Marvel/Scholastic team-up expands with middle grade comics with Miles Morales, Kamala Khan, Shuri, more

(Image credit: Marvel Comics / Scholastic)

Less than a year into their partnership, Marvel and Scholastic are expanding their plans for original projects with a line of middle-grade original graphic novels (OGNs) debuting in spring 2021.

Following up on their recently-launched line of prose novels, Scholastic will be publishing Marvel OGNs starring Miles Morales/Spider-Man, Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Shuri, and more. These will be published as part of Scholastic's Graphix Media imprint, sister to its Graphix imprint.

"Ever since he entered the Marvel Universe a few years ago, Miles has struck a deep and personal chord with fans around the world," Marvel Entertainment's editor of juvenile publishing Lauren Bisom says in the announcement. "As Spider-Man, he embodies that classic coming-of-age story. But as Miles, he represents so much more — and his life experiences, his culture, and his ability to embrace his inner strength make him one of the most important and inspirational heroes in the Marvel Universe."

Scholastic/Marvel's Graphix Media line will kick off in spring 2021 with Miles Morales: Shock Waves from writer Justin A. Reynolds and artist Pablo Leon.

"In Miles Morales: Shock Waves, Miles Morales is a normal school kid who happens to juggle school at Brooklyn Visions Academy while swinging through the streets of Brooklyn as Spider-Man," reads Scholastic's description of the OGN. "After a disastrous earthquake strikes his mother’s birthplace of Puerto Rico, Miles springs into action to help set up a fundraiser for the devastated island. But when a new student's father goes missing, Miles begins to make connections between the disappearance and a giant corporation sponsoring Miles' fundraiser. Who is behind the disappearance, and how does that relate to Spider-Man?"

That will be followed by a Kamala Khan OGN by writer Nadia Shammas, and a Shuri OGN by writer Roseanne A. Brown. The titles and artists were not announced.

"Our relationship with the Marvel publishing team is a true collaboration and partnership," Scholastic's VP and publisher, licensing, media & brands Debra Dorfman says. "As we grow our OGN list in licensing under Graphix Media, we can't think of a better team to work with. How lucky are we to have Justin A. Reynolds and Pablo Leon collaborating on the first book about Miles Morales? We are equally as thrilled to welcome Nadia Shammas and Roseanne A. Brown to Scholastic."

Scholastic's prose novel Shuri: A Black Panther Novel was released back in May, with another one — Avengers Assembly: Orientation — to follow in August. That line will continue according to the two publishers, with "new and sequel novels" to be announced at a later date.

"After launching our prose novels with Scholastic earlier this year, we've seen a huge demand for more Marvel stories and entry points into the Marvel Universe," Marvel's VP of licensed publishing Sven Larsen says. "These middle grade OGNs are the perfect next step to bring more readers in with the visual storytelling Marvel fans know and love. We're thrilled to build our collaboration with Scholastic and tell brand-new stories that represent the world around us, both through our characters and the creative teams behind them. We can’t wait to introduce you to this next chapter for Marvel’s heroes."

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)