Tag: graphic novels

Guest Q&A | Melissa Chan + Badiucao on ‘You Must Take Part in Revolution’

The graphic novel from Street Noise Books is a near-future dystopian story about technology, authoritarian governments and fighting for freedom.

Today we’re pleased to present a guest interview with Melissa Chan and Badiucao, creators of You Must Take Part in Revolution, conducted by Street Noise Books publisher Liz Frances.

If you’re not familiar with the graphic novel, it features a near-future dystopian story about technology, authoritarian government and the lengths that one will go to in the fight for freedom. The graphic novel is available now.

by Liz Frances

Melissa and Badiucao, this is your first graphic novel! What made you two decide that you should go from journalism and political cartoons to making a graphic novel — why this format?

Melissa: I’d been a journalist for almost two decades — writing articles and also as a correspondent for broadcast and video reports. It started to feel as if whatever I reported on didn’t really matter — that so much of it was reaching audiences who kind of agreed with me already about human rights and democracy. I’ve enjoyed graphic novels over the years, and it kind of dawned on me that this was the book I’d always wanted to write.

Badiucao: Yeap, graphic novels take serious topics like human rights and geopolitics and make them more accessible to groups who might not know the subjects well. I’d always want to break through the circles of my usual readers and speak to younger groups who are comics readers, gamers — basically to leverage the power of pop culture. You know that famous “tank man” from the Tiananmen Square student protests? How about making figures like that as cool and as popular as Spider-Man!

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Help conjure Donya Todd’s ‘The Witch’s Egg’ through the magic of crowdfunding

Avery Hill launched a Kickstarter campaign today for the dark fairytale.

As part of their Fall 2025 line-up, Avery Hill Publishing plans to release Donya Todd’s new graphic novel, The Witch’s Egg — and you can help bring it to life through a Kickstarter campaign that will launch soon.

The Witch’s Egg is one part dark fairytale, one part apocalyptic love story, featuring the macabre, wonderful art of Todd. This is Avery Hill’s second book with Todd, following Buttertubs. Todd has also done work for Cartoon Network, Mercury Filmworks, Blank Slate Books, Guillemot Press, Image Comics and many others.

You can check out the publisher’s description and some pages from the graphic novel below.

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Exclusive Preview | Check out the noir time-travel tale ‘Host Mortem’

The project is currently being crowdfunded through Kickstarter.

Courtesy of Clover Press, we’re pleased to present this exclusive preview from Host Mortem. The new graphic novel is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

Host Mortem is written by — and stars — Kevin Shinick, former host and time-traveling detective from the TV series Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?, alongside actor/host Greg Lee. Both of them appear in the graphic novel, as an appearance at Comic-Con goes horribly wrong, and they find themselves transported back in time. After arriving in 1947, they find themselves involved in a murder mystery set against the Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep. When one of the stars winds up dead, Kevin and Greg’s knowledge of random trivia might be the key to solving this Hollywood caper.

“Between the two of us, Greg and I have hosted a number of game shows,” Shinick said. “As a result, we have a lot of random trivia floating around in our heads and I always wished I could put that knowledge to better use other than just, ‘Hey, did you know the singular of spaghetti is spaghetto?’ And since we both played fake detectives on Carmen Sandiego (me a time traveling detective and Greg a classic gumshoe detective) I got to wondering how we might fare with an actual murder? The ultimate question being, ‘Are hosts really smart? Or do they just have the answers?’”

The graphic novel is being brought to life by artists Damien Torres and Andrea Schiavone, colorist Pippa Bowland and letterer Taylor Esposito. Check out the preview and some of the variant covers available through the Kickstarter campaign below.

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Ngozi Ukazu returns to Apokolips for ‘Orion’

The sequel to ‘Barda’ will arrive in stores in 2026.

Ngozi Ukazu, creator of the wonderful Check, Please, brought the New God Big Barda, along with others from Jack Kirby’s Fourth World comics, to DC’s young adult graphic novel line last year. That graphic novel, Barda, will get a sequel next year that will focus on another New God — Orion.

In the first volume, Barda started the story as the right hand of Granny Goodness and has been tasked with an impossible task — break their prisoner, the unbreakable Scott Free. But something broke in Barda on the fiery Apokolips in the story of first loves. The new volume details Orion’s life on New Genesis as he his fears about not really belonging there are confirmed when Highfather reveals his true lineage.

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‘Feeding Ghosts’ by Tessa Hulls wins a Pulitzer Prize

Former Washington Post political cartoonist Ann Telnaes also won this year in the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category.

Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls has become the second graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.

The graphic novel won the award in the “Memoir” category, which comes with a prize of $15,000. Hulls follows in the footsteps of Art Spiegelman, who won a Pulitzer in 1992 for his work on Maus.

Pulitzer Prize administrator Marjorie Miller announced the awards today in a livestream on YouTube and described Feeding Ghosts as “an affecting work of literary art and discovery whose illustrations bring to life three generations of Chinese women — the author, her mother and grandmother — and the experience of trauma handed down with family histories.”

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Ed Brubaker + Sean Phillips return to ‘Criminal’ with a new graphic novel

Image Comics will release ‘The Knives’ in August.

It’s been about half a decade since we’ve seen new Criminal material from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, but that dry spell ends this year with The Knives, the first Criminal story since 2019.

The Knives arrives from Image Comics in August as an original graphic novel. Previous volumes of Criminal started as comic series that were eventually collected, so it’s a shift to the OGN format the duo has been excelling in for the past several years with Pulp, Night Fever and other projects.

“A few years ago someone reached out to me to return some of my uncle’s lost possessions, after his family estate had been plundered, and bizarrely, that sparked the inspiration for what I hope is the biggest and best Criminal book yet. A crime story about one generation growing up in the life, another growing older and trying to get out of it, and Hollywood, somehow, too,” said Brubaker. “This book is an epic, the longest original graphic novel we’ve ever done, and it’s been a joy to return to this series and these characters, especially after spending most of the last three years watching them come to life on set and screen. I can’t wait to get this book into readers’ hands.”

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Exclusive Preview | John Jennings + Damian Duffy + David Brame adapt Octavia E. Butler’s ‘The Parable of the Talents’

The timely graphic novel about a nation under the grip of a fascist regime arrives in stores this week.

Courtesy of Abrams ComicArts, we’re pleased to share a preview of The Parable of the Talents, an adaptation of the novel by Octavia E. Butler.

The graphic novel reunites John Jennings and Damian Duffy, who worked on the Hugo Award-winning adaptation of Butler’s The Parable of the Sower. They are joined by artist David Brame.

“Being chosen to adapt the Parable duology by Octavia E. Butler into a graphic novel is both an honor and a very serious responsibility,” said Jennings. “Those two books were so prescient and incredibly accurate with their forecasting that we are still amazed by the insightful creative acumen of Butler. It’s our hope that we did the story justice and that the underlying messages resonate through every word and every panel.”

The Parable of the Talents continues Butler’s story from the first volume, known collectively as the Earthseed series. Set on a war-torn continent under the control of a fascist state, the story follows Asha, who searches for answers about her own past while struggling to reconcile with her mother’s legacy. While Butler’s original novel was published in 1998, it feels very timely today — not only does it feature a country under the grip of a Christian fundamentalist denomination, but that group even used the slogan “Make America Great Again” in their propaganda.

The Parable of the Talents is available in stores this week. Check out the preview below.

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Take a look inside June’s ‘Superman: The World’ hardcover

Creators from all over the world will share their takes on Superman in this anthology.

Back in 2021 DC celebrated Batman Day with the release of Batman: The World, an anthology graphic novel featuring stories about Batman by creators from all over the world. But Bruce Wayne isn’t the only global trotter in the Justice League (and let’s face it, it’s easier to do when you can fly) — this year, as part of their “Summer of Superman” initiative, DC will release Superman: The World in June.

The graphic novel will include contributions from creators from 15 different countries, including Dan Jurgens, Jorge Jimenéz, Satoshi Miyagawa, Stepan Kopriva, Dr. Ejob Gaius, Jefferson Costa Sylvian, Lee Weeks, Jorge Jimenéz, Kai Kitago, Michal Suchánek, Jefferson Costa, Marcial and more. 

“The Man of Tomorrow usually soars through the skies in Metropolis, but no matter where in the world a cry for help comes, Superman will always be there to save the day,” the press release read.

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Exclusive | Take a look inside Andrew Wheeler + Rye Hickman’s ‘Hey, Mary!’

The graphic novel about a Catholic teenager reconciling his feelings for another boy arrives in stores from Oni Press this week.

Courtesy of Oni Press, we’re happy to present this preview of Hey, Mary! by Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman and Hank Jones.

Hey, Mary! tells the story of Mark, a devoted Catholic who realizes he has a crush on another boy at school. The pages we have today show Mark’s struggle and also illustrate why it’s titled “Hey, Mary!” as Mark turns to his faith for answers.

“Hey, Mary is a book about a lot of things — most obviously, trying to reconcile being Catholic and being gay, but it’s also about first love and teenage anxiety and isolation and trying to find your feet as you learn more about the world,” Wheeler said. “This sequence is at the heart of those themes as Mark struggles with the enormity of the question, ‘Why is this who I am?’ Perhaps the worst part is that the very thing he’s been told will give him comfort, his faith, is actually the source of his pain. I love the expressiveness that Rye and our colorist Hank Jones have brought to these silent moments.”

The relationship with Luka is also on display. Luka clearly has feelings for Mark as well, and the two friends have grown apart as the thought of romance pushes Mark away.

“Mark’s conversation with Luka gives us the other side of Mark’s anxiety,” Wheeler said. “Mark and Luka think they’ve grown apart — the truth is that they haven’t found the language to bridge the gap between them. The panel with the two of them running into the park on either side of a painted line is perfect. Also, Rye and I had a lot of conversations about the boys’ personal styles, and Mark’s ‘Camp’ t-shirt is one of my favorite choices!”

“I feel like teenage friendships are The Most, no matter what’s going on in your life, so I’m very excited for readers to relate to our protagonist, Mark, going for a jog with his estranged friend Luka,” Hickman said. “The secret sauce here, though, is that Mark has a big ole crush on Luka and all signs point to Luka also wanting more than friendship. No spoilers, but there’s friction -Luka has rainbow shoelaces and Mark prays for help with the fear he has about being gay himself- so hopefully you’ll pick up the book and find out how that friction resolves!”

Check out the preview below. Hey, Mary! is available in comic shops and bookstores now.

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Exclusive | Take a look inside the deluxe edition of Brenna Thummler’s ‘Lights’

The hardcover arrives in stores today from Oni Press.

Courtesy of Oni Press, we’re thrilled to share this preview of Lights: Deluxe Edition, the final installment of Brenna Thummler’s Sheets trilogy.

Originally published in 2023, Lights wraps up the story of Marjorie Glatt and her best friend, Wendall, who happens to be a ghost that she found living in her family’s laundromat. Together with their friend Eliza, they set out to discover the story behind Wendall’s death — and, eventually, his life as well.

The hardcover deluxe edition, available in stores today, includes never-before-seen bonus content like sketches, a Q&A, Easter eggs and more. You can check out some of it in the preview below.

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‘Gender Queer,’ ‘Flamer’ once again land on the ALA’s most challenged books list

The American Library Association releases their 2024 report on the state of American libraries and the most challenged books.

For the first time since 2020, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe was not the most challenged book on the American Library Association’s list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in the United States. The graphic novel fell to No. 2 on the 2024 list, after All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.

Flamer by Mike Curato, another graphic novel that’s been the subject of frequent challenges since it was published in 2020, landed at No. 10 on the list. The rest of the list featured books that have frequently been mentioned over the last few years in news coverage of book bannings, which isn’t surprising — the ALA says most of the challenges in 2024 were brought on by organized movements by pressure groups and politicians, rather than the random parent who saw what their kid was reading and freaked out.

“The movement to ban books is not a movement of parents, but a movement of partisans who seek to limit our freedom to read and make different choices about things that matter,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “All who care about libraries and personal liberty must stand together and join the movement to halt this assault on the freedom to read.”

The total number of books that were challenged also fell year-over-year for the first time since 2020, with the ALA reporting they received reports of 5,813 book challenges, down from 9,021 in 2023. But the reasons they gave for the drop are chilling in themselves — many book challenges are no longer being reported because doing so can bring “significant risk to a library worker’s professional livelihood and personal safety.” They also noted some states have passed laws restricting the type of materials available in libraries and schools based on the topics addressed in them, so certain books aren’t being shelved to begin with. But it’s not all doom and gloom — as many state legislatures use their power to ban books, others in California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and
Washington adopted new legislation protecting the freedom to read and the library workers who defend that freedom for their communities.

Below is the full list of the most challenged books.

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Comixology announces four new science fiction titles for 2025

Taki Soma, Marc Guggenheim, John Broglia, Chuck Austen and more have new projects at the digital comics publisher coming this year.

In advance of this weekend’s WonderCon, Comixology Originals has announced four new digital titles that’ll debut between now and the end of July. All four fall into the science fiction category and include two new comic series, a sequel and an original graphic novel.

“Comixology Originals has been releasing compelling creator-owned comic book series and original graphic novels in a variety of genres—fantasy, sci-fi, horror, superhero—since its start,” said Jeff DiBartolomeo, Comixology’s GM and CTO. ”This year, science fiction is back in a big way–from the recent release of the original graphic novel Major Thomás by Omar Morales, to these four new projects, with more underway.”

The line-up includes a new “first contact” miniseries by Taki Soma and John Broglia, and an adventure series set 1,000 years in the future by Marc Guggenheim and Harvey Tolibao, both of which will debut in April. May will bring a third season of Chuck Austen and Pat Oliffe’s EdgeWorld, while the OGN Outer Lands by TV writer Matthew Arnold and Northlanders artist Davide Gianfelice arrives in August. You can find more information on all four projects below.

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