Graphic Novels

[Seasider]

I read Maus a few years ago and was very impressed with it, but that was probably because of the historical content. I have recently read and looked at Alison Bechdel's 2 graphic novels Fun Home and Are You My Mother? and enjoyed both, especially the latter. At first I thought it was like reading a comic but eventually I was drawn in. It's hard to say but I think I read the text first and then look at the drawings, but some friends do the opposite while others claim they can do both simultaneously. I dont know if she's a good writer
but her drawings are wonderful...each line of the image reveals details about the person/thing and the context. Any other views?

[Charles Darnay]

There are quite a few great graphic novels: Maus tops the list for me. Persepolis is also a great one - one where the writing is emphasized over the graphics (although the art is very well done, it is just subdued.)

The Sandman series is wonderful when it comes to the artwork, and the writing (like most of Gaiman's stuff) is a bit hit or miss.

[OrphanPip]

Bechdel has a real obsessive approach to her drawing, she often models for the characters she draws and has herself photographed.

I think she often forces you out of the art and into the text, just simply through the length of the text she includes. For example, she might put an entire paragraph about Proust next to a drawing of herself reading a book, the art itself is not always as exciting as some of the other big names in graphic novels.

Although, if you liked Bechdel you would probably like Craig Thompson, his Blankets and Habibi are both very good.

[The Comedian]

Although, if you liked Bechdel you would probably like Craig Thompson, his Blankets and Habibi are both very good.

I'll second this. You might also like Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series. Joe Sacco does some great things blending comics and journalism, which based on your reading (mostly non-fiction), you might like his work.

[Jack of Hearts]

Although, if you liked Bechdel you would probably like Craig Thompson, his Blankets and Habibi are both very good.

Legit.








J

[OrphanPip]

I'll second this. You might also like Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series. Joe Sacco does some great things blending comics and journalism, which based on your reading (mostly non-fiction), you might like his work.

Buddha is very good (a bit on the long side) but he makes good use of a classic comic style, similar to French and Belgian comics, and combines it with an interesting personalizing of the Buddha while examining issues of sexuality (popular theme in Bechdel and Thompson too) and religious devotion (Thompson also very concerned with religion).

[mortalterror]

Quality comic books and graphic novels.

1950 Tales From the Crypt by Al Feldstein
1950 Two-Fisted Tales by Harvey Kurtzman
1951 Frontline Combat by Harvey Kurtzman
1954 Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka
1955 Master Race by Bernard Krigstein and Al Feldstein
1967 Corto Maltese: Ballad of the Salt Sea by Hugo Pratt
1968 Mr. Natural by Robert Crumb
1970 Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike
1972 Buddha by Osamu Tezuka
1973 Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa
1973 Howard the Duck by Steve Gerber
1974 Heavy Metal by Moebius
1976 American Splendor by Harvey Pekar
1978 A Contract with God by Will Eisner
1978 Batman: Strange Appartitions by Steve Englehart
1982 Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
1982 Miracleman by Alan Moore
1982 Love and Rockets by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez
1982 V For Vendetta by Alan Moore
1982 Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
1983 Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore
1983 Obscure Cities by Francois Shuiten
1985 Appleseed by Masamune Shirow
1986 Watchmen by Alan Moore
1986 The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
1986 Maus by Art Spiegelman
1989 Sandman by Neil Gaiman
1989 Ghost In The Shell by Masamune Shirow
1990 Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro
1990 Berserk by Kentaro Miura
1991 Wolverine: Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith
1991 Bone by Jeff Smith
1991 From Hell by Alan Moore
1993 It Was the War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi
1995 Preacher by Garth Ennis
1996 Epileptic by David Beauchard
1996 Palestine by Joe Sacco
1997 Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
1998 Daredevil: Guardian Devil by Kevin Smith
2000 Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
2000 Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
2002 Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn
2002 Fables by Bill Willingham
2003 Blankets by Craig Thompson
2003 The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman
2004 Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis
2008 A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

I especially recommend Preacher, Miracleman, and Saga of the Swamp Thing. Also, in regards of the new Judge Dredd movie coming out, I don't know a lot about that series but it's pretty popular in Great Britain, the way that The Adventures of Tin Tin or Asterix are in France, and Dylan Dog is in Italy. The European scene is generally supposed to be less superhero heavy and more like the underground comic scene in the US. Overseas, I hear that the art is viewed frequently by adults and given the kind of respect other newer arts such as cinema have. There's even a prestigious comic book prize called the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angouleme which is given out once a year like the Oscars. America also has it's own comics awards called the Eisner Awards and the Harvey Awards.

Fans of Maus, which remains the gold standard of graphic novels, would probably do well to check out The Master Race by Bernard Krigstein and Al Feldstein. It's only about ten pages long and it's one of the first comic books to deal seriously with heavy real life issues like the Holocaust. Barefoot Gen was actually written by a survivor of Hiroshima about the devastation and the events leading up to it. Another really heavy graphic novel based on second hand accounts of true events is Palestine by Joe Sacco, although that is a more modern story based on a trip the journalist took in 1991. A Contract with God by Will Eisner is also a very fine book, and credited with being the very first graphic novel. That book tells a series of short stories all based around the occupants of a big city neighborhood, sort of in the spirit of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.

[Pierre Menard]

I'm a big fan of Gaiman's 'Sandman' series.

A great tribute to myth and story-telling legend. In such a large series, there's always going to be parts that miss, but when he hits, it's truly wonderful.

Some great artwork too.
Frank Miller is certainly a talented graphic novelist as well.