Andrew Arnold of the New York Times published a list of the all-time best graphic novels.
Of those on the list, I've only read The Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns. I thought V for Vendetta also deserves to make the list, but since I haven't read the others a comparison cannot be made.
Do you recommend any of these graphic novels? What would your top ten list look like?
quote:Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly; 2000)
Blankets by Craig Thompson (Top Shelf; 2003)
Bone by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books; 2004)
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch (Pantheon; 2002
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (DC Comics; 1986)
David Boring by Daniel Clowes (Pantheon; 2000)
Ed the Happy Clown by Chester Brown (Vortex; 1989)
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Pantheon; 2000)
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books; 2003)
Watchmen written by Alan Moore / drawn by Dave Gibbons (DC Comics; 1986)
Many of these novels are quite graphic. Unfortunately, I can't make up my mind which is best. Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
Of that list I have also only read Watchman and DKR. I'm kinda surprised Maus isn't on that list. I recommend Akira, which you can now get in english in a 6-book set. Also Sin City, which definitely qualifies as graphic.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Parsimony (Member # 8140) on :
And where is the Sandman? How could you leave Gaiman off this list. A travesty!
--ApostleRadio
Posted by johnsonweed (Member # 8114) on :
Right on Parsimony!
I also love the Batman vs Dracula Elseworlds book.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Better question: Where's Maus?
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I thought The Hedge Knight was pretty cool in graphic novel form.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I'm surprised to see Maus not on the list. Or Understanding Comics. Or The Cartoon History of the Universe. Or Persepolis. Or A Contract With God. Or at least one of the Sin City serials.
But "The Sandman" wouldn't qualify, since it was a monthly -- and not even a miniseries, at that. The Dark Knight Returns only barely qualifies, IMO. And Bone shouldn't qualify at all.
That said, both Jimmy Corrigan and Blankets are excellent, and definitely worth the money.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Love and Rockets, for sure.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Also, Neil Gaiman did a graphic novel called Harlequin which was great. He also did something with a Japanese artist that I never got around to getting which probably didn't suck. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Again, I'm not sure you can count Love and Rockets. Like Bone, it was an ongoing series; if we're going to open it up to the best ongoing series that have been collected in trade paperback, that'll really blow the roof off the list of possibilities.
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
I haven't read many graphic novels. I am currently reading The History of Violence (good story but the artwork leaves something to be desired) but I have to agree with Tom that Persepolis was a good read.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
My mistake. I thought L&R was only released that way, as kind of a big, infrequent comic book/graphic novel.
I haven't read it, but isn't Robota a graphic novel?
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Also, can we not consider Dinotopia a graphic novel?
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Storm Saxon, is your name a reference to the fictional tv show featured in V for Vendetta? Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Yep. Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
The best graphic novel I can think of is Angel Sanctuary by Yuki Kaori.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Thanks Stormy. I've probably asked you that question before when I first joined Hatrack. But it has been a while since I've had the time to sit down and read my old comics, um, I mean graphic novels again. Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
What's the difference?
Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :
"Where's Maus? "
For a graphic novel that has been so hyped, I found myself completely disappointed in both the story and the art.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
"What's the difference?"
Some of my friends (who are in their mid-thirties) get a little defensive when their wives accuse them of reading "comic books."
Thanks for recommending Jimmy Corrigan and Blankets, Tom. It is good to know which titles on that list deserve my attention.
[ October 26, 2005, 11:54 AM: Message edited by: Beren One Hand ]
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
quote:Originally posted by TheHumanTarget: "Where's Maus? "
For a graphic novel that has been so hyped, I found myself completely disappointed in both the story and the art.
I'm inclined to agree. It's certainly one of the most important graphic novels, in that it got a much wider audience to take the genre seriously, but I wouldn't call it one of the best.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
The reviewer's definition is a bit muddy -- he includes Berlin even though he notes that it's the first volume of a projected series... using the same definition, one could easily include a Sandman book. (Sandman did end at issue 75, and Gaiman says that he always meant for the series to end... so if it's OK to have all 55 issues of Bone get nominated, why not some of the 75 issues of Sandman?)
Anyway... I agree with Blankets, Watchmen, and the Dark Knight all being on the list... I like both Ed the Happy Clown and Bone, but not sure about them being in the top 10... the others... haven't seen Berlin or the Deitch book... and Clowes, Hernandez, and Ware are all artists that for whatever reason I just don't appreciate...
Agree that Maus, Persepolis, V for Vendetta, and Sandman should've been on there. And maybe Stuck Rubber Baby?
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Bone, while as has been pointed out is not a graphic novel, is definitely worth reading (at least based on the first 3 collections I have read).
I would also recommend Cages by Dave McKean. Though it was also originally serialized as well.
Robota is not really a graphic novel. It is more an Illustrated novel. The text is all seperate from the visuals. I actually just finished reading it the other day. It was alright.
I also just read another (short) graphic novel that was one of (or maybe) the first project Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean worked on together. It was called Violent Cases. It was a good but quick read.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
Now that I've had a chance to look at my shelf, I really need to suggest Kingdom Come. Marvels was quite good, too.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
I wasn't knocked over by Maus when I first read it, myself. Maybe it's time I reread it and see if my opinion has changed.
Posted by tern (Member # 7429) on :
I really liked the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Book 1. The second book was despicable, but the first was excellent. Didn't much care for DKR.
Posted by Samarkand (Member # 8379) on :
I like the art and story lines in Elfquest a lot. Plus they're more recent graphic novels.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
Why has no one mentioned Jhonen Vasquez's work, which easily trumps everything listed so far? Especially Sin City, ugh, talk about clichetastic serials.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
As much as I like Vasquez, his Squee/Johnny work is about as clichetastic as Sin City. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I thought I was the only person in the world who had read Cartoon History of the Universe.
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
The Death of Captain Marvel deserves to be on that list. It's old, and it's not the Captain Marvel most people are familiar with (he's a guy named Mar-Vell, and he was a Marvel Comics character), but it was the first time I'd ever seen a major character dealing with something as prosaic as cancer.
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