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Speaking Louder Than Before:
OK, so you, the eager graphic novel/trade comic evangelist, read and memorized my last column (ways to talk about graphic novels to increase their legitimacy among non-comics readers). So you rushed out and used every appropriate technique to explain to your friends, coworkers, teachers why they should be reading Maison Ikkoku. What else can you do? Well, you can read this new column for starters. This month, I’m going to give you suggestions about steps you can take to increase and encourage public awareness of graphic novels. The best way, of course, would be to buy numerous advertisements (“Read Graphic Novels.” “Insist on Graphic Novels.” “Graphic Novel = Great Novel.”) to plaster on every available surface; but I suspect none of us has the money for that. So, here are a series of “hands-on” and cheap activities you can try. Some are obvious, some not so; some are easy and painless, others require significant personal involvement; and some may increase your visibility in the community or even make you a little money. They all require at least a modicum of “legwork,” whether it be writing, volunteering, or just going out to a restaurant. Although you’re certainly welcome to squander these suggestions on superhero books, I suggest you focus on non-superhero titles. Most people know about the X-Men and Spider-Man, and everyone knows about Batman and Superman. They don’t need publicity. Our goal is to make people aware of Love and Rockets and Tale of One Bad Rat and Moonshadow. You know… the good stuff. 1. Read a graphic novel when you’re by yourself at a restaurant or other public setting. An airplane is a good place too. This is trolling for eyeballs. If nothing else, you’ll usually intrigue the server, and if you’re in a more casual setting, you can sometimes attract a passerby or two. Small-scale, I admit, but what you’re really doing is normalizing the reading of “comic books,” chipping away at that wall that separates GNs from “real” books. 2. Ask your favorite non-comics bookstore if it has any GNs. If they don’t, suggest they stock some. If they do, suggest they get more. I was in a Borders recently, and the only GNs they had were a selection of manga and a bunch of titles from Marvel and DC. That was a rotten cross-section of what’s out there, and I should have complained. Next time I go, I will complain. Also, if the GNs are shelved with game supplements, as can happen, point out that the GNs were hard to find because they were hidden in that section. 3. If you don’t have a favorite comic book store that you support, order GNs through regular bookstores. The more orders they get for GNs, the more they’re likely to stock. The more they stock, the more likely it is that someone will stumble upon them or that the bookstore will feature them. 4. Write your local newspaper urging the reviewing of GNs. Every decent paper’s got a book review section, and in my experience they rarely deal with GNs. If you haven’t seen such a review lately (or ever), drop a line to the review editor pointing out this whole field of literature that they’re neglecting. 5. Write mainstream magazines with the same suggestion. Science fiction magazines, library-oriented journals, Time, Newsweek, Publishers Weekly-there are a lot of places that have at one time reviewed a GN or two but tend to neglect them these days. Express your interest in seeing GN reviews again, especially if they’ve neglected an important, recently published title. 6. If a newspaper or TV columnist happens to mention a graphic novel or comic book, write that person a letter of encouragement and request that he/she continue to cover that genre. Everyone likes to get feedback, especially feedback that says you’ve been paying attention. Suggest appropriate/interesting/locally produced titles for future columns/broadcasts. 7. If a columnist or reviewer mentions a bunch of books on subject X, and you know of a graphic novel that should have been included, send that person a letter with your suggestion. See #6 above. 8. Review GNs yourself! (And not for Amazon, either. The only people who’ll see those reviews are other regular GN readers.) Assuming you have a grasp of written English and an understanding of the elements that make up GNs-and how to evaluate them-writing reviews is one of the easiest ways to get published. And graphic novels are woefully underreviewed. (I should know.) Start a website. Send reviews to likely outlets-not just Comics Journal and other trade publications, but mainstream ones as well. 9. Write a general article about GNs for your local free/underground/student newspaper. This genre of paper is quite likely to have a readership sympathetic to GNs, even if they haven’t read any before. Chances are, titles that you’ve known about for years will be completely unknown to the people reading your article. (I’m still amazed by the number of mainstream fantasy/SF readers who haven’t heard of Elfquest.) 10. Interview a GN artist/writer about her/his work and try to publish that. A lot of publishing outlets accept interviews. Local newspapers like to feature local individuals doing interesting things. Specialty papers or magazines are interested in interviews with people working in those specialties, or who are members of groups of interest to the venue’s readership. Before you actually interview someone, query the venue(s) you want to publish the interview in and make sure there’s interest-no point in going to all that trouble otherwise. 11. Ask your local library to get your favorite titles, even if you have them yourself. Libraries have suggestion boxes; avail yourself of them. (Note: It would be extremely helpful if you indicated the general level of maturity of the titles you’re suggesting. Otherwise, adult-level titles could easily creep into junior-level collections because “comics are for kids,” which could have unpleasant consequences for the library.) 12. If you’re feeling particularly energetic, volunteer your time to set up a display about GNs at your local library. This is kind of a long shot unless the library is actively planning such an exhibit, but maybe you can convince them to at least consider it. 13. Donate some GNs to your local library. This is the most certain way I know to make sure a library has a book on hand! Again, give suggestions about the books’ maturity levels. 14. Donate GNs to your local PBS auction. I’ve done this several times. (Hint: Donate enough to meet the station’s minimum bid-item value, and do it quickly; otherwise the books will wind up in the after-auction sale for the volunteers. I met one of my bundles of books this way….) This is an excellent tax-writeoff way for GN artists/writers to get some exposure to a new audience. (Artists could donate original artwork, too.) 15. If you’re a student, do a book report on one of the greats, like Maus, or on a title whose subject is appropriate to the class. Treat it with as much seriousness as you would a text-only book. Persuading your teacher that it’s a worthy title will be an education unto itself! 16. If you’re an art student, suggest a GN for analysis. Comics are just as worthy of evaluation as any other art form. 17. If you’re involved with a public art exhibit, such as a museum, suggest a display of comic art. This is a long shot, but sometimes you can catch people at the right moment. Heck, if the Denver Museum of Science and History can have an exhibit of Star Trek memorabilia and show a Rolling Stones movie in the Imax theater, the Denver Art Museum can have a display of comic art, right? 18. If you’re a member of a book circle/discussion group, suggest a good GN for a future meeting. Make sure it’s one that’s readily available and appropriate for your particular group. 19. If you think you can speak with some authority on GNs and you have a free university in your area, apply to teach a short overview class. Promote GNs and make money at the same time! This would be especially good for GN writers and artists. Of course, in many cases it’ll help if you employ the language of legitimacy from my previous article. Onward, GN soldiers! Good luck with these techniques. If you have others relevant to this column or my previous one, ’Id be happy to hear them aviva@rationalmagic.com.
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