graphic novel

Sixteen teenagers are brought to an arena to fight to the death...sound familiar?  Well, you haven't seen it like this before.  In Avengers Arena: Kill or Die, local author Dennis Hopeless puts a superhero spin on this twenty-first century trope, pitting a group of young superheroes-in-training against one another.  The puppet master in Kill or Die is a supervillain named Arcade, who apparently favors overly elaborate ways to kill his victims, but has perfected an environment designed to coerce these teens into killing one another.  Despite valiant attempts at alliance and nobility, Arcade's

Ramsey Beyer grew up in small town Michigan, dreaming of going to art school in a big city. Although she loved growing up in a rural area, she longed for the diversity and challenge of an urban life. So when it came time to apply to schools she looked for art schools in her favorite big cities, eventually settling on a well-respected institution in Baltimore.

With her freshman year of art school and a move to a big city looming ahead, Ramsey began to worry that she would miss her rural life. Between rigorous foundation classes and learning to live with roommates, Ramsey kept meticulous

Ever since she was little, Liz preferred jeans to dresses, action figures to dolls, and sports to dress-up. Adults and other kids told her this made her a tomboy. Seeing the way the mass media marketed to girls and told them how they should look and behave, Liz was fine with not falling into the “girly” category. But the tomboy label wasn’t easy to fit into either. Eschewed by girls who didn’t understand her jeans and baseball caps, and belittled by boys who didn’t want to play with a “girl” (especially in front of other boys), Liz had trouble finding her place. Navigating the rocky shoals of

The companion novel to Saints, this book looks at the same situation from a different angle. Little Bao has grown up reenacting his favorite Chinese operas and looking up to his father. When his father is hobbled by European colonists, Bao's older brothers take over the family, relegating Bao to the role of little brother. In secret he trains with a martial arts master, and quickly out paces his brothers. When colonists threaten his small village, Bao harnesses the power of an ancient Chinese emperor to fight against them.

Sharing the secret of his martial arts training, Bao gathers and army

Thank you, Roz Chast, for writing this book. And thank you for being so honest and providing us with a truer picture of what taking care of aging parents can really be like. And most of all, thank you for reminding us of the importance of finding some humor in the whole process.

Roz Chast, longtime cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine, has gifted us with a new graphic memoir about her experiences in helping her parents as they age, and of her thoughts and feelings at their eventual deaths when they are in their 90’s. While my own relationship with my parents was very different than hers

Four Girl is unwanted and unloved by her family. Seen as a demon-child, her family practically gives her up as a lost cause. Four girl, searching for acceptance discovers catholic missionaries near her small Chinese village. After one exceptionally harsh experience with her grandfather, Four runs into the forest and sees a vision of Jeanne D'Arc. As Four distances herself from her family, and grows closer to the missionaries visions of Jeanne come more often, offering peace and guidance.

When her family discovers that Four plans to convert to Catholicism, the beat her, and Four, now

In French Milk, Lucy Knisley writes about her experience living in Paris with her mother for six weeks. As a graphic artist, she draws brief scenes taken from her day—details of the food she eats, the markets she visits, and the art she sees. The story is simply a journal of her daily life. She also speaks about her insecurities about turning 22 and finding a job as an artist after graduation. The book is a simple read and her drawings and photographs are entertaining; however, the book is lacking in content and often centers on her complaints and anxieties about life. This book will resonate

Asterios Polyp is a self-assured, domineering, wind-bag of a paper architect. A paper architect being one “whose reputation rests on his designs, rather than on the buildings constructed from them. In fact, none of his designs had ever been built.”

When we meet Asterios, his Manhattan apartment, where he wallows in self-pity while riding out a mid-life crisis, has just burned to the ground. So he takes the last of his money, hops on a bus, and “give[s] up on the one thing [he] thought defined him.” And it “prove[s] to be a lot less difficult than [he] could have imagined.”

Asterious Polyp is

The smell of baking cookies brings back memories of mother's kitchen...Biting into a fresh tomato recalls the garden behind your childhood home...Watching the yellow powder and milk combine to create delicious macaroni and cheese reminds you of your first apartment. For author Lucy Knisley, as for many of us, food is a trip down memory lane. With a caterer mother and foodie father, her life has been defined and marked by some of the best (and worst food).

A graphic memoir, this book touches on the food that has shaped her life, from sushi visiting a childhood friend in Japan to the junk food

For years, Batman has protected Gotham City from the darkness that seeks to destroy it. Within this darkness is the Court of Owls, an urban legend that tells of a shadowy conspiracy ruling Gotham City for centuries. Now the Court has placed the Batman in its sights, to take back their city from the Caped Crusader. Can Batman, the Dark Knight, survive the maneuverings of the Court or will he watch Gotham burn around him?

I have read a lot of Batman comics over the years. Some have been pretty bad (I am looking at you Dark Knight Strikes Again), but there have been many good ones (try the The

I've been a Doctor Who fan since I was a kid (which was kind of a while ago). I love the classic series and I love the current show. A patron pointed me towards a recent Doctor Who graphic novel, The Forgotten. It features the Tenth Doctor (my favorite of the new series) and his companion Martha Jones (who I also love), but with "guest" appearances from all of the preceding Doctors. The Doctor and Martha wake up inside a museum, with no memory of how they got there and no clue as to where the TARDIS is. Things get stranger when they realize the museum is dedicated to the life and adventures of

Charlie and Nate have grown up on the same street. The two, forced into play-dates as children, could not be more different. Charlie, kind and a little shy, is the captain of the basketball team. Nate is the outspoken and geeky president of the robotics club. Although not even on the same social ladder, the two have always been on good terms...until now. When the school announces that the decision about funding the robotics club's trip to a national competition or new uniforms for the cheerleaders will be left up to the student council, Nate decides to run for Student Body President. When the

When David was eleven, a family friend noticed a bump in his neck. Three and a half years later he would finally have the lump removed. Despite being told he was fine, two surgeries left David with only one vocal chord and a huge scar down his throat and neck. It wasn’t until later that David would learn he had had cancer and had not been expected to live. Small, a well-deserved award winning illustrator possesses an almost creepy ability to convey complex emotions through his drawings. The story itself is remarkable and the illustrations serve to heighten the impact. A must read regardless of