Honorable mentions

Okay, back on the subject of the Young Adult Library Services Association’s 2008 choices of Great Graphic Novels for Teens: It’s been too long since I was a part of the teen demographic for me to pretend to know what they might like, but I think it’s a really good list of recommended reading for adults, so it makes me happy.

Instead of picking through the list of selections, I thought I would look back at the nominations and see what didn’t make the cut. I was kind of startled to find some of my very favorite books in that category (because I’m egotistical), so I thought I’d put together a runners-up list of books that I think are well worth a read:

Abouet, Marguerite, Clement Oubrerie. Aya. Drawn and Quarterly. My review here.

Chantler, Scott. The Annotated Northwest Passage. Oni Press. My reviews of the paperback installments of the series here, here and here.

Morinaga, Ai. My Heavenly Hockey Club. Del Rey. My review of the first volume here.

Sfar, Joann. The Professor’s Daughter. Roaring Brook Press / First Second. My short review of the book here.

Tanaka, Masashi. Gon. DC Comics, CMX. My review here, and a much more persuasive critique here.

Vining, James. First in Space. Oni Press. My review here. (Honestly, I can see how there was only room for one “innocent animal shot into space” story on the list, and I’m sure Laika is brilliant, but it looks like the kind of book that would depress me for weeks.)

And a couple of books that I haven’t read yet, but really should:

Lat. Town Boy. Roaring Brook Press / First Second.

Shiga, Jason. Bookhunter. Sparkplug Comics.

I think I’m taking the Lat books for granted, knowing that I can almost always swing by a Barnes & Noble and pick one up. As for Bookhunter, I’m hoping an upcoming trip to a city with a good comics shop will allow me to correct that particular lapse. I’m sure I’ll be able to snag a copy of Sidescrollers, too, which did make the 2008 cut.