IDW and their Top Shelf Productions imprint have announced a slate of six middle grade and young adult graphic novels that will be available in the summer of 2021.

In Better Place by Duane Murray and Shawn Daley, Dylan and his grandfather play imaginative games as the superheroes Red Rocket and Kid Cosmo. When his grandfather goes to “a better place” Dylan goes on his own solo adventures.

Stan Sakai and Julie Fujii Sakai partner on Chibi-Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis, which sees the rabbit samurai Usagi Yojimbo and his friends on a rescue mission to save a village of clay people from the Salamander King.

The Girl and the Glim by animator India Swift with colors by Michael Doig tells a new kid in school story with a science fiction twist. Bridgette is dealing with bullies at her new school when she meets a being from outer space that only she can see.

Marie Curie’s groundbreaking research and glass-ceiling breaking work in science is profiled in Marie Curie: A Quest for Light by Frances Andreasen Østerfelt and Anja Cetti Andersen with art by Anna Blaszczyk.

Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken Vol. 3: Macaroni and Bees?!? by Ray Friesen features the flightless friends as they encounter werewolf shampoo, time travel, antigravity popcorn, and more zany action.

Kim Dwinell brings together entertainment and education in The Science of Surfing: A Surfside Girls Guide to the Ocean that explores the ocean and the science below the water’s surface.

“Today’s young readers have an insatiable appetite for vibrant, thoughtful stories, so we’re thrilled to deliver an inspired mix of titles that showcases the full potential of graphic storytelling,” Justin Eisinger, IDW Editorial Director, Graphic Novels & Collections, said. “These books run the gamut from outright fun to introspective and even educational, further evidence that IDW and Top Shelf are home to an eclectic, necessary library of fiction and non-fiction graphic novels.”