“Book Talk: Panels and Pages,” took place on Oct. 25 at the Fogler Library’s Oakes Room, giving participants an open forum to discuss comic books, graphic novels and manga, with a further emphasis on recent industry trends and what the future holds for these visual mediums of storytelling.
Library specialist CL3 Michael Dunn is the co-host of Book Talk, a monthly discussion series. In the past, the event served as a stand-in for a book club, allowing participants to discuss various topics surrounding modern book culture. Dunn explained that Book Talk events serve to not only pique the interest of hardcore readers on campus, but also to engage individuals in a fun and comforting community that can find enjoyment in freeform casual discussion.
“There’s no gatekeeping happening here. It happens a lot with book clubs or presentations where there’s a barrier between you and the presenter, where it’s very structured and it’s within the limits. There are bumpers put up,” said Dunn. “Here, there’s no bumpers, we talk about everything.”
In recent years, comic book characters officially entered the mainstream zeitgeist, which can be seen with the worldwide success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Years of storytelling adapted from Marvel Comics have not only won over average moviegoers, but also satisfy long-time comic book fans who waited years for their favorite characters to be portrayed properly.
“There was the era of 20-plus years ago, where comic books were still a dirty word. They would make comic book movies, but it would have basically nothing to do with comic books,” says Dunn, “The stories were all entirely original for better and for worse, so it wasn’t unusual for a comic book movie to have a sideways appeal for a comic book fan.”
A point of discussion during the Book Talk event surrounded the growth trends of comics. According to analytics, the comic book industry is set to grow in value from 15 billion in 2022 to 26 billion by 2032. While the increasing value in the comic book industry is noticeable, the value of the manga industry has exploded in recent years. A 2024 press release showed that the global manga market was valued at 14 billion, and is projected to reach 42 billion by 2030. This can be attributed to manga being a lot more cost-effective to create when compared to comic books or graphic novels.
While film and television adaptations of comics have become the norm, the output of content and noticeable dip in quality in some recent Marvel movies, left the market feeling oversaturated.
Another point of discussion from the event revolved around how comic adaptations can still thrive if they can be adapted with precision and care. The sheer amount of source material to work with, whether it be comic book superheroes or the recent popularity boom of manga, leaves room for a new spark of creativity in each respective market.
The next Book Talk event will be held on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with guest Steve Long from 12 Willows Press, an independent Maine publisher. Dunn hopes further Book Talk events in the future will inspire readers on campus to join in on a wide variety of discussion topics.