Great Graphic Novels for Teens: 2008.

The Great Graphic Novels for Teens list is compiled annually by a committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association and comprises recommended graphic novels for readers ages 12 to 18. The roundup includes books published from late 2006 through 2007. The committee’s top 10 choices are identified with a star (*). The list was announced January 15, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting.

Nonfiction

Beowulf. By Gareth Hinds. Illus. by the author. Candlewick, $21.99 (9780763630225).

Warrior vs. monster: kickin’ it old school. A 2008 Best Book for Young Adults.

Houdini:The Handcuff King . By Jason Lutes. Illus. by Nick Bertozzi. Hyperion, $16.99 (9780786839025).

The man, the myth, the magic: a moment in the life of Harry Houdini.

* The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam. By Ann Marie Fleming. Illus. by the author. Riverhead, paper, $14 (9781594482649).

Ann Marie traces the path of her great-grandfather’s life, uncovering her roots and the magic behind them.

Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography. By Andrew Helfer. Illus. by Randy DuBurke. Hill & Wang, $15.95 (9780809095049).

The life and times of Malcolm X. A 2008 Best Book for Young Adults.

The Saga of the Bloody Benders. By Rick Geary. Illus. by the author. NBM, $15.95 (9781561634989).

The family that slays together stays together.

* The Wall: Growing Up behind the Iron Curtain. By Peter Sís. Illus. by the author. Farrar/Frances Foster, $18 (9780374347017).

When your hairstyle, music, and art are regulated, how do you find your voice? The 2008 Sibert Award winner, a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book, a 2008 Notable Children’s Book, a 2008 Best Book for Young Adults, and a Booklist Top of the List winner for youth nonfiction.

Fiction

*After School Nightmare. By Setona Mizushiro. Illus. by the author.

• v.1. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617169).
• v.2. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617176).
• v.3. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617244).
• v.4. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617336).
• v.5. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617480).

Ichijou’s struggle through the dream world will help him determine his identity.

Alive: The Final Evolution. By Tadashi Kawashima. Illus. by Adachitoka.

• v.1. Del Rey, paper, $10.95 (9780345497468).
• v.2. Del Rey, paper, $10.95 (9780345499226).

Driven to suicide or forced to evolve.

All Star Superman, v.1. By Grant Morrison. Illus. by Frank Quitely. DC Comics, $19.99 (9781401209148).

Revisiting the golden-age Superman.

* The Arrival. By Shaun Tan. Illus. by the author. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $19.99 (9780439895293).

How do you build a new life when everything around you is so strange? A 2008 Notable Children’s Book, and a 2008 Best Book for Young Adults.

Batman: Secrets. By Sam Kieth. Illus. by the author. DC Comics, paper, $12.99 (9781401212124).

Some secrets can change your life.

* Blue Beetle. By Keith Giffen. Illus. by Cully Hamner.

• Shellshocked. DC Comics, paper, $12.99 (9781401209650).
• Road Trip. DC Comics, paper, $12.99 (9781401213619).

It’s tough being a superhero when you have a curfew.

Cut Here: Crossing Midnight, v.1. By Mike Carey. Illus. by Jim Fern and others. DC Comics/Vertigo, paper, $9.99 (9781401213411).

Twins born on both sides of midnight are caught in a promise made centuries ago.

Dead High Yearbook. Ed. by Mark McVeigh and Ivan Velez. illus. Dutton, $18.99 (9780525477839).

The students at Dead High are literally dying to get into the yearbook. A 2008 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Death, Jr., v.2. By Gary Whitta. Illus. by Ted Naifeh. Image Comics, paper, $14.99 (9781582406824).

“Death isn’t just about wearing cool black clothes and posing for Metallica album covers.”

Elk’s Run. By Joshua Hale Fialkov. Illus. by Noel Tuazon and Scott Keating. Random/Villard, paper, $19.95 (9780345495112).

Four teens are forced to break away when tragedy turns a paradise into a prison.

* Emma. By Kaoru Mori. Illus. by the author.

• v.1. CMX, paper, $9.99 (9781401211325).
• v.2. CMX, paper, $9.99 (9781401211332).
• v.3. CMX, paper, $9.99 (9781401211349).
• v.4. CMX, paper, $9.99 (9781401211356).
• v.5. CMX, paper, $9.99 (9781401211363).

In Victorian England, how long can the love of a lady’s maid and a gentleman survive?

Fantastic Four: Books of Doom. By Ed Brubaker. Illus. by Pablo Raimondi and Mark Farmer. Marvel, paper, $14.99 (9780785117049).

Get to know the man behind the mask.

Flower of Life. By Fumi Yoshinaga. Illus. by the author.

• v.1. Digital Manga, paper, $12.95 (9781569708743).
• v.2. Digital Manga, paper, $12.95 (9781569708736).
• v.3. Digital Manga, paper, $12.95 (9781569708293).

Freaks and geeks: a year in the life of Japanese high-school students.

Goong, v.1. By SoHee Park. Illus. by the author. ICE Kunion, paper, $10.95 (9788952744876).

Suddenly you’re Cinderella, and your worst nightmare comes true.

Kekkaishi. By Yellow Tanabe. Illus. by the author.

• v.7. Viz, paper, $9.99 (9781421504889).
• v.8. Viz, paper, $9.99 (9781421508283).
• v.9. Viz, paper, $9.99 (9781421508290).

Rival demon hunters join forces to protect their territory.

* King of Thorn. By Yuji Iwahara. Illus. by the author.

• v.1. Tokyopop, paper, $9.99 (9781598162356).
• v.2. Tokyopop, paper, $9.99 (9781598162363).

Awakening to a dangerous new world, can seven strangers escape their doom when danger lurks around every corner?

* Laika. By Nick Abadzis. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/First Second, paper, $17.95 (9781596431010).

How a small dog became the first cosmonaut.

Love Com, v.1. By Aya Nakahara. Illus. by the author. Viz/Shojo Beat, paper $8.99 (9781421513430).

How can you be perfect for each other if one of you has to stand on a box?

Miki Falls. By Mark Crilley. Illus. by the author.

• Autumn. HarperTempest, paper, $7.99 (9780060846183).
• Spring. HarperTempest, paper, $7.99 (9780060846169).
• Summer. HarperTempest, paper, $7.99 (9780060846176).

How can falling for the wrong guy be so right?

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152. By David Peterson. Illus. by the author. Archaia Studios, paper, $24.95 (9781932386578).

Betrayal from within threatens all of mousekind.

Mushishi. By Yuki Urushibara. Illus. by the author.

• v.1. Del Rey, paper, $12.95 (9780345496218).
• v.2. Del Rey, paper, $12.95 (9780345496447).

As primordial mushi distort our reality, Ginko fights to stop the infestation.

Notes for a War Story. By Gipi. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/First Second, paper, $16.95 (9781596432611).

How do you build a future when the present is so uncertain? A 2008 Best Book for Young Adults.

The Plain Janes. By Cecil Castellucci. Illus. by Jim Rugg. DC Comics/Minx, paper, $9.99 (9781401211158).

Forced to move to the burbs, Jane starts a renegade art club.

Pumpkin Scissors, v.1. By Ryotaro Iwanaga. Illus. by the author. Del Rey, paper, $10.95 (9780345501196).

How do you mend what you were once expected to destroy?

PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda. By Eric Anderson. Illus. by Manny Trembley. Image Comics, paper, $15.99 (9781582408200).

“Every time you punch a ninja, an angel gets its wings.”

* Re-Gifters. By Mike Carey. Illus. by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel. DC/Minx, paper, $9.99 (9781401203719).

Win the championship or get the guy? A 2008 Best Book for Young Adults.

Robot Dreams. By Sara Varon. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/First Second, paper, $16.95 (9781596431089).

Making new friends isn’t always easy. A 2008 Notable Children’s Book.

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil. By Jeff Smith. Illus. by the author. DC Comics, $29.99 (9781401214661).

Holy moly! With just the word shazam, Billy can summon the great Captain Marvel.

Shekhar Kapur’s Devi, v.1: Namaha. By Samit Basu and others. Illus. by Mukesh Singh. Virgin Comics, paper, $14.99 (9781934413005).

When an ancient evil returns, an ordinary woman is transformed into a Hindu warrior goddess.

*Sidescrollers. By Matthew Loux. Illus. by the author. Oni, paper, $11.95 (9781932664508).

Slacker vs. jock. Good cat vs. bad cat. And the love of a girl hangs in the balance.

Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age. Ed. by Ariel Schrag. illus. Viking, $18.99 (9780670062218).

Painfully true stories about middle school.

To Terra . . . By Keiko Takemiya. Illus. by the author. Tr. by Dawn Laabs.

• v.1. Vertical, paper, $13.95 (9781932234671).
• v.2. Vertical, paper, $13.95 (9781932234701).
• v.3. Vertical, paper, $13.95 (9781932234718).

How can humans and mus coexist when they both claim the same home, Earth?

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms. By Fumiyo Kouno. Illus. by the author. Last Gasp, paper, $9.99 (9780867196658).

Everyday life is haunted by the past.

Train + Train. By Hideyuki Kurata. Illus. by the author.

• v.1. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617183).
• v.2. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617190).
• v.3. Go Comi! paper, $10.99 (9781933617374).

Will Reiichi choose to be ordinary or extraordinary?

Translucent, v.1. By Kazuhiro Okamoto. Illus. by the author. Dark Horse, paper, $9.95 (9781593076474).

How do you shine when you’re fading away?

White Tiger: A Hero’s Compulsion. By Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe. Illus. by Phil Briones. Marvel, paper, $14.99 (9780785122739).

Does Angela have what it takes to become the new White Tiger?

Yotsuba&! v.4. By Kiyohiko Azuma. Illus. by the author. ADV, paper, $9.99 (9781413903454).

For Yotsuba, every moment is an adventure.

Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2008, committee members: Jody Sharp, chair, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson (MD); Marea Black, Phoenix (AZ) Public Library; Robin Brenner, Brookline (MA) Public Library; Sarah Couri, Donnell Library Center, New York Public Library; Jennifer Sweeney, Goshen (NY) Public Library; Michael Jara, University of California–Los Angeles; Melissa Jenvey, Donnell Library Center, New York Public Library; Esther Lewenstein, Marine Park Intermediate School, Brooklyn (NY); Gail Tobin, Schaumburg Township District Library, Hanover Park (IL); Eva Volin, Margaret K. Troke Library, Stockton (CA); Jennifer Venker Weidenbenner, Bourbonnais (IL) Public Library; Gillian Engberg, Booklist consultant, Chicago (IL); Elizabeth Rafferty, administrative assistant, Baltimore County (MD) Public Library.