Secret Stacks

Sara Smith, author of the Graphic Library blog and dedicated comics advocate, tells us about how she organizes her school library's shelves and navigates collection development in a conservative community! There are shout-outs to Katie J. McNamara, Jillian Rudes, Kelsey Bogan, and Matthew Murray, as well as references to No Flying No Tights, Booklist, Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable, GraphicLibrary.org, and Manga In Libraries. She is a fantastic librarian to follow and always has something new and worthwhile to share.    Fresh Picks Monster Asadora Lost Lad London Wynd Grim Twig Canto Little Monsters   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

Writer/Illustrator Yehudi Mercado @ymercado shares the inspirations behind some of his many comics hitting the shelves. We talk about late friend of the show Jenny Colvin, conformity, masculinity, combining genres, being the only Jewish and Latinx kids in school, book bans, black joy, maxing out Photoshop layers, Shazam, and Miles Morales.   Jenny Colvin's Reading Envy blog Yehudi Mercado at supermercado.pizza How Can I Stop Book Bans? The Mean Streets of South Uptown (from Jerry Craft's New Kid)  Friends of the Furman Libraries Greenville Animal Care   Fresh Picks Sci-Fu Chunky Shazam: Thundercrack What If Miles Morales Was Thor? The Ghoul Next Door   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

Dave Scheidt @DaveScheidt and Scoot McMahon @scootcomics talk about their new graphic novel, Agents of S.L.A.M., about a super-powered wrestling adventure! We talk about writing and drawing humor and violence for a young audience, lifelong influences, creative sound effects, representation and diversity, cliffhanger reveals, and the happy accidents of their creative process.   Fresh Picks Mighty Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Cat Kid Comic Club Catwad Mr. Wolf's Class Sci-Fu (Thomas's SLJ review of Book 2: It Takes Two)   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

Matthew Noe @NoeTheMatt #libcomix #graphicmedicine Graphicmedicine.org American Library Association Graphic Novel Comics Round Table - accepting nominations for best graphic novels for adults and children JAMA - “Graphic Medicine - The Best of 2021”   Fresh Picks The Delicacy Mighty Thor Crude: A Memoir Dying For Attention: A Graphic Memoir of Nursing Home Care Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

My guests for February 2022 are Robin Richardson and Taylor Curreysmith, the artist and writer behind House of the Queerbodies Part 1 on Kickstarter. We talk about the making of the comic, campaign rewards for libraries, Kickstarter's imminent shift to blockchain, and challenges toward LGBTQ+ content in youth media. We also endorse a pretty choice selection of comics!   Fresh Picks Buuza Heartstopper Life of Melody The Magic Fish Mooncakes Not Simple Rainy Day Dreams Tidesong   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

Erica Friedman (@okazuyuri), lesbian icon, LGBTQ tastemaker, yuri expert, librarian, manga editor, blogger, lecturer… what can't she do? Listen to her heartfelt takes on fandom, grassroots publishing, and empowering listeners to Do The Thing!   Okazu Blog ALC Publishing Erica on Patreon By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga (coming June 2022) Yuri Studio YouTube Channel Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie (Trailer) 2022 Librarians of the Year Iron Circus Comics   Fresh Picks Rose of Versailles Volume 3 (Volumes 1 and 2 getting hard to find…) I'm In Love With The Villainness (light novels) (manga) Gideon The Ninth (prose) Terra Ignota (prose series)   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

Matthew Murray, aka @MidniteLibrary on Twitter.   Book Club For Masochists - a different genre every month Manga Classics - young adult manga adaptations of classic literature Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) - stay tuned for their programs for librarians and educators Importance of self-published and crowdfunded comics in libraries Zine Union Catalog - cataloging and holdings information for zines Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) Great Graphic Novels For Teens (GGNFT) Manga in Libraries webinars Glimpse Image Editor   This is How I Disappear 9781770464612 Spy x Family 9781974715466   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

Put on some headphones while you watch the skies! Seasoned comics pros Larry Hancock (“the best darned small business accountant in Canada that you're gonna find”) and Michael Cherkas (email) describe their decades-in-the-making series The Silent Invasion. Together, they share their creative process, inspirations, convention experiences, and distinctly Torontonian tone (Torontone?). NBM blog posts about The Silent Invasion The Silent Invasion Facebook group Volume 1: Red Shadows (9781681121741) Volume 2: The Great Fear (9781681122069) Volume 3: Abductions! (9781681122557) Volume 4: Dark Matter (9781681122830) (Press release) Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks artwork by Severin Piehl, creator of Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, who blogs at Hi, Miss Julie! and is on twitter as @himissjulie

We've got a BookTuber in the house! Ashley, aka BookishRealm can be found on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Goodreads. We talk about finding the next great read, interacting with publishers and viewers, and the bottomless well of energy known as Goodreads Drama. We also talk about a lot of books! We Need Diverse Books White Smoke Sugar Town Queens How publishers promote online Navigating ever-changing discovery algorithms of social media The Joker Vol. 1 9781779512017 X-Men: Hellfire Gala 9781302931155 Nuclear Family 9781949028737 Radiant Black 9781534319165 Abbott / Abbott 1973 ‎ 9781684152452 / 9781684156511 Something Is Killing The Children 9781684155583 Edelweiss NetGalley   Fresh Picks Himawari House 9781250235572 Allergic 9781338568905

The longest episode for the longest days of the year! Helen McCarthy, dubbed by some (me) as the Judi Dench of manga, has many loose threads to pull. A number of topics and links are below for your reference throughout the conversation, including Helen's peers and books. Get ready for an intellectual journey with an English scholar! Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation Mazinger Z / Goldorak anime addiction started by Spanish TV The first Moneypenny, Lois Ruth Maxwell Comparing Osamu Tezuka and Hayao Miyazaki Perspectives about sexual content in manga and anime Being more of a door-pusher than a gatekeeper The UK Anime Fandom Archive Parenting and engaging with kinds of content in manga and anime Christian values In The Night Kitchen & Naked Babies Helen McCarthy - A History of Manga Helen McCarthy's website Frederik L. Schodt - “Translator, conference interpreter, and award-winning writer” Erica Friedman's Okazu blog - “The world's oldest and most comprehensive blog on lesbian-themed Japanese cartoons, comics and related media” Ryan Holmberg - “Comics & Art Historian, Translator, Editor”   The Art of Osamu Tezuka Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation Leiji Matsumoto: Essays On The Manga and Anime Legend The Erotic Anime Movie Guide Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Snap endings, surprise twists, meaningful horror! This month's episode features the Eisner-winning scholar Dr. Qiana Whitted. Thomas and Qiana talk about her published works, some older comics, some newer comics, upcoming virtual author visits, and the teaser trailer for The Harder They Fall. Plus lots of fresh picks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKz5kZr8mrg  Let's Talk Race: A Conversation With GB Tran (Sunday, June 27, 2021 @ 3:00pm EST) Meet The Author: Kwame Alexander (Thursday, July 22, 2021 @ 6:30pm EST) African-Americans and Graphic Novels: An Evening With Joel Christian Gill (Saturday, October 9, 2021 @ 6:00pm EST) Whole Lotta Picks   Comics and the U.S. South 9781617039454 EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest 9780813566313  After The Rain 9781419743559  Black Star 9781419742286 Upgrade Soul 9781620109762 Destroyer 9781684150557  Eve (collected edition not listed yet) Tales of The Talented Tenth Vol. 3 9781682750667 Run 9781419730696 Blood On The Tracks 9781949980134   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y'all

"We gave one group the Centers for Disease Control document for teens on HIV/AIDS, and we gave the other group the AIDS In The End Zone graphic novel. We saw better results, not surprisingly, with the graphic novel." How's that for demonstrating the power of comics?! This episode's guest is Dr. Karen Gavigan, who is and has been closely tied to research involving graphic novels. She is also the interim director of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina. Karen and Thomas talk about her position, past research, professional organizations, and trends in young adult fiction requests, not to mention a couple of fresh picks! Will Eisner Grants For Libraries - Growth and Innovation South Carolina Library Association South Carolina Association of School Librarians North Carolina Library Association North Carolina School Media Association Virginia Library Association Social Justice Graphic Novels - a Carnegie Whitney Grant project by Kasey Garrison   Fresh Picks Showtime At The Apollo 9781419731389 Kimiko Does Cancer 9781551528199

By special request, this episode is a monologue about graphic novels in libraries. It was created for Karen Gavigan's students at Old Dominion University (Go Monarchs!), but I think there's plenty for a general audience to appreciate and dissect. We talk about the rising popularity of comics, particularly for younger readers and manga, perceived notions of quality in reading material, booktalking, professional reading, and suggestions for classroom activities. “People used to laugh at me when I said kids liked reading comics. Now everyone laughs while they count their money.” - Raina Telgemeier’s Guts is the bestselling BOOK overall in the US this week - Heidi Macdonald, Comics Beat, 2019 Streaming Anime Lifts Manga Sales - Deb Aoki, Publishers Weekly, 2021 Using Graphic Novels In The English Language Arts Classroom by William Boerman-Cornell and Jung Kim 9781350112698 Teaching Artfully by Meghan Parker 9781951038205

Welcome back, everyone! The show has undergone a bit of a format change, and kicking it off is special guest Mahnaz Dar, section editor for School Library Journal. We talk about middle grade and young adult titles, the nuts and bolts of selecting titles for review in SLJ, the nature of illustrated storytelling, rant a bit about NFTs, and of course recommend some great comics! Show Notes SLJ Best Graphic Novels 2020 The Onion: Adults Go Wild Over Latest In Children’s Picture Book Series Kimberly Parker: Most artists are not making money off NFTs and here are some graphs to prove it Vice: People's Expensive NFTs Keep Vanishing. This Is Why Mahnaz Dar: @DibblyFresh / mdar@mediasourceinc.com Fresh Picks Chunky by Yehudi Mercado 9780062972781 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Life – Work – Comics! How have each of these three been affected by Covid-19 and the pandemic sweeping the globe? Kristin and Thomas are trying their best to help people and themselves. Hunker down with another podcast to make the days go by easier. We have links, recommendations, and good ol’ anecdotes from a medical and public librarian! We won’t judge your Animal Crossing town nor your bread-baking abilities!

Do you know a child, size 3T, who loves Spider-Man? No pressure, just asking. Have you considered sponsoring an angel tree child, either through Department of Social Services or Salvation Army? No pressure, just a thought. Can you hold up this anime transparency in front of this library chair? No press… actually, let us explain. All of this, plus piracy chat, review tropes, and our fresh picks!

Workin’ out, nerdin’ out, gettin’ the word out! Working the ropes n’ spokes for the new season of The Swole Stacks! Rio De Janeiro Mayor tries (and tries, and tries again) to ban Avengers: The Children’s Crusade from a book fair Cosplayer in residence Art Spiegelman: Golden age superheroes were shaped by the rise of fascism  The Far Side 2019??  Four Color Fantasies: The Gary Lee Watson Comic Book Collection at the University of South Carolina Ramona Fradon commissions still available Autostraddle - queer and nonbinary lifestyle blog Belgium Comic Expo: The Ninth Art at The Koger Center For The Arts

They sent us to shut it down! Kristin and Thomas deliver the Quebec Library Association's closing keynote. They aimed for a mixture of history, advocacy, passion, industry trends, and a few laughs along the way. What do a couple of American librarians have to share about comics? Come find out! (Note: there is a brief audio cut made during a description of EC Comics due to the recording device stopping and restarting. The missing snippet doesn't seem to harm the overall context of the segment, but please pardon any confusion that may result there.)

This is a mini-episode recorded while waiting for John Wick 3, but there's more content than ever! Kristin and Thomas talk about the Quebec Library Association Conference and the sessions they saw there. Does your library acknowledge use of native lands? What is the best way to utilize a religious space for community programming? Toronto and Montreal's Comic Arts Festivals were a blast! Sometimes the best way to vacation outside of America is to sit back in a hotel bed and watch Live PD. All this and just two picks!

Kristin’s back on Twitter! If you’re a librarian or a professional wrestler, watch out! A Free Comic Book Day anecdote results in relationship advice. Kristin’s down with ILL. Thomas resigns from public librarianship to tend to a massive comics library (in his dreams). #NotAllTeachers #Pedagogy #ListenToDiddy #PrettyDiddy #GraphicMedicine

Kristin reports on Wrestlemania, WWE, and C2E2. Buy more indie comics! What are the pros and cons of separating your collection’s DC and Marvel titles within the graphic novel stacks? What about grouping all the manga together? What is the ideal browsing scenario for your patrons? Do you pronounce cholera correctly? We namedrop a fair number of podcasts. What of Captain Marvel and Shazam? It’s a day that ends in Y, so Thomas is excited about another Green Lantern series.

Kristin's been injured, and only your listening can heal her! Well, that and #GraphicMedicine, right? We talk about the comics market, including recent and decade-old descriptions of the publishing and sales landscapes. Do you prefer comics in color or black and white? Nominate comics you love for recognition! All this and Peter Falk chat await.

The Secret Stacks is kicking off 2019 with LOTS of comics recommendations! Luciano Vecchio’s gives away the digital files of his black superhero posters. Kristin’s making high-stakes librarian rounds among a herd of doctors. Both of them share stories of their ill-fated high school comics, then reminisce about being touched by the works of Rumiko Takahashi. Kristin’s got another conference announcement to make, and Thomas reports why it’s a GREAT time to be a Jessica Cruz fan! All this and more in our first episode of the year!

The year is over, but your latest episode of The Secret Stacks has just begun! Kristin’s using the Arrowverse to fuel her bicycle training for a large gauntlet. BIG NEWS: We’re headed to Montreal in 2019 to deliver the keynote session of the Quebec Library Association’s annual conference! Kristin looks forward to watching Storage Wars in a Canadian hotel. Thomas credits his recent wedding to The Legend of Zelda - thanks, Akira Himekawa! Kate Kane and Mera brought the DC redheads this year. TKO tries out a new publishing model - how will libraries keep up? All this and plenty of fresh picks, all for you!

Welcome to Episode 47! We're back, baby! After a long summer hiatus we've returned to give you more comics goodness. We talk about the new Batwoman TV spot, Chelsea Cain getting hosed by Marvel yet again, Thomas's summer comics entrepreneurship program and we take some questions from the listeners! We're glad to be back!

Is summer over already? Hop in the Secret Stacks wayback machine to the end of April, releasing now in September! Back then, Avengers: Infinity War was a theatrical event and not just a series of kiosks asking you to extend this endless cultural experience for one... more... film. There was still time to vote in the Eisners. Universal Fan Con was still flickering in the convention consciousness. Plus a con report from Kristin and fresh picks that will never spoil!   Voting On The Eisners Philly Comic Con Does Universal Fan Con Ticket Holders A Solid Barnes & Noble Is Adding A Kids Graphic Novel Section SEE-IT Awards C2E2   Kristin’s Picks Bingo Love 9781534307506 As The Crow Flies 9781945820069   Thomas’s Picks Lighter Than My Shadow 9781941302415 Satania 9781681121437   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Welcome to Episode 45 of The Secret Stacks, your podcast about name brand footwear and knockoff drinkware. April Fool’s on Thomas and Kristin - opposite temperature extremes! It’s okay, though - Kristin can escape to the comfy halls and adjoining hotel of C2E2 while Thomas takes a nap on his back, the common cure for plantar fasciitis #GraphicMedicine. Movements regarding spoilers, a new Puerto Rico comics anthology, and 30 Days of Autistic Art are all discussed, plus fresh picks as always.

With ALA Annual taking place in New Orleans this summer, Kristin and Thomas reminisce about meeting there in 2011, plus convention observations in general. Student protests and repatriation get free, informative comics treatments.  A creator objecting to misuse of his intellectual property gets labeled as "the establishment" by... an establishment. March pollen ruined Thomas's throat, but the picks are still fresh! Check in to your nearest boom tube and have a listen, won't you?

A whole lot of news meets a whole lot of delays - what happened to our audio in February? It’s all good, just a little late. Better done than perfect, right? And these picks are so fresh they’re well within their expiration dates! Get with the times, New York Times - comics are only gaining in multimedia prominence, from print to cartoons to film adaptations to podcasts. Plus Kristin wants your sad/dead parent stories. All this and more on The Secret Stacks!

There’s a new Teen Center in town! Media companies are calling dibs on IP lines left and right. Does comics distribution need a shakeup to make entrance easier? What is proper dabbing etiquette? All of these topics plus some fresh picks for the second episode of January 2018. (Go Eagles!)

Who has time to say 'when' while there’s money to be made and lost? Superhero news everywhere! Black Panther, Black Lightning, Valiant, and the Catalyst Prime universe are offering a little variety. Want something else? Explore our Goodreads categories! Don't be like Thomas, hunting for affordable Absolutes - buy comics that will put your money to good use. All this and some fresh picks from years past, plus a new recipient of the Unanimous Recommendation honor. No matter what pushed you out of comics, there are plenty of titles ready for your return.

This is it, the final episode of 2017, recorded on the last day of the old year and published on the first day of the new! Kristin and Thomas gloat about their new podcasting toys before discussing a new comics creation tool for all ages, courtesy of Earth's global entertainment authority, Disney. We talk about proven methods for multiplying checkouts by high school students. There's a new tip jar on the website - your support means everything to us, even if you'd rather enjoy our content for free. All this and our fresh picks to close out the year.

Is your baby a happy cooer or a frowning warlord? Does Kristin’s Aquaman Funko live in an aquarium, or the watery graveyards of the Great Lakes? Will Black Panther make us all forget about Star Wars and Avengers running on fumes? Will Disney’s corporate fiefdom continue to consume everything and everyone? (Marvel Comics now on Hoopla!) Free Comic Book Day titles have been announced, and between those and our picks, there’s something for everyone. All of this and more for the first episode of December 2017.

On Episode 38 of Secret Stacks, Kristin and Thomas discuss their Thanksgiving adventures, the insane saga of C.B. Cebulski, and their favorite Christmas Carol version. They also answer the most important questions out there: Which Flash is the best? How shirtless is Aquaman in Justice League? How great is Taika Waititi? Make sure to check out SecretStacks.com to see Thomas's posts about the episodes, which includes handy links and lovely collages of the book covers! Enjoy!

Kristin and Thomas are the new “Tom Goes To The Mayor,” a show they both enjoy. Comic book movies Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Atomic Blonde, My Friend Dahmer, and A Silent Voice are all mentioned. Our hosts compare “low-brow opera” and the Zelda Symphony to reading according to your tastes. No snobs allowed! All this and some great picks for our first episode of November 2017.

Where have we been? Where have YOU been? Well, I guess that checks out. Kristin and Thomas revisit the ninja turtle topic, recommend some #GraphicMedicine appropriate picks, and say no to clowns. They also check out the latest ebook feature from Google, although Thomas is already smitten with ereading on the Kobo Aura One (though how could he not, right, deep-pocketed sponsor Rakuten?) All this and a knowing laugh for medical and academic librarians! You know what's up. You've seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

We've got solar eclipse fever and there is no cure! Welcome to Secret Stacks Episode 35 for August! Kristin and Thomas talk about the dog days of summer, different library cosplay contests and more! Are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles superheroes? How great was Ducktales and how great will the new show be? They talk about the mess that was the response to "Make Mine Milkshake". AND PICKS! Enjoy!

Kristin Lalonde: soft on Starfleet captains, hard on Batman! But wait: IS Kristin Batman? Are YOU? Don't ask Alexa, she's programmed to keep our secrets. Actually, can you order us some Werther's Originals? Thomas and Kristin's picks wound up predicting a whole lot of Eisner winners. Thomas has some games to recommend based on comics properties, plus some great animated films! Did you know a bunch of hot trailers debuted at San Diego Comic Con?? All this and the usual solid picks, now with lots of practical context!  

Welcome to Episode 33 for July 2017! Happy Birthday, America! It's a slow news cycle for comics, DC and Marvel haven't done anything stupid of note recently so Kristin and Thomas talk a lot about nostalgia, Newspaper comics, and Archie! They also talk up School Library Journal and Shonen Jump. Plus some pretty great picks!   Shonen Jump -Fun fact: Thomas once wrote them an open letter complaining about their move to all-digital. Now he can’t get enough of his personal subscription. Poor public periodical policy has not obstructed his personal enjoyment! EBSCO's SEE-IT award for comics literature (still accepting jury applications!) Comics Curmudgeon Is Garfield Supposed To Be Funny? Dear CW, stop shipping Betty/Jughead The Weird & Wonderful Archie Comics Multiverse School Library Journal's Good Comics For Kids blog Also check out SLJ's graphic novel reporting How To Sound Professional When Talking About Cerebro Beware The Valkyries GoComics The Onion's editorial cartoons Ducks Arrested For Loitering In Pennsylvania Circulating Ideas Circulating Ideas  

Kristin and Thomas are a little light on news this episode, but their picks are fresh and their hearts are true (and full of spite). Kristin discovers a wealth of #GraphicMedicine. Thomas implores you to watch Mask of the Phantasm, unless you rebel against recommendations, which we do sometimes. Still, movie holds up.    

Secret Stacks Episode 31 for the end of May 2017! What a lovely day to talk about Conferences! Kristin went to the Medical Library Association conference in Seattle, Thomas laments about not being able to attend all the awesome comics related panels at the ALA conference this year and they both agree that socializing is the best part of any conference. Thomas also talks about his Wonder Woman movie experience and of course, the picks!

Free Comic Book Day stories! Pupusas! Pride Month! Comics sometimes ARE for kids? Other times they're for church. Kristin and Thomas do not trust monopolies nor robots. They also forecast possible avenues for the next phase of the Marvel cinematic universe, followed by fresh picks from other publishers.  

Secret Stacks, Episode 29! The last episode of April 2017! Kristin and Thomas discuss a variety of things this week! RFID tags, Mr. Glass from Unbreakable, the world of Stand Up Comedy and of course, the most recent Marvel PR disaster! Kristin and Thomas also talk about their picks! Enjoy!

Our recommendations this month don't come from Marvel, but that won't stop us from armchair-quarterbacking their recent controversies! Really popular challenged graphic novels get the official Secret Stacks endorsement well after their debuts. We keep talking about convention culture and Osamu Tezuka. We can't separate our nostalgia for Power Rangers from our current enjoyment of the new movie and comics. The grim reaper is breathing down all our necks, but we don't have to despair. April is a cruel month for ending, but we can still enjoy it while it lasts.  

Welcome to Secret Stacks Episode 27 for the end of March 2017! Kristin and Thomas really stay #OnBrand this episode when they talk almost 100% about libraries and comics! First they discuss the world of conventions in libraries, they have tips and tricks to share for anyone interested in putting on a con in their library. They read a lovely letter from a listener asking about some starting out as a librarian recommendations and superhero librarian discussion. And of course, their picks! Enjoy!

Who's looking forward to convention season? Who's already in the middle of it? Hooray! Everyone else just sits at home listening to the new Prairie Home Companion... right? Up with Shelly Bond's Black Crown! Up with Tom Taylor's nation-sized embargo! Whether Spring in your neighborhood means rain or shine, we hope you find time to curl up wih some good books. Just don't get... erased!

Recorded on Monday, posted on Tuesday. Whoa! Quick turnaround. How are you liking the double shots? Kristin and Thomas swear to raise the bar on comics news, just as soon as they talk about Riverdale… and Lego Batman… and a Nightwing movie… any day now! We talk about showboaters versus laborers, ex-Vertigo editors Shelly Bond and Karen Berger moving on to promising new ventures, and a graphic novel removed from a school library! Oh, and the misplaced cult of personality behind Punisher. More than 30% of this episode consists of comics news, reviews, and anecdotes about Adult Swears. We’re all going to heck. Enjoy!

Secret Stacks: Episode 24. We're going to be doing two episodes a month now so let us know if you like it. We're leaner and meaner, well not meaner, we're pretty nice actually. In this episode, Kristin and Thomas discuss the Batman Lego Movie, Love Is Love is on Hoopla and Hoopla is donating their proceeds to Equality Florida, the Cybils Awards have their nomination list and Kristin and Thomas make a guess as to which will win and they talk about The Beatles for a long time for some reason! Plus two picks a piece! ENJOY!

Time for some hot takes from two cool cats. Thomas tore himself away from Final Fantasy XV for five minutes to get this out before episode 24 gets recorded! We're excited about comics anthologies, plus Captain America continues planting agents in the U.S. government. YALSA's got a graphic novel recommendation list you can count on when the New York Times lets you down. If you need more than one list per year, Kristin and Thomas are still serving up quality comics for you to read, hear, and pass along!

It's our end of 2016 episode! We hope all your various holidays were delightful. Thomas tells us all about his trip to Japan and of course, he visited some libraries while he was there! So many interesting cultural differences! We reveal our NEW FORMAT for 2017, we're going biweekly! So many new things happen in the world of comics, we want to keep the hot takes piping fresh. Let us know what you think! We also talk about some upsetting things a comics creator was arrested for recently and the effects of separating the art from the artist. And of course, we give you THE PICKS! Enjoy!

What are we thankful for? Great comics! And you guys! This is the November episode of Secret Stacks! Thomas talks about his upcoming ALA Midwinter panel with Greg Rucka, Tom King and Ben Percy. Kristin and Tom discuss the new America Chavez book coming out, March Book 3, new Dykes to Watch Out For, the trials and tribulations of John Stossel and Kristin's science teacher who said the moon landing was faked! We also talk A LOT about CW shows, because they're great. In this episode, talks about Secret Stacks wanting to take YOU to the moon, regardless of what Kristin's Science Teacher has to say about it! Record yourself talking up your favorite comic of 2016 and email it to us at secretstackspodcast@gmail.com for a chance to win a copy of Tom Gauld's MOONCOP. We'll play our favorites on the January episode, when we give our top picks from 2017! We'll randomly draw from our favorite entries and we'll send the selectee MOONCOP! More details in the episode so be sure and listen close!