Graphic Novel must haves

Kold

What I've got: Watchmen, the Preacher Series, Maus, JTHM collection

I've read the first Sandman and it seems pretty good, wouldn't mind giving V for Vendetta a read either.

So after that, what else demands a read?

ztoical

did you have a look at the Ultimate Comic bookshelf thread for some rec's?

Kold

Nope. Surely it'd be handy to have something like that stickied? I'll have an oul sconce now.

ztoical

Kold wrote: »

Nope. Surely it'd be handy to have something like that stickied? I'll have an oul sconce now.

Its stickied via the forum charter:

Recommended reading requests: If you are looking for new reading material, you should either look at the "What comic are you reading?" thread or the "Ultimate Comic Bookshelf" thread. If, after rooting through both threads, you're still looking for suggestions, then post up a new thread including at least 5 titles that you have read and which will give a good indication of your tastes.

As your looking for graphic novels the "ultimate comic book shelf" is prob the better thread to start with as the "what are you reading" thread is a mix of monthlies and graphic novels.

Fysh

Hi Kold,

As ztoical mentioned, the Ultimate Comic Bookshelf thread is probably a good place to look for some further suggestions. That being said, it's been a bit neglected for a while now so I'm going to re-vamp it soon and get a sticky sorted out. (The main reason it wasn't stickied before is because until we got the Comic Production sub-forum there were too many stickies already, but happily that's no longer an issue).

Kold

That's cool. So until it's revamped, fancy giving me a recommendation of a complete collection I might enjoy judging from my past reads above?

Fysh

If you liked Preacher, Ennis's run on Hellblazer is worth a look - pretty much the whole lot is collected now, although for some reason its not quite in reading order. The collected books to look out for are Dangerous Habits, Bloodlines, Fear And Loathing, Tainted Love, Damnation's Flame, and Rake At The Gates Of Hell. (You can skip Bloodlines as it won't really make sense by itself, since it collects a bunch of issues that were interspersed between the rest of them).

You could also check out Bear or Squee! if you liked JTHM - Squee is by the same guy, and Bear is very similar in both tone and style.

V for Vendetta is also definitely worth a read, and if you liked Watchmen you may also find much to enjoy in Batman : The Dark Knight Returns. It's also worth taking a look at Warren Ellis's run on Stormwatch, which is pretty much the only chunk of it to be properly released in collected form. In order, they are Force Of Nature, Lightning Strikes, Change Or Die, A Finer World and Final Orbit. (My personal opinion is that you'll struggle to find a better example of a contemporary political superhero series, but I'm biased because I enjoy almost everything Warren ellis has written).

On the more serious side of things, if you liked Maus you can check out In The Shadow Of No Towers (also by Art Spiegelman) or have a look at pretty much anything by Joe Sacco - he's effectively a war correspondent who presents his work as comics. Palestine and Safe Area Gorazde seem to be his most high profile works.

Kold

Yeah, I've got the Bear collection, all the Squees, and both I Feel Sicks. Lenore never seemed particularly funny. Wouldn't mind getting something pretty light hearted.
What breaks my heart is the prices of some of these things on top of my numerous other addictions and I like to have the full thing.

The Dark Knight returns, is it good for someone who hasn't really read any of the Batman series? Would it be Frank Miller's best?

Fysh

Yeah, I'm the same about Lenore, I must admit. There's an american small press comic called Spaztic Colon that I read which is somewhat similar but in my opinion vastly superior. Go here for more info on that.

Dark Knight Returns is fine for non-Batman readers, I wasn't very familiar with the character at all when I read it (outside of things like the cartoons and the films, that is). There are a few details which don't make that much sense if you're not familiar with the whole backstory, but nothing that'll stop you enjoying the story. Miller's other high point is Year One, although I still haven't read it so I can't really comment. Dark Knight Strikes Again was the sort-of-sequel to Dark Knight Returns, but it's completely different in tone and frankly is a far inferior comic in my opinion. (There's a reason for this, in that DKR was an attempt to make Batman darker and more realistic and grim than it previously had been, whereas DKSA didn't happen until 15 years after DKR and was an attempt to move Batman away from the grim'n'gritty movement that DKR helped bring about).

If you like Bear, Jamie Smart has recently released two issues of his new series Ubu Bubu which is some of the most deranged humour I've ever seen in comics. Anyone who can write a line like "Slap Rommel in the tits!" has problems of the sort that bring about awesome comics.

Kold

Haha. His "I AM THE PIG" drawing has probably made me laugh the hardest I've ever laughed.

Fysh

You can find more Jamie Smart pig-comic goodness here. I really like his stuff, can't wait for the book of his Space Raoul strips (due sometime in September from SLG, apparently).

Kold

Heh reminds me of Tim Farell's Baby cocks for eyes and legs.