Graphic novels | Page 3 of 7

Vern, Custodian of the Universe, a smart graphic novel that thinks and asks

Vern, custodian of the Universe is the strangest, most creative and surreal graphic novel since Neurocomic. It also echoes the sentiment from the classic Peggy Lee song, “Is that All There Is?”, and parallels to Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately”, which was certainly more about relationships, but could be extrapolated to a greater sense. Vern deals with the multiverse, and before you dismiss this smart graphic novel as merely jumping on the bandwagon that movies have mercilessly pounded into the ground, hear me out. This graphic novel accomplishes readers getting interested in it by successfully and entertainingly melding so many areas of a science-fiction venn diagram some readers might not know what to focus on. They’ll come for the trope of the multiverse, but get sucked into the art, check it out for the art, but then dig deeper into the STEM or one of any other possible paths.

Vern Custodian of the Universe features beautiful art and an intelligent, STEM based story about the multiverse and the minute details that could alter it.

Trippy, fun, creative and great for upper middle and high school ages

The Solvers Mission 1: The DivMulti Ray Dilemma does new math proud

Remember the “new math” joke from a couple of years ago? Parents of elementary school-age students realized that division and multiplication had a slightly different way of being taught. It’s not “new” per se, it’s just described using the commutative property, which is also a very quick way to learn craps. The Solvers is an interactive graphic novel series that entertains and educates. The DivMulti Ray Dilemma is the first in the series that manages to explain division and multiplication in a way that new and old math people can understand and does so with a strong superhero story that will guide those reluctant math readers.

The Solvers: The DivMulti Ray Dilemma is a math graphic novel that runs with energy, entertainment and education.

Graphic novel + Fun + Math = mastery of the subject

Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Shoot the Moon!, is a new elementary tentpole

When does a book beget a series? Sometimes a book series is forced upon readers. It’s part of a bigger story to tell with the promise of multiple books to leisurely tell the tale that didn’t mandate so many books in the end. And other times it’s a genuine story, the evolution of characters who readers want to spend time with. The latter is important and one of those things that have the ‘it’ factor for elementary-aged readers. Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Shoot the Moon! is the second book in this graphic novel/comic book series and it has the ‘it’ factor.

Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Shoot the Moon! establishes itself as one of the big dogs in elementary school graphic novels.

Easy to read

Sick!, an eye-catching, appropriate name for a gateway STEM graphic novel

If elementary school-age students latched onto the disgusting elements of science I’m convinced that more people would follow the STEM path. I also fully believe that in 2034, many actively working scientists will cite Phineas and Ferb as a main influence. Sick! The Twists and Turns Behind Animal Germs is a STEM book that’s disgusting in all of the right ways.

Sick! The Twists and Turns Behind Animal Germs is an engaging chapter graphic novel on how little things are a big deal to animals.

A smart chapter graphic novel, yeah that’s a thing

Alterations, a graphic novel channeling middle school in all the right ways

Heartfelt is a dicey adjective to describe something because it could easily be misconstrued as soft, boring or too emotional; all of which are the death knell for graphic novels that are trying to be interesting to middle school audiences. In this case heartfelt, humorous, clever familial, and more could also be appropriate to describe Alterations. Change is hard. Middle school is harder. That’s the tagline for Alterations, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Ray Xu. The conflict in Alterations is one that any middle school student, or even those upper-elementary ages will latch onto.

Alterations is a graphic novel that humorously shows middle school and how its inhabitants view it and the world around them.

Not a double helix, but a great mglit graphic novel

A Sky of Paper Stars, an imaginative graphic novel on grieving and death

Kids of a certain age think that everything revolves around them. Heck, some adults haven’t realized it yet and still think that everything revolves around them. They’re the only one who has experienced whatever circumstance they’re wrestling with and nobody is capable of understanding or relating to their issues. I was that way as a kid and I see children in classrooms every day who are wrangling with those same emotions. A Sky of Paper Stars by Susie Yi is a graphic novel that tackles all of that, with a side order of cultural differences, maybe a yokai and a death in the family. It blends all of those things together, with an added sense of wonder to create a book that gives you the feels and makes you think.

A Sky of Paper Stars is a graphic novel on death and grieving that manages to not be too heavy, concentrating on the support and love, but acknowledging the loss.

A graphic novel with heart and feels

Enlightened is an affable graphic novel on the first half of Buddha’s life

When I was a teenager I saw The Last Temptation of Christ. I was no budding theologian; it was the fact that the movie was being picketed that piqued my attention. Enlightened is not the graphic novel, Buddhist version of that experience. This is the lightly fictionalized story about the early years of Siddhartha, the human who would later be known as Gautama Buddha.

Enlightened is a graphic novel that’s far from sufferable on Siddhartha, the young prince who became Buddha, with stark colors and vivid illustrations.

The path is strong with this book

Investigators: All Tide Up, the seventh in the series shows no signs of age

As an adult, I know better than to laugh at repeated uses of puns. It’s the low end of the bad-dad joke pool. I know that some would say that’s an impossibility, but there’s a distinct difference between puns and dad jokes, plus billiards is a highly underappreciated sport. Investigators is a go-to series of all-age graphic novels and the seventh entry in it is All Tide Up. This series of graphic novels breaks the fourth wall, is loaded to the brim with puns, has colors that immediately give it a ‘classic’ vibe, and still maintains one of the highest laugh-to-page ratios that readers will encounter.

Investigators: All Tide Up is the seventh entry into this all-age-graphic novel series that continues to deliver laughs and puns aplenty.

Here be puns, and lots of humor to be had for ages 8 and up