Black Comics Matter: Black Voices in Graphic Novels

Book List: Black Comics Matter: Black Voices in Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are a rich and unique way to tell stories. Graphic novels have also become increasingly popular in the past decade, especially with reluctant readers. Below is a list of graphic novels from Black creators, with suggestions to appeal across a breadth of ages.

A note: These Amazon links all point to Amazon Smile, Amazon’s charity affiliate program. If you haven’t set up Amazon Smile, I encourage you to point it to an organization like Black Table Arts, a community-driven arts cooperative, gathering black communities through the arts toward better black futures.

Twins by Varian Johnson & Shannon Wright - https://smile.amazon.com/Twins-1-Varian-Johnson/dp/133823613X/

Grades 2-5. Maureen and Francine are growing apart and there’s nothing Maureen can do to stop it. Are sisters really forever? Or will middle school change things for good?

Akissi: Tales of Mischief by Marguerite Abouet & Mathieu Sapin - https://smile.amazon.com/Akissi-Tales-Mischief-Graphic-Novel/dp/191117147X/

Grades 2-5. A lovely collection of hilarious short comics about a wild little girl tearing up her Ivory Coast town and getting into all sorts of trouble. Akissi chases down thieving cats, kicks the ball so hard at a soccer match that it goes over a wall, accidentally poisons the neighbor’s baby, tries to pull out her own tooth, stays up late watching sci-fi cartoons, and runs around barefoot with all the neighborhood boys. In other words, Akissi is a clever and strong tree-climbing, animal-loving child learning about the messy mistakes of life.

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed & Iman Geddy - https://smile.amazon.com/When-Stars-Scattered-Victoria-Jamieson/dp/0525553908/

Grades 3-7. Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day.

New Kid by Jerry Craft - https://smile.amazon.com/New-Kid-Jerry-Craft/dp/0062691198/

Grades 4-7. New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggles seventh-grader Jordan Banks endures as he finds himself torn between two worlds.

Goldie Vance: Volume One by Hope Larson & Brittney Williams - https://smile.amazon.com/Goldie-Vance-Vol-Hope-Larson/dp/1608868982/

Grades 4-7. 16-year-old Marigold “Goldie” Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place, and dreams to one day become the hotel’s in-house detective. When Walter, the current detective, encounters a case he can’t crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery utilizing her smarts, random skills, and connections with the hotel staff and various folks in town. Show less

Urban Legendz by Paul Downs, Nick Bruno, Michael Yates - https://smile.amazon.com/Urban-Legendz-Paul-Downs/dp/1594657149/

Grades 4-9. After his mother’s death, Dwayne is forced to uproot himself and move into the home where his mother grew up: a shabby apartment in Brooklyn. When your dad is a police officer, and your brother’s too cool for school, what’s an insecure teen supposed to do? Dwayne’s personal problems are cast aside when he joins a new crew of young vigilantes, devoted to solving a series of sinister cases surrounding mysterious monsters that have been wreaking havoc throughout the city. What if all of the Urban Legends we all fear…were real?

The Girl Who Married A Skull, and Other African Stories: A Cautionary Fables & Fairytales Book - https://smile.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Married-Skull-Cautionary/dp/1945820241/

Grades 4-8. Have you heard the one about the skull who borrowed body parts to pass himself off as a human so he could trick the village beauty into marriage? No? Well, what about when the daughters of Frog and Snake had a playdate? Okay, fine. But surely you’ve heard the story of the crocodiles who voted on whether or not to eat a man that had saved one of their lives? NO? Wow, have we got some stories for you! In this vibrant comics treasury, some of storytelling’s finest talents reimagine classic African folktales with a modern twist.

Shuri: Vol. 1, The Search for Black Panther by by Nnedi Okorafor & Leonardo Romero - https://smile.amazon.com/Shuri-Search-Panther-Nnedi-Okorafor/dp/1302915231/

Grades 5 and up. The Black Panther has disappeared, lost on a mission in space. And in his absence, everyone’s looking at the next in line for the throne. But Shuri is happiest in a lab, surrounded by gadgets of her own creation. She’d rather be testing gauntlets than throwing them. But a nation without a leader is a vulnerable one - and Shuri may have to choose between Wakanda’s welfare and her own.

Ironheart: Vol. 1, Those With Courage by Eve Ewing - https://smile.amazon.com/Ironheart-Vol-1-Those-Courage/dp/1302915088/

Grades 5 and up. Riri Williams steps boldly out of Tony Stark’s shadow to forge her own future! When one of Spider-Man’s old foes holds a group of world leaders hostage, Ironheart must step up her game. But she’s thrown for a loop when an old acquaintance from Chicago re-enters her life. Caught between her need for independence and her obligations at M.I.T., Ironheart needs to make some tough decisions. Luckily, Riri has a will of steel, a heart of iron and a new A.I. on her side!

Black Panther: World of Wakanda Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Alitha Martinez, Afua Richardson - https://smile.amazon.com/Black-Panther-Wakanda-Ta-Nehisi-Coates/dp/130290650X/

Grades 6 and up. In a series of short scenes, a romance story about warriors Ayo and Aneka unfolds. The story takes place in tandem with Ta-Nehsi Coates’s reboot of the Black Panther comics, so it might be best to read these first.

Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence Joel Christian Gill - https://smile.amazon.com/Fights-Boys-Triumph-Over-Violence/dp/154930335X/

Grades 6 and up. Propelled into a world filled with uncertainty and desperation, young Joel is pushed toward using violence to solve his problems by everything and everyone around him. But fighting doesn’t always yield the best results for a confused and sensitive kid who yearns for a better, more fulfilling life than the one he was born into, as Joel learns in a series of brutal conflicts that eventually lead him to question everything he has learned about what it truly means to fight for one’s life.

Black Panther: A Nati on Under Our Feet. Book One by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze - https://smile.amazon.com/Black-Panther-Nation-Under-Feet/dp/1302900536/

Grades 6 and up. For years, T’Challa has protected Wakanda from all invaders. Now, he will discover that his kingdom is much bigger than he ever dreamed. Across the vast Multiverse lies an empire founded in T’Challa’s name.

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson, John Jennings - https://smile.amazon.com/Am-Alfonso-Jones-Tony-Medina/dp/1620142635/

Grades 6 and up. Alfonso Jones can’t wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school’s hip-hop rendition of the classic Shakespearean play. He also wants to let his best friend, Danetta, know how he really feels about her. But as he is buying his first suit, an off-duty police officer mistakes a clothes hanger for a gun, and he shoots Alfonso.

Yummy: The Last Days of A Southside Shorty by Greg Neri & Randy Duburke - https://smile.amazon.com/Yummy-Last-Days-Southside-Shorty/dp/1584302674/

Grades 6 and up. This powerful award-winner tells the tale of “Yummy” Sandifer, an eleven year old who became mixed up with gang politics in the South Side neighborhood of Roseland in the early 1990s.

Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence by by Geoffrey Canada & Jamar Nicholas - https://smile.amazon.com/Fist-Stick-Knife-Gun-Personal/dp/0807044490/

Grades 6 and up. Told through ten vignettes from the author’s adolescence in the Bronx, this tale tells of the escalation of violence through its various implements.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Guy A. Sims & Dawud Anyabwile - https://smile.amazon.com/Monster-Graphic-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0062274996/

Grades 6 and up. Steve Harmon is sixteen years old and being tried as an accessory to murder. Supposedly, he’s been accused of being the lookout to a robbery that resulted in the murder of a local store owner. He claims he’s innocent, but in the eyes of the public he’s nothing more than another messed up black teenager from the wrong side of the tracks. As the trial proceeds, Steve begins to think of his experience akin to a movie and writes it down in the form of a screenplay, partly to let the truth come out and partly to keep himself from going insane.

Naomi: Season One - by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker, & Jamal Campbell https://smile.amazon.com/Naomi-Season-Brian-Michael-Bendis/dp/1401294952/

by Bendis, Brian Michael

Grades 6 and up. When a fight between Superman and Mongul crashes into a small Northwestern town, Naomi begins to uncover the last time a super-powered person visited her home-and how that might tie into her own origins and adoption. Follow Naomi’s journey on a quest that will take her to the heart of the DC Universe and unfold a universe of ideas and stories that have never been seen before.

March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell https://smile.amazon.com/March-Book-One-John-Lewis/dp/1603093001/

Grades 7 and up. Written by American civil rights icon and American Congressman, March chronicles the remarkable life of John Lewis. From an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to a segregated school to the 1963 March on Washington to the halls of Congress and everywhere in between, this graphic novel weaves the unforgettable true tale of one of our history’s most important leaders.

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, Jenn St. Onge & Joy San - https://smile.amazon.com/Bingo-Love-1-Tee-Franklin/dp/1534307508/

Grades 7 and up. 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.

Quincredible: Quest to Be the Best by Rodney Barnes, Selina Espiritu & Kelly Fitzpatrick - https://smile.amazon.com/Quincredible-Vol-Quest-Rodney-Barnes/dp/162010878X/

Grades 7 and up. Invulnerability is a pretty useless superpower if you’ve only got a one-hundred-pound frame to back it up. That’s what Quinton West’s life became when he went from “small guy who got beat up” to “small guy who can’t get hurt” after the meteor shower dubbed “The Event” gifted him the power of invulnerability, but no other powers to compliment it.

Black History in Its Own Words by Ron Wimberly - https://smile.amazon.com/Black-History-Its-Own-Words/dp/1534301534/

Grades 7 and up. A look at Black History framed by those who made it. Featuring the memorable words and depictions of Angela Davis, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kanye West, Zadie Smith, Ice Cube, Dave Chappelle, James Baldwin, Spike Lee, and more.

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy, John Jennings - https://smile.amazon.com/Kindred-Graphic-Adaptation-Damian-Duffy/dp/1419728555/

Grades 8 and up. A literary masterpiece from one of the most prolific black female writers of all time, Kindred explores the history and violence of slavery in the United States by means of time travel between worlds. In graphic form, this powerful novel packs an even bigger punch.

Excellence: Volume One, Kill the Past by by Brandon Thomas, Khary Randolph & Emilio Lopez - https://smile.amazon.com/Excellence-1-Brandon-Thomas/dp/1534313621/

Grades 8 and up. Spencer Dales was born into a world of magic. His father belongs to the Aegis, a secret society of black magicians ordered by their unseen masters to better the lives of others-of higher potential-but never themselves. Now it’s time for Spencer to follow in his father’s footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But in this fight for a better future…who will stand beside him?

Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy, John Jennings - https://smile.amazon.com/Parable-Sower-Graphic-Novel-Adaptation/dp/1419731335/

Grades 8 and up. In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny… and the birth of a new faith.

Bitter Root: Volume One, Family Business by David Walker, Chuck Brown & Sanford Greene - https://smile.amazon.com/Bitter-Root-1-Family-Business/dp/1534312129/

Grades 10 and up. Bitter Root is set against the vibrant backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance and follows a family of once-great monster hunters, the Sangeryes, who are the only line of defense from an unimaginable evil – an invasion by hideous monsters that were once human beings before they were transmogrified by a supernatural force-feeding off of prejudice, spite, and bigotry.

Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery by Mat Johnson & Warren Pleece - https://smile.amazon.com/Incognegro-Graphic-Mystery-Mat-Johnson/dp/1506705642/

Grades 10 and up. Set in the 1930’s, Incognegro tells the story of Zane Pinchback, an African American journalist light enough to pass for white. Pinchback does investigative reporting about lynchings, but is drawn in personally when his brother stands accused of murder in a rural Southern town.

Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank “Big Black” Smith, Jared Reinmuth, & Amazing Ameziane - https://smile.amazon.com/Big-Black-Stand-at-Attica/dp/1684154790/

Grades 10 and up. The uprising at Attica Prison remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history… but without Frank “Big Black “ Smith it could have been even worse. Now for the first time, the late Frank “Big Black “ Smith shares his experience at the center of this uprising, struggling to protect hostages, prisoners and negotiators alike.

Your Black Friend and Other Strangers by Ben Passmore - https://smile.amazon.com/Your-Black-Friend-Other-Strangers/dp/1945509201/

Grades 10 and up. Passmore masterfully constructs 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