03/09/2026
Alberta, Canada is following multiple U.S. states in banning books from school libraries. Two of these are graphic-novel versions of Margaret Atwood’s "A Handmaid’s Tale" and George Orwell’s "1984" — both dystopian stories about government control, as well as highlights of 20th-century literature.
You probably know that "graphic" novel does not mean EXPLICIT. Graphic novels, which came into their own with the 1986 publication of Art Spiegelman first "Maus" title, are book-length works of sequential art — essentially, long-form comics. Unlike most comics, they tend to treat their subject matter with a great deal of seriousness and maturity.
In Alberta, these books are now being withheld from students as old as 19.
On a totally unrelated note :-), it is our Library's pleasure to announce that we've just ordered the graphic-novel versions of the Atwood and Orwell books for our collection. Whether or not you're from Alberta, come check 'em out!
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According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "The removed titles also include two of Canadian poet Rupi Kaur’s books, a graphic retelling of the Bible’s Book of Genesis, a book about living with eating disorders, and cartooning guidebooks."
But wait, there's more!
"Gone is a book about Andy Warhol’s art, coming-of-age memoirs of people discovering their gender identity and sexual orientation, and books about philosopher Albert Camus. ... Graphic novels that inspired or were based on movies or TV series such as the A Game of Thrones comics, The Walking Dead, Firefly, and V for Vendetta were also deemed afoul of the provincial order."
To be clear, our library supports every parent's right to decide what their own children read — and rejects the edicts of government bodies that want to decide what *all* children may and may not read.
We are here for all of you.
Alberta school divisions complying with a provincial order have removed dozens of graphic novels from their shelves, from illustrated versions of literary classics to coming-of-age memoirs and dramatic retellings of mythology, access to information request results show.
