A new volume of The Adventure Zone headlines First Second Books' adult offerings in Summer 2021, while the top middle-grade graphic novel is likely to be Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham’s Friends Forever, which will have a first printing of 1 million copies, according to Publishers Weekly. Here’s a look at what the publisher has planned for the second half of 2021.
Middle Grade and Young Adult Graphic Novels
All middle-grade titles are rated for ages 8-12 unless otherwise noted.
Friends Forever, by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham: Real Friends, the pair’s first graphic novel, was one of BookScan’s top 20 graphic novels for 2017 (see “
Full Year 2017 BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels”), and they followed it up with
Best Friends in 2019 (see “
First Second to Publish ‘Best Friends’ in August”), which also sold well. All three books are based on Hale’s experiences in middle school, and
Friends Forever brings her to eighth grade, where she has to deal with peer pressure and depression. This book is intended for slightly older readers than the first two and is rated for ages 10-14. First Second will publish it on August 31 in two formats, a hardcover with an MSRP of $21.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $12.99.
Other Boys, by Damian Alexander: Alexander’s debut graphic novel deals with bullying, the death of his mother, and coming out as gay, which is a lot for any seventh-grader to have on his plate. Damian decides he’ll just stay quiet, so as to fly under the bullies’ radar, but it’s not as simple as that, especially after he realizes he’s attracted to one of them. The book, rated for ages 10-14, will be published on September 7 as a hardcover with an MSRP of $21.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $14.99.
Himawari House, by Harmony Becker: Becker, who was the artist for George Takei’s memoir
They Called Us Enemy, takes a foray into young adult fiction with a story about three foreign exchange students living together and attending school in Tokyo. Each comes with a different goal and faces different challenges as they learn to adapt to life in Japan and the issues in their own personal lives. Rated for ages 14-18, Himawari House will be published on September 14 as a hardcover with an MSRP of $24.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $17.99.
Marshmallow & Jordan, by Alina Chau: A wheelchair-bound former basketball player learns forges a new life with the help of a mysterious white elephant. Jordan was the star of her school’s team until she was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident. While she is still the captain, her new friend Marshmallow helps her learn a new sport, water polo, and ultimately how to navigate the distance between her old and new lives. Slated for release on October 5, the book will be available as a hardcover with an MSRP of $22.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $15.99.
Horse Trouble, by Kristin Varner: Horses aren’t the problem for Kate; it’s everything else that’s going wrong. She loves her riding lessons, but her best friend, the only one who really gets her, is allergic to horses, and the other girls at the stable are mean and tease her about her weight. And she keeps falling off her horse. This relatable slice-of-middle-school-life graphic novel will be published on October 12 as a hardcover with an MSRP of $21.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $12.99.
New books in existing series include
Julia’s House Goes Home, the last of Ben Hatke’s trilogy of picture books, which will be published on September 28 as a hardcover with an MSRP of $18.99;
InvestiGators: Ants in Our P.A.N.T.S., the fourth volume of John Patrick Green’s series, due out as a hardcover with an MSRP of $9.99;
Blue, Barry & Pancakes: Danger on Mount Choco, the third volume of Dan & Jason’s early-readers (ages 4-8) series, on January 4, 2022, as a hardcover with an MSRP of $12.99; and
The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web, the third volume of Drew Weing’s spooky-funny series, to be published on October 26 as a hardcover with an MSRP of $15.99.
Other planned releases include
Science Comics: Whales (September 7) and
Maker Comics: Conduct a Science Experiment (November 16), both paperbacks with an MSRP of $12.99. Two boxed sets are slated for October release:
The Mighty Jack Trilogy Boxed Set, by Ben Hatke (October 19, $44.97) and
The Science Comics Boxed Set: The Solar System, The Brain, and Robots and Drones (October 19, $38.97).
Adult Graphic Novels
The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom, by writers Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and writer and artist Carey Pietsch: The first volume of this series was a chart-topping success, and the next two had pretty good sales as well. In this fourth volume, our heroes head off in search of a Midas-like stone that turns everything it touches to pink crystal; the stone is in a floating lab and if it crashes to earth, the entire planet will look like rock candy. The book goes on sale on July 13 in two formats, a hardcover with an MSRP of $27.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $19.99.
Free Speech Handbook, by writer Ian Rosenberg and artist Mike Cavallaro: This volume of First Second’s World Citizen Comics looks at the evolution of the American notion of freedom of speech, how it works, and how it may change, using Supreme Court cases and current events to construct a practical framework for its defenders. The hardcover volume will be released on September 14 with an MSRP of $28.99.
The Golden Age, Book 2, by Roxane Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa: This is the second volume of the fantasy series, which is co-written by Moreil and Pedrosa and illustrated by Pedrosa. It will be released as a hardcover on October 26 with an MSRP of $29.99.
