When a group of raucous and unruly mermaids cast a spell on themselves to give them land legs, they fail to realize they’ll need a counter spell after their night of fun. Now, Tooth, Pearl, and Eez are forced to room with their new bartender friend and figure out how to live life on land. Good thing these friends would do anything for each other! Humor and friendship are the heart of this hilarious graphic novel. It features mature language, situations, and not-so-mature drunk mermaids, so this one is definitely not for the kids.

In a story that blurs the lines between chosen family and family of origin, two aunts to a delightful six-year-old find themselves isolating and growing apart as their relationship erodes. Time with their niece provides a much-needed break from the strain. It’s through repairing old family ties that they begin to find themselves again, though.

If you’ve ever played sports, you know a good team can turn into a family. My favorite example of that phenomenon is Check Please! , a deliriously adorable graphic novel about hockey, baking, friendship, and love from Ngozi Ukazu. When former figure skater Eric "Bitty" Bittle joins the Samwell University hockey team as a freshman, he takes his fellow teammates by storm. A skater who loves baking and vlogging just as much as the ice isn’t what any of the guys are used to. But Bitty’s bright, charming personality soon wins them over—even the grumpy team captain with piercing blue eyes.

When a fairy named Razzmatazz decides to raise the protagonist of a fairy tale in order to better understand humans, it doesn’t just mean becoming a parent—it means becoming a co-parent. Bon found Melody at the same time as Razzmatazz, so raising her means working together. Disguised as humans to live and raise Melody in the human realm, Bon and Razzmatazz slowly begin to see each other as more than just co-parents.

Childhood friends Nova and Tam are reunited when a demonic horse attacks in the woods. Nova is a witch in training at her grandmothers’ shop, and Nova has moved back after years of wandering around on their own. Now, the two must team up to protect the town and Tam from dark forces that will stop at nothing to claim a werewolf’s powers. I love how Nova’s family immediately takes Tam in as one of their own, even after they were away for years. If that’s not the definition of real family, I don’t know what is.

Soup has always been reluctant to set out from the restaurant she calls home. She was found there as a baby, after all, and has lived there ever since. But when her boss’s behavior finally opens her eyes to a pattern of abuse that stretches from the restaurant and all the way across town, she decides something has to give. She decides to compete with her boss in a cooking competition. Winner takes the restaurant. It’s a risky proposition, but if Soup wins, she’ll be able to protect her home from her boss’s plans for destructive expansion. Good thing she’s got a whole community of people to support her.

To save herself from the enemies who killed her parents, Taylor Barzelay is living undercover on Earth. With the help of some handy alien technology, she can even look human…and like a boy. But Taylor’s tired of living a lie. She knows who she really is, and even if it’s dangerous, Taylor wants a chance to fully be herself. I love how Taylor’s protector has become a sort of father figure. Their relationship is complicated but full of love. That’s often true of family, found, chosen, or otherwise.

Like so many great graphic novels these days, Buuza began as a web comic. In fact, you can still read it for free on Tapas and Webtoon. Buuza presents a slice-of-life look into a cast of queer characters finding themselves and each other in an urban fantasy version of the Middle East and Central Asia in the 1990s. Chosen family is at its very core. Buuza has won the Broken Frontier Best Webcomic Award two years in a row.

"Some of the most spectacular writing I’ve ever encountered in my life… Vagabonds! brought me to tears because it gave me a world in which my country could be home again."