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It’s almost Earth Day! If you’re like me, you live on Earth and have a vested interest in keeping it nice. The graphic novels listed below feature characters who share that conviction–and who risk all to do something about it.
I know we’re all a little on edge these days, so I’ve split this list in two. The first half focuses on more light-hearted stories about the beauty of nature and the importance of maintaining balance. The second half features darker stories about the urgency and consequences of climate change and environmental destruction.
Whichever category you pick, I hope it makes your Earth Day more meaningful.
Gentle Graphic Novels About Nature
Aquicorn Cove by K. O’Neill
After a storm damages her hometown, Lana nurses an injured aquicorn–a magical sea animal–back to health. But to keep all the aquicorns and their community safe in the long term, Lana will have to get to the source of the destructive storms that threaten them.
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Little Monarchs by Jonathan Case
In this lively post-apocalyptic tale, Elvie is one of just two humans who can still tolerate sunlight. The rest of humanity is forced to hide underground during the day. Can she and her guardian use science and their love of the beautiful monarch butterfly to develop a cure for their fellow survivors?
The Sprite and the Gardener by Rii Abrego and Joe Whitt
Before humans created their own walled-off gardens, sprites did all of the work of bringing flowers into the light. Today, no sprite bothers to garden. That is, until Wisteria, a curious young sprite, decides to give it a shot, with unexpected consequences.
Serious Graphic Novels About the Environment
Crude by Pablo Fajardo, Sophie Tardy-Joubert, and Damien Roudeau, translated by Hannah Chute
This graphic memoir relates the David-and-Goliath battle between Indigenous Ecuadorians, led by oil worker-turned-lawyer Fajardo, and Texaco, the massive American oil company destroying the land that the Indigenous people and others have long depended on.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, Adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings
The award-winning graphic adaptation of Butler’s dystopian classic portrays a world ravaged by environmental catastrophe. Lauren is at first sheltered from the grim realities of life. But when she is forced to confront humanity’s dire predicament head-on, she comes up with a startling idea to lead them out of the quagmire.
Rewild by Devin Grayson and Yana Adamovic
Humanity has brought the planet to the brink of destruction, and the supernatural creatures we share the Earth with have had enough. Can Demond, a regular human, appease the angry creatures as commanded, or is it already too late?
Want even more books that make for good Earth Day reading? You’ll want to check out these manga with environmental themes. Open to reading on this theme outside of comics? Here’s a big ole Earth Day reading list.
