This week, BOOM! Studios debuted a new comic, Adventure Time, based on the Cartoon Network television series of the same name—but with all new stories. Written by Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics—N.B.: This is not a kids’ comic!) and illustrated by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb (Ice Age: Iced In), with a short extra story by Aaron Renier (The Unsinkable Walker Bean), this promises to be one of the standout all-ages comics of the year. Here’s a five-page preview to whet your appetite, and if you’re curious about how the book came together, take a look at Ryan North’s post that shows the journey from script to finished page. (Click on images to enlarge.)
There’s a good variety of comics and manga on the list this week. With Valentine’s Day next week, Ape Entertainment is ready with a new one shot for Richie Rich classic comics, the Valentine’s Special 2012. Archie Comics has given Kevin Keller his own ongoing series, and what’s the one thing he’s bad at? Dating! Kodansha has the next volume of the very cute Shugo Chara Chan series.
The List:
APE ENTERTAINMENT
Richie Rich Valentines Special 2012 (One Shot), $3.99
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS
Archie Double Digest #226, $3.99
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #198, $3.99
Kevin Keller… Read More
I’ve been a fan of Faith Erin Hicks’s books since my stint on Great Graphic Novels for Teens when the committee championed her book War at Ellsmere. We loved the story of two friends at boarding school and shared our surprise at the supernatural twist at the end. (We had a lot of fun discussing how we would blurb the book; our unofficial annotation was, “Great, great, great, great, WTF?, great.”) So when the opportunity came along to ask Faith a few questions, I jumped at the chance.
[caption id=”attachment_8824″ align=”alignright” width=”212″ caption=”Friends With Boys, by Faith… Read More
Giselle and Genevieve have survived life in The Limpet Hall Orphanage for Girls by dreaming of something better than toiling in a laundry and by sneaking into their Mistress’ library to teach themselves the Noble Arts of magic, something most only believe can be learned by the aristocracy. When an ill-timed study session results in chaos, the girls must flee the orphanage. Their flight path lands them in the middle of the palace’s next selection of magical apprentices. Suddenly the two friends find themselves on opposite sides of a brewing civil war, one that will challenge them to finally stand… Read More
I work in a public library system, and a staff member recently voiced concerns about fictionalized dialogue in graphic novel biographies. This person feels that the presence of that dialogue should exclude them from our biography collection, as all books contained in that collection are books of fact, not imagination.
Have you encountered such concerns before? If you do collect graphic novel biographies in your professional capacity, is the presence of fictionalized dialogue a factor you consider when making purchase decisions? And do you know of any review guidelines for biographical graphic novels?
- a public
The folks at Reading With Pictures, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the intelligent use of comics in education, just launched a Kickstarter campaign for two new projects: The Graphic Textbook and Open Source Comics. In 2010, RWP used Kickstarter to fund the publication of Reading With Pictures Anthology (2010), a Harvey Award-nominated collection of educational comics by Jeffrey Brown, Raina Telgemeier, Scott Sava, Eric Wight, and Jimmy Gownley.
Following on the heels of Kevin Keller’s wedding, Archie Comics announced that Archie will marry Valerie Smith (star of Josie and the Pussycats) in issue #633 of… Read More
Make yourself comfortable, because we have a special treat for you today: A 32-page preview of Polly and the Pirates: Mystery of the Dragonfish, written by Ted Naifeh and illustrated by Robbi Rodriguez. This is the second collection of the Polly and the Pirates comics, and it comes almost five years after the first, but it’s well worth waiting for. Naifeh’s witty writing and Rodriguez’s fluid artwork make a nice package that’ s fun for adults and young readers alike; if you want to know more about them, check out this interview at Newsarama. The first volume got lots of good reviews, and we’re expecting the same for this one. So jump in and enjoy the fun.
It’s hard to believe January is already over! It’s going to be another year just flying by, I can already tell. It’s a short list again this week. Ape Entertainment is back with some classic Richie Rich to complement the new series. Archie has the second issue of the Sonic Super Special Magazine for old and new fans, and Papercutz premieres another series with the first volume of Dance Class.
The List:
APE ENTERTAINMENT
Richie Rich Gems Winter Special (One Shot), $3.99
ARCHIE COMICS
Sonic Super Special Magazine #2, $9.99
Sonic The Hedgehog #233, $2.99
World Of… Read More
Shuichi, a young boy who is beginning to accept that he dreams of being a girl, and Yoshino, his friend who longs to change from a girl to a boy, are now in sixth grade. Their last year of elementary school seems likely to be as challenging—in both good and bad ways—as their fifth grade year was, but this time they know they can rely on one another.
Wandering Son, vol. 2
by Shimura Takako
Ages 13+
Fantagraphics, October 2011, ISBN 978-1-60699-456-6
228 pages, $19.99
As a tie-in with its new “Marvel Universe” programming bloc on Disney XD, Marvel will be launching two new all-ages comics: The Avengers: The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Adventures and Ultimate Spider-Man.
DC Comics just unveiled the publication schedule for The New 52 collections. Best-selling titles like Wonder Woman, Action Comics, and Justice League will be released in both hardcover and trade paperback, while other titles — including the six that DC recently canceled — will be released in TPB only.
A collaborative blog covering good comics for kids by Brigid Alverson, Robin Brenner, Katherine Dacey, Lori Henderson, Esther Keller, Scott Robins, Eva Volin, and Snow Wildsmith. Follow us on Twitter @GoodComics4Kids.
