8 Oldies But Goodies: Graphic Novels & Manga for Modern Teens

There are few things in this world as frustrating as waiting for the next volume of a current comic or manga to release.  It's like being cut off from finishing a book in the middle of a chapter and often requires a wait of a month or more.  Teens love graphic novels (for obvious reasons) but often have a hard time waiting patiently for the next volume to make it onto library shelves.

Since there's not much more annoying than a whiny teenager, I've created a list of older ("classic") graphic novels that are completely finished (or have at least 10 volumes) to keep your teens happy while they wait.  Enjoy!

Title

	Title: The Arrival Series: n/a Author: Shaun Tan Volumes: 1 Status: Completed Where to Get It: Available at many book and comic retailers Recommended Ages: All Synopsis:  This graphic novel reads like a silent film following the experiences of a traveler who arrives and makes his way in a new, unfamiliar place.  *One of the most poignant and beautiful graphic novels I've read.
	Title: The Grand Quest a.k.a. Fire & Flight Series: ElfQuest Authors: Wendy & Richard Pini Volumes: 18+ Status: Completed (The Final Quest is ongoing as a web comic) Where to Get It: Out of print, but can view series  for free here. Recommended Ages: 16+ for sensuality, adult situations & some nudity Synopsis: After betrayal leaves the Wolfriders stranded in a foreign land, Cutter must ensure the survival of his tribe while they search for a new home.  But this journey leads to an adventure the elves could never have imagined.
	Title: Legends in Exile Series: Fables Author: Bill Willingham Volumes: 18+ Status: Ongoing Where to Get It: Published through Vertigo (an imprint of DC Comics). Available at many book and comic retailers. Recommended Ages: 16+ for sensuality, adult situations & some nudity Synopsis: Characters from folklore have been driven from their homeland and are settled in the community of Fabletown in the busy metropolis of New York City.  Willingham has re-imagined familiar characters and created a multi-layered, dynamic series with a truly epic scope.
	Title: Hikaru no Go, Volume 1 Series: Hikaru no Go Author: Yumi Hotta Volumes: 23 Status: Completed Where to Get It: Can be found in many book and comic retailers. Recommended Ages: 10+ mild language Synopsis: Middle school student Hikaru discovers an ancient Go board in his grandfather's attic, only to find that it is haunted by the spirit of a long-dead Go Master. Now the ghost won't leave Hikaru alone until he learns to play Go!
	Title: Hana Kimi, Volume 1 (a.k.a Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) Series: Hana Kimi Author: Hisaya Nakajo Volumes: 23 Status: Completed Where to Get It: Published in the US by Viz Media. New 3-in-1 editions available. Recommended Ages: 15+ gender-bending, romance, mild sensuality Synopsis: Mizuki Ashiya has such a crush on Japanese track star Izumi Sano that she decides to move to Japan, disguise herself as a boy, and enroll in Sano's all-boys boarding school.  Much gender confusion and hilarity ensues.
	Title: Mars, Volume 1 Series: Mars Author: Fuyumi Soryo Volumes: 15 Status: Completed Where to Get It: Out of Print. Can be found online at sites such as MangaReader or individual sellers on Amazon. Recommended Ages: 16+ sexual abuse, rape, romance, adult situations Synopsis: Bad boy Rey and gentle, artistic Kira are worlds apart in personalities, but may just be perfect for each other. When Rey rescues Kira from the hands of her sleazy art teacher, Kira finds the courage to ask Rey to model for her. However, as their relationship blooms, the jealousy of an upperclassman and dark secrets from Kira's past come back to haunt them.
	Title: Mr. Stuffins Series: n/a Authors: Andrew Cosby & Johanna Stokes Volumes: 1 Status: Completed Where to Get It: Multiple book and comic retailers Recommended Ages: 12+ mild language, spy action, violence Synopsis: An A.I. spy personality ends up loaded into a Teddy-Ruxpin-like stuffed animal who, when powered up, believes he has a mission to complete that is critical to national security. *Make sure to read the tweets at the end!
	Title: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Volume 1 Series: Sailor Moon Authors: Naoko Takeuchi Volumes: 12 (as of this post 8 volumes available) Status: Ongoing Where to Get It: Kodansha Comics is re-releasing the Sailor Moon manga as a 12-volume set in celebration of Sailor Moon's 20th anniversary. Recommended Ages: 12+ Synopsis: Usagi Tsugino and her friends may seem like your average high school students, but they each have a secret identity as supernatural protectors of Earth!

Kick-Ass Femmes in YA Literature - Part 2

Finding strong, independent female characters in popular literature can be difficult, but there are some Ladies of the Pages that do the female gender proud:

	Cammie of Ally Carter's I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You - Book one of the Gallagher Girl series Cammie is a second generation Gallagher Girl attending the prestigious Gallagher Academy - which just happens to be a training facility for teenage spies.  She and her classmates excel at tailing, hand-to-hand combat and code cracking, but Cammie's special talent is for blending into the background.  She prides herself on not being noticed.  So when a boy from the local town actually does notice her, Cammie is stunned.  Could he be the boy of her dreams? Perhaps.  But falling in love is difficult when your trying to uncover a national conspiracy, keep your grades up and keep your mom, the super-spy, in the dark. Traits: Loyal, Intelligent, Friendly
	Pressia of Pure by Julianna Baggott The Detonations destroyed the world as it was; what has survived is utterly changed from the Before.  Groupies roam the streets turning their many eyes in search of victims, OSR takes anyone over the age of 16 to be either soldier or cannon-fodder, and altered strange amalgamations of animal, plant and mineral wait for the unwary.  Above the turmoil of the outside sits the Dome, a haven where the Pures where protected from the blasts and where they wait for the Earth to renew itself.  Pressia has just turned 16 and the OSR is coming for her; but she does not want to kill or be killed and, in running, puts herself on an even more dangerous path.  Click here for full review. Traits: Kind, Thoughtful, Resourceful, Determined
	Sunday of Enchanted by Alethea Kontis Sunday is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and, in a land where magic abounds, this can mean many things.  But Sunday has lived all her life in the shadow of her older sisters experiencing none of their adventures except vicariously through the stories.  Sunday loves stories, hearing them, collecting them, creating her own and writing them down in her magical never-ending journal.  But Sunday never tells stories, over time she has discovered that her tales have an unfortunate habit of coming true, so she contents herself with her journal and her dreams.  Until one day she befriends an enchanted frog in the Wood and unknowingly sets her own story in motion.  For full review click here. Traits: Loyal, Creative, Kind
	Aislinn of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr The fey realm gets a bit darker in this urban fantasy.  Aislinn has been raised by three rules: don't stare at invisible fairies; don't speak to invisible fairies; and don't ever attract fairies attention.  But those rules will not keep her safe from Keenan, the Summer King, who has spent the last 900 years searching for the one girl capable of becoming his Summer Queen.  Now Aislinn faces an impossible choice: give up her freedom (and possibly her life) to become Keenan's Queen, or watch the world and the people she loves descend into unending Winter. Traits: Fierce, Determined, Self-Possessed
	Cleo of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes For a hundred years magic, the lifeblood of the three realms of Mytica, has been fading, slowly killing the land and driving two of the three kingdoms into desperate straits.  Cleo, Jonas, Lucia and Magnus soon discover that the actions of a single person can change the course of history and determine a nation's fate. Traits: Loving, Passionate, Strong-Willed

The Files are Coming! The Files are Coming!

YA titles that center around the Arts.

If you look closely, you will notice a new tab at the top of my blog labeled "Files".  What is in this mysterious new tab you ask? It is the place where I am putting ALL of my Book Posters and Bookmarks!

While I am actively working on getting everything online, please be patient.  I'm going as quick as I can. :)

These items are free and may be used by teachers or librarians who work with teens.


DISCLAIMER: Book art copyrights belong to their respective owners.  These posters/bookmarks are to be used only for NON-COMMERCIAL use by teachers and librarians seeking to increase teen literacy and reading.