The Cute Girl Network by Greg Means and M.K. Reed

Jane has just moved to town when a skateboard accident turns into a date with the cute guy who sells soup on the corner. Jack and Jane get along great; they're both young, broke, and enjoying a laid-back lifestyle. But Jack has dated a lot of the women that Jane knows, and their bad experiences with Jack lead them to form the Cute Girl Network, which is dedicated to spreading the word about Jack and his many shortcomings. Will Jack shape up for Jane? Will Jane take her friends' advice? Will Jane and Jack break up? Living life according to yourself is hard to do, but sometimes it's necessary.

Appeal: adult relationships, friendship, good female characters

Art: Black and white, smooth lines

Text: Conversational, casual

Other: M.K. Reed writes the webcomic About A Bull.

Awards: M.K. Reed's Americus was a YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens in 2012.

Means, Greg. Reed, M. K. Flood, Joe. The Cute Girl Network. New York : First Second, 2013 . Print.

Mixed Myth by Robin Meyer

Mixed Myth

Mixed Myth is a parody of every fantasy trope you can name. Is the main character, Keeva, a half-elf? She is indeed, but the other half is goblin, and since goblins and elves are mortal enemies, family reunions are awkward. Does Keeva have a drunken sidekick? Yes she does, and he's a literal nightmare, a demon horse named Puck. Does Keeva meet an attractive stranger? How did you know? Aidan is a half-selkie werewolf assassin who quickly gives up his mission to kill Keeva as impossible. 

Keeva is a firebrand, seizing the day and all the explosive phoenix eggs she can find, as likely to blow something up as she is to save world. Unfortunately, saving the world just became her responsibility, so along with Puck, Aidan, and Tamit (a sphinx so mysterious she can barely remember her own name), they set out to save the world from a fate so dramatic you'll be shocked-- shocked! The plot is intricate and brilliant, the characters are deep, and the wit is biting. 

Mixed Myth is available online.

Appeal: Fantasy, parody, good female characters, elves, puns

Art: Grayscale, detailed, flowing, fantastical

Text: Humorous, dramatic, ironic

Other: Robin Meyer's other projects since Mixed Myth's completion include Metrophor and Real Life Fiction.

Meyer, Robin. "Mixed Myth." mixedmyth.comicgenesis.com. Web. 4 May 2014.

Something*Positive by R.K. Milholland

Something Positive

Following the lives of three friends in Boston--Davan, PeeJee, and Aubrey-- and their assorted friends, family, and enemies, Something Positive is sarcastic, cynical, and sometimes touching. The characters age in real time from the comic's 2001 debut to today. Davan dates many unkind women before moving back home to Texas and eventually marrying a newer character, Vanessa. PeeJee holds a number of unpleasant jobs, and now lives in Texas with Davan, helping to care for his witty, Alzheimer-diagnosed dad Fred. Aubrey started a successful phone sex hotline catering to nerds and gamers, and adopted a child with another character, Jason. The characters encounter little oddities like Davan's semi-liquid cat Choo Choo as well as everyday concerns like the Christian haunted house where Fred stages an impromptu protest. 

Something Positive is available at somethingpositive.net. Read from the first comic here.

Appeal: Sarcasm, cynicism, family relationships, adult relationships, work humor

Art: Realistic, it improves over time but the style is consistent. 

Text: Dark humor, conversational, mature

Other: R.K. Milholland writes two other comics: Super Stupor, a dark parody of superheroes, and Rhymes With Witch, watercolor illustrations of very dark children's cautionary tales. Both are available from somethingpositive.net.

Awards: Something Positive won the Web Cartoonists Choice Award for Outstanding Character Writing in 2005, and for Outstanding Dramatic Comic in 2006. 

Milholland, R.K. "Something Positive." somethingpositive.net. Web. 4 May 2014.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

Charlie captains the basketball team, tries to hide from his cheerleader ex-girlfriend, and avoids his mom's phone calls. His next door neighbor Nate leads the robot club, drives Charlie crazy, and tends to bite off more than he can chew. When the cheerleaders pit an unknowing Charlie against Nate in the race for class president, the competition escalates until it all ends in disaster for both the robot club and the cheerleaders: as punishment, the principal takes away all funding for both groups. Now the robotics club and the cheerleaders must team up to reach their goals, and they drag a reluctant Charlie along for the bumpy ride. It is available online at nothingcanpossiblygowrong.com.

Appeal: Humor, high school, good female characters, friendship, robots, cheerleaders

Art: Bold lines, expressive postures, gray scale

Text: Conversational, dramatic. Teenager dialogue, lots of arguing.

Other: Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong was originally serialized online, and was printed in 2013.

Awards: Faith Erin Hicks won a Joe Shuster Award for Favorite Creator - English Language Publication in 2008 for her work Zombies Calling.

Babymouse: Dragonslayer by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Babymouse: Dragonslayer

Babymouse is having trouble in math. None of the numbers make sense and even her big imagination isn't helping. Then her math teacher recruits her for the mathletes team, figuring that a little competition and some encouragement from her teammates will help Babymouse succeed. Together they learn about math, and come competition time, Babymouse uses her new skills along with her copious imagination to overcome the dragon that is mathematics.

Appeal: Imagination, good female characters, animals, math, overcoming obstacles in school

Art: Monochromatic, exaggerated, anthropomorphic

Text: Dramatic, fantastical

Other: Jennifer Holm was a television producer before she began writing children's books. Her other series the Stink Files, Squish, and Boston Jane.

Awards: Jennifer Holm has won three Newbery Honor Awards, for Turtle in Paradise, Our Only May Amelia, and Penny From Heaven.

Holm, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew. Babymouse: Dragonslayer. New York : Random House Children's Books, 2009. Print.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Drama

Callie loves theater-- her singing is terrible, but she has great ambitions for the sets onstage her middle school play. When two cute brothers become involved in the drama club, Callie finds herself in a whirl of crushes, misunderstandings, and confusing feelings. Callie likes one of the brothers, but does he like her back? Is one of the brothers gay? Why won't one annoying boy leave Callie alone? And how can she make the prop cannon work in the third act? This is a funny and light-hearted look at middle school drama that nonetheless treats the characters' troubles as important and worthy of consideration.

Appeal: Middle school, theater, good female characters, queer representation

Art: Bright, enthusiastic, expressive

Text: Simple, conversational. Almost no narration.

Other: Raina Telgemeier attended the School of Visual Arts, and has worked on graphic novels such as the Baby-Sitters Club series and X-Men: Misfits.

Awards: Raina Telgemeier won an Eisner Award and was honored by the Boston Globe-Horn Awards for her previous work, Smile.

Womanthology: Heroic edited by Renae De Liz

Womanthology: Heroic

More than 150 women comics creators come together in this anthology of short stories focusing on heroism. Heroes come in many forms, as do these stories. Characters save cats from trees, planets from invasion, and lives from ruin in these stories created by experienced professionals and brand new beginners. Creator information is given for every story, and a fantasy comic strip runs throughout the book in the margins.

Appeal: Superheroes, short stories, science fiction, fantasy, good female characters

Art: Varies widely by story, from Western to manga style and from professional to amateur

Text: Varies widely by story. Some are conversational, some dramatic, some mostly narrative

Other: The book was crowdfunded and published by IDW. The profits go to the Global Giving Foundation. A second volume, Womanthology: Space, was published in 2012.

De Liz, Renae, ed. Womanthology: Heroic. San Diego, CA : IDW, 2011. Print.

Ultra: Seven Days by Joshua Luna and Jonathan Luna

Ultra: Seven Days

In Ultra's world, superheroes are celebrities straddling the line between big business and law enforcement. One night Ultra (Pearl Penalosa) and her friends decide to have their fortunes told, and Pearl is told that she will find true love within a week. During her search for the right guy she encounters scandals, award ceremonies, exes, fights with friends, fights with supervillains, and fights with the Latino community. Pearl can only do her best to navigate a tricky world without going under. Articles from newspapers, magazines, and tabloids round out this fictional world.

Appeal: Good female characters, action, drama, friendship, superheroes, Latino representation

Text: Conversational, vernacular

Other: Created by sibling team Joshua and Jonathan Luna, who also wrote the horror comic Girls.

Luna, Joshua and Jonathan Luna. Ultra: Seven Days. Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2008. Print.

Amethyst (New 52 series)

Amethyst

American teenager Amy Winston's life is suddenly turned upside down one day when her mother reveals that she is a queen from another, more magical world, and that Amy is a powerful magical princess. Amy must learn to use her new powers to save Gemworld from her scheming aunt and other ambitious royals with the help of the House of Topaz and the House of Diamond, among others.

Appeal: Magical girl, fantasy, political intrigue, friendship, good female characters, high school plus.

Art: Beautiful, colorful, fantastical, and detailed. Conveys a sense of realism even when depicting magic.

Text: Expository, sarcastic (on Amy's part)

Other: The series was cancelled after 8 issues. Amethyst was animated as a series of shorts in 2013.

Marx, Christy. Lopresti, Aaron. Sword of Sorcery Vol. 1: Amethyst (The New 52). New York : DC Comics, 2013. Print.

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (1980s maxi-series)

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

American teenager Amy Winston discovers that she is a long lost princess from a magical land and that when she travels there, she becomes a grown woman. She must join her fellow royals, including Princess Emerald, Lady Turquoise, and Prince Garnet, to defeat Dark Opal and save Gemworld from his evil reign.

Appeal: Magical girl, fantasy, good female characters, all ages.

Art: The only available reprint is in black and white. The original art was colorful, calligraphic, and flowing. 

Text: Dramatic, fantastical

Other: The series was published first as a 12-issue maxiseries, then as an annual, an ongoing series, and again as a four-issue series. Amethyst appeared sporadically between 1986 and being rebooted in 2012. Amethyst was animated as a series of shorts in 2013.

Showcase Presents Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld 1. New Yokrk : DC Comics, c2012. Print.