Here are 77 books that SpiderMan's Social Dilemma fans have personally recommended if you like
SpiderMan's Social Dilemma.
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As someone who was both a funny kid and a lover of superheroes, it was
always exciting to find a book where those two things crossed paths.
In the young readers' books I’ve written for Marvel and DC Comics, I
always try to inject humor where I can. Humor can be healing. If I
couldn’t laugh, especially about things that have caused me pain, I
don’t know that I would be around today. I love books about funny,
sensitive kids with big hearts. The world is a cold place sometimes,
but whenever I see a young person making positive change and having
fun along the way, it reminds me that anything is possible.
Riley Mays is a little weirdo. I say that with love! I was also a little weirdo when I was her age. And, just like a lot of little weirdos around the world, her peers don’t always “get her,” which can be tough since she’s desperate to fit in. Been there too, girl.
What I admire about Riley is that, after some consternation, she slowly sheds her insecurities and dives head-first into being her truest self. It’s terrifying, exhilarating, and not without complications! But Riley’s sense of humor keeps her afloat, which, as any fan of comedy will tell you, is the key to survival.
It’s the sweetest feeling in the world to find your people. Author Rachel Elliot shows us how to do it.
A Stonewall Book Award Honor * A Sid Fleishman Humor Award Honor
Funny and full of heart, this debut graphic novel is a story about friendship, identity, and embracing all the parts of yourself that make you special.
Fifth grade is just not Riley's vibe. Everyone else is squaded up-except Riley. Her best friend moved away. All she wants to do is draw, and her grades show it.
One thing that makes her happy is her favorite comedian, Joy Powers. Riley loves to watch her old shows and has memorized her best jokes. So when the class is assigned to…
As someone who was both a funny kid and a lover of superheroes, it was
always exciting to find a book where those two things crossed paths.
In the young readers' books I’ve written for Marvel and DC Comics, I
always try to inject humor where I can. Humor can be healing. If I
couldn’t laugh, especially about things that have caused me pain, I
don’t know that I would be around today. I love books about funny,
sensitive kids with big hearts. The world is a cold place sometimes,
but whenever I see a young person making positive change and having
fun along the way, it reminds me that anything is possible.
Just when I thought there were no great leaders anymore, here comes Mayor Good Boy.
With this series, Dave Scheidt and Miranda Harmon have cornered the market on sweet, funny, and heart-warming. It’s got a high-concept family sitcom energy that is so pure in the best way. A highlight for me is the friendship between Abby and Aaron (and not just because I share their love of comics). How they support and encourage one another makes the world a better place. And the Mayor himself is an absolute hoot.
There are silly moments and potty humor, but there’s also depth. This story left me feeling all warm and fuzzy, which is a big plus in my book. A vote for Mayor Good Boy is a vote not wasted.
Goodbye politics! Goodbye stardom! Mayor Good Boy is turning over a new leaf and this time...he's going BAD! Maybe even...bad to the bone.
Mayor Good Boy might not be as GOOD as the town of Greenwood thought. In fact, it turns out that Abby and Aaron's favorite very good boy might actually have been...A BAD BOY this whole time?!
Everyone's favorite dog mayor is back in this hilarious graphic novel series featuring all-new hijinx and all-new fun!
"Mayor Good Boy will make you sit, stay, and roll over with laughter!" -- John Patrick Green, creator of the New York Times…
As someone who was both a funny kid and a lover of superheroes, it was
always exciting to find a book where those two things crossed paths.
In the young readers' books I’ve written for Marvel and DC Comics, I
always try to inject humor where I can. Humor can be healing. If I
couldn’t laugh, especially about things that have caused me pain, I
don’t know that I would be around today. I love books about funny,
sensitive kids with big hearts. The world is a cold place sometimes,
but whenever I see a young person making positive change and having
fun along the way, it reminds me that anything is possible.
Leon is a big dreamer. He’s a good kid with a zest for life who truly wants to help people. The only problem is he doesn’t have superpowers. But! He does have a cool homemade costume and a keen mind.
I can relate as someone who used to tie towels around their neck and jump off the back of the couch. Don’t try that at home, by the way. Leon’s passion is infectious. His positivity is inspiring. Does it annoy the jerks and bullies? It sure does. But Leon isn’t one to act without considering all the angles. I love that about him.
Jamar Nicholas has crafted a super charming story that explores what it means to be a hero, a villain, and whatever lies in between.
Leon is an ordinary kid who becomes extraordinary when he fights a supervillain to save his school!
"Leon is a superhero, whose powers are kindness and common sense. It's a really good book about a really good kid!" -- Jerry Craft, author and illustrator of New Kid
"A heartfelt and hilarious hero’s journey. LEON is super!" -- Lincoln Peirce, author and illustrator of Big Nate
In the city where Leon lives, superheroes -- and supervillains -- are commonplace. So how does an ordinary kid like Leon, who has no superpowers himself, become the superhero he wants to be? When all…
As someone who was both a funny kid and a lover of superheroes, it was
always exciting to find a book where those two things crossed paths.
In the young readers' books I’ve written for Marvel and DC Comics, I
always try to inject humor where I can. Humor can be healing. If I
couldn’t laugh, especially about things that have caused me pain, I
don’t know that I would be around today. I love books about funny,
sensitive kids with big hearts. The world is a cold place sometimes,
but whenever I see a young person making positive change and having
fun along the way, it reminds me that anything is possible.
I’m a huge fan of the rivalry between Superman and Lex Luthor, so I was excited to check out this new story set during their middle school years–possibly the most dramatic time in a kid’s life.
This Clark is a little spicy, which I enjoyed. I like that he doesn’t always make good choices. In Lex, he finds a brainy outsider searching for a confidant. Brendan Reichs gives us a friendship between boys that feels honest, and Jerry Gaylord’s delightfully expressive art captures their emotions nicely.
There were laughs but also a simmering tension that kept my attention, especially as it related to a little lie that became a big problem. This story is a nice reminder that heroes and villains aren’t born; they’re made.
Being the only kid with powers is tough not being able to use them is even worse! Struggling with understanding why his parents demand he hide his amazing superpowers, Clark has no problem using a bit of super-speed or super-strength to give himself that extra edge as quarterback of the football team or while doing his chores around the farm. And when LuthorCorp holds a competition to find the best and brightest for a summer internship in Metropolis, Clark has no problem using his X-ray vision to cheat his way in if it means getting out of Smallville. Amazingly, Clark…
As a mother of two girls, I’ve always loved fostering their interests in multiple subjects and providing them with epic role models. Too often, women’s strength in fantasy and science fiction (my favorite genres) is shown through violence or physical action, whether they can wield a blade or hold their own in a fight. Watching my girls get excited about game design, math, and science always gives me a little thrill, and I love providing them with epic heroines who use their brains as their primary weapon. STEM heroines rock!
I adore superhero fiction, but it is hard to find good versions of it outside of visual mediums like comics and film. This book was one of the first superhero novels I found, and it is a lot of fun.
Penelope wants nothing more than to develop superpowers and be a hero like her parents, but instead, she develops mad scientist powers that lead to utter chaos! I squirmed as the young characters got themselves deeper and deeper into trouble, but I also laughed at this madcap superhero world filled with puns, metal-eating robots, and epic adventure.
Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She's got superhero parents. She's got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn't understand. She has two super-powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear. In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero's sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about villainy: She's good at it. Criminal masterminds, heroes in power armor, bottles of dragon blood, alien war drones, shapeshifters and ghosts,…
One of my favorite childhood pictures, circa 1967, shows me in the Batman costume I got for Christmas. And one of my sharpest memories from that time was seeing the Batmobile at a local auto show. Yes, I was a Batman fanatic, thanks to both the TV show and the comics. That passion faded somewhat as I grew older—I can’t rattle off the names of all the villains or discourse on the styles of the different artists and writers who have told his story. But having the chance to write What Is the Story of Batmantaught me a lot—and helped me feel like a kid again.
Time to put aside the history and cultural analysis. How could I understand the modern Batman phenomenon without delving into Miller’s classic reimagining of Batman? By his own account, Miller wanted to take Batman and the whole superhero genre out of the realm of kid stuff. Boy, did he ever! This Batman has been called dark and gritty, though Miller supposedly didn’t care for that description. But there’s no question Miller’s work influenced the movies that followed. The book includes the four issues that were originally published separately.
It's the thirtieth anniversary of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, and now DC
Comics presents this classic title in a newly redesigned edition! Ten years
after an aging Batman retired, Gotham City has sunk deeper into decadence and
lawlessness. Now, when his city needs him most, the Dark Knight returns in a
blaze of glory. Joined by Carrie Kelly, a teenaged Robin, Batman takes to the
streets to end the threat of the mutant gangs that have overrun the city. And
after facing off against his two greatest enemies, the Joker and Two-Face, for
the final time, Batman finds himself in…
I’ve been a comic book nerd forever and a comic book historian for the past fifteen years, specializing in the history of female superheroes and writing books about Wonder Woman, Lois Lane, Catwoman, and more. A lot of amazing heroines have been featured in adaptations that have introduced them to a larger audience, but there are so many other great characters still waiting to get their chance to shine. I’m excited to share a few of them that I really love with you here, as well as spotlight a diverse collection of creators and characters that deserve a closer look.
Marvel’s wide array of movies and TV shows have brought many of their heroes to life, but unfortunately, Squirrel Girl has yet to make the jump. This is a shame, since she’s defeated some of Marvel’s most dastardly foes in incredibly creative ways. She eats nuts, she kicks butts, and she uses her squirrel-based abilities to tackle villains with her own optimistic, STEM-infused perspective. North’s writing is charming and hilarious, and Henderson’s art is a perfect pairing that sets the book’s fun, energetic tone. It’s such a good time, basically joy distilled into comic book form.
Collects The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1-4, Marvel Super-Heroes (1992) #8.
Doctor Doom, Deadpool, even Thanos: There’s one hero who’s beaten them all — and now she’s starring in her own series! That’s right, it’s SQUIRREL GIRL! The nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world is starting college! And as if meeting her new roommate and getting to class on time isn’t hard enough, now she has to deal with Kraven the Hunter, too? At least her squirrel friend Tippy-Toe is on hand to help out. But what can one girl, and one squirrel, do when a hungry Galactus…
I’ve been drawn to mad scientists since watching Looney Tunes cartoons. Marvin the Martian and Wile E. Coyote (who always emphasized his middle initial and title: Genius) were always my stars. And those Acme gadgets! I thought, One day, Coyote will get that pesky Road Runner! Fast forward to adulthood, and I’ve figured out I’m not only queer but on the spectrum. I’ve channeled my atypicality into my nerdy writing—queer teens who develop superpowers in Queeroes, a superhero-obsessed “DNA normal” heroine in Generation Manifestation, and a neurodivergent time-looper inThe Timematician. One day, with the right Acme device, I still plan to rule the world. Genius!
I really connected with evil genius Doctor Impossible and his whacky world of superheroes. In grade and high school, I felt like I was the one who was overlooked, which was often the good days; getting noticed generally meant I was being made fun of and bullied. But to take revenge, to show my plebeian classmates the (imagined) might that lay within me, how glorious that would be! Hahaha! Evil laugh aside, as Doctor Impossible does just that, I also enjoyed his vulnerable needs, longings, and regrets. And the lives of the heroes are not all they are cracked up to be. While not as stark (or violent) as The Boys, Grossman also exposes the toll superhero biology can take on the mind and body. A fun and poignant read.
Doctor Impossible—evil genius, would-be world conqueror—languishes in prison. Shuffling through the cafeteria line with ordinary criminals, he wonders if the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life. After all, he's lost every battle he's ever fought. But this prison won't hold him forever.
Fatale—half woman, half high-tech warrior—used to be an unemployed cyborg. Now, she's a rookie member of the world's most famous super-team, the Champions. But being a superhero is not all flying cars and planets in peril—she learns that in the locker rooms and dive bars of superherodom, the men…
When I was eight years old, I walked into a movie theater to see Spider-Man and walked out forever obsessed with superheroes. Specifically, I saw him kiss Mary-Jane with his mask on while hanging upside down and my tastes never changed in 20 years. Now, when not writing, I cosplay from my favorite comics, video games, and anime with my husband, who I met at a comic-con while dressed as Gwenpool (he was Symbiote Spider-Man—see, I told you my tastes never changed).
Since the protagonist has some amnesia, I loved piecing together the threads of Jamie’s identity in this book.
Jamie isn’t exactly a villain, per se, but I’d classify him as morally gray; after all, he uses his memory-erasing abilities to rob banks and commit crime. When he meets arch nemesis and do-gooder Zoe in a support group for those who lost their memory, they realize their pasts might be more entangled than they think.
We Could Be Heroes is fun, fast-paced, and features great characters in a speculative world that’s easy to immerse yourself in. I personally really enjoy stories with amnesiacs, since it allows us to learn more about the characters right alongside them and feel the emotional punches of reveals, and Chen’s work balances that with fun and lighthearted moments seemingly effortlessly.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood
The super hero book you need to read right now!
"An enjoyable, exciting, and action-packed read… at its core, just fun.” –Associated Press
An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.
Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.
What would I do if I was the last person on Earth? I have wondered this since I was a child after watching apocalyptic movies; Damnation Alley, Night of the Comet, and of course the Romero Living Dead movies. Would I be able to make it? Could I not only survive but contend with whatever menaces there were to face be they aliens, monsters, the living dead, or the actual living. My imagination would run loose, putting myself in the shoes of the characters to see how I’d fare, what would I do differently. These little escapes grew and matured into my own stories.
Saving the best for last. This was published after and said to be inspired by Stephen King’s The Stand, but I feel it far surpasses it. This book has the same scenario of a desolate end of everything with the remaining humans in a fight of good versus evil, but in this book, I feel the characters are more believable. The evil ones are despicable, and the good ones are likable. Especially Swan, whose innocence shines from the page.
New York Times Bestseller: A young girl’s visions offer the last hope in a postapocalyptic wasteland in this “grand and disturbing adventure” (Dean Koontz).
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
Swan is a nine-year-old Kansas girl following her struggling mother from one trailer park to the next when she receives visions of doom—something far wider than the narrow scope of her own beleaguered life. In a blinding flash, nuclear bombs annihilate civilization, leaving only a few buried survivors to crawl onto a scorched landscape that was once America.
In Manhattan, a homeless woman stumbles from the sewers, guided…
