[Saturday Reads] This Week in Graphic Novels: Fantasy, Murder-Mystery, and Reality

Fats here.

Every Saturday we hope to share with you our thoughts on reading and books. We thought that it would be good practice to reflect on our reading lives and our thoughts about reading in general. While on occasion, we would feature a few books in keeping with this, there would be a few posts where we will just write about our thoughts on read-alouds, libraries, reading journals, upcoming literary conferences, books that we are excited about, and just book love miscellany in general.

This week, I decided to stay away from novels that are at least a hundred pages long and focused on lighter reads. I borrowed a few graphic novels from the library! Check out the first set of titles I read this week!

Spectacle Volume 1

Created by Megan Rose Gedris
Published by Oni Press (2018)
ISBN-13: 9781620104927

Buy Spectacle Volume 1 on Amazon | Book Depository

Twin sisters Anna and Kat work for the Samson Brothers Circus. Kat is a knife thrower, while Anna is a psychic who doesn’t believe in anything paranormal. That is, until Kat gets murdered and comes back as a ghost. Together, they try to solve the mystery and find out who killed Kat.

Vibrant colors and quirky illustrations fill the pages of this graphic novel. I enjoyed reading the first volume, and my copy of the second volume is on its way. Spectacle is a lighter read, with a simpler plot. If you wish to break away from heavy narratives, this is a good title to pick up.

Sleepless Volume 1

Created by Sarah Vaughn and Leila del Duca
Published by Image Comics (2018)
ISBN-13: 9781534306844

Buy Sleepless Volume 1 on Amazon | Book Depository

Sleepless was recommended to me by a friend who absolutely loved the series. It tells the story of Lady Poppy and her faithful knight, Cyrenic. Cyrenic took the Sleepless vow and devoted his life to protecting his Lady. After Poppy’s uncle was crowned as the new king in Harbeny, an assassin attempted to kill Poppy. With no one to turn to, Poppy and Cyrenic must work in secret to discover who wanted Poppy dead.

Sleepless was very good indeed. My friend mentioned that there are only two books in the series. I could easily see three or four books total. It’s worth checking out regardless!