Celebrate Catboy by Benji Nate’s 10th Anniversary: A Decade of Furry, Fantastic, Friendship!
Silver Sprocket started out as a community-engaged, indie record label that also made zines! The visual artists working on our album covers and shirts shared our values, and we saw an opportunity to publish their work. The comics they created were so fun and rewarding that it only felt natural to continue publishing them and as many underrepresented voices as we can! We’re now a radical indie comics publisher that platforms artists with unique and engaging stories, with representation that matters.
To celebrate a decade of offbeat, furry fun, Silver Sprocket curated a reading list of other popular titles that celebrate friendship, figuring out how to be a person, and finding other sides of your found family!
Catboy, by Benji Nate (Silver Sprocket).
What happens when you find out that your cat best friend turned human overnight?! What kind of person would your cat be? How would your relationship with them change as they navigate the human world?
Olive is a human, and Henry is her pet cat—now person-shaped, thanks to a magic shooting star. They do all the things best friends do, like share clothes, go to parties, and complain about their jobs. Who cares if Henry gets more compliments wearing Olive’s clothes, or the party snacks are dead rats? Friends love each other no matter what.
Book Themes: Biography / Memoir, Sports / Games / Recreation, BIPOC Characters and Creators, Careers / Hobbies
Check out these other titles from Silver Sprocket and a variety of other great publishers:
Witch Hazel: Variety Hour, by Colton Fox & Beige Blum (Silver Sprocket).
Spells fizzle, side gigs go sideways, and magical villains wreak havoc!
For Hazel, it’s just another day as a witch-for-hire. Luckily, her friends, her crush, and her familiar Noot are there to pick up the pieces (or make things worse).
Monsters, Magic, and Mayhem? Hazel’s definitely not getting paid enough for this!
This deluxe printing features a cardstock cover with foil accents, fun activities, and an included sticker sheet!
Book Themes: Friendship, Animals, LGBTQIA+, Humor, Romance, Magic, Slice-of-Life, Action, Adventure
Cry Wolf Girl, by Ariel Slamet Ries (Silver Sprocket).
There was once a girl named Dawa. Having lost her family to sickness, she found herself with an emptiness inside that she did not know how to fill.
Alas, in all her endeavors, nothing she tried ever left her feeling so full as the art—
—the art of trickery.
Book Themes: BIPOC Characters and Creators, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Animals, Grief, Loss, Family, Fantasy, Horror
Bring Me the Head of Susan Lomond: A High School Story, by Harper (Silver Sprocket).
A QUEER ENEMIES-TO-PROM-DATE ROMANCE BETWEEN A TEEN MISANTHROPIC GENIUS AND THE LEAD QUARTERBACK
In this graphic novel debut, Connor B. uses absurdist dark humor to craft a hilarious queer enemies-to-something-more story perfect for fans of The Addams Family.
Susan Lomond must be defeated. Monroe Poole, teenage evil genius, has suffered her greatest humiliation. Susan Lomond, wretchedly popular football star, surpassed Monroe in their high school’s proficiency ranking system, contrary to all laws of reason or rationality. Revenge occupies Monroe’s every waking moment, yet she is somehow thwarted at every turn. The explosion detonates too late, the black hole opens up a few feet to the left, the lightning bolt instead strikes the flagpole. The homecoming dance is Monroe’s last chance to secure Susan’s demise. Will she finally succeed, or will she find that under the light of the disco ball, her obsession has turned from vengeful to something altogether different?
Book Themes: Humor, LGBTQ+, Enemies to Friends, Romance, School, Villainy, Humor, Coming-of-Age
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Vol. 1, written by Matt Dinniman; created by Aethon, Matt Dinniman and Actus; illus. by Laurel Pursuit Studios and Tevagah (Vault Comics).
The LitRPG fantasy smash hit phenomenon and New York Times bestseller, DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL, is now a graphic novel for the very first time!
The Apocalypse WILL be televised!
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Getting stuck on a sadistic alien game show with her cat. Join Carl and Princess Donut as they try to survive the end of the world — or just get to the next level of a trap-filled fantasy dungeon.
With vibrant art done by Laurel Pursuit to bring action-packed battles to life, join as Carl fights his way through the dungeon in heart-speckled underwear. And of course, the grizzly scenes are only balanced with the incredibly fluffy, wide-eyed stare of its main character, Princess Donut.
Book Themes: Fantasy, Science Fiction, LitRPG, Talking Animals, Aliens, Apocalyptic Fiction, Magic, Friendship
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury, by By Bill Watterson; foreword by Charles Schulz (Andrews McMeel).
Jump into the earliest adventures of an extraordinary duo— mischievous Calvin and his sardonic tiger Hobbes. It’s tuna fish traps, time travel, snowman armies, and schoolyard woes—blending sharp wit, wild imagination, and heartfelt moments in every strip.
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes is the perfect introduction to one of the most beloved comic strips of all time. This treasury brings together the first two Calvin and Hobbes collections—Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under the Bed Is Drooling— covering November 18, 1985 to May 23, 1987. The treasury begins with a foreword by Charles M. Schulz, along with a bonus 16-page full-color story exclusive and the illustrated poem, “A Nauseous Nocturne.”
Book Themes: Slice-of-life, Humor, Talking Animals, Imagination, Friendship, Family
Steven Universe Volume 1, written by Jeremy Sorese and Rebecca Sugar; illus. by Coleman Engle.
BELIEVE IN STEVEN!
Steven Universe is just your normal Beach City citizen…who is anything but normal! Join Steven as he learns not only how to save the day with the help of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl…but as he learns what it means to be a great friend and an even better neighbor! There will be crazy adventures any time of day when you live in Beach City, between bike races and late night karaoke, this is just the beginning for Steven! Written by the international indie all-star Jeremy Sorese (A REMINDER, ADVENTURE TIME™) and illustrated by the lovable and insanely talented Coleman Engle (REGULAR SHOW™), STEVEN UNIVERSE™ is an exciting adventure that is only just beginning!
Book Themes: Slice-of-life, Friendship, Family, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Grief, Coming-of-Age
Hirayasumi, Volume 1, written and illustrated by Keigo Shinzo (VIZ Signature).
After developing an unlikely friendship with the grouchy old woman who lives in his neighborhood, Hiroto suddenly finds himself inheriting not just her house but some rather difficult emotions as well. His 18-year-old cousin, Natsumi, moves in with him, but as a struggling art student, she has her own troubles to deal with and may just put Hiroto’s easygoing lifestyle to the test.
Book Themes: Slice-of-life, Friendship, Family, Coming-of-Age, Grief, Unlikely Friendships, Early Adulthood, Jobs and Careers
Insomniacs After School, by Makoto Ojiro (VIZ Signature).
Two sleepless teenagers find kinship as they escape to their school’s astronomy observatory.
Unable to sleep at night, Ganta Nakami is cranky in class and unpopular with his classmates. He discovers that the school observatory, once used by the now-defunct astronomy club, may be the perfect place for a nap—but he’s not alone. Fellow insomniac Isaki Magari is willing to share the observatory with Nakami, and a friendship between the two begins as they bond over the most unlikely things.
Dark rumors about what befell the members of the astronomy club keep people away from the school observatory, and that’s what makes it the perfect sanctuary for Nakami and Magari to get some much-needed rest. Unfortunately, the school faculty can’t allow its unsanctioned use. But if there were a new astronomy club, maybe these two insomniacs could have a place to call home!
Book Themes: Slice-of-life, Friendship, Family, Coming-of-Age, Chronic Illness, Insomnia, Heart Conditions, Falling in Love, Astronomy, School
Yotsuba&!, Vol. 16, by Kiyohiko Azuma; translated by Stephen Paul (Yen Press).
Hello! This is Koiwai Yotsuba, Yotsuba Koiwai…um, YOTSUBA! Yotsuba moved with Daddy to a new house from our old house waaaaaaay over there! And moving’s fun ‘cos people wave! (Ohhhh!!) And Yotsuba met these nice people next door and made friends to play with (one of ’em acted like one of those bad strangers Daddy told Yotsuba not to go with, but it was okay in the end). I hope we get to play a lot. And eat ice cream! And-and-and…oh yeah! You should come play with Yotsuba too!
Book Themes: Slice-of-life, Friendship, Family, Humor, Shounen, Child Protagonists, Single Parent
For more great reads, check out our Visual Lists!
