Graphic Novels

[LickTheStar]

So, I recently came into graphic novels because well... I never thought much of them before. I read From Hell a few years ago, but never bothered to get any further into any of them, from superheroes to other types...

But recently, I read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and LOVED it. I've been a fan of Batman since the Adam West cornball stuff when I first saw it in the 80s, then followed it to the Tim Burton films, and the WB Animated Series, and up through the Christopher Nolan films.

But my favorite out of the handful I've read so far is Alan Moore's Watchmen. Moore has an amazing ability to tell a story and build characters slowly. At times, there are two, three, and more parallel stories going at one time and yet Moore manages to keep them clear and consistent.

Alan Moore even made Swamp Thing interesting! Take a look if you're interested. I'm not a huge fan like one of my co-workers, but... I kinda like the twist he adds to it.

I still think a majority of them are average at best, but... damn there's some fine story tellers in that medium, like most genres.

Any graphic novel fans in the forum?

 

[Father Luke]

Any graphic novel fans in the forum?

Ever read any Neil Gaiman?

 

[Hosh]

I used to want to write & draw comics...but never broke through...my favorites:
~David Lapham's STRAY BULLETS
~Frank Miller's SIN CITY
~Always liked AKA Goldfish by Brian Michael Bendis too.

If you love Batman, look for THE KILLING JOKE, BATMAN: YEAR ONE, FULL CIRCLE, & a fun one called GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT. THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is, for me, the best graphic novel ever made.

 

[LickTheStar]

Ever read any Neil Gaiman?

I haven't. Either graphic novels, or otherwise... however, I'm intensely curious about Sandman. It just sounds like a really cool series. Plus... those absolute editions are BEAUTIFUL. Really, really nice. And the size is impressive.

He is on my list. Sometime down the line.

I used to want to write & draw comics...but never broke through...my favorites:
~David Lapham's STRAY BULLETS
~Frank Miller's SIN CITY
~Always liked AKA Goldfish by Brian Michael Bendis too.

If you love Batman, look for THE KILLING JOKE, BATMAN: YEAR ONE, FULL CIRCLE, & a fun one called GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT. THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is, for me, the best graphic novel ever made.

Year One and The Killing Joke were great, absolutely great. I really liked Year One especially, but I was sad that it ended where it did. Still, it laid a good foundation.

Sin City is also on my shortlist for upcoming reads.

Also, unrelated, but... I'm really sorry. I think you should have been on Nixon's shitlist. But there's still time. In some alternate timeline.

 

[Father Luke]

Ever read Preacher?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preacher_comic

 

[CarversDog]

I must endorse all the titles Hosh added and include the "American Century" series as well.

 

[jordan]

i'm a pretty big comics fan (yes, i call them comics; it's easier to type)...

jim woodring's FRANK comics are my favorites... i also really like joe matt ("spent" is one of my favorite books), and the who's who of modern alternative comics guys (dan clowes, seth, adrian tomine, chris ware, etc.) and of course, there's always tintin. and crumb. (i'd give anything to see a tintin episode guest-written by crumb, come to think of it.)

 

[Digney in Burnaby]

Thought there was another thread on graphic novels because I remember typing "I like Hate and I hate everything else" in reference to Peter Bagge's Buddy stories.

There is, of course, Will Eisner, and The Spirit and a bunch of other sequential art books that he did before he passed away. I used to buy those Spirit reprints that Warren put out in the 1970s, then Kitchen Sink did it till they went out of business (while reprinting Krazy Kat). He employed some pretty good artists to help get the weekly comic out. Guys like Jules Feiffer and Wallace Wood.

Was reading an introduction to bp Nichol's collected poems and he mentioned comics like Nemo in Slumberland and others. Those old one page Sunday comics were marvelous. Why I've been known to go to the libraries and spend time and money copying from microfilm comic strips from decades ago.... Put them all together in a scrapbook and they are graphic novels. Krazy!

 

[Billville]

I just started reading Steve Niles Complete Cal McDonald stories called, Criminal Macabre. It's a collection of his work in one novel, most of which--if I'm not mistaken--are taken from his comics. I'm not much of a comic fan and accidentally stumbled upon the book. But it's great. A drug addicted detective/ghost/monster hunter. I highly recommend it.

 

[Father Luke]

I just started reading Steve Niles Complete Cal McDonald stories . . .

Familiar with Savage Membrane ?

 

[Billville]

Just finished it. It's the first story in the Criminal Macabre collection. Very Cool. I'm onto the second story now: Guns, Drugs and Monsters.

 

[jordan]

i'm reading "skin deep" by charles burns right now... that guy is something else.

 

[Erik]

I like the Bone books.
Sort of a cross between the Marx Bros. & Tolkien.
Jeff Smith has a clean line with a simple naivistic touch.

 

[Bukfan]

Will Eisners, The Spirit, was done in the forties and early fifties, but Eisner also created a bunch of graphic novels, starting with, A Contract With God, in 1978 (I think). He was the guy who invented the expression, graphic novel, and he called comic books for sequencial art. I highly recommend his graphic novels such as, A Family Matter, Minor Miracles, Dropsy Avenue, A life Force, Fagin The Jew, The Plot, and his graphic novel about his youth, family, and how he became a comic book artist, To The Heart Of The Storm.

Jeff Smith's, Bone, is great too. It has been praised sky high and won many awards.

I have'nt read, From Hell, yet, but it's on my list. I did'nt like the Movie though, but usually the book is always better than the movie.

 

[Hosh]

The BIBLES for the industry--which are 2 FINE textbooks:

Comics & Sequential Art by Will Eisner
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

They both served to make comics more legitimate...even while many, many 'spandex' comics have served to illegitimize what the artform, at its best, attempts. I couldn't recommend them more to anyone with even a passing interest in visual storytelling--which, of course, includes the language of narrative filmmaking (stories built, from the beginning, by storyboards).

Some Japanese & European comics are quite magical in the time & space they take to tell simple & moving stories. Books like Lone Wolf & Cub come immediately to mind...though there are untapped oodles out there.

 

[Bukfan]

The BIBLES for the industry--which are 2 FINE textbooks:

Comics & Sequential Art by Will Eisner
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

They both served to make comics more legitimate...even while many, many 'spandex' comics have served to illegitimize what the artform, at its best, attempts. I couldn't recommend them more to anyone with even a passing interest in visual storytelling--which, of course, includes the language of narrative filmmaking (stories built, from the beginning, by storyboards).

That's exactly right, Hosh! I've got them both. They're great books. I like the way McCloud has made his book into a comic book about comics.

 

[falcune]

I like American Splendor.

 

[Bukfan]

I like American Splendor.

Me too! I've got both the movie and the comic book album that was published in connection with movie. I like Harvey Pekar, especially when Crumb did the artwork...

 

[marqcoig]

i used to love super-hero comics as a kid, but now i can't really get into them. Batman is still something i'm interested in, and the movies have helped keep me into it. i loved WATCHMEN, and although i think the movie might be bad by comparison, i'm still excited to see it. haven't read FROM HELL yet, but i thought the Alan Moore's V FOR VENDETTA was excellent. i want to read more of Moore's work.

SIN CITY was okay when i first read it, but everytime i try to go back and re-visit it i really can't get all that interested. maybe the movie ruined it for me (i was the one that didn't like it).

i wanna read AMERICAN SPLENDOR but don't know where to start. i saw the film based on Pekar's life, and that peaked my interest. i also like Crumb's artwork, but can't seem to find any of his anthologies lately...i'm also not looking that hard, so its probably my own fault.

i loved HATE and wish i could find my stack. i think they may still be in a box in my parent's basement or something.

STRAY BULLETS was a favorite of mine for a while, but i guess the author has moved on to other things and doesn't focus on this series as much anymore. please tell me if i'm mistaken, because i would love to keep reading the series.

TANK GIRL is fun. haven't read a lot, but it always entertained me. very anarchaic.

i also like the stuff i've read by Jason, whose comics tend be darkly comic and very deadpan.

what else...

oh yea, i recently found out about a 1960s japanese guy named Yoshirhiro Tatsumi who had some pretty grim but kind of powerful work. considering when it came out and from what country, its pretty impressive stuff. very simple and direct, and often times short, but also very good to read.

 

[Bukfan]

i wanna read AMERICAN SPLENDOR but don't know where to start. i saw the film based on Pekar's life, and that peaked my interest. i also like Crumb's artwork, but can't seem to find any of his anthologies lately...i'm also not looking that hard, so its probably my own fault.

A good place to start with American Splendor would be the album that was published in connection with the movie, published by Ballantine books. The title is just American Splendor and there's a picture of Paul Giamatti on the cover, so you can't miss it. It consists of two classic anthologies rolled into one thick album, about 250 pages long. Crumb has illustrated many of the stories. The price is $16.95. You can buy it at Amazon. They also have lots of Crumb comics...

 

[jordan]

holy shit holy shit

just heard that there's a chris ware signing on 11/1 in san francisco. i'm so excited about this, i can't begin to describe it. i've wanted a 1st ed. signed of jimmy corrigan for a LONG time.

 

[Ponder]

Here are some drawings of the graphic novel Journey To The End Of The Night by Céline.

http://cowsoft.free.fr/backgrounds/pictures/tardi1.jpeg

http://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/tardi/tardi_guerredestranchees.jpg

I just found this link: http://chancepress.wordpress.com/category/artists-authors/louis-ferdinand-celine/

Thank you, Jordan!

 

[Erik]

Tardi + Celine sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip.
Has it been translated?

I just discovered Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" series. Hooked me immediately. I'm a bit soft for zombie apocalypse stories, I confess.

Check out the first episode free here.

Official page here.

Seems this series will show up on TV some time in 2010.
That should be interesting.

 

[Ponder]

It has been translated in Dutch, I'm not sure but I
don't think the book is available in English.

 

[LickTheStar]

Erik the Walking Dead series is great! I don't particularly like zombie stories (movies yes, books not so much), but there's something painfully compelling about the series.

Unfortunately, the TV series will never be able to do the comics justice. Though since it'll be on AMC... who knows?

 

[Mark73]

I love old 2000AD comics, the weekly and monthly editions of the mid-80's especially. Not so much a fan of Judge Dread, I like D.R.&Quinch, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper and Nemesis versus Torquemada. Weird SF and Fantasy stuff. Oh, I almost forgot to mention Tank Girl and Cerebus the Aardvark.

I'll order the D.R.&Quinch and Nemesis books one day, or best visit the Forbidden Planet in London. I'll be poor after shopping there. So many books and shirts...

I also enjoyed reading the Crow a lot.

 

[justin grimbol]

i used to read a lot of LOVE AND ROCKETS. my favorite graphic novel was I NEVER LIKED YOU by chester brown.

 

[Dennis Loves The Beer]

Ever read Preacher?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preacher_comic

Loved this series.

PS: you can read it here: http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/

 

[jordan]

i used to read a lot of LOVE AND ROCKETS. my favorite graphic novel was I NEVER LIKED YOU by chester brown.

both of these are fantastic. the amazing thing about L&R is that - at least in my opinion - the newer stuff is as good as it's always been.

 

[Mark73]

Caza and Enki Bilal who contributed a lot to Heavy Metal Magazine told/tell fantastic stories with brilliant drawings. (Immortal is a film by Bilal I recommend, part of it is computer animated, but there are real actors also; in 2095's New York a sleeping god in a pyramid flying above the city wakes up and needs a human host...)