Colour, design, drama!
We have a broad spectrum of new titles from the world of Graphic Fiction in the Library this month: some classic, some controversial, some contemplative...and others just plain silly!
The designs are all completely different. We have the 1980s neon superhero, sepia, shadows and noir, disney-style animation, sci-fi chrome and mechanics, edgy anime influenced hipster art, cartoons, realism and manga, phew!
Whatever your taste, you are bound to be entertained.
If you have never tried it, add one to your summer reading selection and see what you think.
Alone by Chaboute
There is a secret in the Lighthouse....this book is an existential comedy with cinematic suspense. Unputdownable from start to finish.
Aquaman by Peter David
A 1993 DC Comics blast from the past. This book is an action-packed fantasy of cheesy superhero vintage proportions.
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
A sensitive disney-style rendering of Deborah Ellis' original novel, The Breadwinner. An emotive story of a family of women in tretcherous, Taliban-ruled, Afghanistan who are threatened with starvation when the father is arrested for illegally possessing books.
Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye by Gerard Way
A science-fiction, noiresque action-fest of a book. Funny and passionately designed with amazing use of the red/pink colour spectrum. It's about family, loss and searching for meaning.
Challengers of the Unknown by Jeff Loeb
Another retro style DC 1960s comic strip design from the super-pairing of artists Jeph Loeb (Batman, Daredevil) and Tim Sale (Batman, Superman).
Dead Boy Detectives by Toby Litt
Highly macabre series that started in 2001. The main characters are the ghosts of two dead boys who decide to stay on Earth as detectives of supernatural crimes instead of going to the afterlife. Part boarding-school drama part Gothic detective story, it is based on the original miniseries of the 1990s written by Neil Gaiman (Graveyard Book, Stardust, American Gods) and artist, Matt Wagner (Mage and Grendel).
by Dustin Nguyen
Doom Patrol Vol One by Gerard Way
Originally appearing in DC comics in the 1960s, this reincarnation is definitely one of the most psychedelic and surreal of the graphic fiction we have at the moment. It is hard to keep track of at first but the characterisation is irresistible once you are up to speed. A bunch of weirdos and misfits mystically collide to save the universe(s).
The Legend of Korra: Books 1 & 2
by Michael Dante DiMartino
This is a Nickelodeon series based on the Last Airbender world and is now a bright and attractive anime graphic book collection.
Looshkin by Jamie Smart
Looshkin is bonkers. He is a cat that cannot contain his enthusiasm, so much so that he often loses his lexical ability and rampages, entranced by some new obsession whether it be otters/sharks, candy or wizards until the whole town is run ragged. It is laugh out loud (if you have a sense of humour as silly as mine) and the Cartoon Network style is cutesy and fun.
Mother Panic by Jody Hauser
There is a new vigilante in Gotham City and her trajectory is fuelled by vengeance alone. A breakaway from the nightmarish, rich, privileged, celebrity elite, Violet Paige is Mother Panic and now even Batman's on her trail. The design is edgy, chunky and defined and the matte pages allow every colour to stand out and draw the reader in.
Paper Girls 4 by Brian K. Vaughan
This series starts with a bunch of tearaway teenage paper delivery girls on bikes. Fearless and sarcastic, bored out of their minds in small town '80s America. One day stuff starts to get weird, very quickly, and now, in book 4 there is time-travel, sci-fi, dystopia, aliens and massive prehistoric beasts. The neon colouring in the design makes this one of my favourite series to read and re-read. It is stunning and original, not to mention bad-ass.
The Escapist by Michael Chabon
This is where it gets meta...Chabon created a novel called The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay in 2000. Set in the 1930s and 40s, the protagonists in this book are comic book writers who develop the superhero, The Escapist. Now, The Escapist is its own series in collaboration with today's graphic fiction star, Brian K Vaughan (Lumberjanes, Paper Girls, Ex Machina and Runaways). It has the pace and timing of the 1940s comic books but the intrigue and cinematic style of modern graphic fiction.
Trent Books 1 & 2 by Rodolphe & Leo
This is an innocent tale of a Canadian Mountie on his rounds in the great outdoors. A simple read for anyone who wants a moral hero set in the Western style.
Don't be afraid, whatever you think of Graphic Fiction now, pick one up for a bit of a change and see what you think after.
Chat to the Librarians about what might be good for you. These examples barely scratch the surface of what's here!