"Is it really a good idea to feature comic books in a literary exhibit?"

This question, written by a would-be skeptic, can be seen in the comment notebook in 109 Pattee Library, temporary home to a variety of graphic novels.

Eileen Akin, co-curator of the exhibit, says, "Yes."

The display -- "Graphic Novels: Comics as Art, History, and Literature" -- will be viewable until March 1.

Akin, a coordinator of the audio-visual collections in the Special Collections Library, said the goal of the display is to show that graphic novels are more than just superhero comics. The exhibit features novels on display as well as framed reproductions. "Comics have grown up," Akin said. "They no longer exist as trashy literature for kids."

Film fanatics can also view the literary counterparts of their favorite flicks, including Alan Moore's V for Vendetta, Frank Miller's Sin City, and Daniel Clowes' Ghost World. Historically themed novels are also on display, including ones about Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Although she said it's great that Hollywood is using graphic novels to draw people to the art, Akin recommends that fans read the works the movies were based on.

Akin said many of the graphic novels in the display came out of or were influenced by the underground comic movement of the 1960s.

She said Art Spiegalman, creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, and Robert Crumb are two very influential graphic novelists whose work is on display.

The majority of the works are owned by the University Libraries and are available to check out. They will be put back into circulation after the exhibit.

Bill Joyce, head of the Special Collections Library, said the display has a general theme and is very topical in nature.

"I think it would be of interest to students and to the community," he said.

Graphic novelists Harvey Pekar, creator of American Splendor, and Phoebe Gloeckner, author of The Diary of a Teenage Girl, are also scheduled to come to Penn State on Feb. 22. The novelists will hold a moderated conversation in the Foster Auditorium.

The exhibit runs through March 1.