#GetGraphic Read-A-Thon
We all know that comic-cons, author events, and movie premieres are great ways to connect with the comic community. These are events where we celebrate our love of comic related media and all of the creativity and joy this art inspires. However, many of these events require travel and entrance fee costs, so they are not always accessible. Fear not fellow comic lover and connection seeker, the internets in their infinite wisdom have created something especially for us: read-a-thons.
Read-a-thons are online events that use social media and YouTube as vehicles for dedicated reading time, concentrated social media posting, and inspiration for videos in the reader’s corner of YouTube (commonly referred to as BookTube). As an active participant in BookTube and frequent poster of book and comic related content on Instagram and Twitter, I wanted to bring this phenomenon to the attention of comicattack.net readers.
BookTube has a large community of readers that are obsessed with comics, graphic novels, and manga. In fact, four of these enthusiasts came together to create the #GetGraphic Read-a-Thon. Each of the hosts is also the creator of a BookTube channel where they frequently post reviews and hauls of comics, graphic novels, and manga.
This year, the online event took place July 20-22. During the week prior to the read-a-thon weekend, participants could post content on their Instagram accounts using a daily photo challenge prompt. In addition, the hosts provided read-a-thon challenges designed to assist participants with graphic novel selection. I thought the reading challenges were fantastic because they gave readers a chance to get out of their comfort zones, focus on reading inclusive works, and still make room for some favorites. Searching for graphic novels that met these categories led me to some works by new-to-me authors that are now favorites.
As a result of these prompts, a host of videos, Instagram posts, and tweets sprouted all over the internet displaying a fantastic selection of graphic novels and manga. Readers interacted with one another and began to connect over their love of the genre. You can search YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter under the hashtag #getgraphic to see all the great posts and start finding new-to-you content.
Another fun perk of the read-a-thon is the “twitter sprint”. On the days that were specifically dedicated to reading, the hosts did a relay of twitter sprints where they encouraged readers to block off specific time just for reading their selections. When I participated in these, I found myself reading for four hours in one day! In this busy world of social media distractions, phone notifications, and more, that’s a lot of time for an adult reader.
During the read-a-thon weekend I re-read ‘Chew Vol. 1’ by Rob Guillory and John Layman, ‘SuperMutant Magic Academy’ by Jillian Tamaki, and ‘Misfit City Vol. 2’ by Kirsten Smith, Kurt Lustgarten, and Naomi Franquiz. I also started ‘Nailbiter Vol. 6’ by Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson, Adam Guzowski, and John J. Hill, and ‘Orange’ by Ichigo Takano.
It was a relaxing and fun weekend where I got to hunker down and have some quality reading time. I also met some really nice folks online, followed a few people and picked up a few new followers. I added at least a dozen new graphic novels or manga to my TBR (to be read) pile, and came away feeling energized to read ALL THE THINGS!
If you’re interested in finding out more about the hosts, check out their BookTube channels.
If you want to participate in the next round of #GetGraphic, follow the twitter account @GetGraphicThon. If you want to see what I’m reading check me out at FrankieReads. If you’re interested in similar read-a-thons because you just want to graphic novel and comic party all the time, check out @getgraphicreads for the #GettingGraphic read-a-thon. It has a very similar premise and is lots of fun. I hope to see some ComicAttack.net readers on the interwebz in the next round!
FrankieReads
frankiereads@comicattack.net
So this is all year round?
Yes – the hosts of the various read-a-thons will announce dates at various times throughout the year. So far I think #GetGraphic has been once this year, but I know that #GettingGraphic happens at least twice a year. If you follow their twitter accounts, you’ll get a heads up on the next round!