Graphic Novels
Nimona
by ND Stevenson
Bibliographic Information
Author ND Stevenson
ISBN 9780606375962
Publication Date 2015
Publisher Harper Collins
Physical Description 266 pp : color illustrations; 24 cm
Subject Term Young adult fiction/Comics & Graphic Novels/Fantasy
Plot Summary
Upon entering the supervillain Lord Blackheart's secret lair, Nimona immediately makes a unique first impression: though she is silly and brash, she is also an incredible shapeshifter, having the ability to morph into a multitude of creatures. After seeing her impressive powers, Lord Blackheart enlists her as his honorary sidekick, with the caveat that she not harm any civilians/innocents. Nimona convinces Lord Blackheart to fight against the Institute of Law Enforcement and Heroics, the government entity who make all the rules and dictates who is bad vs. who is good in their society. Leading the charge for the Institute is the hero Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, an old friend and acquaintance of Blackheart. A bad falling out between the two friends took place years ago, and Lord Blackheart's mission is to defeat him once and for all. Upon finding damning information about the Institute's true intentions, Nimona and Lord Blackheart team up to convince everyone of the facts, including the hard-headed Sir Goldenloin, before it's too late.
Critical Evaluation
This graphic novel by ND Stevenson is comprised of eleven chapters, the tone of the first few being more lighthearted and silly. As the story progresses, the chapters and content become deeper and more thought-provoking. One of the most important themes throughout the novel is Nimona's shapeshifting ability; by constantly becoming somebody/something else, Nimona is able to mask who she really is. In relation to Nimona and the idea of her shapeshifting, author ND Anderson said, “It’s the pressure to fit in or take on a form that people understand the easiest and will let you move through the world more easily. But that’s not actually easier if you are the kind of person who needs to express yourself in this way. I think for the first time, I was able to talk about that.” ND Anderson is a queer writer and there is also a sense of the shapeshifting attribute Nimona has as an allegory for the trans experience.
Another theme present in the book is the idea of who/what is good and who/what is bad in society. As dictated by the Institute of Law Enforcement and Heroics, Lord Blackheart is the supervillain and Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin is the hero, in which they both actively participate in their roles. Through the course of the graphic novel, the reader observes that not everything is at is appears to be and that there are gray areas between what the ideas of "good" and "evil" are. The story is told in third person perspective, thus the audience is able to read and observe the different characters and motivations leading up to decisions that are made for better or worse.
Reader's Annotation
When Nimona, a spunky teen shapeshifter meets the villainous Lord Blackheart, chaos is sure to reign supreme. But things aren't always as they appear when archetypal roles get turned on their heads after learning about The Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics' nefarious plans.
About the Author
ND Stevenson is an American cartoonist and animation producer. He is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the animated show She-Ra and the Princess of Power (2018-2020). He is well-known for the graphic novel Nimona, as co-writer of the comic series Lumberjanes, and his autobiographical collection The Fire Never Goes Out. Stevenson mentioned Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, The Prince of Egypt, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Lord of the Rings, and Project Runway as childhood and adolescent influences. He attended and graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2013.
During his junior year in college, Stevenson created the character of Nimona as part of a class assignment. He began creating a webcomic around the character and quickly was signed with a literary agent who found the comic online. Stevenson won Slate Magazine's 2012 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Web Comic of the Year and the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint. He was also named a 2015 National Book Award Finalist for the graphic novel version of Nimona. In 2019, his show She-Ra and the Princess of Power was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming along with a Daytime Emmy Award. (Adapted from his Wikipedia page).
Genres
Graphic novel, fantasy fiction, humor
Booktalking Ideas
Show the movie trailer for Nimona from Netflix. Give a short summary of the graphic novel with printouts of major characters for students and discuss the idea of good vs. evil and how there can be gray areas.
Reading Level
13+
Challenge Issues
Violence, torture, murder, language
Why I Chose This Book
This graphic novel is a National Book Award Finalist which mixes fantasy and humor to create an entertaining, page turning read.
Flamer
by Mike Curato
Bibliographic Information
Author Mike Curato
ISBN 9781627796415
Publication Date 2020
Publisher Henry Holt and Company
Physical Description 366 pp : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm
Subject Term Graphic novel, young adult fiction/comics and graphic novels/LGBT
Plot Summary
Fourteen year old Aiden Navarro is at a Boy Scout summer camp before his transition into entering the scary world of high school. At summer camp, he feels a sense of respite away from all of the teasing at his Catholic middle school and his parents fighting nonstop. Aiden is not openly gay, but has always felt "different" and this is amplified by the constant teasing from others about his sexual orientation. Aiden develops feelings for his tentmate, Elias, and grapples with how his feelings towards boys grapples with his Catholic faith. He opens up to his one main friend from middle school, Violet, about what has been going on at camp through letters, but has to wait for the responses; the story takes place in 1995, hence no cell phones. As his feelings continue to develop for Elias, a situation happens that makes Aiden question life and the role he plays in it.
Critical Evaluation
For young people who are struggling with “feeling different,” which, if we are honest, is every young person, this graphic novel speaks truth to their experience and offers up hope. Flamer is composed of 366 pages, but the pace along with illustrations moves the story along quickly. The main themes revolve around toxic masculinity, self-love, and acceptance; Mike Curato excels at using both the written word and illustrations to convey Aiden’s emotions, thoughts, and fears. The colors in the illustrations are mostly grays, blacks, and whites; Curato uses reds and oranges on certain pages that relate to strong emotions/fears for Aiden which makes the illustrations really stand out and hold significant meaning. The setting takes place at a boy scout summer camp in the year 1995; this is an important aspect of the story, especially with the anti-gay rhetoric and legislature that was prevalent at the time.
This book is a work of fiction, but Mike Curato inserted his own personal experiences into the content. Per Curato, “Like my character Aiden, I felt overwhelmed by this culture of hatred” (p. 364). One of the major symbols present in the novel is the Phoenix (both animal and Jean Grey from X-Men); Aiden relates to her character, wants to be like her, and, by the end of the novel, she is represented as his soul when discussing holding onto hope, even in the worst situations. Giving Aiden motivation to not give up on life, the fiery soul says, “Even if ALL of them were to forsake you…you are enough” (p. 324). In the afterword by Curato, he reiterates the idea of keeping hope alive: “And there is light in you, even if you can’t see it” (p. 364).
Reader's Annotation
Fourteen year old Aiden Navarro has always felt "different" than other boys and, when at his Boy Scout summer camp before his transition to high school, he learns the hard way about self-discovery, self-acceptance, and to be true to who he is, even in the face of adversity.
About the Author
Mike Curato is a Filipino-American writer and illustrator of children's and young adult books. His graphic novel, Flamer, won a 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Young Adult and the 2021 Massachusetts Book Award for Middle Grade/Young Adult. He received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Syracuse University before moving to Seattle to pursue graphic design work. He is the author and illustrator of Little Elliott. His debut title, Little Elliott, Big City (2014) won several awards including the HuffPost's Best Picture Books: Most Charming Award, and has been translated in over 10 languages.
He now has five books in the Little Elliot series. Mike has also illustrated various books including All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle and Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian. Mike also had the pleasure of contributing his talent to such works as What's Your Favorite Color? by Eric Carle and Friends and Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song. Publisher's Weekly named Mike a "Fall 2014 Flying Start." That same year, he won the Society of Illustrator's Original Art Show Founder's Award.
Genres
Graphic novel, semi-autobiographical, LGBTQIA+, coming of age
Booktalking Ideas
Go over a basic outline of some events in the 1990s, with a focus on anti-gay policies like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the "Defense of Marriage Act." Open up discussion on how, after learning about some of these policies, people would be more apprehensive to be openly out.
Reading Level
14+
Challenge Issues
Self-harm, same-sex attraction, sexual content, language, racism, domestic violence
Why I Chose This Book
After reading this book for class, I immediately wished I had read it while I was a teenager. Mike Curato does a fantastic job of articulating the thoughts that many teens aren't able to formulate themselves when working through complex issues.
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman
Bibliographic Information
Author Art Spiegelman
ISBN 9780808598534
Publication Date 1986
Publisher Pantheon Books
Physical Description 159 pp : chiefly illustrations; 23 cm
Subject Term Holocaust survivors - US - biography - comic books, strips, etc.
Plot Summary
Maus begins with the author, Art Speigelman, interviewing his father about his experiences during WWII. His father, Vladek, discusses his life as a young man and how he and his wife, Anja, met. After the two marry, they have a son; Anja gets a really bad case of post-partum depression and goes to a sanitarium for three months. Vladek gets a draft letter to serve in the Polish army which he does. Vladek gets taken by German soldiers and made to carry wounded Nazis. Vladek ends up back in Poland afterward and reunites with his family. While he was gone, he learned about the Nazis progressively taking over, running Jews out of their homes. When the Nazis begin rounding up Jews to be taken to Auschwitz, Vladek and his family go into hiding and are able to stay hidden for a good amount of time, relying on Polish friends and neighbors to assist them. With so many Jews being found out and taken to Auschwitz, the Speigelman's do their best to stay under the radar.
Critical Evaluation
Maus Vol. 1 is split into six chapters with titles for each. Before the table of contents, there is a prologue where Art Speigelman is crying to his father about how his friends skated away without him and his father replies, "If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week...then you could see what it is, friends!..." (Speigelman, 1986, p. 6). The graphic novel alternates between the present (Art interviewing and interacting with his father) and the past (Vladek's telling of past events), which is also a large theme throughout the book. The idea of the past impacting the present affects Vladek in numerous ways (making sure all the food is eaten off peoples' plates, saving and hording items, being overly frugal with money). Anja's past trauma affected her to such a degree that she committed suicide, unable to cope with what had happened and unsure of how to navigate through life.
Art Speigelman depicts different people in Maus as anthropomorphic animals (Jews are mice, Poles are pigs, Nazis are cats, Americans as dogs). This symbolizes the idea of what it means to be human. The atrocities that happened during the Holocaust were the least humane thing a person could do to another person, thus by symbolizing the Nazis as cats and the Jews as mice, Speigelman was showing how people viewed the Jewish people as vermin and less than human. Cats are naturally one of the main predator's of mice, so Speigelman used that illustration to show how the mice (Jews) can be seen as disposable. Masks are also used in the graphic novel, specifically when the Jews are pretending to be Poles (mice pretending to be pigs) in order to pass by the seeing eyes of the Nazi scouts.
Reader's Annotation
In documenting his father's past experience during WWII, Art Speigelman learns the lengths his family will go to to survive being Jewish in Poland during the Nazi regime's rise to power.
About the Author
Art Speigelman is a cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his novel Maus. He began his career with Topps, a bubblegum and trading card company, in the mid- 1960s. He co-created Wacky Packages in the 1960's and Garbage Pail Kids in the 1980's. His book, Maus, took 13 years to create until its completion in 1991. In 1992 it won a special Pulitzer Prize and has gained a reputation as a pivotal work. Speigelman is an advocate for greater comics literacy.
He is married to designer and editor Francoise Mouly and is the father of Nadja Speigelman. In September 2022, The National Book Foundation announced that he would receive the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Speigelman uses both old and new fashioned tools when drafting ideas for comics, at times working with paper on a drafting table while at others he draws directly onto his computer using a digital pen and electronic drawing tablet. He has won awards dating from 1982's Playboy Editorial Award for Best Comic Strip to 2020's The Great Immigrant's Award by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Genres
Graphic novel, history, biography, memoir
Booktalking Ideas
Show an interview with Art Speigelman discussing Maus. Discuss why Art depicts people as animals in the graphic novel and how that is an important motif throughout.
Reading Level
13+
Challenge Issues
Nudity, language, violence, suicide, smoking
Why I Chose This Book
I remember after reading Maus, I had so many different emotions to the atrocities that happened to Jewish people and how the book made me think for days afterwards. Teens need to read this book because of how well written and personal Speigelman addresses the hard issues of humanity's past.
Wires and Nerve Volume I
by Marissa Meyer
Bibliographic Information
Author Marissa Meyer
ISBN 9781250078278
Publication Date 2017
Publisher Feiwel & Friends
Physical Description 238 pp : illustrations ; 22 cm
Subject Term Androids - comic books, strips, etc.
Plot Summary
Iko, an android from Luna, goes on a mission to Earth to hunt down wolf-hybrid soldiers who were created by the previous queen of Luna in the battle against humans. After the death of the previous queen, peace between Earth and Luna has been progressing with Cinder being crowned the new queen. With the help of Cress, Carswell, and Kinney, Iko uses the spaceship, Rampion, to go to Earth and find any renegade wolf-hybrid soldiers, tranquilize them, and bring them back to Luna. When a celebration in honor of Carswell Thorne's heroic assistance in defeating the evil queen is underway on Earth, the wolf-hybrid creatures attempt to kill the heroes present as a way to get back at the civilization that experimented and turned them into mutants. This is the first volume in the Wires and Nerve graphic novel series.
Critical Evaluation
The first observation I noted about the graphic novel is how aesthetically pleasing the color scheme is along with the amazing artistry by Doug Holgate. The cover of the book is predominantly in shades of blue with oranges interspersed throughout; orange is found on Iko's shawl, fire, and in the eyes of the wolf-hybrid creatures. Inside the graphic novel, the only colors are various shades of blue and black; I had a pleasant reading experience looking through the book and appreciated that the pages weren't saturated in overwhelmingly bright colors. Before getting into the first chapter, the author included an epilogue telling the events of what previously happened in the Lunar Chronicles series; I had to look up the author and the series to make sure that I was reading the first volume since the plot had the reader jump right into the meat of the story after a short introduction. The graphic novel is split into seven chapters and is separated in-between with a page full of stars.
The characters in the story have great relationships and dialogue/banter with each other, especially the "romantic tension" between Iko and Kinney. One of the prevalent themes I picked up after reading this book was the idea of what makes a human a human; Iko is an android who is preprogrammed with emotion chips, etc., but she genuinely feels, as did I, that she truly experiences love and other emotions we as humans go through. Juxtaposed to Iko are the wolf-hybrids who are also man-made and didn't have a choice in the matter when they were experimented on by the previous evil queen of Luna. I felt bad for their characters since they were previously poor humans from the village taken for experimentation and have lost everything, including their humanity. Instead of living to the best of their abilities, the wolf-hybrids focus on getting revenge for the cards they've been dealt by going after and killing the "heroes" who overturned the evil queen; they can't kill the queen themselves since she's already dead.
Reader's Annotation
After the defeat of the evil queen of Luna, Iko and her friends must hunt down and bring back the wolf-hybrid soldiers attacking humans on Earth before the renegade pack hunts down each of the soldiers in their quest for revenge.
About the Author
Marissa Meyer is an author whose focus is largely centered on fairy tale retellings. She is best known for her series the Lunar Chronicles, which began in 2012 with Cinder. She earned her Bachelors in Creative Writing and Children's Literature from Pacific Lutheran University and later earned her Masters in Publishing from Pace University. Before writing her debut novel, Cinder, she wrote Sailor Moon fan fiction under the pen name Alicia Blade. She was inspired to write Cinder after participating in the 2008 National Novel Writing Month contest in which she wrote a story about a futuristic Puss in Boots.
In 2020 she released a stand alone rom-com novel titled Instant Karma, which was optioned for HBO Max in 2021. Since 2020, she has hosted a podcast called The Happy Writer with Marissa Meyer. The Lunar Chronicles is a four book series based on famous fairytale stories including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. As of 2015, the series has sold over 651,000 copies and the rights to them was optioned by Locksmith Animation for film in 2022. Her newest book, The Happy Writer, will release January 28, 2025. (Adapted from Marissa Myer's Wikipedia page).
Genres
Graphic novel, dystopian science fiction, fantasy, romance
Booktalking Ideas
Show some of the artwork done by Doug Holgate. Discuss the story leading up to Wires and Nerve and introduce the characters and setting.
Reading Level
12+
Challenge Issues
Violence, language
Why I Chose This Book
I wanted to have a science fiction graphic novel in my mix since I noticed that the genre wasn't prominent in my blog thus far; I feel like this book is a great gateway into science fiction for teens who aren't as well read in the genre.
Akane-banashi, Vol. 1
by Yuki Suenaga
Bibliographic Information
Author Yuki Suenaga
ISBN 9781974736485
Publication Date 2023
Publisher VIZ Media LLC
Physical Description 198 pp : illustrations ; 19 cm
Subject Term Rakugo - comic books, strips, etc.
Plot Summary
Akane-banashi follows Akane Arakawa, a young teenager who is obsessed with mastering the art of rakugo (Japanese verbal storytelling). When Akane was young, she would watch her father, Shinta, practice rakugo by himself, in which he would tell the story and use different, exaggerated voices for the characters and narration he was performing. When her father gets expelled from the famous rakugo school after an examination, Akane becomes even more obsessed with mastering the art and proving to everybody how amazing her father is and thus the legacy he is leaving behind in her. After the sad event, Akane meets up with her father's formal teacher and begins taking informal lessons for six years. When the teacher, Shiguma Arakawa, gives Akane her first gig, she does a fantastic job, but gets overshadowed by the main event performer Kaisei Arakawa, and, after the show, she convinces the teacher to take her on as a pupil. Under the tutelage of Kyoji Arakawa, Akane learns what it truly means to be a rakugoka.
Critical Evaluation
This book, like other manga, reads from right to left starting in the upper right corner, which took some getting used to since I'm not well read in the genre. The manga is split into seven "stories" (chapters) told primarily from Akane Arakawa's perspective, with the exception of the first chapter following her father's failed experience in rakugo. All of the art in the novel is black and white, with no color throughout. The artist, Takamasa Moue, infuses the characters with great, overexaggerated facial expressions, especially for when the performers are on stage telling the stories. I particularly liked the art style for Kaisei Arakawa when he is performing rakugo transitioning between "sultry" and "silly."
I appreciated that Yuki Suenaga included, at the end of the manga, directions and visuals on how to read the book correctly along with a couple pages with detailed information regarding what rakugo is; as someone who didn't have any knowledge on the art form, I liked the inclusion of this information. Akane's raw talent at copying how others perform rakugo is impressive, but I liked what Mamoru Mikuriya told her regarding how to be considerate of others which helps in the performance overall: "If you want people to enjoy your story, first you need to understand what they enjoy. Focus on the other person rather than putting yourself out first and foremost...And if you fail, that's all right (Suenaga, 2022).
Reader's Annotation
Teenager Akane Arakawa has always obsessed about the ancient art of rakugo and when her father gets expelled from the rakugo school after failing an important exam, she makes it her mission to show everyone that her father's legacy lives on in the ultimate performer, herself.
About the Author
Yuki Suenaga previously published the one shot "Tatarashido" in 2021 in Weekly Shonen Jump. Akane-banashi is their first serialized title. The manga began its run in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2022 and won third place in the print manga category at the eighth Next Manga Awards in 2022. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America. Akane-banashi has received a positive reception from viewers and has been nominated for various awards. This was all the information I was able to find about the author; there is no Wikipedia page, so I took information from the "About the author" section at the front of the manga and the Akane-banashi Wikipedia page. (Adapted from Akane-banashi Wikipedia page).
Genres
Manga, coming-of-age, comedy, drama
Booktalking Ideas
Play a YouTube video of someone performing rakugo (in English). Discuss the ancient artform and how it relates to the plot of the manga.
Reading Level
12+
Challenge Issues
Rebellion
Why I Chose This Book
I included a manga that was on a top ten ALA list for graphic novels; not only is it very visually appealing, but teens will also learn about rakugo (which I knew nothing about before reading).
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