Io Sakisaka – The Hub

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Nominations Round-Up, Fall

Great Graphic Novels Roundup Art — Due to the large number of nominees, not all titles are shown here. See full list below.

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These books have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.

The Apothecary Diaries, v.1. By Natsu Hyuuga. Art by Nekokurage. 2020. Square Enix Manga, $10.99 (9781646090709).

Maomao is a palace servant who was sold into service to the Emperor. After saving one of the Emperor’s heirs, she is promoted to food taster, where she is able to use her skills as an apothecary.

Artie and the Wolf Moon. By Olivia Stephens. Lerner Publishing Group / Graphic Universe, $16.99 (9781728420202).

Artie discovers that her mother is a werewolf and that she has abilities of her own. While attempting to discover what happened to her missing father, she comes across other supernatural enemies.

Asadora, v.3. By Naoki Urasawa. VIZ Media / VIZ Signature, $14.99 (9781974720118).

When she was young, Asa survived a devastating typhoon, but on the same day saw a mysterious footprint in the town where she lived with her family. Now older, Asa becomes involved in a mission to stop the creature who made the footprint.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley

My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers / Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 9780759555457

Childhood friends Megan and Cass, separated for years by a move, have reconnected for a summer adventure in New York City where Cass currently lives. Both are artists, but each have different ways of exploring and learning about art—rebellious Megan challenges Cass’s way of creative thinking and way of life. They collaborate on a personal art project that could bring them both to a new level of artistry, but is it too big of a step for them as artists and as friends?

A coming-of-age tale with an artistic flair, My Last Summer with Cass brushes all the right strokes of the challenge of growing up and sometimes growing apart. Going off to college always creates that complication, and the question of saving versus giving up on a childhood friendship is one that all teens can end up relating to. The soft and subtle coloring beautifully complements and elevates the expressive artwork. This is a heartfelt tale about standing up for yourself, even if sometimes the person you have to stand up to is you.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of The Hazards of Love, v.1: Bright World by Stan Stanley

The Hazards of Love, v.1: Bright World by Stan Stanley
Oni Press
Publication: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 9781620108574

The Hazards of Love is a fantastical cautionary tale of why you should never make a deal with a magical cat. Amparo is a known delinquent and is facing suspension for pulling the fire alarm at their school. To make matters worse, they have a crush on lolanthe, a straitlaced and rule-abiding student. Enter a magical cat with a solution to their problem. Instead of fulfilling the promise of making Amparo a “good person,” the scheming cat takes over their body and then imprisons Amparo’s soul in a strange place called Bright World. Bright World is full of unusual, brutish, and dangerous human-animal crossbreeds that feed off human memories, slowly turning them into mindless zombies before finally eating their bodies. Amparo must use their quick wits to escape and return home but soon finds themselves in thrall to a black deer named El Ciervo.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of Cells at Work! Baby, vol. 1 by Yasuhiro Fukuda and Akane Shimizu (original creator)

Cells at Work! Baby, vol. 1 by Yasuhiro Fukuda and Akane Shimizu (original creator)
Kodansha Comics / Kodansha USA
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
ISBN: 9781646512027

Cells at Work! Baby is a very cute spinoff of the Cells at Work! manga which turns the body’s cells into fun and quirky characters and takes the reader on a fun and informative journey of all the work it takes to keep a body healthy and functioning. In Cells at Work! Baby, the characters have all been reimagined as younger, more child-like versions of the characters found in the original and focuses specifically on the journey of what happens in a baby’s body during and after pregnancy. There are plenty of adventures to be had, and the book adds in real-life complications that might happen during childbirth and in infancy, including fluid in the lungs, a norovirus invasion, and heat rash—which brings another beloved character from the original into the story.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Nominations Round-Up, Spring

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These are titles that have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.

Alienated. By Simon Spurrier. Art by Chris Wildgoose. 2020. BOOM! Studios. $19.99 (9781684155279).

Three teenagers named Sam (Samuel, Samantha, and Samir) encounter an alien with incredible powers that bonds to them. But will they use those powers for good or for evil?

Asadora!, v.1. By Naoki Urasawa. VIZ Media / VIZ Signature. $14.99 (9781974717460).

A storm sweeps into Nagoya, and young Asadora—with the help of unlikely friends—must find a way to rescue her family. But there’s more to the storm than just rain and wind as Asa soon discovers.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of Ghosted in L.A., Vol. 2-3 by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan, and Cathy Le

Ghosted in L.A., vol. 2–3 by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan, and Cathy Le
BOOM! Box / BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: September 1, 2020; December 29, 2020
ISBN: 9781684155415, 9781684156047

In the second and third volumes of Ghosted in L.A., college student Daphne adjusts to her new home with the ghosts of Rycroft Manor. On top of school work and navigating relationships with her ghost roommates, she also must deal with sinister forces both inside and outside the house. Meanwhile, her gay ex-boyfriend Ronnie joins the Rycroft crew and tries to fit in among the other queer students at college. These worlds collide in the culmination of the series, which wraps up tidily in the third and final volume.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2021) Nominees Round Up, November 12 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang Book Cover — Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
First Second / Macmillan
Publication Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 9781626720794

Life can be more riveting than fiction, and Dragon Hoops proves that with a stellar biographical look at Gene Luen Yang’s true story of the phenomenal men’s varsity basketball team at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, CA, where he previously worked. Intermixed with his own life story as a comic book creator, father, and a teacher, Yang shares his love for storytelling and presents it under a new light in this gripping play-by-play of the 2015 season of the Bishop O’Dowd Dragons as they attempt to win it all in the California State Championship.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2021) Nominees Round Up, July 10 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Love Me, Love Me Not, vol. 1–3 by Io Sakisaka
VIZ Media
Publication Date: March 3, May 5, and July 7, 2020
ISBN: 9781974713097, 9781974713103, 9781974713110

When Akari moves into Yuna’s apartment building just as they begin high school, they become fast friends, but their friendship is tested when they learn they navigate crushes and relationships differently. Yuna is a cautious romantic who loves shojo manga and believes in predestined love. Akari is more practical and prefers to date before falling in love. Akari thinks Yuna might do well to date her longtime friend Kazuomi, but Yuna falls hard and fast for Akari’s stepbrother Rio. The plot thickens when Yuna learns that Rio is secretly in love with Akari—their parents are only recently married—and Akari starts to develop feelings for Kazuomi. Is everyone going to end up with a broken heart?

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, June 20 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

By Night, Volumes 1 & 2 written by John Allison and illustrated by Christine Larsen and Sarah Stern
Boom! Box
Publication Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1684152827

In Volume 1, we meet Jane and Heather who used to be high school besties, but after a falling out have found themselves finding each other again where they grew up in Spectrum, South Dakota. What starts out as a casual hang session at the bar turns into a multi-dimensional travel journey that will either bring Jane and Heather together, drive them apart or keep them together forever…in another dimension!

Continue reading Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, June 20 Edition

Women in Comics: Manga

For March, rather than focusing on a specific genre, I thought I would take a look at a wide range of manga created by women. Though I think many readers assume that most of the top manga creators are men, in fact there are a number of famous and important works created by women. Here are just a few examples.

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa – Featuring two main characters, one with a prosthetic arm and leg and the other a disembodied soul in a metal body, Fullmetal Alchemist is a fun series set in a world where alchemy offers practitioners the ability to transform the world around them, but not without a price. The story offers a perfect combination of a steampunk setting, compelling characters, humor, and adventure. Told over the course of 10 volumes, the story is one that has gone on to spawn two anime series, video games, and a series of Japanese novels. This is a great manga for serious manga fans and new readers alike. Continue reading Women in Comics: Manga