In the third episode of the Comics Librarianship series Iurgi sits down with Jane Burns, an experienced lecturer, researcher, published author and public speaker. Jane is a member of the Executive Council of the Library Association of Ireland and has been awarded Fellowship status by the LAI for contributions to the development of the profession and commitment to Continuous Professional Development and Research.

Jane is currently pursuing a PhD in Education at Dublin City University exploring the field of Graphic Medicine and she was involved in the 15th annual Graphic Medicine Conference through the Technological University of the Shannon where she works.

In this conversation Jane discusses her relationship with comics, how academia and universities are embracing comics and why graphic medicine is growing in importance.

02:36 Jane discusses her relationship with comics throughout the years

06:52 How the relationship of academia with comics has changed and why

11:14 Jane and Iurgi discuss some of the strengths of comics as texts, their power and their allure

21:20 Jane discusses universities and how they are increasingly engaging more with comics

24:05 Jane discusses her focus on comics, medicine and teaching environments. She also discusses the International Graphic Medicine Conference in Ireland and upcoming creation of the Irish chapter of the Graphic Medicine Collective.

31:05 Jane discusses some of the main takeaways from the graphic medicine conference and what she would like to see into the future

38:48 What school and public libraries can do in the field of graphic medicine

40:29 Jane recommends some graphic medicine titles to read: The Graphic Medicine Manifesto, MK Czerwiec’s Taking Turn and Menopause, Ian William’s The Bad Doctor and Pascal Jousselin’s Mister Invincible.

The Graphic Medicine International Collective: https://www.graphicmedicine.org

The article Jane mentions about libraries and graphic medicine is Graphic Medicine in Academic Health and Science Library Collections you can find it here: https://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/1962

To stay up to date and for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

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In this second episode of the Comics Librarianship series Iurgi sits down with Matthew Noe, who is the Lead Collection and Knowledge Management Librarian at Harvard Medical School, an instructor for the University of Kentucky and Library Juice Academy, and a Trustee for the Worcester Public Library. He is a former President for the American Library Association’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table and the Treasurer for the Graphic Medicine International Collective.

Matt published an excellent article on graphic medicine in the recent Booklist’s Guide to Graphic Novels 2025. In this conversation Matt discuses the growth of graphic medicine, why it’s such an important field of study, genre and community and his thoughts on graphic medicine now.

00:20 Introduction

02:11 What Matt's been up to since we last talked to him in 2021

06:03 The origins of graphic medicine

08:17 Graphic medicine before the term was coined

11:33 Key developments in graphic medicine since 2007

19:32 Will Eisner and graphic medicine: A cautionary tale

22:36 Graphic medicine as a field and a genre

25:08 Graphic medicine as a field of study

29:22 Graphic medicine as practice

31:51 Graphic medicine as a community/collective

38:52 Graphic medicine as a genre

46:26 Art heals: Comics that made a huge personal impact

53:30 What Matt would like to see in the future for graphic medicine in libraries

56:15 Graphic medicine in different markers: America, Europe, Asia

01:01:48 Iurgi and Matt give recommendations to each other:

• Brittle Joints by Maria Sweeney
• Sleepless Planet: A Graphic Guide to Healing From Insomnia by Maureen Burdock
• Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou by Hitoshi Ashinano
• The Art of Flying by Antonio Altarriba, Kim
• Mafalda by Quino

Check out the Graphic Medicine International Collective website and subscribe to their newsletter: https://www.graphicmedicine.org/

Drawing Blood: A comics and medicine exhibit at the Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Library: https://www.graphicmedicine.org/drawing-blood-comics-medicine-exhibit/

To stay up to date and for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's roundup Marissa and Mia go through their latest read, recent news and new graphic novels.

01:26 Recent reads:

Marissa:

• Nimona / N D Stevenson
• Julienne
• Nothing Special
• I Killed the Main Character vs Extra’s Academy Survival Guide

Mia:

• Gender Queer
• My brother’s husband volume 1

13:56 News:

• Image Comics
• Jim Shooter, the force behind Marvel’s rise and Secret Wars, has passed away at 73
• Dominic Davies and Candida Rifkind have published a really interesting article on The Conversation exploring how comics and graphic novels can empower refugees to tell their stories on their own terms
• Movie adaptations: Fantastic 4, Superman, Supergirl (set for release in the US on 26 June 2026) staring Aussie actress Milly Alcock

21:27 New graphic novels:

• Miss Camper by Kat Fajardo (Scholastic)
• Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor by Mark Waid, Bryan Hitch (DC Comics)
• Will Eisner: A Comics Biography by Stephen Weiner, Dan Mazur (NBM)
• Free Piano (Not Haunted) by Whitney Gardner (Simon & Schuster)
• Float by Kate Marchant, CJ Joaquin (Graphix)
• Simplicity by Mattie Lubchansky (Random House)

To stay up to date and for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.