Book picks similar to
Zits: Chillax by Jerry Scott


humor
comics
young-adult
graphic-novels

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl


Barry Lyga - 2006
    The bullies have made him their favorite target, his best (and only) friend seems headed for the dark side (sports and popularity), and his pregnant mother and the step-fascist are eagerly awaiting the birth of the alien life form known as Fanboy’s new little brother or sister.Fanboy, though, has a secret: a graphic novel he’s been working on without telling anyone, a graphic novel that he is convinced will lead to publication, fame, and—most important of all—a way out of the crappy little town he lives in and all the people that make it hell for him.When Fanboy meets Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, he finds an outrageous, cynical girl who shares his love of comics as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. Fanboy can’t resist someone who actually seems to understand him, and soon he finds himself willing to heed her advice—to ignore or crush anyone who stands in his way.

Americus


M.K. Reed - 2011
    Unluckily for him, some local Christian activists are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living. This funny, gripping, and relatable tale of life and local politics in middle America is currently being serialized online.

Life Sucks


Jessica Abel - 2008
    Life sucks for Dave Marshall.  The girl he’s in love with doesn’t know he exists, he hates his job, and ever since his boss turned him into a vampire, he can’t go out in daylight without starting to charbroil. Undead life in its uncoolest incarnation yet is on display in this cinematic, supernatural drama told with gallons of humor and hemoglobin.  In striking, colorful, B-movie style artwork and light-hearted, intelligent writing by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece, Dave Marshall’s story comes alive – in a vampiric kind of way.

Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure


Ryan North - 2016
    They were meant…to be played.What if Romeo never met Juliet? What if Juliet got really buff instead of moping around all day? What if they teamed up to take over Verona with robot suits? This choose-your-own-path version of Romeo and Juliet—packed with fun puzzles, secrets, and quadrillions of possible storylines—lets you decide where the plot goes every time you read. You might play as Romeo, or as Juliet, or as both of them at the same time. You might even unlock additional playable characters!That’s right. We figured out how to have unlockable characters in books.

The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury


Bill Watterson - 1990
    The author won the 1986 Reuben Award as Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year and has also illustrated Something Under the Bed is Drooling, Calvin and Hobbes' Yukon Ho! and Weirdos From Another Planet.

Chopsticks


Jessica Anthony - 2012
    Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks." But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

Broxo


Zack Giallongo - 2012
    But Peryton Peak is abandoned, and there's no sign of the civilization that once inhabited it. No sign...but for a young warrior with no clan and no memory of his origins. His name is Broxo, and he is the key to a mystery that is far more dangerous than Zora can imagine.

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula


Andi Watson - 2015
    This princess of the underworld has plenty of her own work to do but always seems to find herself doing her layabout father's job, as well. The king doesn't feel quite well, you see. Ever. So the princess is left scurrying through the halls, dodging her mummy, werewolf, and ghost subjects, always running behind and always buried under a ton of paperwork. Oh, and her father just fired the chef, so now she has to hire a new cook as well. Luckily for Princess Decomposia, she makes a good hire in Count Spatula, the vampire chef with a sweet tooth. He's a charming go-getter of a blood-sucker, and pretty soon the two young ghouls become friends. And then...more than friends? Maybe eventually, but first Princess Decomposia has to sort out her life. And with Count Spatula at her side, you can be sure she'll succeed. Andi Watson (Glister, Gum Girl) brings his signature gothy-cute sensibility to this very sweet and mildly spooky tale of friendship, family, and management training for the undead.

Vader's Little Princess


Jeffrey Brown - 2013
    Smart and funny illustrations by artist Jeffrey Brown give classic Star Wars moments a twist by bringing these iconic family relations together under one roof. From tea parties to teaching Leia how to fly a TIE fighter, regulating the time she spends talking with friends via R2-D2's hologram, and making sure Leia doesn't leave the house wearing only a skirted metal bikini, Vader's parenting skills are put hilariously to the test.

Good as Lily


Derek Kirk Kim - 2007
    A strange mishap on her eighteenth birthday causes Grace Kwon to be confronted with herself at three different periods in her life--ages six, twenty-nine, and seventy--while she and her friends struggle to save a crumbling school play.

The Odd 1s Out: How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up


James Rallison - 2018
    He wasn't partying in high school or winning football games like his older brother. Instead, he posted comics on the Internet. Now, he's ready to share his hard-earned advice from his 21 years of life in the funny, relatable voice his fans love.In this illustrated collection, Rallison tells his own stories of growing up as the "odd one out": in art class with his twin sister (she was more talented), in the middle school locker room, and up to one strange year of college (he dropped out). Each story is filled with the little lessons he picked up along the way, serious and otherwise, like:* How to be cool (in seventh grade)* Why it's OK to be second-best at something, and* How to survive your first, confidence-killing job interviewsFilled with fan-favorite comics and never-before-seen material, this tongue-in-cheek take on some of the weirdest, funniest parts of life is perfect for both avid followers and new converts.

The Girl Who Married a Skull: and Other African Stories


Kel McDonald - 2014
    But surely you've heard the story about the crocodiles who held a vote on whether or not to eat a man that had saved one of their lives? NO? Wow. Have we got some stories for you.

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel


Hope Larson - 2012
    Murry, who has gone missing while doing top-secret work for the government. They travel via tesseract — a wrinkle that transports one across space and time — to the planet Camazotz, where Mr. Murry is being held captive. There they discover a dark force that threatens not only Mr. Murry but the safety of the whole universe.Never before illustrated, A Wrinkle in Time is now available in a spellbinding graphic novel adaptation. Hope Larson takes the classic story to a new level with her vividly imagined interpretations of Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, Mrs Which, the Happy Medium, Aunt Beast, and the many other characters that readers have loved for the past fifty years. Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet.

Withering Tights


Louise Rennison - 2010
    Boys, snogging and bad acting guaranteed!Picture the scene: Dother Hall performing arts college somewhere Up North, surrounded by rolling dales, bearded cheesemaking villagers (male and female) and wildlife of the squirrely-type. On the whole, it’s not quite the showbiz experience Tallulah was expecting… but once her mates turn up and they start their ‘FAME! I’m gonna liiiiive foreeeeeever, I’m gonna fill my tiiiiights’ summer course things are bound to perk up.Especially when the boys arrive. (When DO the boys arrive?)Six weeks of parent-free freedom. BOY freedom. Freedom of expression… cos it’s the THEATRE dahling, the theatre!!

Bloom County: Loose Tails


Berke Breathed - 1983
    It's an acknowledged bit of wisdom that authors all learn at one time or another: Don't let your publisher write the promotional material. Words like "countless millions," "knee-slapping hilarious," and "cult following" are found peppering one's sacred book jacket like pigeon droppings on a statue of the Virgin Mary...which naturally is how I think of my work.The truth is that the only "cult following" my comic strip had when this book appeared consisted of my mother. Bless her heart, she still reads it daily. She'll hand the funny page to me, point to it, scrunch her eyes together and say, "Honey, what were you trying to say here?" If opus spits watermelon seeds at Milo, she'll say to me, "So this is a sort of comment on the watermelon industry?" So you see, to my publisher and to my mother, I remain a victim of unrealistic expectations.In the meantime, please accept my apologies for the way Opus is drawn within this volume. I had no experience drawing birds in 1982 and you will notice that his beak tends to randomly shrink or expand. To this day, my mother thinks it symbolically represented the changing fortunes of my bachelor love life. Maybe it did, Mom, and maybe it didn't.Berke BreathedAugust 1987