Graphic Novels
Check out these Own Voices fiction and non-fiction graphic novels.
Hot Comb offers a poignant glimpse into Black women's lives and coming of age stories as seen across a crowded, ammonia-scented hair salon while ladies gossip and bond over the burn. Realizations about race, class, and the imperfections of identity swirl through Flowers' stories, which are by turns sweet, insightful, and heartbreaking.
Bingo love by Tee Franklin and Jenn St-onge
When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.
The sacrifice of darkness by Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne Oliver, Rebecca Kirby, James Fenner, and Andworld Design
Joshua and Claire are each shaped by the day the sky went dark, but drawn to each other because of it. Coming of age in this new landscape, they will be forced to confront and challenge notions of identity, guilt, and survival as the darkness grows around them.
Kindred: a graphic novel adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings
Dana's home in 1970s California is suddenly transformed into the frightening world of the antebellum South. She can't explain how she is transported across time and space to a plantation in Maryland. But she quickly understands why: to deal with the troubles of Rufus, a conflicted white slaveholder, and her progenitor. Her very existence depends on it.
Your black friend and other strangers by Ben Passmore
Passmore masterfully tackles comics about race, gentrification, the prison system, online dating, gross punks, bad street art, kung fu movie references, beating up God, and lots of other grown-up stuff with refreshing doses of humor and lived relatability.
Yummy: the last days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri and Randy DuBurke
Based on the life and death of Robert 'Yummy' Sandifer, an 11-year-old from Chicago's Southside who was killed by his own gang, this graphic novel follows 11-year-old Roger as he tries to make sense of Yummy's death and life. Was he a monster, or just another kid? This gritty exploration of youth gang life will prompt readers to question their own understandings of good and bad.
Black history in its own words by Ronald Wimberly
Wimberly presents quotes of dozens of Black luminaries with illustrations. Featuring the memorable words and depictions of Angela Davis, Jean-Michael Basquiat, Kanye West, Zadie Smith, Ice Cube, Dave Chappelle, James Baldwin, Spike Lee and more.
March. Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.
Making our way home: the Great Migration and the Black American dream by Blair Imani, Patrisse Cullors, and Rachelle Baker
The Great Migration sparked stunning demographic and cultural changes in twentieth-century America. Through historical narrative, family stories, illustrations, and infographics, Imani examines this largely overlooked cultural sea of change and how it continues to impact America and Black identity.
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