Graphic novels, that is.
But since reading Maus I & Maus II by Art Spiegelman, my eyes were opened to the world of graphic novels…and well, I felt guilty about my prejudice. (I’ve written a little about the books before.)
I never realized graphic novels could pull me into a story just as well as a novel could. Nor did I ever expect to love the experience of watching scenes unfold by little boxes.
Here’s the thing- I’d like to read more. Preferably ones as good as Maus. I’ve come to realize I don’t know where to start or how to tell which one’s are good.
So I wonder if you might recommend one?
Memoir of a Writer 
I too have recently discovered graphic novels and comics! I’m not into superheroes and lots of fighting but some are really cool like Ms Marvel. My favourites are Spell on Wheels and I’m currently reading Paper Girls. I’ve really come to appreciate the artwork and the ability to say something meaningful in so few words. Nothing to be guilty about! 🙂
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Haha awesome, I’ll have to definitely check them out.
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It’s tough to make a recommendation because graphic novels depend on both the text and the pictures, and if the subject of one or the art of the others annoys you, then it won’t work. And then there are those written as such and others that capture a comic book’s story arc.
Serious? I just dealt with a dying parent, and Roz Chast’s “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” was a great help. Escapist crime drama? “Whiteout” by Rucka and Leiber. Adaptations? Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Butler’s “Kindred” both do well. Story arcs that came from what were originally comic books (but not superhero ones)? There’s the anthropological fantasy of “Finder” by Carla Speed McNeil or the futuristic gonzo journalist in Warren Ellis’s “Transmetropolitan.”
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Awesome, thank you!
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Recently read Roz Chast’s “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” and was going to mention it, too. Fantastic read. Brian — my condolences for your loss.
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Thank you.
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Aw man, Maus got me to appreciate graphic novels too. My dad gave it to me when I was a teenager, it was a hard read but a worthwhile one. I like the Green Arrow comics when I’m just being lazy and wanting nice pictures and easy stories but we used to have a really good edition of the Hobbit done as a graphic novel. It was good fun and broke me gently in to Tolkien. Sadly I can’t remember the artist and I’ve never seen it anywhere other than on our shelf…
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That’s cool!
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I don’t know of any good graphic novels…but now I might try one!
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Awesome!
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The Watchman books are very well regarded. I liked the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, but I likes the anime.
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Oh cool! Thanks! 😊
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Tekkonkinkreet (Black & White) by Taiyo Matsumoto
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Cool! Thanks 😊
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If they haven’t already been recommended, then I suggest any of Alan Moore’s works. V for Vendetta is amazing and The Watchmen is widely regarded as one of the best novels of the 20th century. (Notice I didn’t say graphic novels. It was on Time Magazines list of 100 Greatest Novels)
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Cool, I’m going to add them to my list! Thanks 😊
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Thanks for checking out a recent post. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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A new comic/ graphic novel that is really good is ‘Saga’. I highly recommend it as the story pulls you in rapidly. Another one that you can read online for free is ‘KillSixBillionDemons’. It is a weird but the art is amazing and the story is insane. https://killsixbilliondemons.com/
A even weirder one that you can read online for free is Jesse Moynihan’s ‘Forming’. I highly recommend all of these but the stories aren’t finished so if enjoy them and get to the end they usually update once a week online.
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Is the link for FORMING
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Thanks! 😊
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I dunno if that heading/picture pairing was meant to be clickbait, but it worked! I thought you were going to be hating on the straight-up mastery of Maus!
Honestly, hard to think of many graphic novels (or other novels) that approach Maus, but if you like fantasy at all Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series is very good
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I don’t try to trick people into reading things 😂 I usually just do what first pops into my head and sometimes it’s clickbait-y.
& I like fantasy so I’ll have to check it out! Thanks 😊
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Growing up, I loved the subversive humor of MAD MAGAZINE. Nobody else was poking fun at society and culture like that, at least in my childish understanding. “Spy vs. Spy” and “Don Martin” were regular features, but I also loved the specials. Mocking advertising (Super Bowl Toilet Seat! 1 cubic foot of NYC air [back when NYC was famous for the worst air pollution]) and movies. (2001: Man in spaceship says “I swear someone just threw a bone at us!” Midnight Cowboy on learning how to picker for a kiss: “Think of pickles. Think of lemons. Think of pickled lemons.”) Perfect silliness for a dorky lonely 10yo who was never one of the cool girls.
HEAVY METAL magazine introduced me to the idea of fantastic stories as graphic tales, and I found it fascinating. And I liked the style—so different from the superhero comics the older generation grew up on. I drew my own, but my drawing skills weren’t up to my own hopes, so it ended up being more for my own personal world-building dreams of weird worlds. Anyway….
My exposure to graphic novels as an adult has been sporadic, but I seem to have it some of the greats. MAUS blew me away. Broke my heart. Still, I did not seek out others books. My first love was, is, and always will be narrative fiction.
Then I stumbled across Chris Ware. I was browsing the science fiction section of the bookstore, and after Z came the shelves of graphic novels. JIMMY CORRIGAN: THE SMARTEST KID ON EARTH caught my eye, and oh, the melancholy, the bites of moments of reality of this character as a child and as an adult, interspersed. That is a classic.
PERSOPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi opened a new world to me. Not just Iran. Not just a woman’s story (because let’s face it, comics were dominated completely until recently by men). But a new style of storytelling. Not hyperdynamic. Simple. Emphasizing human feelings.
I have others on my shelf, and webcomic artists who’ve put out books (Tom Gauld’s YOU’RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF MY JETPACK). And Grant Snider’s INCIDENTAL COMICS (which focus on the creative soul) always touch my heart. I love the weirder less nihilistic anime movies but have so far not delved into the manga behind them. And I have some recommended books and gifts yet to read. So there’s my eclectic list.
I just googled up https://www.npr.org/2017/07/12/533862948/lets-get-graphic-100-favorite-comics-and-graphic-novels and it has many that I’m now curious to explore.
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Oh thats so cool!! I love exploring new genres, which is why I made this post in the first place. Thanks for sharing!😊
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