Archives de catégorie : Comics & Graphic Novels

PETWIZARDS de Kirk Scroggs

Perfect for animal lovers and fans of Lumberjanes, here is a hilarious middle-grade graphic novel about a glam rock-loving boy named Finch with the not-so-secret ability to control animals, and his mission to save the school musical and win the heart of his crush.

PETWIZARDS
by Kirk Scroggs
Union Square Kids, August 2024
(via JABberwocky Literary Agency)

Finch Eaglehawk may seem like an average oddball with a taste for the dramatic and glam-rock musical numbers, but he has a secret. Finch is a PetWizard, with the ability to control the animal kingdom—well, the « et cetera » category of the animal kingdom. Though he loves his naked mole rats, bearded dragons, and boa constrictors, Finch yearns for more. With the help of his best friend, Aberdeen, a mysterious new kid named Erica, and an ancient PetMaster manual, Finch tries to learn how to own his powers and use them to help those in need, protect the vulnerable, and, most important, impress his crush, Ken Chu, the star of the upcoming school musical.

Kirk Scroggs is the author and illustrator of The Secret Spiral of Swamp Kid and We Found a Monster. He has been publishing illustrated middle-grade novels for over fifteen years. Kirk lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Steve, and an ungrateful cat.

DON’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS de Raphael Simon et Phillip De Léon

A tender love story, a queer coming-of-age and a gripping mystery all wrapped into one in this YA graphic novel.

DON’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS
by Raphael Simon
illustrated by Phillip de León
Roaring Brook, Summer 2026
(via The Gernert Company)

Two queer love stories. Two time periods. One mystery.

Fifteen-year-old Noah lives with his father in New York but is spending the summer with his mother in Venice, CA. An indoor, city sort of person, a RuPaul fanatic, he’s miserable in the sun – until he meets Tomo, a surfer who works in his father’s vintage store. Tomo hands Noah an old composition-style notebook, filled with steamy diary entries by its teenaged owner, Diego, in addition to ephemera from the 1980s. Noah reads about Diego playing footsie in history class with closeted surfer (another surfer!) Casey until one day after school it becomes something more. Noah is enthralled. And there’s one more notebook at the store, but that’s it – Noah and Tomo have no idea what happened to Diego and Casey. And as they set off to find the much older surfer, the two boys find romance of their own…but can Noah keep from sabotaging the first good thing in his life?

Better known as Pseudonymous Bosch, Raphael Simon is the not-so-secret author of two bestselling middle-grade series, the Secret Series and the Bad Books, as well as the ALA Rainbow-Listed Unbelievable Oliver chapter-book mysteries. Most recently, Raphael published The Anti-Book, the first novel to appear under his own name.

Textile designer and illustrator Phillip De León worked as a creative in the advertising world before joining forces with his design partner and sister Nicole and their father Marcus to form the De León Design Group, and to direct the Los Angeles-based textile house, Alexander Henry Fabrics, Inc.

KID YOUTUBER PRESENTS: HALL MONITORS #1 de Marcus Emerson

From the creator of Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja comes HALL MONITORS!

KID YOUTUBER PRESENTS: HALL MONITORS #1
by Marcus Emerson
Self-published, July 2023
(via Writers House)

Meet Parker Ronald, captain of the Hall Monitors. Not every school has them, but Wood Intermediate does, at least for one more week.

Being a Hall Monitor ain’t always pretty, but somebody’s gotta do it. And after a high-speed chase ends with two kids kaboomed against a trophy case, the principal has decided to cut the program. But with the help of Davy Spencer and a little something called YouTube, Parker will try to prove to everyone why the Hall Monitors shouldn’t get axed. Oh, and the school’s most prized possession also gets ganked, so that’s a whole thing, too.

HALL MONITORS is a funny children’s book for ages 9-12, middle school students, and adults who never grew up.

Marcus Emerson is the author of Kid Youtuber, Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja, and The Super Life of Ben Braver.

THE NIGHT LIBRARIAN de Christopher Lincoln

Night at the Museum meets The Land of Stories in this thrilling new graphic novel adventure series in which two siblings, a mysterious Night Librarian, and a motley cast of book characters try to save the New York Public Library.

THE NIGHT LIBRARIAN
by Christopher Lincoln
Dial Books, July 2024
(via Writers House)

Twins Page and Turner know about the magic a library holds—they’ve been going to their beloved New York City public library for years, especially since their parents are always traveling for work.

But a secret mission involving their dad’s rare and valuable edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula uncovers a world they’ve never known, featuring a mysterious Night Librarian, famous heroes (and villains) that have broken free from classic books, and an epic battle to save the library from total destruction.

Christopher Lincoln is the author of the Billy Bones series. He graduated from the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University and spent nearly a decade working as an animator. He credits animation for teaching him how to write, because an animator must learn how to inhabit a character’s body and move him in a world of his own.

CRY WHEN THE BABY CRIES de Becky Barnicoat

Born out of a viral “Shouts & Murmurs” piece in The New Yorker, this darkly humorous, charming, and brilliant graphic memoir, in the tradition of Allie Brosh and Roz Chast, brings the first few years of parenthood to life

CRY WHEN THE BABY CRIES
by Becky Barnicoat
Gallery, March2025
(via Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary)

With the wit of a comedian and the observational skills of a sociologist surveying a new subculture, Becky Barnicoat writes about her first few years of parenthood with warmth, sharp insight, and uproarious humor in her debut graphic memoir. Barnicoat’s prose is always relatable, smart, and so funny while discussing everything from how ignoring women’s pain is baked into the practice of obstetrics to the impossibility of putting a child down drowsy but awake while you are permanently drowsy but awake, to the tyranny of gentle parenting, and more. Barnicoat gives us permission to cry when the baby cries, and also laugh, snort, lie on the floor naked, drool, and revel in a deeply strange new world ruled by a tyrannical tiny leader, growing bigger and more cherished by the day.

Becky Barnicoat has drawn for The New Yorker, BuzzFeed, The Guardian, Netflix, and much more. Along with her debut book, CRY WHEN THE BABY CRIES, she has also illustrated Holding the Baby by Nell Frizzell and 101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your World by Ailbhe Malone. She lives in England.