Get on board with the new wave of Australian graphic novels

By Iurgi Urrutia

Something’s happening. Something exciting. It started as a rumble and it’s now a wave. Graphic novels in the US have been selling like hot cakes, with extraordinary sale increases reported in the last three years. And they’re leading the publishing charge; for example, Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man: Mothering Heights was the biggest-selling book of any and all categories in the US in 2021, selling 1.2 million copies. In France, the best-selling book in 2022 was A World Without End by Christophe Blain and Jean-Marc Jancovici, a graphic novel that explores the energy and climate challenges of today with humour and intelligence. And, as I write, it’s been reported that the biggest selling book in the US last week was Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo, a young adult manga series.

Here in Australia, we are riding that same wave. Sales data of graphic novels in Australian bookstores is harder to come by. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, no specialised magazine or website tracks and publishes this information. But there are a few things that we know.

We know that graphic novels are among the most borrowed collections in any given library. Librarians will often talk about how junior graphic novels are flying off the shelves. Manga is also incredibly popular, with many libraries – particularly school libraries – struggling to keep up with manga loans. A well-curated adult graphic novel collection has been reported by many librarians to bring new patrons to the library.

We must cater for a diverse range of needs and readers at our libraries and, being Australian libraries (whether academic, public or school) we must ensure that we have a wide variety of titles by Australian creators.

The good news is we’re in a growing wave of Australian graphic novels. We have established voices releasing new graphic novels as well as some amazing new voices breaking into the scene. Best of all, there is a wide-ranging variety of creators, titles and themes. Many Australian creators have seen their graphic novels published internationally, and some have also received awards and recognition from the likes of the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Great Novels for Teens, the American Library Association’s Stonewall Book Award and even the Eisner Awards.

Australia has its own awards dedicated to comics and graphic novels, the Comic Arts Awards of Australia, which have been gaining momentum over the last decade. In 2019, they handed out the Platinum Awards for Contribution to Australian Comics to Karen Dwarte, the Inner West Sydney Libraries Collections Coordinator and founder of Comic Con-versation – a series of events in multiple libraries across Sydney celebrating local comics. And, for the last two years, the awards have invited a librarian to be part of the judging panel through ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics.

It’s also very encouraging to see that graphic novels are becoming more and more visible in traditional book awards such as the Stella Prize, Premier’s Literary Awards and the CBCA Awards. And, of course, our very own contribution: the yearly ALIA Graphic Notable Australian Graphic Novels long list and shortlists, compiling the best Australian graphic novels for junior, young adult and adult readers, which have also been very well received.

We’re thrilled to see the quality and quantity of graphic novels by Australian creators rising. For example, look at the success of Ariel Slamet Ries, Campbell Whyte, Chris Gooch, Lee Lai and Remy Lai. They’re all new creators who have been internationally published and have received international recognition. We can’t wait to see their next graphic novels.

Eventually Everything Connects, by Sarah

Allen & Unwin has, for a number of years, been the leading avenue for Australian creators to publish graphic novels. It continues to champion new voices with Sarah Firth’s debut graphic novel, Eventually Everything Connects, set to be published in October this year.

We’re seeing other publishers who haven’t traditionally focused on Australian creators start to publish local graphic novels. Penguin Australia and Scribe made it to our latest ALIA Graphic Notables shortlist for the first time and they’re announcing more graphic novels on the horizon.

There are also new publishers announcing graphic novels by Australian creators, both locally and internationally. Hachette Australia, for example, has signed Briar Rolfe to publish Get Your Story Straight and prestigious Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly has signed Melbourne-based Rachel Ang for a two-book deal.

Of course, we can’t forget the work of independent publishers such as Gestalt, Comics2Movies and TL Creative, who have been publishing excellent graphic novels using Kickstarter as a starting point for funding and are, increasingly, making their graphic novels available through specialised library suppliers.

In the library sector, ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics has been active for three years now, a special interest group that aims to raise the profile of graphic novels in libraries. We advocate for them as a distinct, exciting and rich storytelling medium that is not just for children or reluctant readers, but also for sophisticated, literary, advanced readers and everything in-between.

Graphic novels are thriving and there’s a graphic novel for everyone. We celebrate their diversity of voices, the unique mix of literacies required to create and read them, and the power of their storytelling.

We encourage all libraries and librarians to check out our ‘Notables’ short and long lists and to follow our blog to stay informed. And, if you believe in this amazing medium, love graphic novels and would like to get involved with our group, reach out! Many hands make light work and many voices make for a better, more representative and stronger interest group.

Let’s see what 2023 has in store, but seeing the graphic novels that have already been published in the first three months –and what’s coming later this year – we couldn’t be more thrilled. We hope others get on board.

Iurgi Urrutia, Convenor, ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics, iurgi.urrutia@gmail.com

The ALIA Graphic Notable Australian Graphic Novels lists are announced every March on our blog. aliagraphic.blogspot.com

The Comic Arts Awards of Australia 2023 will be announced in Adelaide in September. comicartsaust.com.au