Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are fairly misunderstood. Some people don't give them their due; they view them as overgrown comics. I don't find them simple to read at all and have trouble following their non-linear format. Graphic novels are not a genre unto themselves. They are a format. Many are geared toward high school and adult audiences and may contain violent and sexual content. The appropriate reading level is recommended in parentheses following the annotation.

Japanese graphic novels are called manga and are typically arranged in a right to left format.

Cabot, Meg	Avalon High Coronation: Vol. 1 The Merlin Prophecy This is Cabot's Avalon High novel turned graphic novel. I have not yet read the novel on which the gn is based; I enjoyed the gn on its own without comparison. This updated version of Arthurian legend is told from the point-of-view of Ellie, a newcomer to Annapolis, Maryland. She is fitting in quite nicely, she's getting good grades, is a track star, snagged Will, the QB of the football team as a boyfriend. Life is good. But Will has been kicked out of his parents' home by his father when he refuses to attend the Naval Academy, where his dad is an Admiral. He's also attacked by his jealous, psychotic brother and would have been killed had not Ellie thrust Excalibur into his hand. It seems Will is a descendent of the legendary King Arthur and is destined to fulfill a prophecy but must accept that he is a true king - something Will is unwilling to do. Oh. And it all has to be done by Homecoming or the world, as we know it, will end.
Clugston, Chynna	Queen Bee Haley has a fresh start at a new middle school and is determined to get in with the popular crowd. She doesn't really have much trouble with her good looks and great clothes and soon finds that she is "queen bee" of the hive. Her only problems are her psychokinetic abilities which are not well-controlled and get her into embarrassing situations and the arrival of Alexa, who also has psychokinetic powers which she has complete control over and seems to be intent on becoming the new "queen bee." This is a rare graphic novel in that its intended audience is girls and is remarkably free of foul language, violence and sexual situations. (Gr. 5-8)
Fies, Brian	Mom's Cancer This work originally appeared on the Internet, but author Fies, with the help of Mom, put the work into graphic novel format. It is the powerful and sad story of his mother's battle with metastatic lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking. (YA)
Friedman, Aimee	Breaking Up: A Fashion High Graphic Novel Chloe and her three bff's are entering their junior year of high school with high hopes. Their friendship is strained when each girl gets involved with a boy. Thoughtful and occasionally funny.
Gownley, Jimmy	Amelia Rules! The Whole World's Crazy With an introduction by Megan McDonald of Judy Moody fame and its placement on the New York Public Library's Bookfest reading list for graphic novels for girls, I thought, "how could this book miss?" It doesn't, exactly. It's funny, it's poignant, it's believeable. I just don't know its intended audience. It's too young for middle schoolers and perhaps a bit too irreverent for elementary grades. It's often laugh-out-loud funny but I wondered if kids would find what I was laughing at humorous. Nine-year-old Amelia has moved out of NYC to her aunt Tanner's house in Pennsylvania with her mother after her parents' bitter divorce. It's the end of the summer and she meets some neighborhood kids and starts a friendship with them. Upon waiting for the bus on the first day of school, she discovers that they are "nerds" and she has become labeled by association.
Gownley, Jimmy	Amelia Rules! What Makes You Happy? Amelia goes to school one day and finds herself the center of attention. Everyone is saying hello to her! The reason? Her aunt Tanner has been re-discovered and pictures and stories about her are appearing all over the media. In another storyline, Amelia, Reggie and the members of G.A.S. P. are inducting Violet, a new member, into the group at a park they have never been to. It turns out this park is the turf of "The Ninjas" and after the members of G.A.S.P. are roundly beaten, Reggie vows revenge.
Guibert, Emmanuel & Joann Sfar	Sardine in Outer Space It's the Space Pirates, Captain Yellow Shoulder and his niece and nephew, Sardine and Little Louis against the chief executive dictator of the universe, Supermuscleman and his sidekick, the mad scientist Doc Kroc in volume one of this colorful, zany, over-the-top adventure across the universe. The humor has something for every taste from gross to sly with nothing truly offensive and no bad language.
Marunas, Nathaniel & Erik Craddock	Manga Claus: The Blade of Kringle If you thought Santa was a fat dude in a red suit, think again. On December 23, a disgruntled elf decides to use his magic to enchant a nutcracker and instructs it to destroy Santa's workshop so that he can appear to be a hero. Unfortunately, the nutcracker infects a shipment of teddy bears and they are turned into a ninja army that threatens to ruin the workshop and Christmas. Santa appears to be no match for these ninja teddies until Fritz retrieves the magic ninja weapons Santa has hidden in his office.
Pyle, Kevin C.	Blindspot A coming-of-age story told in graphic novel format. Dean moves to a new town where a point of interest is a stretch of woods perfect for playing army, a game that Dean has endless energy for leaving little interest in school. He begins to get into trouble at school and starts fighting with one of the boys in his "unit" after they harass a homeless man who lives in a shack in the woods. As his behavior spins out of control, his parents are at a loss as to how much they should punish Dean. They let him go out on Halloween to trick-or-treat with some reservations where he encounters the homeless man who forces Dean to face some harsh realities. The art alternates between single color panels depicting Dean's real world and camouflage colors of his fantasy world where he is happiest until the two worlds collide. It is a sobering, believable story of an angry boy who finds a way out of his anger with the help of supportive parents and some natural consequences.
Renier, Aaron	Spiral-Bound Top Secret Summer This story centers around of group of young anthropomorphic animals in a town called Town. Turnip, an elephant, has a crush on Viola, a mouse, who is about to leave for music camp. Turnip is encouraged by his friend Stucky, a dog to attend sculpture camp. Viola's friends, Emily and Ana team up as investigative reporters who are trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of the monster in the pond. (Gr. 3 -6)
Rocks, Mikaso	Biker Girl Aki, a girl in high school, has been troubled by some bad dreams concerning her favorite cousin, who was killed in a bike race accident by the leader of a biker gang. When she agrees to help her grandfather clean out his garage, she uncovers an unusual bike and is inexplicably drawn to it. When she touches it, she morphs into "Biker Girl" and find that she is fearless. As "Biker Girl" she manages to save a few people in town and catch the attention of this gang. (Gr. 4-7)
Satrapi, Marjane	Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood This memoir of Satrapi's childhood from the ages of six through fourteen chronicles her life in Iran before and after the overthrow of the Shah and the ascendance of the repressive religious regime which replaced him. Satrapi lived a privileged life. Once the shah was overthrown, life changed drastically for the family, not the least of which she lost her right to an education. This is not your typical life and American readers, especially young ones with no memory of the time, might find the story quite foreign. But it is a suspenseful and highly readable glimpse into a life much different than anyone here might know. (YA)
Spiegelman, Art	Maus A Survivor's Tale I: My Father Bleeds History This graphic novel was ground breaking when it was first published back in 1986 and tells a story within a story of the author's parents' life in Poland before and during the Holocaust. It is also the story of Spiegelman's own relationship with his aging and demanding father. Depicting the Nazi's as cats and the Jews as Mice, Spiegelman relates the story of the growing anti-Semitism which existed in Poland in the days up to the Nazi invasion and then the terrifying intimidation and ultimate imprisonment of the Jews. Spiegelman was born after the war, but had a brother who was born before and did not survive. His relationship with his parents was not always easy. This novel is not easy to read both because of its subject matter and its format, but well worth the while. (YA)
Spiegelman, Art	Maus A Survivor's Tale II: And Here My Troubles Began This is the continuation of Maus I and completes the story of Spiegelman's father's imprisonment in Auchwitz, his liberation and his reunion with his beloved Anya. (YA)
Sturm, James	Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow This fictionalized biography rightly earned a starred review because everything about the book is powerful, from its stark black, white and green illustrations through the narration by Emmett Wilson, a fictionalized sharecropper who also got a hit off of the legendary Satchel Paige. It is best read by older readers who are baseball fans, Paige fans, fans of graphic novels or anyone interested in understanding the Jim Crow south. Younger readers are best served by reading Cline-Ransome's picture book biography.
Varon, Sara	Robot Dreams A wordless graphic novel depicting a year in the life of a dog who sends away for a robot kit, constructs a friend, then loses that friend during an ill-fated trip to the beach. The robot gets stuck on the beach after rusting and the dog is forced to leave his friend behind. While the dog finds other friends and mourns his losses, Robot lays on the beach and dreams. It is alternately funny and sad and strangely moving.
Vaughn, Brian K.	Runaways, Volume 1: Pride & Joy The sons and daughters of six high powered couples are stuck with each other several times a year while their parents have meetings. The children, mostly teenagers are not pleased with this arrangement as they all can barely stand each other. They are all basically sitting in a room staring at each other when the son of the host suggests that they use a secret passageway to spy on the meeting. They discover their parents dressed in odd clothing, and speaking of the work of "The Pride." At first, the kids think their parents are super heroes until they witness the sacrifice/ murder of a girl not much older than themselves and they realize that The Pride is a band of evil-doers with super powers. I was mostly engaged by the story which has some violence which is not graphic, some flirting and a kiss but I found two comments made by two of the characters to be offensive in that they reinforce stereotypes. (YA??)
Wilkins, Dave & Kevin Munroe & Tony Washington	El Zombo Fantasma El Zombo Fantasma is a champion Mexican professional wrestler. He is instructed by his handler to throw the match and when he doesn't he is murdered. Because his conduct of life was a bit dubious, he ends up in purgatory and eventually sent back to earth to redeem his soul by becoming guardian angel to a ten-year-old name Beli who has a smart mouth and is being hunted by an ancient cult for sacrifice. I found this full-color graphic novel frenetic and confusing, filled with foul language and violence. I really an at a loss as to what age group to recommend it. It's a little tame for YA and a little much for any younger group. That said, when this graphic novel was discussed at New York Public Library Bookfest and other librarians report that it has wide appeal in grades 4 -6.
Winick, Judd	Pedro and Me: Friendship and loss and what I learned Cartoonist Judd Winick was struggling to earn a living when he received a phone call that he was chosen to be on Real World and was asked if he would have a problem sharing a house with a room mate who had AIDS. Awed that he was chosen, he said, "no." Upon arriving at the apartment in which he was supposed to live with other strangers, he discovered that he would be sharing a room with Pedro Zamora, not only suffering from full-blown AIDS, but an activist who's mission was to educate young people. In an honest, thought-provoking and tear-jerking memoir, Winick recounts the story of a friendship which involved him facing his own fears and hypocrisy and ultimately embracing the friendship of a remarkable and brave twenty-two-year old who was infected as a teenager. (YA)
Yang, Gene Luin	American Born Chinese This rather thoughtful coming-of-age graphic novel portrays the life of a teenager who is trying to fit in at his high school when his interests don't exactly make him "in crowd" material. He is also of Chinese descent so he is dealing with outsider status on that front as well. There are three distinct story lines which come together at the end of the story. There is some satirical use of stereotyping which might be confusing to some young readers, but the story, which won the Printz award for 2007 is compelling.