"Graphic novels -- or, as I prefer to think of them, comic books with certain literary pretensions -- have in recent years established themselves as an unexpected literary medium in which to explore powerful subject matter. While the comics medium includes the spectrum of genres that traditional prose publishing offers -- crime fiction, science fiction, fantasy, historical romance et al. -- it seems to be finding its footing, and literary credibility, with serious explorations of geopolitical, autobiographical and historical events: Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi's memoir of the Iranian revolution, Joe Sacco's war reportage in Palestine or Guy Delisle's diary of North Korea.

It's a further irony that in a medium stereotyped with one-dimensional, male-centric superheroes and science-fiction fantasy, this summer's strongest titles deal with true stories ripped from the headlines (past and present) -- and many of them are by women. Even more notably, many of them are debut graphic novels, from new comics imprints or from debut comics imprints from larger general publishers, or new independent comics publishers."