# Recommend me a Graphic Novel



## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 6, 2011)

My sister has starting reading them recently and I would like to get one as a present for her.

Obviously taste is a very personal thing, but the ones I know she has bought recently are The Burma Chronicles, Mouse and Palestine if that could help guide people in the right direction. 

You're help is much appreciated


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 6, 2011)

Ice haven
Maus
Oh I dont know there are loads/ 

Im 'reading' epileptic at the moment. Its ok.


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## Mrs Magpie (Apr 6, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> Mouse


Maus. 

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is very good too.


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## Mrs Magpie (Apr 6, 2011)

ooh! Just remembered Ghost World by Daniel Clowes.


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## Random (Apr 6, 2011)

Anything by Joe Sacco, esp Goradze and Palestine.


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## May Kasahara (Apr 6, 2011)

Blankets. It's very emo, but very good. Or Castle Waiting, which has lovely artwork that mostly detracts from the tendency to tweeness.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 6, 2011)

tintin


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## ericjarvis (Apr 6, 2011)

Violent Cases or Black Orchid, both by Neil Gaiman.


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## DotCommunist (Apr 6, 2011)

on a gaiman tip she also might enjoy the sandman books- even though they are a bit more fantasy style than say maus or peresopolis


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## andy2002 (Apr 6, 2011)

Trying to think of something a bit different to what I usually recommend...

Maybe *Tricked* or *Box Office Poison* by Alex Robinson.


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## TruXta (Apr 6, 2011)

Alan Moore's stuff is good, not all of it is superheroes or monsters. From Hell, Lost Girls are both ace. Watchmen if only for the fact that it's a milestone in the comic medium.


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## haushoch (Apr 6, 2011)

Jason Lutes - City of Stones & City of Smoke, first two of a trilogy about Berlin in the late 1920s / early 1930s.  Very very good.  

Also very much like Chester Brown's 'I Never Liked You'.


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## brixtonvilla (Apr 6, 2011)

Bottomless Bellybutton.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 6, 2011)

epileptic by daniel b.
it was the first graphic novel i read that made me realise what a rich genre it could be.
the story really could not have been told in any other way


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## Gromit (Apr 6, 2011)

The Sandman series.


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## ebonics (Apr 6, 2011)

The _Love & Rockets_ collection by Los Bros Hernandez. Or the collected Palomar stories by Gilbert Hernandez. Get either, really. Or both. Definitely get both.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 6, 2011)

There is no such thing as a graphic novel. They are picturebooks.


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## 100% masahiko (Apr 6, 2011)

Early Hellblazer and Swamp Thing series.

Shade the changing man was also cool.


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## TruXta (Apr 6, 2011)

Dillinger4 said:


> There is no such thing as a graphic novel. They are picturebooks.


 
Oh how very daring, Dillie.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 6, 2011)

.


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## magneze (Apr 6, 2011)

I just finished Superman: Red Son. It's the story of superman if he'd landed in the Soviet Union. Recommended.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks for all the suggestions folks


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2011)

Mrs Magpie said:


> Maus.
> 
> Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is very good too.


 
Her other books are all good too. I cant bloody remember any titles though. 
Im also reading cancer vixen with is kind of ok. A bit like a better real life sex and the city but with cancer.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2011)

100% masahiko said:


> Swamp Thing series.
> 
> .


 
Swamp thing is shite


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2011)

Dillinger4 said:


> There is no such thing as a graphic novel. They are picturebooks.


 
Comic Books. Picture books are something else. I grant you graphic novel is super wrong though.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2011)

Gromit said:


> The Sandman series.


 
Only read one but it was uber shite.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> epileptic by daniel b.
> it was the first graphic novel i read that made me realise what a rich genre it could be.
> the story really could not have been told in any other way


 
Just reading that now. Its pretty cool, but not amazing. I think I do prefer these kinds of comic stories these days though.


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## vauxhallmum (Apr 7, 2011)

Bill Sienkiewicz - Stray Toasters/ Elektra Assassin
and Brought to Light (with Alan Moore)


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## 100% masahiko (Apr 7, 2011)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Swamp thing is shite


 
!!!!!

Alan Moore's Swampie was the best.
Better than Sandman imo.

ETA - can't wait! http://ramascreen.com/splice-director-wants-swamp-thing/


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## ska invita (Apr 7, 2011)

not strictly graphic novel, but best comic book ive ever read is this





surreal as fook - gilbert hernandez goes solo and goes awol. Brilliant

 He also did something called Sloth, which was a novel, and wasnt bad at all




dreamy and weird - quite David Lynch i guess


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## jakethesnake (Apr 7, 2011)

Raymond Briggs as well... particularly Gentleman Jim & When The Wind Blows.

Not 'comics' but 'sequential art'.


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## Pickman's model (Apr 7, 2011)

grandville


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## andy2002 (Apr 7, 2011)

jakethesnake said:


> Raymond Briggs as well... particularly Gentleman Jim & When The Wind Blows.
> 
> Not 'comics' but 'sequential art'.


 
I don't understand why they can't just be called 'comics' or 'comic-books'. They are descriptions that have worked just fine up to now and smacks of people being secretly embarrassed about liking them in the first place.


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## gsv (Apr 7, 2011)

'Comic book' when I mean comic book, 'graphic novel' when I mean graphic novel. Peasy 

Try Bryan Talbot's Alice in Sunderland. Awesomeness.






GS(v)


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## Orang Utan (Apr 7, 2011)

this is well fucked up and highly recommended:


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## discokermit (Apr 7, 2011)




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## Orang Utan (Apr 7, 2011)

discokermit said:


>


 that's a graphic short story anthology, not a novel


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## discokermit (Apr 7, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> that's a graphic short story anthology, not a novel


 
i've only got one joke.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 7, 2011)

discokermit said:


> i've only got one joke.


you must have loads if you've got that comic!


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## discokermit (Apr 7, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> you must have loads if you've got that comic!


 
i used to have a load of annuals that my uncle got in the early seventies.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 7, 2011)

you should have kept all your lolly sticks n all


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## discokermit (Apr 7, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> you should have kept all your lolly sticks n all


 
stuck 'em all in the spokes of my bike. made a brilliant racket.


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## craigxcraig (Apr 8, 2011)

'Hey Wait' by a Norwegian called Jason is really beautiful and sad at the same time, its very good.

Or Preacher...

http://www.comicbookbin.com/heywait2001.html


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 8, 2011)

The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. In fact,  include the Luther Arkwright stuff too!


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## craigxcraig (Apr 8, 2011)

The Tale of Of One Bad Rat is an excellent Novel -iirc based on stories by Beatrix Potter?


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## ericjarvis (Apr 8, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. In fact,  include the Luther Arkwright stuff too!


 
I second the recommendation of Luther Arkwright.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 8, 2011)

100% masahiko said:


> !!!!!
> 
> Alan Moore's Swampie was the best.
> Better than Sandman imo.
> ...


 
I was told Moores swamp thing was good so thats the ones I read. Its shite, I could barely make it though.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 8, 2011)

craigxcraig said:


> The Tale of Of One Bad Rat is an excellent Novel -iirc based on stories by Beatrix Potter?


 
Oh yeah I forgot about that. Thats a great comic book.


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## redsquirrel (Apr 8, 2011)

andy2002 said:


> I don't understand why they can't just be called 'comics' or 'comic-books'. They are descriptions that have worked just fine up to now and smacks of people being secretly embarrassed about liking them in the first place.


Well the  difference is in how they were originally published. Graphic novels were designed and published in novel format while trade paperbacks (TPB) were collections of comics originally published in weekly/monthly/whatever format that have been republished bound together. So Grandville and Lost Girls are graphic novels while Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Sandman and Preacher are TPBs or collections.

But as you say lots of people/stores use the term graphic novel these days because they are embarrassed about reading comics.


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## Detroit City (Apr 8, 2011)

try "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess


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## Orang Utan (Apr 8, 2011)

er...


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## moonsi til (Apr 8, 2011)

How about a suggestion for a first graphic novel for a 10yr boy?


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## killer b (Apr 8, 2011)

fungus the bogeyman.


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## gsv (Apr 8, 2011)

redsquirrel said:


> Well the  difference is in how they were originally published. Graphic novels were designed and published in novel format while trade paperbacks (TPB) were collections of comics originally published in weekly/monthly/whatever format that have been republished bound together. So Grandville and Lost Girls are graphic novels while Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Sandman and Preacher are TPBs or collections.
> 
> But as you say lots of people/stores use the term graphic novel these days because they are embarrassed about reading comics.


There are works that blur the boundary, Watchmen being one. While it was originally published in monthly parts, it was always a story complete in itself. Start, middle and end, no ongoing character continuity etc. On that basis I'm happy to call it a novel.

OTOH Preacher was an ongoing series until Ennis felt he was running out of ideas, so its bindings are indisputably TPBs.

GS(v)


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## andy2002 (Apr 8, 2011)

redsquirrel said:


> Well the  difference is in how they were originally published. Graphic novels were designed and published in novel format while trade paperbacks (TPB) were collections of comics originally published in weekly/monthly/whatever format that have been republished bound together. So Grandville and Lost Girls are graphic novels while Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Sandman and Preacher are TPBs or collections.
> 
> But as you say lots of people/stores use the term graphic novel these days because they are embarrassed about reading comics.


 
I'm perfectly aware of the difference, thanks - I've been reading comics for most of the last 40 years! Comics are comics are comics - the term graphic novel was adopted by some PR knob desperate to woo a supposedly more sophisticated audience and get posh twats on The Guardian/New York Times writing about them. There's a ridiculous self-loathing inherent in comics fandom, a desperation to have their hobby/passion taken seriously. I don't know why they can't just enjoy it for what it is. I can't remember who it was but fed up with the term 'graphic novel', one creator took to calling them 'fat comics' which I think is a brilliant way of looking it.


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## gsv (Apr 8, 2011)

I'm partly with you there mate. In my 30s I've largely started talking about enjoying comic books. It nicely undercuts pretentions 

GS(v)


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## andy2002 (Apr 8, 2011)

You see the same kind of process at work in other areas too - the term 'literary fiction' being used to differentiate 'clever books for the chattering classes' from the 'genre fiction' of science fiction and crime for illiterate proles.


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## Random (Apr 8, 2011)

'Graphic novels' are often enjoyed by the same kind of people who like 'magical realism.'


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 8, 2011)

gsv said:


> There are works that blur the boundary, Watchmen being one. While it was originally published in monthly parts, it was always a story complete in itself. Start, middle and end, no ongoing character continuity etc. On that basis I'm happy to call it a novel.
> 
> OTOH Preacher was an ongoing series until Ennis felt he was running out of ideas, so its bindings are indisputably TPBs.
> 
> GS(v)


 
Good points, back when I was seriously into comics (I ran a stall a few times at comic conventions and came very close to running my own shop) this was a constant discussion and at times heated debate amongst friends about this. Personally I used to use the distinction of TP vs GN based on the original publishing too but I've no real problem now with just calling a graphical novel a GN rather than getting pedantic about it when it comes to people who aren't familiar with the sub culture. It's more about getting good stuff under the noses of people rather than arguing about the terminology imho...


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 8, 2011)

andy2002 said:


> I'm perfectly aware of the difference, thanks - I've been reading comics for most of the last 40 years! Comics are comics are comics - the term graphic novel was adopted by some PR knob desperate to woo a supposedly more sophisticated audience and get posh twats on The Guardian/New York Times writing about them. There's a ridiculous self-loathing inherent in comics fandom, a desperation to have their hobby/passion taken seriously. I don't know why they can't just enjoy it for what it is. I can't remember who it was but fed up with the term 'graphic novel', one creator took to calling them 'fat comics' which I think is a brilliant way of looking it.


 
Perhaps, although I knew a few people who worked in bookshops back in the 90s (both big stores and small indies) and they said the term graphic novel made more sense from their pov when it came to engaging the customer. Mainly because when people heard the term comics they heard ongoing stories, having to collect each month, no story resolution etc where as your average book reader wants to read a story start to finish and can be placed on their bookselves. It was an attempt to broaden the readership while recognising the culture of the book reader...I'm not entirely sure which came first or how widespread what I described above was tbf...


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## Random (Apr 8, 2011)

Pathetically enough I see that 2000AD are now calling their bound collections of Dredd stories "graphic novels".


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## dylans (Apr 8, 2011)

Random said:


> 'Graphic novels' are often enjoyed by the same kind of people who like 'magical realism.'


 
What's wrong with magical realism? Not only has the genre produced some of the greatest novels ever written but it has allowed the writing of some of the worlds greatest non Western novelists to become widely appreciated. 

It describes an incredibly rich and important artistic genre that is only dismissed or disparaged by very chauvanistic and western oriented criticism. Especially in literature it embraces a tradition of mythology that is widely used and accepted in non Western cultures and one that Western culture with its obsession with "the real" has somehow lost and instead of seeing our disassociation with this tradition of story telling as something negative it is arrogantly turned into an example of the superiority of western literary technique and in turn non Western traditions that embrace the magical realist genre are considered less valid. 

The use of the fantastical or magical or unbelievable in this genre also serves a very important political function. Often the genre is used to smuggle dramatic condemnation of repressive or totalitarian regimes by the use of analogous mythological narratives. 

Narratives  that mask political critique and escape both the censor and the secret police. Egypts nobel prize winning author Naguib Mahfouz for example used this technique in his novel "The Harafish" to criticise the corruption and hypocricy of the Mubarak regime by setting his novel in a mythical Cairo of the past. His novel, wrapped in Arabian nights style mythology contains corrupt policemen, despotic dictators, hypocritcal religious leaders, foreign meddling etc. We can almost imagine the thugs of the Mubarak regime censors reading the novel and in their ignorance completely missing the fact that the novel was about them. 

It is no accident that the genre is widely used in South America, most famously by Gabriel Garcia Marquez whose novels too contain damning critiques of military regimes and self proclaimed revolutionary leaders. "Noone writes to the Colonel. The General in his Labyrinth and especially "100 year of Solitude" are all piercing critiques of the regimes of South America but wrapped in a layer of fantastical mythological narrative that disguises the critique.

Anyone who wishes to dismiss a genre that has produced some of the most mesmerising works of literature in the world has only to read 100 years of solitude or the harafish to be proven wrong.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 8, 2011)

Magical Realism is fucking awful.

It has not created any of 'the best novels ever written'. They will be forgotten in fifty years.


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## Random (Apr 8, 2011)

Hold your horses dylans, I like a bit of midnight children as much as the next man. Im just criticising the false division between scifi and fantasy and its smartened up presentation as magical realism.


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## fractionMan (Apr 8, 2011)

I couldn't stand midnights children, but that doesn't mean it's not a decent genre.


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## Random (Apr 8, 2011)

i liked 100 years of solitude, right up until they started recycling the names and i lost track of who was who


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## dylans (Apr 8, 2011)

Random said:


> Hold your horses dylans, I like a bit of midnight children as much as the next man. Im just criticising the false division between scifi and fantasy and its smartened up presentation as magical realism.


 
I liked Midnights Children well enough but it is not in my opinion the best example of the genre. I don't like Rushdy's style very much. I find him self consciously  pompous and deliberately "intellectual" in a way that puts me off,and Satanic Verses was terrible. I would however recommend 100 years of solitude by Marquez. One of the best novels I have ever read. And the Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz. Both fantastic examples of the genre.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 8, 2011)

Random said:


> i liked 100 years of solitude, right up until they started recycling the names and i lost track of who was who


 
100 Years of Solitude is massively overrated imo.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 8, 2011)

i think it and love in the time of cholera are ace but it's a long time since i read it and i reread midnight's children recently and wasn't nearly as impressed with it as i was as a teen. rushdie does go on.
isabel allende is a fun read too.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 8, 2011)

I do like Borges though, tbf.


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## fractionMan (Apr 8, 2011)

moonsi til said:


> How about a suggestion for a first graphic novel for a 10yr boy?


 






http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshal-Law-Fear-Loathing/dp/1840234520


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## Orang Utan (Apr 8, 2011)

Dillinger4 said:


> I do like Borges though, tbf.


_intellectual_


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## Orang Utan (Apr 8, 2011)

Detroit City said:


> try "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess


_div_


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## dylans (Apr 8, 2011)

Dillinger4 said:


> 100 Years of Solitude is massively overrated imo.


 
It is a work of literary perfection in every way from start to finish. Every single word has purpose, every line is crafted to add the incredible labyrinth and depth of the novel. It is a beautifully crafted work of art. I would go as far as to say it may be the greatest novel ever written.


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## Random (Apr 8, 2011)

if he could only have thought of new names, instead of calling julio and antonio's grandchildren antinio-julio and julio-antoniop.


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## gsv (Apr 8, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> _div_


_span_

GS(v)


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 8, 2011)

dylans said:


> It is a work of literary perfection in every way from start to finish. Every single word has purpose, every line is crafted to add the incredible labyrinth and depth of the novel. It is a beautifully crafted work of art. I would go as far as to say it may be the greatest novel ever written.


 
I disagree, and quite strongly in this case. I had high hopes for this book, I had heard so many fantastic things about it. It didn't come anywhere near to living up to even the smallest of my expectations. I was completely underwhelmed. 

There is no getting around the fact that same kind of things repeats themselves over and over and over again. Nothing really develops. I understand that he is trying to make the point that history repeats itself, that time is cyclical and that families are doomed to make the same mistakes. But it just drags. The characterizations were mildly interesting, at first, but they quickly lost any sense of being engaging. 

And the writing. I don't know if it is a problem with the translation, but the writing feels awkward and clumsy, stilted and contrived, completely lacking in any kind of fluidity. 

I could see how deep it was trying to be, but it wasn't really very deep at all. 

Not only do I disagree that it is the greatest novel ever written, I wouldn't even agree that it is in the top ten of the greatest novel written in South America between 1945 and 2000. I would love to say it left me indifferent, but it didn't. It left me feeling a little cheated. 

In a lot of cases I would admit I can see why other people might like it, that I can see the appeal. But in this case I can't even really say that. It is just bad.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 8, 2011)

gsv said:


> _span_
> 
> GS(v)


 
?


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## killer b (Apr 8, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> ?


 
html pun.


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## moonsi til (Apr 8, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshal-Law-Fear-Loathing/dp/1840234520


 
Thanks...looks great but maybe looks a bit violent for him ATM? I'm looking at the Silver Surfer Definitive as his first one?


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## Random (Apr 8, 2011)

Pat Mills is, in general, absolutely genius but rather nasty and adult (as well as heartwarming and adult) for a 10 year old.


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## fractionMan (Apr 8, 2011)

Yeah, sorry.  Probably a bit adult.

Def one to wean him onto at a later date though.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 8, 2011)

gfggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh   fffffaaaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmo0hyutgao0mhxo0rsssssb


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## Orang Utan (Apr 8, 2011)

Your daughter is having fun again!


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## ska invita (Apr 9, 2011)

Kid_Eternity said:


> The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. In fact,  include the Luther Arkwright stuff too!


 
Talking Talbot Anyone read the Brainstorm / The Chester P. Hackenbush Trilogy (UK rapper Chester P got his name from this!) - like a darker, more acid drenched Freak Brothers.





That cover makes it look crap. Its great i promise.

As far as I know its only available at this one headshop on Ladbroke Grove - I forget what the shops called now - more up the top end on the left.

If you like Luther Arkwright I reckon youd dig that


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 9, 2011)

I dont care what you call them. 
Some 'word' books are shite, and some are good.
Some graphic comic book novels are shite and some are good. No point being a twat about what they are called. Call um what you like / feel ok with. The written word alone doesnt have to be god, hello magazine isnt a fucking novel, nemi isnt watchmen.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 9, 2011)

Orang Utan said:


> Your daughter is having fun again!


 
Ah, so it seems. I have put her out of harms way for now.


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 9, 2011)

ska invita said:


> Talking Talbot Anyone read the Brainstorm / The Chester P. Hackenbush Trilogy (UK rapper Chester P got his name from this!) - like a darker, more acid drenched Freak Brothers.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Ah cool, will have to check it out, fucking love the Arkwright series.


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## killer b (Apr 9, 2011)

Glad to see some love for talbot. I'm mates with one of his sons, and always get a bit fanboyish when I meet him - luther arkwright was the first serious comics I got into, so he'll always have a special place. All his stuff is good, as far as I can tell...


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## Orang Utan (Apr 9, 2011)

is it called serious comics now?


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 9, 2011)

killer b said:


> Glad to see some love for talbot. I'm mates with one of his sons, and always get a bit fanboyish when I meet him - luther arkwright was the first serious comics I got into, so he'll always have a special place. All his stuff is good, as far as I can tell...


 
Cool. Met him years ago, very down to earth bloke, me and a mate spent a good hour just chatting about all kinds of stuff including Babylon 5 (which shows you how far back I'm talking).


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## rekil (Apr 9, 2011)

moonsi til said:


> Thanks...looks great but maybe looks a bit violent for him ATM? I'm looking at the Silver Surfer Definitive as his first one?


 Charleys War would be a good introduction for a youngster to Pat Mills.


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## Mrs Magpie (Apr 9, 2011)

This could be a useful ink....

http://www.abebooks.com/books/comic...cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-110406-r00-avid1104A-_-angry


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 9, 2011)

So many suggestions and so hard to pick, but in the end went for The Complete Maus, Persepolis: The Story of an Iranian Childhood and Epileptic.

Had a delighted call from her today, she's very pleased with them and was all the more impressed that I picked them as we have such different tastes in media. 

Thanks a lot folks I got some massive brownie points today!


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 9, 2011)

All great stories. 
I always imagined maus to be a very different story until I read it a couple of years ago.


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## redsquirrel (Apr 10, 2011)

I still need to read Persepolis, I have to say the movie put me off.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 10, 2011)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> All great stories.
> I always imagined maus to be a very different story until I read it a couple of years ago.


 
I'm going to borrow them when she comes home for summer. It was buying Palestine that got her interested in graphic novels which I'll look forward to reading.


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## Random (Apr 10, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> So many suggestions and so hard to pick, but in the end went for The Complete Maus, Persepolis: The Story of an Iranian Childhood and Epileptic.


 Genocide, executions and crippling illness. Welcome to your second decade of life, kid!


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## jakethesnake (Apr 13, 2011)

I've just read a great one; 'Asterios Polyp' by David Mazzucchelli. This guy shows how the comic can do things no other medium can in terms of story telling. Really good. I'm going to find some more of his work.


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## strung out (Apr 13, 2011)

i've got my eye on one called logicomix, which is a comic book about maths.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 17, 2011)

Just going though some old TOm Strong. Great stuff. I love how it all fits together. On paper I should hate it, but it's mostly really well written and the whole set os stories (and spin offs) are very nicely rounded.


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## zora (Apr 17, 2011)

I loved Persepolis,too, and anything else by Marjane Satrapi.

Also Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, her coming-of-age and coming-out story as well as The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, a best of of her long running comic strip about the lesbian/alternative/lefty scene in New York. Oh, just realised quite a few of them are online. Worth checking out.


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## strung out (Apr 17, 2011)

don't know if anyone else has read it, but i found Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea to be a brilliant read. it's by a french animator who had to live out there for a while


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 18, 2011)

Finished epileptic by david b today. Could have been much much better had it been properly edited. Rather dull conclusion.


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## krtek a houby (Apr 18, 2011)

strung out said:


> don't know if anyone else has read it, but i found Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea to be a brilliant read. it's by a french animator who had to live out there for a while


 
Excellent book, very simple story, simply told.

Also, reading this one


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## DaveCinzano (May 18, 2012)

jakethesnake said:


> Raymond Briggs as well... particularly Gentleman Jim & When The Wind Blows.


 
Gentleman Jim, whilst less well known, is in many ways the equal of the later, more famous Jim & Hilda Bloggs book.

The biography of his parents, Ethel And Ernest, is beautiful, and revisits many of the themes of the Bloggs books.


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## Clair De Lune (May 18, 2012)




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## barney_pig (May 18, 2012)

I read the halo jones trilogy as a story in 2000ad, and have them as books. They are still, in my opinion, the best sciff possible in comics


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## DaveCinzano (May 18, 2012)

Thinking about Halo Jones makes me sad


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## craigxcraig (May 18, 2012)

Kill your Boyfriend by Grant Morrison is worth seeking out - a romantic dark comedy...


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## andy2002 (May 18, 2012)

Just read the first two volumes of this...






Great storytelling, unusual art and characters that you quickly grow to care about. I love a good redemption story...


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## Shippou-Sensei (May 18, 2012)

gsv said:


> _span_
> 
> GS(v)


 
block level element


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## Shippou-Sensei (May 18, 2012)

hummm

i'm womndering what manga to recomend.

too much choice.

i dunno i'd possibly recommend love hina as it has a nice mix of comedy romance and action. it was one of my early favorites. (it still ranks highly)


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## DaveCinzano (May 18, 2012)

The Barefoot Gen books - a kid's-eye view of life in Hiroshima immediately before, during and after Little Boy - are worth anyone's time.


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## vauxhallmum (May 19, 2012)

A 10 year old boy might like Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic. Sort of pre-empts Harry Potter.


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## 8115 (May 19, 2012)

Ghost World is the only one I've read and enjoyed.  Could be a bit tame.


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## DaveCinzano (Dec 15, 2014)

vauxhallmum said:


> and Brought to Light (with Alan Moore)



Bit tricky (well, pricey) to get hold of these days. I liked the Moore/Sienkiewicz meditation on the history of the CIA, the Brabner/Yeates _La Penca Bombing_ one less so.

There's a CD of Moore reading his _Brought To Light_ story, too. HE DOES VOICES!


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## Orang Utan (Dec 15, 2014)

You should all read this:
http://www.penguin.co.uk/books/probably-nothing/9780241004159/


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## cybershot (Aug 1, 2018)

Bump.

Finding these easier to read for the free time I sometimes find myself available with.

Any more recommendations since the last post in 2014. Not necessarily Marvel/DC/Black Horse stuff as probably going to be stuff referring back to other things that I won't get. Crime, detective, thriller or random stand alone stuff preferable.


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## DotCommunist (Aug 1, 2018)

cybershot said:


> Bump.
> 
> Finding these easier to read for the free time I sometimes find myself available with.
> 
> Any new recommendations. Not necessarily Marvel/DC/Black Horse stuff as probably going to be stuff referring back to other things that I won't get. Crime, detective, thriller or random stand alone stuff preferable.


its not new but you done 'From Hell'? I mention it only cos its my current book and its horrible. Brilliant still.


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## cybershot (Aug 1, 2018)

DotCommunist said:


> its not new but you done 'From Hell'? I mention it only cos its my current book and its horrible. Brilliant still.



Sorry new, didn't necessarily mean new new, but new as in since the last post on this topic. I'll modify my wording.

Will look up From Hell.


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## DotCommunist (Aug 1, 2018)

cybershot said:


> Sorry new, didn't necessarily mean new new, but new as in since the last post on this topic. I'll modify my wording.
> 
> Will look up From Hell.


Alan Moore, Northampton's finest son.


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## krtek a houby (Aug 2, 2018)

Jimmy Corrigan - The Smartest Kid on Earth






John Wagner's A History of Violence




Max Allan Collins' Road to Perdition


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## Spandex (Aug 2, 2018)

*Corto Maltese




*

Italian adventure comic from the late 60s/70s that has finally been translated into English over the past few years. It follows the globe trotting adventures of the eponymous and enigmatic hero during and after the first world war as he gets drawn into exploits in the Carribean, South America, the Middle East, Africa, central Asia, Europe and Russia, all set against the historical backdrop of the time.

Various real/semi-real characters turn up: I love the self-centred and nihalistic Rasputin who becomes a kind of friend in some of the tales. And it's not just obvious people - pan-Turkic nationalist Enver Pasha is a main character in one story. 

Apparently Corto Maltese is massive in Europe - it's the lack of English translation that has left him largely unknown over here. The stories are great, the artwork is fantastic and it covers the period in a very different way to - for example - (the incredibly racist and sexist) John Buchan. The early stories are comic book length, the later ones graphic novel length. 

I've read about half of them and am now torn between getting the rest and going back to re-read the ones I've got.


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## cybershot (Aug 2, 2018)

I've opted for the first Blacksad volumes due to some good reviews and getting hold of it for a good price. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blacksad-J...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1533240743&sr=8-1


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## krtek a houby (Aug 5, 2018)

Spandex said:


> *Corto Maltese
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I seem to recall Corto Maltese getting a mention in Batman (1989 version) bus as a place, rather than a character...


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## DaveCinzano (Aug 5, 2018)

krtek a houby said:


> I seem to recall Corto Maltese getting a mention in Batman (1989 version) bus as a place, rather than a character...


That followed the same in _The Dark Knight Returns_, though


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## krtek a houby (Aug 5, 2018)

DaveCinzano said:


> That followed the same in _The Dark Knight Returns_, though



Now that you mention, it, that rings a bell. Haven't read that in a while!


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## Spandex (Aug 5, 2018)

krtek a houby said:


> I seem to recall Corto Maltese getting a mention in Batman (1989 version) bus as a place, rather than a character...





DaveCinzano said:


> That followed the same in _The Dark Knight Returns_, though


Frank Miller was a fan, so he used the name in Dark Knight Returns as a homage and it became part of the Batman universe.


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## krtek a houby (Aug 5, 2018)

Spandex said:


> Frank Miller was a fan, so he used the name in Dark Knight Returns as a homage and it became part of the Batman universe.



Just checking it on wiki now. I like the conceit of the series and that interaction with real life characters. Reminds me a bit of Flashman, insofar as the main character is present at historical events and gets to meet famous historical people.


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## cybershot (Sep 17, 2018)

Blacksad was pretty good, will look out for the other volumes

I've recently started Arcadia which seems quite good.

Blacksad - Wikipedia

Arcadia by Alex Paknadel


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## Thaw (Sep 17, 2018)

These are good series

Grandville by Bryan Talbot.  Anthropomorphic badger detective.

Baltimore by mike mignola. First world war vampire hunting.


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## cybershot (Oct 29, 2018)

Not long finished Maus on the recommendation of this thread, great read.


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## Chilli.s (Oct 29, 2018)

I do rate this one.


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## Spandex (Jan 9, 2020)

*Fog Over Tolbiac Bridge* by Jacques Tardi & Leo Malet

Nestor Burma – the French Phillip Marlow. From 1943 Leo Malet wrote 33 Nestor Burma books following the private eye solving mysteries in different Parisian districts. There’s been numerous French films and TV series made of Nestor Burma mysteries, but Malet said that the only person to have visually understood his books is Jaques Tardi in his 80s comic adaptations.

Fantagraphics have been gradually translating them into English over the past few years and this one, set in 1956, is awesome. Burma’s past as an anarchist in ‘20s Paris comes back to haunt him in a noir tale of murder and deception. It looks amazing and the story is great.


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## Chilli.s (Jan 9, 2020)

Have we had:



So graphic it doesn't even need words and is so oblique that it can be reread (?) many times.


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## Spandex (Feb 9, 2020)

*Wrinkles* by Paco Roca

This is a lovely book.

When Ernest is put in a nursing home he befriends roguish Emile, who helps him hide his deteriorating condition from the staff to save him from being sent to the dreaded second floor. It's a humorous and heartbreaking tale in a setting that's instantly recognisable to anyone who has seen an elderly relative with dementia go into a home - not a world that features much in fiction, let alone in comics.


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## Spandex (Sep 26, 2021)

The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips 

When an actress' murder is covered up, screen writer Charlie starts to investigate and stumbles into the dark underbelly of late-40s McCarthy era Hollywood. Brubaker and Phillips have been doing crime comics for the last 15 years, but this stand alone graphic novel is amazing and complex and left me full of 'but does that mean..?' questions about plot.


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## Riklet (Sep 26, 2021)

The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf is a really awesome series. A childhood growing up in Syria... very funny.

Im onto number 2 now. Not quite a classic nerdy graphic novel but still great.


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## Spandex (Sep 26, 2021)

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

When nerdy teen Anya falls down a well she meets the ghost of Emily. Emily comes home with her and decides to help Anya with her teen problems. But is that such a good idea..?

Absolutely fantastic ghost story.


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## souljacker (Sep 26, 2021)

Spandex said:


> The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
> 
> When an actress' murder is covered up, screen writer Charlie starts to investigate and stumbles into the dark underbelly of late-40s McCarthy era Hollywood. Brubaker and Phillips have been doing crime comics for the last 15 years, but this stand alone graphic novel is amazing and complex and left me full of 'but does that mean..?' questions about plot.



I've only just discovered Brubaker and Phillips so I'm currently working my way through the criminal series. Great writer.


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## Spandex (Sep 26, 2021)

The Reprieve and The Flight of the Raven by Jean-Pierre Gibrat

In The Reprieve French POW Julien jumps from the train taking him to Germany and returns to his home village, where he hides out, voyeristically watching goings on and falling in love with the beautiful Cécile. But can he hide from the occupation and the resistance, not getting involved with the war?







In the sequal The Flight of the Raven, Cécile's sister Jeanne in Paris is involved with the resistance, but after being reported to the authorities has to rely on charming apolitical thief François to hide from the Gestapo.






Both of these have beautiful painted artwork, the stories move at a leisurely pace with only the very occasional burst of action and when I put them down it felt more like I'd watched a satisfying film than read a comic.


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## Spandex (Sep 26, 2021)

souljacker said:


> I've only just discovered Brubaker and Phillips so I'm currently working my way through the criminal series. Great writer.


I want to read those now, but the collections cost £££, so I guess I'll be waiting til Christmas for them.


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## Throbbing Angel (Sep 26, 2021)

Glad to discover this thread.  Have just started reading graphic novels again this month.

Have reread Maus and The Bogie Man (which I highly recommend) and have just started A Taste of Chlorine which I like a lot.


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## Spandex (Sep 26, 2021)

cybershot said:


> I've opted for the first Blacksad volumes due to some good reviews and getting hold of it for a good price.


Oh yeah, I picked up Blacksad after reading this post and loved it, and now I have them all


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## May Kasahara (Sep 26, 2021)

Spandex my 10yo loved Anya's Ghost  She got it for her birthday, along with El Deafo by Cece Bell which I heartily recommend - a funny, interesting and well drawn memoir about growing up deaf.


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## Spandex (Sep 26, 2021)

May Kasahara said:


> Spandex my 10yo loved Anya's Ghost  She got it for her birthday, along with El Deafo by Cece Bell which I heartily recommend - a funny, interesting and well drawn memoir about growing up deaf.


My 8yo daughter is fascinated by Usagi Yojimbo at the moment, after she found a collection I'd left laying around the front room. I think she recognises it's a bit old for her, both in the intricate storylines - plots to overthrow the Shogunate, betrayals, the Bushido code - and in the massive bodycount of samurai rabbits, but I keep finding her reading it.





I love Usagi.


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## May Kasahara (Sep 26, 2021)

Ooh, I reckon my girl would be well into that - cheers


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## Spandex (Apr 20, 2022)

The Eternaut

I'm a bit obsessed with this at the moment. It's an Argentinian sci-fi comic strip originally serialised between 1957 and 1959. It starts with a deadly snow falling on Buenos Aires killing anyone who is touched by a flake, the survivors trying to survive - all quite John Wyndham - before they have to work together to battle those responsible. It's gripping and human and inventive. Apparently very well known in Argentina.

Then in 1969 writer Hector Osterheld rewrote it with artist Alberto Breccia. This version was more overtly political and the art... the art is absolutely amazing experimental expressionism. It was too much for the editors and audience, Breccia refused to tone it down, and it was cut short, the last half being rushed through on the final few pages, with an apology to the audience being published. But what there is of it is incredible. 

Both versions are brilliant in their own way, the original more for the narrative, the 1969 version for the art.

Osterheld, together with his wife and daughters, were disappeared by the military junta in 1977 and declared dead in 1979. Apparently Netflix are working on a TV version at the moment. 

Here's the same scene from the two versions:

1957






1969


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## Spandex (Sep 24, 2022)

Blueberry by Jean Giraud 

Moebius is one of the most famous and influential comic artists of all time. I've loved his art since a friend got me an Art of Moebius book for my 16th birthday. But actually reading his comics has been really hard. Because of reasons English translations of his work have been few & far between, mostly out of print for years and costing stupid money when you can find one.

The Incal (written with Alejandro Jodorowsky) and World of Edena have been reprinted recently, while Azrach is wordless so French language versions aren't a problem to follow. What I've found with these though is while the art is incredible - simple yet detailed, every panel worth lingering on - I only like the stories rather than love them. Azrach is basically just a beautifully illustrated joke, with incredible world building in the art to throw out a weak punchline. Incal and Edena are both epic sci-fi tales overflowing with fantastic ideas and moments of brilliance that are ultimately a bit of a mess naratively.

I knew he'd written a cowboy strip before adopting the name of Moebius, but I'd never given it much thought as, with a fistful of exceptions, I'm not a fan of the cowboy genre. Turns out that was a huge mistake, as I've just finished reading the Confederate Gold story from the early 70s and it's not only the best thing I've read by him, it's one of the best comics I've read.



A rugged hero who doesn't play by the rules, who hates authority and who authority hates. The Mexican federalles, a dashing Mexican landowner and his private army, Confederate renegades, a beautiful double crossing singer, a cast of western archetypes, all chasing after $500,000 of stolen gold. Betrayal, gunfights, chases, adventure. This has got it all and is fucking awesome. The art is more traditional comic style than Moebius is better known for, but still the work of a master at the top of his game.

You can read parts 1 & 2 > here <
and part 3 > here <


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## Artaxerxes (Sep 24, 2022)

If you are in anyway fond of dogs pick this up. 









						Stray Dogs
					

Lady and the Tramp meets Silence of the Lambs  It’s scary being the new dog.  Sophie can’t remember what happened. She doesn’t know how she ended up in this house. She doesn’t recognize any of these other dogs. She knows something terrible happened, but she just…can’t…recall...WAIT! Where’s her…




					imagecomics.com


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## bendeus (Sep 25, 2022)

Artaxerxes said:


> If you are in anyway fond of dogs pick this up.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This looks great. Would it be appropriate for a 14-year-old? Mini bendeus is getting really into her graphic novels and I'm constantly seeking out new ones for her to read.


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## Artaxerxes (Sep 25, 2022)

bendeus said:


> This looks great. Would it be appropriate for a 14-year-old? Mini bendeus is getting really into her graphic novels and I'm constantly seeking out new ones for her to read.



It's a bit dark in places, I'd probably have read it at that age but I don't know what kids are used to. 

 if you want to give it a preview you can try readallcomics.com to get the hang of it.

Image comics in general are very good.


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## SysOut (Sep 25, 2022)

Pickman's model said:


> grandville











						Grandville (comics) - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


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## SysOut (Sep 25, 2022)

ska invita said:


> not strictly graphic novel, but best comic book ive ever read is this
> 
> 
> 
> ...











						Love And Rockets # 1 : Gilbert Hernandez : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
					

1982



					archive.org


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## AmateurAgitator (Sep 25, 2022)

Prisoner 155 - tells the story of the remarkable life of the anarchist Simon Radowitsky. You can get it from AK Press.


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## zora (Oct 1, 2022)

I have been enjoying the graphic novel version Yuval Harari's_ Sapiens _while on holiday this week.


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