Top Picks for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

By Kat La Mantia | April 29 2022 | Graphic Novels

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month! This year, celebrate the wide-ranging diversity of AAPI heritage with a graphic novel. From memoirs to superheroes to coming-of-age tales and more, let this list be your jumping off point for exploring Asian American creators and stories this month and beyond.

MARVEL'S VOICES: IDENTITY
9781302945978
Celebrate the greatest Asian characters and creators from across the Marvel Universe! Some of the best super heroes in comics get the spotlight in action-packed and heartfelt tales - including Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, Jubilee, Silk, Wave, Wong and Jimmy Woo! These amazing and legendary heroes star in stories from new and established Asian creators that will surely expand "the world outside your window!" Plus: Thrill to the start of brand-new storytelling eras for both Silk and Shang-Chi, revisit classic tales featuring the brilliant mind of Amadeus Cho, join Kamala Khan in welcoming a new hero to Jersey City and prepare for a very different look at the X-Men! Collecting MARVEL'S VOICES: IDENTITY, MAGNIFICENT MS. MARVEL #13, SHANG-CHI (2020) #1, DEMON DAYS: X-MEN and SILK (2021) #1 - plus material from AMAZING FANTASY (2004) #15, INCREDIBLE HULK (2000) #100 and MARVEL #5.
$24.99 US
On sale Apr 12, 2022
FOC Jan 31, 2022
Paperback
216 Pages
Marvel Universe

MS. MARVEL BY SALADIN AHMED VOL. 1: DESTINED
9781302918293
Collects Magnificent Ms. Marvel (2019) #1-6. Ms. Marvel is back - and she's magnificent! But there's no such thing as business as usual in Jersey City. Aliens are wreaking havoc in Kamala's corner of the world, and they seem weirdly interested in Ms. Marvel...and her family! Kamala is about to face a devastating loss - but with an alien invasion ravaging her neighborhood, she won't have much time to grieve. Even if Kamala saves her hometown, will her life ever be the same? And what's all this business about a "Chosen One"? Eisner Award winner Saladin Ahmed (BLACK BOLT, EXILES) and rising star Minkyu Jung take the reins of one of Marvel's most beloved young characters for the shocking start of an all-new era! Guest-starring the Invincible Iron Man!
$17.99 US
On sale Oct 15, 2019
FOC Aug 26, 2019
Paperback
136 Pages
Marvel Universe

RUNAWAYS BY RAINBOW ROWELL VOL. 6: COME AWAY WITH ME
9781302925567
The Runaways are in a dark and scary place. There are so many pieces to pick up and choices to be made — and if the team is good at anything, it’s making bad choices. Which leads them to descend into one of the most terrifying Marvel Universe locations ever: high school! It goes better for some than others. But when Wolverine and Pixie of the X-Men arrive with an offer for Molly, she finds herself faced with the biggest decision of her young life: stay with the Runaways, or finally find a home on the mutant island utopia that is Krakoa? Meanwhile, Nico made a rough decision — and she’s about to pay for it. And just as the Runaways finally rebuild their lives, everything comes crashing to the ground. And at the center of it all is…Gert?! Collecting RUNAWAYS (2017) #32-38.
$24.99 US
On sale Oct 05, 2021
FOC Jul 26, 2021
Paperback
168 Pages
Marvel Universe

SILK VOL. 1: THREATS AND MENACES
9781302924393
Collects Silk (2021) #1-5. Silk’s turbulent life has been turned upside down yet again! What’s a young super hero to do? Probably not commit more robberies while undercover with the Black Cat’s crew! Because when Silk’s luck runs out and Felicia learns the truth about her seeming ally, that idea will definitely end in tears! Then, Cindy finds herself haunted by Spectro! Who is this spooky figure, and will he be a friendly ghost? Silk heads into the Negative Zone — then gets drawn into a Clone Conspiracy! And with a variety of folks mysteriously dead no more, she’s about to face a Spider-Woman who’s come back from the grave! If Cindy can survive all of that, then Mockingbird may have an interesting proposition for her. Is the world ready for…Silk, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?!
$15.99 US
On sale Nov 23, 2021
FOC Aug 02, 2021
Paperback
112 Pages
Marvel Universe

Superman Smashes the Klan
978-1-77950-421-0
Harvey Award winner for Best Children or Young Adult Book!
$16.99 US
On sale May 12, 2020
Paperback
240 Pages
DC Comics
Age 12 and up

The Complete Persepolis
Volumes 1 and 2
978-0-375-71483-2
Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up as a girl in Iran during the revolution has for twenty years been a classroom staple, a feminist manifesto, and one of the most popular and widely known graphic novels of all time. "A stunning graphic memoir...a wholly original achievement in the form." —The New York TimesPersepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming—both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom—Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
$27.00 US
On sale Oct 30, 2007
Paperback
352 Pages
Pantheon

The Magic Fish
(A Graphic Novel)
978-1-9848-5159-8
In this gorgeous graphic novel that Entertainment Weekly called "one of the most astounding . . . of the year," fairy tales are the only way one teen boy can express himself to his parents, who are Vietnamese immigrants. But how will he find the words to tell them that he's gay?
$17.99 US
On sale Oct 13, 2020
Paperback
256 Pages
Random House Graphic
Age 12 and up

They Called Us Enemy
978-1-60309-450-4
New York Times Bestseller!A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
$19.99 US
On sale Jul 16, 2019
Paperback
208 Pages
Top Shelf Productions

Good Talk
A Memoir in Conversations
978-0-399-58906-5
A bold, wry, and intimate graphic memoir about American identity, interracial family, and the realities that divide us, from the acclaimed author of The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing.
$22.00 US
On sale Mar 24, 2020
Paperback
368 Pages
One World

I Was Their American Dream
A Graphic Memoir
978-0-525-57511-5
One part Mari Andrew, one part Marjane Satrapi, I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir is a triumphant tale of self-discovery, a celebration of a family's rich heritage, and a love letter to American immigrant freedom. Malaka Gharib's illustrations come alive with teenage antics and earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised.
$16.99 US
On sale Apr 30, 2019
Paperback
160 Pages
Clarkson Potter

It Won't Always Be Like This
A Graphic Memoir
978-1-9848-6029-3
An intimate graphic memoir about an American girl growing up with her Egyptian father's new family, forging unexpected bonds and navigating adolescence in an unfamiliar country—from the award-winning author of I Was Their American Dream.
$19.99 US
On sale Sep 20, 2022
FOC Aug 22, 2022
Paperback
224 Pages
Ten Speed Graphic

Shoplifter
978-0-307-91173-5
A brilliant debut graphic novel about a young woman's search for happiness and self-fulfillment in the big city.
$19.95 US
On sale Sep 02, 2014
Hardcover
96 Pages
Pantheon

In Waves
978-1-910620-63-2
A tale of love, heartbreak and surfing from an important new voice in comics. In Waves is Craig Thompson's Blankets meets William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.
$18.95 US
On sale Jun 04, 2019
Paperback
368 Pages
Nobrow
Age 14 and up

Vietnamerica
A Family's Journey
978-0-345-50872-0
For readers of Persepolis, Fun Home, and Maus, a major new graphic memoir about family secrets, the immigrant experience, and the legacy of the Vietnam War.
$30.00 US
On sale Jan 25, 2011
Hardcover
288 Pages
Villard