Graphic Novel

The Last of Us: American Dreams / Neil Druckmann, Faith Erin Hicks, Rachelle Rosenberg

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Last of Us: American Dreams
By: Neil Druckmann, Faith Eric Hicks, Rachelle Rosenberg
Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror
Number of Pages: 104
Published: July 31, 2013
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Dates Read: March 6, 2023
Format: eBook

Set before the video game, The Last of Us: American Dream follows Ellie as her friendship with Riley blossoms at her new military boarding school.

As I’m sure a lot of people are doing right now with the series finale of the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us I grabbed the graphic novel to give it a read.

It’s too short! I kind of wish there was more – especially since I’ve fallen in love with this series and now want to consume everything about it (including hopefully playing the game too). I wish there were more graphic novels to showcase other characters’ back stories!

The art of this shows the actions and movements clearly – even when something happened quickly, it was shown easily.

It’s a prequel to the video game and does differ from the show.

Bea Wolf / Zach Weinersmith

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment
The cover of graphic novel "Bea Wolf" with a little girl with a teddy bear head with cape on as she stands on a golden stack of sweets and treats and stuffed animals
Bea Wolf
By: Zach Weinersmith
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 208
Published: March 21, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: February 27, 2023 - February 28, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

In this middle grade retelling of Beowulf, a gang of troublemaking kids must defend their treehouse fort, Treeheart, from a boring, fun-hating adult, Grindle who can turn the kids into boring teens and adults with just a touch of his finger.

Just going to start this off with the claim that I don’t believe I ever read Beowulf – there may have been a time in high school when I should have read it when we were in the unit of classics, but I tended to fight against being told what to read at that time.

I wanted to read this one graphic novel because of the cover – I immediately fell in love with the little girl on the cover. The illustrations were gorgeous and beautiful to look at and that’s what kept my attention the most.

Since this was a retelling, Zach Weinersmith used the formatting and style methods from the original Beowulf, which they talk about at the end in a note (which I was laughing at their call out to being either a librarian or a future writer as to why exactly you were reading a super long note written by the author in the first place)

This will be a different reading style for Middle Grade readers, but I believe once they get started on reading it, they will get the rhythm of it and they’ll fly through it in no time with giggles erupting with every page.

Bea Wolf is fun for everyone, all ages will be laughing at the shenanigans of the kids from Treeheart and their allies.  

*Thank you NetGalley and First Second for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Fangs / Sarah Andersen

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Fangs
By: Sarah Andersen
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 100
Published: September 1, 2020
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Dates Read: February 25, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Elsie is a three hundred year old vampire who meets Jimmy, a werewolf, at a bar. Fangs follows their relationship filled with cuteness and humor. 

I don’t know how I went this long without reading this graphic novel, as I love Sarah Andersen.

Each page was its own scene and this is such an adorable book filled with the cutesy, cheesy relationship of a vampire and a werewolf sprinkled in with humor of the stereotypes of the two.

The art was simple, but still amazing, like the rest of Andersen’s style. It made me giggle and smile seeing Elsie and Jimmy being together.

Definitely recommend this book, especially those who have read Andersen’s novels and comics before – you won’t be disappointed.

The Moth Keeper / K. O’Neill

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Moth Keeper
By: K. O'Neill
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 272
Published: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Dates Read: February 20, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths. Lunar moths help the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year and her village uses the flower’s nectar to thrive and survive. But, the nights in the desert are cold and lonely, and Anya finds being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what she thought it would be. She finds herself wondering what it would be like to feel the sun’s warmth. One day, she decides to stay up during the day to experience the sun and her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences of her choice.

I absolutely adored the Tea Dragon Society series, so I knew as soon as I saw K. O’Neill had a new graphic novel coming out, so I needed to read it as soon as possible.

It wasn’t a disappointment.

This is a story about burnout and loneliness that is written alongside beautiful artwork from K. O’Neill that is done in such a way that younger audiences will be able to understand the message too.

Overall, this is a beautiful and gentle graphic novel that I can see those of all age groups loving and enjoying – both for the story and for the art.

*Thank you Random House Graphic and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth / Zoe Thorogood

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth
By: Zoe Thorogood
Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir
Number of Pages: 120
Published: November 15, 2022
Publisher: Image Comics
Dates Reads: February 20, 2023
Format: eBook

Trigger Warnings: Mental health; depression, mentions of suicide and suicide attempts

Cartoonist Zoe Thorogood records 6 months of her life as it falls apart and she tries to put it back together, all while trying to battle the inner demons of her depression.

By now, I’ve read my fair share of mental health battling graphic novels. Sometimes the writer’s battles are not quite the same as my own, Zoe Thorogood’s battle is still not 100% me, but my goodness, did she mention stuff that hit my gut and gave me tears. Growing up, talking about mental health wasn’t a thing quite yet – I remember after my dad passed, being asked by my mom if I wanted to speak with a therapist and being horrified about even the thought of it. Now, my siblings and I are pretty open about our mental health, but I still don’t always talk to my mom about it though, and this quote from Thorogood was me:

“…But now that I’m an adult I feel like I can protect them (parents) from it now, or at least I should. That’s the isolating part of mental illness- It seems to come after the ones you care about most.”

This isn’t an easy read, and it’s not going to necessarily be one you would probably read for the enjoyment aspect either – though there are pieces of art in this that are phenomenal. Thorogood captures the embodiment of depression, and the different stages and types of depression. She even has versions of her depression from when she was a little girl and at different stages of her life, that all still hang around with her today. It’s very well done.

Overall, this is an excellently drawn and written graphic novel that explores the inner battles of one cartoonist’s battle with depression.

“I can’t change my brain chemistry, but I can change how I choose to interact with the world around me… Life is merely a collection of good and bad experiences loosely held together by the void in between- and that void is your space to mold, a space to harness and create in. Just be careful not to get stuck there.”