The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I don't mean "graphic novels" as in "big-breasted amazon women from the moon come and steal the ring of Zebulon" but things like:

Epileptic, an autobiographical story about how a family copes with the oldest son developing debilitating epilepsy during a time when epileptics were reviled

Red Eye, Black Eye, an extremely engrossing look into vignettes of life around America, as told by an unemployed cartoonist who decided to take two months to travel and find himself by crashing on the couches of his random Internet friends

Anything by Sam Keith and Daniel Clowes is also good reads.

Anyone else have any recommendations?

I think I saw your avatar wink at me out of the corner of my eye.

Don't be ridiculous. Images can't move.

They can if they're haunted.

Of course, Maus is mandatory. Same goes for Watchmen. I also enjoyed the first League of Extraordinary Gentlemen quite a bit. You already covered Clowes. I haven't read any, but I have a friend who swears by Bone; that might be a little too close to "amazon women from the moon", I guess. Plus I have omitted an entire genre of graphic novel recommendations, if only to keep me from looking like a Weeaboo.

Oh, yes, of course, Maus. I think that was the first serious graphic novel I ever read. Highly recommended.

Spiegelman's post-9/11 missive "In The Shadow Of No Towers" was somewhat disappointing though (I lived in NYC when it came out so I was inundated with marketing for it of course).

I'd also say that Sandman would be a mandatory inclusion in this list. The Bone series, too.

Are we including the trade collections of comic books? Because if so, then there's a whole bunch of other stuff to mention, like Doom Patrol, Y: The Last Man, Fables, 100 Bullets, etc...

I used to have a copy of the Sam and Max graphic novel. Now it's like a couple hundred dollars and I have no idea where it is... but it's AMAZING.

my room mate is a big comic book nerd so i he gives me lots of stuff to read. But of serious graphic novels, I have only read a few.

I read Epileptic, the one you mentioned in your first post. And yes it was very good. It's quite depressing at times but a very very interesting read. I think the blakc and white he uses really adds to the somber tone of the whole thing.

Also i second the man who said, "The Watchmen", simply amazing, but that may be getting too far into comic book territory (next people will be adding The Dark Knight Returns to the list.)

I've only read a few, things like Watchmen, Dark Knight, but one I liked very much was called Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth by Chris Ware. Kind of sad with simple yet detailed art.

Trashed by Derf.

Edit -- Oops...Hmm... actually, that doesn't really fall under the genre of graphic novel at all. More graphic memoir. Still good, tho'.

Maus is the only one I've ever read. Excellent though.

Non-costumed-avenger material:

Black Hole
From Hell
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron
Palomar

Akira

Furrypedro wrote:Akira

And skip the movie.

I'll read it when it comes out on video.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:I'll read it when it comes out on video.

Time to get readin', then.

Puce wrote:

Furrypedro wrote:Akira

And skip the movie.

No. Watch the movie, then watch the movie again. Then read the books.

Furrypedro wrote:

Puce wrote:

Furrypedro wrote:Akira

And skip the movie.

No. Watch the movie, then watch the movie again. Then read the books.

The two are so dissimilar that I doubt the order you experience them in matters.

you can't go wrong with anything by grant morrison:

the invisibles - 7 volumes (the first 3 were ripped off to make the movie the matrix, in parts, almost panel for panel). this one is where my avatar and screen name come from.

the doom patrol - will be 6 volumes, but the last is not yet released. this is my favorite comic story ever.

kid eternity - painted artwork. cryptic story.

Puce wrote:

Furrypedro wrote:

Puce wrote: And skip the movie.

No. Watch the movie, then watch the movie again. Then read the books.

The two are so dissimilar that I doubt the order you experience them in matters.

How about I watch the movie once, and not read the book. Then go the rest of my life content with the movie version.
edit: Wait a tick....there aren't any subtitles in the movie are there? 8)

Currently working my way through the Annihilation Wave (though book 3's not published yet), it's a bit of a mish mash in places, and the story skips a bit at times and sometimes the artworks a bit ropey, but on the whole it's quite entertaining fayre... I'd give it a 7 out of 10 so far...

s'nice to see some of Marvel's older galactic characters involved in a more wholesome plot than just taking on the FF or the Avengers.

(at the age I am, I now only read my comic books in collected format, so occasionally I get a bit out of step with continuity, and have to go back and re-read stuff... which is a great excuse )