Recommend me some graphic novels

[ThatSoundAgain]

I love Black Hole.

... so grab whatever strikes your fancy.

There you go

Look, I realize I've been pushing Bone quite a lot in this thread. The reason for that is not that I necessarily think it is vastly superior to, say, Maus, but because it is so accessible. Generally, if I can interest even non-comic-readers enough to get them past the first thirty pages and then lend them the (telephone-directory thick) volume, they finish it over the weekend.

Just like, if someone were to ask: "I've just seen Spiderman and liked it. I'm thinking there's something to this "moving picture" thing. Does anyone know some other movies that are any good?" I'd not recommend Dekalog or the Seventh Seal right away.

BTW, this thread rocks! I now have a list of things to check out. It's as good as having a decent comic store near by, the kind that's staffed by enthusiasts who can guide you to the good stuff (taking your taste into account) in stead of trying to maximize your spending.

 

[JusCogens]

The Watchmen

Superhero stuff is inherently inferior.

Watchmen.

That is all.

Yeah, well. I maintain what I said. Inherently inferior.


I'm not amazed no one had mentioned it, because frankly it's overrated pulp. I think Alan Moore is overrated myself, but honestly, V For Vendetta was pretty insipid and really, really predictable.

I think Morrigan is under the mistaken impression that the Watchmen is superhero stuff =)

And I'm not saying this just because practially nobody in the book has any superpowers, it's more that the crime fighting thing is just a stage for his fascinating, retro, alternate reality, cold war tale.

Like many others here, I like books like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sin City and even Sandman, but the The Watchmen is really something else.

 

[Furi]

Maus, Most definately.

If you can get the 2000AD stuff, Balard of Halo Jones, most of the Epic Dredd stories, Strontium Dog/Abc Warriors, Nemesis, Rogue trooper, DR ad Quinch, Slaine all damned good stuff

Going to have to look up some Classic Bisley Fabry and Esquerra artwork now, see if I can get mean angel as an avatar, or maybe fabry's Judge Anderson pin-up, (rowr)

=^..^=

 

[Sugriva]

Look, I realize I've been pushing Bone quite a lot...

All I have to add is that Bone is a wonderful comic. The big arse trade is unwieldy and my copy is threatening to fall apart under its own weight.....

 

[brodski]

And I'm not saying this just because practially nobody in the book has any superpowers, i

practically no one in many superhero stories have no superpowers, they are still superhero stories. Is a Superman Vs Lex Luther story not a superhero story? Just because only Superman have superpowers?

And do superheroes need superpowers? Are you saying that Batman is not a superhero? (OK I know that one's going to get this thread heated up...)

 

[Morrigan]

I had this sort of argument with my boyfriend once (who likes a lot of comics). He was insisting that to be a superhero, you needed superpowers, and that's why The Punisher was not a superhero (that and the fact that he's kind of crazy, but I said he could be a supervillain or super-antihero if he preferred that). But then I brought up Batman and he went "uh.... well... yeah.... but he has gadgets and a costume!"

 

[Gregory]

Well, gadgets and a costume can make all the difference. Tony Stark wouldn't be much of a superhero without his armor, for example.

Batman, of course, is an entirely different story.

 

[Gilmar]

A trio of sword-wielders

Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai -- been going on for many years now, stories of a rabbit ronin (or is it samurai?) in an anthropomorphic Japan. Many stories based on Japanese mythology. Lovely composition, always well-written.

Groo The Wanderer by Sergio Aragones (written by Mark Evanier) -- Groo is sort of the archetypal barbarian swordsman, except that he's very stupid and accidentally destructive. His dog Rufferto is smarter than he is. Lots of fun, filled with puns, odd characters, rhyming introductions. I've really enjoyed Aragones' style from the days he did the little marginal cartoons in MAD Magazine.

Cerebus The Aardvark by Dave Sim -- This 300-issue black-and-white comic book series started in the late 70s and finished in 2004. They have all been collected in a set of graphic novels. It started as a parody of the Conan The Barbarian comic books but grew to be something far stranger, filled with religion, politics, the Marx brothers, Ernest Hemingway, you name it. I'll defer to Wikipedia for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebus_the_Aardvark

 

[Loxton]

Incidentally, back in my day a common access point (especially for women) was the stand-alone Sandman spinoff "Death—The High Cost of Living." This is a fun one with nary a superhero, featuring lovely crisp artwork by Chris Bachalo and story by Neil Gaiman. (Tori Amos provides a foreword for the easy to find and affordable trade paperback.)

A lot of people, including myself, found themselves launched into the Sandman universe by this tale, but it is a self-contained story. (The nice thing about sampling the Sandman stories is that there's lots more available to look forward to if you happen to enjoy your first taste.)

 

[technoextreme]

Ghost in the Shell

No. No and noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. It's the largest piece of overrated ******** that ever did exisist. Who the hell puts footnotes in comics? I couldn't even tell what was going on in the lesbian sex scene until I read the footnote. On the other hand I like the television show and original movie. The translated novels are good also. It's like they could write a plot that you did not need to be a genius to follow.

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot

Sigh. Saturday morning memories.

 

[CptColumbo]

If you wish to go more mainstream "Hush" was a good series and "52" has been good (to the point where I am in the story).

 

[Father Dagon]

Elfquest.

 

[RobRoy]

A trio of sword-wielders

Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai -- been going on for many years now, stories of a rabbit ronin (or is it samurai?) in an anthropomorphic Japan. Many stories based on Japanese mythology. Lovely composition, always well-written.

Speaking of anthropomorphic samurai, I've greatly enjoyed the Samurai Cat series by Mark E. Rogers. They're more books than graphic novels, but Rogers' illustrations are nice additions to the narrative.

 

[dudalb]

Superhero stuff is inherently inferior.

The world is in a sad state when Comic Book fandom is infected by intellectual snobbery.
We are also have this whole "anime/Manga is so superior to American Animation and/or Comic Books" attitude that is common on the internet. And the wierd thing is the most militant purpotents of it are Americans.

I echo "the Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns" as the first two choices.
My own third would be Jack Kirby's Fourth World Epic,which is finally being reprinted in full color in Four hardcover volumnes by DC.

"Marvel 1602" is up there but,frankly,you have to be fairly familiar with the Marvel Universe to really appreciate it.

'Maus" is also great,although I consider that on a plane different then most graphic novels.

If you want to sample the classics, Marvel and DC have a inexpensive format which reprints their Silver Age classics in black and white .You get over 500 pages for around 16 bucks.

 

[Gregory]

Did I forget to mention "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck," by Don Rosa? I did, didn't I? A terrible and glaring omission which I am now correcting.

 

[Morrigan]

The world is in a sad state when Comic Book fandom is infected by intellectual snobbery.

???
One, I'm not a comic book fan. Two, I just can't stand superheroes. How in the hell is my dislike of superheroes a sign of snobbery?

 

[alfaniner]

Elfquest.

Gahhhh!! I can't believe I didn't mention Elfquest. That was one that got me interested in drawing and graphic arts. I have just about every version of that available. The initial 20-issue series is the best -- I never got much into the stuff that followed (or the spin-offs!). Been waiting about 20 years for the movie -- it's always "just around the corner". With the great CGI now available, I wish they'd get on with it!

Here's a graphic someone put together a while back (please ignore the extra fingers).

 

[RobRoy]

???
One, I'm not a comic book fan. Two, I just can't stand superheroes. How in the hell is my dislike of superheroes a sign of snobbery?

I believe it was your statement that superhero comics are "inherently inferior" without providing any qualifications. For instance, that you felt they were inferior because they stemmed from an unbelievable premise and therefor couldn't accurately delve into any socio-economic, cultural, class or race issues. But that's just me.

Personally, I enjoy a decently told superhero comic from time to time, so long as it involves . . . BATMAN!

 

[Wowbagger]

Here's a graphic someone put together a while back (please ignore the extra fingers).

[qimg]http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/imagehosting/17144ce3a6dd3914.gif[/qimg]

I'll bet if someone did a silhouetted version of that, it can become one of those reversing-direction illusions. Like the dancer one, a while back.

 

[rsaavedra]

I'll bet if someone did a silhouetted version of that, it can become one of those reversing-direction illusions. Like the dancer one, a while back.

The illusion of clock vs. counter-clock wise spinning of the sillouettes depends on whether the observer is right or left brained (at least according to a game on Facebook.)