Comics face bans and challenges for the same reasons as any other books. Reasons books are frequently challenged include “adult content,” “language,” “sex/nudity,” or “inappropriate for age group.” Comics are uniquely vulnerable to challenges because of the medium’s visual nature and because comics still carry the stigma of low-value speech. Some challenges are brought against comics because a single page or panel can be taken out of context, while others come under attack because of the mistaken notion that all comics are for children.
For more information and resources on banned/challenged books, go to lapl.org/banned.
A moving autobiographical coming-of-age story about the author’s life and childhood in a fundamentalist Christian family.
This volume contains parts 1 and 2 of Satrapi's best-selling memoir, which relates in graphic novel form the story of the author’s childhood and young adult years in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. A film version of this book came out in 2007.
Middle-schooler Callie juggles drama both on and off stage in this winning and fun title about friendship, crushes, musical theater, and finding oneself, by the same author of the popular and award-winning Smile.
Based on memories noted in her childhood journal, comic artist Bechdel documents her unusual childhood with darkly humorous drawings and text. Her closeted gay father ran a funeral home and died (a probable suicide) just as she was coming out as a lesbian.
This is the 5th volume of a story about love, politics, and trying to be the person you want to be in the midst of war and catastrophe. There is a riot of characters from strange alien races in this ground breaking sci-fi series, all of them with different goals and beliefs, and all of them hunting one small, fractured family across the universe.
This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel is considered by many to be one of the best of the genre. It recounts the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes. A film version came out in 2009.