Pokemon Adventures, Volume 1

Pokemon Adventures, Volume 1 by Hidenori Kusaka
Anyone familiar with children’s television has probably seen the animated version of Pokemon. This new series from VIZ tells the story from the start, without some of the bad jokes which fill the TV screen. The central character, known simply as Red in this manga version, is out to catch and train Pokemon, the strange wild creatures that exist in the world around him. From childhood, he had befriended one who had saved him from possible death. Now he has begun his personal quest, to become a skilled trainer of these strange creatures. Along the way in this first volume he encounters the friends and enemies who will make the story interesting. In this manga version, both are far more interesting than in the Americanized anime. Team Rocket are villains in the style of something from Tezuka’s work, rather than being comic relief. Pikachu, destined to become his best fighting Pokemon, is portrayed more in the tradition of the untamed creature who might someday be a friend. Even Brock and Misty have actual personalities… Some may question Red’s career choice, but not his dedication.There is cartoony violence in these stories, but no gore. Suitable for all ages.-- Nick Smith

Little Rock Nine(Turning Points Series)

Little Rock Nine(Turning Points Series) by Marshall Poe, Ellen Lindner (Illustrator)

Sixteen-year-old William McNally and fifteen-year-old Thomas Johnson both live in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the summer of 1957. They both love baseball and teasing their little sisters. There's just one big difference -- William is white, and Thomas, the son of William's family's maid, is black. After the Supreme Court rules in favor of desegregating public schools, Little Rock Central High School prepares to enroll its first nine African-American students, and William and Thomas are caught in the center of a storm.

Moomin Book Three: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip

Moomin Book Three: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip by Tove Jansson
Moomin has been swiftly making its way into the hearts of North Americans ever since Drawn & Quarterly began collecting the strip in 2006. It debuted in the London Evening News in 1954. Fifty years ago, Jansson's observations of everyday life—whimsical but with biting undertones—easily caught the attention of an international audience and still resonate today. This third volume returns to Moominvalley, where its beloved inhabitants get tangled up in five new stories.

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon (Marvel Iron Man) by Fred Van Lente, James Cordeiro (Illustrator)

When the entire workforce of Stark China simply vanishes, Iron Man jets out to investigate. He soon discovers they've been shanghaied to build The Mandarin's latest technological horror: a dragon ship that lays waste to everything in its path!

Super Zero

Super Zero by Donald B. Lemke, Douglas Holgate (Illustrator)
Zack Allen loves comic books, but he's nothing like his favorite superheroes. He's always getting picked on by bullies at school. Then one day, Zack builds a high-tech robot suit. He must decide how to use his newfound powers as Zinc Alloy, the world's newest superhero.

Manga Shakespeare: Macbeth

Manga Shakespeare: Macbeth by Robert Deas, Richard Appignanesi
Retells, in comic book format, Shakespeare's play about a man who kills his king after hearing the prophesies of three witches.

Shoulder a Coffin, Kuro, Volume 1

Shoulder a Coffin, Kuro, Volume 1 by Satoko Kiyuduki
Kuro, a little tomboy garbed in pitch-black with a little-tomboy-sized coffin on her back, heads out on a journey to find a certain witch. In the company of her faithful bat friend, Zen, Kuro encounters all manners of people and places which fire the readers' imaginations.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm, Rich Tommaso (Illustrator), Gerald Early (Introduction)
Satchel Paige began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues in Alabama in the 1920s. For years, Jim Crow laws, which segregated blacks and whites, kept him out of the major leagues. But they couldn't stop him from becoming a world-class athlete. This is a fictionalized account of a real-life sports hero. To find out more, go to this book's homepage.

Li'l Kids: An original graphic novel collecting three webcomic short stories

Li'l Kids: An original graphic novel collecting three webcomic short stories by Von Allan (Illustrator)
Three short stories that feature the whimsy and wonder of being a young girl. From meeting new friends, dealing with an ill mom, or triumphing over a nasty super villain in a dream, "Li'l Kids" shows a unique side of being a child. A short story collection told in comics form, the stories all feature Marie, the protagonist from the original graphic novel "the road to god knows." Visit the Von Allen studio here. You can download the entire "Li'l Kids" and read it on your computer!

Prince of Persia: The Graphic Novel

Prince of Persia: The Graphic Novel by Jordan Mechner (created by), A. B. Sina (written by), LeUyen Pham & Alex Puvilland (artwork by), Hilary Sycamore (color by)
A thousand years ago in Persia (before a young adventurer escaped a dungeon to rescue a princess, before a scheming vizier tricked a prince into unleasing the sands of time) a prophecy was made: "a palace must fall. A prince must rise from the waters where none has known him, save for a sad girl under a fig tree."

Into the Volcano

Into the Volcano by Don Wood
Sumno and Duffy (brothers) are told they must travel to a volcanic island to help an aunt they have never met. When they arrive on the island, they soon discover that their mysterious auntie is up to no good. They are sent on an expedition that take them on a wild boat ride straight into an erupting volcano. Facing extreme danger, they hike inside the volcano and eventually escape--after Sumno saves Duffy's life. Visit Don Wood's website to discover more about volcanoes and the making of this book.

Salt Water Taffy: The Legend of Old Salty

Salt Water Taffy: The Legend of Old Salty (The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny) by Matthew Loux, Randal C. Jarrell (Editor)
Eleven-year-old Jack Putnam and his eight-year-old brother Benny are being dragged against their will on a summer-long vacation with their family. And not to somewhere cool like Disney World, but to a little port town in Maine named Chowder Bay, far away from anyplace fun. But what promises to be a very bleak summer quickly becomes a series of exciting adventures in one of the most mysterious places on earth!

Runaways: Dead End Kids

Runaways: Dead End Kids by Joss Whedon
The kids start running in a different direction. Superstar Joss Whedon and rising star Michael Ryan take the Runaways somewhere they've never been before: the Big Apple ... circa 1907! While there, they make surprising allies and even more surprising enemies. Can they escape a super-powered war on the streets of New York?

Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History

Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History by Harvey Pekar, Paul Buhle (Editor), Gary Dumm (Illustrator)

Pekar constructs a narrative of the history of the Students for a Democratic Society, but frequently steps aside to allow actual participants in that history to tell their own stories, using his casual first-person model of storytelling. The narrative moves through the decade of SDS history and then moves into the participant accounts, offering both a macro and a micro vision of the times. The artwork is mostly by frequent Pekar collaborator Gary Dumm, whose crisp, neutral realism may not be thrilling but does move the story along and does a fine job of conveying the various settings. As a whole, the book acts like a sophisticated handbook on an often misunderstood organization. It's good comics and excellent history.

(Synopsis and Review by Publishers Weekly)

Coraline

Coraline by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell (Illustrator), Lovern Kindzierski (Illustrator)
Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.

Skim

Skim by Mariko Tamaki, drawings by Jillian Tamaki
Kim and Lisa share almost everything and understand what the other is feeling. They argue, go to parties together, share secrets, and are both unhappy. Their lives in high school are anything but pleasant, and actually are on the dark side. A boy commits suicide because he is gay, and Kim tries to find herself in tarot cards and Wicca. Kim comes from a broken home and has to split her time between her mom and dad who has a new girl friend. A favorite teacher leaves for a different job and this affects the students. Lisa is afraid Kim is getting depressed, and she is afraid Kim will commit suicide.

Howtoons: The Possibilities are Endless!

Howtoons: The Possibilities are Endless! by Saul Griffith (writer and engineer), Nick Dragotta (writer and artist), and Joost Bonsen (writer and inspiration)
Part comic strip and part science experiment, Howtoons shows children how to find imaginative new uses for common household items like soda bottles, duct tape, mop buckets, and more–to teach kids the "Tools of Mass Construction"! Howtoons are cartoons that teach 8– to 15–year–old readers "how to" build, create, and explore things. Combining a fun, full–color cartoon format and real life science and engineering principles, Howtoons are designed to encourage kids to become active participants in the world around them.