Cryptids—mythological creatures that inhabit our world—have been a storytelling staple since the time of the ancients, who wove tales of frightful beasts to keep their children from wandering into the woods. These days, modern urban legends spread via social media. A graphic novel about cryptids, though, is a different type of cautionary tale, one that reminds readers not to judge those who are different and to accept the inexplicable parts of life along with the everyday. Here’s a look at seven different works, for a range of ages, in which the monsters are never what they initially seem.

BRUMM, Michael. “The Cryptid Club.” illus. by Jeff Mack. HarperAlley. 2022-2024.
Gr 1-5–This four-book series features a team of kids trying to find different monsters who afflict their school, one at a time. In the first book, Bigfoot Takes the Field, Lily and her younger brother Henry go on the hunt for a Bigfoot that’s inhabiting the football team’s locker room, deflating footballs with its claws and leaving clumps of hair in the showers. Oliver, the little kid Lily babysits, joins the adventure, adding goofy non sequiturs and lots of potty humor. In the second book, A Nessie Situation, the trio is joined by aspiring superhero Ernie as they search for the Loch Ness Monster, who keeps popping up in school bathrooms. This leads the principal to shutter the lavatories, forcing the entire school to hold it in until the mystery is solved. Things get even worse in The Chupacabra Hoopla, when the newest invader eats all the food in the lunchroom, leaving the kids starving. In this installment, Lily’s nemesis Daisy reluctantly joins in, using her forest-tracking skills to lead them to the culprit, and the two girls realize they have more in common than they expected. And finally, inYou Don’t Know Jackalope, the southwestern cryptid disrupts the school play. In each case, the cryptid turns out to have invaded the school for innocent reasons: Bigfoot just wants to play football, Nessie wants to learn to read, the Chupacabra is learning to cook, and the Jackalope has dramatic flair and wants to be in a play. These books are the purest form of kids’ comics, with nonstop gags, crazy characters, and absurd situations. There are lots of gross-out bathroom and food jokes (the third volume is particularly heavy on the latter), but the humor is good-natured and never mean-spirited.

PRADHAN, Sneha. Yelp! Yeti! Chaos in Kathmandu. illus. by Promina Shrestha. Flying Eye. Jun. 2025.
K-Gr 4–A yeti causes all kinds of problems for a young boy named Dev in this colorful picture book/graphic novel hybrid. Dev is spending summer in Kathmandu with his grandmother and cousins when he spots a bright blue yeti running across the rooftops. No one believes him for three very solid reasons: It’s Kathmandu, it’s summer, and Dev has a vivid imagination. The yeti keeps showing up and causing chaos, and Dev keeps getting blamed for it, but no one will believe his explanations. Instead, his exasperated parents threaten to send him off to spend the rest of summer with his dreaded Ranu Aunty, who runs a sugar-free household with strict rules. Desperate, Dev traps the yeti, who turns out to be lost and frightened, and the two become friends. But now Dev has a dilemma: If he shows the yeti, who he has named Hiu, to his family to prove its existence, he may escape Ranu Aunty but risks his new friend ending up in a zoo or lab. The characters have simple, expressive faces and the panels are filled with details of everyday life in Nepal. Some of the text appears above or below the panels, akin to a picture book, but the characters also speak in word balloons and the art is an integral part of the storytelling.

HILL, Jonathan. Lizard Boy 2: The Most Perfect Summer Ever. illus. by author. Candlewick/Walker. Apr. 2025.
Gr 3-7–At the end of the first “Lizard Boy” book, Tommy, a lizard boy who has to disguise himself as human, makes some new friends: Greg, a Sasquatch; Sara, a robot from the future; and Allie, a girl made of snakes. In this sequel, they set out with their human pals, Dung and Scarlett, to make the most of summer vacation before Dung has to move back to Vietnam. Their plans are disrupted after Greg’s grandfather shows up in his yeti form and frightens the customers at his family’s restaurant. Greg’s parents shutter the restaurant and hide out in a remote cabin, while a local vlogger tries to stir up panic and hostility toward the cryptids in town. Meanwhile, the adults argue about whether to stay hidden or reveal their true selves to the townspeople. The story mixes middle school drama with a more serious situation of xenophobia and prejudice, with well-meaning adults trying to keep their children safe while the kids yearn to be accepted as their true selves. The cryptids and their situation are an obvious analogy to immigrants, and in their human forms, they are a very diverse group who gets along well. While the story brings up serious issues of polarization and prejudice, it also depicts a supportive community, all wrapped in a story about a bunch of misfit kids who are just trying to have a good time.

THAN, Gavin Aung. Creature Clinic. illus. by author. First Second. May 2025.
Gr 3-7–The human is the interloper in this book when a boy named Mitch winds up at a hospital for magical creatures, wedged in the shoe of a seriously ill giant. Dr. Orc, the head of the hospital, decrees that the human must be expelled immediately, but her daughter Kara, one of the hospital’s two residents, is afraid he will die if he’s not treated. She smuggles him away and cares for him, and when he recovers, he turns out not to be the evil monster Kara’s mother had described but a warm, sensitive boy named Mitch. To escape detection, he dons a disguise to become an “emotional support elf,” offering a sympathetic ear to patients, which helps Kara and her fellow residents do a better job of caring for them. When the hard-charging Dr. Orc finds out about the deception, she’s furious, but Kara stands up for herself and her principles. The hospital is filled with a delightful array of creatures, including Bullcowski, a Minotaur with a cow and a bull head, a unicorn with a broken horn, a farting fairy, and a troll who was attacked at random by three billy goats gruff. Best of all are the Hobs: tiny, pink furry creatures who make the hospital run smoothly. Than, the creator of the webcomic “Zen Pencils,” endows each of the magical creatures with their own special personality, and while the moral of the story is clear, it’s delivered in an entertaining, giggle-inducing way.

TYSOE, Alina. My Sister the Werebeast. illus. by author. First Second. Oct. 2025.
Gr 3-7–Mira and Rosie have their hands full when their parents go off to explore an ancient labyrinth, leaving them in charge of their little sister, Peanut. Any toddler is a handful, but Peanut has recently been experiencing some...phenomena. She floods the house when she has a bad dream, brings the plants in the garden to life, and when upset, she turns into a blue, furry creature. Magic was banished in their town long ago, with mythical creatures subdued by monster hunters, so the girls know their sister’s newfound abilities are a problem, and they have to figure out what exactly she is and how she can control her powers. Meanwhile, a monster hunter is sniffing around, and a real monster is hiding in their house, waiting to capture Peanut and steal her magic. Filled with action and humor, the story moves fast as the sisters not only stick together but also learn a few lessons about life. The art is cartoony, with bright colors and energetic characters, while Peanut and the other youngsters are illustrated to look super cute.

VENTURA, Marco. The Land of Unfinished Dreams. illus. by Marco Ferraris. Top Shelf Productions. Aug. 2025.
Gr 4-7–Every night, Ned tells his grandchildren a bedtime story about a knight, Sir Hortensius, and his squire, a bear named Brownie, who face many perils on their way to rescue a princess in a tower. Ned can never finish the story, though; the ending is always just outside his grasp, but the kids are asleep by then, anyway. One night, he finds himself transported to the world of his stories, fighting alongside Brownie on a perilous journey to confront a dark beast that is destroying the land. This beast is not one of Ned’s creations, but as he battles it, he realizes it is an inner darkness—a fear that has kept him shut off from the world since his wife died. In this title, the monster is not a friendly goofball but something more serious and evil that Ned and his companions must face. While the lead character is an older man, the story itself is a classic kids’ adventure featuring a bumbling knight and animal helpers. Drawn in a classic Disney style, the candy-colored art is energetic and cartoony, with occasional surprises such as a talking airplane and smart-alecky pears, and the story is leavened with plenty of goofy humor.

CORNELL, Paul. Who Killed Nessie?: The Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster. illus. by Rachael Smith. Avery Hill. Sept. 2025.
Gr 10 Up–It’s Agatha Christie, but with cryptids! When the Loch Ness Monster is murdered during the annual cryptid convention at Lakeview Hotel in Wisconsin, the mythological creatures turn to help from the fledgling hotel manager, Lyndsay Grockle, who happens to be the only employee on site because the rest of the staff has fled. Still smarting from a recent breakup with a boyfriend who accused her of being too rational, Lyndsay takes on the challenge, interviewing the guests and uncovering numerous romantic complications as well as a major division: Some of the creatures want to be free of the magic that governs them and be treated like ordinary animals. The dialogue sparkles, as the cryptids reflect wryly on human notions about them. The art is filled with little sight gags, such as the RPG session including games like “Humans & Offices” and “Domestic Chores: The Gathering.” Mixed in with the over-the-top humor is some real talk about emotions and loneliness, and although Lyndsay uses logic to solve the mystery, she finds the motive by tuning in to her own feelings. The humor and art style will appeal to fans of John Allison’s “Bad Machinery” and “Giant Days.”
 

IIllustration at the top by Promina Shrestha from Yelp! Yeti! Chaos in Kathmandu © by Sneha Pradhan. 

Brigid Alverson founded and edits “Good Comics for Kids” (slj.com/goodcomics).