In case you missed it, the judges for the 2016 Cybils awards were announced on the 21st, and I’m thrilled to be a Round 2 judge of the Graphic Novels category this year. (Kelly is back on Cybils, too, as a Round 1 panelist for Middle Grade and YA Nonfiction!) After the past two years of heavy reading on Round 1 of YA Speculative Fiction, it will be nice to take it a bit easier this year on Round 2. It also means I get to help select two winners, one from Elementary/Middle Grade and the other from Young Adult.
As I do every year, I’ve created a list of potential nominees for my category. Nominations run from Saturday, October 1 through Saturday, October 15, and I’d love to see all the titles on this list get some consideration from Round 1. Here are the official rules for nominations, but the gist is this: it has to be a graphic novel (obviously), been published between October 16, 2015 and October 15, 2016, and you can only nominate one title per category.
I confess that manga is a weakness of mine, but as part of my day job, I have been reading a bit more of it, so if you have some awesome manga titles to nominate, please do so.
Young Adult
- Delilah Dirk and the King’s Shilling by Tony Cliff
- Geis: A Matter of Life and Death by Alexis Deacon
- Faith Vol. 1: Hollywood and Vine by Jody Houser, Francis Portela, and Marguerite Sauvage
- March: Book Three by John Lewis
- Einstein by Corinne Maier and Anne Simon
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2: Squirrel You Know it’s True by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
- The Golden Compass Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 by Philip Pullman, Stephane Melchior-Durand, Clement Oubriere, and Annie Eaton
- Lumberjanes, Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Carolyn Nowak
- Lumberjanes, Vol. 4: Out of Time by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen
- Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Book 1: Captain Raven and the All-Girl Pirate Crew by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, and Ted Brandt
- Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Book 2: Free Women by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, and Ted Brandt
- Ms. Marvel Vol. 4: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
- Ms. Marvel Vol. 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona, and Nico Leon
Elementary/Middle Grade
- Lucy and Andy Neanderthal by Jeffrey Brown
- Love: The Lion by Frederic Brremaud and Federico Bertolucci
- Lowriders to the Center of the Earth by Cathy Camper
- Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton
- Hippopotamister by John Patrick Green
- Dream Jumper: Nightmare Escape by Greg Grunberg, Lucas P. Turnbloom, and Guy Major
- Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
- The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks
- Compass South by Hope Larson
- Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill
- Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard
- Hilda and the Stone Forest by Luke Pearson
- Snow White by Matt Phelan
- Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
- Ogres Awake! by James Sturm
- Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
- The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing
- HiLo: Saving the Whole Wide World by Judd Winick
- Secret Coders: Paths and Portals by Gene Luen Yang