I’ll read anything. Anytime. Anywhere. I love literary fiction (and hit refresh on my browser several times today waiting for the Man Booker winner to be announced — Congratulations, Marlon James!); and I love YA and Children’s lit whether I’m reading to my children or on my own (Confession — it was very hard not to write this entire post fangirl-style about the 10th anniversary edition of Twilight, which we now have available through 3M). And I get almost giddily excited on Wednesdays (aka new comic day) when I can go down to Big Pete’s and pick up the latest issues of my favourite comics.
Not everyone likes to read issue-by-issue though. Sometimes it’s nice to devour an entire volume of five or six issues in a single sitting. This month, my fresh picks are a selection of great comics and graphic novels that you can borrow from us.
Alanna and Marko are star-crossed lovers, soldiers on opposite sides of the war. They are on the run because they have dared to break society’s greatest taboo by giving birth to their interracial daughter, Hazel. The Star Wars-influenced story is lovingly brought to life through the vibrant art work of Fiona Staples.
Wayward is like Buffy with creatures based on Japanese folklore. Rori Lane is the teenage daughter of an Irish father and Japanese mother, now divorced. When Rori moves to Japan she discovers that she has supernatural powers. And she’s not alone…
Sailor’s family moves to Litchfield, NH to escape from Sailor’s past. At her last school Sailor was bullied, and when her bully mysteriously went missing, vicious rumors circulated that Sailor was a murderer. But Litchfield doesn’t offer Sailor the respite her family had been hoping for as it harbours menacing supernatural secrets.
I love this middle grade graphic novel that is itself a love letter to comics, and my daughters love it too. Sunny is sent to stay with her grandfather in his Floridian retirement community, while her family deals with Sunny’s elder brothers delinquent ways. We particularly love the book’s humour and heart, but also enjoyed the pop culture details from a world gone by. (Yes, girls these were real.)
As it’s not Wednesday yet, I still have time to sneak in a few chapters of Life and Death before it’s time to pick up my pull list. Happy Reading!
–Patricia
