June Roundup

Hard to believe we’re already halfway through the year! There’s no better time to hit refresh than by diving into some incredible comics and graphic novels—and there’s plenty to get excited about.

Just in case you missed it, we announced the 2024 ALIA Graphic Notables, the best of the best of graphic novels by Australian creators!

The 2025 American Manga Awards nominees have just been announced, with winners to be revealed on August 21 in New York. Lots of fantastic titles to explore.

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival made a strong return this month, and we were especially glad to see Libraries & Education Day back in action—bringing together 125 librarians and educators to celebrate comics in learning spaces.

We also loved Shaenon K. Garrity’s piece in Publishers Weekly on how manga publishers are shifting toward genres that speak to older female readers—a welcome and growing trend.

In other news, Oni Press has launched “Fight Censorship, Read Comics” merch featuring Gender Queer, standing up for free expression in response to increasing book bans.

If you’re looking for something new to read, we’ve rounded up some great recommendation lists from across the web to get you started.

And if you’re looking for some learning and professional development, the ALA’s Booklist has an upcoming webinar with three outstanding guests, registration is free. Even better, Booklist has just published the 2025 Guide to Graphic Novels in Libraries. An incredible 44 pages full of information about comics librarianship. Best of all it’s free to download here.

Happy reading—and see you next month!

NEWS

• The 2025 American Manga Awards nominees have been announced. The winners will be announced August 21 at the Japan Society in New York. All the nominees are here. 
• The Toronto Comic Arts Festival was held at the start of June, with our friend Amie Wright as festival director. This year’s festival also saw the return of Libraries & Education Day, which gathered 125 librarians, scholars, and educators at the TMU Library. Publishers Weekly has a report from Chris Burkhalter.
• Shaenon K. Garrity reports on manga, female readership and how manga publishers are turning to genres appealing to women as a growing readership ages up. Read the whole article on Publishers Weekly here.
• Sam Thielman and Gabriel Gianordoli published a great article in the New York Times exploring  Junji Ito’s terrifying work and analysing how his brand of horror manga works.
• Kate Beaton discusses her shift from webcomics to memoir and the role of humor in surviving harsh realities.
• Students at the Georgetown University in Qatar created a series of graphic novels based on historical events and family histories as part of their course. Another great example of the power of graphic non-fiction. Read more about this project at the Georgetown University website here.
• Tennessee schools have banned Calvin and Hobbes along with assorted graphic novels and illustrated books, as part of a sweeping school library purge.
• Oni Press has launched “Fight Censorship, Read Comics” merch featuring Gender Queer to support free expression and oppose comic book bans.
• Terry Pratchett’s estate is launching a Discworld Graphic Novel Universe, starting in 2026 with Thief of Time, Monstrous Regiment, and The Wee Free Men.

COLLECTIONS

• Author Rex Ogle discusses his love of adaptation of classics into graphic novels and why they’re important. He also recommends some adaptations on Publishers Weekly.
• Elisa Shoenberger has published a list of 10 great non-superhero comics adapted into movies on Book Riot. You can find it here.
• Shaenon has also published a handy list of upcoming girls’ love manga as companion to the article above.
• Men’s Health compiled a list of the greatest comics and graphic novels, featuring recommendations from 45 renowned creators
• Comics Beat previews 50 exciting kids’ graphic novels for summer 2025, featuring humor, action, and diverse themes.
• Book Riot showcases cozy queer graphic novels full of love, friendship, and uplifting stories
• The Graphic Library has started to put together a very handy list of publishers and imprints of graphic novels and manga.

LEARNING

• The American Library Association’s Booklist has announced a really interesting webinar with three outstanding guests. As usual, it will be late at night for Australian time but registration is free and those registered can access the webinar after the event. All the information and registration are here.
• Booklist has just published the 2025 Guide to Graphic Novels in Libraries. An incredible 44 pages full of information about comics librarianship. Best of all it’s free to download here.

PODCASTS

• This month we had two awesome creator chats on our podcast. If you haven’t listened to them, what are you waiting for? We had a chat with Rachel Ang, who recently published I Ate the Whole World to Find You through Scribe in Australia (Drawn & Quarterly for the rest of the world) and we had a chat with Gavin Aung Than, who recently published Creature Clinic with Figment in Australia (First Second for the rest of the world). You can find all our podcasts on our website here or wherever you listen to podcasts. The video of these creator chats has also been published on our YouTube channel here. And, of course, you can always listen to the June Roundup podcast episode too.
• Tillie Walden was the guest of the Off Panel podcast recently to talk about the her past few years and her soon to be complete Clementine trilogy over at Skybound Comet. A great discussion you can listen to here or wherever you listen to podcasts.

NEW GRAPHIC NOVELS

Junior

• Hairy Holes Book 2 by Brenton McKenna (Magabala Books) [Australian creator] [9781922777591]
• Kickturn by Brie Spangler (Knopf Books for Young Readers) [9780593707814]
• The Lost Sunday by Ileana Surducan (Oni Press) [9781637157756]
• One Crazy Summer: The Graphic Novel by Rita Williams-Garcia, Sharee Miller (Quill Tree Books) [9780062935588]
• On Guard by Cassidy Wasserman (Random House) [9780593649992]
• The Outsiders by Akira Kanou (Titan Comics) [9781787745711]
• Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms by Yoshino Koyoka (Scholastic Inc) [9781761720383]
• Karen’s Ghost: A Graphic Novel by Ann M. Martin and DK Yingst (Scholastic Inc) [9781761721113]
• Speechless by Aron Nels Steinke (Scholastic Inc) [9781761721090]
• Outsider Kids by Betty C. Tang (Scholastic Inc) [9781761721106]

YA

• Avatar the Last Airbender: Ashes of the Academy by  Michael Dante DiMartino, Irene Koh (Scholastic Inc) [9781761720628]
• Blow Up! The Explosion of Contemporary Art by Robert Shore, Eva Rossetti (Thames & Hudson) [9780500027981]
• Breadcrumbs: Coming of Age in Post-Soviet Poland by Kasia Babis (Castle Point Books) [9781250877888]
• The Bugle Call: Song of War, Volume 1 by Mozuka Sora, Higoro Tormori (Shonen Jump) [9781974752591]
• Cosmos, Vol. 1 by Ryuhei Tmaura (VIZ Signature) [9781974754649]
• Dan in the Green Gables by Rey Terciero, Claudia Aguirre (Penguin Workshop) [9780593385586]
• Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand, Tara Anand (Harper Alley) [9780063237537]
• Girl Crush, Volume 1 by Midori Tayama (Viz Media) [9781974755851]
• The Heroic Tale of the Villainous Prince, Vol.1 by Hirosaki, Ryu Hidari, Hana Amano (Yen Press) [9798855412321]
• Horror Collector by Niko Yuki, Midori Sato, Norio Tsuruta, Yon (Yen Press) [9798855411980]
• Isekai Samurai, Vol. 1 by Keigo Saito (Yen Press) [9798855416572]
• Kill Blue, Volume 1 by Tadatoshi Fujimaki (Shonen Jump) [9781974756131]
• Kindergarten Wars, Vol. 1 by You Chiba (Yen Press) [9798855409086]
• The Last Session by Jasmine Walls, Dozerdraws (Mad Cave Studios) [9781545818190]
• Love, Misha by Jam Aden (First Second) [ 9781250866219]
• Not So Shoujo Love Story, Volume 1 by Curryuku (VIZ Originals) [9781974747221]
• Roar: A Star in the Abyss, Volume 1 by Ai Okaue (Kodansha) [9798888774885]
• Senpai is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate, Volume 1 by Pom (Kodansha) [9798888773611]
• Snow Angel, Vol. 1 by Haruka Chizu (Shojo Beat) [9781974754656]
• Stardust Family, Vol. 1 by Aki Poroyama (Yen Press) [9781975393465]
• The 13th Footprint, Vol. 1 by Kei Sanbe (Yen Press) [9798855417326]
• Uncanny X-Men: Red Wave by Gail Simone, David Marquez, Javier Garron, Matthew Wilson (Marvel Comics) [9781302959296]
• The Villainess Is a Marionette, Vol. 1 by mangle, hanirim (Ize Press) [9798400902949]
• A Witch’s Life in Mongol, Vol. 1 by Tomato Soup (Yen Press) [9798855414219]

Adult

• Amy Winehouse in Comics by Tony Lourenço, Elsa Gambin, various artists (NBM) [9781681123592]
• The Brownout Murders by Luke C. Jackson, Kelly Jackson, Maya Graham (Scribe) [9781925849585] [Australian creators]
• Cornelius: The Merry Life of a Wretched Dog by Mark Torices (Drawn & Quarterly) [9781770467767]
• Gaysians by Mike Curato (Algonquin Books) [9781643755120]
• Huxley by Ben Mauro (Thames & Hudson Ltd) [9780500298435]
• The Idris File by Dix (Fantagraphics) [9798875000690]
• It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei, Steven Scott, Justin Eisinger, Harmony Beckett (Top Shelf) [9781603095747]
• Metal Hurlant: Old Dreams Young Visions by Various Authors (Humanoids) [9798893577587]
• Motherlover by Lindsay Ishihiro (Iron Circus Comics) [9781638991465]
• Muros Within Magical Walls: The Case of the Cemetery Girl by Paolo Chikiamco, Borg Sinaban (Tuttle Publishing) [9780804858649]
• Phantom Invasion, Vol. 1 by Kumosuke Yamada (Yen Press) [9798855409628]
• Radio Storm, Vol. 1 by Team S&S (Ize Press) [9798400903496]
• Second Shift by Kit Anderson (Avery Hill) [9781917355209]
• Wolverine: Revenge by Jonathan Hickman, Greg Capullo (Marvel) [9781302960674]