by Ian L-F
As we celebrate the library as a space of learning and community, and honor AAPI Month as a time to uplift Asian voices and stories, it is worth asking: what makes something literature? The shape of the story, the seriousness of its tone, its prestige? Or is it about seeing something deeper, something about the world or the human condition? Across corners of every continent, stories take shape in countless forms: in prose, poetry, images, screens, and panels.
Perhaps, literature isn’t defined by medium or legacy. It’s shaped by how we engage with a work. When we treat literariness as something a reader brings to the page, not something a story inherently owns, we begin to find meaning in places we’ve often overlooked, like one of those Japanese comic books you might find in the teen section.
Manga is Japanese graphic storytelling that pairs image and text across serialized chapters. It continues a long East Asian tradition of visual storytelling. Its reach, however, is global. Manga is a major literary and commercial force in France, a cultural touchstone across Latin America, and a stylistic influence on everything from fashion to hip-hop. Its narratives, aesthetics, and emotional tones have shaped how stories are told, and who gets to see themselves in them.
One vivid examples can be found in One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. What begins as a chaotic pirate adventure becomes a vast meditation on justice, memory, and history. The series offers a reminder that joy can be defiant, and freedom contagious. Manga’s depth doesn’t end with epics. Nana by Ai Yazawa offers a raw portrayal of friendship and identity, or Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano, a surreal coming-of-age spiral, shows how the medium holds hope, loss, and emotional complexity with equal grace. These stories speak to something real and something human, but we need to be willing to listen.
You can find them all at the library — where stories of every kind wait side by side, ready to be read with curiosity, care, and imagination.
History of Comics in Asia
Tue, May 6 | 7:30 – 8:30 pm
HCLS Savage Branch
For adults.
Explore the world of comics new and old! East Asian comics have exploded in popularity and dominate today’s reading environment. Whether you’ve read them all or have never picked one up, learn about their history before getting a chance to draw your own.
Ian Lyness-Fernandez is not quite used to being Instructor at the East Columbia Branch. He hopes his passion for learning can somehow translate into a skill for teaching.
CHAPTER CHATS 