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- Wednesday, February 07
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Check out the February selections for the 2024 graphic novel face off!
Happy February and welcome to the next selections of our 2024 graphic novel face off! For the month of February, we'll be focusing on titles that feature BIPOC creators. The graphic novel industry is making significant changes to diversify the creative teams behind some of our favorite graphic novels. Not only does this showcase a wider range of creative voices in the community, but it also helps readers understand experiences outside of their own. The selections this month include:
- Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen (Children's Selection)
- Iyanu: Child of Wonder Vol. 1 by Roye Okupe (Children's Selection)
- Excellence Vol. 1 by Brandon Thomas (Teen Selection)
- Season of the Bruja by Aaron Duran (Teen Selection)
- Bitter Root Vol. 1 by David F. Walker (Adult Selection)
- Kindred by Damian Duffy (Adult Selection)
Information about each selection for each category is shared down below. Be sure to head to your closest library location to vote for your favorite selection.
Kindred
A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Published in 2017
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.
Octavia E. Butler's Kindred
A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Published in 2017
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.
Season of the Bruja
Season of the Bruja. Volume 1
Published in 2023
From the time she was little, Althalia's abuela taught her about their culture; there was music, there was food, there was history, and then there was magic. The magic of the brujas. Althalia, along with her two companions, Dana, a were-coyote, and Chuey, a chupacabra, uses her abuela's training to help and assist others from all manner of spirits, demons, hell beasts, and even priests who seek the brujas destruction.
Pilu of the Woods
Published in 2019
A heartwarming story of friendship, loss, and finding your way home from debut author/illustrator Mai K. Nguyen! Willow loves the woods near her house. They're calm and quiet, so different from her own turbulent emotions, which she keeps locked away. When her emotions get the better of her one day, she decides to run away into the woods. There, she meets Pilu, a lost tree spirit who can't find her way back home-which turns out to be the magnolia grove Willow's mom used to take her to. Willow offers to help Pilu, and the two quickly become friends. But the journey is long, and Pilu isn't sure she's ready to return home yet-which infuriates Willow, who's determined to make up for her own mistakes by getting Pilu back safely. As a storm rages and Willow's emotions bubble to the surface, they suddenly take on a physical form, putting both girls in danger... and forcing Willow to confront her inner feelings once and for all.
Iyanu
Child of Wonder
Published in 2021
"A teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told in the folklore of her people."-- Provided by publisher.
Iyanu
Child of Wonder. Volume 1
Published in 2021
Part of the YouNeek YouNiverse! Extraordinary fantasy and superhero stories inspired by African history, culture, and mythology-created by the best Nigerian comics talent! Iyanu, a teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told in the folklore of her people. It is these abilities that are the key to bringing back an "age of wonders," as Iyanu begins her journey to save a world on the brink of destruction! The Corrupt--cursed wildlife and strange, divine beasts--are determined to destroy humanity, unless Iyanu can stop them. "Our mission is and always has been about empowering African creatives and storytelling while bringing both to a global audience." - Roye Okupe, Founder/Creative Director at YouNeek Studios
Excellence. Volume 1, Issue 1-6, Kill the Past
Published in 2019
Spencer Dales was born into a world of magic. His father belongs to the Aegis, a secret society of black magicians tasked with bettering the lives of others-with higher potential-but never themselves. Now it's time for Spencer to follow in his father's footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But who will stand beside him in this fight for a better future? Khary Randolph and Brandon Thomas ignite a generational war in this action-fantasy series, made entirely by creators of color, and committed to one truth above all others-Excellence is Real.
Excellence Kill the Past
Published in 2019
"Spencer Dales was born into a world of magic. His father belongs to the Aegis, a secret society of black magicians ordered by their unseen masters to better the lives of others-of higher potential-but never themselves. Now it's time for Spencer to follow in his father's footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But in this fight for a better future...who will stand beside him?"--Provided by publisher.
Bitter Root. Vol. 01
Family Business
Published in 2019
In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance is in full swing, and only the Sangerye Family, once known as the greatest monster hunters of all time, can save New York -- and the world -- from the supernatural forces threatening to destroy humanity. But those days are fading and the once-great family that specialized in curing the souls of those infected by racism and hate has been torn apart by tragedies and conflicting moral codes. A terrible tragedy has claimed most of the family, leaving the surviving cousins divided between by the desire to cure monsters or to kill them; they must heal the wounds of the past and move beyond their differences ... or sit back and watch a force of unimaginable evil ravage the human race.
Bitter Root. Volume 1
Published in 2019
Once known as the greatest monster hunters of all time, the Sangerye family specialized in curing the souls of those infected by hate. But those days are fading. A terrible tragedy has claimed most of the family, leaving the surviving cousins divided between by the desire to cure monsters or to kill them. Now, though, there's a new breed of monster loose on the streets of Harlem, and the Sangerye family must either come together or watch the human race fall to untold evil.