Who doesn’t love summer reading — it’s that time of the year when you get to kick back and enjoy books in the company of sandy beaches, porches with rocking chairs, lemonade, and perhaps even a hiking trip!  (Unless you’re in publishing, that is, in which case you spend much of the summer running around conventioning with little time to read things even while you are in not-so-balmy summer NYC.)

Here are some of our favorite summer graphic novels.

Whiteout, by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber

Who doesn’t want to read a story about howling blizzards in the middle of the summer?  No one, that’s who.

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno

This is a lovely pastoral story with cute, engaging art that’s also about nuclear warfare.  Your go-to summer issues book!

The Walking Man, by Jiro Taniguchi

This book is about a guy who walks around town.  Yup, that’s all he does.  No vampires, no aliens, just quiet summertime routine and thoughts.

The Summer of Love, by Debbie Dreschler

You know how you want your own personal summer of love to be?  NOT LIKE THIS.  This is your teen-angst + horrible decisions version.

Stinky, by Eleanor Davis

This book is wonderful!  It is like a book in which there is an imaginary friend, but the imaginary friend is real!  Also there is exploring in the woods, a perfect summer activity.

Sharknife, by Corey Lewis

What’s more summery than sharks — those monstrous hyper-sensitive killing machines?  Corey Lewis’ shark has yet to actually make an appearance in this series, but it metaphysically permeates the story.

(I am aware that most sharks are not monstrous hyper-sensitive killing machines.  For some reason, those are never the sharks I dream about.)

Brain Camp, by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, and Faith Erin Hicks

The creepiest summer camp story of possibly ever!  Please make a note to never attend Camp Fielding yourselves.

A.L.I.E.E.E.N., by Lewis Trondheim

What’s better in the summer than a romp through pastoral alien-land?

Happy reading!