My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (2017)

Books one and two, both now out (Fantagraphics, 2017 and 2024) Emil Ferris presents this as the diary of Karen Reyes, a girl in 1960s Chicago investigating the death of her upstairs neighbor. It is drawn mostly in ballpoint pen on pages made to look like a lined spiral notebook, and the density rewards slow reading, which suits a long flight. Book two arrived in 2024, so you can now take the whole story in one trip. The first book won two Eisner Awards in 2018, including best new graphic album. The fine pen work loses something on a phone; a printed copy or a large tablet does it justice.