All Ages has a post about the latest project coming from Scholastic’s Graphix line, Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet. I think librarians looking for quality comics for kids should be paying attention to the Graphix line, Scholastic really seems to be putting together a great bunch of graphic novels.

I think everyone’s doing the 5 Desert Island comics meme, so I will too.

1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki – An epic series about a Princess living in a world with an incredibly damaged ecosystem, and her journey as she tries to protect her people. It has very detailed art, and need I mention the giant insects?!!

2. Zot! by Scott McCloud – I’m totally coping Johanna on this one, but I think Zot! was the first black and white comic that I started buying. It also was one of the first books that I read that was produced by a writer/artist. I think I started reading Zot with the 14 1/2 issue, which I bought because I thought it was crazy that an all stick figure comic was being published. Then I picked up the regular issues and became addicted to reading the adventures of Jenny Weaver and her “not boyfriend” Zot from another dimension. This was one of the few comics I was reading at the time where I thought the teenage characters actually acted like teenagers.

3. Mage by Matt Wagner – I do enjoy this modern retelling of the King Arthur legend. Kevin Matchstick may be a Mary Sue, but I like the way the character changes and evolves. Where’s the third part of the story though? This was the series that got me back into buying comics again after a long absence when I was in grad school. Now I think of how much money I spend on comics every month, and maybe it would have been better if I hadn’t rushed out and bought an issue of Mage: The Hero Defined when I realized that it was being published again.

4. Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden by Yu Watase – It is tough to pick just one title by Watase, but since this is coming out right now it’s the series I’m most excited about. Takiko is a suitably spunky heroine, and even though the story line will be predictable – girl goes on a quest to gather warriors together and save the world while dealing with romantic entanglements – I think the character development, art, and humor will make this series fun to read.

5. Sandman by Neil Gaiman- This is a series I like to reread every couple of years, and I think there are worse fates than being trapped on a desert island with a stack of Sandman graphic novels.

Some titles that almost made the list: X-Men, Planetary, Legend of Basara, and Hot Gimmick. I was trying to pick the titles that I thought would most likely distract me from being without air conditioning on a desert island. Other titles might be more critically acclaimed, but the ones that made my list are comfort reading for me.