So my local library decided to ban an adult graphic novel due to the content of the book not being suitable for the library. The book in question is called, "Neonomicon" by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows, which to say the least is an amazing work. After reading the book to find out what the whole issue with the book is, I have come to the conclusion that it is meant for those with an open enough mind to not judge the material on the content but to understand the material that it contains. The book is based around FBI agents that got brought into a H.P. Lovecraft inspired world with many NSFW (not safe for work) images built into the story which help emphasize the story and bring into view things that people are afraid to look at and think about. A lot of the images though very uncomfortable for many people, shows the reader more of the grotesque world in which the horrors that we see in movies actually does come true.
After reading the first chapter I thought that the story was going to be dirty and more there for the display then the intellectual content, but I was wrong when it came to that aspect of the work. There are a few images in the book that I could not bring myself to look at because of the nature of the images, but that aside the artwork as a whole is top notch, only shadowed by the story itself. I never heard of the story until I read an article in the newspaper in which a librarian decided to ban the book because it was not suitable for the library. On the side of reason and justice for the American way, the librarian has committed a crime based on biased uneducated thinking and non-adherence to the library's code. The code being the disclaimer saying that the library is not responsible for what books people read. They have done their job to insure that children do not end up reading books they should not be.
The main reason this has all come to light is from the lack of responsibility on the side of the librarian that initiated the following issues. A fourteen year old female checked out the book from the adult section using an adult males library card. Now I know when I was youngster and attempted to use my mother's card to check out books that were slightly above my own age just reaching into the "for mature audiences only" category I was requested to find a book more my age, plus required to give my mother her card back, and the book was confiscated from me. Why this was not done with the fourteen year old child I will never know. Now I admit I only know as much as the articles I have read tell me, but I feel ashamed for the library who's sole purpose is to bring the joy of reading into the hands of those that want to read; by any means necessary. OK the last part I added on but you get the point. I have strayed from the base line that I was getting to though. Where was I ...oh yes a fourteen year old female using an adult males library card to check out a book from the adult section seems rather suspicious in the first place and you can not tell me you do not feel the same. The girl took the book home and started reading it but then had questions about a word in the book which could be anyone of a number of racist or "ugly" words, to infer that words have a way of looking past the form of description and insight that they give into the characters portrayed in the book. The mother appalled that her daughter would say such a word asked her where she got the word from and the girl responded with the truth like everyone should. The mother being who she is, a concerned individual who wants to know why her daughter was allowed to check out a book from the adult section, calls the library to complain. (Now I say this in all niceties about the mother because what happens next makes me angry to the point where I feel the mother should be re-educated about the way life works) The library responds back and the judge and jury are brought into the story. The judge being the lady that banned the book, name removed from this post for privacies' sake, and the jury who is none other then the library committee. They all read the book, which two books between eleven members took two weeks to complete, they sat down to talk about the fate of the book. The committee said they would keep the book on the shelves but the judge and executioner said the book would be banned, exiled from the library, a fate no book should go through. After reading about this images of Fahrenheit 451 and Equilibrium came to mind the removal of all things that inspire people and stimulate emotions and feelings. Why is it that the book gets punished and not the librarian that allowed the book to be borrowed by a fourteen year old using an adult males card to check out a book taken from the adult section labeled M for Mature. Adults show a lack of maturity in cases like this where they let discrimination and ignorance get in the way of rational thought. It angers me to see this happen over and over again with books that did nothing but exist. The constant censorship of material that need not removed. If people educated themselves more on the materials that their children are reading and played a more active role in their life maybe books like this would be left on shelves for people to enjoy. I remember the conversation I had about the book being removed and they said that people are afraid to expand their minds past what they are comfortable with. Maybe people should stop being afraid of the world and actually live in their world. Make your bed and sleep in it.
"Neonomicon is probably the darkest story Alan Moore has ever written, and definitely the best artwork of Jacen Burrows' already stellar career. I don't know if it's morally acceptable to love something so horrific, but I just cannot stop thinking about this book,"Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man, Lost) [from the back cover of Neonomicon.]
