Archives de catégorie : Comics & Graphic Novels

SHOCK CITY d’Aaron Alexovich

From debut author Aaron Alexovich comes a middle-grade graphic-novel series following Sunny von Shock—a cheerful monster kid, and her new (well, only) friend Milo, as they try to save their town over the course of one epic night!

SHOCK CITY
by Aaron Alexovich
Viking, Fall 2024
(via Writers House)

When shy, introverted Milo rings the doorbell of the forbidden Shock City castle on a dare, he gets more than he bargained for when Sunny, a peppy young monster, answers the door. He would never have returned a second time—except he feels he owes it to Sunny to tell her that he’s moving away. Not just him, either. The entire Shock City population. But Sunny isn’t about to let her best (only) friend leave her side. In fact, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep Milo in Shock City. So she convinces him to join her on a nighttime romp in an attempt to fix the crumbling metropolis and give everyone a reason to stay. But then Milo unleashes the harsh truth on Sunny—her late grandfather, the great Darkness von Shock, is the very reason the town is on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, their friendship is put to the test, and it’s up to Milo to be brave if he has any shot of saving his beloved Shock City.

Comic artist, writer, and character designer Aaron Alexovich’s first professional art job was working on Nickelodeon’s Invader Zim. Since then, he’s worked on various animation and comic projects, including Avatar: The Last Airbender, Disney’s Haunted Mansion, DC’s Fables, and three volumes of his original comic Serenity Rose. SHOCK CITY is his middle grade debut.

HEARTLESS PRINCE de Leigh Dragoon, illustré par Angela De Vito

A fierce warrior must save the heart of her beloved prince before it’s too late in the first book of a new YA fantasy-adventure graphic novel trilogy, perfect for fans of Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet.

HEARTLESS PRINCE
by Leigh Dragoon
illustrated by Angela De Vito
Disney-Hyperion, November 2021
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Evony is an orphaned princess from a kingdom destroyed by a power-hungry witch. Prince Ammon has recently been drawn to her, or at least he’s drawn to her uncanny ability to sense when familiars―servants to the witches―are approaching his kingdom’s borders. And Evony, well Evony has always longed for something more with Ammon. Wanting to prove himself to his kingdom and parents, Ammon takes Evony outside the borders to fight the familiars head-to-head. All is well until they’re captured by witch Aradia, who steals Ammon’s heart and leaves his body to turn into one of her familiars. What’s worse, his sister Nissa has been taken hostage by Aradia’s daughter. Evony makes it her mission to retrieve Ammon’s heart and save Nissa, taking her into the mysterious Witchlands. There, she will discover a secret about her past that will change everything.

Leigh Dragoon was raised in a log cabin in the Adirondacks, where she developed an early love of reading and writing. She became a fan of Little Women at age nine, after Beth’s demise made her bawl herself to sleep. This led to a lifelong appreciation of the book. After years of annual rereads, she became fascinated with learning about Louisa May and her family. She adapted both Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy and Marie Lu’s Legend series into graphic novel scripts. She has also written two prose Adventure Time novels: Queen of Rogues and The Lonesome Outlaw.
Angela De Vito is a freelance animator, storyboard artist, and character designer working in NYC. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Animation in 2014. Since then she has worked on animation for commercials and series pitches. Angela has worked for such studios as Hornet, Inc.; Titmouse, Inc.; Aardman Nathan Love; Click 3X; CHRLX; and Disney Digital Network. She also animation directed Comedy Central Digital’s Loafy, created by Bobby Moynihan.

GRAND SLAM ROMANCE de Ollie Hicks & Emma Oosterhous

A queer graphic novel where the balls are fast, the smooches are spicy, and the girls . . . magical.

GRAND SLAM ROMANCE
Book 1
by Ollie Hicks & Emma Oosterhous
Abrams ComicArts, May 2023

In this queer graphic novel that’s equal parts romance, softball, and magical girl drama, Mickey Monsoon and Astra Maxima are best friends . . . and maybe more. That is, until Astra unceremoniously dumps Mickey to become a softball wunderkind at a private girl’s school in Switzerland. Years later, Mickey is the hotshot pitcher for the Belle City Broads, and their team is poised to sweep the league this season. But Micky is thrown off their game when Astra shows up to catch for the Gaiety Gals, the Broads’ fiercest rival. Astra is flirty, arrogant, and reckless on the field—everything the rule-abiding Mickey hates.
Astra thinks Mickey’s cute and wants to fool around, even despite their rocky history and the trail of jilted softballers that Astra leaves in her wake. Too bad the only thing Mickey wants is vengeance for their broken heart and wounded pride! But even they have to admit—Astra is a certified babe. And that’s not all: Astra isn’t just a softball superstar, she’s a full-fledged magical girl.
The only way for Mickey to defeat Astra is to betray the Broads and join the Danger Dames, a secret elite team, and start dating Astra’s ex! OK, that last bit wasn’t part of the plan . . . Mickey’s rapidly getting in too deep, but is she just in trouble or is she actually in love? Full of wet mitts, hard hits, and a bevy of softball-playing babes, Grand Slam Romance: Book 1 is a flawless home run that is sure to knock readers out of the park.

Ollie Hicks is a Black British comics creator and editor who lives in the UK and has Jamaican heritage. They have a PhD in comics studies—focused on 20th-century British and American girls’ comics—from the University of Dundee, which is gently gathering dust. They like to write funny gay stories with their funny gay wife, Emma Oosterhous. Grand Slam Romance is their debut graphic novel. 
Emma Oosterhous is a cartoonist, animal enthusiast, and lesbian from Colorado. In 2018, she earned a Marshall Scholarship and then an MDes in comics and graphic novels from the University of Dundee. She now lives in the UK, where she makes comics with her wife, Ollie Hicks. Grand Slam Romance is her debut graphic novel

THE MIGHTY BITE de Nathan Hale

From the cartoonist behind Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales comes a wacky new graphic novel series!

THE MIGHTY BITE
by Nathan Hale
Amulet Books/Abrams, April 2023

What happens when a couple of prehistoric creatures want to become internet stars? Trilobite and Amber (a walking whale) dream of fame and fortune. They don’t realize that most of the world thinks that they’re extinct. When a wandering paleo-newscaster introduces them to the world of internet videos, they hop at the chance to get behind the camera. The competition for internet fame will be fierce—Trilobite and Amber will face off against ancient sea creatures, talking cacti, floating cat heads, and more! Friendships will be tested, allies will be made, and cameras will be smashed! Our heroes will have to use all of their newfound skills when they find themselves competing in an all out video-making battle royale!
With laugh-out-loud gags and outrageous, elaborate artwork, fans of
Dog Man and InvestiGators have never seen anything like Nathan Hale’s THE MIGHTY BITE!

Nathan Hale is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series. He also wrote and illustrated the graphic novels One Trick Pony and Apocalypse Taco. He lives in Utah.

BATCAT de Meggie Ramm

A new graphic novel series for emerging readers about accepting yourself and others, from up-and-coming author-illustrator Meggie Ramm.

BATCAT #1
by Meggie Ramm
Amulet/Abrams, March 2023

Batcat loves being all alone in their home on Spooky Island. Up in their tree house, they pass the time playing video games and watching TV. But when Batcat suddenly finds themself haunted by an annoying, ice cream–stealing ghost, they visit the local Island Witch for a spell to remove their ghastly guest permanently!
With their Ghost-B-Gone spell in hand, Batcat travels across Spooky Island to gather ingredients—to the Cavernous Caves where the bats tell them they’re too round to be a bat, and to the Whispering Cemetery where the cats will help only if they commit to being a true cat. But Batcat is neither and that’s what makes them special, right?
From up-and-coming author Meggie Ramm comes a sweet and fun story about accepting yourself when you’re perfectly in-between here and there.

Meggie Ramm is a non-binary cartoonist from Michigan. They spent their twenties teaching comics to kids in Oakland, California, and it was the best job in the whole world. They’ve had work in the New Yorker, Everyday Feminism, and Silver Sprocket, and have a limerick-based comic strip called The Littlest Dungeon Guard distributed through Sunday HaHa. They love rhymes, reading gay sci-fi and fantasy, and comics.