Comic book fans in Plant City can rejoice.
Walter Critzer, of the Bruton Memorial Library, has founded the library’s first Comics, Manga and Anime Club, and its first meeting will take place next week.
“So far, there’s a fairly good amount of people interested in the club,” Critzer says. “It’s open to anyone.”
According to Critzer, CMA will host book discussions, covering comics and manga, and also show anime videos and films.
“We may possibly do special events,” Critzer said. “We might look into doing our own mini-Comic Con at the library, but that wouldn’t be for at least a few months. Right now, I’m just trying to get the group started and gauge interest.”
It’s a passion project for Critzer, a comic book enthusiast and former collector. As Bruton’s teen librarian, he saw his passion as an opportunity to reach out to more teenagers, and the library agreed.
“A couple of high schools in the area have these clubs already, and they tend to be very popular,” Critzer says. “But, we’ve had interest from both teens and adults.”
Manga, for the uninitiated, are Japanese comic books. Anime is Japanese animation, cartoons and movies. Much like American comics, they originated in the World War II era and covered a wide range of subjects, including science fiction, romance and mystery.
Anime is often adapted directly from manga, much in the same way as American comics have been adapted to the silver screen in recent years. Some popular anime and manga include “Naruto,” “Attack on Titan” and “DragonBall Z,” and Oscar buffs may recall the film “Spirited Away” winning Best Animated Feature in 2002.
The library has what Critzer calls a “decent-sized” collection of manga, but he’s looking to build upon that and draw more interest to it.
The first meeting will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. March 19, and will be more of an informational session.
“We’ll just try to set a date and time for the meetings, whether we want to hold them monthly or bimonthly,” Critzer says. “And, also find out what people would like to get out of the group.”
IF YOU GO
Comics, Manga and Anime Club
WHEN: 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 19
WHERE: Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W. McLendon St., Plant City
INFORMATION: Walter Critzer, wcritzer@plantcitygov.com