Calamity Jack

Calamity Jack / Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and [illustrated by] Nathan Hale. -- New York : Bloomsbury, 2010.
144 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 29 cm.
Sequel to: Rapunzel's Revenge
ISBN: 9781599903736 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Fantasy comic books. 2. Giants -- Comic books, strips, etc. 3. Graphic novels. 4. Jack and the beanstalk--Comic books, strips, etc. 5. Jack tales--Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

As he and his new friend Rapunzel head back east to his old hometown of Shyport, Jack thinks back on his past. He’s always been a schemer; he likes to think of himself as a “criminal mastermind with an unfortunate amount of bad luck.” He remembers the pranks and heists he and Prudence the pixie used to pull, including the last one which caused him to flee Shyport, and, worries that Rapunzel might not want to stick around once she discovers his criminal past.

Binky the Space Cat

Binky the space cat / by Ashley Spires.-- Toronto : Kids Can Press, c2009.
64 p. : col. ill. ; 23 cm.
Audience: Ages 7 to 10.
(Binky Adventure)
ISBN: 9781554533091 (hardcover)

1. Cats -- Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Graphic novels. 3. Space flight -- Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5971

Unlike your average cat, Binky has a purpose; he is a space cat. Binky is also an indoor cat. He is not been allowed in the space outside his home. But even as a kitten he realized that his home was being invaded by aliens! His humans, both the big and small one would exclaim, “Ew, bugs!” Binky did his research in books and online and discovered that aliens and bugs,
“--can fly
--steal your food
--lay eggs
Binky came to three conclusions:
1. Obviously bugs and aliens are the same thing.
2. Too bad humans aren’t smart enough to figure this out.
3. That must be why they need a cat around.”

Determined to protect his humans, Binky sends away for his Space Cat kit and trains very hard to deal with the alien menace.

Lunch lady and the cyborg substitute

Lunch lady and the cyborg substitute / Jarrett J. Krosoczka.-- New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
[96] p. : ill. ; 18 cm.
ISBN: 9780375846830 (trade)

1. Graphic novels. 2. Robots – Comic books, strips, etc. 3. School lunchrooms, cafeterias, etc. – Employees – Comic books, strips, etc. 4. Schools – Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

What does the lunch lady in the school cafeteria do when she’s not spooning out sloppy Joes or urging you to put gravy on everything? The Breakfast Lunch starts to speculate. Terrence thinks she has a family to care for. Dee thinks she lives with a hundred cats, Hector wonders, “Maybe she’s some sort of super secret-agent spy or something.” Hector is right. And when she discovers an evil plot by the mad science teacher, she whirls into action with her spatu-copter, chicken nugget bombs and fish-stick nunchucks. With the help of her faithful sidekick Betty and her lunch tray laptop, she serves justice and lunch.

Boys of steel : the creators of Superman

Boys of steel : the creators of Superman / by Marc Tyler Nobleman ; illustrated by Ross MacDonald.— New York : Knopf, 2008.
[40] p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
Bibliography: p. [39]
ISBN: 9780375938023 (reinforced)


1. Authors, American – Biography. 2. Cartoonists -- Canada -- Biography 3. Cartoonists -- United States -- Biography. 4. Shuster, Joe, 1914-1992. 5. Siegel, Jerry, 1914-1996.

741. 5092

It might be called the revenge of the nerds. One of Jerry Siegel’s teachers told the Cleveland teenager that the fantastic adventure stories he wrote were trash. His only friend in high school was Joe Shuster, who shared his love of science fiction and adventure. But while Jerry typed his stories, Joe drew his two-fisted heroes. Together they hoped they could create a comic strip and sell it to a newspaper.

One night Jerry had an idea. What if, instead of humans traveling to other planets and encountering aliens, an alien came to earth, not as an invader but as a friend? A hero who was strong and powerful who would right wrongs and fight for justice. The first thing in the morning he rushed over to his friend’s home to tell him about the idea and Joe began sketching. Although they weren’t able to sell their idea of a superman to the newspapers at first, they did find a publisher who was willing to buy their strips and take a chance at publishing them in a new format. The strips would be published together in a magazine of original strips, as a comic “book.”

Nobleman’s story is perfectly complemented by MacDonald’s illustrations, which evoke Shuster’s figures and style.

Azumanga Daioh

Azumanga Daioh / Kiyohiko Azuma.— The omnibus.— Houston : ADV Manga, c2007.

677 p. : chiefly ill. ; 23 cm.

Translated from the Japanese.

1. Female friendship – Japan – Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Graphic novels. 3. High school students – Japan – Comic books, strips, etc. 4. Teenage girls – Japan – Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5952

First let’s demystify the title. The author and illustrator added a syllable to his surname to make a personal brand of manga, to which he then added part of the title of Dengeki Daioh, the magazine where the strip was first published from 1999 to 2002. Azuman+ga+Daioh = Azumanga Daioh. The comics became the basis for an extremely popular anime series of the same title in 2002. The omnibus edition collects the entire print series in one volume.

It’s a humorous, episodic tale of a group of girls going through the trials, tribulations, and embarrassing moments of getting through three years of high school in Tokyo. The girls have very distinctive characteristics: the boisterous Tomo, her clear-headed friend and antagonist Yomi, the daydreaming Osaka, the athletically competitive Kagura, Chiyo, the prodigy, who enters the first year of high school at age ten, and the tall, shy and athletic Sakaki who adores cats, but is promptly bitten by nearly every feline she encounters. The biting cats are one of a number of running gags in the strip as are the obsessions of the girls’ teachers, Yomi’s passion for sweets, and Chiyo’s pigtails. Azumanga Daioh is not a collection of laugh out loud jokes. But the cumulative effect of Asuman’s off-beat humor quickly catches up with the reader making for a very enjoyable read.

Mail Order Ninja

Mail order ninja : Vol. 1 / written by Joshua Elder; illustrated by Erich Owen.— Los Angeles : TOKYOPOP, 2006.

[96] p. : ill. ; 19 cm.

ISBN : 1598167286

1. Ninja – Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Ninja – Humor. 3. School – Comic books, strips, etc.

Mail order ninja : Vol. 2 / written by Joshua Elder; illustrated by Erich Owen.— Los Angeles : TOKYOPOP, 2006.

[112] p. : ill. ; 19 cm.

ISBN: 1598167294

1. Ninja – Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Ninja – Humor. 3. School – Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

Fifth grader Timothy James McAllister has a problem with bullies at his school. He wishes he could deal with them the way the ninja in his favorite manga deals with his adversaries. So when he wins the services of his own feudal Japanese warrior for a year, the bullies fall into line. So what’s next? How about the most obnoxiously snobby rich kid in the school?

What do you do when your very own ninja warrior is threatened by a rival ninja army hired by the most obnoxiously snobby rich kid in your elementary school? Even worse, what do you do, when she starts to channel powers of darkness, and first the school and then the whole town is plastered with posters saying, “Big Sister is Watching You!” Do you really have to ask?

These laugh-out-loud funnies are chock full of verbal and visual humor that will appeal to the fans of Captain Underpants. There’s ninja fighting, a scheming little sister, mind control cereal, silly songs, and even – are you ready for this – disco ninja dancing!

Two Bible comics and a book about Kids and comics

Manga messiah / Hidenori Kumai, script writer; Koyumai Shinozawa, artist; Atsuko Ogawa, assistant artist.— [s.l.] : Tyndale, 2007.

287 p. : col. ill ; 21 cm.
ISBN 978414316802

1. Jesus Christ – Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Bible. N.T. Gospels – Comic books, strips, etc.
226.09505

On the whole this is a successful harmony of the four gospel narratives that uses the convention of Japanese manga to produce a graphic novel life of Christ. Biblical citations run along the bottom of each page footnoting the story. However, as with any harmony, some inconsistencies crop up. For example, on page 74 John’s version of the scourging of the temple is presented and then on page 218 a shorter version from the synoptic gospels is given along with the accompanying text, “After entering Jerusalem, Yeshuah once again drove out the merchants and money changers.” An editorial chronology has been imposed to turn four different versions of the story into one. And since one is so different from the other three, the decision was made to imagine two scourgings at different points in history, one at the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry and again at the end. This is a possible, but hardly probable interpretation.

For the most part, these editorial insertions are kept to a minimum. So when these do occur there are all the more startling since the rest of the book adheres so closely to the original texts. Another example is Satan. He first appears as a black shroud with headlight eyes during the temptation in the wilderness and then again, editorially this time, in the same guise in the garden of Gethsemane to taunt Jesus before being transformed into a snake that’s stomped by a purple-winged angel with a green sword, presumably St. Michael.



Megillat Esther / JT Waldman, original translation, art, calligraphy; Elisha Somes, English letters.— Philadelphia : Jewish Publication Society, c2005.
172 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
ISBN: 0827607881
Includes bibliography: p. 165-172.
1. Esther, Queen of Persia – Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Bible. O.T. Esther – Comic books, strips, etc.
222.909505

A far more daring and imaginative interpretation of scripture in a graphic novel is JT Waldman’s version of the Scroll of Esther, the story behind the Purim festival. The artist incorporates the Hebrew text into the art along with the English narration and text balloons. The drawing and composition run the gamut from horrific to voluptuous as befits a tale of Oriental court intrigue and near genocide. As the story nears its climax the reader must physically turn the story around and switch from reading left to right in English to right to left as in a Hebrew. Thus reinforcing the narrative, as the slaughter and humiliation Haman the villain plans for the Jews is instead visited upon him.

Interleaved with this rich spread are parallels to other Biblical tales, genealogical information, messianic speculations, and guest appearance by prominent prophets. Plus the appended to the end matter of the book are a bibliography, rabbinic citations, and other notes. This is a cup that runs over its brim with delights, wonders, and mysteries.


Getting graphic! : comics for kids / by Michele Gorman; with a foreword by Jeff Smith and original comic art by Jimmy Gownley.— Columbus : Linworth, c2008.

xi, 84 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.
ISBN : 978-1-58683-327-5

1.Comic books, strips, etc. – History and criticism. 2. Comic books and children.
741.509

This is a clearly written and highly useful tool for teachers, librarians, and school media specialists, a welcome and much needed annotated bibliography of 111 titles for children between the ages of four and twelve (grades K-6). Among the titles given a full review are a dozen representative of publishers’ series accompanied by a full list of the series. It includes plenty of sample illustrations, a glossary, an internet directory, and an index. It’s organized into three main lists for younger children, comic fiction, manga, and comic non-fiction. Each review ends with a suggested grade level. Plus there’s an Amelia Rules! comic introduction by Jimmy Gownley.

Polly and the pirates

Polly and the pirates : volume one / Ted Naifeh.— Portland : Oni Press, 2006.

[176] p. : ill, ; 19 cm.
ISBN: 1-932664-46-7

1. Pirates -- Comic books, strips, etc.

2. Girls -- Comic books, strips, etc.

DDC: 741.5973

Polly Pringle is the most well-behaved and unadventurous young lady at Mistress Lovejoy’s boarding school until she’s Shanghaied by pirates. They don’t want to hold her hostage or even put her to work . They want a captain, and they figure that the daughter of Med Malloy, the Pirate Queen has the right bloodline for the job.

There’s plenty of swashbuckling, swinging from the yardarms, pitched sea battles and treasure map hunting in this adventure to keep the story exciting, but there’s also the depiction of the setting: huge vessels that are an imaginative cross between Victorian mansions and tall sailing ships sailing to and from a port city of houseboats and wharfs, surrounded by towering cliffs. And there’s Naifeh’s vivid characters drawn in pencil and ink as sharply as in his dialog and plot.