Recommendations: Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are still quite new to me. I never used to read them, but then I fell in love with Marvel movies so I wanted to read some Marvel comics as well. This resulted in me reading a whole pile of those – mostly Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales and Champions because I really enjoyed that AU (and still do!).

But I also picked up Nimona as people recommended it a lot, and I absolutely adored it. I didn’t read a whole lot of other graphic novels, however, and I really wanted to change that in 2019! I’ve already read a bunch of them, so I thought I’d take you through my favourites so far. I’ll include short reviews as well 🙂

Heartstopper – Alice Oseman

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might have already noticed that I *love* Heartstopper. With all my heart. It’s my go-to comfort read when I just need to feel some warmt and happiness. I probably won’t rest until everyone has read it. And the good news is: you can read it for free! Just follow this link (or download the Tapas app, which I’d recommend as it’s easier to read that way).

Nimona – Noelle Stevenson
A lot of people told me how good Nimona was, so when I picked it up, my expectations were pretty high. All I can say is: go read! It’s so cute, and pretty funny at the start, but it slowly gets more depth. There’s a lot of character development, and a strong plot. It makes you question who’s the villain, who’s the hero, and who’s the monster.

Ms. Marvel – G. Willow Wilson

I don’t really know what to say about my favourite Marvel superhero, other than she’s amazing and she deserves her own movie. Captain Marvel who? (No shade on the movie, I haven’t even seen it yet!)

This comic is wonderfully diverse, and I love how it discusses many different themes without ever being too heavy. So far, 9 volumes have been released (although you can also read the single issues, of course), and the 9th volume is set to come out later this month!

Bloom – Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau

This is such a cute graphic novel! I really enjoyed it, and I loved the characters. My favourite thing about this is the art, which is very emotive. The writing felt a tad forced at times, breaking the flow of the story a little. Another minor criticism is that I thought the story was pretty slow to start, while the ending was kind of rushed. But overall, it’s a highly enjoyable graphic novel about bakery boyfriends!

I would especially recommend this if you read and loved Heartstopper 🙂

Check, Please – Ngozi Ukazu

Check, Please is another webcomic, which means you can read it online for free! Yay for accessibility 🙂 Just follow this link! I haven’t actually read it online myself, so I don’t have any advice on how to navigate the website, but it should be straightforward enough
Just like Nimona, so many people recommended this to me! I felt like I’d be sure to love this, and I was absolutely right. It’s impossible not to love Bitty, he’s the best kind of main character. I would have liked to get to know the other characters a little better though. I’ll probably read the rest of the webcomic online, as it’ll be months until vol. 2 is set to be released. The extras in the back of the book were really cute too!!
Waves – Ingrid Chabbert

If you’d like to read a graphic novel with a little more depth and adult themes, I’d highly recommend picking up Waves. I read an eARC of this through Netgalley, and I was really impressed.

With at times very poetic writing, and at other times a pretty subdued, subtle use of language, I feel like this book would have already been quite impactful if it would have been text only. The limited use of text brought across the meaning very effectively.

While the writing already made this book into an impactful read, the art enhanced this significantly, resulting in a graphic novel that will stay with me for a long time. It had me crying at times, but ultimately, it’s also very hopeful. Especially the use of colour in the illustrations felt very meaningful, and the poetic writing style added to that even more.

Overall, this was such a beautiful read. It’s about the grief of losing a baby, but it’s also about picking up the pieces of your life and moving forward. It’s very hopeful and shows that good things will always start happening again, even if it might not seem that way.

Fence – C.S. Pacat

Based on the description, I never would have picked this up. Because saying I’m not a sports fan is an understatement. But it was recommended to me left, right and center, so I finally decided to give it a shot. And it’s just… so good? An enemies to lovers slow burn?? And they’re roommates??? I need volume 2 now!

Taproot – Keezy Young

I just… I loved this so much? The one downside is that it’s definitely on the short side and it felt a little rushed at times. But I still rated this 5 stars because I don’t even care. This is exactly what I look for in a graphic novel: it’s sweet and funny, and really diverse, and I loved the romance and the banter and the friendships. The characters are just so great: Hamal is the kindest person ever, Blue is so loyal yet so dramatic, and the Oscar for the best side character goes to the funniest grim reaper I have ever seen.

The Prince and the Dressmaker – Jen Wang

Ahh my heart! This is such a sweet sweet, accepting and wonderful graphic novel. I read this when I was having a really rough day and it definitely cheered me up. Which, ultimately, is all I want from a graphic novel: comfort.

Have you read any of these? Or do you have any other recommendations for me?

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