Friendship-Driven Fantasy Comics for Fans of 'Paper Girls'

written by Brian K. Vaughan; art by Cliff Chiang

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this series about time travel, nostalgia, and the last days of childhood.

by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent aching for his dad’s attention and approval. Eli Hirsch is a quiet boy with a chronic autoimmune disorder that has ravaged his health and social life. What happens when these two become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more...) in the spooky town of Blackwater, Maine? Werewolf curses, unsavory interactions with the quarterback of the football team, a ghostly fisherman haunting the harbor, and tons of high school drama.

written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall; illustrations by Lisa Sterle

When new girl Becca is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique, she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret, either. Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs. But then things get complicated. 

by Carmen Maria Machado; art by Dani

Shudder-to-Think, Pennsylvania, is plagued by a mysterious illness that eats away at the memories of those affected by it. El and Octavia are two best friends who find themselves the newest victims of this disease after waking up in a movie theater with no memory of the past few hours. As El and Vee dive deeper into the mystery behind their lost memories, they realize the stories of their town hold more dark truth than they could've imagined.

created & written by John Allison; illustrated by Lissa Treiman

Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, 'personal experimentation," influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of 'academia," they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive. 

created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Noelle Stevenson

Best friends Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley spend a fun summer at Lumberjane scout camp where they encounter yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons while solving a mystery that holds the fate of the world in the balance.

by James Tynion IV

On October 16, 2013, 437 students, 52 teachers, and 24 additional staff from Bay Point Preparatory High School in suburban Milwaukee, WI vanished without a trace. Countless light years away, far outside the bounds of the charted universe, 513 people find themselves in the middle of an ancient, primordial wilderness. Where are they? Why are they there? The answers will prove stranger than anyone could possibly imagine.

written by James Tynion IV; illustrated by Rian Sygh

When Jory transfers to an all-boys private high school, he's taken in by the only ones who don't treat him like a new kid, the lowly stage crew known as the Backstagers. Not only does he gain great, lifetime friends, Jory is also introduced to an entire magical world that lives beyond the curtain. With the unpredictable twists and turns of the underground world, the Backstagers venture into the unknown, determined to put together the best play their high school has ever seen.

by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Teaming up with fellow misfits in her new hometown, an aspiring young artist fights suburban apathy using rebellious works of art, in a compilation that includes the first two graphic-novel series installments, The Plain Janes and Janes in Love, plus a never-before-seen third story, "Janes Attack Back."

by Benji Nate

Sissy and Lola are best friends, next-door neighbors, and now... murder solvers? When Sissy picks up a lost flip-phone and follows the instructions from the stranger on the other line, she and Lola are flung into an investigation of a grisly crime. With each new phone call, the girls are dug deeper into a conspiracy that threatens their lives—and possibly their friendship. But with no way to escape the dreaded calls, the only way out is to unravel the mystery

created and written by Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith and Kurt Lustgarten; illustrated by Naomi Franquiz

Smothered by her backwater hometown and frustrated by its 1980s cult-movie fame (The Gloomies...have you seen it?), Wilder is pretty sure she's seen everything Cannon Cove has to offer. She's desperate to get away from home as soon as she can even if that might mean leaving her best friends behind. But when Wilder discovers a centuries-old pirate map, she may find out that REAL adventure was in their tiny town all along...and they need each other to get to the bottom of it.

written by Grant Morrison and Alex Child; illustrated by Naomi Franquiz

August, Rylee, Cora, and Jennie have organized a tour with their classmates on the most haunted, demon-infested stretch of road in America to fund attending the concert of their dreams, but when their visit turns deadly, these four friends race to rescue the missing students.