Staff Picks
#BroaderBookshelf 2022 - Graphic Novels set in CA
- Mahogany S.
- Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Collection
Check out one of these graphic novels and fulfill the #BroaderBookshelf 2022 Reading Challenge prompt "read a fiction or nonfiction book set in California or New York".
This list is part of the #BroaderBookshelf 2022 Reading Challenge. Find more lists here.
California Dreamin'
Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas
Published in 2017
"Before she was the legendary Mama Cass of the folk group The Mamas and the Papas, Ellen Cohen was a teen girl from Baltimore with an incredible voice, incredible confidence, and incredible dreams. She dreamed of being not just a singer but a star. Not just a star--a superstar. So, at the age of nineteen, at the dawn of the sixties, Ellen left her hometown and became Cass Elliot. At her size, Cass was never going to be the kind of girl that record producers wanted on album covers. But she found an unlikely group of co-conspirators, and in their short time together this bizarre and dysfunctional band recorded some of the most memorable songs of their era. Through the whirlwind of drugs, war, love, and music, Cass struggled to keep sight of her dreams, of who she loved, and--most importantly--who she was."--Amazon.
The Fade out
Act One
Published in 2015
Modern day reporter Nicolas Lash learns of a secret involving an ageless woman who has been on the run since the 1930s, while reporter Hank Raines meets the same woman in 1950s San Francisco.
Friend of the Devil
A Reckless Book
Published in 2021
"It's 1985 and things in Ethan's life are going pretty well ... until a missing woman shows up in the background of an old B-movie, and Ethan is drawn into Hollywood's secret occult underbelly as he hunts for her among the wreckage of the wild days of the '70s."-- Amazon.
Reckless
Published in 2020
"Sex, drugs, and murder in 1980s Los Angeles... And the best new twist on paperback pulp heroes since The Punisher or Jack Reacher. Meet Ethan Reckless: Your trouble is his business, for the right price. But when a fugitive from his student radical days reaches out for help, Ethan must face the only thing he fears... his own past."-- Provided by publisher.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
A Spoon Too Short
Published in 2016
"After the many and conflicting versions of the legendary Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams created Dirk Gently: a detective with a belief in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, a troubled relationship with the laws of probability and quantum physics, and a love of cats and pizza. After the events of (&امٌَٰ#؛مؤمٰمكٰى(٣and (،شىٍمbut prior to the detective&#x;s relocation to California in (،ثىَهٱDirk finds himself investigating a bizarre case of poaching, dumbstruck tourists, and the inner membranes of a rhinoceros&#x; nose."--Back cover.
Mayday
Published in 2017
"April 1971: The CIA is handed the espionage coup of the decade when a KGB general defects with a list of all Soviet intelligence assets in Asia--including spies within the US Army in Vietnam. All Jack Hudson has to do is collect the defector and his microfilm from California...while keeping Palm Springs' overzealous FBI office from turning everything into a freakshow. All Codename:Felix has to do is kill the defector and get the microfilm back to the USSR by any means, fair or foul. Easy right? Now throw in a beautiful woman with terrible judgement, a fast car, and a whole lot of drugs."--page 4 of cover
Grace
The Jeff Buckley Story
Published in 2019
"California, 1991. All his life, people have told Jeff Buckley how much he looks like his father, the famous '60s folksinger he barely knew. But Jeff believes he has gifts of his own: a rare, octave-spanning voice and a songwriting genius that has only started to show itself. After he falls in love with a mysterious girl in New York, he sets out to make a name for himself outside his father's shadow. What follows are six turbulent years of music, heartbreak, hope, and daring--culminating in a tragedy that's still reverberating in the music world today. Written by Tiffanie DeBartolo and with art by Pascal Dizin and Lisa Reist, this graphic novel biography uses archival material provided by Jeff's mother, Mary Guibert, to reveal the young songwriter in the process of becoming a legend."--Amazon.com.
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.
Gaijin
American Prisoner of War
Published in 2014
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, a thirteen-year-old California boy who is half Japanese is sent to an internment camp. Story based on the history of the author's great-aunt.
Stage Dreams
Published in 2019
The New Mexico Territory, 1861. Young Grace, a trans runaway, has headed west, fleeing her Georgia home--and conscription into the Confederate Army. But her coach ride to California makes an unplanned stop when notorious outlaw the Ghost Hawk swoops in, shaking down its passengers and stealing away with Grace. The Ghost Hawk--Flor, to her friends--means to hold Grace for ransom. But when the two get to talking about Flor's plan to crash a Confederate gala, Grace convinces Flor to let her join the heist."--Page 4 of cover.
How the World Was
A California Childhood
Published in 2014
In 1994, French cartoonist Emmanuel Guibert befriended an American veteran named Alan Cope and began creating his new friend's graphic biography. Alan's War was the surprising and moving result: the story of Cope's experiences as an American GI in France during World War II. How the World Was is Emmanuel Guibert's moving return to documenting the life of his friend. Cope died several years ago, as Guibert was just beginning work on this book, but Guibert has kept working to commit his friend's story to paper. Cope grew up in California during the great depression, and this remarkable graphic novel details the little moments that make a young man's life...while capturing the scope of America during the great depression.
Americana (and the Act of Getting over It.)
Published in 2019
The Pacific Crest Trail runs 2660 miles, from California's border with Mexico to Washington's border with Canada. To walk it is to undertake a grueling test of body and spirit... challenge accepted. This intimate, engaging autobiographical work recounts the author's own attempt to walk the length of the USA's west coast. Healy's life-changing journey weaves in and out of reflections on his experiences in America and his development as an artist, navigating both the trail itself and the unique culture of the people who attempt to complete it.
Esperanza
A Love and Rockets Book
Published in 2011
Esperanza (Hopey) follows the somewhat settled-down ex-punkette in her new life as a schoolteacher, which doesn't mean that her romantic travails have gotten any simpler.
Faith. Vol. 1, Hollywood and Vine
Published in 2016
Orphaned at a young age, Faith Herbert - a psionically gifted "psiot" discovered by the Harbinger Foundation - has always aspired to greatness. But now this once ordinary teenager is taking control of her destiny and becoming the hard-hitting hero she's always known she can be - complete with a mild-mannered secret identity, unsuspecting colleagues, and a day job as a reporter that routinely throws into her harms way! Well, at least she thought it would. When she's not typing up listicles about cat videos, Faith makes a secret transformation to patrol the night as the City of Angels' own leading superhero - the sky-soaring Zephyr! But flying solo is going to be tougher than she ever thought when Zephyr uncovers a deep-rooted alien conspiracy. Two-bit burglars and car thieves are one thing, but when the world needs a hero to stave off an full-blown extraterrestrial invasion, will Faith find herself in over her head or ready for her biggest challenge yet?
I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation
Published in 2019
"When artist Tally Nourigat left her life in Portland to move to Los Angeles and pursue a job in animation, she realized that despite her research, nothing truly prepared her for the wild world that awaited in the studios of Southern California. From grinding on storyboard test after storyboard test to getting a job at a major studio to searching for an apartment in...the Valley...this autobiographical how-to graphic novel explores the highest highs and lowest lows of pursuing a dream in animation. Brushed with a dose of humor and illustrated advice about salaries, studio culture, and everything in between"--Provided by publisher.
Youth. Volume One, True Fantasy
Published in 2021
"Youth is a coming of age story that tells the story of two queer teenagers as they run away from their lives in a bigoted small town, and attempt to make their way to California. Along the way their car breaks down and they join up with a group of fellow misfits on the road. Embarking together in a van travelling the country they party and attempt to find themselves. And then something happens . "-- Provided by publisher.
The Customer is Always Wrong
Published in 2017
"This is a continuation of Mimi Pond's book Over Easy, a memoir of her time working amongst the hippies and punks of the wisecracking, fast-talking, drug-taking Imperial Café. Pond's story is equal parts time capsule of late 1970s life in California - with its deadheads, punks, disco rollers, casual sex and drug use - and bildungsroman of a young woman from naïve, sexually inexperienced art-school dropout to self-aware, self-confident artist. Mimi Pond's chatty, slyly observant anecdotes create a compelling portrait of a distinct moment in time."-- Provided by publisher.
King of Nowhere
Published in 2020
"In the parched wastelands of California, a lovable drunken lowlife named Denis awakens on the outskirts of an odd little village called Nowhere, home to a friendly populace of deformed, mutated, and just-left-of-normal citizens. Not knowing where he is or how he got there (or if the town is even real), Denis is given quarter in a flophouse above a bar and acquaints himself with the townsfolk - but just when he starts to regain his memories, his past catches up with him... What at first seems like merely a bad trip quickly heightens into a drama of mistaken identities, small-town conspiracy, and high-stakes fantasy fulfillment..."--Provided by publisher.
The Lost Boys
Published in 2017
"The stakes are raised in this nostalgic and unstoppable sequel to the '80s cult classic vampire film, The Lost Boys. Veteran horror writers Tim Seeley (GRAYSON, NIGHTWING, Hack/Slash) and Scott Godlewski (THE DARK & BLOODY, Copperhead) deliver a gruesome and stylish return to the bloody boardwalks and big hair of 1987! Santa Carla, California, is on edge. The eccentric coastal town and haven for the undead was finally returning to "normal" after its last supernatural scuffle left the local coven's head vampire dead and gave newcomers Michael and Sam Emerson a housewarming both violent and bizarre. Now the brothers must once again team up with militant vampire hunters Edgar and Allan Frog when a new gang of ruthless, stunning, life-sucking nightcrawlers, known as the Blood Belles, emerges from the aftermath to collect Michael's love interest and their lost sister, Star."-- Provided by publisher.
Home After Dark
A Novel
Published in 2018
Thirteen-year-old Russell Pruitt, abandoned by his mother, follows his father to dilapidated 1950s Marshfield, California where he is forced to fend for himself against a ring of malicious bullies.
The Fix. Vol. 01, Where Beagles Dare
Published in 2016
The Eisner Award-nominated team of bestselling writer NICK SPENCER (MORNING GLORIES) and artist STEVE LIEBER (Detective Comics, Whiteout) are in cahoots again for an all-new, ongoing crime series, THE FIX. THE FIX is a story of the crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run Los Angeles - and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels.
The Rocketeer
The Complete Adventures
Published in 2009
A "found" jet-pack that gives the wearer the power of flight puts Cliff Secord and his lady-love Betty Page in danger with a variety of foes in 1938 California.
They Called Us Enemy
Published in 2019
"A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love. George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future. In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten 'relocation centers', hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. What is American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do?"--Provided by publisher.
Odd is on Our Side
Published in 2010
"It's Halloween in Pico Mundo, California, and there's a whiff of something wicked in the autumn air. While the town prepares for its annual festivities, young fry cook Odd Thomas can't shake the feeling that make-believe goblins and ghouls aren't the only things on the prowl. And he should know, since he can see what others cannot: the spirits of the restless dead. But even his frequent visitor, the specter of Elvis Presley, can't seem to point Odd in the right direction. With the help of his gun-toting girlfriend, Stormy, Odd is out to uncover the terrible truth. Is something sinister afoot in the remote barn guarded by devilish masked men? Has All Hallows Eve mischief taken a malevolent turn? Or is the pleading ghost of a trick-or-treater a frightening omen of doom?" -- p. [4] of cover.
The Private Eye
Published in 2015
Digital web comic compiled. "A detective story set in 2076, when everyone in the United States has a secret identity."--Publisher's website. Contains 10 issues plus a "Making of" special.
American Born Chinese
Published in 2006
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.
Dragon Hoops
Published in 2020
"Gene understands stories - comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn't get sports. As a kid, his friends called him 'Stick' and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about. The men's varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that's been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he's seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn't know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons' lives, but his own life as well."--Provided by publisher