Year-Long Reading Challenge

An autobiographical and biographical cartoon in which the author explores his strained relationship with his father, an Auschwitz survivor, while also relating the story of his parent's experiences as Jews in wartime Poland, as told to him by his dad during a series of conversations they had years later in New York and Vermont.

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Octavia E. Butler's bestselling literary science-fiction masterpiece, Kindred, now in graphic novel format. 

More than 35 years after its release, Kindred continues to draw in new readers with its deep exploration of the violence and loss of humanity caused by slavery in the United States, and its complex and lasting impact on the present day. Adapted by celebrated academics and comics artists Damian Duffy and John Jennings, this graphic novel powerfully renders Butler's mysterious and moving story, which spans racial and gender divides in the antebellum South through the 20th century. 

Butler's most celebrated, critically acclaimed work tells the story of Dana, a young black woman who is suddenly and inexplicably transported from her home in 1970s California to the pre-Civil War South. As she time-travels between worlds, one in which she is a free woman and one where she is part of her own complicated familial history on a southern plantation, she becomes frighteningly entangled in the lives of Rufus, a conflicted white slaveholder and one of Dana's own ancestors, and the many people who are enslaved by him.

Held up as an essential work in feminist, science-fiction, and fantasy genres, and a cornerstone of the Afrofuturism movement, there are over 500,000 copies of Kindred in print. The intersectionality of race, history, and the treatment of women addressed within the original work remain critical topics in contemporary dialogue, both in the classroom and in the public sphere.

Frightening, compelling, and richly imagined, Kindred offers an unflinching look at our complicated social history, transformed by the graphic novel format into a visually stunning work for a new generation of readers.

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon and key figure of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.

Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole).

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.

Winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award — Special Recognition
#1 Washington Post Bestseller
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
An ALA Notable Book
One of YALSA's Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens
One of YALSA's Top 10 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
One of YALSA's Outstanding Books for the College Bound
One of Reader's Digest's Graphic Novels Every Grown-Up Should Read
Endorsed by NYC Public Schools' "NYC Reads 365" program
Selected for first-year reading programs by Michigan State University, Marquette University, and Georgia State University
Nominated for three Will Eisner Awards
Nominated for the Glyph Award
Named one of the best books of 2013 by USA Today, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book, Paste, Slate, ComicsAlliance, Amazon, and Apple iBooks.

Collects X-Men (2019) #1-6. The X-Men face a whole new world of possibility! Mastermind Jonathan Hickman and superstar artist Leinil Francis Yu kick off this uncanny new era with a celebration of family as Cyclops, Marvel Girl and their extended clan make a Summer House for themselves - on the moon! But when an island full of unspeakable horrors appears on the horizon, the X-Men have their work cut out for them keeping their new homeland of Krakoa safe! As Earth comes to terms with the X-Men's new world order, the mutant nation's leaders attend an economic forum to show the humans what real power looks like. Plus: A trip to the Savage Land, an old nemesis returns and Mystique goes to extraordinary lengths to get what she wants!

LEARNING TO LISTEN
Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

Read the manga industry insiders voted their favorite of 2014!

“A very powerful story about being different and the consequences of childhood bullying… Read it.” -Anime News Network
“The word heartwarming was made for manga like this.” -Manga Bookshelf

Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars in this sexy, subversive fantasy and sci-fi space opera about star-crossed lovers from enemy worlds.

An epic for mature readers, SAGA is the story of Hazel, a child born to star-crossed parents from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war. Now, Hazel's fugitive family must risk everything to find a peaceful future in a harsh universe that values destruction over creation.

The multiple award-winning, critically acclaimed masterpiece and one of the most iconic, bestselling comic book series of its time begins here in the first volume collecting issues #1-6.

“The kind of comic that you get when truly talented superstar creators are given the freedom to produce their dream comic.” —Entertainment Weekly

“An unwieldy, profane, and glorious ode to compassion and equality.” —The Atlantic

"A little bit Romeo & Juliet and a lot Star Wars." —USA Today

"Mischievous, vulgar and gloriously inventive." —TIME Magazine

"May it run for 1,000 issues." —Rolling Stone Magazine

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

“A wholly original achievement.... Satrapi evokes herself and her schoolmates coming of age in a world of protests and disappearances.... A stark, shocking impact.” —The New York Times: "The 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years"

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the coming-of-age story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

Collects Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1-6. Miles Morales swings back into the spotlight! When the rampaging Rhino and a cadre of mysterious criminals start plaguing Brooklyn, things take a dark turn for the young Spider-Man! What mystery lurks under the surface of this newest villainous uprising? Why does the Rhino have minions? And who is the new antagonist who may just become Miles' most dangerous foe? Maybe Captain America has the answers! Then, get ready for…Miles Morales' day off! Vice Principal Drutcher is determined to figure out the reason for his student's tardiness and absences, so Miles, Judge and Barbara must stay one step ahead by playing hooky - while our hero tries to keep his secret safe from all of them! Plus: the quiet-but-deadly Tombstone! And introducing…Starling! Is she friend or foe? And is she single?

A heart-wrenching single-volume story about the struggles of being an artist, from the creator of Chainsaw Man.

The overly confident Fujino and the shut-in Kyomoto couldn’t be more different, but a love of drawing manga brings these two small-town girls together. A poignant story of growing up and moving forward that only Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man, could have crafted.

The overly confident Fujino and the shut-in Kyomoto couldn’t be more different, but a love of drawing manga brings these two small-town girls together. A poignant story of growing up and moving forward that only Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man, could have crafted.

 

Collects Deadpool: Assassin #1-6. Cullen Bunn, master of the Deadpool limited series, joins comics legend Mark Bagley to set the sassin' assassin against his own kind! The Assassins Guild, that is! They're gunning for Deadpool and anybody he cares about, and Wade's healing factor is about to be put to the ultimate test by the knife-wielding speedster called Harvester! And even if Deadpool is lucky enough to survive that encounter, the nefarious ne'er-do-wells lining up to take their shot will make that showdown look like a walk in the park! But the Guild picked the wrong Merc to mess with. And soon Deadpool and his pals will take the fight to the assassins and hit them where they live - literally! But in an all-out assault on the Assassins Guild's HQ, not everybody will make it out in one piece!

Vol. 1: Acclaimed writer/artist Darwyn Cooke (Catwoman: Selina's Big Score) turns his attention to the dawn of the Silver Age in DC: The New Frontier ? which takes readers on a journey from the end of the Golden Age to the genesis of a bold new heroic era in the late 1950s! World War II is over. The Cold War has begun. The Age of the Superhero is in decline. But where are the heroes of tomorrow? DC: The New Frontier recounts the dawning of the DCU's Silver Age from the perspective of those brave individuals who made it happen. Encounter "keepers of the flame" including Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, who survived the anti-hero sentiment of the Cold War, as well as eager newcomers like test pilot Hal Jordan and scientist Barry Allen, poised to become the next generation of crimefighters. Cooke, a master storyteller, writes and illustrates this landmark tale, a must-have for fans of the DCU and all lovers of powerful tales of heroism!

Charlie Mackesy's beloved The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has been adapted into an Academy Award(R) winning animated short film, now available to stream on Apple TV+

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER - USA TODAY BESTSELLER

"The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is not only a thought-provoking, discussion-worthy story, the book itself is an object of art."- Elizabeth Egan, The New York Times

From British illustrator, artist, and author Charlie Mackesy comes a journey for all ages that explores life's universal lessons, featuring 100 color and black-and-white drawings.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" asked the mole.

"Kind," said the boy.

Charlie Mackesy offers inspiration and hope in uncertain times in this beautiful book, following the tale of a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who find themselves together in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship and love. The shared adventures and important conversations between the four friends are full of life lessons that have connected with readers of all ages.

Gotham City's worst criminals--Joker, Riddler, Ra's al Ghul, Clayface and others--have emerged to throw Batman's life into utter chaos. However, these villains are part of a much more elaborate, sinister scheme to destroy the Dark Knight once and for all, one headed by a mastermind much closer to Bruce Wayne than any foe before...

Gotham City is infected by a crime epidemic and all of Batman's enemies have emerged to throw his life into utter chaos. But little do they know, they're all pawns of the villainous Hush in an elaborate game of revenge against Bruce Wayne. Pushed past his breaking point, Batman will need to use more than the world's greatest detective skills to uncover the true identity of this mysterious mastermind before it's too late.

This truly unforgettable story by three of comics' top talents--writer Jeph Loeb (Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory) and artists Jim Lee (Justice League, Suicide Squad) and Scott Williams (All-Star Batman & Robin, Superman)--presents the Caped Crusader's most personal case yet!

Collects Batman #608-619, a Hush interlude from Wizard #0, and a bonus section with over 40 pages of behind-the-scenes content.

A new vampire for a new century. Cunning, ruthless, and rattlesnake mean, Skinner Sweet has a reputation for cussedness as long as he is ornery. As the first vampire conceived on American soil, however, he's not your usual creature of the night. Stronger, fiercer and powered by the sun, Sweet is the first of a new breed of bloodsucker: the American Vampire. Forty-five years after rising from his grave, Sweet finds himself in 1920s Los Angeles, where the young and beautiful are drawn like moths to the burning lights of Hollywood. Something beyond simple human greed is at work here, however, as struggling young actress Pearl Jones is about to discover. When her movie-star dreams are transformed into a bloody nightmare, Sweet provides her only chance for survival as well as the power to take revenge.

Akane takes on the world of rakugo to avenge her father!

Shinta Arakawa wants nothing more than to pass his shin’uchi exam—the test that would make him a top-rank headliner and master storyteller in the traditional Japanese art of rakugo. Akane Osaki, his daughter and biggest fan, spies on him while he practices and learns his routines for herself. When rakugo master Issho Arakawa expels everyone after the exam with no explanation, a fire is lit inside Akane. From that day forth, she has had one goal—to avenge her father and prove his art was worthy of the title of shin’uchi.

Akane unintentionally stirs up a scandal when she’s discovered taking informal lessons from her father’s former teacher, Shiguma Arakawa. And she’s about to make even bigger waves because she is about to begin her first steps in climbing the ranks of a rakugo performer from zenza opening act to shin’uchi headliner is exchanging her secret lessons for formal training. But she’ll still have to finish high school and navigate her relationship with Shiguma’s existing apprentices, all while learning that becoming a stellar rakugoka takes much more than just being good at performing!