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Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of Kaiju No. 8, Vols. 1 & 2 by Naoya Matsumoto

Kaiju No. 8, Vols. 1 & 2 by Naoya Matsumoto
Shueisha
Publication Date: Vol. 1: December 7, 2022, Vol. 2: April 5, 2022
ISBN: Vol. 1: 9781974725984, Vol 2: 9781974727148

When Kafka was a kid, he made a pact with his childhood friend, Mina, to one day join the military organization Japan Defense Force and kill as many Kaiju as possible to keep Japan safe from monsters. In the present, Mina is leading a division of the JDF and Kafka is a member of Kaiju Corpse Cleanup, having failed multiple military entry tests. However, a new rule means he has one more chance to join… the only thing stopping him now is that he also happens to be part Kaiju!

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of Pixels of You by Ananth Hirsh, Yuko Ota, and J.R. Doyle

Pixels of You by Ananth Hirsh, Yuko Ota and J.R. Doyle
Amulet Books
Publication Date: February 8, 2022
ISBN-13: 9781419749575

Pixels of You is a futuristic story about two photographers completing an internship at an art gallery. Indira, a human girl with a cybernetically augmented eye, and Fawn, an AI who appears human, don’t get along when they first meet. When their conflict leads to a public argument, their mentor assigns their final project to be a cooperative gallery show. Forced to work together on their photography, this is a short but sweet enemies-to-lovers story.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell and Deron Bennet

Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell and Deron Bennet
Young Animal / DC
Publication Date: November 16, 2021
ISBN-13: 9781779512055

Sojourner “Jo” Mullen is a new Green Lantern on a mission far from home, investigating a murder in The City Enduring, a sprawling metropolis that has known peace for 500 years due to the genetic suppression of all emotions. When one murder turns to two, Jo finds herself grasping for answers in a political, ethical, and corrupt quagmire. Can she stay one-step ahead of the forces blocking her path?

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers by Ken Krimstein

When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers by Ken Krimstein
Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: November 16, 2021
ISBN-13: 9781635573701

When hundreds of autobiographical essays of Yiddish teenagers written just before the start of WWII were discovered hidden in a Lithuanian church in 2017, author and illustrator Ken Krimstein selected six to highlight in this nonfiction graphic novel. With a somewhat chaotic and unfinished illustration style that emphasizes the unknown future these anonymous teenagers face, Krimstein uses the original text of the essays to portray the struggles and triumphs of the universal teenage experience.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of Graceling: The Graphic Novel by Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds

Graceling: The Graphic Novel by Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds
Etch / Clarion Books
Publication Date: November 16, 2021
ISBN-13: 9780358250470

Celebrated illustrator Gareth Hinds adapts Kristin Cashore’s high-fantasy YA classic, Graceling! Katsa was born graced with lethal fighting skills, put to brutal use by her king from a young age. Out on a mission, she crosses paths with a mysterious fighter, the first to ever come close to beating her in combat. The fight changes her, and a series of related events work to unravel the mundane life of servitude and violence Katsa has always known.