Static Shock: Trial by Fire by Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington

Virgil Hawkins is a smart, smart-mouthed high schooler trying to date his best friend and avoid making the bad choices available at every turn. He's also Static, a superhero with electricity powers, trying to defend his neighborhood against superpowered punks. Static uses science and wit to defeat bad guys, but Virgil can't seem to catch a break in love, at home, or on the streets.

Appeal: Black representation, superheroes, growing up, high school

Art: Rough, stylized line, distinctive 90s color palette

Text: Conversational, vernacular, scientific

Other: Static Shock was originally published from 1993 to 1996, and became part of the DC Comics universe in 2008. Static Shock was adapted into an animated television show in 2000.

Awards: In 2003 Dwayne McDuffie won the Humanitas Prize for Children's Animation for the Static Shock episode "Jimmy", which deals with gun violence.

McDuffie, Dwayne and Robert L. Washington. Static Shock!: Trial By Fire. New York, NY : DC Comics, 2000. Print.

W Juliet by Emura

W Juliet

Ito Miura wants to be an actor. She's in her high school's drama club, and puts her family training as a martial artist to good use on stage. Makoto Amano wants to be an actor too, but as the only son in his family, he is obligated to run the family dojo. Makoto's father will only allow Makoto to become an actor if he can use his acting skills to successfully impersonate a girl for the two years remaining until high school graduation. 

Naturally, Ito finds out Makoto's secret on the first day of school. Now Ito and Makoto have to hide all sorts of secrets from friends and family, especially after they start dating! Together they must work hard to become better actors and to avoid the obstacles that block their path. This is a touching, realistic, and humorous look at family relationships, working toward a dream, and dealing with uncertainties and insecurities about the future.

Appeal: Action, intrigue, family relationships, theater, drama, high school girls, first relationships, romance, humor

Art: Clean lines, grayscale, character-focused, emotional

Text: Conversational, intimate

Other: W Juliet was originally published in Japan from 1999 to 2003. It has also been adapted into a series of drama CDs.

Emura, William Flanagan, and Mark McMurray. W Juliet. San Francisco : Viz, 2004. Print.

T-Minus: The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani, Zander Cannon, and Kevin Cannon

T-Minus: The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani, Zander Cannon, and Kevin Cannon

This is the space race between Russia and the United States from the early 1900s until the moon landing, thoroughly researched and distilled into a gripping 60-year story. The story skillfully depicts triumphs and tragedies of scientific breakthroughs and failures. Sidebars add extra information, and suspenseful countdown tells the reader how much time is left until the big moment: first in years, then in days, and finally in seconds. End matter includes some primary sources and and extensive bibliography.

Appeal: Science, the space race, Russia, history, United States. middle school plus

Art: Realistic, understated. Black and white with a rigid panel structure. 

Text: Dense, expository, informative

Other: Writer Jim Ottaviani has written several other non-fiction graphic novels, including Feynman, Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love, and Suspended in Language: Niels Bohr's Life, Discoveries, and the Century He Shaped.  Artists Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon have illustrated several other non-fiction graphic novels, including Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth and The Stuff of Life.

Awards: Ottaviani won a Xeric Foundation award in 1997 for his work Two-Fisted Science: Stories About Scientists.

Ottaviani, Jim, Zander Cannon, and Kevin Cannon. T-minus: The Race To The Moon. New York : Aladdin, 2009. Print.

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wick

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas

The intertwined stories of three primatologists recruited by Richard Leakey to study apes in the wild. Leakey recruited these woman based on their aptitude, interest, and gender, as Leakey thought that women made better field observers than men. The book covers parts of the careers of each primatologist: Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees in Tanzania, Dian Fossey studied gorillas in Rwanda, and Birute Galdikas learned about orangutans in Borneo.

Appeal: Primates, animals, historical, science, educational, women in STEM, middle school plus.

Art: Realistic, with depth and emotion

Text: Expository, narrative

Other: Jim Ottaviani has written several non-fiction comics on topics such as Richard Feynman, the space race, and Niels Bohr. Maris Wicks has illustrated children's books and the Adventure Time monthly comic.

Awards: Primates had a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, and won a National Science Teachers Association Award for Outstanding Science Trade Book in 2014.

Ottaviani, Jim. Wicks, Maris. Primates: The Fearless Science Of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, And Biruté Galdikas. New York : First Second, 2013. Print.

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.

The Invincible Iron Man (1963)

Iron Man

Tony Stark, millionaire industrialist, was kidnapped and injured while demonstrating weapons in Vietnam. He built a suit of mechanized armor to escape, and now he fights crime as Iron Man while running his company under the guise of a carefree playboy. He battles avatars of communism such as the Crimson Dynamo and Black Widow, as well as independent villains like the Mandarin. 

Appeal: Science fiction, adventure, action, drama, superheroes

Art: Clean detail, sometimes static in non-action scenes, dramatic.

Text: Scientific, dramatic

Other: Iron Man originally appeared in Tales of Suspense in 1963. It has been adapted into animated televison shows, live-action movies, and novels.

Lee, Stan. Heck, Don. Colan, Gene. Field, Tom. Iron Man. New York : Marvel Comics : 2004. Print. Volumes 3 and 4.