Brigid Alverson

Comics didn’t just survive COVID-19, they thrived. Despite the strain the pandemic placed on the industry, the audience for comics, graphic novels, and manga grew—and is still growing.

It’s romance! It’s fantasy! It’s romantasy: A fan favorite category for manga. Here are seven recent romantasy manga releases.

These selections combine witty dialogue, incongruous situations, goofy characters, and silly plots to keep young readers entertained.

New planets, secret headquarters, extraterrestrial creatures, and other cosmic delights fill the pages of these works for elementary through high school readers. 

These seven series about supernatural creatures are more humorous than scary and often emphasize acceptance.

In these recent releases, text and visuals complement each other to explain complicated concepts such as historical battles and biological cycles. 

These seven works range from spin-offs of classic Japanese manga to completely original stories rendered with manga-style storytelling.

In these stories, some grandparents are kind and loving, others carry the trauma of their past. Often, kids turn to them when they feel their parents won’t understand.

From a fire-breathing corgi to bunnies with wings, characters in these fantasy titles for elementary and middle school readers hold strong appeal.