A popular Cartoon Network television character, Ben Tennyson has been saving the universe for five years with his Omnitrix, a device that allows him to use alien DNA to take on heroic new forms. In Ghost Ship, the first volume in Perfect Square's original graphic novel series, he investigates a distress call from a stranded spaceship and finds himself battling a formidable enemy. The teenage superhero returns in Joyrides (January) and Parallel Paradox (April).
While some comics and graphic novels are too dark for younger readers, the Ben 10 books should garner parental approval. But that doesn't mean they're boring, stresses Joel Enos, a Perfect Square editor and writer for the Ben 10: Omniverse graphic novel series. "They're fun, they move really fast, they're entertaining," he said. "There's humor. There are pop culture references. Kids are very savvy. They understand a lot of what's going on beyond just in-jokes and pop culture but even references to politics and social norms that are out in the world in this day and age. These stories are very much of their time but also age appropriate."
For readers who have yet to discover comics and graphic novels, there's no better time than the present to dive into them, suggests Cory Levine, the author of Ghost Ship and a former editorial staffer for Marvel Comics. "It's a thriving medium that is experiencing a creative windfall as some of the greatest living artists and storytellers are expressing themselves through sequential art," he said. "There is literally something for everyone out there."