Best of 2024: Graphic Novels

Terribly, bloody, good with amazing artwork!

In graphic novel format, artist Ai Weiwei revisits his personal experience as a child growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution. Ai Weiwei has used the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and Chinese folklore as a basis for this memoir, where he reflects on freedom of expression and what it means to be an artist.

This was a whopper. Illustrated with clean lines and a kaleidoscopic sense of kinetic movement. The tone was somber and had a poetic aesthetic ambiance. Richly rendered and provided a comprehensive and riveting retrospective of this significant contemporary artist's work and practice. A wholehearted and wholesale recommendation from this librarian.

Reflecting on her own life, Rosena Fung explores three 16-year-old girls (daughter, mother, grandmother) growing up and having similar difficulties from three time periods, 2020 Toronto, 1972 Hong Kong, and 1954 Guandong, China.

Beautiful graphic novel about Almudena, who has to spend the summer fixing up a brownstone with the father she's never met, and as the summer days pass, she becomes slowly intertwined with the neighbors, neighborhood, and her dad.

Kai’s greatest wish is to become a warrior, much like her father, but although she trains and is skilled, she is no match for the society that wants to hold her down. There are also rumors circulating about her that she is descended from a nine-tailed fox demon, and on the day she learns her family’s greatest secret, she must decide how to confront and continue the life she has fought for. This extraordinary and beautiful fantasy is rooted in historical fiction that deals with trauma and finding your truth within yourself.

Indu, a boy who was adopted when his mom found him on the moon, doesn't feel at home on Earth. With a new blended family, crushes, and the new school he’s had to start, Indu doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere. He asks the moon to take him back but then starts to fit into his life, and he is not sure what to do. Utterly gorgeous and heartwarming.

In Utero is a story of friendship, coming-of-age, monsters, and dying malls with well crafted and believable characters and a clean expressive art style.

Ostertag is at her best in this dark and lovely graphic novel following Mags, a teenager who is haunted by a secret that drains her of her energy and leaves her isolated and numb. The arrival of her childhood best friend brings both memories of the past and a new path forward, perhaps finally allowing Mags to break free from the darkness if only she can bring her secret into the light.

Ogle continues the graphic memoir series that began with Four Eyes. This time, instead of new glasses, 7th grader Rex is dealing with acne and other scourges of puberty. Funny and cringingly relatable.

Two present-day samurai must join forces to defeat the demons outside and within. Teen 14+

This book is worth reading for the art alone, but the story also presents a deeply good and kind character who is surrounded by friends and family. Lots of superhero comics are about profoundly isolated protagonists; a superhero who can reach out for help and receive it enthusiastically is a deep comfort.

In Buddhist tradition, after someone dies they must wander for 49 days before crossing over. This beautiful graphic novel follows Kit during her 49 days and at the same time shows how her family back home is coping with their loss.

Ash runs away from home with their dog to find their grandfather's secret cabin in the wilderness, determined to make it into a home for themselves far away from the rest of the world.