Graphic Universe, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, was launched in 2006 and publishes books in

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

format.

History

In 2006, Lerner Publishing Group created the Graphic Universe imprint for the purpose of publishing graphic novels for young and developing readers. Initial series included Graphic Myths and Legends (sequential retellings of famous myths from around the world) and Twisted Journeys (an

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

series similar in nature to

Choose Your Own Adventure ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actio ...

, done in a mix of prose and comics storytelling). The imprint later began to publish a variety of foreign children's comics in translations and many award-winning creator-owned graphic novels.{{Citation needed, date=July 2016

Graphic Myths and Legends

Graphic Myths and Legends is the first series published by

Graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

Universe. There are currently a total of 27 titles in the series. The books are full-color comic retellings of famous myths from around the world, including

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted th ...

and Amaterasu. The series has the trade byline of "Supreme artwork and storytelling." Graphic Myths and Legends is drawn and inked by some of the top artists in the industry.

Titles

*''

Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard ...

: Fooling the Forty Thieves'' *'' Amaterasu : Return of the Sun'' *''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

: The Fight for Camelot'' *''

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

: The Race against Destiny'' *''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beo ...

: Monster Slayer'' *'' Demeter &

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld afte ...

: Spring Held Hostage'' *''

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him o ...

: Blood Brothers to the End'' *''

: The Twelve Labors'' *'' The Hero Twins : Against the Lords of Death'' *''

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He ...

: To the Ends of the Earth'' *''

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

: Quest for the Golden Fleece'' *'' King Arthur :

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in t ...

Unsheathed'' *''Marwe : Into the Land of the Dead'' *''

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

: Escaping Poseidon's Curse'' *''

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

: The Hunt for Medusa's Head'' *''Pigling : A

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

Story'' *'' Psyche &

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the e ...

: The Lady and the Monster'' *''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

: Outlaw of Sherwood Forest'' *'' Sinbad : Sailing into Peril'' *''The Smoking Mountain : The Story of

Popocatépetl Popocatépetl (; Nahuatl: ) is an active stratovolcano located in the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico in central Mexico. It lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. At it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after ...

and Iztaccíhuatl'' *'' Sunjata : Warrior King of

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

'' *''

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

: Battling the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

'' *''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi ...

: In the Land of Giants'' *'' Tristan & Isolde : The Warrior and the Princess'' *''The

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

: The Fall of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...

'' *''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

: One against an Empire'' *''

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures promine ...

: Conquering the Flood''

Twisted Journeys

Twisted Journeys is an

series similar in nature to

, done in a mix of written and comic format. Some pages are done in a comic layout, and others are done in novel format. Traditional

drawing Drawing is a visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface. The instruments used to make a drawing are pencils, crayons, pens with inks, brushes with paints, or combinations of these, and in more mod ...

inking Inking may refer to: * Inking (attack), act of throwing ink on other person *Inking, a defensive activity of certain cephalopods and sea hares The clade Anaspidea, commonly known as sea hares (''Aplysia'' species and related genera), are medi ...

, coloring, and

lettering Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to d ...

techniques are used throughout.

Titles

*''1 - Captured by Pirates'' *''2 - Escape from Pyramid X'' *''3 - Terror in Ghost Mansion'' *''4 - The Treasure of Mount Fate'' *''5 - Nightmare on Zombie Island '' *''6 - The Time Travel Trap'' *''7 - Vampire Hunt'' *''8 - Alien Incident on Planet J'' *''9 - Agent Mongoose and the Hypno-Beam Scheme'' *''10 - The Goblin King'' *''11 - Shipwrecked on Mad Island'' *''12 - Kung Fu Masters'' *''13 - School of Evil'' *''14 - Attack of the Mutant Meteors'' *''15 - Agent Mongoose and the Attack of the Giant Insects'' *''16 - The Quest for Dragon Mountain'' *''17 - Detective Frankenstein'' *''18 - Horror In Space'' *''19 - The Fifth Musketeer'' *''20 - Peril in Summerland Park'' *''21 - Safari Survivor'' *''22 - Hero City''

Foreign imports

Graphic Universe also publishes foreign titles in translation, usually from French.

Titles

*
The ElseWhere Chronicles
' (originally ''Les Enfants d'ailleurs'') *''Waluk'' *''William and the Lost Spirit'' *''First Man: Reimagining Matthew Henson'' *''Terrorist: Gavrilo Princip, the Assassin Who Ignited World War I'' *''Marco Polo: The Silk Road'' *Hotel Strange *

Lou! ''Lou!'' is a French comic book series and animated television series created by Julien Neel. The comic is published by Glénat and the animated series ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already menti ...

*Mortensen's Escapades *Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox *''A Game for Swallows'' *''

A Bag of Marbles ''A Bag of Marbles'' (french: Un sac de billes) is a Second World War autobiographical novel by the French Jewish author Joseph Joffo. It tells the story of his flight, as a small boy, with his brother Maurice to escape from Nazi occupied France ...

'' *''I Remember Beirut'' *''The Other Side of the Wall'' *Tao, the Little Samurai
The Little Prince
*Tib & Tumtum *Where's Leopold?

Selected Honors for Graphic Universe Books

Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards nominees

*''

'' by Joseph Joffo, Kris, and Vincent Bailly est Reality-Based Work*''BirdCatDog'' by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch est Publication for Early Readers*''The Ferret's a Foot'' by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue est Publication for Kids

Junior Library Guild selections

*''A Bag of Marbles'' by Joseph Joffo, Kris, and Vincent Bailly *''Believe Your Eyes'' by Cori Doerrfeld and Tyler Page *''The Ferret's a Foot'' by Colleen AF Venable, and Stephanie Yue *''A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return'' by Zeina Abirached *''Hercules: The Twelve Labors'' by Paul D. Storrie and Steve Kurth *''I Remember Beirut'' by Zeina Abirached *''Little White Duck: A Childhood in China'' by Andrés Vera Martínez, Na Liu, and Andrés Vera Martínez *''The Maltese Mummy'' by Trina Robbins and Tyler Page *''Terrorist: Gavrilo Princip, the Assassin Who Ignited World War I'' by Henrik Rehr *''Truth in Sight'' by Cori Doerrfeld and Tyler Page

''Kirkus'' Best Children’s Books

*''And Then There Were Gnomes'' by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue *''BirdCatDog'' by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch *''Hamster and Cheese'' by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue *'' Little White Duck: A Childhood in China'' by Andrés Vera Martínez, Na Liu, and Andrés Vera Martínez *''Wrapped Up in You'' by Dan Jolley and Natalie Nourigat est Teen Books of the Year

Artists and Authors

Many well-known artists and other members of the comic industry have worked with the various Graphic Universe titles, including Dan Jolley,

Thomas Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips '' Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas ...

John McCrea John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins bec ...

Alitha Martinez Alitha E. Martinez is an American comic book artist best known for her work on for Marvel Comics's ''Iron Man'', the '' Heroes'' webcomics, and DC's ''Batgirl''. Over the course of her career she has worked for all the major comic book publishe ...

, Meritxell Bosch, Na Liu, Zeina Abirached, Bannister, Craig Hamilton, Andrés Vera Martínez, Ron Fontes, Lee Nordling, Steve Kurth, Tyler Page, Cori Doerrfeld, Henrik Rehr, Paul Storrie, Simon Schwartz, Jeff Limke, Stephanie Yue, Colleen AF Venable, and Ron Randall. Comic book publishing companies of the United States Privately held companies based in New York City