5 of my favorite Graphic Novels in review - zero APM 📖
Hey guys! Today I'd like to share some of the books that had a strong influence on my creatively inclined soul. Still owe you guys a proper introduction so I thought I'd share a little bit about a topic that's close to me. As a visual person I love graphic novels and comics so here are a couple that stuck with me and that I heartily recommend:
Pjongjang
- A look behind the the veil of North Korea. This book is a terrific exercise in journalism come art. Guy Delisle manages to show and tell us a place and people so oppressed it's tough for the rest of us to fathom. Through almost naive looking drawings we are treated to one weird situation after the other as the artist tries to navigate and explore further than his minders had intended. Drawn and written in a time when it was difficult to procure accurate photo and video footage of North Korea, the medium of a graphic novel proved to be sound choice to document this unique insight into a culture often misunderstood.
Watchmen
- One of the most thoughtful, cynical, brilliant and stylish What If? scenarios ever done. Watchmen's mature treatment of politics and super heroes in a "real world" context provides the canvas for some of the most morally ambiguous and complex character motivations ever penned. The dark, almost noir appearance shifts with colorful backdrops and otherworldly landscapes. It is an exploration of the "ultimate price" that people and society are willing to pay...as long as they can even consider it.
300
- You may have expected Sin City or The Dark Knight Returns when picking a Frank Miller book, but I chose to go for a different flavor. All style and little substance is what people say of the 300. Story aside, the artwork in this is truly astounding. Each panel is a fully realised piece oozing with grit, skill and verve. Testosterone levels run high here but the aesthetics are undeniable. The imagery and the scope of the drawings are consistently epic and that's what makes this one of my favorite books ever. But what belies this seemingly vapid visual masterpiece is a classic tale of heroes and sacrifice. It also gave us one of the most iconic characters of history: King Leonidas!
Akira
- This book really opened my eyes as to what lies beyond Dragonball and Pokemon in terms of Japanese comic art. I feel that Manga from the 80's often dealt with a deeper societal trauma and societal strains than those of today. The role that Japan and its people played in the horrors of the Second World War, the fall of the atomic bombs along with subsequent loss of a long imperial tradition caused a lot of soul searching in the decades following. A few generations later these fears and ideas already become for more abstract so the art that deals with them reflects it accordingly using the tools of the time giving birth to cyberpunk in the process. Nuclear War ain't fun but with Akira at least it's a very aesthetic take on total destruction. Tetsuo and Kenada's six volume romp through Neo-Tokyo is simply put: a blast!
The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck
- The full account of Uncle Scrooge's life could have been cheesy or dull affair but instead Don Rosa's illustrated tribute to the richest duck in the world is one of the most gorgeous, heartwarming and down to earth tales of ambition and strife ever crafted. Woven neatly into history and real events, Scrooge's story takes us around the globe from the Klondike to Duckburgh covering panel after panel of artistic splendor shedding light onto the history of the Duck clan. Enriching his story and given context, Scrooge turns out to be one of the most human characters ever conceived. This is hands down my favorite graphic novel of all time.
Which graphic novels and comics do you guys love the most? It was tough narrowing it down to just five, I could fill out plenty of lists like these :P
Thanks for reading!
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ZeroOoC
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oh, nice article. Did we ever talk about my graphic novel collection? B/c it's one of my fav things to talk about. I've read all of those on your list, except the mscrooge one, and it's been on my list for for-ever.
If I have to name a fav it's probably 'Daytripper' by Fabio Moon. Both art and storytelling combine deliciously there. Sandman is also an all time favorite.
Have a great weekend!
Amazingly, we have not spoken about this! This calls for a beer soon.
Neil Gaiman is a favorite of mine too, must have slipped my mind. Guess we need to make some more lists like this. Gonna check out the "Daytripper"! Thanks
It really is amazing, I usually preach at least one graphic novel to everyone. If you want and are trustworthy, I can borrow you my 'real'-book version of Daytripper. And yes, let's do that!
Seriously, who names their kid Scrooge XD
The last graphic novel I remember reading was V for Vendetta. It was something random that my mum brought back from the library (she is The Librarian where I come from, and has been for a very long time XD and would often bring back new books that she thought I might like). I remember liking the artwork and the lack of thought bubbles and having to pretty much guess what characters were thinking and feeling based on their expressions and how the frames progressed. I only very vaguely remember what the story was about, what I do remember is enjoying the artwork, and back when my animation project was supposed to be a comic series, it was one hte main influences that made me decide to avoid thought bubbles (which I don't think I ever really minded as internal monologue but I hated it when it was used as convenient exposition XD)
You know I actually like his german name "Dagobert". It's a bit of a random name but it fits well to him. V for Vendetta is another favorite of mine. Mostly for it's ideals of rebellion, but the artwork is second to none. It also played a big part in the "branding" of the Anonymous movement. Thanks for stopping by :)
cool recomendations, I haven't read any of those but was planning to start watchin then reading akira
I read x-men comics when I was younger, but once I stopped I never managed to get the emotional or intellectual pull back to any other comics. I've checked a few out when I was older, but besides Watchmen I didn't feel an interest or connection to anything I read. The only thing that I get from any book I've checked out was interest in the artwork. I seem to not be able to care about the characters or become engaged by the plot. :/
I still get interested in what's out there though so thanks for this list.
I think it's important to a draw a distinction between comic (which are mostly serial) and graphic novels (which are mostly contained). On occasion I revisit some of the older ones and my fascination hasn't faded yet, I do need to be in the right mood though. I think V for Vendetta is another good one if you like the more rebellious stuff (and the artwork is amaze) :)
I do love Xmen too, but I prefer the more noir Wolverine stories :)
Nerding out here! Great work!
Cheers mate! keep it UH fucking D
Glad you got a kick out of that! We are all brothers and sisters in the digital mist now. ^^
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