On Tuesday I went down to the Mission District (in San Francisco) and saw a great presentation and panel of new graphic novelists. The event was hosted by the Intersection of the Arts and the Hub at the Jewish Community Center and was the finale to an entire series on graphic arts called "Serial Boxes." Though I'm not sure this particular collection of artists and their work are specifically targeted at teens, I saw a lot of cool stuff that could definitely work for a sophisticated young adult.

I was very conscious as each artist "read" just how revolutionary this medium is. This seems a great platform for cutting-edge, progressive thought. Is it because the graphic novel is still sort of underground? Is it because it is such a young person's genre? And, in addition, are comics just inherently political? I enjoyed seeing the range of work and tried to imagine where all of it fits in the art and literary scene. I feel like graphic novels, not necessarily manga, is the punk rock of the book world — it's fast, irreverent, adolescent in tone with an abrasive honesty that makes you think … and it's fun.

The artist that I was most attracted to and intrigued by was Jaime Cortez. He presented work from his book Sexile which was commissioned by the Institute for Gay Men's Health in 2004 and is available through the Aids Project Los Angeles: "Sexile conveys HIV prevention messages through a graphic novel. Through humor, personal experience and close examination of real life challenges, Sexile tells the story of a transgendered woman's journey to the United States from Cuba." As Cortez was reading, it was as though he was channeling his character, Adella. He used this really fun, throaty voice and you could tell he had a great love and respect for his character. It really made me want to read Sexile, something I would never pick up at Borders. Cortez' next project is also for the city of Los Angeles and is a graphic novel about and for gang members — a great example of this powerful DIY and grassroots art form.

What a cool and talented guy.

When asked what panelists thought of superheros, I liked how Cortez responded. The number of superhero films being made right now is staggering, he said. While we are experiencing a great renaissance and surge of interest in non-fiction and documentary films, he said, we simultaneously want to escape into fantasy more than ever. Indeed this is a really fascinating juxtaposition in American pop culture. I guess we want both.

Check out the other three panelists too. They were all amazing!

Miriam Libicki - (Wonder what it would be like to join the army … in Israel!?)
Keith Knight - (Not really "new", but doing really cool and funny things.)
Ariel Schrag - (Chronicling four years at Berkeley High School.)

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