Kearsten's Book Club Wrap-Up: Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson

It's been awhile, but Kearsten really wanted to share our book club experience last night wherein we discussed the first volume in the trade comics superhero series Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson.

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City -- until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear?

Our discussion rambled all over the place, from superhero costuming (as in, "what a relief it is that Kamala isn't wearing a tiny leotard with combat boobs and boots!") to strict parenting. However, the most interesting part of the meeting came as we approached the topic of racism.  We talked about the unkindness Kamala faces in her story, and the way Kamala fans used her image to defuse racist ads in San Francisco, which then led to ways in which book club members have seen and faced racism in their own lives. 

We also had a bit of time left to talk about the creators' reasons for creating Kamala, and to discuss her importance in the comics world.

Already read Ms. Marvel: No Normal?  Why not try one of these teen-recommended titles?

Ms. Marvel: Generation Why (Vol. 2) by G. Willow Wilson. Who is the Inventor, and what does he want with the all-new Ms. Marvel and all her friends? Maybe Wolverine can help! Kamala may be fan-girling out when her favourite (okay maybe Top Five) super hero shows up, but that won't stop her from protecting her hometown. Then, Kamala crosses paths with Inhumanity for the first time - by meeting the royal dog, Lockjaw! Every girl wants a puppy, but this one may be too much of a handful, even for a super hero with embiggening powers.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer. As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.








I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Overburdened by his parents' bickering and a bully's attacks, fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective.








Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight by Kelly Sue DeConnick. Carol Danvers is back. After changing her superhero name, Captain Marvel tries to live up to the legacy of her fallen predecessor, while facing a time-traveling adventure that's intricately linked with the woman who inspired her military career.









What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross. Weaving together heart-wrenching stories with immersive reporting and dramatic storytelling, a gripping account of a weather event in April 2011 that saw a record 358 tornadoes rip through 21 states in three days shows how things that tear our world apart also reveal what holds us together.








Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (Vol. 1) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. In the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, the tale begins. Himura Kenshin, a humble "rurouni," or wandering swordsman, comes to the aid of Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman struggling to defend her father's school of swordsmanship against attacks by the infamous Hitokiri Battosai. But neither Kenshin nor Battosai are quite what they seem...

Beware these bunnies are suicidal!

Here's the next book to celebrate your freedom to read with! Andy Riley's The Book of Bunny Suicides believe it or not, was challenged at a high school this year because "it's wrong" Essentially, the complaint's argument was that suicide was not something to laugh at or even "for school age children" according to quotes in news articles.

Luckily the book was returned to the bookshelves after a decision by the school board.

The Book of Bunny Suicides is a humor publication with one panel comics of bunnies trying various hysterical ways of committing suicide. The cover is a good example of its humor.

Welcome to Lovecraft

Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft is a compilation of a creepy six-issue comic book story arc by horror master Joe Hill (son of Stephen King---I almost didn’t mention this because I’m sure Joe would like to make a name for himself that doesn’t also include the name of his legendary father…However, I did mention it, so…Best of luck with that Joe!) and Chilean artist Gabriel Rodriquez. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Joe Hill’s New York Times Bestseller Heart-Shaped Box, the story of an aging rock star who gets much more than he bargains for when he buys a man’s ghost online through an ebay-like website. So, when I discovered that Joe had co-created a graphic novel, I checked it out at the library as soon as I was able to get my hands on it.

Not much time is wasted before things start getting gooey (an amusing term that one of my co-workers uses to describe books or movies that are gory or gruesome). By page three, the body count begins. As the story unfolds, the reader witnesses the brutal murder of Rendell Locke by a mentally disturbed teen (Sam Lesser) who attends the school where Rendell works as a guidance counselor in San Francisco. After the funeral, Rendell’s widow and their three children (teens Tyler and Kinsey, and six-year-old Bode) move across the country to live with Rendell’s brother in the Locke family home. There, they attempt to get past the trauma and carry on with their lives. However, weirdness abounds in this spooky New England mansion…A mysterious doorway enables the spirit of anyone who passes through to leave its body, and an insidious creature beckons to Bode from inside an old forbidden well-house.

Welcome to Lovecraft is packed with surprises, including a “what the heck” ending that had me backtracking through pages to insure that I wasn’t missing something. Although the violence is intense, Hill and Rodriguez have done an amazing job of infusing a real sense of humanity into their characters…At one point, I even found myself feeling a bit sorry for Sam the psycho killer. A second compilation in the series, Head Games, is due to be released in September of this year.

Eisner Nominees -- Part 2

W00t! Back to back blog posts! Soon the crown and glittery scepter of the blog queen will be mine, all MINE!

Anyway, I want to talk some more about the Eisner award nominees -- this time, I think I'll tackle some of the other categories.

In the Best Reality Based Work category, we see some of the same books that showed up in the Best Graphic Album -- New caterogy. Since I've already talked about Fun Home and I Love Led Zeppelin, I won't talk about them here. Two of these books really surprised me -- and they're my favorites.

Brian Fries' mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking. The cancer had metastasized to her brain, leaving her with a less than 5% chance of survival. Brian started a web comic to document his mom's journey. What I liked about this book is how it's not at all what you think it's going to be about. Instead of a book about death and saying goodbye, it winds up being about life and hope. Fries has a slightly cartoony art style, which does a great job of documenting the changes, both physical and mental, in his mom and family.

Stagger Lee is a song, he's also a person, and a legend. In 1895, a man named Lee Sheldon shot his friend, Billy Lyons, in an argument that started with politics and ended in a fight over a Stetson hat. Both men were probably drunk. The fight got turned into a folk song that has been recorded by everybody from Muddy Waters to Pat Boone to Beck. Stagger Lee by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix imagines how the fight might have happened, and brings to life some of the personalities involved. The most interesting parts of this book, to me anyway, was when McCulloch and Hendrix illustrate different versions of the song, showing how it changes when it's sung by a man or a woman, an African-American or a Caucasian. Hendrix's illustrations are soft-edged, but realistic, and they really help to set the turn of the century mood. I usually don't like historical fiction, and historical fiction graphic novels are no exception, but this really held my attention.

I would love to tell you about Project X: Nissin Cup Noodle, the last nominee in this category -- but I haven't read it. I've had it on Inter-library Loan request for 3 months now, and still haven't gotten it in. Only 19 libraries own it, that I can find, so, it's not that popular. Maybe Kristin can enlighten us.

I was going to talk about the Best US Edition of Foreign Material -- Japan and Best Graphic Album—Reprint nominees, but this post is too long already, so those will have to wait for my next post.

And, so, I move one step closer to total blog dominance. Bwahhhhahhhhahahah-hahahahahahah!

Eisner Nominees -- Part One!

So Karen thinks she's the Queen of Blogging, huh? However, if you look at the posts by the numbers, you will notice that Kristin has the most posts, which would make her the Blog Queen. I have the second highest number, which makes me Blog Princess -- just as much fun as Blog Queen, but with fewer royal duties and more sparkly things.

Anyway, this summer, I've been trying to read all of the Eisner Nominees for 2007. The Eisner is kind of like a comics Oscar -- the best known and most prestigious award you can win for making a comic, graphic novel, or comic related publication. You can check out the nominees here. If there's a bunch of stuff on here you've never heard of, don't feel bad -- for the last couple years the Eisner Committee has been choosing more and more indy comics, which might not show up on your radar.

Before we go any further, there are two things you should know; first off, the Eisner Committee is made of adults, who are picking books for other adults, so there is stuff on this list that is not appropriate for younger teens, secondly, a most of these books I had to inter-library loan, so you won't find them on the shelves at GPL.

Staring with Best Graphic Album - New category, it's really hard for me to pick a favorite.


I love Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey books, so I was excited to see Billy Hazelnuts up for Best New Graphic Album. Billy Hazelnuts is a very strange book about a boy made out of trash by mice and his fantastic adventures in an Oz-type world. This book reminded me of a Tim Burton movie, with strange machines and incredible happenings. The art in this book is gorgeous, and almost looks like a woodcut from the middle ages.


The Ticking, by Renee French, is another beautiful -- but really, really strange -- book. The main character, Edison, is born with hideous facial deformities. He rejects the plastic surgery his father wants, and instead fills his lonely life with art. This book pulls of the neat trick of managing to be really sweet and really disgusting at the same time. I don't know that I liked it, but it did stay with me for a long time.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a sad and beautiful book, about how the author found her life at the same time her dad decided to end his. This is one of those "by adults, for adults" books, as it deals frankly with both Alison's lesbianism and her father's closeted homosexuality. I liked this book for how honest it is, and for Bechdel's clear , uncomplicated drawings

Kristin has already talked about American Born Chinese, so I won't say much about it here, except that if you haven't read it, you really should. When it first came out, I didn't really pay much attention to it, because it's not the type of comic I usually like. Then, when it got nominated for the National Book Award, I looked at it again, and was totally blown away.

The other books in this category -- Scrublands, Ninja and I Love Led Zeppelin -- were nothing special (in my not so humble opinion), and I wouldn't recommend any of them. If you held me down and forced me to pick a favorite, I would probably say Fun Home, just because Bechdel doesn't hold anything back; you can tell she's really trying to understand her dad and their relationship through her comics. I also really like how clean and simple Bechdel's art is. As somebody who can't draw a competent stick figure, I appreciate artists who make it look easy. Number 2 is probably American Born Chinese, 3 is Billy Hazelnuts.

Since I still want to get through the other graphic album categories, this probably won't be my last post about this year's nominees. You can look for some of these books in the adult section at GPL in the near future.

Book of the Day

Can I tell you how cool it is to be a reviewer? I review for a lot of journals--VOYA, Library media connection; Video librarian, but my newest and coolest one is ICV2.com's guides. First of all, ICV2.com is a great website. But secondly, they get me the coolest stuff to review! Sure sometimes I have to review some stinkers (in my mind, of course, someone else may find them to be "gems").

Anyway, the book I was just sent to review totally made my day! Train Man by Hitori Nakano--I actually squeled with delight when I got it. The Train Man story is infamous--well to me at least. Supposedly a true story, but perhaps not, this is a love story of a techie geek and the girl he saves from a drunk man on the train. With the help of his Internet bulletin board comrades, he woes "Lady Miss Hermes."

Apparently from my previous posts, I really like titles that work in various mediums. This title has 3 different manga series (1 stand alone title; 2 trilogy series). At the library, we have the VIZ manga series. We will be getting the novel soon--I promise! Besides the book versions, there was a live action TV show and a movie! The movie has also been released here in America by VIZ Media. And the library will be buying it soon.... I highly recommend it. I'll be screening it on Saturday, May 12th at the Foothills Library!

National Library Week

Since it's National Library Week, I said that I would post a blog a day about teen books. Now that it's actually here, I'm thinking why did I say I was going to do this? So I'll just chat about what I'm reading....

Now that my part of the never-ending cursed book is done and finished (hopefully), I'm trying to condense my manga collection down to a managable size. No small feat for sure since I currently have more graphic novels than a bookstore! Of course, I don't want to get rid of titles that I may want to read again, so I'm re-reading everything. That's right, everything. So far this year, I've read 142 titles. That's all types of books, as well as graphic novels. Many of those books have been put into different boxes--one to sell back to the used bookstore, one to donate to the library; and then some go back on the shelf becuase I want to continue reading the series...

Now that you have heard more about my housecleaning, you may be thinking get to the point. Sorry, so I thought today I'd write about a Boys Love manga and novel that I just re-read. Only the Ring Finger Knows by Satoru Kannagi. At Wataru's school there is a fashionable trend to wear paired rings with the one you love. Wataru wears one even though he's currently single. Through a mix-up at the bathroom sink, he discovers that his ring has a match--the idolized upperclassman Yuichi. This single volume graphic novel focuses on Wataru as he clashes with Yuichi and as he fights the attraction that's growing between them. The graphic novel is based on a novel series with the same name. The first volume, which is the one I read, has two main stories--the one I just told you about and the following story about Wataru losing his ring. Both versions of this story are fun to read. The graphic novel has all those pretty boy pictures that BL manga is known for, but the novel continues passed the graphic novel. So if you're a fan of BL and of Only the Ring Finger manga, pick up the first volume of the novel. You won't be disappointed. As for library users, you'll have to wait a little bit longer for the novel. It's in my pile to add to the library collection, but the box isn't full yet!

One Story -- Three Formats

Does hearing a story read count as reading? How about reading an comics adaptation of a book? Or a comics adaptation of a movie? Is it the same experience, or is it different?

I don't know anybody that would argue that reading a book and watching a movie are the same thing, but does the way you get the information change the information itself? I started thinking about this lately, specifically as it relates to one of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, and Neverwhere.

The story behind Neverwhere goes something like this. A very ordinary young man, Richard Mayhew, finds a wounded girl on the streets of London. Against the wishes of his fiancee, Richard decides to help the strange girl. Door, as the girl is called, is part of "London Below" a subterranean world of magic and mystery, and she is on the run from two vicious killers who slaughtered her family. By helping her, Richard becomes invisible to everyone but those who dwell in London Below. He must journey with Door and the mysterious Marquis de Carabas in an attempt to get his life back.

So the story is pretty simple -- a nice little urban fantasy. But this is a story that has been through three different formats, and changes each time it gets told.

Neverwhere started life as a BBC mini-series, conceived of by Gaiman and comedian Lenny Henry. Despite some really good actors working with some really interesting material, this is... not very good. Really. It was shot on the cheap, and it shows. The lighting is weird, the effects are awful, and without giving away too much of the plot -- be prepared to be underwhelmed at the big battle at the end. A lifetime of watching Doctor Who has taught me not to expect too much from the BBC's special effects team, and even I was disappointed by this. Got to love that Dave McKean designed DVD cover though.

Evidently, Gaiman was so upset about the way Neverwhere looked onscreen that he wrote Neverwhere the Novel. This is sort of like a director's cut of the mini-series. Scenes that were cut from the mini-series are included from the novel, so its bigger, the details are more filled out and the whole thing just makes more sense. The best part about the novel is that Gaiman writes wonderful descriptions, and novels have no effects budgets, so the cheese factor that almost ruined the mini-series is gone here. Don't let the kind of boring cover fool you - its an excellent book.

The novel has a lot of fans, including some of the executives at comics publisher Vertigo. Last year, Vertigo published a Neverwhere comic mini-series, based on the novel, written by Mike Carey. Carey wrote the Sandman spin-off Lucifer and has worked on Hellblazer, featuring John Constantine, so he's pretty comfortable using Gaiman's characters and working in a magic environment. He does a pretty good job with the material; compressing of Gaiman's work into a 9 issue series must have been tough. Glen Fabry, from Preacher, handles the artwork, and I have to say, I'm not a fan. His uber-realisitc style seems to be mismatched to the magical material, and I don't like what he did with the Marquis de Carabas, who was my favorite character from the TV series and the novel. I did like the look he gave Door though, and the final battle that he and Carey show is a lot better than the TV miniseries.

It's interesting to me how the story changes between each version, with different things getting compressed and expanded each time. I would say that the novel is the best version, with the comic coming second, and finally the mini-series. We have all three at GPL, so you can read and watch and read and decide for yourself. A full length audio book is coming out this year, and I can't wait to listen to that, to see how the story changes again.

ALA Conference

So I'm here in Seattle at the American Library Association. In between meetings, I get to go to the vendors booths talking to the publishers and picking up galley copies of the Spring and Summer releases. There are some really great books coming out--including a new Holly Black book (Don't worry Karen--I got the galley of it!). I get to see all my friends in the Graphic novel pavillion (A big row of GN publishers all together talking up their products). I got a great piece from Dark Horse: A limited hardback signed edition of A tale of One bad rat. Pretty sweet....

But the highlight of this conference for me is when I get my butt out of bed way too early for my liking and attend the ALA Media Award announcement ceremony. This is it: when all the big literary awards are announced for youth and teen services. The best part of the ceremony is the announcement of the Printz award, an award given for literary merit for teen literature.

This year's honor books are: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson; An Abundance of Katherines by John Green; Surrender by Sonya Hartnett; and The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

This last was a surprise, since I totally thought Book Thief was going to win for sure. In fact, there was no doubt in my mind that it would win.

I was blown away by the announcement of the winner. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. A graphic novel!!! (The summary: "Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture.")

I am so impressed by the Printz committee for awarding this deserving graphic novel the highest prize in teen literature. Maybe now some teachers and parents will see that there are a lot to value in graphic novels.

So congratulations to the honor and winners of this year's Printz. I can't wait for the Annual conference in June to hear the acceptance speeches!

This Book Made My Brain Hurt!

Can it be called a "team comic" if it's really seven interconnected mini-series, each featuring a different character?

Can a team be a team if they never meet? If they don't know about each other?

Are there really pirates in the subways of New York in the DC Universe? Half demon puritans living underground, using zombies as slave labor? Why haven't I ever heard about them before, in any other comic? Where exactly does Darkseid fit into all of this?

Why do I keep reading Grant Morrison, when I know this is the effect he has on me?

You see, I had heard a lot about Morrison's maxi-series Seven Soldiers of Victory while it was coming out in monthlies. I like Grant Morrison, in kind of a casual way; I like what he did on New X-Men, and in Arkham Asylum with Dave McKean. And hey, anybody who has written for Dr. Who Magazine is O.K. in my book. So while I wasn't interested enough to pick up Seven Soldiers in comic book format, I was interested to see it when it came out in Trade Paperback. Then, this summer, Seven Soldiers of Victory won the Eisner Award (kind of like the comics Oscar) and I was even more intrigued...

Then, I started reading it. And... wow. And... ouch, my head!

You see, in this four volume meta-series, seven people with super powers, but not Super Heroes, are recruited to stop an apocalyptic event, the Harrowing. An interdimensional menace, known as the Sheeda, periodically raze the Earth, destroying it's champions and turning civilizations to ruins, but leaving enough behind that the survivors can rebuild, and the Sheeda can again invade. It is prophesised that a team of seven will stop the Sheeda; and knowing this, they target super-hero teams with seven members.

So the Seven soldiers aren't actually a team. In fact, they never even meet. These heroes come from different places, different backgrounds... different times. Zatana, Shining Knight, the Manhattan Guardian, the Bulletter, Klarion the Witchboy, Frankenstein, and Mister Miracle work separately, and together at the same time to stop the Sheeda. Even if they don't realize they're doing it.

This is a very.... chewy graphic novel. It's not for the faint of heart. It moves backwards and forwards in time, jumps from character to character. It references, and then destroys, years of DC backstory. In some ways, its a great choice for readers who are new to comics, because, if you don't know anything, it's harder to be confused.

Morrison has a reputation for sacrificing character for the sake of his story. When he was writing New X-Men, you heard a lot of fanboy howling that "Wolverine (or Cyclops, or Storm, or anybody else) would never do that!" He gets around that problem here by using characters that nobody but the most hardcore comics reader has ever heard of. Also, Morrison sometimes gets accused of being too clever for his own good, and writing things that are simply weird for the sake of being weird. That accusation might carry a little more weight with this title, as it is deeply strange in some places.

After I started writing this entry, I went back and re-read it, and it sounds like I didn't like Seven Soldiers -- but I did. Yes, it made my brain hurt. Yes, I was deeply confused at times. Yes, I shouted "What the He** are you doing to Zatana, Grant!?" more than once; but, I was completely enthralled by the story and characters . I was shouting at the book for goodness sake!

Therefore, I make a qualified recommendation for Seven Soldiers of Victory by Grant Morrision. If you read it, have some caffeine and aspirin nearby -- you might need it.

So, Where were YOU Tuesday night?

At say, 11:00 p.m. ? Hmmmm...

Watching TV? Reading a good book? Maybe you were goofing off of the computer, reading your favorite librarians' blog.

Well, I was in a movie theatre with my husband and my 4 year old, watching the premiere of Superman Returns.

And, while holding my sleeping kid, and watching the movie, it occurred to me -- I'm not that into Superman.

I mean sure, I respect the guy -- he kind of set the mold for all superheroes that came after him, and he has the longest running continuing comics series in history.

But -- I mean, he's just not that interesting to me. He's so good, and (ignoring the travesty that was Superman 3) he'll always be good, always do the right thing. I prefer my heroes with a tad more darkness to them -- Batman, Wolverine, the Authority, the Outsiders, Hellboy, Invincible.

However, some very excellent comics writers and artists have taken on Superman, and its always my pleasure to recommend good comics.


DC Comics has this thing they call Elseworlds -- it's kind of an alternate universe from the regular DC universe, where strange things can happen. My favorite Elseworlds title is Kingdom Come. In it, Superman has abandoned Earth, as the daughters and sons of his contemporaries have come to act as protectors of humanity. These new metahumans have all of the power of their forefathers, but few have the self-control or sense of responsibility that Superman has. When a group of metahumans causes a nuclear holocaust, Superman must leave his self-imposed exile, and again take charge... Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by the amazing Alex Ross, this is a great story with beautiful artwork.

Superman stands for Truth, Justice and the American way, right?
But, what if he didn't? This is the question asked by another Elseworlds title -- Red Son. In this graphic novel, baby Supes didn't land in a Kansas cornfield, he landed in a Soviet commune. And so Superman is a socialist, a communist, the favorite of Joesph Stalin. As America watches helplessly, Superman spreads Soviet doctrine across the globe, and looks to bring the United States under his rule. America's only hope is the brilliant scientist Lex Luthor -- who abandons his wife Lois Lane to defeat Superman. The writer on this, Mark Millar, isn't my favorite (I quit reading Ultimate X-Men because of him) this is a great book, with a corker of an ending.

Finally, we have Trinity. I'll be honest -- I didn't read this book because of Superman. I read it because of Batman and Wonder Woman, who make, in my opinion, the greatest almost-couple EVER. But Superman is key to this story, which is a kind of retelling of his early days, and how the "Big Three" of the DC universe met. It's written and illustrated by the unbelievably talented Matt Wagner and gives a great insight into these iconic characters.

And because everybody is asking me, I will say I did like Superman Returns. It was a little long, and I don't think Kate Bosworth made a very good Lois Lane, but it is a good movie.

Just don't hate me because I like Luthor better, O.K.?

Three From Marvel -- No, Really!

So, although I'm a big fan of comics in general, I've always had a little problem getting into the Marvel Universe.

It's not that I don't like superheroes, or that I don't appreciate the more human aspects of the characters. It's just that, all those mutants start bleeding together after a while, you know? And sometimes, I just wish that Spider-Man (and the Hulk, and Wolverine) would just get over himself.

So, I was amazed when I found not one but three new Marvel titles that I totally dug.

First up is Arana: Heart of the Spider. This is the story of Anya Corazon, a teen who lives in Brooklyn, NYC. She's bright, athletic, and incapable of backing down from a fight. Although Anya gets along well with her dad, an investigative reporter, she is haunted by memories of her mother. One night, her life is changed forever, when a mysterious man named Miguel saves her life. Miguel is part of the secretive Spider Society, a shadowy organization that is engaged in an ancient battle with the villainous Sisterhoodd of the Wasp. A cool Latina heroine and bright artwork that shows a lot of manga influences make this a great read.


Every school has it's cliques, right? You've got the jocks, the drama geeks, the goths. But in Spellbinders: Signs and Wonders, which is set in Salem, MA, the teens divide themselves between the Wicks and the Blanks, or those who have magic, and those who don't. Kim Velasco, the new girl in town, figures she'll settle right in with the Blanks, seeing as only the descendents of the original settlers of Salem have magic. So imagine her surprise when she's attacked by magical creatures and starts talking to dead people. She turns to the Wicks for help, but the members of these rival covens will have to stop bickering long enough to fight. Mike Carey, the author of this series, is one of my favorite writers, and he is a master of combining magic and the real world. If you miss Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or are a fan of Charmed, you should check this title out.


Saving the best for last, we come to my favorite Marvel series ever. Every teen knows that their parents are up to something, right? But what if you discovered that your parents really were evil? This is the set-up for Runaways by Brian K. Vaughn. Six very different teens: gamer Alex, goth girl Nico, chubby nerd Gertrude, jock Chase, beautiful vegan Karolina and pre-teen Molly are forced to attend a yearly meeting at the home of Alex's parents, supposedly for the adults to talk about their charity work. Getting the bright idea to spy on the meeting, the kids discover that their parents are actually super-powered villains who are part of a secret society known as The Pride. Horrified by what they see, the teens run away, taking Molly with them, and make startling discoveries about themselves and true nature of their parents. The four books in this series are great, with believableable characters, great action scenes, mystery, intrigue -- even a hint of romance. Even if you're not into superheroes, this book is worth reading.

The Best Comic You're Not Reading...

When I walk through Club Fishbowl (the teen space at Main) after a busy afternoon, I get a pretty good sense of what the teens who hang out there like to read, just by what’s left lying around on the tables.

(And the shelves…and the chairs…and the floor. Seriously people, were you born in a barn? )

Anyway, just by glancing around I can tell that more than a few of you like to read comics, or, as we librarian types call them, graphic novels. Manga seems to be the big-eyed, curse-enduring, deceptively fragile-looking, but still butt-kicking Ruler of teen fiction. However, a few of you still seem to like a good superhero comic.

Which makes me wonder why none of you are reading Astro City.


You see, Astro City is a great superhero comic – perfect, for old school fans like me AND for people who don’t really like superheroes. Unlike most “capes comics”, the action here focuses more on the interactions between the costumed heroes and everyday people, and how the two can live together in one remarkable city.

With some “realistic” superhero comics, the reader has to know a ton about some fictional universe in order for the book to make any sense. Not so with Astro City . There are no issues with “continuity” no “retconning” no “pre- and post-Crisis” or any of the other scary words that hardcore fanboys use when they talk to each other. This is a wonderful superhero story that you can pick up and read, just like that. The five volumes in the series can each stand on their own, there’s no need to go back to volume one, issue one to catch up on the story.

So please, if you enjoy stories about men in tights or women with super-strength, give Astro City a try. You’ll be happy you did.

Queen Bee

Chynna Clugston writes one of my favorite graphic novel series ever, Blue Monday. But as much as I love Blue Monday, some salty language and "mature situations" marks it for older readers.

So imagine, dear Reader, how happy I was to find Queen Bee, an awesome book by Chynna Clugston that could be enjoyed by all ages, featuring cool manga-inspired artwork.

This Mean Girls-meets-Carrie tale, introduces Haley Madison, who has spent her whole life being a total geek. You see, Haley has PK, psychokinesis, or the power to move objects with her mind. She can't control it very well though, and the weird stuff that happens around her marks her as a social outcast.

That all changes, however, when Haley transfers to a new school. With the right clothes, and the right attitude, Haley soon becomes the head of the Hive, the clique made up of the most popular girls. All is right with the world until Alexa, a another girl with PK transfers to JFK Intermediate, and immediately takes over Haley's spot. Alexa is mean with a capital M, and will stop at nothing to be the most popular girl in school. It all comes to a head at the school's talent contest, and both girls know -- there can be only one Queen Bee!