Librarians and Educators were a welcome presence at this year's Comic-Con International: San Diego, the world's largest annual comic book and pop culture convention. Amid publishing news and movie events, the work of these dedicated professionals has brought graphic novels to a much wider audience, through exposure in the classroom and in libraries.

In a San Diego News Network article titled "Librarians: Unlikely comic book and graphic novel heroes", John Shableski writes, "Thanks to librarians, the graphic novel, which is the next generation to follow the classic 'floppy' comic book, has become a major force in American publishing." This article can be read in its entirety here.

Education programming at Comic-Con included the Comic Arts Conference, where scholars presented academic work related to comics. Topics presented ranged from the psychology of supervillain the Joker, superheroes as they relate to mythology and folklore, what it would take for a real person to become Batman, and the role of a college education in preparing creators for a career in comics.

The Comic Arts Conference also featured the debut of the Institute for Comics Studies, a new nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the study, understanding, and appreciation of the comics medium. More information about ICS is available here.

Other programs of special interest to educators and librarians included:

Graphic Novel Programming in Libraries with Robin Brenner, Hillary Chang, Mike Pawuk Jill Patterson and Nick Smith, moderated by Snow Wildsmith. This panel discussed "when librarian nerds become comic book geeks", and covered advice on collection development, cataloging, and hosting graphic novel books clubs and programming.

Using Comics in the Classroom with Jimmy Gownley, Peter Gutierrez, Gina Gagliano and David Serchay, moderated by Josh Elder. This panel covered "the hows and whys of using comics in the classroom", and offered advice on how to broach the subject with administrators, select appropriate material and integrate comics into the curriculum.

Graphic Novels: Sense of History with Rick Geary, David Petersen, Stan Sakai, Jason Lutes, Chris Schweizer and Eric Shanower, moderated by Randy Duncan. This panel featured a range of talented creators, discussing how they imbue their works with a sense of history, whether they create historical works or fiction set in a specific place and time.

Secret Origin of Good Readers with Dr. Robyn A. Hill, Mimi Cruz, Bill Galvan and Jim Valentino. The 9th annual Secret Origin of Good Readers panel featured an advanced discussion of how to inspire literacy through comics and graphic novels.

The Cultural Shift with Hillary Chang, Jimmy Gownley, Peter Gutierrez, Nick Smith and Anne Stockwell, moderated by Snow Wildsmith. This panel looked at the growing influence of comics in American culture, from movies to mainstream coverage to classroom use.