tomo kitaoka – The Hub

Mao, Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi
VIZ Media LLC
Publication Date: September 14, 2021
ISBN: 9781974720521

Nanoka Kiba is your average teenager except for a mysterious fatal car accident she had as a child. Curious and drawn to an abandoned shopping center, Nanoka finds herself spirited to the Taisho era, where she happens to be saved by a mysterious boy named Mao. When Nanoka returns to her time, she learns that she is not as normal as she first thought. Full of questions, Nanoka returns back to the Taisho era looking for answers but finds herself pulled into Mao’s mystical investigations. They realize they might share a supernatural connection as they look into these paranormal occurrences.

The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere by James Spooner
Mariner Books / HarperCollins
Publication Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN-13: 9780358659112

“Punk rock is Black music.”

James Spooner’s coming-of-age graphic memoir shows him navigating life as a biracial teen in 1990’s rural California. Here he grapples with figuring out who he is, not who people — his clueless white mother, his absent Black father, and his mostly prejudiced classmates, teachers, and community members — think he should be. Finding punk music and other Black punks helps him get closer to his true self. Set against a backdrop of an isolated desert community, The High Desert shows a Black teen wrestling with identity, racism, young love, and finding your voice through an alternative community.

Tag: tomo kitaoka

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of Mao, vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2023) Featured Review of The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere by James Spooner