Batman. Spiderman. Stilt-Man. You might think of these names when you think about comic books. (Except probably Stilt-Man, who is real and was at one point fighting Daredevil in Marvel Comics. That’s his picture over there.). With this sort of mental image, it can be easy to think of comics as kids' stuff, but even putting aside the fact that plenty of adults read superhero stories, the fact is there is a whole world of graphic novels and comics targeted at a more mature audience that tackle a very wide range of topics and intensities. Let me share with you some comics that’s a bit out of that superhero zone. You might find something you didn’t know was even an option waiting for you.
Kate Beaton has found a lot of fame from some of her excellent children’s books, such as The Princess and the Pony, which was also made into a show on Apple TV. However, this comic isn’t for kids. Ducks is a comic autobiography of Kate working in the Oil Sands of Canada to pay off her college loans. It’s a tough job in a remote location where she lived, surrounded by men who made her time there less than ideal. It can be a tough read emotionally, but it’s also very powerful in showing how life is doing these rough, lonely jobs.
If you’re more in the mood for romance and the fantastic than the gritty, hard world of refining oil, then you need not look further than Lore Olympus. Rachel Smythe has created a series that has gone from a humble internet comic to something with big popularity. It garnered that praise for a reason: its gorgeous artwork, loving retelling of the Persephone story from Greek Mythology, and engaging characters are sure to grab anyone looking for a little supernatural romance.
For more fantasy without the romantic bend, may I suggest The Girl from the Other Side. Outside the walls live horrible beasts that will transform you into one of them with a touch. Teacher lives out his days there, having been long twisted into one of these creatures and having lost any memory of his human life. But when a young human child wanders to his cabin, Teacher is going to have to look deep inside himself to figure out what kind of person he is if he wants to keep her safe. Nagabe is a master of using dark blacks to set an atmosphere, and it sells the dark fairy tale tone of the story so well.
While sometimes the monsters in the forest can be kind, like Teacher, that’s not always the case. Eisner Award-winning comic Something is Killing the Children is about, well, something killing the children. They're going missing in the woods, and those who survive tell stories of horrible monsters murdering their friends. Luckily for the town of Archer's Peak, a self-proclaimed monster slayer arrives, and she says she can see these monsters where the other adults can't. Her name is Erica Slaughter, and her name might be a bit of a hint as to what she's going to do to these monsters.
Sometimes, however, we need a break from death and dark pasts, and we just need a little laugh. The Way of the Househusband is the comedic story of Yakuza legend Tatsu, known as the Immortal Dragon, whose strength fills the underworld with fear. However, he’s married now and wants to support his wife’s career. So the criminal retires and is learning how to be a househusband. He of course takes care of their home with all the intensity he brought to his criminal dealings. The absurdity of Tatsu’s approach to daily tasks like buying groceries is nothing but hilarious and sure to put a grin on your face.
If you’re more concerned about cleaning your own house than seeing someone else clean theirs, then you might be interested in the work of Marie Kondo. Her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, took the world by storm a few years ago. This manga adaptation puts Kondo’s lessons and guidelines for cleaning into a new fun context, following the journey of a lady with a disaster of an apartment figuring out how to make her life better through cleaning. If you aren’t feeling reading a whole book of cleaning tips, this might be a more enjoyable and quicker alternative.
If you like the idea of a non-fiction comic, but the idea of reorganizing your living space fills you with dread, luckily, there are even more options out there for you. Author and historian Xavier Dollo, along with artist Djibril Morissette-Phan, bring the history of Science Fiction to life. Connecting things all the way from its humble beginnings as a genre to the very diverse field it is today, this is a great way to learn about the legacy of a genre you might read on the regular.
Are none of these tickling your fancy? I also highly recommend you check out Comics Plus, an online service full of comics of all sorts. Just log in with your library card, and you can read on the computer, a tablet, or a phone. We even have a separate login if you only want to give access to kid-friendly materials, just in case you have a younger person in your life who might want to read some comics. Comics are for adults, too, as we’ve just proven! So get out there and read some, and tell me all about it.