Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, October 17 Edition

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

Ascender, vol. 1: The Haunted Galaxy by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen
Image Comics
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1534313484

Picking up 10 years after the events of the Descender series, Andy and his daughter, Mila are living as outsiders on the planet Sampson. Instead of machines ruling the universe, now it’s magic from the vampire queen, known only as Mother. Mother has outlawed all technology and will destroy any tech and it’s owners she and her militia find. The UGC rebels still exist and Mother is determined to find them, especially after finding out that they too have magic now through a nameless mage. One afternoon in the forest, Bandit, Andy’s old robot dog, crash lands on Sampson, much to the surprise and delight of Andy (and Mila…who has never seen a robot before). Bandit’s arrival sets the militia after Andy and Mila and they must get off-planet as fast as possible, but where will they go and how will they get there?

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Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, April 25 Edition

Fence, vol. 2 by C.S. Pacat
Boom! Box
Publication Date: January 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1684152971

In the second volume of Fence, Nicholas Cox and Seiji Katamaya continue to be rivals in their quest to become members of the King’s Row fencing team. If Nicholas fails to earn a spot of the team, he will lose his scholarship and have to leave the prestigious boys school. Nicholas is against tough odds to make the team, and Seiji is just as cold and fierce as ever, quietly dominating his competition. Volume two takes us deeper into the tournament as we see how each fencer fares.

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#GGN2019 Nominees Round Up, October 4 Edition

Orphans, Vol. 1: The Beginning by Roberto Recchioni and Emiliano Mammucari
Lion Forge
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1942367178

When an energy beam strikes the Earth, it kills a sixth of the world’s population. It was clearly an act of war by an alien planet. A scientist and a colonel gather together many of the surviving orphaned children to turn them into soldiers to invade the alien planet. The training is difficult and not everyone will survive, but after several years, they have created an elite force of soldiers. When they invade the planet they find a strange alien life form that has the ability to appear out of nowhere and kill without the use of weapons. The reader follows six orphans, all from Spain, as they figure out what they are dealing with and how to survive in this harsh environment, while protecting each other too. Each of the three chapters in this volume go back and forth between the original devastation of Earth, the training camp and the current invasion.

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#GGN2019 Nominees Round Up, May 12 Edition

Silver Spoon, vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Yen Press
Publication Date: February 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0316416191

Yuugo Hachiken has always been great at academics. It surprises everyone when he decides to enroll in Ooezo Agricultural High School instead of a regular high school. Yuugo’s plan is to coast through high school, since an agricultural school must be easier than a regular academic school, right? Wrong! Instead of doing math problems, and reciting poetry, Yuugo’s waking up at 5AM to do chores, raise animals, and learn to ride a horse. All the other students have been doing farm work their entire lives, and Yuugo is playing catch up. Can this city boy adapt to farm life, and survive high school?

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2018 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

In case you missed it, The Great Graphic Novels for Teens list was recently announced! Check out the top ten below!

  • The Backstagers. By James Tynion IV. Illus. by Rian Sygh. 2017. BOOM! Studios, $14.99 (9781608869930). Jory, a new student at an all-boys school, feels left out of school life until he stumbles upon the backstage crew of the drama club and the mysterious tunnels they keep watch over.
  • Black Hammer, Volume 1: Secret Origins. By Jeff Lemire. Illus. by Dean Ormston. 2017. Dark Horse, $14.99 (9781616557867). Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Madame Dragonfly, and Barbalien are trapped! In their old lives they were superheroes, but because of a strange occurrence in their multiverse they are thrust into life in a rural town from which they cannot escape.
  • Brave. By Svetlana Chmakova. Illus. by the author. 2017. Yen Press, $11.00 (9780316363189). Jensen, a daydreaming artist obsessed with sunspots and NASA, navigates middle school, bullies and math!
  • I Am Alfonso Jones. By Tony Medina. Illus. by Stacey Robison and John Jennings. 2017. Tu Books, $18.95 (9781620142639). Fifteen year old Alfonso Jones is shot by the police while shopping for a suit, and his loved ones and classmates are left behind to address his death and the larger issue of police brutality.
  • Jonesy. By Sam Humphries. Illus. by Caitlin Rose Boyle. Jonsey’s superpower is that she can make anyone fall in love with anything… except herself!
    • v.1. 2016. BOOM! Studios, $9.99 (9781608868834).
    • v.2. BOOM! Studios, $14.99 (9781608869992).
    • v.3. BOOM! Studios, $14.99 (9781684150168).

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