Graphic Novel

Aya

The original volume of Aya debuted to much critical acclaim, receiving a Quill Award nomination and praise for its accessibility and for the rare portrait of a warm and vibrant Africa it presented. This continuation of the story returns to Africa’s Ivory Coast in the late 1970s, where life in Yop City is as dramatic as ever. The original cast of characters is back in full force, with a case of questionable paternity fanning the flames of activity in the community. The new mother Adjoua has her friends to help with the baby, perhaps employing Aya a bit too frequently, while a new romance leaves Bintou with little time for her friends, let alone their responsibilities. The young women aren’t the only residents of Yopougon involved in the excitement, however; Aya’s father is caught in the midst of his own trysts and his employer’s declining Solibra beer sales, and Adjoua’s brother finds his share of the city’s nightlife.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 2

Vermonia #6: To the Pillar of Wind

When the Blue Star Warriors seek to infiltrate Uro’s fiercely guarded headquarters as they try to save the Pillar of Wind from destruction, Doug is captured by soldiers and Naomi and Fly are transported back to the planet of Blue Star, revealing the mysterious pathways connecting galaxies while exposing some of Uro’s weaknesses.

Bigfoot Boy: Into the Woods

Rufus is bored at his grammy’s house in the country. But when he follows a girl into the woods and finds a totem in a hollowed-out tree, things become a whole lot more interesting. Especially when he reads the word etched into the magical talisman: “Sasquatch.”

Baby’s in Black

Baby’s In Black is based on a true story. Meet the Beatles… during their stint in Hamburg right at the beginning of the band’s career. This gorgeous, accessible book is an intimate peek into the early years of the world’s greatest rock band. The story follows a small group of German artists, led by photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who fall in love with the Beatles’ music and soon become good friends with the original five band members. The heart of Baby’s In Black is a love story. The “fifth Beatle,” Stuart Sutcliffe, fell in love with the beautiful Astrid Kirchherr when she recruited the Beatles for a sensational (and famous) photography session. When the band returned to the UK, Sutcliffe quit, became engaged to Kirchherr, and stayed in Hamburg to study painting at a prestigious art school. His meteoric career as a modern artist was cut short when he died unexpectedly a year later. The book ends as it begins, with Astrid, alone and adrift; but with a note of hope: her life is incomparably richer and more directed thanks to her friendship with the Beatles and her love affair with Sutcliffe.

Victory

In 1944, as Allied forces move to retake France from its Nazi invaders, the Tessier siblings risk their lives once more and journey to Paris, where they are to deliver top-secret intelligence to Resistance workers.