The Rabbi's Cat


Joann Sfar - 2002
    To his master’s consternation, the cat immediately begins to tell lies (the first being that he didn’t eat the parrot). The rabbi vows to educate him in the ways of the Torah, while the cat insists on studying the kabbalah and having a Bar Mitzvah. They consult the rabbi’s rabbi, who maintains that a cat can’t be Jewish — but the cat, as always, knows better.Zlabya falls in love with a dashing young rabbi from Paris, and soon master and cat, having overcome their shared self-pity and jealousy, are accompanying the newlyweds to France to meet Zlabya’s cosmopolitan in-laws. Full of drama and adventure, their trip invites countless opportunities for the rabbi and his cat to grapple with all the important — and trivial — details of life.Rich with the colors, textures, and flavors of Algeria’s Jewish community, The Rabbi’s Cat brings a lost world vibrantly to life — a time and place where Jews and Arabs coexisted — and peoples it with endearing and thoroughly human characters, and one truly unforgettable cat.

Habibi


Craig Thompson - 2011
    We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world (not unlike our own) fueled by fear, lust, and greed; and as they discover the extraordinary depth—and frailty—of their connection. At once contemporary and timeless, Habibi gives us a love story of astounding resonance: a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and, most potently, the magic of storytelling.

Notes for a War Story


Gipi - 2004
    Obviously there were other wars going on, but they didn't have anything to do with us. There were wars for blacks. Wars for Arabs. Wars for Slavs. Our war started on the 18th of January, and in a few days, everything had changed."So recounts Giuliano, a loner among outsiders, one of three young drifters caught up in the whirlwind of a war in the Balkans. The three boys are like passing shadows; they live in abandoned houses, dodge the occasional bomb, and steal car parts for money. Meeting Felix—a powerful, fast-talking mercenary—changes everything for them. Felix is an expert manipulator; he speaks to their ambition and to their desires for power, wealth, and purpose. They're instantly hooked, especially the trio's unofficial leader, Stefano, and they soon escalate from petty crime to working on behalf of a mafia-style militia, bullying and extorting money in Felix's name. But as Giuliano comes to realize, they don't know what they're fighting for—if they're even fighting for anything.Notes for a War Story is an astonishing look at life in a lawless, war-torn nation, heightened by the harsh, moving, pencil and watercolor artwork of Italy's best graphic novel author.

Marzi


Marzena Sowa - 2008
    My father works at a factory, my mother at a dairy. Social problems are at their height. Empty stores are our daily bread.I’m scared of spiders and the world of adults doesn’t seem like a walk in the park.”Told from a young girl’s perspective, Marzena Sowa’s memoir of a childhood shaped by politics feels remarkably fresh and immediate. Structured as a series of vignettes that build on one another, MARZI is a compelling and powerful coming-of-age story that portrays the harsh realities of life behind the Iron Curtain while maintaining the everyday wonders and curiosity of childhood. With open and engaging art by Sylvain Savoia, MARZI is a moving and resonant story of an ordinary girl in turbulent, changing times.

Beowulf


Santiago García - 2013
    Tolkien and Seamus Heaney to a multitude of Hollywood screenwriters. Beaowulf tells of the tale of a Scandinavian hero in lands that would become what is now Denmark and Sweden. A monster, Grendel, has arrived in the kingdom of the Danes, devouring its men and women for over a decade until Beowulf arrives to save them.Garcia and Rubin faithfully follow the original story for a graphic-novel version that is neither revisionist nor postmodern. It captures the tone and important details of the poem, translating its potent, epic resonance and melancholy into a contemporary comic that isn't standard swords and sorcery or heroic fantasy fare. This is an ancient story with a modern perspective that respects the source material.

Shoplifter


Michael Cho - 2014
    Studying English literature in college, she imagined writing a successful novel and leading the idealized life of an author. But she’s been working at the same advertising agency for the past five years and the only thing she’s written is . . . copy. Corrina knows there must be more to life, but and she faces the same question as does everyone in her generation: how to find it? Here is the brilliant debut graphic novel about a young woman’s search for happiness and self-fulfillment in the big city.(With two-color illustrations throughout.)

Spidey #1


Robbie Thompson - 2015
    It's action, adventure and a rip-roaring romp in classic Marvel style as Spidey swings onto shelves this winter! Featuring adventures from throughout the web-slinging wonder's younger years, it's a return to the days of overdue homework, not knowing how to talk to girls (or anybody, really) and just plenty of danger. Witness some of Spidey's earliest tangles with the likes of Doc Ock, Sandman, and a host of other unexpected guests!

Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade


Ryan North - 2020
    ...read Kilgore Trout ...opened a successful optometry business ...built a loving family ...witnessed the firebombing of Dresden ...traveled to the planet Tralfamadore ...met Kurt Vonnegut ...come unstuck in time.   Billy Pilgrim’s journey is at once a farcical look at the horror and tragedy of war where children are placed on the frontlines and die (so it goes), and a moving examination of what it means to be fallibly human.

Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel


Melissa de la Cruz - 2013
    But when she turns fifteen, her life dramatically changes. A mosaic of blue veins appears on her arms, and she begins to have memories of another time and place. When a classmate is found dead at a night club, the mystery deepens. Most surprising of all, Jack Force, the hottest boy in school, starts showing a sudden interest in her.Schuyler wants answers, but is she prepared to learn the truth...especially when she discovers her part in it?The sexy and secretive world of the Blue Bloods comes to life in this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Book One in Melissa de la Cruz's internationally best-selling series.

Lore Olympus: Volume One


Rachel SmytheRachel Smythe - 2021
    Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love—witness what the gods do after dark in this stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of mythology’s most well-known stories from creator Rachel Smythe. Featuring a brand-new, exclusive short story, Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated web-comic Lore Olympus brings the Greek Pantheon into the modern age with this sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel. This volume collects episodes 1-25 of the #1 WEBTOON comic, Lore Olympus.

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel


Renée Nault - 2019
    She serves in the household of the Commander and his wife, and under the new social order she has only one purpose: once a month, she must lie on her back and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if they are fertile. But Offred remembers the years before Gilead, when she was an independent woman who had a job, a family, and a name of her own. Now, her memories and her will to survive are acts of rebellion.Provocative, startling, prophetic, The Handmaid's Tale has long been a global phenomenon. With this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood's modern classic, beautifully realized by artist Renee Nault, the terrifying reality of Gilead has been brought to vivid life like never before.

The Hound of the Baskervilles


Ian Edginton - 2009
    Culbard have teamed up again to create a visually compelling graphic novel adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s masterpiece. The superb writing and beautiful art takes Conan Doyle’s supernatural tale to new heights.All the elements are here for a thrilling tale: A gnarled walking stick, missing boot, neglected family portrait, convicted killer on the loose, and the ancestral curse of a phantom hound. The great detective himself, Sherlock Holmes—with the help of Dr. Watson—has his work cut out for him in a dramatic mystery that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1


Kevin Eastman - 2012
    The hit TMNT anthology series is back, and now in color! Volume 1, with a new cover by Steve Lavigne, collects issues #1-4 which include the stories "A Tale of the TMNT," "Nobody's Fool," "All Hallow's Thieves," and "I, Monster." Read along again (or for the first time!) to enjoy the enormity of the Turtles' universe.

Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies


Guillaume Dorison - 2018
    On the sidelines of the race for the atomic bomb, discover the story of Eddie Gorm and his integration into the Assassin Brotherhood while he infiltrates the Templars to foil their plan to create a devastating weapon.Eddie Gorm is the boss of the docks and his only obsession is to run his small business. For this, the docker does not shrink from anything: diversion of military rations, traffic of alcohol and settling of account in the district of the East End. The war? The Nazis? This is the problem of others. Except that when death knocks on his door, he has no choice: only man to save the world from atomic horror, Eddie finds himself propelled despite himself in the midst of a millennial conflict between the Order of Templars and the Brotherhood of Assassins.

The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel


Dallas Middaugh - 2012
    Nearly 10 years later, that story, The City of Ember, is a bona fide classic, with over 1.7 million copies sold. Now experience Jeanne DuPrau's vision anew as artist Niklas Asker faithfully brings to life the glare of the lamps, the dinginess of the streets, and the brilliance of the first sunrise.