This Book Sucks

In a vampiric way.  Wait - don't leave!  All bad jokes aside, the comic Life Sucks is actually pretty cool.  Assuming you like vampires of the non-sparkly variety. 

Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece have put together a comic exploring some of the less romantic sides of vampirism.  Like how you explain it to your mom and dad.  (You don't.)  And what sort of jobs are available for people who are permanently nocturnal.  (The night shift at a convenience store, for example.)  Also, the person who turned you is now your master.  (Which makes you his permanent wage slave.)  Dave Miller is not having the time of his undead life.  To make matters worse, the human girl he loves is now being romantically pursued by the guy he hates: psychopath surfer vampire Wes. 

Time for Dave to figure out how to get the girl and save the day.  Too bad he can only come out at night.

~ Book Ninja

Comics by Girls for Girls

Let's just take a moment to celebrate some of the comics written by women, shall we?  They're awesome and deserve some recognition.  (Hooray for fully-fledged characters in realistically propotioned bodies!)  Some of my favorite graphic novels are:

The Plain Janes and Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci.  When Jane moves to suburbia, she decides to not make friends with the popular girls and instead befriends the Janes.  They soon call themselves the P.L.A.I.N. Janes and set out to make guerrilla art throughout their town.  In the sequel, Janes in Love, the Janes fall in love.  But nothing ever goes smoothly in the course of true love. 

Mercury by Hope Larson.  Josey lives in Nova Scotia in 1859.  Tara lives in Nova Scotia today.  These two girls' stories are intertwined by magic, betrayal, buried treasure, and first loves.  As much as I want to tell you more, I don't want to give anything away, either. 

Token by Alisa Kwitney and Joelle Jones.  Her dad's in love with his secretary with no time for her and high school sucks, so Shira starts shoplifting.  When she gets caught by a Spanish boy, they become friends and then more.  The art here is fun - I love the facial expressions on Shira's grandma and her best friend Minerva. 

Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki.  Emi is facing the most boring summer of her teen life until she goes to the Freak Show, an underground performance art venue.  Emi falls in love with the idea of performing, but there's just one problem: she doesn't have a talent.  Wanting to be famous, she steals something she shouldn't.  And then things get weird.  Well, weirder.

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks.  Maggie's starting high school after being homeschooled.  She's nervous, but she has her big brothers to watch out for her.  And a ghost that follows her.  Not everything is spelled out in this graphic novel, so take your time, enjoy the art, and don't be afraid to reread it. 

Pick one up and check it out! 

~ Book Ninja

Flights of Fantasy

The best part about anthologies and short story collections is finding an author you wouldn't have encountered otherwise.  And then devouring everything else that author or artist has ever written.  So pick up a copy of Flight, any of the volumes, and dive in.  There's something for everyone in this collection of indie comics edited by Kazu Kibuishi. 

The library has several comics by artists who've contributed short stories to Flight.

Polly and the Pirates

If you like comics and manga, you should check out Polly and the Pirates. Yeah, I know - ninjas aren't supposed to like pirates. But I have a soft spot for pirates, especially pirate chicks who kick... body parts. And prim and proper Polly is in for a shock when she discovers that her mother was one of those pirate chicks.