What's New at the Library: February's Great Graphic Novels

The month of February brought us a big cart-full of brand new graphic novels for you to check out and enjoy. Below are four we really like, and think you will like too. Click on the titles to access the library catalog and see if they are available near you.

The Avant Guards by Carly Usdin, illustrated by Noah Hayes: Charlie was a basketball star at her old school, but due to...circumstances... she has had to transfer to a college that focuses on arts and drama. They do have a basketball team, but they're kind of terrible players. Charlie is sure that she never wants to play ball again, but the team captain, Liv, is extremely persuasive, not to mention extremely cute.This one has a lot of humor, a lot of heart and really great art. This is just volume one of the series, but keep your eyes open for more to come.

Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom by Terry Blas and Molly Muldoon with illustrations by Matthew Seely: Camp Bloom is not an average sleep-away camp. It is a weight-loss camp for overweight teens to get into better shape. Jesse was sent there against her will by her parents. Noah is eager but frightened, not sure he can really do this. Tony just wants his phone back, and Kate just likes hiking. None of the teens expect much from the experience, until the night they discover that a counselor has been murdered, and they realize someone at the camp must be the killer. Spooky moments and lot of humor with some very cute art make this one a must-read.

Haphaven by Norm Harper, illustrated by Louie Joyce: Alex Mills is extremely superstitious. She gets it from her dad who never forgets to knock on wood, pick up a penny, or any of it. One day though, Alex kind of loses it, forgets to follow her superstitious rules and breaks her mother's back by stepping on a crack in the sidewalk. The only way to help her mom is obvious to Alex: team up with the weird leprechaun who shows up in her bedroom, travel to the land of superstition, and hunt down a lucky rabbit's foot that, by the way, is still attacked to the poor rabbit who kind of wants to keep it. This one is a really unique take on fractured fairy tales, with a lot of surprises along the way.

Qincredible: Quest to Be the Best by Rodney Barnes: Quinton West is a superhero, which is awesome. What's less awesome is his superpower. You see, Quin is invulnerable, which means he can take a beating, fall off a building, even get shot with nothing really happening to him. Problem is, he doesn't have any other abilities, like super strength or super speed so mostly this superpower just means that he doesn't mind too much when bullies beat him up. When Quin meets up with other local superheroes he feels like he's the lamest one of all, until he realizes his super smart brain and his incredible heart are much more important than being able to take a punch.