Our staff
Adam
Reviewer
Technology Specialist | he/himAdam is a Technology Specialist at the Way Public Library in Perrysburg, Ohio. His duties include helping patrons understand how to use various library related apps, where he is sure to point out which have access to graphic novels and comics. He curates and has presented on the library's "Beyond Books" collection and takes secret joy in ordering video games as an actual job function. His favorite duty is ordering graphic novels for the adult section of the library, which he feels better equipped for than ordering books on say, transportation. A lifelong comic reader, he still remembers buying X-Force #1 and his mom throwing away X-Force #1. You can find him yearly at C2E2's librarians meet-up complaining to no one in particular about Rob Liefeld's inability to draw feet.
Amanda
Editor-at-Large
| She/HerAmanda Jacobs Foust has been presenting, writing and talking about comics in libraries for over a decade and also produced and co-hosted the In the Library with a Comic Book podcast. In addition to her comics work, Amanda has extensive experience as a conference and webinar presenter on a diverse range of topics related to librarianship.
Becky
Reviewer
Senior Reference Librarian | she/herBecky is Senior Reference Librarian at the Library of Virginia. Hailing from New England, she's previously worked as a reference and technology librarian in public libraries up and down the East Coast. Her love of comics was sparked first by the Sandman comics and later by webcomic pioneers such as Faith Erin Hicks and Dylan Meconis. When she's not immersed in government documents or wrangling microfilm, she writes SFF fiction, attempts to identify trees, and hangs out with her sweet calico lap cat, Catbus.
Eva
Editor and Review Coordinator
Supervising Children’s Librarian, Alameda Free Library | She/herEva Volin is Supervising Children’s Librarian for the Alameda (CA) Free Library. She cowrote “Good Comics for Kids: Collecting Graphic Novels for Young Readers” for Children & Libraries and is a contributor to the forthcoming ALSC Popular Picks for Young Readers. She has served as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. She has also served on several YALSA committees, including Great Graphic Novels for Teens and the Michael L. Printz Award. Eva is a regular contributor to School Library Journal’s Good Comics for Kids blog and is an occasional reviewer for Booklist.
Gail
Reviewer
Professor, Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta | She/HerIn addition to teaching at the School of Library and Information Studies (University of Alberta) where she is an adjunct professor, Gail tells stories and conducts workshops on a wide variety of topics across Canada and the United States. Each year she teaches the following courses for the University of Alberta. All of her courses are delivered online: Storytelling, Comic Books and Graphic Novels in School and Public Libraries, Canadian Children’s Literature for School and Public Libraries and Young Adult Literature. She also teaches a course on Indigenous Literature for the ATEP program (Aboriginal Teacher Education Program) at the University of Alberta. Gail is the award-winning author of nine books on storytelling and folklore in popular culture.
James
Reviewer
Circulation Librarian, Clark County Public Library | He/HimJames Gardner is a Circulation Librarian at Clark County Public Library in Kentucky. Along with writing his own stories, he reviews horror for his own blog The Foreboding Home of the Scary Librarian and other places. But graphic novels are another love of his, having grown up loving Spider-Man and the X-Men. Reviewing graphic novels is a dream gig because the graphic novel is a medium that is full of great stories. One of the best things about being a librarian is always having an excuse to read graphic novels among other books, which is because readers’ advisory depends on reading books (while advising is the other half, of course). He also enjoys role-playing games, which is another opportunity for him to immerse himself in a story.
Emily
Reviewer
Library Media Specialist, Shrewsbury High School | She/HerEmily is the library media specialist at Shrewsbury High School in Massachusetts. She has been in libraries for 9 years and education for 15. Before the high school, she worked as a librarian at an elementary school in Texas and before that a reading teacher. She has been advocating for and recommending graphic novels and comics to her students at every stage. Emily is also passionate about civic engagement for students and teens. She has presented about 10 Questions for Young Changemakers at local conferences and is helping as they build professional development opportunities for other librarians. In addition to the library and reading, Emily also has a toddler at home who screams with excitement every time she gets a new book.
Jen
Reviewer
Public Librarian | She/herJen Stutesman is a public library Branch Manager in southeastern Washington State. Before that, she was an academic librarian for 20 years, and started a graphic novel collection in her community college library. Being a public librarian is much more fun!
Jennifer
Reviewer
Youth Services Librarian, Matheson Memorial Library | She/HerJennifer Wharton is the Youth Services Librarian at Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, Wisconsin where she maintains the juvenile and young adult graphic novel collections and was responsible for creating the library’s adult graphic novel collection. She is constantly looking for great new comics for kids and teens and new ways to incorporate graphic storytelling in programming. Jennifer blogs for preschool through middle grade at JeanLittleLibrary and has an MLS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jerry
Reviewer
Information Strategist, San Francisco Public Library | He/HimBy day, Jerry Dear, APALA member and Information Strategist at the San Francisco Public Library tackles research questions in the Periodicals department. He also teaches in the Library Information Technology department at City College of San Francisco. By night, he serves the Asian American community and ventures into the vibrant literary arts and graphic novel scene. In whatever time remains, he indulges in comics, anime, manga, and Asian American literature and film.
Josh
Reviewer
Technical Services Librarian | he/himJosh Gauthier is a technical services librarian in Maine. He has a BA from the University of Southern Maine and an MFA from the Stonecoast creative writing program. An active member of the Maine writing and theater communities, Josh is also a fiction writer, playwright, and co-organizer of multiple livestream series with literary focuses. You can find him discussing topics such as writing, comics, fiction, and pop culture on various social media platforms as @JG_Writer.
Kacy
Editor
Youth Collection Development Librarian, New Orleans Public Library | She/HerKacy Helwick loves her day job where she gets to buy all the books and AV for kids and teens as the Youth Collection Development Librarian at the New Orleans Public Library. She received her MLIS from LSU, and is an active member of ALA's ALSC & YALSA Divisions, and the Rainbow and Graphic Novels & Comics Roundtables. She has served on YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens list and the Children's & YA Stonewall Book Awards committee.
Katie
Reviewer
Youth Services Librarian, Hopewell Branch of Mercer County Library | She/HerKatie Chase is a Youth Services Librarian at the Hopewell Branch of Mercer County Library in New Jersey. She specializes in Readers Advisory and arts programming. She is a mother of two and an exile of New England whose favored genres are mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and women’s fiction.
Kelly
Reviewer
Library Information Specialist, South Park Elementary School | She/HerKelly Jahng has studied English, history, and French, and taught middle school for sixteen years.She earned a masters in education along the way before changing hats and earning her MLIS at San Jose State University.She now works as the Library Information Specialist at South Park Elementary School in Deerfield, IL.She loves to collaborate with teachers in the school learning commons and to help students create in the makerspace.In her spare time, she loves to travel, enjoy theatre, read and review youth and YA literature, and write the occasional post for various blogs.
Kendra
Reviewer
| She/HerKendra Perkins has worked at libraries in Canada, the U.A.E., China and South Korea where she has been everything from Founding Head Librarian to volunteer. She was Ambassador of China for the International Librarians Network, and she was elected to be Coordinator for the Shanghai Librarians Network (SLN), which is a community of almost 100 library professionals from more than 20 schools. She has completed her ALA accredited Masters in Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta. She has traveled to over 90 countries, learned to speak basic Mandarin Chinese along the way and kept up with too many graphic novel series to keep count. She has led workshops, created webinars and done library consultations in fun places like Italy and Hong Kong. She has been a guest blogger for multiple technology and education related websites and is a published book reviewer for Urban Family magazine. Find out more at her website, which she should update more frequently: http://www.theinspiredlibrarian.com
Kris
Reviewer
Librarian | he/himKris is a librarian for the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries, because being a Power Ranger was not a ‘legitimate life choice.’ A fan of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy Kris was drawn to comic books and manga through 90s Saturday morning cartoons like Spider-man and Batman TAS and shows like the Beetleborgs. Kris uses graphic novels and manga to start conversations with reluctant readers at his library, tricking them into reading almost an entire books’ worth through a multi-volume manga or comic series. A fan of storytelling in any medium, Kris is also an avid gamer and loves tv and film. Some current favorites include: Chucky on NBC, God of War for PC, and yet another playthrough the of Kingdom Hearts franchise. For a complete list of books Kris has read, as well as shorter less eloquent reviews, check Kris’ goodreads out.
Lisa P.
Reviewer
Library Associate in Youth Services | She/HerLisa Pett, First of her name, purple of hair: Mother of Teens, Otaku, Fujoshi, Reader of Yaoi, Seller of Comics, Shelver of Books and currently residing North of the Wall. A retired roller derby player and current Library Associate in Youth Services in Wisconsin, Lisa has worked as a journalist and freelance writer while nursing obsessions with various fandoms and pop culture, Shakespeare, manga, anime, and sloths. She fills in occasionally behind the cash register at her local comic shop and tries to keep their website up to date. She can be found on Facebook and Twitter @Rose_Redrum where she swears and retweets at random.
Lisa R.
Reviewer and Content Editor
| She/TheyLisa contains multitudes. She is a content wunderkind, librarian, geek, and makes a delightful companion to trivia teams. She does not live in Brooklyn nor attend a fancy college. She spills her guts at https://lisarabey.substack.com and she can be found as @heroineinabook across the internet.
Liz
Reviewer
Assistant Professor | she/herElizabeth Hollendonner is an Assistant Professor for Staley Library at Millikin University. She has been reading and enjoying graphic novels and manga since grade school, took a comics class under Dr. Carol Tilley and a book review class under Dr. Deborah Stevenson while earning her Master of Science in Library and Information Science degree.
Maddi
Reviewer
Youth Services Librarian | she/herMaddi is a Youth Services Librarian at the Charlotte & William Bloomberg Medford Public Library in Massachusetts, where she runs the library’s GSA for teens in grades 6-9, two graphic novel book clubs (one for teens and one for 4th and 5th graders), drawing classes for kids and teens, storytimes, and more. She is also responsible for collection development for the teen graphic novel collection, where (in alignment with the rest of the coworkers in her department) she makes it her mission to amplify queer, BIPOC, neurodivergent, and disabled voices. When she’s not at the library, you’ll likely find her: singing in two queer choirs, drawing or hand lettering something, curled up with a book, or spending time with her girlfriend and friends. Maddi runs the MPL GSA Tumblr at mplchameleon, and tweets bookish things at @littlebrarian.
Marcela
Copy Editor
Director, Lewiston Public Library | She/HerMarcela Peres is the Director at Lewiston Public Library in Maine. She holds a BA from Cornell University and an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was a member of the Organizing Committee for the ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table, and is currently serving on its Executive Board as a Member-at-Large. Her passions lie in graphic novel collection development for adults and teens, and she has spoken on a variety of topics and moderated panels at conferences and conventions nationwide, including ALA Annual and Midwinter, San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con, Boston Comic-Con, and others.
Mariela
Editor
High School Librarian | She/HerMariela Siegert is a high school librarian who thinks she has more than 24 hours in a day. She loves to read Children and YA books, but she has a soft spot in her heart for different formats such as audiobooks, comics, and graphic novels. When she is not trying to convince kids to read, she adjuncts at Dominican University where she teaches a technology class for future librarians. Mariela is also involved with her state school library organization (AISLE), AASL, YALSA, GNCRT, and she is a board member for the Rebecca Caudill which is an Illinois state book award. You can follow her at @marris116
Mark
Reviewer
Young Adult Librarian, Cedar Mill Library | He/HimMark Richardson is the Young Adult Librarian at the Cedar Mill Library in Portland Oregon where he selects adult and young adult graphic novels, YA fiction & nonfiction, video games and adult music for the library. He also plans lots of activities for local teens ranging from art contests to teen trivia to Pokemon parties. If this sounds like a dream job, it is. Sometimes he has to pinch himself to make sure he really gets to do all of this. He’s been reading comics for as long as he can remember and has been known to present an occasional conference sessions on graphic novels at the Oregon Library Association’s annual conference.
Martha
Features Editor
Youth Services Librarian, William Hall Branch of the Cranston Public Library | She/HerMartha Boksenbaum is Youth Services Librarian for the Youth Services Librarian for the William Hall Library of the Cranston Public Library. She purchases graphic novels, comics and anime for children and teens, and runs a manga and anime club for teens. She has served on ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable (GNCRT) Conference Committee and is currently a Member-at-Large for the GNCRT. She has also served on YALSA’s Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Selection Committee. She works every day to champion graphic novels, manga and anime from her small library branch, and tries to keep up with the amazing number of comics being published today.
Matt
Reviewer
Librarian | He/HimA librarian with over 10 years experience in public and academic settings, Matthew Morrison has been blogging about comic books for nearly as long as they’ve had a word for it. Over the past two decades, he has written regular columns, commentary, parodies and reviews for such websites and blogs as Fanzing, 411 Mania, Screen Rant and Comics Nexus. He has served as an Expert in Residence for a seminar on Graphic Novels and Comics for Youth and Adults at the University of North Texas and has given several lectures on the history of comics, manga and cosplay culture at libraries and comic conventions around the country. In addition to his work for No Flying No Tights, he is the Contributing Editor of Kabooooom.com and maintains a personal blog at MyGeekyGeekyWays.com.
Megan
Features Writer
| She/HerMegan earned her MLIS from Simmons College and is currently the evening librarian at Bay State College in Massachusetts. She satisfies her voracious appetite for graphic novels and manga through regular visits to her local public libraries and puts her love of graphic novels to good use by adding to Bay State’s collection whenever possible. Megan maintains a personal blog, Ferret with a Strobe Light, where she discusses awesome books she’s read lately. When not engaged in reading or library work, she likes running, drinking tea, and working on her own stories and art.
Meghan
Reviewer
Children's Librarian | she/herMeghan Fangmann is a Children's Librarian at Syosset Library in Long Island, New York. She runs graphic novel book clubs and storytimes at her library. In her spare time, she enjoys reading the latest Manga, Anime, and graphic novel titles.
Meredith
Reviewer
Library Coordinator | she/herMeredith is a library coordinator with the Free Library of Philadelphia. Previously, she worked as a children's librarian at a Free Library branch for seven years, where she prided herself on the graphic novel collection. She has volunteered with the ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table in various positions, including as co-chair of the Convention Planning Committee, and previously served as a juror for the EBSCO SEE-IT Award for youth graphic novels. In her free time, she likes spending time with her two cats and writer husband, all things theme park related, and of course, sharing her thoughts on what she's reading, primarily via Goodreads. You can find her on Twitter at @meredithmc.
Nic
Reviewer
Youth Services Librarian, Wake County Public Libraries | She/HerThe child of two artists, Nic grew up loving art, reading, and those oh-so-special books that combine the two. Nic got her MLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her thesis was on the best shelving scheme for graphic novels in public libraries; the proposal won an Elfreda Chatman Research Award. She spends her free time reading, drawing, blogging, and writing fiction. She is a Youth Services Librarian at the Wake County Public Libraries in Raleigh, NC.
Renata Sancken
Edtior
Teen/Reference Librarian, Memorial Hall Library | She/herRenata Sancken is the teen/reference librarian at Memorial Hall Library in Andover, MA. Her favorite parts of the job are collection development and getting members of Teen Anime Club to explain the plots of different animes to her. She has her MLS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a member of ALA and YALSA. Renata tweets at @renatasnacks.
Robin B.
Editor in Chief
Teen Librarian, Public Library of Brookline | She/HerRobin E. Brenner is Teen Librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts. She has chaired the American Library Association Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection List Committee, the Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee, and served on the Michael L. Printz Award Committee. She is currently the President of the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table for ALA. She was a judge for the 2007 Eisner awards, helped judge the Boston Globe Horn Book Awards in 2011, and contributes to the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. She regularly gives lectures and workshops on graphic novels, manga, and anime at comics conventions including New York and San Diego Comic-Con and at the American Library Association’s conferences. Her guide, Understanding Manga and Anime (Libraries Unlimited, 2007), was nominated for a 2008 Eisner Award.
Robin E.
Reviewer
Technical Services Associate | they/themFrom their humble origins as a Teen Volunteer at their local library, Robin currently works as a Technical Services Associate at the Barrington Area Library, ordering and processing each book that comes into the collection. A proud alumni of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Library Sciences Program, Robin aims to serve the young adult population of the community by supplying representative and engaging materials and establish the library as a queer-friendly space. Comics have been of a passion of theirs from a young age, due to their diverse storytelling opportunities and ability to amplify and include underrepresented voices. When not adding more comics to their ever-growing book hoard, they can be found expanding their extensive enamel pin collection, working on a new cosplay, or bingeing theme park history videos.
Shannan
Features Writer
Teen Services Librarian, San Antonio Public Library | She/TheyShannan waffled between English professor and librarian as career choices for all of college; eventually librarian won. She is a Teen Services Librarian with the San Antonio Public Library. When not running TTPRG games for their teens or teaching them how to bake, she's doing what she can to promote comics to anyone who will listen. At home they're likely deep in the middle of their latest cosplay project or watching B movies with her husband, while generally pushing the cats out of the way.
Shawn
Reviewer
Materials Manager, Carroll County Public Library | He/TheyShawn Norton is the Materials Manager for Carroll County Public Library in Maryland. Their specialties are adult fiction and graphic novels for all ages. They started reading comics with X-Men (Inferno and Fall of the Mutants era) and have moved on to read every genre and format of comics they can find. Whenever they're not reading, reviewing, and purchasing graphic novels they can be found playing dungeon crawl video games, Magic: the Gathering, and spending time with their family.
Shira
Youth Services Librarian, Northville District Library | They/ThemShira is from the DC area and is currently a Youth Services Librarian in Northville, Michigan. They have been involved in ALA in an Association for Library Service to Children committee, a Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table committee, and as an elected member of the Executive Board of the Rainbow Round Table. When Shira is not putting comics and queer books into the hands of excited children and teens, they can be found snuggling all the cats, playing drums in rock bands, or testing out recently-purchased board games. Shira also writes professional reviews for School Library Journal and AudioFile Magazine, plus not-so-professional reviews of Baby-Sitters Club books in exhaustive detail for their Goodreads profile (username Shiramario).
Thomas
Features Writer
Teen Services Librarian, Richland Library | He/HimThomas is a teen services librarian at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina. While studying for his MLIS at the University of South Carolina, he won an award from Thomas Cooper Library for his curation of the works of “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka. He has spoken about manga, graphic novels, teen programming, and podcasting at NashiCon, DragonCon, ColaCon, New York Comic Con, and American Library Association conferences. He has been on on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens selection committee, written articles for Public Libraries, The Hub, Book Riot, and Library Trends, and reviews for School Library Journal and Kirkus.
Tayla
Features Writer
Branch Librarian | She/HerTayla Cardillo (she/her) is the Branch Librarian of the Oaklawn branch of the Cranston Public Library in Cranston, RI. She is also a member of the ALA Graphic Novel and Comic Round Table and the chair of the Rhode Island Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee. She completed her MLIS at the University of Rhode Island and her B.A. in English at Rhode Island College. Tayla has known that she wanted to be a librarian since she was 17 years old. When not doing library wizardry, she enjoys playing tabletop games and cosplaying.