Over the course of the past year or so I’ve become very interested in comics (or graphic novels or sequential art or whatever you want to call them) but have had a hard time finding stories that are along the lines of what I like to read. Or, perhaps to be more honest, I’ve had trouble finding comics that aren’t written for eight-year-old boys; I don’t know what it is, but something about the line “I’ll use psyonic blasts from my fists to stop him!!!” just doesn’t do it for me. (It did when I was eight though–and I have a stack of X-Men to prove it–so I guess they work for some people some of the time.)
So I was thought I would ask the lovely and literate Alas crowd if they had any comic recommendations for me. I’m not especially interested in comic strips (unless they’re genius) or superhero comics, but I’ll give most anything a few pages. I don’t care what country they’re from, what direction they read, or if they’re on the internet, but I want some comics.
Below is a list of what I’ve read recently. It isn’t much, but it might give you an idea of what I’ve read so far.
[Update: This post has generated a plethora of recommendations. I haven’t had a chance to read any of them yet (read any of the comics, that is; I’ve read the comments) because of stuff like work and The Return of the King but have printed up the comment threads and will start hunting. Thanks to everyone who responded!]
- Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. Which I loved when I was sixteen but really didn’t like when I reread it at 18. Come to think of it, that’s how I feel about everything I’ve read by Gaiman.
- Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. It was okay, but I couldn’t get into the superhero thing.
- Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. I wasn’t too impressed by this one, not because of the superheros but because of the shaky writing.
- Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics and everything at his website. I haven’t yet read something by him I didn’t like.
- Alan Moore’s Watchmen. I liked it, perhaps because none of the characters really had superpowers.
- Art Spiegelman’s Maus, which was great.
- Craig Thompson’s Blankets, which is fantastic so far at two chapters in. Unless it ends terribly, I’ll call it great.
The Tale of One Bad Rat, by Bryan Talbot, available from Dark Horse. The story of a homeless girl trying to survive around London, with Beatrix Potter bits included.
From Hell, by Alan Moore. It’s probably the most extensively researched and endnoted comic books I’ve ever encountered. It consists of Alan Moore’s extended musings on what could be he story of Jack the Ripper. Ignore the crappy movie of the same name.
The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, also by Alan Moore. It’s about 19th century super-heroes, but, “super-heroes” drawn from the pages of science fiction and horror novels of the time, so that Alan Quatermain and Captain Nemo rub shoulders with Mycroft Holmes and The Insidious Doctor Fu Manchu. Exceedingly clever literary references aboud. Ignore the even crappier movie of the same name.
Hellblazer, which has been written by many folks throughout the years, and isn’t even really that great right now, but has had some truly glorious runs in the past. The protagonist, John Constantine, is a more-or-less regular guy with a bit of occult knowlege trying to make his way in life. The anti-hero to beat all anti-heroes. I’ll suggest some specific Hellblazer collections when I’m more awake.
—JRC
hmm…
well, if you can find them, there are some old books by Grant Morrisson that are really great. One is called Sebastian O and it’s sort of an Oscar Wilde tribute, retro sci-fi thing. The other is Kill Your Boyfriend which is just a nice exploration of trashiness as a road trip adventure.
Lately I would also recommend Unlikely by Jeffrey Brown. It’s about a sort of nerdy, clingy guy in a relationship with someone who is more experienced, everybody is neurotic, and all of the situations are awkward and depicted so genuinely that it’s really sort of jarring.
Also check out Nowheresville by Mark Ricketts. It’s this crazy beat-era murder mystery, very solidly done stuff.
The last thing I’ll recommend is Hawaiian Dick by B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin. It’s a funky 1950’s private investigator story set in what can only be described as a travel agency’s pamphlet’s representation of Hawaii–it’s all kitschy and tiki. And Clay is a friend of mine, so buy his book.
Dude, It’s all about Jhonen Vasquez. Go pick up Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: Director’s Cut and Squee’s Wonderful Great Big Book of Unspeakable Horrors. Also Mike Carey’s The Furies is pretty awesome.
In the meantime, I so need to read Alan Moore’s stuff.
I like Berlin (collected in «Berlin, Book One: City of Stones» by Jason Lutes. I am eagerly waiting for the the second collection of Berlins. «Jar of Fools» by the same auther is also recomended.
I also have what I think is a visually masterpiece, «The ACME Novelty Library» series by Chris Ware. I don’t think you can get the whole series unless it is reprintet. But the Jimmy Corrigan episodes is collected in «Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth».
Uzumaki, by Junti Ito. Horror. Small Japanese town is overcome by an obsession with spirals. Also a seriously bent movie.
Ruse, by Aaron Churchill. In the same vein as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I agree with JRC about “League.” It rocks.
It’s an oldie, but if you can find The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, that’s good, demented fun.
BTW, PDP, I feel the same way you do about Sandman. I tried hard to like it but I just couldn’t get into it.
Nowhere by Debbie Dreschler (her earlier book, Daddy’s Girl, is great but really horrifying)
100 Demons and The Greatest of Marlys by Lynda Barry (the former is a book, the latter a collection of comic strips which tell a narrative)
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Also, I second the recommendations for Berlin and Acme Novelty Library.
Same thing happened to me, I just got into the genre. Except I never read as a kid, so the whole marvel ultimate X-men/Ultimates do it for me. Mark Millar is really good. He’s coming out with a lot of independent stuff soon (or now) I’d reccomnned trying.
Other stuff I’ve read you may like are Sojourn and El Cazador, both from CrossGen. They’re the only two I’ve read from CrossGen but they’re really, really good.
My friends also got me volume one of Preacher (DC/Vertigo) and I enjoyed that as well.
You may want to check out http://www.komikwerks.com too, they have a lot of online stuff by some very good people, and it may point you to other authors.
I second Aslak’s recommendation of Berlin:City of Stones and Jar of Fools by Jason Lutes.
And I will second two of Trish’s recommendations: Uzumaki is great. And the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers which can be found in a collection so you don’t have to go looking for old issues of their comic to enjoy them.
I would add:
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
Guy Davis’ Honour Among Punks: The Complete Baker Street Graphic Novel
Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez collects every single Palomar story from Love and Rockets. It’s a little pricey though since it is a 512 page harcover. The stories are great.
Anything by Julie Doucet.
Clan Apis and Sandwalk Adventures by Jay Hosler–they will help you learn.
And on the Superhero front I would suggest The Golden Age from DC and Top10 from America’s Best Comics.
as Preacher has already come up, I recommend the similar, yet entirely different, Invisibles. while it’s got more than it’s share of pop culture quasi-mysticism, it’s an intertaining read, particularly if you can find it in order (when first released in the states, several volumes of the brittish comic were skipped. they should all be out now)
since they’ve recently (past year or two) started to release One Piece (manga) stateside, I reccommend it as well. it almost qualifies as a superhero series (supernatural powers do abound) but the actual premise is more akin to a comedic Prince Valiant, you know, if he were a pirate.
Usagi Yojimbo is also a stunningly good series, if you’re not averse to furry art. while he did cameo TMNT, it’s actually a serious samurai drama comic with talented storytelling. well worth a read. start the grasscutter story arcs to see if you enjoy it, then start at the beginning if you do. Grasscutter I and II are two of the best stories I’ve read in years, and they stand alone quite easily.
The author of Calvin & Hobbes wrote an article on the decline of comics, singling out three comics that had inspired him and that he found massively influential: “Peanuts”, “Krazy Kat”, and “Pogo.”
KK (from the 20s) I find OK but bizarre, Ignatz Mouse throws a brick at KK about every episode and KK thinks it’s love, but someon pointed out Wile E. Coyote is about that limited in action.
Pogo (from the 50s) looks lovely, I just got it for my niece. Charming.
I highly recommend Carla Speed McNeill’s Finder.
Try Bone or Castle Waiting.
Someone mentioned One Piece, which is running in the American release of Shonen Jump magazine. There are a couple of good series in there, but I’d recommend three in particular.
Naruto, which is a ninja comic. But it’s a comic where the characters constantly grow, change, and defy expectations. The story has a huge number of discrete characters, none of whom are treated as unimportant.
Shaman King, which is a bit of a light read, but it’s handled so well you might as well be watching film at times.
And best of the bunch:
Hikaru No Go, a story with very little of the fantastic in it, with the exception of one rather singular ghost. With hyper-realistic art and a focus on the ancient game of Go as played in modern Japan, you would expect this to be a rather dry series. But it manages to be exciting, intense, and absorbing, without resorting to chases, fights, or any of the rest of the action movie arsenal. I highly recommend it.
I’m pretty sure Friends of Lulu and/or Sequential Tart still have female-friendly recommended lists up. I worked on the FoL one for a time…
Promethea – The collection books are coming out, and it probably won’t be around much longer because the author is using to close down his comic universe, but if you’ve ever had more than a passing interest in kabbalah, very cool.
Alias – A superhero quits the superheroing business and opens a private detective agency. It’s like the backend of the JLA, and has nothing to do with the TV series of the same name.
Supreme Power – New series, vaguely Supermanish, but Straczynski (Babylon 5) is one of the authors. Expecting good things from what I’ve seen.
The Last Man – A mysterious plague wipes out every critter on the planet with a Y chromosome except the son of a US senator and his male pet monkey. Hilarity ensues.
Fables – Not only are fairy tales real, they have their own town tucked into the NY area suburbs. Snow White is the head of state, and the Big, Bad Wolf is the sheriff.
Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson kept me up all night. While a story about ordinary people, it’s really compelling reading (both other people that I leant it to also finished it in a single reading).
Cerebus by Dave Sim. An imaginative indie comic. Suffers from the shortcoming of having a complete asshole for a writer. He’s a misogynist too. But other than that, enjoyable.
Not that I have enough time to read any comics any more.
I would just add two: Kyle Baker’s Why I Hate Saturn, which is biting and witty and…sort of has a superhero, but only sort of. The main character starts out cynical, biting, hilarious, and stuck in a rut that she can’t quite grok. Then her sister visits.
Also, John J. Muth’s Moonshadow, which has stunning, evocative art. It’s about a boy who is raised by his hippie mother in a sort of menagerie run by these inexplicable round beings, and what happens when he escapes. Bloody wonderful.
I stuck my recommendations over in the other thread–sorry about that. But now that I’ve had time to think it over, let me add a few that I didn’t think of and haven’t seen on either thread.
Peter Bagge’s Neat Stuff was particularly funny as it came out. The follow-up, Hate, was also good, but it focused on Buddy Bradley. I liked the other characters just as much.
Jules Feiffer’s work has, I think, aged well. Pick up any of it that’s cheap and at hand.
The issues of the Alan Moore/Bill Sienkowicz collaboration Big Numbers which came out were stunning–it’s a shame they didn’t finish the series.
In the superhero vein, I liked The Invisibles and the really, really weird issues of Doom Patrol–you’d probably have to be a reformed superhero junkie for that one, though.
And you can’t go wrong with the classic strips, as mentioned above: Peanuts, Pogo, Krazy Kat, and one I don’t think I saw mentioned, Little Nemo in Slumberland.
I can’t recommend Transmetropolitan enough. It’s something of a futuristic Hunter S. Thompson-style adventure. With bowel disruptors.
I second the recommendation for Finder as well.
Adrian Tomine is amazing. He has two collections of stories- Sleepwalk and Summer Blonde. I think there’s an earlier collection of rougher work but I haven’t seen it. His stories are realistic and very depressing with very powerful artwork.
I also like Daniel Clowes, who has written Ghost World among many other novels and story collections.
This stuff is pretty much as good as any fiction plus it has pretty pictures.
“Adrian Tomine is amazing. He has two collections of stories- Sleepwalk and Summer Blonde. I think there’s an earlier collection of rougher work but I haven’t seen it. His stories are realistic and very depressing with very powerful artwork.”
32 Stories
With all these great suggestions, PDP, you will be reading for months.
Douglas Rushkoff is putting out a graphic novel this spring, Club Zero-G. You might want to check that out.
Try Transmetropoliton by Warren Ellis. It’s a wonderful read. Political, Hilarious, Poignant. It’s more than a great comic book it’s a revolutionary piece of literature.
Preacher by Garth Ennis. Ive never cared so much about the charecters of comics as I do about these charecters. A great story of religious angst (might be a bit blasphemous but what the hell)
Hellblazer is worth a read, and so is League of Extrodinary Gentlemen.
Y the last man is incredible and an awesome concept.
Lastly Any Frank Miller work. Frank takes a “super-hero” puts him in a non-superhero story. Breaks him or her down and builds them back up in an F’n amazing way.
Sin City-Frank’s non superhero comic. Check it out.
Daredevil- The Man on the Man without fear. The best run ever hands down.
Daredevil-the man without fear- I got goosebumps when Matt beats the muggers in hell’s kitchen with his mind echoing the chants of his youth “Daredevil…Daredevil…Daredevil”
Batman-The Dark Knight returns : This could be the greatest comic book ever written. Batman returns after a ten year abscense to a world that no longer knows or trusts him. Punks rule the streets, the people live in fear But will Batman even matter in this day and age?
Miller’s work trancends the super-hero genre and he can take a failing hero and make him an f’n power player. Even though you were specifically looking for Non-superhero comics you should check them out.
Well that’s all for my comic review. Most of the other mentions are pretty good as well.
Peace
I’d say Death: At Death’s Door by Jill Thompson … granted, it’s a Sandman spinoff, but has a different flavor from Neil Gaiman’s work — it’s more whimsical and comedic and just plain fun to read.
American Splendor–the earliest are the best, although “Our Cancer Year” is excellent. The anthologies (there have been a couple) are worth a look.
Not sure if you read through the olde comments on olde posts, but here’s to futility:
online my prefered source for color and fury is Sluggy Freelance at http://www.sluggy.com . The early work can be childish and rudimentary, but as the comic progresses, so do the writing, the art, and the storylines. There are mid-90s song references, monty python references, puns, laughs, violent rabbits, etc. Anywell, hope your search is fruitful,
Jandhi