Whenever Laika put out a new film, it's worth sitting up and paying and attention, and between films like Paranorman, Coraline and The Boxtrolls, the studio has proved itself one of the best places for nuanced and touching approaches to films aimed at children.

Laika's newest release, Kubo and the Two Stringsis based on classic Chinese stories and traditions, and comics is a medium that has provided opportunities for creators from around the world to tell their own cultures' stories and traditions. If you loved Kubo and the Two Strings, we've put together a list of five comics to check out next. Love that? Try this!

  • The Shark King

    R. Kikuo Johnson

    The Shark King retells the Hawaiian story of Nanaue, the human son of the titular shark king who grows up without any knowledge of his father. Throughout the course of the book, Nanaue struggles to balance his desire to meet and bond with his father against his love for his mother and the affection she provides. A great story for kids of all ages, especially as an activity for dads to share with their children.

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  • Rabbit and Bear Paws

    Christopher Meyer, Tanya Leary & Chad Solomon

    The stories of Rabbit and Bear Paws are based on the traditional Native tales of The Seven Fires Prophecy and The Seven Gradfathers, and serve as a way for the creators to keep those stories alive in a way that they can share with a universal audience. Set in the 1750s, the stories follow two brothers and the hijinks they get up to as their family travels around different Native communities, as well as those of European colonists, and aims to show a different side of indigenous North American history

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  • Stories From The Pancatantra

    Anant Pai

    Indian publisher Amar Chitra Katha has an incredibly large library of stories based on Indian culture, history and tradition, and you could get lost scouring the archives and checking out the back catalog. I’ve specifically chosen Stories From The Panchatantra because it’s a more light hearted and humorous take on traditional Indian fables, but there’s so much to choose from and so many different volumes that you should check out what it has to offer and find something that appeals to you.

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  • Boxers and Saints

    Gene Luen Yang

    Boxers and Saints is actually two companion stories released as two graphic novels. Boxers tells the story of the boy who would grow up to lead the Boxer Rebellion, while Saints is all about a young Chinese girl shunned by her own community who finds a new life and community as a member of the Catholic Church. It definitely skews more towards Young Adult than All-Ages, but Gene Luen Yang is a master at weaving Chinese history and stories in with his incredibly personal tales of a young person’s struggle.

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  • The Pack

    Paul Louise-Julie

    Again, skewing much more Young Adult than most of this list, The Pack is an incredibly detailed and well researched historical fiction story about a group of Egyptian werewolves, which has been compared to Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones in terms of scope and scale. It certainly lives up to those bold comparisons, with a rich and satisfying story and a take on fantasy tropes and traditions sadly all too underrepresented within the genre.

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