Gotham High is my second graphic novel from the DC Ink line from DC Comics, and I’m already so in love with this collection. DC Ink makes quality YA graphic novel retellings for classic DC characters, and they’re full of beautiful art and even more beautiful diversity. Gotham High is a stand-alone re-imagining of the origin stories for all your favorite DC heroes and villains, and has really strong characterizations for both its main characters and its secondary characters.
To say I was excited for A Gift for a Ghost would be an understatement. This graphic novel is pitched as a story with time travel, ghosts, black holes, and an all-girl punk band, and I am completely here for all those things. I was so excited to read it that it actually made my Spring 2020 top-ten TBR, and after finishing the book I can say that I was 100000% not disappointed. Not only is the artwork absolutely stunning, but A Gift for a Ghost has such a lovely story told with equal parts strength and whimsy.
Camp Spirit is a YA graphic novel set in the 1990s in Ontario, where high-schooler Elodie has been appointed as a camp counselor for the summer. Elodie is very 90s grunge, is not at all interested in camping or the outdoors, and is the opposite of excited for her summer job. What starts as a frothy, pulpy sort of story takes a sharp turn about mid-way through, and turns this summer romance into a a graphic novel full of intrigue, mystical nightmares, demonic presences, and urban legends. Even through this shift, though, the book never loses its center- the growing friendship (and maybe more) between Elodie and camp counselor extraordinaire, Catherine.
I don’t think I have ever felt more seen in a book than with this little illustrated memoir. This is the story of Jason Adam Katzenstein, famed cartoonist and writer, and his struggle with Obsession Compulsive Disorder (“OCD”).
This book makes me want to talk about my OCD, something I only do with very close family, and that, in and of itself, is telling.
The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp is one of the best graphic novels I’ve read in a really, really long time. This YA graphic novel is from DC Comics, and tells the story of Barbara Gordon, who becomes Oracle in the Batman/DC comic universe. Don’t be fooled, though– there are practically no superheros in this novel. Instead, we get a beautifully crafted story that is wonderfully diverse, fierce, and full of mystery and intrigue.
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