The American Library Association (ALA) has a collaborative subcommittee that is dedicated to supporting library staff in graphic novel education called the Graphic Novel and Comics Round Table (GNCRT). Each year, this committee takes suggestions for their lists of the Best Graphic Novels of the year. A subcommittee reads ALL of the suggestions and helps to create the best of list! It’s a great resource for librarians, readers and anyone interested in graphic novels. If you have a graphic novel that you want to suggest for 2022, they are also currently taking recommendations! You can also submit nominations for the 2022 versions for Kids and Adults.
The lists for Best Graphic Novels for Adults and Best Graphic Novels for Kids are always something that I am looking forward to and I usually try to take the time to read as many as I can that my librarian peers recommend. It always allows me to learn about graphic novels that I missed during the year!
Here are a few that I wanted to highlight. The companion Bookshop list can be found here.
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
I mentioned to a friend that The Magic Fish was my favorite graphic novel that I read in 2021, which sounds like a long time ago, but it was a year where reading was hard and this one stood out. The main character, Tien, grapples with his Vietnamese heritage, his immigrant parents and his queer identity through fairy tales.
Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo (Art by Juan Cavia. Color by Juan Cavia, Sandro Pacucci, and Santiago Villa. Background art by Juan Cruz Rodriguez. Letters by Gabriela Soares)
This graphic novel made the Top Ten list for the GNCRT so I was even more excited to give it a chance and I was still blown away by how much I enjoyed it. A young reporter interviews a famous pianist who has become reclusive towards the end of his life. The reporter is able to learn about the love, friendship and fallouts that have shaped who the pianist is today.
Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
The Delicacy by James Albon (Art by James Albon)
This is actually one that I recommended to the list! The artwork looks like watercolour paintings and the cover pulled me in. I wanted to read more just from looking at it! In this graphic novel, two brothers decide to buy a farm for a farm-to-table restaurant idea, each brother excels in different areas and one of them ends up getting caught up in the business’s darker side.
Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
In. Written by Will McPhail (Art by Will McPhail)
Sometimes you pick up a book and you feel just so meh about it and the prospect of reading it (or maybe this isn’t a normal feeling?). But if you do get that feeling, that’s where I was when I got this book. Within 15 pages, I was sucked into the story about Nick who falls in love with Wren and deals with a sudden, traumatic change in his life that will affect himself and his relationship with Wren.
Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History (Written by David F. Walker. Art by Marcus Kwame Anderson.)
If you grew up in the aughts in the United States, you may have received an extremely biased education about the Black Panthers. Due to this, I am always trying to read and learn about the Black Panthers. This nonfiction graphic novel delves into the origin story of the Black Panthers, the community service work that was done by the organisation and their ideologies.
Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band (Written by Christian Staebler and Sonia Paoloni)
Have you heard the song Come and Get Your Love? Did you know that it is written and performed by Redbone, an all Native American Rock Band? Maybe you didn’t! This nonfiction graphic novel goes over the formation of the band and the complex issues of identity that the members struggled with as some of the very few Indigenous musicians in the mainstream media.
Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
Any graphic novels from 2021 that you wish were on the list? Let us know!
