Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of Wicked Things by John Allison and Max Sarin

Cover Art

Wicked Things by John Allison and Max Sarin
BOOM! Box / BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 9781684156061

Everyone’s favorite supernatural detective, Lottie Grote, is back and ready to show the world who the best detective is! Fresh from her time in John Allison’s Giant Days and Bad Machinery series, Lottie is now 19 years old and wanting to start her dream life off right. She’s on her way to Oxford, ready to be on her own, and on top of that, she’s finally being recognized for her years of stellar detective work by being nominated for the National Solver’s Teen Detective of the Year Award. But, things go horribly awry when Charlotte is framed for attempted murder at the very awards ceremony where she was going to wow them all. Her choice: go to jail or join up with the local police to try and clear her name. She decides she’ll show them all just how talented of a detective she really is or maybe just how well she can fix everyone a nice cuppa.

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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.

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Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen by Matt Fraction & Steve Lieber

The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the field nomination form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination. 

Each week, the teams will feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation will be listed as well. At year’s end, the team will use that list of nominated titles to select a final list and Top Ten. The previous years’ lists are also made available on The Hub.


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Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber 
DC Comics
Publication Date: October 27, 2020 
ISBN: 9781779504623

Iconic sidekick Jimmy Olsen is the focus of this comedic limited series. Jimmy is a Pulitzer award-winning photographer, a member of one of the oldest and richest families in Metropolis, and also a goofy content creator for the Daily Planet‘s website whose antics keep the newspaper in the black. However, when one of his stunts ends up destroying a major landmark, he becomes embroiled in a mystery. After an assassin “kills” his decoy body, Jimmy goes into hiding to try and solve his own murder. 

This is an offbeat, fast-paced comic with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments anchored by an interesting mystery. It definitely helps for readers to have some familiarity with DC comics and the history of Superman, but Jimmy’s shenanigans both reference his classic stories with odd transformations and include more modern hijinks (especially acting as “irresponsible blogger Timmy Olsen” while undercover in Gotham). The artwork and coloring feels like a classic Silver Age comic and is accessible and full of visual humor.

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Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, September 19 Edition

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

Ronin Island, vol. 1 by Greg Pak and Giannis Milonogiannis
Boom! Studios
Publication Date: December 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1684154593

In Feudal times, on an island off the China Sea, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese refugees live harmoniously together after the great wind that left their lands and families devastated. Japanese Kenishi, the descendant of a great samurai, is graduating from his warrior training along with his chief rival, Hana, a Korean orphan. Though Kenishi and Hana are at odds when it comes to just about everything, they must learn how to work together when an emissary of the new Shogun demands fealty from the island and support in fighting an even greater threat to both the peaceful island as well as the entire mainland.

Continue reading Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, September 19 Edition

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

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, May 2 Edition

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Illustrated by Renee Nault
Nan A. Talese/Doubleday / Penguin Random House
Publication Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-0385539241

In a dystopian near-future, fertile women are enslaved for their reproductive abilities by wealthy families in the newly formed Republic of Gilead. One such woman, named June but now called Offred, clings to her memories of her previous life in rebellion and finds ways to keep her own identity alive within the oppressive structure of her new life.

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Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2020) Nominees Round Up, April 11 Edition

Man-Eaters, Vol. 1, written by Chelsea Cain and illustrated by Kate Niemczyk and Lia Miternique
Image Comics
March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1534311435

In the future, girls exposed to toxoplasmosis from their pet cats turn into flesh-eating wildcats when they get their period. Maude is twelve. As her detective dad investigates a series of strange mauling attacks, Maude worries she may be the killer.

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#GGN2019 Nominees Round Up, November 8 Edition

The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: September 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-328-81015-1

Don Brown’s latest graphic novel gives a basic description of the war in Syria that has caused millions of Syrians to flee the country and become refugees in neighboring countries and Europe along with the war’s political, geographic, and cultural implications. Through quotes from refugees the book shows how they have suffered in their home country and how they are suffering as refugees in other countries. Resources include a thorough bibliography and footnotes.

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OUTspoken: Teen Graphic Novels for Pride Month

Though Pride month recently wrapped up, the need for these titles lasts all year. These positive, inclusive graphic novels span many genres (contemporary, fantasy, mystery, memoir) and include LGBTQia* characters just going about their business, whether that be going to school, finding love, solving crimes, rescuing princesses, or reaping souls. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list – add your favorites in the comments below!

*lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, asexual

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Women in Comics: 2016 Eisner Award Nominations

eisnerawards_logo_13It’s that time of year again! The 2016 Eisner Award nominations have been announced and the list includes a ton of great female creators. So many, in fact, that there are too many for a single post. Rather than try to talk about all of these great comics, this post focuses on the nominees that will have the greatest appeal among teens and other fans of young adult literature.

BandetteBandette by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover has once again earned a double nomination in both Best Digital/Webcomic and Best Continuing Series. This is an extremely fun series that follows a thief with a heart of gold on her adventures. Two volumes are currently available, Presto! (which was on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels 2014 list) and Stealers Keepers! Also on the list for a second year in a row is Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona, which is nominated in the Best Graphic Album-Reprint. This one also qualifies for the currently ongoing 2016 Hub Challenge, so check it out now if you are participating!

Squirrel GirlAlso nominated in the Best Continuing Series category is Giant Days by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Max Sarin, a series that follows a group of friends through their lives at college. The irreverent and off-beat stories are hugely entertaining and have so far been collected in two volumes. For more college adventures, but with a superhero twist, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson, which was nominated for Best New Series, follows Doreen Green as she tries to balance her life as a secret superhero with college life.

SuperMutant Magic AcademyThis year’s nominees in both the Best Publication for Kids (9-12) and the Best Publication for Teens (13-17) include a wealth of great titles by women, all of which are well worth checking out. Of particular note, Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola with art by Emily Carroll is an updated take on the Baba Yaga folk tale and is sure to appeal to those who enjoy creepy artwork and a modern take on familiar stories. Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova is also a great book that will have wide appeal. It tells the universal story of trying to fit in and make friends at a new school. Fans of This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki will also be excited to see that Jillian Tamaki’s newest work, SuperMutant Magic Academy has been nominated. These offbeat comics are all set at a boarding school that is slightly reminiscent of Hogwarts, but even more weird and hilarious.

silent_voice_1In the category of Best U.S. Edition of International Material-Asia, both A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima and A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori made the list. These series have both earned YALSA recognition in the past as well and should definitely be in your Manga collection. As an added bonus, A Silent Voice qualifies for the 2016 Hub Challenge, so you have no excuse not to start reading it now! Continue reading Women in Comics: 2016 Eisner Award Nominations