Graphic Novels

What if only black people had super powers? Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3 are set to answer that question in their upcoming graphic novel, Black, with art by Molly Danger creator Jamal Igle, and covers by Khary Randolph. The creators have provided us with some exclusive storboard art to share with ComicsAlliance readers. Osajyefo, a former DC comics digital editor, and Smith, who worked on Iron Man and The Amazing Spider-Man comics, are the co-creators of the book, which tells the story of Kareem Jenkins, a young black man who survives being gunned down by the police only to discover that he may be superhuman --- a common trait among black people that the government conspired to hide for centuries.

Josephine Baker, a fascinating historical figure, will be the subject of an upcoming graphic novel written and drawn by C. Spike Trotman, best known as the publisher of the Smut Peddler anthologies. Black Pearl: The Graphic Life of Josephine Baker will be published in 2017 from First Second Books.

The Library of Congress, the Children's Book Council, and Every Child a Reader announced this week that Gene Luen Yang has been appointed the fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. An Eisner Award winner for The Eternal Smile and American Born Chinese, a Printz Award winner for American Born Chinese, a two-time National Book Award Finalist for American Born Chinese and Boxers and Saints, and current writer of DC Comics’ Superman, Yang is the first graphic novelist to hold the post.

Let me put my cards on the table: Sophie Campbell is my favorite comic book artist. She has been at least since the Glory series she did with Joe Keatinge, although I was a fan of her work even before that. I was thrilled when her Jem and Holograms series with Kelly Thompson was announced, and it’s one of my very favorite things on the stands right now. But my favorite comics work she’s done is Wet Moon, a series of graphic novels from Oni Press, which has been ongoing for over a decade. In Wet Moon, Campbell weaves realism with subtle fantasy and horror elements, and follows a large cast of distinct characters. There are six books currently out, and Campbell has said there are at least two more to come.

Jiro Taniguchi’s The Walking Man is a quiet delight, full of poetic, solitary gentleness and the space between things. Collected in English in a very beautiful padded hardcover by Ponent Mon, it tells the story of a man with a pleasant face who takes neighborhood walks... and that’s the whole book. You should read it, and reflect on it; it's well worth your time. For my part, I couldn’t help but look at it through culture-tinted spectacles. I read it and I thought of Superman, the whole way through.

Drawn & Quarterly recently celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF). Making the occasion especially poignant was the revelation that Chris Oliveros was stepping down and leaving the company in the hands of longtime associate publisher Peggy Burns and her partner, former D&Q creative director, now executive editor, Tom Devlin. Megan Purdy looks back over Olvieros's accomplishments and celebrates D&Q's contributions to comics.

Beginning May 1st, writer Dave Roman and artist John Green will be serializing their next graphic novel, Teen Boat The Race for Boatlantis as a webcomic. The Race for Boatlantis is a sequel to the creators' 2012 graphic novel, Teen Boat, about a teen who can turn into a boat (yes, really) and his many teen/boat adventures. Readers can give the new story a try via the webcomic, and Roman and Green will interact with their audience as they experience it, with new pages going up every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the print book debuts in the fall. ComicsAlliance spoke with Roman and Green about the decision to offer their graphic novel as a webcomic and what readers can expect from this new story of everyone's favorite boaty teen!

Brian Hibbs has put up his great yearly analysis of the Bookscan numbers over at Comic Book Resources, and they reflect a change that's slowly dawning on many people in comics right now: books for women and children are where the money is. Nine of the top twenty books sold and tracked by Bookscan last year were by women, and twelve of the top twenty were books for kids.

The American Library Association (ALA) announced their yearly awards today in conjunction with the ALA Midwinter Conference in Chicago. In a groundbreaking move, a Newbery Honor has been awarded to cartoonist Cece Bell for her graphic novel El Deafo. This is the first time a Newbery Honor has ever been awarded to a comic. At the same awards, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki won a Caldecott Honor and a Printz Honor for their graphic novel This One Summer.

Just as this year's comics-centric Banned Books Week was coming to a close, an Illinois school board has unanimously voted to keep Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis on the reading list of a local high school. According to the State Journal-Register, a Glenwood High School parent complained to Principal Jim Lee (yes, that's his name) about the book, questioning why a teacher would ask students to read a book about Muslims on September 11. The parent also complained about a scene that shows a dismembered body and a man being tortured. Thankfully Lee just plain wasn't having it.