Graphic Novel

After teenage hacker extraordinaire Barbara Gordon is paralyzed by a gunshot wound, her father sends her to the Arkham Center for Independence, or ACI. There, she will undergo rehabilitation, as well as adapt to her new lifestyle. However, something’s just not right about the ACI. Strange sounds can be heard at night, and patients start to go missing one by one. After her new friend disappears, Barbara vows to solve the puzzle of her new home — before it’s too late.

Although I usually don’t gravitate towards graphic novels, I liked this one. I really enjoyed the art style, and it also

Cecila’s life was going well, until one day. She fell, and when she woke up she could not hear anything. She became deaf out of the blue. She had to go to a deaf school, and learn, which was hard for her. Instead she got a hearing aid, and she gets to go back to a normal school. But it did not feel as normal for Cecila. She looked different with the hearing aid, and it was harder for her to make friends. Do you think she will have a good and fun school year? Read El Deafo to find out!!

I enjoyed reading this book, but for me this is not the right book for me. I think that I am not a fan of

In the graphic novel Smile, Raina finds out that she needs braces, and she is scared. She does not want braces, but her friend, who has braces, comforts her and tells her everything will be fine. Well, turns out everything was fine until that night at the Girls Scout meeting. Raina raced to the car, but fell and broke her two front teeth. I guess she will be needing braces after all. Raina goes through a lot in this book and it is filled with twists and turns and ups and downs. Do you think Raina will heal from this tragedy? Read Smile to find out!

I personally really enjoyed reading this

About halfway through reading this biographical graphic novel, it struck me just how little I knew about the history of the Republic of Korea. I'm not a fan of not knowing things. This led me on a dive into at least a surface reading on South Korea’s political and cultural history, fascinating and sometimes turbulent. Imagine living in a country where the leader of the nation wages a war on intellectual thought, educational inquiry, and popular culture; where citizens are beaten and gassed by the police for protesting peacefully; where corrupt politicians are only arrested and imprisoned after

This book is incredible. A kid struggles to find himself. In the end, he realizes that he just needs to be himself and not be afraid.

I think that the fact that the kid relates to so many people. The kid doesn't know what is happening to him because he grew up thing being gay is bad but in fact, it definitely isn't. When the kid finds who he is it's so peaceful and incredible. I read this in one sitting it was so good!

        I didn't read the first book, but Last Pick: Born to Run was gripping and beautiful. It checked all of my boxes: murderous aliens (and more importantly, a not-so-murderous one), people banding together to find hope in the dark times, empathy, and, well, two friends falling in love. I was disappointed that it ended.

American Born Chinese,​ written by Gene Yang, is a graphic novel about a high school boy, an annoying cousin, and a king who doesn't accept himself. Jin, a high school boy, always struggles with racist stereotypes as he is from Chinese background. He meets a boy, Wei Chen, who is also Chinese, but he is considered a FOB (Fresh off the Boat). Jin first judges him, but sooner than later, they become best friends.

Chin-Kee, the annoying cousin, has a personality based on multiple racial stereotypes. He visits his cousin every year and attends his school for that amount of time. Danny, his

Marvel Fairy Tales​ is a graphic novel compilation of several different stories written and illustrated by C.B. Cebulski, Claire Wendling, and many others. I loved the idea of this book and was excited to see my favorite Marvel characters transported into some of my favorite fantasy worlds, but I was disappointed by the execution. There is no character or plot development; the stories all have a great beginning, but there’s no build-up to their climaxes; all of the stories suddenly end and feel almost incomplete. Despite the lack of story development, the illustrations were phenomenal, and I

     Steve Epting's art in comics and graphic novels is fantastic.  Eptig is able to give Batwoman: The Many Arms of Death a classic feel with modern sensibilities, as he has with other superhero comics.  

     We are introduced to Kate (Batwoman) and her lost year where she spent time on an island full of degenerates, with her lover keeping the peace.  Now she returns while tracking down some arms dealers who are selling the biological weapon the monster man serum.  My biggest complaint is that we do not really get enough backstory to care about or know who some of these characters are

I say "graphic books" because not all are novels, and the ones I am most often drawn to are the graphic nonfiction--bios, memoirs, history lessons. I am not an expert on graphic books; I do not have boxes of comic collections accumulated since childhood (though I do fondly remember reading some of my older brother's X-Men comics as a kid--intrigued by smart, strong females like Storm, Jubilee, Rogue); but perhaps because I approach graphic books from a more literary view, I can translate their value to those who might otherwise relegate "comics" to their not-to-be-read shelf.

I came into this with no previous knowledge of the character, his context, or his setting, so I'm sure there are some layers of the story I missed. Nevertheless, I found it fascinating and entertaining.

Here is a mighty god caught in an epic war between good and evil in another reality, who also happens to have a life as an escape artist and superhero in our world. And a life away from work as a man with a wife and an apartment. Add to that his past as the son of the ruling god of goodness but traded as an infant to the ruling god of darkness as part of a peace treaty, and he has a pretty

I am super late to the Lucy Knisley party and I'm a little perturbed with myself. I cannot believe I waited this long to read Relish. It has a lot of things I love about a good book: 

- memoir   
- lotsa foodie talk 
- incredible illustrations 
- stories about malicious birds.  

I was hooked by page 8 when Knisley talks about having poached salmon in cream for her baptism day. 

Other favorite moments: 
* The hate writing on the wall of one of her childhood homes: "The former residents had split in a nasty divorce, prompting the furious wife to use olive oil to write 'Fred

Delilah Dirk is about this adventurer who has to find clues to uncover a hidden city. She goes with her assistant, Selim, and a writer of the "Weekly Observer", who is up to something more mischievous. On the way she encounters many problems- for example she has to fight a ruler of a city to get a clue! The most compelling part of the book is when we (the reader) find out Van Hassel's real plan with the city. The sudden twist made the book very hard to put down.

This book has everything: mystery, adventure, a twist, some background information, and a little mythology. I can't think of a

In Supergirl: Being Super Canadian author Ms. Tamaki sets us in a "Friday Night Lights" community that reminds me an of apotheosis of Americana; a dream vision of flyover country.  Quite simply illustrator Joelle Jones is the worthiest exclusive find that the publisher DC has netted in a while.  Within comic books and graphic novels, her Supergirl is specific.  While Kara is well-built, the sensuality is not over-sold, which is refreshing for superhero comics.  I would have loved the angst-filled tone to drop off even more, as in the chapter "For All Seasons," in which the story is threadbare

Freddy is a young teen who is struggling with her friends, her job, and most importantly her relationship. The book makes you feel a connection with these characters very quickly so from the start you’re rooting for your favorite character. I was not disappointed by anything. The art was outstanding and the story was impeccable. I was extremely satisfied by the ending. Hard to imagine a better book.

The sixth anthology of short graphic novels, Flight Vol. 6 was a beautiful read. I found out about the series from a coworker who is well-versed in the graphic novel genre. Since all the books are anthologies, I did not feel the need to read the series in order. Furthermore, the sixth book was the only one available at my location, so it made my choice easy! For someone that has trouble reading graphic novels, this collection of short stories was perfect. The art styles varied greatly between selections, which made for an engaging read. Some of the stories were wordless, focusing on detailed

Kiss Number 8 tells us about all of the kisses that Mads (the main character) has had so far in her life. The book leads up to her kiss number eight. After that, the book continues to tell us how her life dramatically changed after kiss number eight. The most compelling aspect was how after she kissed one of her good friends that was a girl, and all her friends suddenly stopped hanging around her. I was never disappointed, and I thought this book was very good at connecting with teens.

I placed a hold on this book because of rave reviews without realizing the author , Jarrett J. Kroscozka, was known for his juvenile graphic novels about a Lunch Lady who fights crime and children's books Good Night, Monkey Boy and Peanut Butter and Jellyfish .  Hey, Kiddo How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father and Dealt with Family Addiction  is an honest and powerful depiction of his family and all its complications. When asked to draw a picture of his family in preschool, Jarrett was confused. Not only was his mom incarcerated for heroin related charges, but he had never met his father

Everyone knows Melinda is the freshman who called the cops on that summer party. She got some people arrested that night for underage drinking. But no one knows the real reason she called 911. That night, she was raped by an upperclassman, but hasn’t been able to tell anyone for fear that they won’t believe her. And now that she is a freshman in high school, she has been relentlessly bullied and suffered in her classes. The only class she enjoys is art class, where she can learn to express herself with a semester project. And as she learns to confront her attacker and start sharing her story

In her immigrant's memoir told in graphic novel form, Thi Bui explores the saga of her family's escape from Vietnam in the 1970's to the United States.

Her debut opens with the birth of her first child in 2005. Will she be a good mother? How is she different from her mother? What was her mother's experience? How was her mother shaped after losing family, her country? How did her father's childhood shape his fathering abilities? And how has her own experience as a refugee, coming to a country she had to assimilate into that she was culturally so different from, as well as being confronted

Everyone knows the story of the pied piper right? How a mysterious man came into town and lured away all the rats by playing his pipe. But the townspeople refused to pay him, so he stole away all the children that night and they were never seen again. Right? But this book tells a different story. One you never expected.

This graphic novel had such beautiful artwork! I thought this was such a creative idea for a book. It was executed very well, and the story was so original. It was an incredibly quick read. Only took me about an hour to read, but I still enjoyed this short and sweet story.

She is a mermaid. She has lived her entire life in an aquarium located on the boardwalk. She is the main attraction, but visitors can never catch more than a glimpse of her. She can’t walk or speak, but she can make friends with Livia, an ordinary girl, and yearn for life outside the water. She can grow stronger and braver, and with the help of her determination, a touch of magic and the help of a loyal octopus, she can do anything.

Fantasy and reality intersect in this mermaid tale. It was beautifully drawn, with a good story too.

A fun, middle grade novel, this did not take me long to

This book tells the story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father’s story and the death of his mother. This book follows the story of his father’s experiences in Poland and Auschwitz, as well as that of his entire family. It tells of the romance between his father and mother during this time and their struggles to stay together despite the circumstances. This book shows the relationship between the author and his father throughout. This graphic novel portrays the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats during the Holocaust.

This

Matt Wagner's comic Mage: The Hero Discovered, originally published from 1984 to 1986, is a personal work that also taps into universal stories and themes. The main character, Kevin Matchstick, is modeled on Wagner himself (in the sequel series, Mage: The Hero Defined, published 1997-1999, Kevin Matchstick's hairline has receded much like Wagner's has) and the depression he speaks of in the first issue is the frame of mind Wagner was in when he began the comic. But that's where real life ends and fantastic heroism begins.

Kevin Matchstick, lonely, angry, feeling unimportant in our world

This graphic memoir is a thoughtful examination of a young woman learning hard truths and trying to find love and support as she figures out what to do with them. Nicole Georges has always believed her father died of colon cancer when she was very young. But she suddenly learns as an adult that he never died at all and that the truth had been hidden by her mother her entire life. The title, Calling Dr. Laura, refers to Dr. Laura, one of the most popular talk show hosts in radio history. Nicole calls Dr. Laura hoping to get advice about whether she should confront her mother about the lie. At

The Haunting of Fabian Gray is a classic action and adventure story with some wonderful twists that are fitting for comics. The reader follows Fabian Gray, a treasure hunter, in search of his missing sister after a supernatural incident made her disappear and gave him special abilities.

Fabian Gray is torn, possessed by five ghosts: The Wizard (much like Merlin), The Archer (much like Robin Hood), The Detective (much like Sherlock Holmes), The Vampire (much like Dracula), and finally, The Samurai (much like, well, a samurai). He uses their spirits to enhance his own prowess. I enjoyed that

The pursuit of a set purpose by logical means is the way of tyranny; this is the vision of my creator. Of Ultron.

The pursuit of an unobtainable purpose by absurd means is the way of freedom; this is my vision of the future. Of our future.

Whoa. Wow.

On its face, Little Worse Than a Man appears to be a superhero comic. It's certainly a story about a superhero. But it's about a superhero trying not to be super, trying to live a normal life. More significantly, it's a story about an artificial intelligence trying to live a human life. Trying to be human. Trying to become human by

This concept is absolutely genius and the execution is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read.

A few years ago, Ethan Nicolle was playing with his five-year-old brother Malachai and decided it would be fun to take Malachai’s imagined play and illustrate it as a superhero comic. It all started when Malachai took a toy police officer and added a firefighter’s axe. They grabbed another figure and the nearest weapon-like implement at hand—a recorder, which led to Axe Cop’s first partner, Flute Cop—and went to chop off the heads of dinosaurs and other sundry bad guys.

In his book Killing

Surely you’ve read one of Agatha Christie's detective novels, or seen a movie, TV show or play based on one of her stories. At the very least you are familiar with the one the Guinness Book of World Records lists as THE best-selling novelist of all time – Agatha Christie. I recommend you take a little bit of time and learn more about her in this new graphic biography by the talented trio of Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau and Alexandre Franc.

Agatha: the Real Life of Agatha Christie begins with her planned “disappearance” in 1926, but you also learn about her childhood on the coast of

In this prequel to the great graphic classic, The Sandman, you learn how Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, ended up so weak and tired that he was able to be captured by mere humans. If you haven't read the original work, then really, go do that. Now. It's well worth your time. It will also help you to understand the magnitude of what is revealed in this.

If you have read the original work, then you will certainly recognize Morpheus' arrogance (which even he notices when faced with multiple aspects of himself), understand why it matters that he speaks to Delight, be shocked when there is