In 2021, comic books and graphic novels are more popular than ever. Toys, t-shirts, movies, TV shows, and video games featuring characters from comics are everywhere, and it’s easy to see why. Unfortunately, a lot of the source material is not made with young, emergent readers in mind, making it inaccessible for kids that are new to the format. Thankfully, CCPL has a solution to this problem: Our J Graphic Novel sections! Did you know that publishers are releasing new, kid-friendly material that even the earliest independent readers can read? It’s true, and CCPL has a ton of these books! If you’ve got a kid that wants to dive into the genre, here are eight books from our J Graphic Novel collection that are great starting points for young readers!
All title descriptions are from publishers.
DC Super Hero Girls: Weird Science by Amanda Deibert
It’s science fair time at Metropolis High, and the DC Super Hero Girls are very excited–except for Zee Zatara. Magic is her life, and science seems so dull in comparison. When she tries to help her friends with their projects, things keep going wrong. Is her magic causing their science to go haywire?
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
Jack might be the only kid in the world who’s dreading summer. But he’s got a good reason: summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves him at home to watch his autistic kid sister, Maddy. It’s a lot of responsibility, and it’s boring, too, because Maddy doesn’t talk. Ever. But then, one day at the flea market, Maddy does talk―to tell Jack to trade their mom’s car for a box of mysterious seeds. It’s the best mistake Jack has ever made.
In Mighty Jack, what starts as a normal little garden out back behind the house quickly grows up into a wild, magical jungle with tiny onion babies running amok, huge, pink pumpkins that bite, and, on one moonlit night that changes everything…a dragon.
Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
In the eerie town of ‘Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity.
Then there’s twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who’s caught in between. She’d rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost. But the mall is getting boring, and B.G. is cursed to haunt it, tethered there by some unseen force. And now Beetle’s old best friend, Kat, is back in town for a sorcery apprenticeship with her Aunt Hollowbone. Kat is everything Beetle wants to be: beautiful, cool, great at magic, and kind of famous online. Beetle’s quickly being left in the dust.
But Kat’s mentor has set her own vile scheme in motion. If Blob Ghost doesn’t escape the mall soon, their afterlife might be coming to a very sticky end. Now, Beetle has less than a week to rescue her best ghost, encourage Kat to stand up for herself, and confront the magic she’s been avoiding for far too long. And hopefully ride a broom without crashing.
Barb, The Last Berzerker by Dan Abdo
Barb is a Berzerker, one of a group of warriors sworn to protect the land of Bailiwick from the scourge of monsters that plagues it. But the fearsome crew seem to have met their match in the nefarious Witch Head. Using power from his magical sword, he tricked the Zerks and took them captive. Only Barb was able to escape—and she took Witch Head’s Shadow Blade with her.
Now it’s up to Barb to free her fellow warriors so they can stop Witch Head from taking over Bailiwick. On the way, she’ll battle vampire goat fiends, snot goblins, and a giant with serious foot odor issues (but don’t mention that to him—he’s very sensitive about it). Luckily, she’s got her best friend, Porkchop the yeti, to help her.
But the power of the Shadow Blade has a mind of its own, and the deeper Barb gets into her quest, the harder it is to keep the blade’s awesome power under control.
Epic Zero by R.L. Ullman
All Elliott Harkness wants is to be a superhero. His parents are superheroes. His older sister is a superhero. Heck, even his dog is a superhero. But Elliott has a problem—he’s a “Zero”—which is super-speak for powerless! So, while his family is off fighting crime, Elliott is stuck muddling through middle school.
But when danger strikes and Elliott is Earth’s last hope, will he find the power to be the epic hero he’s always wanted to be—or will he always be just an Epic Zero? Follow Elliott’s hilarious journey to fit in with his family, save the world, and make it home for dinner.
Paranorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse by Stephanie Cook
A witch named Abby and her three friends—a wolf-girl, a ghost, and a pumpkinhead—band together to try and save their supernatural town from an invasion of rabid (but adorable!) chaos bunnies in this enchanting middle-grade graphic novel for fans of Making Friends, The Okay Witch, and Lumberjanes.
It’s fall break in the supernatural town of North Haven, and young witch Abby’s plans include pitching in at her mom’s magical coffee shop, practicing her potion making, and playing board games with her best friends—a pumpkinhead, a wolf-girl, and a ghost. But when Abby finds her younger sister being picked on by some speed demons, she lets out a burst of magic so strong, it opens a portal to a realm of chaos bunnies. And while these bunnies may look cute, they’re about to bring the a-hop-ocalypse (and get Abby in a cauldronful of trouble) unless she figures out a way to reverse the powerful magic she unwittingly released. What’s a witch to do?
In this deliciously humorous, cozy, and bewitching graphic novel, sometimes the most of powerful magic comes from our connections to family and friends (but kicking bunny butt is great, too).
Pizza and Taco by Stephen Shaskan
Best friends are the BEST! But WHO is the BEST? Is it Pizza or Taco? The question is debatable! They both love water slides. They both are friends with Hot Dog and Hamburger. In fact, maybe they should have a debate and get their friends to VOTE for who’s the best! Can their friendship survive the race for top spot on the popularity food chain? Cast your VOTE! This graphic chapter book will tickle the funny bones of kids ages 4-7 and bolster their reading confidence.
Treasure in the Lake by Jason Pamment
Grand adventures stories often begin where you least expect them…
Iris knows this because she’s read them all. However, as a thirteen-year-old stuck in the tiny town of Bugden, real adventure seems like a distant dream. But when Iris and her best friend, Sam, stumble upon an unusually dry river on the outskirts of town, they’re led to a discovery beyond anything Iris has ever read about: a hidden city and a forgotten tale of friendship.
In Jason Pamment’s middle grade graphic novel debut, perfect for fans of Hilda and This Was Our Pact, can Iris and Sam uncover the truth in time to keep their own friendship afloat, or will history repeat itself and pull them apart forever?
