Graphic Novel Recommendations

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Corina Elena
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Re: Graphic Novel Recommendations

Post by Corina Elena »

I have never in my life read a graphic novel, but I am very open to it. I will take some notes of the recommendations found here and go look them up at my local bookstore.
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Post by Inkroverts »

The Blacksad series by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido. The art style is really good and everything is so detailed. It's about an anthropomorphic society just like Zootopia, but everything is as dark as Batman's Gotham. The themes include many social issues so that makes the story really deep and emotional.
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Post by Athena04 »

I really liked Saga and Persepolis.
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Post by FJRQZ »

Not sure if it is considered, a graphic novel. But I just started reading Bloodshot by valiant comics not sure the author's name, but I love the series so far. It's about a soldier who dies and is brought back to life via nanites. And he is controlled by the , Government to do their bidding till he figures out he is under their crontol then he does what he can to break free.
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Post by ava_21 »

I would highly recommend Paper Girls (written by Brian K. Vaughan -who also wrote Saga- and illustrated by Cliff Chiang) to anyone interested in time travel, space, or anything sci-fi. Paper Girls is probably my all time favorite comic book series. It's fun, entertaining, suspenseful, and full of surprises and plot twists. Absolutely amazing. Highly recommend it, even if you're just -kind of- a sci-fi fan, you should still read it. So good.
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Post by ava_21 »

Some of my all time favorite comic book series: Paper Girls (Brian K. Vaughan) Copra (Michel Fife) and Hellboy (Mike Mignola). Paper Girls is great if you love sci-fi or stories based around time travel, Copra for if you like misfit superheroes, (the artwork in this series really stands out to me as well, it's pretty unique) and Hellboy for if you like action or noir-based genres/visuals. (Depending on what series you're reading)
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Post by FuriousDestroyer75 »

I highly recommend Dog Man. The author can make any situation funny. :tiphat:
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Post by TopaAzul062 »

I don't know if this'll count but there is a graphic novel adaptation of some of Edgar Allen Poe's works called Nevermore. The Masque of the Red Death adaptation is one to marvel at as the illustrator and writer brought it into the modern era while still maintaining Poe's essence.
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Post by a_r_egerton »

Inkroverts wrote: 14 Sep 2019, 18:27 The Blacksad series by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido. The art style is really good and everything is so detailed. It's about an anthropomorphic society just like Zootopia, but everything is as dark as Batman's Gotham. The themes include many social issues so that makes the story really deep and emotional.
Blacksad is excellent; I've read the first four books and need to get my hands on the fifth. The title character is an anthropomorphic black cat who is a private detective, and the setting is patterned after 1950s US, complete with the social issues of the day. One story, for example, pits Blacksad against a white supremacist group.

God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson is a Marvel comic that pits the X-Men against a bigoted fundamentalist preacher. It was written in the 1980s and still holds up.
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Post by drwcroaker »

Gideon Falls by Jeff Lemire is excellent. It's sort of a Stephen King meets Lost sort of world. The layouts of each page tell the story well, and the drawing is of that current style where the colors are washed out and the lines are often jittery rather than the slick look of superhero comics. Fans of The Walking Dead and anything from Alan Moore will love this.
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Post by Jake7410 »

Alex_L wrote: 12 Jun 2016, 22:53 One of my favorite graphic novel series is the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. Book 7, Firelight, came out recently. While the plot takes it's sweet time you will be amazed by the art. If you highly appreciate the art aspect of graphic novels, the Amulet series is right for you.
GOD YES. AMULET IS AMAZING. Definitely recommend it. It was my favorite series of all time for a while, and is still one of my all-time favorites. Kazu's art style is so good.
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Post by Jake7410 »

I've already stated that I think Amulet is amazing, but my favorite is definitely Bone. Bone is perfect, literally. Everyone should read it at least once. I myself have read the whole series at least 10 times. Every time I see it at the library, I grab as many of them as are available and just read it for the umpteenth time because it never gets old. Read it, you will not regret it.
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Post by rifieka »

Thalobleu wrote: 19 Jul 2018, 17:12 I’ve noticed a lot of people say Alan Moore. I am not a fan of his. I do love graphic novels/comics/web-comics/mangas.

As far as graphic novels go. I think it really depends on your mood. I feel intimidated trying to jump into massive stories like those of DC or Marvel. It gets confusing fast. Especially if you run into a problem finding the next trade or single issue.

The first western comics I started with were actually web-comics. When I moved on to print, I read Blankets by Craig Thompson. It’s a really good coming of age story about a young man living in a very religious community. The entire story is contained in a thick volume so you don’t have to hunt down heroes.

But, what made me fall in love was Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore. It's almost a comic soap opera about two ladies and the lives they lead.

I also love all graphic novels by Jen Wang. She recently published The Prince and the Dressmaker. It is a delightful story about a young girl who is employed by a prince to be his seamstress.

Though if you want something short, sweet and help you get into alternative comics, I recommend the Flight series. They are anthologies of self-contained stories that use simple story boarding.

I also like Saga, as previously mentioned.

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As for Comics V Graphic Novels.
To me a comic has the connotation that is readable in a 20 page issue. Which is what most single issues are like Archie or Batman. The stories tend to be a genre ie Action, drama, mystery, fantasy.

A graphic novel, reads like a novel. It is designed from the start to be a cohesive story in visual form. Most graphic novels are more than twenty pages and follow the character arch from beginning to end in one complete segment without making you wait per issue. I find graphic novels to put more emotion into the stories.

For example. The Watchman I could call a comic. Alan Moore’s other work From Hell, I consider a graphic novel.
I agree that Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore is one of the best graphic novels, although I don't see it get mentioned a lot. I would happily be willing to advertise this book because I'm this confident that the book is amazing. But there's are exceptions. It depends on what genre people are interested in. If you don't like romance books, then this book is definitely not for you.
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