The Magicians (Staff Pick)

This is pretty cool.
- Engel
This is pretty cool.
- Engel
Beautifully illustrated and heartwarmingly tender, this collection of the complete Tea Dragon Society is the perfect gift for someone who needs a pick me up, loves tea lore, or just enjoys the sweet things in life.
- Jen
Deforge imagines a bird utopia on the moon, and it’s full of teenage angst. Weird, fungal illustrations and ironic avian dialogue make this graphic novel well suited for bird lovers and connoisseurs of leftist satire, surrealism, and jokes about cloacae.
- Rachael
An phenomenal tale of visual storytelling. For those with active mind's eyes, every page explodes with possibility. As much a piece of artwork as a book.
- Stacey
Funny meets violent in this wonderful graphic novel about a Chinese-American family with a past full of magic, mystery, and casual violence (but in like... a fun way...). Twins, Milly and Billy, are having a tough time keeping their restaurant afloat. Luckily their parents, Ipo and Keon, are in town for their annual visit. Ipo and Keon have supported their children through thick and thin and are ready to lend a hand—but they're starting to wonder if their support has made the twins incapable of standing on their own. When Ipo forces them to help her clean up the house next door—a hellish and run-down ruin that was the scene of a grisly murder—the twins are in for a nasty surprise. A night of terror, gore, and supernatural mayhem reveals that there is much more to Ipo and her children than meets the eye.
- Engel
What makes for an effective comic or graphic novel? How do words and art interact to tell impactful stories? Making Comics provides insight into these questions and more by illuminating our understanding of the storytelling power and history of the medium. This is a great guide not only for aspiring comic artists, but for anyone seeking thoughtful, illustrated examples of how we appreciate and create visual stories in their many forms.
A Sea of Lies evokes the spirit and mystique of writer Anais Nin with beautiful, rainbow-infused pencil drawings. Nin is well-known for her journals and erotic writings, none of which need to be read first to appreciate this depiction of her life. Fellow introverts especially will find her commitment to her pleasure, self-knowledge, and art utterly mesmerizing.
Something like an orchestra reduced to a piano sonata, Heuet’s adaptation of the first volume of In Search of Lost Time combines the beauty and intent of Proust’s words (often quoted verbatim) with dreamlike graphics that capture the reverie of the original. Follow it up with Vol. 2, translated into English in 2019.
- James
Part journey of self-discovery, part mysticism, all love and appreciation of language.
- Stacey
This gorgeous graphic novel shows the complexity of friendship and how sometimes friendship can shapeshift if you hold on too tight to it. Through a unique and captivating art style, Tommi Parrish paints rich, full characters that will hold space in your life after reading.
- Jane