Having a middle schooler myself and watching her navigate all the fun and exciting and overwhelming and frustrating things that come with busting into teenhood and preparing for high school makes Just Roll With It really hit home. The debut graphic novel from Lee Durfey-Lavoie and the second graphic novel for illustrator Veronica Agarwal, Just…
INTERVIEW: Stephanie Cooke Unleashes Cute Chaos in ParaNorthern: And the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse
When Abby saves her sister from bullies, her magic accidentally opens a portal into another realm that unleashes troublesome bunnies into the quaint supernatural torn of North Haven. Written by Stephanie Cooke and illustrated by Mari Costa, ParaNorthern: And the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse is a warm-hearted middle-grade adventure about friendship, facing the challenges of growing…
REVIEW: Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark
Since 1992, young readers have been learning to love books from Mary Pope Osborne and Salvatore Murdocca’s Magic Tree House series, following the illustrated adventures of Jack and Annie in clear, simple prose. Now, the classic tales are being reimagined in graphic novel form by Jenny Laird and Kelly and Nichole Matthews. But can this…
REVIEW: Animorphs Graphic Novel #1: The Invasion Pulls no Punches
Our names are Alenka and Melissa. We can’t tell you our last names. We can’t even tell you the towns we live in, or what state. It’s not because we’re shy – it’s because if the Yeerks find out who we are, they’ll stop us from writing this review. Despite the danger involved, I was…
REVIEW: Séance Tea Party is a Beautiful Story about Growth, Change and Magic
Lora Xi’s twelfth birthday is a bit quieter than she hoped. Her friends are becoming more interested in things Lora doesn’t care about, like dating, fashion, and going to parties. Lora loves all things witchy and spooky, and still wants to play and be a kid. When her best friend Bobby is completely absent on…
Race in DC’s Middle Grade and Young Adult Comics
Over the last two years, DC Comics has released more than a dozen titles geared towards children and teenagers, many of which are written by women and feature, as leading characters, girls. However, although a number of these books have people of color on their creative teams, whether as writers or artists, most feature white…
Svetlana Chmakova Goes Back to Nightschool With The Weirn Books: Be Wary of The Silent Woods
Award-winning creator Svetlana Chmakova goes back to nightschool with a new series, The Weirn Books: Be Wary of The Silent Woods. The first story, available now from Yen Press’ middle grade graphic novel imprint, JY, introduces us to Ailis Thornton and her cousin, Na’ya Leiburne-Thornton. Ailis is a 12-year-old weirn — a witch bound to…
Dear Justice League, Can I Read Some More?
Dear Justice League Wes Abbott (letterer), Gustavo Duarte (artist), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist), Michael Northrop (writer) DC Zoom (a DC Comics imprint) August 6, 2019 In March 2015, I hosted a Gotham Academy roundtable featuring five book bloggers. We discussed their limited experience with comics, whether the series was great for newbies, and if they would…
The Super Sons Take on the PolarShield Project
Super Sons: The PolarShield Project Book #1 Ile Gonzalez (artist), Ridley Pearson (writer) and Saida Temofonte (letterer) DC Zoom (a DC Comics imprint) April 2, 2019 In March 2015, I hosted a Gotham Academy roundtable featuring five book bloggers. We discussed their limited experience with comics, if the series was great for newbies, and if…
Read-Alikes: Welcome to the Fantastic Worlds of Diana Wynne Jones
When I was a kid, I read my paperback copy of Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones so many times that the binding fell apart. As much as I enjoyed it, I remember having a lot of questions during my rereads. For example, I can remember wondering, “Why does it seem like I am supposed to…
Grab a Sword and Enter the Cardboard Kingdom
The Cardboard Kingdom Chad Sell (creator & artist); Jay Fuller, David DeMeo, Katie Schenkel, Kris Moore, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, Cloud Jacobs, Barbara Perez Marquez (writers) Random House June 2018 Adventure roams the streets as a neighborhood of children turn their suburban homes into a mythical fairy tale world separate from…
Book Beat: Lumberjanes Book Cover and Title Reveal, Hillary’s Current Read, and More!
Helloooo readers! It’s Stephanie again! Since yesterday was International Women’s Day, this week’s Book Beat is all about female authors, characters, and influence. Hey, we are Women Write About Comics. Personally I only tweeted and retweeted female voices on Wednesday to give them a boost. Speaking of female voices, I recently borrowed Tracee de Hahn’s debut…