Fun Stuff > MAKE
suggest me some graphic novels.
jodizzle:
My boyfriend and I have about $2000 worth of graphic novels now. I need another bookcase, I have too much crap.
So basically, I'd rather buy than borrow, because I am a chronic re-reader.
Emaline:
I still have no idea about the terms. Thanks for your help though, guys. I still feel like people who say graphic novel are dorkier than people who say comic book. Anyway.....
Read Fables. My understanding is that it is really good. A friend who knows a lot about comics recommended it to me.
Michael Nehora:
The earlier volumes of Dave Sim's Cerebus are well worth reading, particularly High Society, Church and State (2 vol.), and Jaka's Story. (They're printed on newsprint, and are therefore less expensive than most graphic novels or trade collections.) Sim, besides being a pioneer in comics self-publishing, was for some time an innovative storyteller in terms of writing, panel layout, lettering and other elements. Unfortunately, as Sim retreated more and more into his own inner world, Cerebus became increasingly inaccessible and ultimately a platform for his bizarre extremist views on women, homosexuals, and religion. But don't let that keep you from trying the earlier volumes I've mentioned.
Although manga is, in the West, commonly associated with formulaic, juvenile adventure and romance stories, the last few years have seen the translation and publication of sophisticated and literary manga novels. I'm still relatively new to these, but for now I can recommend all eight volumes of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha. It's funny, moving and inspirational without being preachy or proselytizing.
In terms of DC publications,along with those others have mentioned I'd recommend Grant Morrison's Animal Man, Doom Patrol and The Invisibles, listed in order of accessibility. Animal Man is, like Watchmen, a deconstruction of the superhero genre and Morrison's most emotionally powerful work. Doom Patrol belongs in the "absurdist literature" category; Morrison used automatic writing and the "cut-up" technique to portray a world constantly in flux between sense and nonsense. The Invisibles is Morrison's most complex and subversive work, dealing with anarchism (both violent and peaceful), magic, and the ways in which language determines reality. It does get confusing at times as the series progresses (and the frequent, sometimes inappropriate artist changes don't help), but there are good online annotations to guide readers through the "huh?!" bits.
HPPH:
I'd go on further with Doom Patrol since Rachel Pollack's run deal very nicely in discussions of religion and gender theory but those haven't been collected yet as trades.
Michael Nehora:
Yes, I hope they collect Pollack's Doom Patrol run. I love her non-fiction books on tarot, kabbalah and such. All I know about her stint on DP is her allusion to one of her storylines in her companion book to Dave McKean's Vertigo Tarot. Yeah, I'm a freak. :lol: I've tried tracking down the individual issues from her run but without success. (Apparently hers didn't sell anywhere near as well as Morrison's--many readers found them too obscure---and DC eventually cancelled the title. So I'm not sure they will in fact put it out in trades.)
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