In 2022, Tennessee passed the "Age-Appropriate Materials Act - 2022", which declares vague language that any type of nudity or excessive violence is not appropriate for students in K-12 libraries, and calls for the removal of such materials from library collections. The full graphic from the ACLU can be found on their website.
Who gets to decide what excessive violence is? Are people aware of how much sexual innuendo and content is available to folks in PG-13 movies before it becomes an R movie? Do people reading books never see their own bodies sans clothing? I could go on and on questioning the ludicrousness of this act. The reason for this post and list is because this legislation is being used to target graphic novels and a large number of manga. Often, manga includes suggested nudity with the infamous "bathing scene" because bodies are not taboo in Japan, and often bathing is a communal act with those of the same gender. These moments are included in stories as characters interact and bond with one another, not in a sexual manner, but are then interpreted out of context by people looking to ban books. Nudity can also occasionally be used as punchlines in juvenile jokes because, again, the body is not shameful in Japan. As evidenced by the books below, often the moments of brief nudity are used as justification to through out an entire title as adults sexualize and bring their own interpretations to panels that are not sexual to begin with. In other cases, books are being removed from the shelves because of instances of violence that would not even characterize a movie into the "R" rating. Groups of adults are looking at a few pages of illustration and deciding the entire work is too violent regardless of the message and themes the author is conveying and the purpose behind including the violent paneling. Often, these bans are targeting and falling upon creators of color and those in minority groups. Many of these books below have received Starred ratings from professional organizations for their powerful messages and inspirational stories that would have profound impacts upon their intended audiences. Below, I've provided links to reviews for the books that have been known to be effected by this recent legislation in case other librarians are being asked to justify their graphic novel collections. If you are in need of further assistance, I encourage you to read out to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom. More resources can also be found at PEN America's website. I will be adding more to this list as I complete more reviews as this is not yet exhaustive of all the books that have been targeted. The handmaid’s tale by Margaret atwood
Adapted and illustrated by Renee Nault
This dystopian story follows Offred, a handmaid to a powerful man in a relatively new society based on the Old Testament of the Bible. For many reasons, many of the people in Gilead are infertile, so fertile women are trained and assigned to powerful men for procreation. Offred is sent to the home of Mr. And Mrs. Waterford in the hopes that Frederick Waterford will impregnate her and the family will be able to have a child. Offred manages simple chores with her partner, another handmaid, attends the birth of a child from another handmaid, and navigates a scandalous friendship with Commander Fred. Nault also includes illustrations of The Ceremony, where the Commander tries to impregnate Offred, but we never see either of them in full nakedness. The Commander's naked behind is visible, and it's also very clear what is happening to Offred. Sara's Rating:, 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 11-12 solo leveling by chugong
Adapted by Dubu
Jinwoo Sung is one of the weakest Hunters in the game, but he has to keep adventuring because the health benefits are paying for his ailing mother’s extended stay in the hospital. Jinwoo adventures with large parties, hoping to not be killed in the dungeons that pop up all over town. The latest mission is in a D-rated dungeon, which most of the group has no problem handling. After defeating the dungeon’s “boss”, another way opens up. What they find at the end of the long tunnel changes the entire party, and sets Jinwoo on an entirely new path that he doesn’t fully understand by the end of volume one. This first volume was pretty bloody and lots of characters were killed on page, so this might be better for older readers. Sara’s Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 10-12
Read Sara's full reviews: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4, vol 5, vol 6, vol 7, vol 8, vol 9, vol 10, vol 11, vol 12, vol 13,
lighter than my shadow by katie green
Katie struggles with food as a child, not wanting to eat what her parents gave her and finding interesting ways to hide what she didn’t want to eat. She gives up junk food for lent one year and finds that after her diet change, junk food doesn’t sit well anymore. She starts regulating her food intake and counting calories. She also does lots of long walks to make up for even the slightest slip up. She continues on until she passes out from near-starvation. Her parents rush her to the hospital where she is diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa.
There is some nudity in this title as Katie scrutinizes her body constantly and her mental image of herself is without clothing. Katie also deals with a sexual assault and breech of trust from an adult she believed was her confidant. Green’s illustrations are simple and clean, and I appreciated the representation of her anorexia and anxiety on the page as a black scribble of lines that changes size as Katie grapples with it. There is a slight color shift in the mostly grayscale illustrations that denote a shift in narrative focus or a time in Katie’s life. Sara’s Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 11-12 wonder woman: Dead Earth by Daniel warren Johnson
The Earth has been destroyed by nuclear war and something generations ago called The Great Fire. The remnants of human society have banded together to form Camp New Hope, and the survivors fight against radioactive creatures they refer to as Haedra. During one of these skirmishes, Diana is awoken from a machine where she has slumbered for centuries. She finds no familiar faces, just familiar skeletons of her fallen comrades.
DC Comics rates this for Teen, which is unusual for the Black Label that is usually reserved for more mature, adult titles. While the violence in this title is pretty gory, it isn't the only thing in the book, and there are deeper themes worth exploring that older teen readers will appreciate. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 10-12, Adult
locke and key vol 1 by joe hill
Vol 1, Welcome to Lovecraft: Illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez
At the onset of this novel, the Locke family is moving into an ancestral mansion on the East Coast to escape the guilt and memories of the murder of their patriarch. The three children are trying to deal with the grief and figure out their new surroundings. Son Ty is filled with guilt that he was the cause of his father's murder because he mentioned to a classmate that he wished his father was dead. There is quite a bit of cussing in this story, and obvious violence, with some gore, but done so more for the horror element than gratuitously. This Eisner-winner is sure to find faithful audiences amongst teen horror fans. Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
Locke & Key Vol 5 by Joe Hill
Vol 5, Clockworks: illustrated by Gabríel Rodriguez
Dodge is continuing his dangerous quest to find the Omega key, and a skirmish leads to Tyler and Kinsey discovering another - the Timeshift Key. This key can be used to time travel, although in Tyler and Lindsey's case, it can only go backwards because they can't program it past 1999. The two decide to go back and learn the grim history of the keys, made possibly by a detailed list inside the grandfather clock's casing that contains dates and crude drawings of each key. This title is for older teen audiences and above. There is liberal use of the "f' word, violence with some blood shed, and alcohol and drug use/discussion. There are also some sexual situations, but no nudity is ever shown. Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 11-12
Read Sara's full review
Locke & Key Vol 6 by Joe Hill
Vol 6, Alpha and Omega: illustrated by Gabríel Rodriguez
Everything comes to a head on Prom Night with a post-dance Cave Rave for all of Lovecraft Academy. Ty doesn’t have a tux or a date to the prom, so he and Uncle Duncan work on restoring a classic Charger instead. That is, until Dunk gives him a "classy" tuxedo shirt that is sure to have the ladies swooning. Ty is intercepted by his ex-girlfriend Jordan, and the two don't make it to the Prom Kinsey is also present at the Prom, which means she and her friends find their way to the Cave Rave. There is adult language and sexual situations (without nudity), and drug use throughout the series, but these things should not stop this series from being included in high school collections. Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 11-12
Read Sara's full review
Naruto vol 1 by masashi Kishimoto
Naruto is a troublesome young ninja-in-training who is trying desperately to pass the exam and graduate from the Ninja Academy in his Village of the Hidden Leaves. His major problem is that he can't seem to master any of the techniques. His goal is to become a Hokage, the leader of all the Ninja in his village, but he doesn't see that his current struggle may make this dream impossible. One night, he gets wrapped up in a plot to steal a sacred scroll. While the scroll is in his care, Naruto manages to master one ninja technique: the Art of the Doppelganger.
One of Naruto's tricks is to distract folks with a sexy centerfold lady, and it often works on his compatriots and enemies. However, there are always well-placed clouds or other things covering her bits, so there's only suggested nudity. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 7-12
Read Sara's full review
Monstress Vols 1-4 by Marjorie Liu
Monstress follows the exploits of Maika Halfwolf through a beautifully drawn matriarchal, steampunk world. Humans fight against Archanics, a hybrid race of humans and Ancients. Archanics often have animalistic features, are prone to magical abilities, and their bodies contain Lilium, a substance that, when ingested by humans, can give them great power. Maika travels across the known world piecing together the history of her family, her ancestry, and her mysterious powers, all while being pursued by human witches as other Archanics.
Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability level: Grades 10-12
Read Sara's full review
Series Awards and Accolades
2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Writer 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Continuing Series 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Publication for Teens 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Cover Artist 2018 Harvey Award winner, Book of the Year 2018 Hugo Award winner, Best Graphic Story 2018 British Fantasy Award winner, Best Comic/Graphic Novel 2018, 2016, 2015 Entertainment Weekly's The Best Comic Books of the Year 2018, Newsweek's Best Comic Books of the Year 2018, The Washington Post's 10 Best Graphic Novels of the Year 2018, Barnes & Noble's Best Books of the Year 2018, YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2018, Thrillist's Best Comics & Graphic Novels of the Year 2018, Powell's Best Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Graphic Novels of the Year Olympians Vol 9 by George O'Connor
In this volume of O’Connor’s series, we learn of Artemis’s life, from the moment she is conceived to several famous stories in Greek mythology. Zeus seduced the Greek maiden Leto, who bore twins Artemis and Apollo. As Hera was filled with jealousy, Leto’s childbirth was not easy. When Artemis first meets her celestial father, she asks him specifically for many things, including nymphs to be her attendants, wild lands filled with animals to hunt, and to never have to marry or know the touch of a man.
This series would be fine for elementary readers wanting to get an introduction on Greek mythology. There is one scene with the goddesses bathing in the lake where no nudity is seen and one mention of gods urinating together to create another being (and O'Conner uses the advanced word of "micturated"), but no nudity is shown on the page. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-9
Fire Force Vol 1 by Atsushi ohkubo
We follow Shinra as he starts his career with the Special Fire Cathedral #8. Shinra is a 3rd generation fire fighter, and that gives him special powers to wield fire through his feet, making him extra fast but deadly to shoes! The Fire Squads are responsible for responding to calls of spontaneous combustion - people being consumed by the fire until they explode into deadly demons. This often results in entire buildings or blocks catching on fire. The Fire Force is also responsible with putting these people to rest, as the consuming fire is irreversible.
This is one I have previously advised against purchasing because of the nature of the jokes, which border on sexual assault as a punch line. Sara's Rating: 3/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
Read Sara's full review
Squad by maggie tokuda-Hall
Illustrated by Lisa Sterle
New girl Becca worries about making friends in her new town and new high school in Richmond, a suburb of San Francisco. When she saves the day for popular Marley, she's brought into the circle of the most popular girls in school. Becca soon discovers the secret to this tight-knit group: Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are werewolves, and they prey on skeezy boys who use unscrupulous means to seduce girls at parties. They bring Becca into the fold, and there are a lot of rules to being part of the squad. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Dragonball vol 1 by akira toriyama
*Note: Dragon Ball volume 2 has also been removed, but it is contained in this 3-in-1 omnibus, which collects volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the original series.
In a remote part of the world, Son Goku is living his life alone after his grandpa, Son Gohan, has passed away. One day, he gets a visit from the beautiful genius Bulma who has crafted a device to detect the legendary Dragon Balls which, once collected, will grant her a wish from the Dragon god, and her radar is telling her Goku is in possession of one! She manages to recruit Goku to be her bodyguard as she collects the rest of the Dragon Balls. This series also has a lot of bawdy humor with lewd jokes, innuendos, and no shortage of lecherous old men.There are quite a few instances of nudity throughout - Goku is a small child and drawn without great detail when he drops trou, but Bulma is topless and pantsless a few times and is a fully developed (though still cartoony) young woman. The moments are all treated as punchlines, so audiences (and collection developers) should remember that culturally, because nudity is not shameful in Japan, the humorous effects hits differently than when the manga gets exported. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
Read Sara's full review
Read Sara's article from Booklist: "Manga Essentials: Dragon Ball Buying Guide" Dragon ball vol 2 by akira toriyama
*Note: Dragon Ball volume 5 has also been removed, but it is contained in this 3-in-1 omnibus, which collects volumes 4, 5, and 6 of the original series.
It’s the end of the Strongest under the Heavens tournament, and it’s no surprise that Goku and Kuririn have made it through to the finals. Also in the finals are some colorful side characters, including Bacterium, who dispatches his opponents with his lack of bathing, and Jackie Chen, who faces off against Kuririn. Back again is Yamcha, who is also in the finals. Goku and Kuririn learn some valuable moral lessons during the tournament and have some great reflection time with Master Roshi afterwards. Some of the issues from the first volume are downplayed or absent all together by this volume as Goku sets off on his own adventure, and he's his naivety and the problems that came with it are not as prevalent. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
Read Sara's full review
Read Sara's article from Booklist: "Manga Essentials: Dragon Ball Buying Guide"
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About MeI've been reading Manga and comicbooks for years. Now, it's time to share my knowledge with you.
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