Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

U*X*L Graphic Novelists. By Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast. Detroit, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2006. 3 vols. 634 p. $165.00. ISBN 1-4144-0440-9.

Graphic novels, in spite of any resistance of intellectuals or teachers who complain of their appearance as comic books or for their violence, sexuality, or drug use, have become great incentives for students who do not read well or as willingly as others; and they are fast becoming one of the most popular literary forms in this new century. Here students will find 75 people who create graphic novels as authors or artists or both. They represent three broad categories including super hero, manga, or an "other" category with fiction and non-fiction and miscellaneous. Many of those profiled are not full-time authors or artists but do this in their spare time. They also may bind and sell their own work. The "Reader's Guide," "Introduction," "Manga," and "Graphic Novel Publishers" at the beginning of each volume provide explanations that these negative thinkers might read to help them understand why graphic novels are so powerful with teens. Each volume has "Words to Know." Most articles have 1) a photograph of the person (one drew a caricature of himself) and many of these are in color, 2) inset boxes with "Best Known Works," and 3) other information. Some articles have drawings of the characters or show a book cover. Each ends with a list of books, periodicals, web sites and other information. The appendix in volume 3 has a 4-page bibliography. This will be a sure winner with students who may be more interested in the lives of these authors than more traditional writers whose classics they are forced to read.