I don't see a thread for graphic novels on the site. Is anyone a fan? I got into them by reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, and From Hell by Alan Moore. They really spoiled me. The only thing I've ever read that comes close is the Lone Wolf and Cub books.

What have you loved? What should everyone read? Manga style or western? Are comic books different from graphic novels, and should they be judged differently?

What do YOU think?

God, stop my shaking knees...I adore big fat "graphic novels", but to me they are still "just" comics, so I'm not sure if this thread is a legitimate lone wolf, or a dirty splinter group, but I'll contribute.!

I've read a lot, but here are some "should haves"...

Concrete...Think Like a Mountain/ Killer Smile etc.- Paul Chadwick

Madman- Any of the collected editions./ Crash Course for the Ravers/ G-Men From Hell- Mike Allred

Watchmen - Alan Moore

Y-The Last Man - Brian Vaughan

Hellboy- Right Hand of Doom et al.- Mike Mignola

Nausicaa- vols 1-7 ?- Hayao Miyazaki

The Golden Age- ?? cant remember sorry..

The Atomics- Mike Allred

Tom Strong- Alan Moore

The Originals- Dave Gibbon

30 Days of Night- Steve Niles

Kingdom Come - Alex Ross

Maus- Vol 1 & 2- Art Spiegelman

Bone- Complete - Jeff Smith

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Alan Moore

The Walking Dead - Robert Kirkman

I also love Sandman, Lone Wolf & Cub, and many others...if you wan't more detail on any of my titles, just ask.

I don't want this to be an epic post of boring explanations..

Oops, I didn't see the thread under fiction books. This may get deleted/moved. In the meantime, though...

Of those you've mentioned, I've also read Watchmen, Maus and Bone. Now that you mention Bone, it might actually have been my favorite.

I started Y-The Last Man, but couldn't get into it.

I'm currently reading The Path of the Assassin series (same guys as Lone Wolf and Cub) and Vagabond, which is the story of Musashi.

Which has been your absolute fav, ish? We know each other by now, which do I have to go pick up the next time I'm at the comix store?

quote:

Originally posted by kendocubano:
which do I have to go pick up the next time I'm at the comix store?

Well, I know you were talking to Ishmael, but I do have some suggestions out of the magnificent choices he has pointed out.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a great read. Nothing like the movie, this comic series is stuffed with so many literary references that it's like an intelligent 'Where's Waldo' book.

A book similar to this is 'Top 10' another Alan Moore series. A super-city story. Lot's of sci-fi & comic references in the backgrounds of this series. Really, you can't go wrong with an Alan Moore book.

Madman is a wonderful Frankenstein-type story, where the "monster" becomes a hero.

Kingdom Come is a futuristic DC story of what is going to happen to our favorite heroes in their senior years. The paint strokes of Alex Ross are just beautiful. If you end up liking that, he did just the opposite for Marvel before that in 'Marvels'. By opposite, I mean he shows what the world looked like when the superheroes FIRST made the scene. The entire story is seen through the eyes of a photographer. 'Ruins' goes in yet another direction. This is probably my favorite story because it shows the "reality" of what happens when you are bombarded with radiation or have mutant powers. Our heroes are reduced to cancer patients & being killed for fooling with science. Very interesting stuff!

Oh yeah, the comics thread is in the Fiction Books under Comics/ Graphic Novels. Currently it is the 7th one down from the top.

OK, well I will answer k/c over in the comics thread...so eyes left, turn, march......

Barefoot Gen Series by Keiji Nakazawa: This lovely graphic novel will make you cry, The story of a boy and his family and how they cope with their losses when the A-bomb is dropped of Nagasaki.
Buddha Series by Osmau Tezuka: Siddhartha but as a graphic novel. Just mindblowing stuff.
MAUS by Art Spiegelman: This is the graphic novel that actually introduced me to all graphic novels.