As always, this is a list in progress. If we missed anything, let us know.
A list of original graphic novels and comic books for Younger Readers through pre-YA, specifically published in English in 2014. We try not to include reprint collections or trade paperbacks of previously published work. Webcomics collected in print for the first time are included.
Huge thanks to Sharon Iverson who did most of the work compiling this year’s list!
YOUNGER READERS GRAPHIC NOVEL
Adventures in Cartooning Jr.: Gryphons Aren’t So Great by James Sturm, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Andrew Arnold, Jared Jones (First Second)
Are We There, Yeti? by Ashlyn Anstee (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Ballet Cat: The Totally Secret Secret by Bob Shea (Disney-Hyperion)
Balloon Toons: Do You Speak Chicken? by Nellie Coes (Blue Apple Books)
Balloon Toons: Zoe and Robot, Zoe-bot by Ryan Sias (Blue Apple Books)
Do-Gooders by J. Torres, Justin Wagner, Warren Wucinich (Oni)
Elephant Joe, Brave Firefighter! by David Wojtowycz (Random House)
FishFishFish by Lee Nordling, Mertixell Bosch (Graphic Universe)
Fowl Play by Travis Nichols (Chronicle Books)
I Will Take a Nap! [An Elephant and Piggie Book] by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion)
I Really Like Slop! [An Elephant and Piggie Book] by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion)
I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell (Clarion)
Johnny Boo Meets Dragon Puncher by James Kochalka (Top Shelf Productions)
Mad Scientist Academy: The Dinosaur Disaster by Matthew McElligot (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Petal and Poppy and the Mystery Valentine by Lisa Clough, Ed Briant (HMH Books for Young Readers)
The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Crazy Critter Race by Maxwell Eaton III (Knopf)
Waddle! Waddle! by James Proimos (Bloomsbury USA)
We Dig Worms! by Keving McCloskey (Toon)
Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers (Toon)
ELEMENTARY+ GRAPHIC NOVEL
Adventures in Cartooning: Sleepless Knight by James Sturm, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Andrew Arnold (First Second)
Alabaster Shadows by Matt Gardner (Oni)
Albert the Alien # 2: The Substitute Teacher from Planet X by Trevor Mueller, Gabriel Bautista, Ashley Erickson, Ali Cantarella, Kevin Harrell, Andrea Bell (Self-Published)
Apocalypse Bow Wow by James Proimos III, James Proimos Jr. (Bloomsbury USA)
Apocalypse Meow Meow by James Proimos III, James Proimos Jr. (Bloomsbury USA)
Avis Dolphin by Frieda Wishinsky, Willow Dawson (Groundwood)
Aw Yeah Comics # 2: Time for. . . Adventure! by Art Baltazar, Franco, Various (Dark Horse)
Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola, Emily Carroll (Candlewick)
Babymouse # 19: Bad Babysitter by Jennifer Holm, Matthew Holm (Random House)
Benjamin Bear in Brain Storms! by Philippe Courdray, Francoise Mouly (Toon)
Big Planet Comics Blue by Box Brown, Jensine Eckwall, Robin Ha, Andy K, Jared Morgan, Ben Sears, Saman Bemel-Benrud, Mark Burrier Angelica Hatke, Nick K. Liappis, SUPERWAXX (Big Planet Comics)
Bird and Squirrel: On the Edge by James Burks (Graphix)
Bodie Troll Fuzzy Memories # 1 by Jay P. Fosgitt (Red 5)
Booger Beard by Vincent Navarrete (Oni)
Cleopatra in Space # 2: The Thief and the Sword by Mike Maihack (Graphix)
Dragons Beware! [The Chronicles of Claudette] by Jorge Aguirre, Rafael Rosado (First Second)
Elephants Never Forget # 3: Big Star Otto by Bill Slavin (Kids Can Press)
Fable Comics by Chris Duffy, Various (First Second)
Fairy Tales I Just Made Up: Snarky Bedtime Stories for Weirdo Children by Ray Friesen, Roger Langridge, Sonny Liew, Scott Christian Sava, Batton Lash (Don’t Eat Any Bugs Productions)
Feathers by Jorge Corona (Archaia)
Flop to the Top! by Eleanor Davis Drew Weing (Toon)
Fowl Play by Travis Nichols (Chronicle)
Golemchik by William Exley (Nobrow)
Grimmiss Island by Art Baltazar, Franco (Dark Horse)
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes and Other Tales by Metaphrog (Papercutz)
Harebrains by Mark Mariano (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish by Barry Deutsch (Amulet Books)
Hilo # 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick (Random House)
Hinges # 1: Clockwork City by Meredith McClaren (Image Comics)
Housepets! # 6: Will Do It For Free by Rick Griffin (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
Katamari # 1 by Alex Kulang, Raynato Castro (Udon Entertainment)
Kristy’s Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin, Braden Lamb (Graphix)
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland by Eric Shanower, Gabriel Rodriguez, Nelson Daniel, Robbie Robbins (IDW)
Little Robot by Ben Hatke (First Second)
Lost in NYC by Nadja Spiegelman, Sergio Garcia Sanchez (Toon)
Lost Property by Andy Poyiadgi (Nobrow)
March Grand Prix # 1: The Race at Harewood by Kean Soo (Stone Arch Books)
March Grand Prix # 2: The Great Desert Rally by Kean Soo (Stone Arch Books)
March Grand Prix # 3: The Baker’s Run by Kean Soo (Stone Arch Books)
Mary Anne Saves the Day by Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin, Braden Lamb (Graphix)
Mermin # 4: Into Atlantis by Joey Weiser (Oni)
Metaphase by Chip Reece, Kelly Williams (Alterna Comics)
Mr. Pants: Slacks, Camera, Action! by Scott McCormick, R.H. Lazzell (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Mr. Pants: Trick or Feet by Scott McCormick, R. H. Lazzell (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale (Amulet Books)
Nnewts # 1: Escape From the Lizzarks by Doug TenNapel (Graphix)
Olympians # 7: Ares, Bringer of War by George O’Connor (First Second)
Oops Comic Adventure # 4 by Jeramy Hobz, Cyndi Foster (Self-Published)
Pablo & Jane and the Hot Air Contraption by Jose Domingo (Flying Eye Books)
Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schultz by Charles M. Schultz & Various (Boom Studios)
Penny Dora and the Wishing Box # 1 by Michael Stock, Sina Grace, Tamra Bonvillain (Image Comics)
Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark (Potter Style)
Princeless # 3: The Pirate Princess by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Ted Brandt (Action Lab Entertainment)
Princeless # 4: Be Yourself by Jeremy Whitley, Emily Martin, Brett Grunig, Emily Spura (Action Lab Entertainment)
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Rutabaga the Adventure Chef # 1 by Eric Colossal (Amulet Books)
Scratch9: Cat of Nine Worlds by Rob M. Worley, Joshua Buchanan (Hermes Press)
Scratch9: The Pet Project & Cat Tails by Rob M. Worley, Jason T. Kruse, Joshua Buchanan, Various (Robot Monkey Worx)
Secret Coders # 1 by Gene Luen Yang, Mike Holmes (First Second)
Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson, Sydney Smith (Groundwood Books)
Slappy’s Tales of Horror [Goosebumps Graphix] by R. L. Stine, Jamie Tolagson, Gabriel Hernandez, Ted Naifeh, Dave Roman (Graphix)
Squish # 7: Deadly Disease of Doom by Jennifer Holm, Matthew Holm (Random House)
Stinky Cecil in Operation Pond Rescue by Paige Braddock (Amp Comics for Kids)
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm, Matthew Holm (Graphix)
Terrible Lizard by Cullen Bunn, Drew Moss, Ryan Hill, Chis Crank (Oni)
The Adventure of Drippy the Newsboy # 1: Drippy’s Mama by Julian Lawrence (Conundrum Press)
The Courageous Princess # 1: Beyond the Hundred Kingdoms by Rod Espinosa (Dark Horse)
The Courageous Princess # 2: The Unremembered Lands by Rod Espinosa (Dark Horse)
The Courageous Princess # 3: The Dragon Queen by Rod Espinosa (Dark Horse)
The Creeps # 1: Night of the Frankenfrogs by Chris Schweizer (Amulet Books)
The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie # 2 by James Kochalka (First Second)
The Lunch Witch # 1 by Deb Lucke (Papercutz)
Midas Flesh # 2 by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb (Boom! Studios)
The Misadventures of Salem Hyde # 4: Dinosaur Dilemma by Frank Cammuso (Amulet Books)
The Misadventures of Salem Hyde # 5: Frozen Fiasco by Frank Cammuso (Amulet Books)
The Mutts Winter Diaries by Patrick McDonnell (Andrews McMeel)
The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Romeo and Juliet by Ian Lendler, Zack Giallongo, Alisa Harris (First Second)
The Truth About Stacey by Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin, Braden Lamb (Graphix)
Unicorn on a Roll: Another Phoebe and her Unicorn Adventure by Dana Simpson (Andrews McMeel)
Vamplets # 3: Nightmare Nursery by Gayle Middleton, Dave Dwonch, Amanda Coronado, Bill Blankenship (Action Lab Entertainment)
MIDDLE GRADE+
A Year Without My Mom by Dasha Tolstikova (Groundwood)
Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova (First Yen Press)
Bad Machinery # 4: The Case of the Lonely One by John Allison, Hilary Thompson, Adam Cadwell (Oni)
Baddawi by Leila Abdelrazaq (Just World Books)
Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Ari Kelman (Hill and Wang)
Battling Boy # 2: The Fall of the House of West by Paul Pope, J.T. Petty, David Rubin (First Second)
Black Market by Frank Barbiere, Victor Santos (Boom! Studios)
Brody’s Ghost # 6 by Mark Crilley (Dark Horse)
Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls are Used in War by Jessica Dee Humphreys, Michel Chikwanine, Claudia Davila (Kids Can Press)
Copperhead # 1 by Jay Faeber, Scott Godlewski, Ron Riley, Thomas Mauer (Image Comics)
Copperhead # 2 by Jay Faeber, Scott Godlewski, Ron Riley, Thomas Mauer (Image Comics)
Courtney Crumrin # 7: Tales of a Warlock by Ted Naifeh, Warren Wucinich (Oni)
Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Death Saves: Fallen Heroes of the Kitchen Table # 1 by Tomasz Grzadziela, James Kersey, Cecilia Latella, Various (Lost His Keys Man Comics)
Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Emily and the Strangers # 2: Breaking the Record by Rob Reger, Mariah Huehner, Cat Farris, Nate Piekos of Blambot (Dark Horse)
Eye of Newt by Michael Hague (Dark Horse)
Fairy Quest # 2: Outcasts by Paul Jenkins, Humberto Ramos (Boom! Studios)
Fantasy Sports # 1 by Sam Bosma (Nobrow)
Fight Like a Girl: Learning Curve by David Pinckney, Soo Lee (Action Lab Entertainment)
Gronk: A Monster’s Story # 1 by Katie Cook (Action Lab Entertainment)
Gronk: A Monster’s Story # 2 by Katie Cook (Action Lab Entertainment)
Gronk: A Monster’s Story # 3 by Katie Cook (Action Lab Entertainment)
Gronk: A Monster’s Story # 4 by Katie Cook (Action Lab Entertainment)
Gunnerkrigg Court # 5: Refine by Thomas Siddell (Archaia)
Human Body Theater: A Nonfiction Revue by Maris Wicks (First Second)
In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black’Mor, Carinne-M, Jezequel (Dynamite Entertainment)
Iscariot by Shane Michael Vidaurri (Archaia)
Junior Braves of the Apocalypse # 1: A Brave is Brave by Greg Smith, Michael Tanner, Zach Lehner, Jared Jones, Christopher Sebela (Oni)
LARP! # 1: To Geek or Not to Geek by Dan Jolley, Shawn DeLoache, Marlin Shoop, Gray Gunter (Dark Horse)
Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler (First Second)
Legend # 1: The Graphic Novel by Leigh Dragoon, Kaari, Marie Lu (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Little Nemo’s Big Dreams by Josh O’Neill, Andrew Carl, Chris Stevens, Francoise Mouly, Art Spiegelman, Various (Toon)
Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape # 1: Attack of the Alien Horde by Robert Vendetti, Dusty Higgins (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard # 3 by David Petersen, Becky Cloonan, Skottie Young, Dustin Nguyen (Archaia)
Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad by Jeffrey Burandt, Dennis Culver, Ramon Villalobos (Oni)
Oyster War by Ben Towle (Oni)
Posessions # 4: The Final Tantrum by Ray Fawkes (Oni)
Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula by Andi Watson (First Second)
Princess Ugg # 2 by Ted Naifeh, Warren Wucinich (Oni)
Prison Island: A Graphic Memoir by Colleen Frakes (Zest Books)
Rise of the Magi by Marc Silvestri, Sumeyye Kesgin (Image Comics)
Skyward # 4: Sins of the Father by Jeremy Dale (Action Lab Entertainment)
Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson (Graphix)
Teen Boat! The Race for Boatlantis by Dave Roman, John Green, Wes Dzioba, Molly Ostertag, Amanda Scurti, Alisa Harris (Clarion)
The Crogan Adventures: Catfoot’s Vengeance by Chris Schweizer, Joey Weiser (Oni)
The Crogan Adventures: Last of the Legion by Chris Schweizer, Joey Weiser (Oni)
The Hunter by Joe Sparrow (Nobrow)
Towerkind by Kat Verhoeven (Conundrum Press)
Vacancy by Jen Lee (Nobrow)
Valor by Isabelle Melancon, Megan Lavey-Heaton, Various (Fairylogue Press)
Wild Blue Yonder by Mike Raicht, Austin Harrison, Zach Howard (IDW)
Windmill Dragons: A Leah and Alan Adventure by David Nytra (Toon)
HIGH SCHOOL+
Amelia Cole # 4: Amelia Cole and the Impossible Fate by Nick Brokenshire, Rachael Deering (IDW)
Andre the Giant: Closer to Heaven by Brandon M. Easton, Denis Medri (Lion Forge)
ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times by Andrew MacLean (Dark Horse Originals)
Ares & Aphrodite: Love Wars by Jamie S. Rich, Megan Levens (Oni)
Bandette # 2: Stealers Keepers! by Paul Tobin, Coleen Coover (Dark Horse)
Cemetery Girl # 2: Inheritance by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Don Kramer, Daniele Rudoni (InkLit)
Creature Cops: Special Varmint Unit: Do the Job by Rob Anderson, Fernando Melek, Novo Malgapo, Juan Romera, E.T. Dollman (IDW)
Deep State # 1 by Justin Jordan (Boom! Studios)
Descender # 1: Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen, Steve Wands (Image Comics)
Displacement by Lucy Knisley (Fantagraphics)
Ei8ht # 1: Outcast by Mike Johnson, Rafael Albuerqueque (Dark Horse)
Giant Days # 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, Whitney Cogar, Jim Campbell (Boom! Box)
Girl in Dior by Annie Goetzinger (NBM Publishing)
Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross (Z2Comics)
Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash (Candlewick)
IF Anthology 2015 by Peter Simeti, Chas! Pangburn, Chip Reese Dan Lauer, Various (Alterna Comics)
Lafcadio Hearn’s “The Faceless Ghost” and Other Macabre Tales from Japan: A Graphic Novel by Sean Michael Wilson, Michiru Morikawa (Shambala)
Lion of Rora by Christos Gage, Ruth Gage, Jackie Lewis (Oni)
Long Walk to Valhalla by Adam Smith, Matthew Fox (Archaia)
Louise Brooks: Detective by Rick Geary (Comics Lit)
Macbeth: A Play by William Shakespeare by Gareth Hinds (Candlewick)
Makeshift Miracle # 2: The Boy Who Stole Everything by Jim Zub, Shun Hong Chan (Udon Entertainment)
March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)
Memetic by James Tynion IV, Eryk Donovan (Boom! Studios)
Mezolith # 1 by Ben Haggarty, Adam Brockbank (Archaia)
Monster: A Graphic Novel by Walter Dean Myers, Guy A. Sims, Dawud Anyabwile (Amistad)
MPH by Mark Millar, Duncan Fegredo, Peter Doherty (Image Comics)
Nanjing: The Burning City by Ethan Young (Dark Horse)
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (HarperTeen)
Palefire by MK Reed, Farel Dalrymple (Secret Acres)
Part-Time Princesses by Monica Gallagher, Christy Sawyer, Jill Beaton, Robin Herrera, Hilary Thompson (Oni)
Rot & Ruin: Warrior Smart by Jonathan Maberry, Tony Vargas (IDW)
RUSH’s Clockwork Angels: The Graphic Novel by Neil Peart, Kevin J. Anderson, Nick Robles (Boom! Studios)
Shadow Show: Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury by Joe Hill, Neil Gaiman, Audrey Niffennegger, Harlan Ellison, Dave Eggers, Charles Yu, Alice Hoffman, Mort Castle, Various (IDW)
Smoke by Gregory Benton (Alternative Comics)
Step Aside Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton (Drawn and Quarterly)
Steve Jobs: Insanely Great by Jesse Hartland (Schwartz & Wade Books)
SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn and Quarterly)
Take it as a Compliment by Maria Stoian (Self Made Hero)
The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by Michael F. Patton, Kevin Cannon (Hill and Wang)
The Empty Man by Cullen Bunn, Vanesa R Del Ray (Boom! Studios)
The October Faction by Steve Niles, Damien Worm (IDW)
The Returning by Jason Starr, Andrea Mutti (Boom! Studios)
The Sculptor by Scott McCloud (First Second)
The Woods # 2: The Swarm by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas (Boom! Studios)
They’re Not Like Us # 1: Black Holes for the Young by Eric Stephenson, Simon Gane (Image Comics)
Thomas Alsop # 1: The Hand of the Island by Chris Miskiewicz, Palle Schmidt (Boom! Studios)
Trashed by Derf BackDerf (Abrams)
Tru Detective by Norah McClintock, Steven Hughes (Orca Book Publishers)
Zen Pencils # 2: Dream the Impossible Dream by Gavin Aung Than (Andrews McMeel)
HYBRID GRAPHIC NOVELS
Bad Kitty: Puppy’s Big Day by Nick Bruel (Roaring Brook Press)
Big Nate Lives It Up by Lincoln Peirce (Balzer + Bray)
Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot: The Twelfth Epic Novel by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic)
Dear Dumb Diary # 2: Live Each Day to the Dumbest by Jim Benton (Scholastic)
Diary of a Wimpy Kids # 10: Old School by Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books)
Dragonbreath # 10: Knight-napped! by Ursula Vernon (Dial)
Galactic Hot Dogs # 1: Cosmoe’s Wiener Getaway by Max Ballier, Rachel Maguire (Aladdin)
Hamster Princess # 1: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon (Dial Books for Young Readers)
In, Over, and On the Farm by Ethan Long (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Life of Zarf: The Troll Who Cried Wolf by Rob Harrell (Dial Books)
Me, Too! by Annika Dunklee, Lori Joy Smith (Kids Can Press)
One Day, The End: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Stories by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Fred Koehler (Boyds Mill Press)
Public School Superhero by James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts, Cory Thomas (Little, Brown & Co.)
Sasquatch and Aliens # 2: Super Sasquatch Showdown by Charise Mericle Harper (Henry Holt)
Scarlett: Star on the Run by Jon Buller, Susan Schade (Papercutz)
Star Wars Jedi Academy # 3: The Phantom Bully by Jeffrey Brown (Scholastic)
Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede by Liam O’Donnell, Mike Deas (Orca)
The G-Man Super Journal: Awesome Origins by Chris Giarrusso (Amp Comics for Kids)
The Inker’s Shadow by Allen Say (Scholastic)
The Marvels by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)
The Yeti Files # 2: Monsters on the Run by Kevin Sherry (Scholastic)
Timmy Failure: Sanitized for Your Protection by Stephan Pastis (Candlewick)
CREATOR-OWNED COMIC BOOKS FOR KIDS
Archon by Perez, Maccagni, Hernandez, Villirillom & Sykes. (Action Lab)
Hero Cats Hero by Kyle Puttkammer, Marcus Williams, Ryan Sellers, Omaka Schultz (Action Lab)
Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Brooke A. Allen & More. (Boom Box)
Oddly Norman by Otis Frampton, Tracy Bailey (Image Comics)
Princeless by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Emily Martin, Mia Goodwin, & Ted Brandt, (Action Lab)
Super Dinosaur by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. (Image)
Moongirl and Devil Dinosaur by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, & Natacha Bustos. (Marvel)
Wayward # 2: Ties That Bind by Jim Zubkavich, Steven Cummings, Tamra Bonvillain, Zack Davisson (Image Comics)
Welcome to Showside by Ian McGinty (Z2 Comics)
To find out which of these comics kids think are the best of the year, check out the KCR! Kids Comics Awards!
2015 Kids Comics Award ceremony
