This guide is a sampling of the Graphic Novel collection available at Bass Library, as well as other titles of note around Yale University Library.
Here you will find resources to help you locate and learn more about graphic novels with diversity themes, such gender and sexuality, race, ethnicity and culture, health, psychology, and history and criticism. There is intersectionality within each of these categories, so we encourage you to browse between them.
Use the tabs above to browse a sampling of these titles and to learn how to find other, similar titles.
Help us add to our collection by submitting your favorite graphic novel, comic, or manga by or about a person of color to bit.ly/rrpyale. If we do not already own a title that you recommend, we will consider it for purchase!
See also: The Reading Resilience Project.
Alfonso can't wait to play the role of Hamlet, but as he is buying his suit an off-duty police officer shoots Alfonso. Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife on a ghost train guided by well-known victims of police shootings. #Black #BlackAuthor
Puerto Rico Strong is a comics anthology that explores what it means to be Puerto Rican and the diversity that exists within that concept, from today's most exciting Puerto Rican comics creators. #Ethnicity #Culture
When All Jin Wang's family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese-American student at his school. #Ethnicity #Culture #Chinese #American
In a world that already hates and fears them - what if only Black people had superpowers. After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. #BlackAuthor
The life of a transgender woman, based on the author's experiences, thoughts, emotions, struggles, and interpersonal interactions, as well as the practical and medical aspects of gender transition. #transgender #LGBTQAI
A far-reaching look at how masculinity and femininity have been represented in American superhero comics, from the Golden and Silver Ages to the Modern Age. #History #Criticism
This graphic novel offers an engaging and accessible insight into the lives and minds of women on the autism spectrum, using real-life case studies.
A graphic novel based on the life and death of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an 11-year-old gang member from Chicago's Southside who was killed by his own gang members. #Black #BlackAuthor
This guide includes sample and recommended titles of graphic novel's in Bass Library and around other Yale Library locations. If you want to find graphic novels based on your research or personal interests, try these methods:
Subject search: In Quicksearch Books+, use the drop-menu for "Subject" to conduct a subject search. General subjects for graphic novels include "Graphic novels" and "Comic books, strips, etc.," but you can refine these subjects in Advanced Search by adding keywords, like "Marvel," "women," and "psychology" to name a few.
On this guide, you will also find suggested linked subjects to help you identify other similar titles, such as "Lesbians > Comic books, strips, etc." and "African Americans > Comic books, strips, etc."
This guide was based on the "Diversity in Graphic Novels and Comics" guide by Melanie Hughes at Indiana University Southeast Library. Thank you, Melanie!