Staff Picks
Melanin Poppin' Graphic Novels
- Desire'e Thomas
- Monday, February 03, 2020
Collection
This list features Graphic Novels that have Black or Brown Protagonists and/or Secondary Characters.
African-American Classics
Vol. 22
Published in 2011
Twenty-three stories and poems by African-American authors are retold in graphic novel format.
Abbott
Published in 2018
While investigating police brutality and corruption in 1970s Detroit, journalist Elena Abbott uncovers supernatural forces being controlled by a secret society of the city's elite. In the uncertain social and political climate of 1972 Detroit, hard-nosed, chain-smoking tabloid reporter Elena Abbott investigates a series of grisly crimes that the police have ignored. Crimes she knows to be the work of dark occult forces. Forces that took her husband from her. Forces she has sworn to destroy. Hugo Award-nominated novelist Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä present one woman's search for the truth that destroyed her family amidst an exploration of the systemic societal constructs that haunt our country to this day.
We Are Robin. Vol. 01, The Vigilante Business
Published in 2016
"In a Gotham City ravaged by the Joker, Batman alone is not enough to keep the peace and just one Robin isn t nearly enough to back him up. Now, teenagers who want to make a difference are coming together in droves and adopting the R. They re not a gang. They re not sidekicks. They are Robin. When Duke Thomas is recruited by the mysterious Nest to join teens from all different backgrounds and walks of life in the Robins, he hopes that they can help him find his missing parents. Instead, they find something much more nefarious an underground conspiracy that threatens to bring down Gotham. Now it s up to these untrained teen vigilantes to save the city from a mysterious evil force. But being Robin is dangerous. Robins die. Will these new heroes face the same fate?"--Provided by publisher.
The Harlem Hellfighters
Published in 2014
"This is a graphic novel about the first African-American regiment to fight in World War One"-- Provided by publisher.
Moonstruck . Vol. 01
Published in 2018
"Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriend go on a date to a close-up magic show, but all heck breaks loose when the magician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it's up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it's too late." -- Amazon.com.
Moonstruck. Vol. 02, Some Enchanted Evening
Published in 2019
"Enchanted evenings aren't always good ones. Blitheton is a typical college town full of typical mythical creatures living peacefully alongside humans. (Well, as peacefully as any town full of magic and mystery can be.) A werewolf in the thrones of young love, Julie longs for a normal, human life. But when enchanted drinks turn an otherwise ordinary party into a full-on magical meltdown, Julie's dreams of normality drift away than ever. With her relationship with her girlfriend seesawing between bliss and misery., will Julie find a way to save her friends AND her love life?"--Page [4] of cover.
Bingo Love
Published in 2018
"When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage."--Amazon.com.
Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History
Vol. 01
Published in 2014
"Strange Fruit, Volume I, Uncelebrated narratives from Black history is a collection of stories from African American history that exemplifies success in the face of great adversity. This unique graphic anthology offers historical and cultural commentary on nine uncelebrated heroes whose stories are not often found in history books. Among the stories included are: Henry 'Box' Brown, who escaped from slavery by mailing himself to Philadelphia; Alexander Crummel and the Noyes Academy, the first integrated school in America, established in the 1830s; Marshall 'Major' Taylor, a.k.a. the Black Cyclone, the first Black champion in any sport; and Bass Reeves, the most successful lawman in the Old West. Written and illustrated by Joel Christian Gill, the diverse art beautifully captures the spirit of each remarkable individual and opens a window into an important part of American history"-- Provided by publisher.
Black Lightning
Cold Dead Hands
Published in 2018
"Black Lightning is back and things are not the same! In his home town of Cleveland, high school teacher Jefferson Pierce is a role model for his students. As Black Lightning, he's fighting to keep them safe, even as his city's streets are invaded by local gangs with deadly super-weapons. And wait until you see who their supplier is!"-- Provided by publisher.
Black Comix Returns
Published in 2018
In 2010, Professor John Jennings and Dr. Damian Duffy compiled and published a 176-page collection of art and essays celebrating the vibrant African American independent comics community. Black Comix featured over 50 contributors, including Dawud Anyabwile, Eric Battle, Kenji Marshall, Afua Richardson, Larry Stroman, Rob Stull, Lance Tooks, and many, many more. It met high praise throughout the industry and quickly sold through its respectable print run despite interest and demand--used copies now fetch $60-150 on Amazon and eBay. Flash-forward eight years: the comic industry has changed a lot since then, and the amount of African American talent continues to grow and amaze. While huge strides in diversity have been made, John and Damian felt the time was right for another spotlight on the topic. Rather than simply reprinting the first edition, considering the number of fresh new voices and changes in the industry, a whole new volume felt necessary. This massive volume will be a brand-new milestone spotlight on the amazing diversity in comics today.
Incognegro
Published in 2008
"The early 20th Century: an era when lynchings were commonplace throughout the American South. To most of the press, this epidemic of racial murder wan't even news. But a few courageous reporters from the North risked their lives to expose these atrocities. They were light-skinned African-American men who could 'pass' for white. They called this dangerous assignment 'going incognegro.' Zane Pinchback, a reporter for the New York-based New Holland Herald, barely escapes with his life after his latest 'incognegro' story goes bad. But when he returns to the sanctuary of Harlem, he's sent on a new story-- the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi" -- from dust jacket.
Niobe. Vol. 01, She is Life
Published in 2017
"Niobe: She is Life is a coming of age tale of love, betrayal, and ultimate sacrifice. Niobe Ayutami is an orphaned wild elf teenager and also the would-be savior of the vast and volatile fantasy world of Asunda. She is running from a past where the Devil himself would see her damned ... toward an epic future that patiently waits for her to bind nations against the hordes of hell. The weight of prophecy is heavy upon her shoulders and the wolf is close on her heels"--Publisher's website.
Bayou. Vol. 02
Published in 2010
Lee continues her journey through the parallel world of Nawlins, accompanied by the blues-singing swamp monster Bayou, in a search for Brer Rabbit in order to find her kidnapped friend Lily and save her father from a lynching.
Yummy
The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
Published in 2010
"A graphic novel based on the true story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year old African American gang member from Chicago who shot a young girl and was then shot by his own gang members"--Provided by publisher.
The Tea Dragon Society
Published in 2017
After discovering a lost Tea Dragon in the marketplace, apprentice blacksmith Greta learns about the dying art form of Tea Dragon caretaking from the kind tea shop owners.
Watson and Holmes
A Study in Black
Published in 2013
"...re-imagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters as African Americans living and operating in New York City's famous Harlem district. Watson, an Afghanistan war vet, works in an inner-city clinic; Holmes, a local P.I. who takes unusual cases..."--Back cover.
Concrete Park. Vol. 01, You Send Me
Published in 2014
Earth's outcasts, exiled to a distant desert planet and forgotten, will either destroy each other with gang violence or find a path to redemption that will create something entirely new. Concrete Park, a dark, sexy sci-fi saga by Tony Puryear (screenwriter of Eraser) and Erika Alexander, is filled with unforgettable protagonists, a colorful supporting cast, redemption, romance, and nonstop action.
Pumpkinheads
Published in 2019
"Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they've worked together at the world's best pumpkin patch. They say good-bye every Halloween, and they're reunited every September 1. But this Halloween is different. Josiah and Deja are finally seniors. It's their last season at the Patch, their last shift together--their last good-bye. Josie's ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. (He's the melancholy type.) But Deja has a plan: What if, instead of moping and instead of the usual--slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut--they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! Maybe Josie could even talk to that cute girl he's been mooning over for three years ... What if their last shift was an adventure?"--Provided by publisher.
Legend of the Mantamaji. Vol. 01
Published in 2014
"Alexander, New York's hottest, cockiest, and most media-hungry Assistant District Attorney, is about to learn something shocking: he is not even human. He's the last of the Mantamaji, a long-lost race of warriors who once protected humanity when the world was young. Now another Mantamaji the worst of all their kind has reawakened to visit doom on all of humanity. Can Elijah accept his past, reject his present life, and learn about his talents, in time to defeat the villain who killed all the other Mantamaji before him? Legend of the Mantamaji is a three-book graphic novel series whose sweeping tale of magic and mystery, heroes and villains, has a fresh look, a modern setting and an ancient beat."-- Provided by publisher
Sleepless. Vol. 01
Published in 2018
"Lady "Poppy" Pyppenia is guarded by the Sleepless Knight Cyrenic but becomes endangered when an assassin threatens her life in the new king's reign. As Poppy and Cyrenic try to discover who wants her dead, they must navigate the dangerous waters of life at court and of their growing feelings for one another"-- provided by publisher.
Black Women in Sequence
Re-inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime
Published in 2016
"Black Women in Sequence takes readers on a search for women of African descent in comics subculture. From the 1971 appearance of the Skywald Publications character "the Butterfly"--The first Black female superheroine in a comic book--to contemporary comic books, graphic novels, film, manga, and video gaming, a growing number of Black women are becoming producers, viewers, and subjects of sequential art. As the first detailed investigation of Black women's participation in comic art, Black Women in Sequence examines the representation, production, and transnational circulation of women of African descent in the sequential art world. In this groundbreaking study, which includes interviews with artists and writers, Deborah Whaley suggests that the treatment of the Black female subject in sequential art says much about the place of people of African descent in national ideology in the United States and abroad."--Publisher's description.
Princeless. Vol. 01, Save Yourself
Published in 2014
Locked in a tower with her sisters and tired of waiting to be rescued by a prince, Princess Adrienne, her sidekick Bedelia, and her guardian dragon Sparky begin a quest to save themselves.
Black History in Its Own Words
Published in 2017
"Black History In Its Own Words started in January 2015 when Matt Bors asked me to find eight quotes and illustrate them for The Nib for February, Black History Month. I chose quotes ranging from the casual to the profound from luminaries both past and present. I had so much fun that I did four extra. The next year, 2016, I drafted 12 more; I had a habit. Presented here are the original 24 as well as 15 new ones for 2017."--Front matter.