Task 17: Read a Non-Superhero Comic That Debuted in the Last Three Years

[Bonnie G.]

about 3 months back book riot said graphic novels are fine.

[Carol]

Thanks, Bonnie! I appreciate your response.

[Stina]

I am wanting to read Flat Track Furies, but it's new enough that there are (as far as I can tell) only 2 issues out. So it hasn't been collected into a volume. (This would explain why it doesn't show up on Goodreads at all.) Do I have to wait until an entire volume is out for it to count? If not, how many issues would I need to read for it to count?

Assuming, of course, that they aren't superheroes. I won't know for sure until I've read them. Though I suppose that also raises the question of what is the definition of a "superhero"? Has that been discussed here?

[Luella]

Dom wrote: "Ooh Bitch Planet is a good shout..."

Intriguing. I think I will do this one. Turns out the library has a copy.

[Elizabeth]

I finally got around to Lumberjanes, which I loved and would definitely recommend.

[Lianne]

Like may others, I went with Bitch Planet Vol 1. I describe it as The Handmaid's Tale meets The Hunger Games meets girls in prison exploitation films.

I'm also planning on reading volume 1 of The Wicked + The Divine, about gods who incarnate every seventy years and become media darlings before dying violently.

[Jessica]

I will be reading Soppy: A Love Story for this task.

[Erin]

Awkward. It was so freaking cute.

[Theresa]

Rebecca wrote: "I have already read Everything Is Teeth this year... I hope this counts? I'm not entirely clear on what's a comic vs. graphic novel. I would say it's a graphic novel, and I would no..."

I'm going read it as my comic for the challenge. I read Lumberjanes, but that felt a bit like cheating because I finished it in 10 minutes, so I feel the need to read an additional book for this category. (Not a real rule, just my own weirdness.) FYI, NPR just reviewed Everything is Teeth yesterday. Seems like there may be a different edition that was just published this week.

[quietprofanity]

I read Jem and the Holograms, Volume 2: Viral. (Secret identity doesn't a superhero make if you're just fighting off an "evil" band.) I liked it, but felt like it was spinning its wheels for all the cool stuff coming later. (I reviewed it here.)

I already read Lumberjanes and used Nimona for the Panels webcomic challenge since it started in 2012 but [shrugs].

[Jamie]

Are we just assuming that graphic novels count as comics?

[Jo]

Book Riot use the term interchangeably, so yes, most people are reading graphic novels for this rather than single issues.

[Jamie]

Phew. That makes it a lot easier. I don't even know where to get comic books near me, but the library has a great selection of graphic novels.

[Heidi]

I read . Not my thing, but I read it.

[Liz]

For this challenge, I read Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History. It is a very good collection of stories, the art is great, and I learned some new things.

A note on comics vs. graphic novels: Earlier this year I asked Panels about this regarding the Panels Read Harder Challenge (I loved this challenge and I encourage you to try it). Swapna responded and said "Any comics will qualify! We don't discriminate." So I figured that applies to the regular Read Harder Challenge as well. Read what works for you.

[quietprofanity]

Heidi wrote: "I read . Not my thing, but I read it."

That comic series is waaaaaaay older than three years, though.

[Katie]

I read The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act, and loved it so much I immediately bought all the issues currently released. Gods being reincarnated for only two years and then they die? My kind of plot.

[Doc.]

Wow, there are so many great recommendations to be found on this thread! I can be hear my TBR stack groaning. ;)
I've read quite a few so far that would qualify for this task, but the ones I liked best were Boxers & Saints #1-2 and The Fade Out, Vol. 1: Act One. The first one is about the Boxer rebellion in China and the second one is noir mystery. I also loved the art in Just So Happens, which is about the immigrant experience.

[Stephanie]

This one was a bit hard for me to choose..........and then I stumbled across Outcast, Vol. 1: A Darkness Surrounds Him. This one's it!

[Teresa]

Bitch Planet was sooo worth the wait! I gave it 5 stars, then showed it my 20 something daughter.

[Mary Sue]

I was struggling to find a selection for this task and then I remembered that a former co-worker and her husband published a comic book series about candy-zombies and a trio of teenagers. So I read Brittle Hill by Alan Spinney, Helen Spinney. There are 4 installments in the series and I read all 4.

[Evyjo]

I read and LOVED it! There's actually 3 other Phoebe comic books, so I'll probably get around to those too.

[Danielle]

I read Relish: My Life in the Kitchen for this challenge. I originally got this book for my food memoir not knowing it was a graphic memoir. I typically don't double up, but I am for this one. I'm not sure if this is fully what book riot wanted for this challenge, but it came out in 2013 so I am counting it!

[Wellington]

I read Nimona for this challenge. I am not much for reading graphic novels, but I really liked this one. The writing is very sharp. The topsy turvy nature of the story was very appealing.

[Matthew]

Reading Oni Press Starter Pack, which includes Letter 44, Volume 1: Escape Velocity and The Bunker: Volume 1 (among others). Good find with lots of options for completing this task.

[Megan]

I read Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe, thanks to my brother who loaned me this one.

[Nadine in NY]

I read Bitch Planet vol 1 over the weekend and it was fantastic!!!

[Kimberly]

I read Shoplifter by Michael Cho this weekend! It came in a a Book Riot box last year or the year before. I liked it, and I believe I read it at just the right time for me to be open to story. Clocking in at 96 pages it can also count as you book for under 100 pages!

[Mindy]

This was the toughest of all the tasks to figure out. I never read graphic novels - closest I ever came was Peanuts cartoons as a kid. :) I chose "Happy" by Grant Morrison. It was well-reviewed, but I have no idea what I'm getting into - which, of course, is the point of this whole thing. It will probably be one of the last books I read for this whole challenge.

[Kenneth]

For this challenge I read Democracy, which could also work for your historical fiction before 1900! A very interesting look at how democracy was established in Athens during a period of tyranny in the 5th century BCE.

Another suggestion I have would be the Showa series, by Shigeru Mizuki. It came out in Japan in the 1980s, but the first volume was translated into English and released in 2013, so it should count! It's a penetrating and merciless look at 20th Century Japanese history by one of Japan's most famous manga artists (and himself a survivor of World War II), with his autobiography told in parallel--from listening to Japanese ghost stories with his grandma, to enlisting reluctantly in the military, and returning to society in the midst of great social and economic upheaval.

[Emily]

My brother is a comic book dealer, and when I told him I had this challenge task to complete, he brought me the premiere issue of "Prez", a dystopian comic about a teenage girl winning the presidency via Twitter! It came out in 2015, but some of it was surprisingly relevant to the current presidential election. A fun read!

[Monica]

Liz wrote: "For this challenge, I read Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History. It is a very good collection of stories, the art is great, and I learned some new things."

Thank you Liz!! I was wrestling with this one and you gave me a great idea. Got it from the library!!

[Bobby]

I had already read three different books that were just okay, then the library where I work acquired copies of March: Book One and March: Book Two by John Lewis. They were both amazing, and I can't wait until Part Three comes out.

[Rachel]

I read Awkward last night and I really enjoyed it! It was such a cute story.