LibraryAware Graphic Novels & Manga June 2023

Teen Graphic Novels

Basil and Oregano
by Melissa Capriglione

Attending Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy for their senior year, Basil Eyres and Arabella Oregano, instantly smitten with each other, work together to stand out from the class, but when Arabella's secret is revealed, Basil must make a tough decision.

Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths
by Joshua Williamson

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League are dead. The remaining heroes are left to protect the world from an onslaught of violent attacks! Leading the charge is a super-powered Slade Wilson...but this time there's something dark fueling his rage. Can the younger heroes, led by the 21st century Superman Jonathan Kent, step out of the shadows of the classic icons to form a new Justice League? And will that be enough to stop a darkness greater than anything they've ever faced from destroying everything?

Danger And Other Unknown Risks
by Ryan North

I'm gonna tell you a story, and I'm gonna ask that you let me finish before you say anything. Here's the deal--on midnight of January 1st, 2000, the world ended. But it wasn't technology that killed it: It was magic. Now, years later, the Earth has transformed. Magic works (sort of). People are happy (sort of). But this new world isn't stable, and unless Marguerite de Pruitt and her canine pal, Daisy, do something about it, it'll tilt into deadly chaos. Good thing they've been training their whole lives for this and are destined to succeed. Or so they think.

Fairest Of All
by Serena Valentino

This graphic novel version examines the life of Snow White's stepmother, the Wicked Queen, to find out just what it is that makes her so evil that she would want to cut out her teenage step-daughter's heart and have it delivered in a locked keepsake box

Ahiahia The Orphan
by Levi Illuitok

After his parents are brutally murdered, Ahiahia is raised by his grandmother in a camp surrounded by enemies. His grandmother knows that eventually the camp will turn on Ahiahia, just as it did his parents, so she chants a protection chant over the clothing that she lovingly sews for him, over the amulet and necklace she gives him, even over the dog that is his companion. When he is attacked, Ahiahia must use his agility, hunting skills, and the protection imparted by his grandmother to stay alive. This traditional story is retold by Kugaaruk Elder Levi Illuitok, and illustrated in a comic book style by Nate Wells, giving life to an ancient story for new generations to enjoy.

Codex Black: A Fire Among Clouds
by Camilo Moncada Lozano

Navigate through monsters, mysteries, and the will of the gods with two young extraordinary adventurers in fifteenth-century Mesoamerica as they search for a missing father. Donají is a fearless Zapotec girl who, even though she's only fifteen, is heralded as a hero by her village. In Codex Black, Donají sets out on an adventure-accompanied by the god that lives inside of her poncho-to find her missing father. Along the way, she meets a 17-year-old winged Mexica warrior named Itzcacalotl, and over time their temporary partnership blooms into an incredible friendship. The search brings the young pair closer to danger and deeper into mystery than either could have predicted.

Teen Manga

Sunbeams In The Sky 1
by Monika Kaname

Himari Akeno can't wait to start high school! Even though she's parting ways with her twin sister, Mio, Himari's enthusiasm to start this new chapter of her life is palpable--that is, until a traumatic incident sends her home to hide in her room. Watching Himari's dreams shatter is more than Mio can bear, especially when her sister still longs for an ordinary student life. Determined to see her twin get back out into the world, Mio "catches a cold" and convinces her sister to fill in until she "recovers." As long as the shy, introverted Himari can pull off impersonating the bubbly, energetic Mio, nothing could go wrong...right?

My Hero Academia Vol. 34, United States of America
by Kåohei Horikoshi

All For One's will has taken root in Tomura's mind, and this new entity is now a global threat. Even so, the United Nations is hesitant to dispatch heroes to Japan, but Star and Stripe--the U.S.A.'s number one hero--arrives to tackle this menace head-on. In the skies over the Pacific, the combatants size each other up, trying to gain an advantage, but there's no telling who'll be left standing after the dust settles on this epic duel.

Show-ha Shoten! 1
by Akinari Asakura

Shy Azemichi Shijima has secretly been studying the art of comedy. His outgoing classmate Taiyo Higashikata has big dreams of being funny but no follow-through. When the two team up, they just might take the comedy world by storm! Higashikata ropes Shijima into performing in a comedy duo with him at a school show. Inspired by their guaranteed success, Higashikata asks Shijima to join him in an audacious dream--to rise to the top of Japan's comedy scene by winning major events in both stand-up and sketch comedy!"

Helck 3
by Nanaki Nanao

With Vermilio and Helck gone, Azudra of the Four Elite Lords steps in to defend Castle Urum from the seemingly invincible winged soldiers. Meanwhile, Vermilio and Helck meet a witch who just might be the key to getting back to the Demon Realm.

Adult Graphic Novels

The Last Count of Monte Cristo
by Ayize Jama-Everett

The Last Count of Monte Cristo is a bold retelling of Alexandre Dumas's classic tale of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption. This speculative update pushes the narrative into a future hundreds of years after the polar ice caps have melted and submerged our planet into a new era of technology and culture.

The Nice House On The Lake, Vol 2
by James Tynion

Now is the perfect time to enter the house! The ten hardy survivors gathered in the house by their mutual friend Walter thought they'd finally cracked the code on his plans...and now everything they thought they knew has literally changed. Can they free themselves from their patterns? Or are they all just determined to build a prison of their very own?

Dark Gathering 1
by Kenichi Kondo

Keitaro is ready to stop living as a shut-in. He's starting university. He's reconnecting with his childhood friend. He's taking a tutoring job. And he's not messing around with ghosts anymore. At least that's what he thinks,until he finds out the elementary schooler he's tutoring is an occult-obsessed genius who's hunting down dangerous spirits and won't stop until she's found the one that took her mom!

The Gull Yettin
by Joe Kessler

The story begins when a young boy awakens late one night to find his home on fire. The boy is saved by a lanky, shapeshifting Gull (who may or may not be real). Orphaned by the fire, and now adrift in a boat piloted by the Gull, the boy faces an uncertain future, one that will be both helped and hindered by his new attendant. In this wordless graphic novel, Kessler builds a strange but recognizable world, using it to explore all the forms that grief, jealousy, longing, and love can take in our lives, and the compassion and cruelty that can dwell in a single heart.

Batman One Bad Day: Two-Face
by Mariko Tamaki

The duel of duality! Two-Face has always been viewed as Batman's most tragic villain. If only Harvey Dent hadn't been scarred by acid, he could have continued his good work as D.A. in Gotham City and been Batman's greatest ally and friend…right? Or has Batman extended Harvey Dent too much grace in his multiple attempts at reform? He'll question himself as Harvey Dent is free once more, scarred but seemingly free of Two-Face's influence. But, when it's revealed Harvey Dent's father has been threatened to be murdered on his 88th birthday, will Two-Face be able to resist joining the party?

Boy's Abyss. 1
by Ryo Minenami

Reiji's life is as miserable as the small town he can't escape. Does Reiji have any power over his fate, or will he too fall into the abyss? Reiji's mother is checked out, he's stuck caring for his grandmother with dementia, and his childhood friend treats him like a lackey. Then beautiful, big-city pop star Nagi miraculously shows up working the counter at the local convenience store. Reiji is starstruck. When she offers him the ultimate way out of his claustrophobic existence, will he succumb to temptation?