Happy Pride Month, everyone! This month and every month, we celebrate how graphic novels and comics can be used as vehicles for stories of representation. Graphic novels and comics feature people and characters from all backgrounds and walks of life and can be read to enhance empathy, compassion and connection to community. Whether you read about an experience that is different to yours, or you read about something close to your heart, we recommend celebrating Pride Month by reading something published by an LGBTIQA+ comic creator – and we have a couple of lists further below to get you started!
We also have a bunch of news to share about graphic novels and comics from around the world, from new manga awards and interviews to adaptation news for graphic novels-turned-film and TV-turned graphic novels.
As always, we are excited to share news of upcoming new releases from Australian comics creators, you can find these in bold in our New Titles list for the month. This includes three authors featured in our Notable Australian Graphic Novels of 2023 – The Shortlist, for Eventually Everything Connects by Sarah Firth which is getting a release in the US and UK this month, as well as new titles from Shortlisted creators Tom Taylor and Stephen Kok. Keep an eye out for further information as we get ready to release more information on the Notables!
Look out for the June Roundup podcast episode coming out soon and our Creator Chat with Joshua Santospirito, on the publication of The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors, which will be out on our YouTube channel and podcast early July.
Finally, don’t forget to register for our upcoming webinar Drawing Attention: Comics and Censorship. We have three amazing guests and we’re sure this will be an awesome conversation you don’t want to miss. Registrations are open now here.
NEWS
- Mark Yarm has published a comprehensive feature article on Vulture about Emil Ferris and her new book My Favourite Thing is Monsters Book 2. The debut graphic novel was an incredible success and widely praised. The second volume is out now. Read Emil Ferris Still Believes in Monsters here.
- Anime NYC, the largest anime convention on the East Coast of the US has announced the American Manga Awards, this new initiative aims to “celebrate the outstanding achievements of professionals in the world of Japanese comics”. You can read more about it on Publishers Weekly here.
- Brigid Alverson has interviewed Molly Knox Ostertag for Publishers Weekly on the publication of The Deep Dark. You can find the interview here.
- Samantha Puc has published a really interesting article on Popverse exploring Alison Bechdel’s influence on comics and pop culture. A really interesting piece about one of the greats in comics. Read it all here.
- The TMNT franchise is riding a wave of popularity after the incredibly well received The Last Ronin story. Popverse reports that IDW, Nickelodeon and Paramount are getting ready for a dramatic revamp starting with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 with writer Jason Aaron with Joelle Jones and Ronda Patterson, which has received more pre-orders than even The Last Ronin. So this may be a good time to grab some pizza and catch up on TMNT. For more on this story visit Popverse here.
- ICv2 reports that Oni Press has obtained a license for publishing Sesame Street comics. They will start with a four issue mini series in August with a paperback edition to follow next year. These Sesame Street comics should be a total winner in libraries.
- Batman: The Long Halloween is considered by many of the best Batman stories ever and it has now been announced that it will have a sequel, Batman: The Last Halloween. For more information on this announcement go to Games Radar here.
- A new animated Asterix movie has been announced. We’ll still have to wait until 2026 but Asterix, the Kingdom of Nubia, is on the horizon. This is a great reminder to keep those Asterix comics up to date at your library. More on the movie announcement here.
COLLECTIONS
- The Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards have announced the 2024 finalists and winners. The awards celebrate comics, graphic novels and manga that can push literacy, learning and social connections in educational settings. This is an excellent list of finalists and winners. Highly recommended. You can check all the finalists and winners here.
- In honour of Pride Month, Eileen Gonzalez from Popverse has put together 12 LGBT+ comics for 2024, one for each month. You can find the full list here.
- You can also find our picks for graphic novels to celebrate Pride Month with here.
- Gilcy Aquino wrote about The Essential Manga Guide on Publishers Weekly. Briana Lawrence’s new book explores 50 manga series across different genres and the growing prominence of manga. If you’re considering buying the book or want more information, you can read the article here.
NEW TITLES
Junior
- Cloud Puppy by Kelly Leigh Miller (Atheneum Books) [9781665932127]
- Detective Sweet Pea: The Case of the Golden Bone by Sara Varon (First Second) [9781250348401]
- Hugo’s Haunted Handbook by Whamond, Dave (Owlkids) [9781771475877]
- The New Adventures of: Encanto Vol 1 [9781545811542]
- Night Stories by Liniers (Toon Books) [9781662665301]
- Phineas & Ferb Vol. 1
- Quinnelope and the Mystery of the Missing Moon by H.P. Brownfield, Kayla Coombs (Oni Press) [9781637154397] [Australian creator]
- Saving Xenos (An Unofficial Graphic Novel for Minecrafters) by Stevens, Cara J (Scholastic Australia) [9781761526435]
- Shiny Misfits by Maysoon Zayid, Shadia Amin (Scholastic) [9781761525827]
YA
- The Asiri Vol 1 by Roye Okupe, Samuel Iwunze, Toyin Ajetunmobi, Sunkanmi Akinboye, Etubi Onucheyo (Dark Horse) [9781506735450]
- Barda by Ngozi Ukazu (DC Comics) [9781779511133]
- Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani (Dark Horse)
- Griz Grobus by Simon Roy, Jess Pollard (Image Comics) [9781534397866]
- Nomads: The Sky Kingdom by Captain Juuter (Boom! Studios) [9781608866007]
- Of Her Own Design by Birdie Willis, Nichole Andelfinger, Vash Taylor, Fiona Marchbank (Mad Cave Studios) [9781952303579]
- Prez by Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell [9781779528964]
- Princess Gwenevere and the Jewell Riders by Jordie Bellaire, Koi Carreon (Mad Cave Studios) [9781960578921]
- Titans: Out of the Shadows by Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott (DC Comics) [9781779525123] [Australian creators]
- Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights by James Persichetti, L.S. Biehler (Clarion Books, HaperCollins) [9780358541233]
- The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Faith Schaffer (HarperCollins) [9780358464938]
Adult
- And Mankind Created the God by Joseph Béhé, Pascal Boyer (Graphic Mundi) [9781637790663]
- Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad by Namai, Matya (Palazzo Editions Limited) [9781786751362]
- Deer Editor by Ryan K. Lindsay, Sami Kivela (Mad Cave Studios) [9781960578679] [Australian creator]
- Don Coppola by Amazing Ameziane (Titan Comics)
- Eventually Everything Connects by Sarah Firth (Graphic Mundi) [9781637790687] US and UK Edition of Sarah Firth’s graphic novel [Australian creator]
- Evil Eyes Sea by Ozge Samanci (Uncivilized Books) [9781941250600]
- Fractured Shards, Vol 3. by Feurriegel, Dan & Kok, Stephen (TL Creative) [9780648242178] [Australian creator]
- Giant by Mollie Ray (Faber & Faber) [9780571374199]
- A Haunted Girl by Ethan Sacks, Naomi Sacks (Image Comics) [9781534397774]
- Hirayasumi Vol 1 by Keigo Shinzo (Viz Media) [9781974746910]
- The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors by Joshua Santospirito (Scribe Publications) [9781761380594] [Australian creator]
- The Library Mule of Cordoba by Wilfrid Lupano, Leonard Chemineau (Ablaze) [9781684972791]
- Proxy Mom: My Experience With Post-Partum Depression by Sophie Adriansen, Mathou (NBM) [9781681123349]
- Second Hand Love by Yamada Murasaki (Drawn & Quarterly) [9781770467187]
- The Sickness by Jenna Cha, Lonnie Nadler (Uncivilized Books) [9781941250617]
- Star Wars: Visions by Various authors (Viz Media) [9781974746842]
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