Graphic Novels

You don't have to be signed up for the Graphic Novels Challenge, of course, to include a graphic novel or two in your reading list! Graphic novels cover all sorts of topics and styles and are well worth looking into if you haven't already.

I don't go for Manga, myself (lots of Japanese authors, there), so the only one I've read so far by a non-white author is Skim, a young adult graphic novel by Asian Canadians Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. You can read my take on it here (I didn't love it as much as a lot of people did). Mariko Tamaki also wrote Emiko Superstar with Steve Rolston, whose site describes it this way: A borrowed diary, a double life and identity issues fuel a teenager's quest to find herself before she cracks and commits social suicide. Watch Emi go from dull, suburban babysitter to eclectic urban art star compliments of one crazy summer!

One book on my stack to read is Incognegro, by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece.
In the early 20th Century, when lynchings were commonplace throughout the American South, a few courageous reporters from the North risked their lives to expose these atrocities. They were African-American men who, due to their light skin color, could "pass" among the white folks. They called this dangerous assignment going "incognegro." Zane Pinchback is sent to investigate the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi. With a lynch mob already swarming, Zane must stay "incognegro" long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder in order to save his brother -- and himself."

Here are some other African American/Canadian graphic novelists I found, and I plan to add several of these to my reading list (the graphic novels, they go fast!):

Lance Tooks, Narcissa
A talented and self-centered independent filmmaker is collapsing under the strain of her critics--the "enlightened" people who are trying to get her to compromise her integrity. The stress is killing her--literally. Warned that if she tries to complete her current project she'll be dead in a week, Narcissa decides to escape the chaos that surrounds her--and fears the fears that threaten to overwhelm her--by traveling to Spain.

Canadian Ho Che Anderson has written everything from a series on Martin Luther King (titled King) which has been compared to Maus, to some I'd want to hide from my kids.

Kyle Baker
Nat Turner depicts the evils of slavery in this moving and historically accurate story of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. Told nearly wordlessly, every image resonates with the reader as the brutal story unfolds. (from the publisher)
Also The Cowboy Wally Show, King David (yes, that King David story), and more.
Kyle Baker also cowrote Birth of a Nation, a political satire, with Aaron McGruder (creator of the Boondocks comic).

Edited to add: I found more! Check out the Boston Bibliophile's reviews of Aya and Aya of Yop City, by Marguerite Abouet and illustrated by Clement Oubrerie, of the Ivory Coast. These look like fun.

I also had forgotten about Marjane Satrapi, who wrote the fabulous Persepolis memoirs about her life as an Iranian girl and young woman. I'll be reading her Embroideries for my Graphics Novel Challenge.

And Alea pointed out that Adrian Tomine is Japanese American. She plans to read his 32 Stories as part of the graphic novel challenge.

If you've written reviews of any of these, or have other suggestions for books in this category, please let me know.