Families come in all different forms, whether built through blood or choice, and each one is unique with its own customs, dynamics, and history. That complexity and diversity lends itself not only to stories that showcase those different forms, but also fitting into a wide range of genres.
Multi-generational families, found families, crime families, and even superhero families — so many of them have been represented across all types of media, including comic books.
My six picks this month showcase a range of family relations across a variety of genres, including contemporary fiction, superheroes, comedy, fantasy, and horror. After diving into these, be sure to check out our curated All in the Family reading list for an even bigger assortment of family tales.
Middle Grade
Kyle’s Little Sister by BonHyung Jeong (Yen Press)
Since the moment she was born, Grace was destined to be nothing more than Kyle’s little sister. Not only is she nothing like her charismatic big brother, she doesn’t even like him! To add further complication, her best friend Jay has a crush on Kyle, and their social groups are newly mashed into the same school.
While Grace tries not to get involved with Kyle, her friend Amy pushes Jay to flirt with him. The well-meaning manipulation causes a fight between the girls, who go into a long period of not speaking. Meanwhile, Grace makes a new friend in Cam, and while she’s relieved to not eat lunch alone anymore, Grace grows increasingly concerned about Cam’s mean girl behavior. Is her newfound popularity worth going against what she knows is right?
While the middle school social scene will be of interest to readers of the same age, I found the family interactions between Grace, Kyle, and their parents to be of particular interest. Having no siblings myself, it’s interesting to see two such different kids being raised under the same roof interact, perpetually ignoring and/or fighting with each other. Despite this being their default, Kyle’s big brother instincts prevail when he finally intervenes to save the girls’ friendship.
Writer-illustrator BonHyung Jeong has created a realistic and interesting story, and fans of popular titles list Svetlana Chmakova’s Crush will enjoy this melodramatic slice of middle school (and family) life.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Elementary, Middle School, Children’s Public Library, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Family Time Collection by Lily Windom, Robert Windom, and Asiah Fulmore (Ablaze)
When siblings Lily and Tyler O’Connell, along with their workaholic parents Robert and Lauren, arrive for their vacation in Ireland, their airport shuttle driver acts way too familiar. The family shakes it off upon seeing the authentic castle they will be staying in. While the parents fuss over WiFi access and cell phone reception, the kids put together a crystal puzzle. Once Jack completes it, the entire family is transported back one thousand years, even running into the younger version of their shuttle driver, Rory. But how is this possible?
While the parents insist on believing this is all an elaborate reenactment, the danger they face becomes too real as the medieval tyrant Ciaran plans to keep them locked in his dungeon indefinitely. Can the family band together and escape before they destroy both the past and their modern lives?
The father/daughter tandem of Robert and Lily Windom take an interesting approach to showcasing the O’Connell family’s relationships by dropping their contemporary family into a semi-historical and fantastical setting. We see this as the siblings take charge for their absent-minded parents, forcing them to collaborate in a way they clearly aren’t used to.
Asiah Fulmore’s artwork is fun and age-appropriate, depicting a fantasy world that pairs well with the Windoms’ narrative, making for a fun read for middle graders and general fantasy enthusiasts.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Elementary, Middle School, Children’s Public Library, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Teens
Baby Blues: BEDLAM by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott (Andrews McMeel)
This collection of Baby Blues comic strips is part of a series based on the syndicated comic strip about the MacPherson family, which first debuted in 1990, and even had a short-lived television spin-off. Despite not being the most contemporary take on families, Baby Blues has many examples of life with kids that remain universally relatable, like arguments over room cleaning, stress over impressing Santa Claus, and parental date nights. Standout moments range from funny — cleaning out the light fixture to find it full of uneaten dinner peas (my father used to secretly spit peas into the bushes as a child) — to sweet — like mom Wanda and baby Wren deciding “cookies” are the answer to where they should begin the day’s list of accomplishments.
Not only are the MacPherson’s stories amusing, there’s a fun nostalgic element in a comic that has been in the funny papers for so long. The creators take care to age up characters and expand the family over time, keeping it relevant and semi-realistic throughout the years.
Any entry in the huge catalog of Baby Blues comics makes for light-hearted reading for any age, and Baby Blues: BEDLAM is innocent escapism at its best.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Middle School, High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Young Adult
Invincible Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman and Corey Walker (Image Comics)
Imagine having adjusted to life with a superhero father only to have him one day announce that you too are destined to gain superpowers…probably. This is the information that was dropped on Mark Grayson, son of Nolan, a.k.a. Omni-Man, an extraterrestrial superhero possessing great strength and powers who was born on the planet Viltrum.
As the first volume in a very popular series, the story involves the Grayson family’s origin while simultaneously unfolding a mystery about missing teenagers. Due to his half-human status, it’s unknown if Mark will ever be as powerful as his father, but he enjoys his newfound abilities while balancing the intricacies of high school life.
Having not previously read Invincible or watched the television show, I was curious about its popularity. While this certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen a superhero family attempt to balance contemporary life with their superhero responsibilities, there are nuances unique to the Grayson clan. One example is the humor derived from their family dinners where their “How was your day?” conversations are anything but typical!
While the series adds deeper layers as it progresses — including sexual assault, increased violence, and bitter betrayals — volume one is a serviceable introduction for interested older teens. Included back matter details the origin and editorial process with accompanying artwork as the initial design progressed, serving as a nice behind-the-scenes for new and revisiting Invincible fans alike.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Essex County by Jeff Lemire (IDW)
Jeff Lemire’s collected trilogy focuses on characters whose lives have crossed paths in Essex County — a small county in Ontario, Canada. “Tales from the Farm” opens with a quiet kid named Lester who goes to live with his uncle Kenny on a farm after losing his mother to cancer. The kids at his new school bully him for wearing a cape, but in the evenings he enjoys reading comics and drawing superheroes. Lester strikes up a friendship with former NHL hockey player, Jimmy, despite uncle Ken’s insisting Jimmy stay away from Lester.
Lemire dives into this dynamic more in “Ghost Stories” and “The County Nurse,” which follow other characters over several decades in Essex County. Each tale eventually weaves together to reveal a shared family history and the interconnectedness of the small community. At the center of it all is a love of hockey, which is “like family…it won’t let you go no matter how long you’ve been away.” The stories build and intertwine, eventually coming full circle back to Lester and his Uncle Kenny.
Lemire’s minimalist black-and-white artwork establishes the melancholy tone of the intertwined stories without the characters having to expressly say anything specific, thanks to his subtle depiction of body language and facial expressions, and use of blank space.
Essex County includes these three longer tales plus two additional shorter stories that weren’t previously published. It’s a quietly beautiful collection of realistic family narratives that young adult and adult readers will enjoy — if they’re in the mood for something melancholy.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Adult
Lot 13 by Steve Niles and Glenn Fabry (Dark Horse)
It is 1670 in Fairfax County, VA, and the Wyatt family is on trial. Their patriarch has committed suicide, an unforgivable sin in the religious community, and they are ultimately sentenced to a gruesome death for his transgressions. In modern times, a family of five is moving to a new home, only to have to check into an apartment turned into a very haunted hotel for the night. Immediately, each family member starts experiencing their own horrors as terrifying and restless undead spirits make themselves known.
The family must put aside their interpersonal grievances and focus on appeasing the spirits of the Wyatt family if they don’t want to join the tortured afterworld buried under lot 13.
The plot moves fast in Lot 13, as if the reader slipped on a panel of gore and goo, and slid all the way into the bloody conclusion. There are homages to classic horror stories, most obvious among them is The Shining. Glenn Fabry’s dark, detailed and creepy illustrations are the real star of this title for horror fans, while Steve Niles makes the classic horror setup feel fresh through the characters, both living and dead.
Due to its subject matter, violence, gore, and depictions of sexual assault, this is firmly a comic for informed adults, and one that horror fans should appreciate. It’s a great example of how the family that slays together, stays together!
- Comics Plus Collection: Full Collection
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Moni Barrette, MLIS is the Director, Collection Development for LibraryPass, as well as former President of American Library Association’s Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table, and co-founder of the nonprofit Creators, Assemble! Inc. As a former public library manager, Moni won the California Library Association PRExcellence Award (2018 & 2019) for library events aimed at underserved adult library users and has proven success using comics to increase library circulation. In 2025, she was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker. Moni is a frequent panelist at San Diego and New York Comic Con, San Diego Comic Fest and Wonder-Con, hosting industry networking events and providing instruction to educators and librarians..
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