Can comic books save the world? First Second Books, publisher of original graphic novels for all ages, has announced a new line aimed at doing just that. Detailed in an EW announcement, World Citizen Comics will put out a series of books aimed at informing and inspiring readers young and old on how to become the activists of tomorrow. The opening slate of books will feature new and adapted works that cover topics like the Constitution, news media and its influence on voters and consumers, and what it means to be a citizen.
Here’s the full list of titles and creators:
- What Unites Us, written by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner, with art by Tim Foley
- Citizen Journalist, written and illustrated by Seth Abramson, with consultation from Scott McCloud
- The Fault Lines in the Constitution, written by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson and illustrated by Ally Shwed
- The Media Adventurer’s Handbook, written and illustrated by Melissa Hart
- Breaking (the) News, written by Jennifer L. Pozner and illustrated by Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb
- Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy, written by Dan Newman and illustrated by George O’Connor
- Re-Constitution, written by Beka Feathers and illustrated by Kasia Babis
What Unites Us and The Fault Lines in the Constitution are both adaptations of existing non-fiction books, while the others are new books written by journalists and constitutional scholars.
A line of non-fiction social studies graphic novels may sound like homework, and in the EW article First Second creative and editorial director Mark Siegel acknowledges that:
“If it’s like a tasteless soup labeled ‘this is good for you,’ it doesn’t work,” Siegel says. “So yes, these books need to shine with great comics art [and] compelling stories … I see a great many young people who are hungry for quality, for understanding, and who want to set things right with this world they’ve inherited.”
First Second has a pretty solid track record of putting out quality books, and this is an interesting expansion of their line into some new territory. Check out the full article over at EW for more info from Siegel, as well as short previews of the seven announced titles. Look for the first title, Unrig, in stores in March of 2020.
