It's September, which means school is back in session. And just as comics have found their way into the classroom, stories dealing with or set in schools are not hard to find. Since nearly everyone has gone to school, the problems characters face are universal, and schools can serve as useful backdrops for nearly any type of story (romance, slice of life, science fiction, sports, etc.). In Japan, "high school" manga is an entire genre unto itself with countless titles taking place in or around institutes of learning. Here are 10 books that deal with school life or primarily involve teachers and students.
Art School Confidential
Fantagraphics, 1991
As part of his comic Eightball, Daniel Clowes lampooned American art schools with a four page story that satirized the stereotypes of art students and teachers. Clowes, who attending Pratt Institute, likely drew from his own experiences and those of his friends. The story, although never intended to be more than a inside joke, became widely popular and was eventually made into a live action film in 2006.
Art Schooled
Nobrow, 2014
Art school is once again the topic of a comic, this time as a debut graphic novel from British cartoonist Jamie Coe. The book follows an aspiring artist who leaves the country and enrolls in an urban art school. There he gets his first taste of city life as well as the stresses usually associated with college in a creative field.
The Drifting Classroom
Viz (originally Shogakuken, 1972–1974)
Shortly after sixth grader Sho Takamastu arrives at school one day, the entire building and all those inside are suddenly transported to an apocalyptic future where a series of environmental calamities have wiped out humanity. Desperation quickly sets in with teachers and other faculty going insane and students banding together in order to survive.
Wolverine and the X-Men
Marvel Comics, 2011–ongoing
Following the events of the Schism storyline, The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning was established to replace the destroyed Xavier Institute. This new school serves as the setting for Wolverine and the X-Men, which began in 2011 with writer Jason Aaron and illustrator Nick Bradshaw, in which Wolverine takes on the role of headmaster and revolves around the goings-on of the school's mutant students and faculty.
Drama
Scholastic Graphix, 2012
In recent years, Raina Telgemeier has established herself as one of the best YA cartoonists working today, starting with 2010's bestseller Smile. Her follow up, Drama, centers on Callie, a middle schooler who is determined to put on a fantastic school play despite a number of obstacles, such as budgets and boys. The book's attention to diversity and honest depiction of teenage life have earned it wide acclaim and appeal.
GTO
Tokyopop (originally Kodansha), 1997–2002
In a scheme to get girls, twenty-two year old biker gang member Eikichi Onizuka becomes a teacher at a private school in Tohru Fujisawa's popular manga Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO). Despite his unorthodox teaching methods, Onizuka eventually begins to reach his students and teaches them valuable life lessons along the way. The series was a hit, and has been adapted into an anime, a TV drama, and a live-action TV series and movie.
Morning Glories
Image Comics, 2010–ongoing
Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma's Lost-inspired mystery series focuses on six students who enter a prestigious academy and slowly discover its many dark secrets. Only by working together and staying one step ahead of the faculty can the students hope to survive. The series has been both a critical and commercial success and is currently on its 40th issue (of a planned 100).
Gotham Academy
DC Comics, 2014
DC Comics' upcoming monthly series also centers on a shadowy prep school, but mostly follows two students, Olive Silverlock and MAPS Mizoguchi, as they navigates the strange campus, students, teachers, and benefactors (including Bruce Wayne). Olive and MAPS quickly realize that Gotham Academy is not a normal school and has ties to many of the city's supervillains. The series is written by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher, with art by Karl Kerschl.
Deadly Class
Image Comics, 2014–ongoing
Rick Remender and Wesley Craig imagine a high school for assassins populated by the children of the world's most dangerous people like mafia bosses and government agents. Wayward orphan Marcus Lopez enters King's Dominion School for the Deadly Arts and has to deal with the usual school struggles, while simultaneously surviving the lethal subject matter and trying to figure out how he fits into all of it.
Too Cool to be Forgotten
Top Shelf, 2008
Cartoonist Alex Robinson taps into many adults' wish to relive their high school years in his 2008 graphic novel. Andy Wicks, a forty-year-old father and a smoker who is desperately trying to quit, decides to become hypnotized in order to break the hold cigarettes have on him. In the process he's sent back into his high school self and is given the chance to get it right this time. The book was a critical success and won the Harvey award for Best Original Graphic Album in 2009.
