Happy October, dear readers! I love October. "Fall" is my favorite season, although here in Florida we really just have summer and winter--candy corn, cider, sweaters and boots, being able to walk outside without breaking into a sweat. Excellent! Halloween is great too; this year, if my hunt for a pinstriped suit of clothing fails, I'll be dressing up as Delirium of the Endless.
Speaking of my favorite comic book author, Neil Gaiman is as good a place as any to wind down Banned Books Week. His Sandman tops Huffington Post's list of the most frequently challenged graphic novels (no I am not going to link it; I don't really like the Huffington Post. If you want to read it, seek Lord Google's aid), for reasons of sexuality, violence, and blah blah blah. Most of the entries on the list have the same reasoning (including Maus, for crying out loud. For those not familiar with Art Spiegelman, Maus being challenged is akin to Huckleberry Finn or The Upstairs Room being challenged. Remember where Americans don't like thinking about the icky parts of history?)--including the very funny "not suitable for age group".
Oh, you infernal morons. This right here is proof beyond proof that the people placing challenges against books never bother to actually read them. Every one of the titles on HuffPo's list is NOT suitable for children, but GUESS WHAT? Comics =/= children's material, fuckaducks. Something having pictures and less text than the average short novel doesn't mean it's for KIDS. Watchmen IS NOT FOR KIDS. Sandman IS NOT FOR KIDS. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen IS NOT FOR KIDS. GODDAMMIT. Yeah, if you catch your 10-year-old reading Watchmen, you may have a problem--but it's YOUR problem. YOUR issue for not having read the spine label, 'cause guess what? No librarian in her right mind is going to put a Juvenile sticker on the spine of Sandman, Watchmen, Maus, or most other graphic novels.
(In what universe is this for children?)
Say it with me, folks: comic books are not always for children. In fact, comic books are not USUALLY for children. This erroneous association needs to stop. Comics aren't cartoons. Graphic novels aren't always comics. Superheroes are not typically good role models, and superheroines wear tight clothing. Blankets is about sex--what did the title make you think it was about? The Watchmen film was rated R, people. Didn't that tip anyone off? But, as ever, it's the library's fault. Librarians are supposed to be babysitters and keep every brat in the building from seeing things Mommy doesn't want them to see. Librarians are supposed to be eagle-eyed policepeople who look at every book as it's checked out to make sure it's suitable for the person checking it out. Guess what, clearly-not-reading-public? Many, soon to be most, public libraries no longer HAVE people checking the books out for you. Self-check-out with machines is the way of the future. Guess you're going to have to police your kid's books your own self now. This parenting thing is hard, isn't it?
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