helpful and supplied some excellent prints of Ian Kennedy and Olivera’s artwork (left) from Commando. Ian is a nice guy too, and he signed one of his covers for display.

Asked if the library had a good selection of graphic novels David told us, "It does, and it’s getting better all the time. However, after suggesting this comics display in June, I searched our catalogue for war comics and found we had none whatsoever! Zero. So the collection had to be built up a bit before December rolled around. As I suspected, the books have proven popular. It’s worth noting that we take a council-wide approach to the collection, so it’s always worth asking if you can’t find what you’re after in a specific branch.

"But yes, we have super-heroes, Asterix, Tintin, Vertigo, alternative, Judge Dredd, humour, newspaper strips and loads more. And plenty of war comics now! I hope people enjoy the exhibition, it's been fun putting it together."

Carnoustie Library is located in the High Street of Carnoustie near Dundee and as well as being a public lending library it holds a collection of books and ephemera highlighting all aspects of the town’s history including information on microfilm and microfiche.

The free exhibition runs from 1 to 31 December 2010 and is open during regular library hours, Monday & Wednesday 9.30am – 8pm, Tuesday 10am to 6pm, Thursday 9.30am – 6pm, and Friday & Saturday 9.30am – 5pm.

UPDATE 8 DEC 2010: Due to the unprecedented weather in Scotland this exhibition will now continue until 21 January 2011.

David Bishop launches graphic novels collection in Scotland

(Adapted in part from David Bishop's Vicious Imagery blog and reposted here with his full permission): Comics writer, editor and TV script writer David Bishop was at the Greenock Public Library, Scotland last night to help promote its new collection of graphic novels.

Having clocked the fact that teenagers and young adults were not using the library much, Inverclyde Libraries chose graphic novels as a way of getting that audience in. The library now has 300 titles ranging from Kick-Ass to Gemma Bovary, 300 and Robert Crumb.

Despite some dismal weather, the launch got a great turn-out (four times the audience for Ian Rankin, apparently). But the event was not a one-off. The library is also running a ten-week course on reading and writing graphic novels (already fully subscribed) and books were flying off the shelves while David was there last night.

"There was coverage in local papers beforehand, and I got interviewed for a local radio station and by STV for one of its news magazine shows," says David. "All in all, a well organised and enjoyable event. I wish other libraries would follow the example of Inverclyde Libraries. If you want to reverse an aging readership trend, you need to take action. (That applies to comics publishers, too)."

Inverclyde Council says it hopes the project will increase the use of libraries across the local authority area.

Speaking before the launch event, Jim Clocherty, the council’s regeneration convener, told The Herald: “We are keen to attract younger users into our libraries, where they can borrow books but also benefit from the wide range of services and activities we have on offer.

“The graphic fiction collection features the usual fantasy superheroes, but also includes books dealing with hard-hitting issues such as coping with cancer, epilepsy and autism.”

Here at downthetubes we think this is a terrific in initiative from Scottish libraries, and one we hope more libraries, funds permitting, will also pick up on.

In a separate development, the charity Children in Scotland will be using a comic book to encourage pupils to take part in their school councils.

The Herald reports every school in Scotland will this week receive copies of the innovative comic book that highlights the findings of Having a Say at School – the largest Scottish study of pupil councils ever undertaken, which was conducted by Children in Scotland and Edinburgh University.

• Article compiled in part with grateful assistance from David Bishop, with thanks. Read more about the event from David here