From the Book to the Little Screen—Popular Literature, Webcomic Format
Brigid Alverson -- School Library Journal, 9/16/2009
One of the delights of reading fiction is getting lost in the story. So one way to encourage readers to explore webcomics is to find those that are a good fit with teen’s favorite novels. Robin Brenner, the teen librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts, sat down with me recently to do a little mixing and matching. What we discovered is that while webcomics and YA fiction don't exactly line up with one another, online comics can provide some new avenues for readers who want to branch out a little.
For instance, while the web is a vast place, I have yet to turn up a professional, teen-friendly webcomic that would scratch the same itch as the “Twilight” series. For those who can't get enough of vampires, though, Gisele Lagace's Eerie Cuties is a high school take on the genre (left), and Dylan Meconis's Bite Me is a cheeky vampire adventure set in the French Revolution. Both are more funny than moody.
Readers looking for impossible love with a supernatural twist might try Lora Innes's The Dreamer, a time-travel romance along the lines of Caroline B. Cooney's “Time Traveler Quartet.” It's the story of a modern high school girl who is swept back in time to the Revolutionary War—and into the arms of a handsome soldier—every night in her dreams.
Fans of Jenny Davidson's The Explosionist and Kenneth Oppel's Airborn may enjoy the world of Girl Genius, a light-hearted steampunk comedy/adventure. Sydney Padua's “Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage” comics (left) are witty takes on real historical figures, and Lea Hernandez's short story “Cathedral Child” entwines romance and a cathedral-size Victorian computer in a Southwestern setting. 
T Campbell and Gisele Lagaces' Penny and Aggie (now being drawn by Jason Waltrip) is a high school comedy along the lines of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson stories and E. Lockhart's “Ruby Oliver” series.
Sherrie Smith's Flygirl is the story of an African-American woman who wants to become a pilot during World War II. Braden Lamb and Vincent LaBate's Kitty Hawk evokes a similar period atmosphere with a lighter, more action-oriented story of an adventuresome female pilot set in the 1930s.
Finally, because comic books are books too, Tintin fans may want to check out The Adventures of Ellie Connelly, which has a similar look and story type, while superhero fans won’t want to miss Love and Capes (link added 9/20/09), a superhero romantic comedy. Neil Kleid and Paul Salvi's Action, Ohio, set in a weird town in the Midwest, is an alternative take on the whole superhero myth (at right).
