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Graphic Novels: Graphic Novels in the Madison College Libraries
Bibliography of graphic novels in the Madison College Libraries along with resources providing history and criticism of graphic novels.
Welcome to the Graphic Novels Library Research Guide
Graphic novels are sequential art form book-length comics. They can be fiction or non-fiction, and memoirs are a very popular form. Take a look on this page at the graphic novels available in the Madison College Libraries, and also take a look at books, articles, and web resources about graphic novels.
Graphic Novels in the Madison College Libraries (A-H by title)
9-11 by DC Comics Staff
Call Number: 973.931 N714DC
ISBN: 1563898810
Publication Date: 2002
Stories from a diverse array of writers and artists provoked by the events of September 11.
A. D. : New Orleans after the deluge by Josh Neufeld
Call Number: 976.3 N482
ISBN: 037571488X
Publication Date: 2010
Stories of survival in the days leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina.
Abandoned Cars by Tim Lane
Call Number: 741.5973 L265
ISBN: 1606993410
Publication Date: 2010
Noirish narratives.
Abina and the Important Men by Trevor R. Getz; Liz Clarke
Call Number: 306.362092 AB148
ISBN: 9780199844395
Publication Date: 2012
Graphic history of a wrongfully enslaved West African woman named Abina.
Adulthood Is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
Call Number: 741.5973 AN544
ISBN: 9781449474195
Publication Date: 2016
Shares the awkwardness of young modern life such as body image, self-consciousness, and introversion.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Call Number: 741.5973 Y22
ISBN: 0312384483
Publication Date: 2008
Chronicles a boy at a new school where he is the only Chinese-American student.
American Widow by Alissa Torres
Call Number: 741.5973 T693
ISBN: 0345500695
Publication Date: 2008
September 11 as a personal tragedy.
Andre the Giant by Box Brown
Call Number: 741.5973092 AN555
ISBN: 1596438517
Publication Date: 2014
Story of Andre Roussimoff , the lovable giant in The Princess Bride and a pro wrestler who died tragically young.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Call Number: 741.5973 T161
ISBN: 0439895294
Publication Date: 2007
A story of the immigrant experience.
As the World Burns by Derrick Jensen; Stephanie McMillan
Call Number: 363.7 J54
ISBN: 1583227776
Publication Date: 2008
Graphic novel satire of modern environmental policy.
Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Call Number: 741.5973 M478A
ISBN: 0307377326
Publication Date: 2009
Tale of a middle-aged man whose life is upended when he moves to a small town after his New York City apartment goes up in flames.
Autobiographix by Frank Miller; Will Eisner; Diana Schultz (Editor)
Call Number: 741.5979 AU939
ISBN: 1593070381
Publication Date: 2003
Graphic autobiographical short stories.
Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa
Call Number: 940.5425 N163 V.1
ISBN: 0867196025
Publication Date: 2004
Recounts the bombing of Hiroshima from the perspective of a young boy named Gen, focusing on how ordinary people suffer from war.
The Beats by Harvey Pekar
Call Number: 810.90054 P379B
ISBN: 0809016494
Publication Date: 2010
Explores the generation that in the face of American conformity was known for its uprootedness, addictions, and creativity.
Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Marvel Comics Staff; Roxane Gay (Text by); Yona Harvey (Text by); Alitha Martinez (Illustrator); Afua Richardson (Illustrator)
Call Number: 741.5973 G285B
ISBN: 9781302906504
Publication Date: 2017
The world building of Wakanda continues.
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Call Number: 741.5973 T469
ISBN: 1891830430
Publication Date: 2003
A story of the sibling rivalry of two brothers and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers in Wisconsin and Michigan's U.P.
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch
Call Number: 741.5973 D325
ISBN: 0375421912
Publication Date: 2002
In 1933 Teddy Mishkin is hard at work on his latest cartoon short for Waldo the Cat. In his head, Waldo is real and his helpful assistant.
Breakdowns by Art Spiegelman
Call Number: 741.5 SP75B
ISBN: 0375423958
Publication Date: 2008
Seminal works by Spiegelman that changed how comics are made and appreciated today.
Buddha by Osamu Tezuka
Call Number: 741.5952 T356
ISBN: 193223456X
Publication Date: 2006
Follows the prince Siddhartha as he runs away from home, travels across India, and questions Hindu practices.
Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
Call Number: 741.5971 D354B
ISBN: 177046025X
Publication Date: 2010
Examines a country using concealment and isolation as social control.
Cairo by G. Willow Wilson
Call Number: 741.5973 W746
ISBN: 1401217346
Publication Date: 2008
Follows four humans and a genie as they navigate Cairo's streets and spiritual underworld to find a stolen hooka.
Charles Darwin's on the Origin of Species by Michael Keller
Call Number: 576.82 K29
ISBN: 1605299480
Publication Date: 2009
Graphic adaptation of Darwin's classic.
A Chinese Life by Philippe Otie; Li Kunwu (Illustrator)
Call Number: 951.05092
ISBN: 1906838550
Publication Date: 2012
Chronicles the rise and reign of Chairman Mao Zedong against the backdrop of the creation of the People's Republic of China.
Climate Changed by Philippe Squarzoni
Call Number: 551.6 Sq23c
ISBN: 1419712551
Publication Date: 2014
Looks at our planet and how we live on it as it explores global warming.
Combustion by Chris Lanier
Call Number: 741.5 L287
ISBN: 1560973145
Publication Date: 2000
Part "The Thin Red Line," part "All Quiet On the Western Front," part Vietnam War, and part something else.
A Dangerous Woman by Sharon Rudahl
Call Number: 335.83092 G619
ISBN: 1595580646
Publication Date: 2007
Retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman's extraordinary life.
Dante's Divine Comedy by Seymour Chwast; Dante Alighieri
Call Number: 741.5973 H477
ISBN: 1608190846
Publication Date: 2010
Graphic novel version of "Dante's Divine Comedy."
David Boring by Daniel Clowes
ISBN: 0375714529
Publication Date: 2002
Things go awry for a nineteen-year-old security guard with a tortured inner life when he meets the girl of his dreams.
Decade by Dark Horse Comics Staff
Call Number: Short Stories
ISBN: 1569711798
Publication Date: 1997
Short stories produced to celebrate the tenth anniversary of noted graphic novel publisher Dark Horse Comics.
Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz
Call Number: 741.5973 W499
ISBN: 9781927668269
Publication Date: 2015
Wrenching coming-of-age tale.
Egon Schiele by Xavier Coste
Call Number: 741.5944 C839
ISBN: 9781770859401
Publication Date: 2017
Evocative depiction based on the life of the Austro-Hungarian artist known for drawing nudes whose short career spanned the turn of the 20th century.
Epileptic by David B.
Call Number: 741.5944 B111
ISBN: 0375714685
Publication Date: 2006
Hailed as one of Europe's most important and innovative comics artists, David B. writes about growing up with an epileptic brother.
Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
Call Number: 956.04 SA119
ISBN: 0805092773
Publication Date: 2010
Sacco immerses himself in Rafah, a town at the bottommost tip of the Gaza Strip, has long been a notorious flashpoint in the bitter Middle East conflict.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Call Number: 741.5973 W746
ISBN: 0618871713
Publication Date: 2007
Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father.
Gauguin by Fabrizio Dori
Call Number: 759.4092 D696
ISBN: 9781910593271
Publication Date: 2017
Biography of an artist whose whose talents as a painter would have an enormous influence on the art of Picasso, Matisse, and many more.
Genius, Isolated: the Life and Art of Alex Toth by Alex Toth (Artist); Dean Mullaney; Bruce Canwell
Call Number: 741.53973 T717M
ISBN: 1600108288
Publication Date: 2011
Eisner Award-winning team's biography of Alex Toth.
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
Call Number: 741.5 C648
ISBN: 1560974273
Publication Date: 2004
Quasi-autobiographical story following the adventures of two teenage girls facing the prospect of growing up and apart.
Glacial Period by Nicolas De Crecy
Call Number: 741.5944 D278
ISBN: 1561634832
Publication Date: 2007
Story set thousands of years hence in a glacial period where human history has been forgotten and a small group falls upon the Louvre, buried in snow.
The Golem's Mighty Swing by James Sturm
Call Number: 741.5973 ST936
ISBN: 1896597459
Publication Date: 2002
Follows a barnstorming Jewish baseball team in the 1920's who travel from town to town earning a living by playing local squads.
The Handmaid's Tale (Graphic Novel) by Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 9780385539241
Publication Date: 2019
In Margaret Atwood's dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women.
The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks; Caanan White (Illustrator)
Call Number: 741.5973 B873
ISBN: 0307464970
Publication Date: 2014
Story of the highly decorated, barrier-breaking, historic black regiment--the Harlem Hellfighters of World War I.
Hostage by Guy Delisle
Call Number: 364.154092 D354
ISBN: 9781770462793
Publication Date: 2017
Story of Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe Andr, who was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination.
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
Call Number: 741.5973 B874
ISBN: 1451666179
Publication Date: 2014
Showcases Brosh's unique voice, wit, and ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations.
Graphic Novels in the Madison College Libraries (I-Z by title)
I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation by Natalie Nourigat
ISBN: 9781684152919
Publication Date: 2019
When artist Tally Nourigat left her life in Portland to move to Los Angeles and pursue a job in animation, she realized that despite her research, nothing truly prepared her for the wild world that awaited in the studios of Southern California.
I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
Call Number: 741.5973 G411
ISBN: 9780525575115
Publication Date: 2019
I Was Their American Dream is at once a journal of growing up and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children.
Imagine Wanting Only This by Kristen Radtke
Call Number: 741.5973 R131
ISBN: 9781101870839
Publication Date: 2017
After the sudden death of a beloved uncle and the sight of an abandoned mining town, the author begins a lifelong fascination with ruins and people left behind.
Incognegro by Mat Johnson; Warren Pleece
Call Number: 741.5973 J665
ISBN: 140121097X
Publication Date: 2008
In the early 20th century, when lynchings were commonplace in the American South, a few brave reporters - light-skinned African-Americans - risked their lives to expose the truth, known as 'going incognegro'.
In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman
Call Number: 973.931 SP742
ISBN: 0375423079
Publication Date: 2004
Spiegelman bore witness to the attacks in his lower Manhattan neighborhood.
Introducing Fascism by Stuart Hood; Litza Jansz (Illustrator)
Call Number: 335.6 HOOD
ISBN: 1848316127
Publication Date: 2013
Graphic guide to the political movements and philosophical roots of fascism.
It Was the War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi (Artist)
Call Number: 741.5944 T181
ISBN: 1606993534
Publication Date: 2010
Illustrates the day to day of the grunts in the trenches during World War I.
J. Edgar Hoover: a Graphic Biography by Rick Geary
Call Number: 363.25092 H789
ISBN: 0809095033
Publication Date: 2008
J. Edgar Hoover's life becomes a timely and pointed guide to everything from Prohibition to cold war espionage.
Jerusalem by Guy Delisle
Call Number: 741.5 D971
ISBN: 1770460713
Publication Date: 2012
Offers a cultural road map of contemporary Jerusalem.
Journalism by Joe Sacco
Call Number: 355.0209 SA119
ISBN: 0805097937
Publication Date: 2013
Takes readers from the smuggling tunnels of Gaza to war-crimes trials in The Hague, from the lives of India's "untouchables" to the suffering in Iraq, and more.
Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine
ISBN: 9781770462090
Publication Date: 2015
"One of the most gifted graphic novelists of our time." --Wired
Logicomix by Apostolos K. Doxiadis
Call Number: 741.5 D752
ISBN: 1596914521
Publication Date: 2009
Recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell.
Love Is Love by Phil Jimenez (Editor); Elsa Charretier (Illustrator)
Call Number: 741.56973 L897
ISBN: 9781631409394
Publication Date: 2017
In honor of those killed in Orlando, some of the greatest talent in comics offer stories mourning the victims and supporting the survivors.
Lumberjanes to the Max Edition Vol. 1 by Shannon Watters
Call Number: 741.5 W973
ISBN: 9781608868094
Publication Date: 2016
Eisner Award-winning series presented in a deluxe hardcover for the first time follows the adventures of a group of women at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types.
March. Book One by John Lewis; Nate Powell (Artist)
Call Number: 741.5 L674
ISBN: 1603093001
Publication Date: 2013
Vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, including his key roles in the historic 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March.
March. Book Two by John Lewis; Nate Powell (Artist)
Call Number: 741.5 L587
ISBN: 9781603094009
Publication Date: 2015
Congressman John Lewis, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, continues his award-winning graphic novel trilogy.
Maus by Art Spiegelman
ISBN: 0394747232
Publication Date: 1986
Story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself.
Notes from a Defeatist by Joe Sacco
Call Number: 741.5973 SA119
ISBN: 1560975105
Publication Date: 2003
The story of Sacco's mother's harrowing experiences in Malta in WWII, and his impassioned reflection on the Gulf War.
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki
Call Number: 741.5 M952
ISBN: 1770460411
Publication Date: 2011
Semi-autobiographical account from the preeminent figure of Gekiga about the desperate final weeks of a Japanese infantry unit at the end of World War II.
Other Lives by Peter Bagge
Call Number: 741.5973 B144
ISBN: 1401219020
Publication Date: 2010
Explores people's identities and how the two become confused through the Internet and role-playing games.
Over Easy by Mimi Pond
Call Number: 741.5973 P773
ISBN: 9781770461536
Publication Date: 2014
A fast-paced semi-memoir about diners, drugs, and California in the 1970s.
Pablo by Julie Birmant
Call Number: 759.6 P58b
ISBN: 9781906838942
Publication Date: 2015
Award-winning graphic biography of Pablo Picasso.
Palestine by Joe Sacco
Call Number: 956.94054 SA119
ISBN: 156097432X
Publication Date: 2001
Based on Sacco's visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s, where he interviewed Palestinians and Jews.
Pedro and Me by Judd Winick
Call Number: 362.1969792 W772
ISBN: 0805089640
Publication Date: 2009
Pedro Zamora, the HIV-positive AIDS educator who appeared on MTV's The Real World: San Francisco, is remembered by Pedro's roommate on the show.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Call Number: 955.0542092 SA253C
ISBN: 0375714839
Publication Date: 2007
Here, in one volume is Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir of her unforgettable childhood and coming of age in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.
The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert
Call Number: 070.4909581
ISBN: 1596433752
Publication Date: 2009
Reporter's record of a journey through Afghanistan accompanying Doctors Without Borders.
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan; Niko Henrichon; Todd Klein (Illustrator)
Call Number: 741.5973 V371
ISBN: 1401203159
Publication Date: 2008
In 2003, a pride of lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during an American bombing raid. Lost and confused, hungry but free, the four lions roamed the decimated streets of Baghdad.
Pulp Affliction by Michael Edwards (Illustrator); Seth Levens
Call Number: 741.5973 L657
ISBN: 9781973217169
Publication Date: 2018
Artwork done by Madison College Student Michael Edwards.Satirical story about contemporary society, superhero narratives, and life in general.
Pyongyang by Guy Delisle
Call Number: 741.5971 D354
ISBN: 1897299214
Publication Date: 2007
Observations from Delisle, one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortress-like country of North Korea.
The Quitter by Harvey Pekar
Call Number: 741.5973 P367Q
ISBN: 140120399X
Publication Date: 2005
Pekar's work, memorialized in the movie American Splendor, is an ongoing chronicle of his life.
Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling by Marc Mauer; Michelle Alexander (Foreword)
Call Number: 364.973 J79
ISBN: 1595585419
Publication Date: 2013
Argues against mass incarceration in the United States by showing the impact on communities of color.
Relish by Lucy Knisley
Call Number: 741.5973 K71
ISBN: 1596436239
Publication Date: 2013
Traces key episodes in the suthor's life, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan (Artist); Fiona Staples (Artist)
Call Number: 741.5973 V364
ISBN: 9781632150783
Publication Date: 2014
Hugo Award-winning story.
Showa, 1938-1944: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki
Call Number: 741.5973 Miz
ISBN: 1770461515
Publication Date: 2014
Details Japan in World War II.
Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives From Black History by Joel Christian Gill (Illustrator)
Call Number: 973.0496 G41
ISBN: 9781938486296
Publication Date: 2014
Collection of stories highlighting African American history.
Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot
Call Number: 741.5973 T138
ISBN: 1595824936
Publication Date: 2010
Follows Helen Potter, sexually abused as a child, on a journey through urban and rural England along the same path author Beatrix Potter once took.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei; Justin Eisinger; Steven Scott; Harmony Becker (Illustrator)
Call Number: 940.531773 T136
ISBN: 9781603094504
Publication Date: 2019
Graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II.
Threadbare by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Editor); The Ladydrawers (Illustrator)
Call Number: 364.1551 M821
ISBN: 9781621067399
Publication Date: 2016
Draws the connections between the international sex and garment trades and human trafficking in an illustrated comics series.
Unflattening by Nick Sousanis
Call Number: 741.5 S725u
ISBN: 9780674744431
Publication Date: 2015
Defies conventional forms of scholarly discourse to offer readers both a work of graphic art and an inquiry into the ways humans construct knowledge.
Vincent by Barbara Stok
Call Number: 759.3 G557
ISBN: 9781906838799
Publication Date: 2015
Documents the brief and intense period of creativity Van Gogh spent in Arles.
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Call Number: 741.5973 M821
ISBN: 0930289234
Publication Date: 1995
Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes.
We Stand on Guard by Brian K. Vaughan; Steve Skroce (Artist)
Call Number: 741.5973 V371W
ISBN: 1534301410
Publication Date: 2017
Set 100 years in our future, the story follows a heroic band of Canadian civilians turned freedom fighters who must defend their homeland from invasion by a technologically superior opponent...the United States of America.
Will Eisner Reader by Will Eisner
Call Number: 741.5973 EI36
ISBN: 0393328074
Publication Date: 2008
Short stories from a graphic novels icon.
Yo, Miss by Lisa Wilde
Call Number: 741.5973 W644
ISBN: 9781621062196
Publication Date: 2015
Takes readers inside a second-chance high school in New York City where all the students are considered at-risk.