Post by sasso on Oct 18, 2008 12:42:49 GMT -5
I pitched this idea to RAC a few days ago and he liked it, so here we are. As you may have guessed by now, this thread is for people looking for some recommendations. Whether you've just begun reading comics and are looking for what's good or if you are already a reader who thinks he's running out of things to read this thread is for you.
There seems to be people asking for recommendations at least once a week. Instead of us responding to all of those topics with lists of what we suggest, I figured just having an official recommendation thread that we could direct them to would be much easier and a bit more practical.
I also think people simply making long lists of good books isn’t good enough. Think of it like recommending movies to someone: you would tell them what they're about instead of just giving them a title. The same should apply here. Try to pitch the books to people. That way they can judge for themselves instead of doing a blind buy. I have personally suffered from that with a few books.
What I'd like to request is if you wish to recommend something here, at least give a short paragraph or so about what the books is about and why you like it.
I try to only recommend things I find to be the best in terms of quality, although some will disagree with me from time to time. To give you an idea of my tastes: I hate most of what Marvel and DC publish. I think 99% of the garbage they make isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I look at comics just like any other form of literature and I apply the same standards. With that being said, I also generally dislike the superhero genre. I only like it when it's done correctly, which sadly is almost never. So you will find few superhero comics on my list.
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100 Bullets
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Eduardo Risso
Colorists: Grant Goleash and Patricia Mulvihill
Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date: August 1999 – present
Genre: Mystery/Crime
The initial plot of 100 Bullets hinges on the question of whether people would take the chance to get away with revenge. Occasionally in a given story arc, the mysterious Agent Graves approaches someone who has been the victim of a terrible wrong, and gives them the chance to set things right in the form of a nondescript attaché case containing a handgun, 100 bullets, a photograph of a person, and irrefutable evidence that this person is primarily responsible for their woes. He informs the candidate that the bullets are completely untraceable: any police investigation that uncovers one of them will stop.
Though all of the murders enabled by Agent Graves are presented as justifiable, the candidates are neither rewarded nor punished for taking up the offer, and appear to receive nothing other than closure for their actions. Several people have declined the offer. This is later revealed to be only a minor part of a much wider story featuring many conspiracies.
The series has attracted critical acclaim from within and beyond the comics industry, including winning Eisner and Harvey Awards. It’s even taught in several crime literature courses at colleges in the U.S.
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30 Days of Night
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Publication Date: 2002 - Present
Genre: Horror
30 Days of Night takes place in Barrow, Alaska, so far north that during the winter the sun does not rise for 67 days. Vampires, being vulnerable to sunlight, take advantage of the prolonged darkness to feast upon the town's inhabitants without the burden of sleep to avoid lethal sunlight.
The series is hardly great literature, but it's good entertainment nonetheless, especially if you're a horror fan. It has won numerous Eisner awards. If you liked the 2007 film adaptation than you should like the comics.
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A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories
Writer: Will Eisner
Artist: Will Eisner
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Baronet Books
Publication Date: October 1978
Genre: Drama
One of the legendary Will Eisner's finest works, A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories is is often erroneously called the first graphic novel and is an early landmark of the form. It consists of four short stories all set in a Bronx tenement in the 1930s. The stories are semi-autobiographical, with Eisner drawing heavily on his own childhood experiences as well as those of his contemporaries. Utilizing his talents for expressive lettering and cartoonish figures, he links the narratives by the common setting and the common theme of immigrant and first-generation experiences, across cultures.
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A Small Killing
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Oscar Zarate
Publisher: Avatar Press
Publication Date: 1991
Genre: Drama
A Small Killing is a novel which looks inward, examining the images of one man's inner world. The protagonist is an ad company executive looking for inspiration for his latest project. This character is rather the apotheosis of '80s culture and serves as commentary of it. Seeking inspiration for the above mentioned project he returns to his home town to confront his perceptions of the past and himself.
To save myself some time let me say that if something has Alan Moore's name on it pick it up.
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Alec: The King Canute Crowd
Writer: Eddie Campbell
Artist: Eddie Campbell
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Autobiographical; Drama
This first collection of Eddie Campbell’s life stories established his reputation as a dean of autobiographical comics. “Alec" is Campbell’s version of himself, an artist working a job at a metal-stamping plant he’s overeducated for. He and Danny go to the pub frequently to drink and talk. Each see something in the other they don’t have in themselves: Danny’s the “man of action” while Alec is hesitant and reflective. It’s the simple life circa late 1970s, where the men are in their mid-20s and the most complicated things happening are the social arrangements, as the men ponder sex and chase girls. Friendship is the common thread, holding together through fights and run-ins with officials, at least for a time. They’ve got no ambition beyond enjoying life.
It’s the kind of world that doesn’t really exist, but for all that life isn’t like this, it’s still true to the emotions either felt or wished for.
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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: Frank Miller
Colorists: Lynn Varley
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: February – June 1986
Genre: Superhero
Somehow I don't think I need to do that much of an introduction for this. For those who don't know, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is considered one of the best, if not the best, Batman book out there. It involves Bruce Wayne has retired from the Batman mantle after the death of the second Robin. Ten years pass, during which Gotham City is overwhelmed with crime, plagued by a violent gang called "The Mutants". Bruce retakes the mantle of Batman after he encountered Mutant gangs in Crime Alley. Batman is aided in fighting this menace by a new Robin, a young girl named Carrie Kelly.
The book was tremendously influential; since the work was originally published, Miller's portrayal of the character as a dark, obsessive figure has dominated most Batman projects to at least some degree. Miller also criticized Cold War politics, such as brinkmanship and the existence of a powerful military-industrial complex. Numerous real public figures were also blatantly lampooned, including Ronald Reagan, Dr. Ruth and David Letterman. The trade paperback is one of DC's best selling books and has never gone out of print.
Granted this thing has a lot of things wrong with it, but I still strongly recommend reading it due to Miller's fantastic storytelling techniques used -- something I don't think he has topped since.
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Batman: The Killing Joke
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Brian Bolland
Colorists: John Higgins
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: March 1988
Genre: Superhero
Once again, I don't think I need to introduce this one. Written by the legendary Alan Moore, the plot revolves around a largely psychological battle between Batman and his longtime foe The Joker, who has escaped from Arkham Asylum. The Joker intends to drive Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon insane to prove that the most upstanding citizen is capable of going mad after having "one bad day." Along the way, the Joker has flashbacks to his early life, gradually explaining his possible origin.
One of the best Batman books of all-time, Batman: The Killing Joke had an extraordinary impact on the DC Universe. It has also reached widespread critical acclaim, even being called "one of the greatest comics of the 20th century, period." As with all my Batman books on the list, if you can ignore the obvious faults, such as a grown man wearing spandex as protection for example, then go read them. Moore's work often trancends what you expect of these kinds of books and allow you to ignore the broken and flawed aspects of the source material that he has no control over.
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Batman: Year One
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: David Mazzucchelli
Colorists: Richmond Lewis
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: March - June 1987
Genre: Superhero
Arguably Frank Miller at his best, Batman: Year One recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman and Jim Gordon's with the Gotham City Police Department
I must admit that I was hesitant of putting this on my list. While it has a lot of things going for it, there's a lot that I think are fatal flaws. If you're interested in a good superhero story I suppose give it a read, but if you can't get over moronic things such as a man wearing spandex and dressing up like a bat for almost no legitimate reason than skip it. I'd honestly just say watch Batman Begins. It adapted this book (amongst others) and greatly improved upon it.
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Bread & Wine: An Erotic Tale Of New York
Writer: Samuel R Delany
Artist: Mia Woolf
Colorists: Mia Woolf
Publisher: Juno Books
Publication Date: March 1997
Genre: Drama; Romance
A bit of a controversial book, Bread & Wine is about the beginnings of a gay relationship between a black college professor and a homeless Brooklyn Irishman in New York. Alan Moore describes it best in his introduction...
There you go.
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From Hell
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Eddie Campbell
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: 1999
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Let me begin by saying, no, the comic is nothing like the horrible film adaptation. From Hell is a book speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic message sent from the killer in 1888. The work is dense, multilayered and immensely detailed; the collected edition is 572 pages long.
Moore and Campbell conducted significant research to ensure plausibility and verisimilitude. The collected From Hell features over forty pages of page-by-page notes and references, indicating which scenes are based wholly on Moore's own imagination and which are based upon specific named sources.
I can not recommend this enough.
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Hellboy
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Mike Mignola
Colorists: Mike Mignola
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: 1993 - current
Genre: Supernatural; Action/Thriller
I decided instead of listing individual books to just clump them into one. All of the Hellboy books are fantastic and I highly recommend all of them. Although Mignola's art style is love-or-hate for most people. I'm in the group that loves it.
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Lost Girls
WARNING: The following is an erotic adult graphic novel.
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Melinda Gebbie
Colorists: Melinda Gebbie
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Erotica
One of the legendary Alan Moore's latest works, Lost Girls revolves around Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz and Wendy Darling from Peter Pan who are visiting an expensive mountain resort hotel in Austria on the eve of World War I. The women meet by chance and begin to exchange erotic stories from their pasts.
In addition to the three women's erotic flashbacks, the graphic novel depicts sexual encounters between the women and other guests and staff of the hotel, as well as with each other. The erotic adventures are set against the backdrop of cultural and historic events of the period, such as the debut of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Believe it or not this actually a fine piece of literature with literary and artistic integrity and quality. Moore himself explains the way he approached the book best.
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Maus: A Survivor's Tale
Writer: Art Spiegelman
Artist: Art Spiegelman
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Publication Date: 1973 to 1991
Genre: Autobiographical; Drama
One of the best graphic novels of all-time, Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a graphic novel and as a whole took thirteen years to complete. It recounts the struggle of Spiegelman's father to survive the Holocaust as a Polish Jew and draws largely on his father's recollections of his experiences. The book also follows the author's troubled relationship with his father and the way the effects of war reverberate through generations of a family.
In 1992, it won a Pulitzer Prize Special Award. It's also worth noting that all people are presented as anthropomorphic animals (for example, all Jews are depicted as mice, hence the name Maus which is German for "mouse"). It's awards include...
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Powers
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colorists: Michael Avon Oeming
Publisher: Image; Marvel/Icon Comics
Publication Date: 2000 to present
Genre: Superhero; Mystery/Crime; Drama
Almost like The X-Files meets Law and Order but with superheroes, Powers is set in a world where superpowers are relatively common but not mundane. It follows the lives of two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, police officers in a Homicide department devoted to cases that involve "powers". Walker himself used to be a costumed superhero named Diamond, but became a police officer after he lost his abilities. Though stripped of his powers, he still retains his contacts within the superhero community, even becoming engaged to an ex-colleague.
This is a great little gem that deserves more recognition. It's some on Bendis' best work, if not his best (I think it is as I find most of his other work to be mediocre). Oeming's art is also wonderful; as many may be able to tell he uses art heavily inspired by and based off of Bruce Timm's.
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Saga of the Swamp Thing
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Stephen Bissette
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: 1984 - 1987
Genre: Fantasy; Horror
This collects Moore's ingenious and brilliant run with DC Comic's Swamp Thing title. For those who don't know, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing had a profound effect on mainstream comic books, being the first horror comic to approach the genre from a literary point of view since the EC horror comics of the 1950s, and broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots.
Moore began a trend of mining the DC Universe's vast collection of minor supernatural characters to create a mythic atmosphere. Characters spun off from Moore's series gave rise to DC's Vertigo comic book line, notably The Sandman, Hellblazer, and The Books of Magic; Vertigo titles were written with adults in mind and often contained material unsuitable for children. Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority and write directly for adults.
Highly recommended as it's some of best DC Comics has ever published.
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Sin City
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: Frank Miller
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: 1991
Genre: Mystery/Crime; Drama
Who the hell doesn't know what Sin City is? For those who don't, Sin City is the title for a series of comics by Frank Miller, told in a film noir-like style. It's also famous for its artwork, which draws heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. Black and white are the sole colors most of the time with exception of red, yellow and blue in some stories. Partial color usage is designed to draw attention to a certain character in the story.
If you enjoyed the incredible film adaptation co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller with "special guest director" Quentin Tarantino then you'll love the comics. I know I do. I think it's Miller's best work; it's a must-read.
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The Crow
Writer: James O'Barr
Artist: James O'Barr
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Caliber Comics
Publication Date: 1989
Genre: Supernatural; Action/Thriller
Granted this was one of the few times where the film adaptation was far superior to the comic, but The Crow is still a decent read. I admittedly don't like the comic like most seem to, as I feel it's filled with a plot that becomes boring halfway through the book (an indestructible protagonist will do that) and that almost all of it's characters are either one or two dimensional.
In case you live under a rock, the story revolves around an unfortunate young man named Eric. He and his fiancée, Shelly, are assaulted by a gang of street thugs after their car breaks down. Eric is shot in the head and is paralyzed, and can only watch as Shelly is savagely beaten and raped until she dies at the scene. Eric survives and is taken to a hospital, but while surgeons are trying to save him, he has a vision of a crow and is declared dead.
One year later, Eric seeks out vengeance on the murderers, methodically stalking and killing them. When not on the hunt, Eric stays in the house he shared with Shelly, spending most of his time there lost in memories of Shelly; her absence is torture for him, and he is in emotional pain, even engaging in self-mutilation.
The book is filled with supernatural imagery, but it's left up to the reader to decide whether the events are truly supernatural.
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Kevin O'Neill
Colorists: Benedict Dimagmaliw
Publisher: Wildstorm/DC Comics
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Fantasy; Drama
Seriously, forget that piece of shit film adaptation. The film was only vaguely inspirted by the comic. The comic takes place in 1898 in a fictional world where all of the characters and events from Victorian literature (and possibly the entirety of fiction) coexist. The world the characters inhabit is one more technologically advanced than our own was in the same era. I'd elaborate, but that would mean I run the risk of spoiling things.
This is some of Moore's finest work, and I strongly recommend getting this and the other volumes of The League. Unless you're not into other forms of literature, then you may be totally lost when reading this.
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The Sandman
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Dave McKean
Sam Kieth
Mike Dringenberg
Malcolm Jones III
Kelley Jones
Jill Thompson
Marc Hempel
Michael Zulli
Charles Vess
and others
Colorists: Danny Vozzo
Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date: 1989 - 1996
Genre: Supernatural; Fantasy; Suspense
The Sandman was one of Vertigo's flagship titles that chronicles the adventures of Dream of The Endless, who rules over the world of dreams, and is available as a series of ten trade paperbacks. It is also being reprinted in a recolored four-volume Absolute hardcover edition with slipcase. Critically acclaimed, The Sandman was the only comic to ever win the World Fantasy Award, and is one of the few comic books to ever be on the New York Times Bestseller List, along with Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Norman Mailer described the series as "a comic book for intellectuals."
Every comic fan needs this in their collection. It's perhaps the best monthly / on-going comic book series of all-time.
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The Tale of One Bad Rat
Writer: Bryan Talbot
Artist: Bryan Talbot
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: October 1994 - January 1995
Genre: Drama
The Tale of One Bad Rat is an excellent graphic novel by Bryan Talbot, about a victim of child abuse. It makes heavy reference to the works of Beatrix Potter. It was first published in four parts by Dark Horse Comics in 1995. The collected edition won the Eisner Award for best Graphic Album Reprint in 1996, and several other awards and nominations.
One Bad Rat is the most mainstream of Talbot's works and is drawn in a simple, naturalistic style with painted colours. Unusually for Talbot (and the comics industry in general), all of the characters were drawn from life, and the locations from photographs of real places.
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Torso
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Marc Andreyko
Artist: Brian Michael Bendis
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: 2001
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Some of Bendis at his best, Torso tells the story of the real life "Torso Murderer", a serial killer who was active during 1934 to 1938. He received his nickname because he left only the torsos of his victims. Without fingerprints or dental records, these victims were very difficult to identify in a time before DNA testing. The investigator on the case was Eliot Ness, Cleveland chief of police and former head of the Untouchables. It is based on the true story of the Cleveland Torso Murderer. Torso was the winner of the 1999 Eisner Award for "Comic Book Excellence, Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition".
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V for Vendetta
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: David Lloyd
Colorists: Steve Whitaker
Siobhan Dodds
David Lloyd
Publisher: Quality Comics (UK)
Vertigo/DC Comics (USA)
Publication Date: 1982-1988
Genre: Anarchist; Mystery/Crime; Post Apocalyptic
First of all allow me to say that this is nothing like the film. The film essentially raped the comic over and over, dumped it in an alleyway and then pissed on it. Twice.
Now, let's move on...
One of the best graphic novels of all-time, V for Vendetta is set in a near-future Britain after a limited nuclear war, which has left much of the world destroyed. In this future, a fascist party called Norsefire has arisen and is the ruling power. "V", an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent and theatrical campaign to bring down the totalitarian government, profoundly affecting the people he encounters.
The series was Moore's first use of the densely detailed narrative and multiple plot lines that would feature heavily in Watchmen. Panel backgrounds are often crammed with clues and red herrings; literary allusions and wordplay are prominent in the chapter titles and in V's speech (which almost always takes the form of iambic pentameter; its most famous usage has been in the many works of Shakespeare).
The two conflicting political viewpoints of anarchism and fascism permeate the story. The Norsefire regime shares every facet of fascist ideology: it is highly xenophobic, rules the nation through both fear and force, and worships strong leadership. The anarchism proposed by V is classic and built specifically around the ideas of Mikhail Bakunin, who is often associated with the idea that the old society has to be torn down before a new one can be built upon its ruins. In issue #2, V has a fictional dialogue with Madame Justice and concludes that anarchy has taught him that "justice is meaningless without freedom", a phrase which closely parallels similar statements by Bakunin.
A must-have for comic and non-comic fans alike.
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Violent Cases
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Dave McKean
Publisher: Titan Books
Publication Date: 1987
Genre: Mystery/Crime; Drama
Violent Cases is a short graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean and for both men it was their first published graphic novel work in comics.
A narrator tells of how, as a small child in Portsmouth, he was taken by his father to be treated by an osteopath who was once employed by Al Capone. The nature of the narrator's relationship with his father, the tales the osteopath told, and the disturbing events that followed, are partially obscured by the narrator's imperfect recall of things he was not old enough to understand at the time.
As with many of Gaiman's other works, Violent Cases is a story about stories, and its themes of early childhood perception and the nature of memory. It's a great read and one hell of a debut book.
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Watchmen
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Colorists: John Higgins
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: September 1986 – October 1987
Genre: Superhero; Mystery/Crime; Drama; Fantasy
And here we are. The best graphic novel of all-time and one of the greatest pieces of American literature.
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and first published by DC Comics as a monthly limited series. It was later republished as a trade paperback, which popularized the "graphic novel" format. To date, Watchmen remains the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award, and is also the only graphic novel to appear on Time's list of "the 100 best English-language novels", an annual feature of the magazine since it was founded in 1923.
Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternate history of the United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union; throughout the books, the Doomsday Clock is shown gradually ticking towards midnight. It tells the story of a group of past and present heroes and superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts heroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who—with one notable exception—lack anything immediately recognizable as accepted super powers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film.
Ultimately it's a multilayered book about power, philosophy, religion, politics, love, and the very meaning of life itself. Everyone who calls themself a comic fan has to read this. Hell, any person who calls themself a literature fan must read this. How many pieces of literature make you question your very existence?
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Y: The Last Man
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Pia Guerra
Goran Sudzuka
Paul Chadwick
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Publication Date: September 2002 – January 2008
Genre: Mystery/Crime; Drama; Fantasy
Y: The Last Man is about the only man, Yorick Brown, and his Capuchin monkey Ampersand to survive the mysterious simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. Society is plunged into chaos as infrastructures collapse and the surviving women everywhere try to cope with the loss of the men, their survivors' guilt, and the knowledge that humanity is doomed to extinction.
Vaughan meticulously crafts the new society that emerges out of this chaos, from the conversion of the Washington Monument into a monument to the dead men, to the genesis of the fanatical ultra-feminist Daughters of the Amazon, to male impersonators becoming valued romantically and professionally.
This is great series that mixes serious apocalyptic drama with sensational humor. A film adaptation is planned for 2009 (will they ever f*cking stop with all these comic adaptaions?).
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Well, that's my list.
Enjoy.
There seems to be people asking for recommendations at least once a week. Instead of us responding to all of those topics with lists of what we suggest, I figured just having an official recommendation thread that we could direct them to would be much easier and a bit more practical.
I also think people simply making long lists of good books isn’t good enough. Think of it like recommending movies to someone: you would tell them what they're about instead of just giving them a title. The same should apply here. Try to pitch the books to people. That way they can judge for themselves instead of doing a blind buy. I have personally suffered from that with a few books.
What I'd like to request is if you wish to recommend something here, at least give a short paragraph or so about what the books is about and why you like it.
I try to only recommend things I find to be the best in terms of quality, although some will disagree with me from time to time. To give you an idea of my tastes: I hate most of what Marvel and DC publish. I think 99% of the garbage they make isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I look at comics just like any other form of literature and I apply the same standards. With that being said, I also generally dislike the superhero genre. I only like it when it's done correctly, which sadly is almost never. So you will find few superhero comics on my list.
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100 Bullets
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Eduardo Risso
Colorists: Grant Goleash and Patricia Mulvihill
Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date: August 1999 – present
Genre: Mystery/Crime
The initial plot of 100 Bullets hinges on the question of whether people would take the chance to get away with revenge. Occasionally in a given story arc, the mysterious Agent Graves approaches someone who has been the victim of a terrible wrong, and gives them the chance to set things right in the form of a nondescript attaché case containing a handgun, 100 bullets, a photograph of a person, and irrefutable evidence that this person is primarily responsible for their woes. He informs the candidate that the bullets are completely untraceable: any police investigation that uncovers one of them will stop.
Though all of the murders enabled by Agent Graves are presented as justifiable, the candidates are neither rewarded nor punished for taking up the offer, and appear to receive nothing other than closure for their actions. Several people have declined the offer. This is later revealed to be only a minor part of a much wider story featuring many conspiracies.
The series has attracted critical acclaim from within and beyond the comics industry, including winning Eisner and Harvey Awards. It’s even taught in several crime literature courses at colleges in the U.S.
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30 Days of Night
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Publication Date: 2002 - Present
Genre: Horror
30 Days of Night takes place in Barrow, Alaska, so far north that during the winter the sun does not rise for 67 days. Vampires, being vulnerable to sunlight, take advantage of the prolonged darkness to feast upon the town's inhabitants without the burden of sleep to avoid lethal sunlight.
The series is hardly great literature, but it's good entertainment nonetheless, especially if you're a horror fan. It has won numerous Eisner awards. If you liked the 2007 film adaptation than you should like the comics.
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A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories
Writer: Will Eisner
Artist: Will Eisner
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Baronet Books
Publication Date: October 1978
Genre: Drama
One of the legendary Will Eisner's finest works, A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories is is often erroneously called the first graphic novel and is an early landmark of the form. It consists of four short stories all set in a Bronx tenement in the 1930s. The stories are semi-autobiographical, with Eisner drawing heavily on his own childhood experiences as well as those of his contemporaries. Utilizing his talents for expressive lettering and cartoonish figures, he links the narratives by the common setting and the common theme of immigrant and first-generation experiences, across cultures.
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A Small Killing
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Oscar Zarate
Publisher: Avatar Press
Publication Date: 1991
Genre: Drama
A Small Killing is a novel which looks inward, examining the images of one man's inner world. The protagonist is an ad company executive looking for inspiration for his latest project. This character is rather the apotheosis of '80s culture and serves as commentary of it. Seeking inspiration for the above mentioned project he returns to his home town to confront his perceptions of the past and himself.
To save myself some time let me say that if something has Alan Moore's name on it pick it up.
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Alec: The King Canute Crowd
Writer: Eddie Campbell
Artist: Eddie Campbell
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Autobiographical; Drama
This first collection of Eddie Campbell’s life stories established his reputation as a dean of autobiographical comics. “Alec" is Campbell’s version of himself, an artist working a job at a metal-stamping plant he’s overeducated for. He and Danny go to the pub frequently to drink and talk. Each see something in the other they don’t have in themselves: Danny’s the “man of action” while Alec is hesitant and reflective. It’s the simple life circa late 1970s, where the men are in their mid-20s and the most complicated things happening are the social arrangements, as the men ponder sex and chase girls. Friendship is the common thread, holding together through fights and run-ins with officials, at least for a time. They’ve got no ambition beyond enjoying life.
It’s the kind of world that doesn’t really exist, but for all that life isn’t like this, it’s still true to the emotions either felt or wished for.
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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: Frank Miller
Colorists: Lynn Varley
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: February – June 1986
Genre: Superhero
Somehow I don't think I need to do that much of an introduction for this. For those who don't know, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is considered one of the best, if not the best, Batman book out there. It involves Bruce Wayne has retired from the Batman mantle after the death of the second Robin. Ten years pass, during which Gotham City is overwhelmed with crime, plagued by a violent gang called "The Mutants". Bruce retakes the mantle of Batman after he encountered Mutant gangs in Crime Alley. Batman is aided in fighting this menace by a new Robin, a young girl named Carrie Kelly.
The book was tremendously influential; since the work was originally published, Miller's portrayal of the character as a dark, obsessive figure has dominated most Batman projects to at least some degree. Miller also criticized Cold War politics, such as brinkmanship and the existence of a powerful military-industrial complex. Numerous real public figures were also blatantly lampooned, including Ronald Reagan, Dr. Ruth and David Letterman. The trade paperback is one of DC's best selling books and has never gone out of print.
Granted this thing has a lot of things wrong with it, but I still strongly recommend reading it due to Miller's fantastic storytelling techniques used -- something I don't think he has topped since.
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Batman: The Killing Joke
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Brian Bolland
Colorists: John Higgins
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: March 1988
Genre: Superhero
Once again, I don't think I need to introduce this one. Written by the legendary Alan Moore, the plot revolves around a largely psychological battle between Batman and his longtime foe The Joker, who has escaped from Arkham Asylum. The Joker intends to drive Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon insane to prove that the most upstanding citizen is capable of going mad after having "one bad day." Along the way, the Joker has flashbacks to his early life, gradually explaining his possible origin.
One of the best Batman books of all-time, Batman: The Killing Joke had an extraordinary impact on the DC Universe. It has also reached widespread critical acclaim, even being called "one of the greatest comics of the 20th century, period." As with all my Batman books on the list, if you can ignore the obvious faults, such as a grown man wearing spandex as protection for example, then go read them. Moore's work often trancends what you expect of these kinds of books and allow you to ignore the broken and flawed aspects of the source material that he has no control over.
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Batman: Year One
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: David Mazzucchelli
Colorists: Richmond Lewis
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: March - June 1987
Genre: Superhero
Arguably Frank Miller at his best, Batman: Year One recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman and Jim Gordon's with the Gotham City Police Department
I must admit that I was hesitant of putting this on my list. While it has a lot of things going for it, there's a lot that I think are fatal flaws. If you're interested in a good superhero story I suppose give it a read, but if you can't get over moronic things such as a man wearing spandex and dressing up like a bat for almost no legitimate reason than skip it. I'd honestly just say watch Batman Begins. It adapted this book (amongst others) and greatly improved upon it.
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Bread & Wine: An Erotic Tale Of New York
Writer: Samuel R Delany
Artist: Mia Woolf
Colorists: Mia Woolf
Publisher: Juno Books
Publication Date: March 1997
Genre: Drama; Romance
A bit of a controversial book, Bread & Wine is about the beginnings of a gay relationship between a black college professor and a homeless Brooklyn Irishman in New York. Alan Moore describes it best in his introduction...
Bread & Wine affirms the central truths of all Delany's writings with conviction that is absolute, a light unscattered by the necessary mirror-surfaces of fiction: that love will transfigure and redeem. That the profane can only be the sacred. That the scum of all the earth and salt of all the earth are of the same coin. This is wisdom. This is necessary radiance to drive the shadows from the underpass, the ghosts from needle park, to blow the fogs away from culture's edge, it's coastline, and revel the widening ocean of the dispossessed beyond as objects not of fear, but of desire, of love. This is a marvelous book, filthy with feeling, with discovery. I recommend it utterly, and without reservation.
There you go.
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From Hell
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Eddie Campbell
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: 1999
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Let me begin by saying, no, the comic is nothing like the horrible film adaptation. From Hell is a book speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic message sent from the killer in 1888. The work is dense, multilayered and immensely detailed; the collected edition is 572 pages long.
Moore and Campbell conducted significant research to ensure plausibility and verisimilitude. The collected From Hell features over forty pages of page-by-page notes and references, indicating which scenes are based wholly on Moore's own imagination and which are based upon specific named sources.
I can not recommend this enough.
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Hellboy
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Mike Mignola
Colorists: Mike Mignola
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: 1993 - current
Genre: Supernatural; Action/Thriller
I decided instead of listing individual books to just clump them into one. All of the Hellboy books are fantastic and I highly recommend all of them. Although Mignola's art style is love-or-hate for most people. I'm in the group that loves it.
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Lost Girls
WARNING: The following is an erotic adult graphic novel.
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Melinda Gebbie
Colorists: Melinda Gebbie
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Erotica
One of the legendary Alan Moore's latest works, Lost Girls revolves around Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz and Wendy Darling from Peter Pan who are visiting an expensive mountain resort hotel in Austria on the eve of World War I. The women meet by chance and begin to exchange erotic stories from their pasts.
In addition to the three women's erotic flashbacks, the graphic novel depicts sexual encounters between the women and other guests and staff of the hotel, as well as with each other. The erotic adventures are set against the backdrop of cultural and historic events of the period, such as the debut of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Believe it or not this actually a fine piece of literature with literary and artistic integrity and quality. Moore himself explains the way he approached the book best.
Certainly it seemed to us that sex, as a genre, was woefully under-represented in literature. Every other field of human experience—even rarefied ones like detective, spaceman or cowboy—have got whole genres dedicated to them. Whereas the only genre in which sex can be discussed is a disreputable, seamy, under-the-counter genre with absolutely no standards: [the pornography industry]—which is a kind of Bollywood for hip, sleazy ugliness.
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Maus: A Survivor's Tale
Writer: Art Spiegelman
Artist: Art Spiegelman
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Publication Date: 1973 to 1991
Genre: Autobiographical; Drama
One of the best graphic novels of all-time, Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a graphic novel and as a whole took thirteen years to complete. It recounts the struggle of Spiegelman's father to survive the Holocaust as a Polish Jew and draws largely on his father's recollections of his experiences. The book also follows the author's troubled relationship with his father and the way the effects of war reverberate through generations of a family.
In 1992, it won a Pulitzer Prize Special Award. It's also worth noting that all people are presented as anthropomorphic animals (for example, all Jews are depicted as mice, hence the name Maus which is German for "mouse"). It's awards include...
- 1988 Angoulême International Comics Festival Awards - Religious Award: Christian Testimony & Prize for Best Comic Book: Foreign Comic Award
- 1988 Urhunden Prize - Foreign Album
- 1990 Max & Moritz Prizes - Special Prize
- 1992 Pulitzer Prize - Special Awards and Citations - Letters
- 1992 Eisner Award - Best Graphic Album: Reprint
- 1992 Harvey Award - Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work
- 1993 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction
- 1993 Angoulême International Comics Festival Awards - Prize for Best Comic Book: Foreign comic
- 1993 Urhunden Prize - Foreign Album
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Powers
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colorists: Michael Avon Oeming
Publisher: Image; Marvel/Icon Comics
Publication Date: 2000 to present
Genre: Superhero; Mystery/Crime; Drama
Almost like The X-Files meets Law and Order but with superheroes, Powers is set in a world where superpowers are relatively common but not mundane. It follows the lives of two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, police officers in a Homicide department devoted to cases that involve "powers". Walker himself used to be a costumed superhero named Diamond, but became a police officer after he lost his abilities. Though stripped of his powers, he still retains his contacts within the superhero community, even becoming engaged to an ex-colleague.
This is a great little gem that deserves more recognition. It's some on Bendis' best work, if not his best (I think it is as I find most of his other work to be mediocre). Oeming's art is also wonderful; as many may be able to tell he uses art heavily inspired by and based off of Bruce Timm's.
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Saga of the Swamp Thing
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Stephen Bissette
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: 1984 - 1987
Genre: Fantasy; Horror
This collects Moore's ingenious and brilliant run with DC Comic's Swamp Thing title. For those who don't know, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing had a profound effect on mainstream comic books, being the first horror comic to approach the genre from a literary point of view since the EC horror comics of the 1950s, and broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots.
Moore began a trend of mining the DC Universe's vast collection of minor supernatural characters to create a mythic atmosphere. Characters spun off from Moore's series gave rise to DC's Vertigo comic book line, notably The Sandman, Hellblazer, and The Books of Magic; Vertigo titles were written with adults in mind and often contained material unsuitable for children. Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority and write directly for adults.
Highly recommended as it's some of best DC Comics has ever published.
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Sin City
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: Frank Miller
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: 1991
Genre: Mystery/Crime; Drama
Who the hell doesn't know what Sin City is? For those who don't, Sin City is the title for a series of comics by Frank Miller, told in a film noir-like style. It's also famous for its artwork, which draws heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. Black and white are the sole colors most of the time with exception of red, yellow and blue in some stories. Partial color usage is designed to draw attention to a certain character in the story.
If you enjoyed the incredible film adaptation co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller with "special guest director" Quentin Tarantino then you'll love the comics. I know I do. I think it's Miller's best work; it's a must-read.
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The Crow
Writer: James O'Barr
Artist: James O'Barr
Colorists: n/a
Publisher: Caliber Comics
Publication Date: 1989
Genre: Supernatural; Action/Thriller
Granted this was one of the few times where the film adaptation was far superior to the comic, but The Crow is still a decent read. I admittedly don't like the comic like most seem to, as I feel it's filled with a plot that becomes boring halfway through the book (an indestructible protagonist will do that) and that almost all of it's characters are either one or two dimensional.
In case you live under a rock, the story revolves around an unfortunate young man named Eric. He and his fiancée, Shelly, are assaulted by a gang of street thugs after their car breaks down. Eric is shot in the head and is paralyzed, and can only watch as Shelly is savagely beaten and raped until she dies at the scene. Eric survives and is taken to a hospital, but while surgeons are trying to save him, he has a vision of a crow and is declared dead.
One year later, Eric seeks out vengeance on the murderers, methodically stalking and killing them. When not on the hunt, Eric stays in the house he shared with Shelly, spending most of his time there lost in memories of Shelly; her absence is torture for him, and he is in emotional pain, even engaging in self-mutilation.
The book is filled with supernatural imagery, but it's left up to the reader to decide whether the events are truly supernatural.
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Kevin O'Neill
Colorists: Benedict Dimagmaliw
Publisher: Wildstorm/DC Comics
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Fantasy; Drama
Seriously, forget that piece of shit film adaptation. The film was only vaguely inspirted by the comic. The comic takes place in 1898 in a fictional world where all of the characters and events from Victorian literature (and possibly the entirety of fiction) coexist. The world the characters inhabit is one more technologically advanced than our own was in the same era. I'd elaborate, but that would mean I run the risk of spoiling things.
This is some of Moore's finest work, and I strongly recommend getting this and the other volumes of The League. Unless you're not into other forms of literature, then you may be totally lost when reading this.
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The Sandman
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Dave McKean
Sam Kieth
Mike Dringenberg
Malcolm Jones III
Kelley Jones
Jill Thompson
Marc Hempel
Michael Zulli
Charles Vess
and others
Colorists: Danny Vozzo
Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date: 1989 - 1996
Genre: Supernatural; Fantasy; Suspense
The Sandman was one of Vertigo's flagship titles that chronicles the adventures of Dream of The Endless, who rules over the world of dreams, and is available as a series of ten trade paperbacks. It is also being reprinted in a recolored four-volume Absolute hardcover edition with slipcase. Critically acclaimed, The Sandman was the only comic to ever win the World Fantasy Award, and is one of the few comic books to ever be on the New York Times Bestseller List, along with Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Norman Mailer described the series as "a comic book for intellectuals."
Every comic fan needs this in their collection. It's perhaps the best monthly / on-going comic book series of all-time.
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The Tale of One Bad Rat
Writer: Bryan Talbot
Artist: Bryan Talbot
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: October 1994 - January 1995
Genre: Drama
The Tale of One Bad Rat is an excellent graphic novel by Bryan Talbot, about a victim of child abuse. It makes heavy reference to the works of Beatrix Potter. It was first published in four parts by Dark Horse Comics in 1995. The collected edition won the Eisner Award for best Graphic Album Reprint in 1996, and several other awards and nominations.
One Bad Rat is the most mainstream of Talbot's works and is drawn in a simple, naturalistic style with painted colours. Unusually for Talbot (and the comics industry in general), all of the characters were drawn from life, and the locations from photographs of real places.
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Torso
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Marc Andreyko
Artist: Brian Michael Bendis
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: 2001
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Some of Bendis at his best, Torso tells the story of the real life "Torso Murderer", a serial killer who was active during 1934 to 1938. He received his nickname because he left only the torsos of his victims. Without fingerprints or dental records, these victims were very difficult to identify in a time before DNA testing. The investigator on the case was Eliot Ness, Cleveland chief of police and former head of the Untouchables. It is based on the true story of the Cleveland Torso Murderer. Torso was the winner of the 1999 Eisner Award for "Comic Book Excellence, Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition".
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V for Vendetta
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: David Lloyd
Colorists: Steve Whitaker
Siobhan Dodds
David Lloyd
Publisher: Quality Comics (UK)
Vertigo/DC Comics (USA)
Publication Date: 1982-1988
Genre: Anarchist; Mystery/Crime; Post Apocalyptic
First of all allow me to say that this is nothing like the film. The film essentially raped the comic over and over, dumped it in an alleyway and then pissed on it. Twice.
Now, let's move on...
One of the best graphic novels of all-time, V for Vendetta is set in a near-future Britain after a limited nuclear war, which has left much of the world destroyed. In this future, a fascist party called Norsefire has arisen and is the ruling power. "V", an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent and theatrical campaign to bring down the totalitarian government, profoundly affecting the people he encounters.
The series was Moore's first use of the densely detailed narrative and multiple plot lines that would feature heavily in Watchmen. Panel backgrounds are often crammed with clues and red herrings; literary allusions and wordplay are prominent in the chapter titles and in V's speech (which almost always takes the form of iambic pentameter; its most famous usage has been in the many works of Shakespeare).
The two conflicting political viewpoints of anarchism and fascism permeate the story. The Norsefire regime shares every facet of fascist ideology: it is highly xenophobic, rules the nation through both fear and force, and worships strong leadership. The anarchism proposed by V is classic and built specifically around the ideas of Mikhail Bakunin, who is often associated with the idea that the old society has to be torn down before a new one can be built upon its ruins. In issue #2, V has a fictional dialogue with Madame Justice and concludes that anarchy has taught him that "justice is meaningless without freedom", a phrase which closely parallels similar statements by Bakunin.
A must-have for comic and non-comic fans alike.
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Violent Cases
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Dave McKean
Publisher: Titan Books
Publication Date: 1987
Genre: Mystery/Crime; Drama
Violent Cases is a short graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean and for both men it was their first published graphic novel work in comics.
A narrator tells of how, as a small child in Portsmouth, he was taken by his father to be treated by an osteopath who was once employed by Al Capone. The nature of the narrator's relationship with his father, the tales the osteopath told, and the disturbing events that followed, are partially obscured by the narrator's imperfect recall of things he was not old enough to understand at the time.
As with many of Gaiman's other works, Violent Cases is a story about stories, and its themes of early childhood perception and the nature of memory. It's a great read and one hell of a debut book.
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Watchmen
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Colorists: John Higgins
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: September 1986 – October 1987
Genre: Superhero; Mystery/Crime; Drama; Fantasy
And here we are. The best graphic novel of all-time and one of the greatest pieces of American literature.
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and first published by DC Comics as a monthly limited series. It was later republished as a trade paperback, which popularized the "graphic novel" format. To date, Watchmen remains the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award, and is also the only graphic novel to appear on Time's list of "the 100 best English-language novels", an annual feature of the magazine since it was founded in 1923.
Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternate history of the United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union; throughout the books, the Doomsday Clock is shown gradually ticking towards midnight. It tells the story of a group of past and present heroes and superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts heroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who—with one notable exception—lack anything immediately recognizable as accepted super powers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film.
Ultimately it's a multilayered book about power, philosophy, religion, politics, love, and the very meaning of life itself. Everyone who calls themself a comic fan has to read this. Hell, any person who calls themself a literature fan must read this. How many pieces of literature make you question your very existence?
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Y: The Last Man
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Pia Guerra
Goran Sudzuka
Paul Chadwick
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Publication Date: September 2002 – January 2008
Genre: Mystery/Crime; Drama; Fantasy
Y: The Last Man is about the only man, Yorick Brown, and his Capuchin monkey Ampersand to survive the mysterious simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. Society is plunged into chaos as infrastructures collapse and the surviving women everywhere try to cope with the loss of the men, their survivors' guilt, and the knowledge that humanity is doomed to extinction.
Vaughan meticulously crafts the new society that emerges out of this chaos, from the conversion of the Washington Monument into a monument to the dead men, to the genesis of the fanatical ultra-feminist Daughters of the Amazon, to male impersonators becoming valued romantically and professionally.
This is great series that mixes serious apocalyptic drama with sensational humor. A film adaptation is planned for 2009 (will they ever f*cking stop with all these comic adaptaions?).
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Well, that's my list.
Enjoy.