Welcome to the latest newsletter from GraphicNovelReporter.com. A lot has happened since we last “talked” --- most notably, the sheer joy and amazement of New York Comic-Con. What a weekend it was. There’s just nothing like being in a giant room filled with thousands and thousands of people who share your passion.

My non-comics-reading friends often ask me what a comics convention is like, and my response is usually something like this: Imagine every business convention you’ve ever attended where thousands of people who work in one field had to give up their weekend and travel across the country to take part in a giant event, set up a booth, and talk to thousands of attendees. Now imagine that everyone at that conference is actually excited to be there.

That’s Comic-Con. A stunningly large collection of people who all want to get together and have fun celebrating their craft, their hobby, their love. It’s fun beyond belief…and more than a little exhausting, and all totally worth it. This year more than 77,000 people attended NYCC, up from 67,000 last year!

It was a distinct pleasure to meet so many wonderful people not only at the convention itself, but also at the GNR offices, where we hosted a reception for publishing friends to celebrate our site’s launch. It was a huge success, and it gave the entire staff the opportunity to meet many people from all aspects of comics, from publishers to publicists to writers to librarians, who make this industry such fun. It doesn’t get any better than that, and it was a great way to kick off the weekend.

If you were at NYCC, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. Drop me a note. We're collecting videos of people's experiences at the con and posting them here; email me if you have your videos posted online and we'll share them with our readers. Mark your calendars for NYCC on October 8-10, 2010. Also, a new show was announced in Chicago, C2E2 for April 16-18, 2010.

Before we get to telling all about the newest content on the site, I wanted to say thanks to our readers for sharing their thoughts and reactions to the site so far. It’s been so helpful to get your feedback, and all of us here are continuing to build the site to keep your interest and serve your needs. So keep your comments coming, and don’t forget to use the comment feature on the site itself (it’s at the bottom of every story page, so use it freely and often --- we love to hear what you have to say).

I’m even more excited to unveil our newest site feature, the Roundtable. We’re regularly going to talk to a variety of people in different parts of the graphic novel industry and let them share their experiences. Our first Roundtable introduces four librarians who reveal what they’ve learned through the years in keeping comics and manga in their libraries.

I’ll be back with a new newsletter on February 25th. See you then, and until then, happy reading.

John Hogan (John@bookreporter.com)

Gerard Way is taking the comics world by storm in a major way. The lead singer of the band My Chemical Romance has won both an Eisner and a Harvey award for his work on The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, and he’s started releasing the second volume in the series. Not only that, but his band has recorded a song for the upcoming Watchmen movie. It’s definitely going to be a big year for him, and he talks all about it in this exclusive interview.

Dean Motter has been working in comics for the past 30 years. He’s worked for several major publishers and on many important projects. Now, with the release of Mister X Archives, which marks the 25^th anniversary of the series debut, it seemed like the perfect time to take a look back at Motter’s career, and we asked him to share his memories and perspectives on it all in this interview.

David B. is one of the most influential graphic-novel creators working today. He’s been a major player in the indie industry in France, and over here, he’s best known for his jarring and poignant work Epileptic. He’s got a new book now, a collection of his dreams, which is fascinating and dark. I wanted to find out what was behind them, and David shared.

Also online now is an interview with Nate Powell. Nate’s new book, Swallow Me Whole, is a captivating look at mental illness through the eyes of two teenage stepsiblings. Nate’s another writer who broke into the business in an independent-publishing way, so we wanted to let our readers get acquainted with this creative guy.

Continuing our loose theme of self-publishing and independent creators, we also present Felix Tannenbaum, whose book Chronicles of Some Made is available now. Anyone who’s ever been curious about how to make it in self-publishing and what it takes will find a lot to learn about here.

Our previous interviews are online now too, so be sure to check them out if you missed them the first time!

• Art Spiegelman, the award-winning author of Maus and the just-rereleased Breakdowns
• Peter David and Robin Furth, the creative team behind the Dark Tower series
• David Heatley, author of My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down
• Lucy Knisley, author of French Milk
• Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, authors of Drawing Words & Writing Pictures

Our new Roundtable feature debuts! Meet four librarians who have successfully incorporated graphic novels into their libraries for years. They share their insights on the issues they deal with, how they’ve been successful, how they’ve helped educate librarians and patrons, and why graphic novels and manga have been a hit where they work.

News, updates, tips, personal observations, and more. Keep up-to-date by checking our blog entries.

An Award for Toon Books
For Those of You Who Missed the Con
You Know You’ve Always Wanted to Be a Hero
MAD Goes Quarterly
Some Random Notes for a Random Day

Dr. Katie Monnin, assistant professor of literature at the University of North Florida, works with kids to help them understand the literary value of the comics and manga they like to read. Surprisingly, many of them have been told, by parents, teachers, and others, that they’re not actually reading. What’s behind this insulting view, and what can we do to combat it? Dr. Monnin shares her thoughts in an insightful Op-Ed.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is a great resource for teens and the librarians who serve them. Their list of the best graphic novels for teens is eagerly anticipated each year. They’ve just unveiled their top 10, and you can see them here.

From great science fiction to compelling drama to aching romance, dozens of reviews of top fiction titles are now online.

• The Umbrella Academy, Volume 1
• Joker
  
• Me and the Devil Blues 1 and 2
• Parasyte 6
• Caliber: First Canon of Justice
  
• Local
• Ral and Grad
• Gantz

We call the format graphic novels, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for nonfiction. In fact, some of the best books in the field are memoirs from top artists and writers.

• I Live Here
• Safe Area Garozde
• Embroideries
• The Big Skinny
• The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

Click here to see all our teen reviews.

It’s easy to learn more about the graphic novel format, but best of all, it can be entertaining and fun. We’ve got books to suggest that will share the things you need to know without being dry or dull; in fact, they’re riveting! Here are some books to help further your understanding: The Best American Comics 2008, The Ten-Cent Plague, and What It Is.