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TL 16.1.4.indd The Teaching Librarian volume 16, no. 1 37 Christopher Butcher Family Webcomics www.familywebcomics.com A brand new site, Family Webcomics endeavours to scour the entire Internet for webcomics for young readers. Its Advisory Board of parents, educators, and reviewers applies its own proprietary ratings systems to comics and rates them appropriate for General Audiences, Ages 7+, 10+, or 14+. At time of writing, it hadn't started writing critical reviews of the work and many of the titles listed as "appropriate" also aren't terribly good. But the folks involved mean quite well, and the listings on this site are expanding at a rapid pace, meaning that this will likely become the "hub" for webcomics for young readers. Copper By Kazu Kibuishi www.boltcity.com/copper Available in the FLIGHT Anthologies (Volumes 1-5 and Explorer available) Th e FLIGHT anthologies from Random House books feature an array of gorgeous fantasy stories, with many (but not all…) of the works appropriate for readers of all ages. One of the fl agship stories of the anthology is editor Kazu Kibuishi's Copper, a story about a boy who likes to invent things and his sarcastic canine companion. A beautiful, funny and wistful comic series for kids from the creator of Scholastic's new graphic novel series Amulet. Jellaby By Kean Soo http://secretfriendsociety.com Jellaby Volume 1 Toronto creator Kean Soo's fantastic new graphic novel series for readers 7 and up got its start as an online, serialized graphic novel! Early versions of the fi rst 62 pages of the graphic novel are available online, and feature diff erent art and bits of story making for a fun comparison between the print and online versions! Th e website also features an addition eight Jellaby Shorts and a complete graphic novel by Hope Larson, Salamander Dream, which will be of interest to girls aged 10 and up. Inverloch By Sarah Ellerton http://seraph-inn.com 2 Print Collections, Vol 1 1933164131, Vol 2 1933164271. A now-completed epic fantasy story told with characters with anthropomorphic animals, Inverloch features a deep storyline with anime- styled full-colour artwork. Students in grade 7 and up will appreciate this story and the unique and varied world that the creators have built. Also of note: creator Sarah Ellerton has begun work on her newest project, Th e Phoenix Requiem, a Victorian Steampunk-infused magical mystery with gorgeous, gorgeous art. Th is one is reading a little older at the moment and might be best-recommended readers in grade 9 and up. No print collections… yet! Galaxion By Tara Tallan http://galaxioncomics.com One Print Collection, No ISBN (contact the author or Th e Beguiling) Toronto's own Tara Tallan presents the outer space adventures of a crew of explorers working for the Terran Space Association, as they test a brand new engine that could make space travel faster and safer. Of course, stuff goes wrong, and this crew must adapt to the strange new worlds they encounter. Galaxion is being serialized at the rate of three pages per week, and the site also features three short stories perfect for jumping into the saga or acting as interesting reading all on their own. Featuring a more mature story and plenty of strong female characters, Galaxion isn't inappropriate for ages 7 and up, but will most likely appeal to readers at the high school level thanks to a smarter-than-average vocabulary and strong story-structure. Bitstrips.com By… You! www.bitstrips.com Th is one is technically a webcomics site, but the main feature of Bitstrips.com is the ability to create your own comic strips using their online comic strip creator. Now, I should note, much of the pre- made content on this site is entirely inappropriate for schools, but the platform it creates will be of incredible interest to creative kids. Further Exploring the Online Wilderness Th is issue's "Drawn to the Form" will lead you to dozens of hours of enjoyable comics content and commentary, but it's really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to comics on the Internet. Because the Internet makes referring readers to other articles and sites so easy, you'll fi nd that the proprietors of the sites listed above will have their own favourite websites, comics and blogs to recommend. Don't be afraid to browse around and see all that the Internet has to off er! Er… but maybe try not to blame me if something you weren't expecting shows up on your screen, okay?