The third in Terri Libenson’s series of connected middle school graphic novels, Just Jaime tackles the difficult question of how to react when “friends” decide they don’t want to hang around you any more. As with Invisible Emmie and Positively Izzy, the format is unique, with interspersed chapters alternating between the illustrated diary format and full-out comics. (The lead characters from the first two books also appear here, tying the three together into a richer picture of young teen life.) […]

The team behind Action Philosophers! — writer Fred Van Lente and artist Ryan Dunlavey — have returned with an entertaining look at key men and events in American history, beginning with the two most famous Presidents. The attitude behind the series is apparent from the beginning. As narrated by Noah the Historkey (a history turkey), the George Washington! book begins with the best-known fable about Washington, which is promptly denounced as both “boring” and told by a “well-known liar.” Instead, […]

Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read But Probably Didn’t is exactly what it says — a whole collection of short (one- or two-panel) cartoons about a whole bunch of famous books. It’s a good blend of content. Some of the books I’ve never heard of, such as Ivanov or To the Lighthouse, and a few, you need to know the work to get the joke, but most are familiar, just through cultural absorption, and thus […]

Positively Izzy is the sequel to Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson. Both combine illustrated diary-style storytelling with comic format inserts to contrast visually how kids feel about themselves and how others may see them. Brianna (whom we met in the first book as Emmie’s best friend) is feeling constrained by being known as a brain. Izzy is full of imagination, creating her own stories, but she has trouble paying attention in school. Izzy gets the diary format, Brianna the comics. […]

As long-time readers know, I’m not a big fan of the illustrated diary book format. There’s nothing wrong with kids reading them, but I don’t care for them being promoted as comics. Terri Libenson’s Invisible Emmie does something fun with the concept, though. It combines the illustrated diary format with comics to contrast different approaches to middle school. Emmie is a regular, everyday kid. She’s not popular, not an outcast, just quiet, and she likes to draw. Going to school […]

It amazes me that Larry Gonick is still turning out such interesting cartoon science guides. I remember reading my first one, The Cartoon Guide to (Non)Communication, back in the early 90s, and here, over 20 years later, I’m still learning things from him. The Cartoon Guide to Algebra covers a topic I should know, given that I passed high school math, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover how much was new to me. (Starting with an overview of […]

Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona debuted as a webcomic before being reworked into a graphic novel. I find that it reads better — or maybe I’m better able to keep up with it — as a collection. Pages have been revised and a new epilogue added for this edition. Although it’s set among knights and battles, it’s a very modern-feeling story, because Nimona is a very young and current character. She’s a shape-changing teenager with all the attitude and lack of respect […]

Zot! changed my life. The 36-issue comic series by Scott McCloud ran from 1984 to 1991. It started as a manga-influenced light-hearted superhero series, but by the end, McCloud was telling powerful stories about everyday life as a teen. McCloud is better known today as the author of Understanding Comics, a non-fiction exploration of the format; its followup, Reinventing Comics, which examines technology; and a how-to book, Making Comics. But he originally started with this series, an homage to the […]