Kids read comics! And they write about them for newspapers! In West Virginia, of all places!
I was happy to see this piece in the Charleston Gazette linked at MangaNews, partly because I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a graphic novel mentioned in a West Virginia newspaper, and partly because it’s about one of my favorite books of the year, Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese.
High-school student Lesley Cruickshank reviews the book, interviews the creator, and throws in some recommended titles for good measure.
Here are some of Yang’s favorites:
“For younger teens who enjoy ‘American Born Chinese,’ he recommends ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ by Stan Sakai, ‘Bone’ by Jeff Smith, and ‘anything by Raina Telgemeier.’
“For older teens, he suggests ‘Blankets’ by Craig Thompson, ‘Small Stories’ by Derek Kirk Kim, ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi, ‘Missouri Boy’ by Leland Myrick and ‘Maus’ by Art Spiegelman.”
And here are Cruickshank’s picks:
“I would add to the list the ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ series by Hiromu Arakawa, anything by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel or otherwise), the ‘Fables’ series by Bill Willingham, ‘Transmetropolitan’ by Warren Ellis and, my favorite, the ‘Preacher’ series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, which (supposedly) will be an HBO show soon.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Fullmetal Alchemist and Preacher recommended in the same sentence before.
