As a child I found graphics novels to be really boring. I was the kid that either liked movies or books, I was not a fan of books consisting mostly of pictures, but I’ve decided to give it another go and I was really surprised.
My inspiration for this post was that I have recently received and read an ARC of I left the house today by Cassandra Calin from Netgalley, and since it’s a collection of webcomics I can not write a separate review of it so I decided to write a post about my favourite graphic novels.
“Hilarious and relatable comics about one young woman’s life, relationships, and day-to-day humorous musings on why it’s good to leave the house sometimes—and when it’s better to stay home.”
This beauty is coming out in less than a week and I can not praise it enough.
This is a collection of those funny relatable mini-comics and the art style is simply adorable. Calin is pretty popular so you might have seen some of these around. The collection has some panels you can already see on her Instagram, but there are also some new/never-seen-before and I think getting the collection can be a nice way to support the author.
If you are not already familiar with Cassandra’s work then what are you waiting for?
You can catch her on Instagram and on Tapas (a cool app for reading webtoons).
2. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
“Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?”
This adorable comic (that now has three volumes and we are all waiting for fourth) stole the hearts of thousands of readers in a really short time and it’s not hard to see why. In Heartstopper we follow two boys, Charlie and Nick, as they are discovering friendship and love and how life isn’t perfect and that’s fine. The art style is really simple and the characters are everything. But honestly, I would not recommend reading a volume if you only have one, it is a bit addicting.
“When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.”
This sci-fi graphic novel is really something. It’s really messed up. I can not even explain what I like about it – but I do.
There are star-crossed lovers, there are aliens, there is a prince who is a computer… need I say more?
Trigger alert probably for everything you can think of. There are sex scenes, violent scenes…
Note: Do not read this is if you don’t have the stomach for gore.
4. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
“Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!”
The synopsis says it all, but, once again the art style is what draw me in. The dresses that Frances (the seamstress) makes are mouth-dropping gorgeous! If you are in the mood for a fun, light read this one might be for you.
I did have some mild complaints about some plot points which you can check out in my Goodreads review it’s hidden under a spoiler tag though.
5. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
“A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.”
I got to be honest, this one barely made the cut, but I am in love with the graphics and the colour scheme in it… I couldn’t just let it hang in the honourable mentions.
This book has a lovely family dynamic, there is magic, and LGBTQ rep – it has a little bit of everything.
The plot felt a bit lacking, I was left wanting more conflict and suspense – the ending was a bit rushed, but yeah, it is a graphic novel and we can not expect all the drama we get in a regular novel. So the verdict is that while I did like it, I just wanted more.
Oh, yeah, there are ghosts as well and the cutest animals you’ll see in a graphic novel.
Also, a few honourable mentions: Monstress, Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe, Through the Woods, Adulthood Is a Myth. You can check out these as well I did like them but they did not make my top 5 (though some of them were really close).
In the end, I’d like to point out that some of these have trigger warning and you should check them out if there are some topics you aren’t comfortable reading about.
Thank you for reading. I hope you liked these, I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.
All the images and synopses are not my own and are from Goodreads.
#NetGalley #ILefttheHouseToday
Books And T 