Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph’s graphic novel list for libraries
This list was last updated on Thursday 5th September 2024, adding “The Evil Society of Cats” and “Kitaro” to the Children’s Graphic Novels section
Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph (2024 – 2025) has curated an incredible list of graphic novels by a diverse range of comic creators for children and general readers which is being promoted by Arts Council England, chief funder of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, and distributed to libraries across the UK.
Bobby’s list includes works by authors such as Sabba Khan, Adam and Lisa Murphy, Bex Ollerton, Shanti Rai, David Shenton and Jamie Smart, and manga creators such as Eiichiro Oda and Hajime Isayama.
The books are, of course, also available from all good book and comic shops across the UK.
“As the Comics Laureate, my main role is to promote the art form,” says Bobby. “It is something I do not get paid for. So, therefore, anything I do is for the sheer love of the form and to do things that help and uplift creators because that is what we should be doing as a community.
“The main reason why I created the Laureate list is to give UK Comic creators a spotlight in libraries throughout the whole of the country,” he continues. “Not only does it give them more profile, but it also gives them another revenue stream to gain royalties. This also creates stronger links with comic creatives and libraries. It opens the channels up for more talks or events with UK comic talent. This means voices such as Bex Ollerton, Lucy Sullivan, Shanti Rai, David Shenton, Mark Stafford, Danny Noble, Shazleen Khan and others, are given more opportunities to promote their work.
“The choices I made with regards to titles, were made due to the diverse nature of the UK Comics readership,” he expands. “Go into Forbidden Planet or Gosh Comics, or any bookshop. Who’s buying comics/graphic novels/manga? Everyone! That’s who!! So, therefore, representation was important to me.
“That said, when looking at titles to include, I wanted books that illustrated great stories and great narratives that are representative of what we as the UK can offer. And hopefully, new readers can be achieved, and new bridges built between the UK comic community and libraries because of it.”
Bobby is effusive about the backing received from Arts Council England for his list, as the organisation continues to develop its support for the comics medium. ACE, which is actively looking to offer financial support to more comic projects.
ACE continues to develop its connectivity with the comics sector and has updated their Literature Information Sheet (PDF link) to better reflect their receptivity to projects which support the work of comic creators and use comics to engage audiences and readers.
“What’s great is that ACE were very hot on the idea, and were happy to facilitate it with their connected libraries,” Bobby notes. “My long-term plan is to have the Laureate list as a revolving yearly list with ACE, so hopefully we can get more UK talent on the map.”
Graphic Novels by UK Comic Creators
Lavender Clouds – Comics about Neurodivergence and Mental Health by Bex Ollerton
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN: 978-1524890278
A dazzling, humorous, and highly personal portrayal of neurodivergence from a leading voice in mental health comics.
Eisner Award nominated author Bex Ollerton – known as @Schnumn to her thousands of followers – is a talented comic artist who feels energised and courageous on some days and exhausted and emotionally depleted on others. In Lavender Clouds, she translates her experiences with Autism, ADHD, and mental health into a series of colorful, emotionally resonant comics that tell stories of neurodiversity and resilience.
With a tone that is sharp but always sensitive, this debut book collection describes the many insights and strategies the author has learned on her journey to self-acceptance. Among the many topics addressed in the book are the folly of “foolproof” organization strategies, the perils of burnout, the joy of small hopes, and the importance of growing at your own pace and on your own path
Breathtaking in its artistic range and emotional truth, Lavender Clouds offers an enlightening and uplifting read for anyone struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout, or other issues related to mental health.
Mongrel by Sayra Begum
Publisher: Knockabout Comics
ISBN: 978-0861662692
Some of Shuna’s memories are atypical, as she is a mixed-race child, the daughter of a Muslim convert. Shuna learns to switch back and forth from her rebellious face to her pious one depending on her company. This becomes more difficult when she falls in love with a non-Muslim.
Towards the end of 2017 Sayra Begum sent Knockabout a sample of her autobiographical graphic novel, Mongrel. This work was the best unsolicited manuscript they have seen for a very long time. It is rare for a new talent to produce such an ambitious long work.
Sayra is both an accomplished and clever storyteller and an original artist in her layouts and drawing style. The story itself covers matters that are at the heart of our society’s current concerns; immigration, racism, mixed heritage relationships and inter-generational strife.
The front door of Shuna’s family home acted as a gateway to Bangladesh. Nothing haram passed through this door, this was a devout house. When Shuna walked through this door, she switched her rebellious face to her pious face, which eagerly absorbed the teaching of the Prophet, striving to be a good Muslim girl. The switching between these two faces became increasingly difficult as they grew further and further apart.
‘Yes, yes, yes I’ll marry you’ I said to David. Although, after the celestial shock wore off and dull reality set in, I realised there was a slight problem. I would have to tell my very traditional parents that I was going to marry a non-Muslim and confess my secret life.
It’s my wedding day. My parents are absent. I’m not surprised. Why would my parents want to celebrate their daughter’s eternal damnation in hell fire?
Barking by Lucy Sullivan
Publisher: Avery Hill Publishing
SBN: 978-1910395769
Alix Otto is having a very bad day. Easily her worst so far. A year since they fished her friend’s body from the river, she finds herself hounded, haunted and driven to the brink. Caught in a situation she can’t explain, Alix is handed over to the professionals and sectioned, left alone in a labyrinthine system with her delusions running wild.
Loopy… cuckoo… stark raving… When the depression and grief Alix feels over the death of her friend overwhelm her, she’s institutionalised. But inside a psychiatric ward, things don’t get better for her – now she has nowhere to get away from her rapidly-spiraling thoughts. As Alix navigates disinterested attendants, group therapy, and isolation, she must build herself a new equilibrium and tame the black dog of her depression.
Inspired by her own struggles with mental health, Lucy Sullivan tells a powerful, emotional story about the problems that sometimes overwhelm us all – and the failures in the mental health system we depend on.
Forty Lies: A Work of IPSEDIXITISM by David Shenton
Publisher: Knockabout
ISBN: 978-0861662913
This anagram of a book, is a vaguely chronological patchwork of forty(ish) personal stories, following the trials of Coming Out, the Age of Consent, family rejection, dodgy boyfriends, shaky career prospects, and police swoops.
“Neighbours and relatives called me names. I have been a ‘Queer Cartoonist’ for over 40 years and throughout this time I have been as serious, as angry, as funny, camp, and ridiculous as I can possibly be, sometimes all at the same time, because it’s how I see my job, and my duty as a gay man,” says author David Shenton. “I’ve always made LGBTQI+ cartoons and been lucky enough to have had them regularly published. I have played a central part in them, sometimes as a character or narrator, exploring gay politics from the inside perspective, which means I can criticise governments, health education offices, the church, the police, anything that is bigoted, and still laugh at myself. Attacking the haters, fighting, and trying to protect my community through my cartoons, one tiny square at a time.
“This anagram of a book, is a vaguely chronological patchwork of forty(ish) personal stories, that don’t bear too much factual scrutiny, yet are as real and honest as need be, following the trials of Coming Out, the Age of Consent, family rejection, dodgy boyfriends, shaky career prospects, police swoops, the enemy without, queer bashers, the stern presence of HIV/AIDS, the loathsome Section 28, the friends, the outrage and outrageous, the fun, the sex, the scene, Love, Equal Marriage and bereavement… This is my History, it is the history of every 70 year old gay man in Britain today. FORTY LIES=LIFE STORY. Basically, a Comic Book, with knitting patterns.”
Sennen by Shanti Rai
Publisher: Avery Hill Publishing
ISBN: 978-1910395714
Living with her parents, her adoptive father and her biological father Baba, Sennen’s world is turned upside down when the Gods’ demands of human sacrifices impact her family on a very personal basis.
When the Gods take her father, Sennen starts out on a quest to put things right in her village in this graphic novel.
Sennen’s life is mostly perfect – spending her days tending the fields in her idyllic village and her evenings with her beloved family, all tucked into the crook of a green and beautiful valley. And if it wasn’t for the masked figures descending from the hills with increasing regularity to take their harvested food to deliver to their Gods, she’d have no worries at all.
But when the demands for tribute strike closer to home, Sennen is forced to flee the paradise of her valley and venture into the home of the Gods to save her family and their way of life – only to discover that those we worship are not always what they seem, and the lives we lead are not always so simplistic after all.
Sennen, the debut graphic novel from exciting new British author and artist Shanti Rai, tells a timeless tale of adventure, and the discoveries we make as we explore beyond the boundaries of our childhood, into the uncertainty of the adult world.
What We Don’t Talk About by Charlot Kristensen
Publisher: Avery Hill
ISBN: 978-1910395554
Adam and Farai are an interracial couple that have been together for two years. Farai has finally persuaded Adam to introduce her to his parents, but the visit to the in-laws turns out to be a horrible experience for Farai.
Examining racism and interracial relationships, this graphic novel is about a couple’s first meeting with the in-laws.
Farai and Adam have been dating for two years, but she’s never met his parents. Until this weekend.
Adam’s parents have a lovely house in a beautiful small town. But after they arrive, Adam’s mom immediately begins making racist comments about everything from Farai’s hair to her family’s education. Farai asks for Adam’s support ― and Adam is used to keeping quiet in response to cruel, critical remarks from his mother for the sake of peace in the family. He doesn’t stand up for himself, much less for Farai.
This vividly illustrated graphic novel tackles the prejuice and racism Black people experience on an everyday basis.
Shame Pudding by Danny Noble
Publisher: Street Noise Books
ISBN: 978-1951491024
A celebration of the wacky and wonderful Jewish grandmothers who nurtured the author as she grew from a kid struggling with anxiety and insecurity to a teen finding her own voice.
Danny Noble grew up in an eccentric family with two weird and wonderful Jewish grandmas living right around the corner. One grandma stuffed her full of love and gefilte fish, and the other pinched her cheeks shrieking “shayn punim!” The strange words hung in the air, sounding like ”shame pudding.” Was this some sort of insult? It was never explained that those words meant ”beautiful face” in Yiddish.
This memoir, told in graphic novel format, is a personal celebration of the author’s charming and vibrant family and how they saved her from the machinations of her own brain. It explores resonant adolescent topics of body image, self-determination, insecurity, fear, religious identity, politics, friendship, romantic love, and family relationships. Danny Noble’s expressive style brings this delightful cast of characters to life.
The Roles We Play by Sabba Khan
Publisher: Myriad Editions
ISBN: 978-1912408306
As a second-generation Azad Kashmiri migrant in East London, Khan paints a vivid snapshot of contemporary British Asian life and investigates the complex shifts experienced by different generations within migrant communities.
“Where is home, Mum?” From the foothills of the Himalayas in the Kashmiri valleys to bustling Green Street in East London, Sabba Khan researches her identity from the global to the local, covering partition, displacement, and assimilation with humour and courage.
Two-thirds of today’s British Pakistani diaspora trace their origins back to Mirpur in Azad Kashmir, a district that saw mass displacement and migration when it was submerged by the waters of a dam built after Partition. Sabba Khan’s debut graphic memoir explores what identity, belonging and memory mean for her and her family against the backdrop of this history.
As a second generation Azad Kashmiri migrant in East London, Khan paints a vivid snapshot of contemporary British Asian life and investigates the complex shifts experienced by different generations within migrant communities, creating an uplifting and universal story that crosses borders and decades.
Race, gender and class are brought to the forefront in a simple and personal narrative, illuminated by an eloquent minimal style and architectural page design. Khan asks how religion and secularism, tradition and trend, heritage and progression can move toward a common space of love and understanding?
Catalyst by Various Artists
Publisher: Self-Made Hero
ISBN: 978-1914224027
From tales of misplaced memories to battles with the id, Catalyst offers a look at the consequences of big and small acts alike from various diverse comic creators from the UK.
Collecting stories from a range of artists of colour across the UK, this comics anthology unites their voices under a single theme: “catalyst”. In one story, the accidental witnessing of a horrific scene turns a regular day into a nightmare; in another, the truth of what it really took to put a man on the moon is revealed.
From tales of misplaced memories to battles with the id, Catalyst offers a look at the consequences of big and small acts alike. Showcasing a mix of established and emerging artists, this collection imagines the myriad ways in which a chain of events might end in either euphoria or catastrophe. Sometimes both.
Edited by Ayoola Solarin, this provocative, intriguing and revelatory anthology invites readers to consider the situations, people and events that might accelerate change in their own lives and in our society as a whole.
Lip Hook: A Tale of Rural Unease by David Hine and Mark Stafford
Publisher: Self-Made Hero
ISBN: 978-1910593578
Somewhere in the British Isles, at the end of a neglected road, there is a village called Lip Hook. For its inhabitants, the village is more than the end of the road – it’s the end of the world.
Beyond it, there is nothing but mist-shrouded marshland. Few travelers take the road to Lip Hook, but one foggy night, a car speeds perilously toward the village. The driver is a dangerously beautiful woman, the passenger a man with a gunshot wound and a suitcase containing a treasure he has risked his life for.
Cash-strapped but in need of a place to hide, the two fugitives seek shelter at the Hanged Man Inn, where the woman persuades the innkeeper to accept payment in kind. As days pass and the woman extends her services to more of Lip Hook’s men, among them the village priest, a false faith grips the community ― and reason, logic, and humanity begin to disappear.
Children’s Graphic Novels
Akissi: Tales of Mischief by Marguerite Abouet and Mathieu Sapin
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
ISBN: 978-1911171478
The three volumes of the Akissi series by critically acclaimed author Marguerite Abouet are collected in this first English edition.
Poor Akissi! The neighbourhood cats are trying to steal her fish, her little monkey Boubou almost ends up in a frying pan and she’s nothing but a pest to her older brother Fofana…
But Akissi is a true adventurer full of silliness and mischief, and nothing will scare her for long!
Bumble and Snug and the Shy Ghost by Mark Bradley
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
ISBN: 978-1444958072
Bumble and Snug are excited to show off their magic tricks at the Bugbopolis Talent Show together with their new friend, a little ghost.
Best friends Bumble and Snug are bugbops – little monsters filled with BIG feelings! Join them in this new, full-colour graphic novel, as they go on a thrilling, funny adventure with a VERY shy ghost and learn about the world outside and inside.
Bumble and Snug are excited to show off their magic tricks at the Bugbopolis Talent Show together with their new friend, a little ghost. They’ll need to practise first, from pulling rabbits out of a hat to picking the right cards and levitating. There’s just one problem, the ghost turns invisible when she’s shy!
When the little ghost gets overwhelmed and vanishes before they can begin their act, Bumble and Snug will have to save the show. But there are other obstacles to overcome too – and it starts with a falling stage!
Bumble and Snug and the Shy Ghost is a story about being shy, friendship, magic tricks and a disaster or two!
Bunny vs Monkey: Bunny Bonanza! by Jamie Smart
Publisher: David Fickling Books
ISBN: 978-1788453066
Monkey and the gang are on a hunt to find Bunny, after he mysteriously disappeared . . . On their search they’ll be bamboozled by Old Bunny, Neanderbunny, the mysterious Shadow Bunny and the always-confusing Not Bunny. Will they ever find their faithful friend?
It’s a rollicking race to the rightful rabbit in this cornucopia of chuckles!
Corpse Talk: Season 1 by Adam and Lisa Murphy
Publisher: David Fickling Books
ISBN: 978-1910200018
Corpse Talk is the ‘show that brings the dead famous to life’ in a highly amusing and clever comic style history book that introduces the reader to historical figures in a fresh and funny way.
The dead are rising! Up out of the mouldering pages of history comes the chat show that digs the dirt on some of history’s most famous, infamous and downright incredible men and women.
What was the secret of Cleopatra’s irresistible personality?
Why did Genghis Khan become obsessed with world domination?
Which scientist is still radioactive, almost 100 years after her death?
Join your hosts, Adam and Lisa Murphy, as they gets the answers to these questions and many more, on Corpse Talk, the show that brings the dead famous to life!
Donny Digits: Heroes! Heists! Hot Dogs! by Woodrow Phoenix
Publisher: Bog Eyed Books
ISBN: 978-1916311800
Donny Digits is the Fixingest Boy Alive! Any machine that goes wrong, from a toaster to an ocean liner, anything at all that requires repairing, Donny can do it with the contents of his pockets and whatever is lying around. He’s like a one man International Rescue crossed with Bob The Builder and his abilities are celebrated across the nation. Everybody loves Donny!
But would they still love him if they knew his secret? Donny has a twin brother, Dylan – and he’s a menace! Everything he touches falls to bits! That’s right – he is The Breakingest Boy Alive! Can Donny save the day and keep his secret under wraps?
Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea by Dav Pikey
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 978-1338801910
Dog Man and the rest of your favourite characters must join together to face Piggy and his most diabolical plot yet in this heroic and hilarious adventure.
Piggy is back, and his newest plot is his most diabolical yet. Dog Man and the rest of your favourite characters must join together in this heroic and hilarious adventure.
WHAT new villains are on the horizon? WHERE are they all coming from? And WHO will step forward to save the city when scoundrels sabotage our Supa Buddies?
Find out in DOG MAN #11 – there’s so much more than ever before – it’s EPIC!
Dav Pilkey’s wildly popular Dog Man series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence – and the importance of doing good.
Drawn to Change The World Graphic Novel Collection by Emma Reynolds
Publisher: Harper Alley
ISBN: 978-0063084216
The climate crisis is reaching a critical tipping point – and you might have heard of the countless amazing young people who are taking action and speaking up for change.
Emma Reynolds shines a spotlight on sixteen incredible youth activists from around the world who are fighting to protect the planet and all life on Earth. From Autumn Peltier campaigning for clean water to Edgar Edmund Tarimo turning plastic waste into building materials – and many more – these inspiring true stories highlight the importance of taking charge and creating change.
Beautifully illustrated by sixteen different artists and accompanied by facts and pictures that explain the science, Drawn to Change the World is for anyone who wants to learn more about the climate and nature crisis and what we can do about it, with extensive front matter and back matter materials.
You are not too young and you are not too old to begin. We need everyone to help with the biggest challenge the human race has ever faced. We can do this if we work together.
For after all, change starts with you!
The Evil Secret Society of Cats by PANDANIA
Publisher: Seven Seas
ISBN: 978-1638585879
Reading age: 10 years and up
“We will teach humans to fear the feline race!”
They may seem cute and cuddly, but these kitties are up to no good! Under the direction of the purple-caped Feline Commander, the Evil Secret Society of Cats schemes against humanity in a series of humorous stories as adorable as they are diabolical. After all, the complex nature of cats is part of their charm.
Juniper Mae: Knight of Tykotech City by Sarah Soh
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
ISBN: 978-1912497454
Featured in the Blue Peter Book Club January 2024
Tykotech City is home to the most incredible technology you’ve ever seen, but something is going horribly wrong with all of it and there’s only one tiny inventor that stands between the city and total darkness…
Building her own gadgets in her dad’s repair shop, Juniper Mae is a certified kid wonder. She builds jet packs, socks that keep your feet warm and dry, floating fish bowls. But a slight malfunction with one of her latest inventions causes her to crash-land in the dangerous forests around her city, and there she discovers a whole world of mystery, ancient knights and even a small green tama-tama friend, Albie. Inspired by the Guardian Knights of old, Juniper Mae steps up to the plate when her city is in danger, and when a catastrophic series of events threaten to destroy her home, it’s finally time for Juniper Mae to don her own armour and step into the spotlight.
A sparkling debut from a fresh new voice in illustrated fiction Sarah Soh, and a great gift for inspiring girls to enjoy STEM topics, with a smart young engineer heroine.
Kitaro – The Birth of Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
ISBN: 978-1770462281
The Birth Of Kitaro collects seven of Shigeru Mizuki’s early, and beloved, Kitaro stories, making them available for the first time in English, in an all-new, format. These stories are from the golden era of the late 1960s, when Gegege no Kitaro truly hit its stride as an all-ages supernatural series. Mizuki’s Kitaro stories are both timelessly relevant and undeniably influential, inspiring a decades-long boom in stories about yokai, Japanese ghosts and monsters. Kitaro’s Birthday reveals the origin story of the yokai boy Kitaro and his tiny eyeball father, Medama Oyaji. Neko Musume versus Nezumi Otoko is the first of Mizuki’s stories to feature the popular recurring character Neko Musume, a little girl who transforms into a cat when she gets angry or hungry. Other stories in The Birth of Kitaro draw heavily from Japanese folklore, with Kitaro taking on legendary Japanese yokai like the Nopperabo and Makura Gaeshi, and fighting the monstrous recurring villain Gyuki. The Birth of Kitaro is the perfect introduction to award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki’s most popular series, seminal comics that have won the hearts of Japanese children and adults for more than half a century.
Shigeru Mizuki (1922–2015) was one of Japan’s most respected artists. A creative prodigy, he lost an arm in World War Two. After the war, Mizuki became one of the founders of Japan’s latest craze ― manga. He invented the yokai genre with GeGeGe no Kitaro, his most famous character, who has been adapted for the screen several times, as anime, live action, and video games. In fact, a new anime series has been made every decade since 1968, capturing the imaginations of generations of Japanese children.
A researcher of yokai and a real-life ghost hunter, Mizuki traveled to over sixty countries to engage in fieldwork based on spirit folklore. In his hometown of Sakaiminato, one can find Shigeru Mizuki Road, a street decorated with bronze statues of his Kitaro characters.
Mexikid by Pedro Martin
Publisher: Guppy Books
ISBN: 978-0593462294
Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his Abuelito – his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn’t mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has eight brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough!
An unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy’s family and their adventure-filled road trip to bring their abuelito back from Mexico to live with them that National Book Award Finalist Victoria Jamieson calls “one of those books that kids will pass to their friends as soon as they have finished it.”
Saving Sunshine by Saadia Farugi and Shazleen Khan
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
ISBN: 978-1250793812
Relatable, funny, and heart-wrenchingly honest, Saving Sunshine is the poignant story of Muslim American siblings learning how to build each other up in a world that is too often unkind.
It’s already hard enough just being a kid, without being teased for having a funny sounding name or wearing a hijab. It’s even harder when you’re constantly fighting your sibling – and Zara and Zeeshan really can’t stand each other. During a family trip to Florida, when the bickering, shoving, and insults reach new heights of chaos, their parents sentence them to the worst possible fate – each other’s company!
But when the twins find an ailing turtle, it presents a rare opportunity for teamwork – if the two can put their differences aside at last.
Adult Titles
One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Volume 1 by Eiichiro Oda
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1421536255
Join Monkey D. Luffy and his swashbuckling crew in their search for the ultimate treasure, the One Piece.
As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, an enchanted Devil Fruit that gave him the ability to stretch like rubber. Its only drawback? He’ll never be able to swim again—a serious handicap for an aspiring sea dog! Years later, Luffy sets off on his quest to find the “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world… Get Ready to Set Sail!
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 by Gege Akutami
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1974710027
Yuji Itadori attempts to save the world from cursed demons, but learns the best way to do it is to become one himself!
To gain the power he needs to save his friend from a cursed spirit, Yuji Itadori swallows a piece of a demon, only to find himself caught in the midst of a horrific war of the supernatural!
In a world where cursed spirits feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryomen Sukuna have been lost and scattered about. Should any demon consume Sukuna’s body parts, the power they gain could destroy the world as we know it. Fortunately, there exists a mysterious school of jujutsu sorcerers who exist to protect the precarious existence of the living from the supernatural!
Although Yuji Itadori looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Research Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object. Little do they know the terror they’ll unleash when they break the seal…
My Hero Academia, Vol 1 by Kohei Horikoshi
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1974743247
Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.
What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?
The terrifying fusion of Tomura and All For One now seems unstoppable. Since the villains have the upper hand, even the president of the United States is considering the unthinkable– capitulating to Tomura. But Mirko, Edgeshot, and Jeanist are still on the scene, holding on for dear life. The heroes’ big plan was always to pit Midoriya against Tomura, and when the young hero finally arrives and sees what’s happened, all bets are off – Midoriya’s ready to face his deadly rival!
Spy x Family, Volume 1 by Tatsuya Endo
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1974715466
An action-packed comedy about a fake family that includes a spy, an assassin and a telepath!
Master spy Twilight is unparalleled when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions for the betterment of the world. But when he receives the ultimate assignment—to get married and have a kid—he may finally be in over his head!
Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!
Death Note Black Edition, Vol. 1 – Death Note Black Edition 1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1421539645
The story follows Light Yagami, a genius high school student who discovers a mysterious notebook: the “Death Note”, which belonged to the shinigami Ryuk, and grants the user the supernatural ability to kill anyone whose name is written in its pages.
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal… or his life?
One Punch Man Vol 1 by Yusake Murate
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1421585642
The story follows the life of an average hero named Saitama who manages to win all of his fights with just one punch. This ends up being the cause of a lot of frustration as he no longer feels the thrill and adrenaline he once felt in battle. After all, what’s so good about having overwhelming power?
Life gets pretty boring when you can beat the snot out of any villain with just one punch.
Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem—he just can’t seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on!
Every time a promising villain appears, Saitama beats the snot out of ’em with one punch! Can he finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?
Attack on Titan Volume 1 by Hajime Isayama
Publisher: Kodansha America, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1612620244
Mankind is on the brink of extinction when these man-eating monsters terrorise everybody and set to destroy the last of human civilization left in the world. The only person standing in their way is Eren Jaeger, a teenager who uses his special gift to fight the titan race.
In this post-apocalytpic sci-fi story, humanity has been devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see. For the past century, what’s left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled city. People believe their 100-metre-high walls will protect them from the Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change everything.
Winner of the 2011 Kodansha Manga Award (Shonen) and nominated for the prestigious Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize for 2012.
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition) by Masaschi Kishimoto
Publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 978-1421539898
As a boy, Naruto is ridiculed and ostracized on account of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox – a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure – that was sealed away in his body. Despite this, he aspires to become his village’s leader, the Hokage, in order to receive their approval.
The epic ninja adventure that became a global phenomenon! Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humour, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja!
No one takes Naruto seriously at Ninja Academy. Especially not the other students, who all are competing to be the best ninja ever and someday lead Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Naruto and his classmates are about to embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond Ninja Academy, beyond Konoha, beyond anything they ever imagined. What is Naruto’s true destiny? The epic story that has sold millions worldwide begins now!
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