We are continuing our Genre Starter Series with graphic novels. This might be a controversial genre, as it’s more of a writing style. Some might say reading graphic novels is not really reading. Well, for the sake of argument, we are going with reading is reading. So, try out some graphic novels. Graphic novels cover a range of genres and can even be retellings or different versions of existing novels. There’s something for everyone in the genre of graphic novels. Check out this list of graphic novels and let us know if there are other genres you would like to see featured in this series.
*Book descriptions provided by the publishers via the library catalog, unless noted otherwise.
Graphic Novels that are Based on Classics:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee
A stunning, revelatory graphic novel adaptation of the beloved, Pulitzer Prize-Winning American Classic. An unforgettable portrait of race and class, innocence and injustice, hypocrisy and heroism, tradition, and transformation, in the Deep South of the 1930s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird remains as important today as it was upon its initial publication in 1960, during the turbulent years of the civil rights movement. Now this most beloved and acclaimed book is reborn as a graphic novel of rare artistic intelligence and visual skill by artist Fred Fordham. Scout, Jem, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch, and the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, are all faithfully captured in vivid detail. Life-time admirers and new readers alike will be touched by a rendition of this classicnovel that allows readers to experience some of the most memorable scenes and characters in American literature in an entirely new way.
A Wrinkle in Time by Hope Larson, Jenn Manley Lee, Andrew Arnold, Madeleine L’Engle
Late one night, three otherworldly creatures appear and sweep Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe away on a mission to save Mr. Murry, who has gone missing while doing top-secret work for the government. They travel via tesseract–a wrinkle that transports one across space and time–to the planet Camazotz, where Mr. Murry is being held captive. There they discover a dark force that threatens not only Mr. Murry but the safety of the whole universe. Never before illustrated, A Wrinkle in Time is now available in a spellbinding graphic novel adaptation. Hope Larson takes the classic story to a new level with her vividly imagined interpretations of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, The Happy Medium, Aunt Beast, and the many other characters that readers have loved for the past fifty years. Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet.
The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds and Homer
Retells, in graphic novel format, Homer’s epic tale of Odysseus, the ancient Greek hero who encounters witches and other obstacles on his journey home after fighting in the Trojan War.
Graphic Novels Based on Contemporary Books:
Booked by Kwame Alexander and Dawud Anyabwile
Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll
“Speak up for yourself – we want to know what you have to say.” From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless – an outcast – because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still a threat to her. With powerful illustrations by Emily Carroll, Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak: The Graphic Novel comes alive for new audiences and fans of the classic novel.
Nonfiction Graphic Novels:
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, 4 students were killed and 9 shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children–a shocking event burned into our national memory. A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same Guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike. Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart. Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, which will be published in time for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent–as relevant today as it was in 1970.
The Roanoke Colony: America’s First Mystery by Chris Schweizer and Liz Trice Schweizer
Over a hundred years before the pilgrims, the very first English settlers arrived on Roanoke Island. But without warning, these colonists abandoned their new home and disappeared without a trace. What happened to the colonists? To figure it out, we’ll need to investigate how these missing settlers got to Roanoke in the first place, and what the people already living there thought about these strange foreigners. It’s a case filled with brutal battles, perilous pirate ships, ruthless queens, scheming businessmen, and enough skeletons to fill a graveyard.
Memoirs as Graphic Novels:
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker
A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps, as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say
Caldecott Medalist Allen Say presents a stunning graphic novel chronicling his journey as an artist during WWII, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan’s premier cartoonist. Drawing from memory is Allen Say’s own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn’t understand his son’s artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan’s leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his “spiritual father.” As WWII raged, Allen was further inspired to consider questions of his own heritage and the motivations of those around him. He worked hard in rigorous drawing classes, studied, trained–and ultimately came to understand who he really is. Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, Drawing from Memory presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. With watercolor paintings, original cartoons, vintage photographs, and maps, Allen Say has created a book that will inspire the artist in all of us.
Fiction Graphic Novels:
Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A. F. Venable, Stephanie Yue, Braden Lamb
Twelve-year-oldKatie is dreading the boring summer ahead until she realizes the mysterious neighbor who hired her to cat sit is one of the city’s greatest supervillains.
New Kid by Jerry Craft and Jim Callahan
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds–and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
Level Up by Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham
Dennis, the son of Chinese immigrants, yearns to play video games like his friends and, upon his strict father’s death, becomes obsessed with them but later, realizing how his father sacrificed for him, he chooses a nobler path.
Manga:
Manga is a Japanese style comic book that reads right to left. Typically, when being translated to English the graphics/illustrations stay the same and only the words are changed. Manga has a distinct artistic style, and the story is told over several volumes in the series.
Maximum Ride by NaRae Lee, Abigail Blackman, James Patterson
Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride knows what it’s like to soar above the world. She and all the members of her ‘flock’– Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel– are just like ordinary kids, except they have wings and can fly! It may seem like a dream come true to some, but for the flock it’s more like a living nightmare when the mysterious lab known as the ‘School’ turns up and kidnaps their youngest member. Now it’s up to Max to organize a rescue, but will help come in time?
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, Alethea Nibley, and Athena Nibley
Tohru Honda was an orphan when one day fate kicked her out of the house and onto land belonging to the mysterious Sohma family. Everything goes well until she discovers the Sohma family’s secret: when hugged by members of the opposite sex, they turn into their Chinese zodiac animal!
Amber Owrey’s reviews reflect her personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.
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