Graphic Novels

From a scratchy nib pen to splatter from a toothbrush, author illustrator Matt Phelan describes the special quality he derives from using traditional media in this clip recorded at School Library Journal's Day of Dialog.

Nothing is quite as it seems in this spring’s graphic novels, from the bad science in Darryl Cunningham's How to Fake a Moon Landing to the reality-show superheroes in Tiger & Bunny. But there are some familiar faces as well, with a new Star Trek story, a graphic-novel version of Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon, and the return of the classic Disney game manga Kingdom Hearts. There’s plenty here to keep readers sprawled in their hammocks all summer long.

Dragging bags and bags of “goodies–” I mean books– around the Javits Center all day (in the first heat wave of the season no less!), probably means I’ll wake up with a charlie horse in the morning. I walked around the convention hall, concentrating on children’s book publishers, hoping to notice some sort of trend [...]

I was so tempted this week to go with the easy titles. BOOM! Studios is releasing an Adventure Time annual, and IDW is releasing the next issue in their My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic micro series, which features fan favorite Fluttershy. Archie Comics is concluding its Archie Meets Glee arc, and the Sonic the [...]

Sticky Dot Comics Free Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Recommended for ages 8 and up. At the end of February, Viz announced that it was launching a free all-ages app aimed at kids and families. The promise was to create an app where parents would feel comfortable allowing their children download and [...]

Tales of the S.S. Junky Star By the Fillbach Brothers First Comics; $6.99 Matthew and Shawn Fillbach have been making various kinds of science fiction comics for a while, from alien invasions (an oversimplified description that doesn’t do justice to the craziness of Maxwell Strangewell) to werewolves fighting vampires on the moon. They’re best known [...]

We love Jim Ottaviani’s science graphic novels here at Good Comics for Kids, and his latest one is a real treat. Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas, illustrated by Maris Wicks, is a delightful book that distills the story of the three women who went out and studied primates [...]

Li’l Jinx started out as a gag comic that ran in different Archie Comics publications; the one-page stories revolved around the rather strong-willed Jinx, her father, and a small coterie of friends. The comics were funny but not particularly deep. In writing the teen-age Jinx stories, J. Torres has kept the humor but given the [...]

So does this sound like something that could get the teen and tween comics fans you know into nonfiction? Sure it does.