There are just a few weeks left of the Winter Reading Challenge! For participants in the Adult category, each activity you complete on your bingo card gets you one step closer to winning a prize. Exploring Cromaine's digital resources, attending a program, and reading books all count as bingo activities-- so earn a few extra badges before the Challenge ends on Saturday, February 28 by checking out some graphic novels!
The magic of graphic novels can be found in the incredible art that accompanies each story. Some graphic novels read just like a comic book, while others features no words at all. Some feature sketchy, hand-drawn art styles on each page, while others use bright, bold colors and digitally created art. It's an incredible experience to immerse yourself in a story with illustrations or art to compliment the raw emotion, sweeping landscapes, or epic scenarios featured in the book. If you've never read a graphic novel before, you're in for a treat-- and we can't wait to share some of our most highly recommended graphic novels with you!
Don't forget to log these books in your Winter Reading bingo sheet on Beanstack-- the more of them you enjoy, the greater your chance of winning a gift card or a prize pack!
Absolute Batman: The Zoo by Scott Snyder
An astonishing new version of DC's iconic characters is here! In the Absolute Universe, familiar heroes have been reinvented from the ground up with origin stories that completely reshape both their abilities and their circumstances but maintain the core characteristics that fans have known and loved for decades!
Bruce Wayne comes from nothing. He's not the scion of a wealthy empire in Gotham City, he's the son of a public school teacher who experienced the unimaginable horror of random gun violence as a child, changing the trajectory of his life forever. With no limitless resources, no billions to fund him, no mansion, and no butler to care for him, Bruce has shaped himself into an entirely different breed of Batman, one that is equal parts brain and brawn, who exists exclusively in the grittiest and most underserved parts of Gotham with no high society mask to fall back on.
Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson
In a different, darker world, Diana of Themyscira was not raised in paradise, but instead was exiled to the underworld as a baby and raised by an enemy. Darkness and exile did not destroy her; instead, they made her all the stronger--honed into an even greater weapon by tragedy, danger, and magic. Long denied her Amazonian heritage, Diana has finally reached the time for her to rejoin the surface world. Armed with new weapons forged in Hell, and a mission that looks a bit more like justice than peace, Diana will not be stopped on her quest to save the world and discover her place in it, even if that means carving it herself!
Drome by Jesse Lonergan
First, there was nothing. Then, humanity was born, and an endless cycle of violence began. From the depths of the ocean, a mighty demigoddess is called forth to rein in humankind's destructive impulses, and teach a language of peace and harmony. Civilization quickly takes root, a great city rising from the desert. But the balance between chaos and order is a fragile one, and there are higher powers at work in this strange new world.
Creator Jesse Lonergan pushes the boundaries of the comics medium in this visually spectacular epic. In turns pulse-pounding and heart-wrenching, Drome is a creation myth for the modern age.
Heaven Official’s Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Ziu
Xie Lian, once the darling of the heavens, is a twice-banished god infamous for his fall from grace. Eight hundred years have passed since his mortal life as the Crown Prince of Xianle, and he's now the laughingstock of the three realms. So when he ascends to godhood for a third time, it causes an uproar among his divine peers. Ascension may be nothing new to Xie Lian, but this time he has no followers, little power, and less luck. To repay his heavenly debts, Xie Lian must descend to the Mortal Realm to hunt ghosts that prey upon the living. There, he encounters a mysterious stranger--but is this newcomer friend or foe . . . or something else entirely?
Kingdom Volume 1 by Yasuhisa Hara
Xin is a war orphan in a poor village in the kingdom of Qin. He has big dreams of becoming a great general, and when his best friend's life is cut short by political machinations, Xin sets off to find a deposed ruler and help restore his place on the throne, while working his way up through the ranks of the Qin kingdom's army to do what no one has ever done before--unify China. Xin's journey begins when his friend Piao, another war orphan who imparts to Xin the same dream of becoming the Greatest Generals Under the Heavens, is offered a position in court in the capital. He leaves Xin behind to train on his own, and to meet him there one day. One fateful night, Piao returns bloodied and on the brink of death, with his dying words being for Xin to go meet a boy who turns out to look exactly like Piao. But this is no ordinary boy--it's the king of Qin, Ying Zheng! And assassins are hot on his tail!
Legend of Kamui by Shirato Senpei
At long last, manga titan Shirato Sanpei's groundbreaking epic makes its way into English. Celebrated as a watershed of both the Japanese counterculture and dramatic, long-form storytelling in manga, The Legend of Kamui serves up clashing swords and class struggle to create a timeless political allegory set in feudal Japan. This ten-volume series is a must-have for fans of samurai and ninja manga and anime, and of other giants of post-war manga like Tezuka Osamu, Mizuki Shigeru, Tsuge Yoshiharu, and Lone Wolf and Cub's Kojima Goseki.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 1 by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
It is the year Universal Century 0079, in a space colony the Earth Federation is storing and testing a new piloted robot for use in the battle against the Principality of Zeon. The experimental RX-78 Gundam mobile suit is scheduled to be transported to Federation command in Jaburo, deep within the Brazilian jungles. Unfortunatley, before the transporter would arrive, the Federation would come under attack from Zeon. With few resources available against the Zeon's most mobile mechs, Federation forces strike back using their new weapon, the mobile suit Gundam. Caught in the crossfire is a young teen named Amuro Ray. Not willing to see innocent people die like this, Amuro crawls into the cockpit of the closest machine around him. Whether it be a tank, jeep or jet, he was going to use it to help stop this slaughter. And what he happened to slide into was another Gundam. Having never operated a machine like this, what are the chances he can do anything to repel an experienced squad of mech-piloting invaders?
Mushishi, Collector’s Edition: Volume 1 by Yuki Urushibara
Though invisible to most, tiny creatures known as mushi lurk beneath the surface of everyday reality. They exert a strange and occasionally terrifying influence on people's lives, and only experts known as mushishi carry the knowledge of how to deal with them. A mushishi named Ginko wanders the Japanese countryside, following rumors of various unusual occurences: a young man who dreams the future; a child with horns growing from his forehead; a boy with the power to write creatures into being; and more...
The Power Fantasy Volume 1 by Kieron Gillen & Caspar Wijngaard
It's 1999. Six indescribably powerful people each have the destructive capability of America's nuclear arsenal. If they come into conflict, the world ends. The Power Fantasy is a pop culture-infused, superpowered, Cold War thriller about the spying, scheming, and violence these people will do to avoid coming into open conflict. Come dance to the ticking of the doomsday clock with creators Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard. The eternal fight against fighting starts now.
Vagabond Volume 1 by Takehiko Inoue
Real-life figure Miyamoto Musashi was the most celebrated samurai of all time. The quintessential warrior philosopher, Musashi authored 'A book of five rings,' a theoretical guide to military strategy still used today. But the path to enlightement in feudal era Japan was fraught with peril. At seventeen years of age, Musashi-- still known by his childhood name, Shinmen Takezō-- was a wild young brute just setting out along the way of the sword. In the aftermath of the epic Battle of Sekigahara, Takezō finds himself a fugitive survivor on the losing side of the war. Takezō's vicious nature has made him an outcast even in his own village, and he is hunted down like an animal. At this crucial crossroads in Takezō's life, an eccentric monk and a childhood friend are the only ones who can help him find his way.
We hope you enjoy the incredible stories and breathtaking art that each of these books have to offer.
Interested in finding even more graphic novels? Check out the digital resource Comics Plus! This resource grants you unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga-- 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, on any device, with your Cromaine Library card.
However you choose to read comics and graphic novels, we hope you enjoy every moment of it. Happy reading!