I just occurred to me, that while I have heard of them, I've never actually read one. They seem interesting. Suggestions for a noob please! I might grab one off amazon.

I wub the Sandman novels by Neil Gaiman.

Comics.

Watchmen
V for Vendetta
The league of extraordinary gentlemen.

In fact, google 'Alan Moore' and start from there.
Sandman is a good call too though.

Dai wrote on 09/01/09 at 20:58:51:

Comics. Watchmen V for Vendetta The league of extraordinary gentlemen. In fact, google 'Alan Moore' and start from there. Sandman is a good call too though.

Have already seen the films of those three and as sure as I am that the novel is waaay better than the film (these things usually are) i don't think i could enjoy it already knowing the story. Also the league of extraordinary gentlemen was terribad and i am emotionally scarred by it.

Sandman? *looks*

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Good place to start.

good! because that's the one i bought.. Hope I like it.

In addition to the ones already mentioned, I offer from my bookshelves:

Bone by Jeff Smith, is cutesy and funny and epic all at once, I think I'd call it my favourite. :)

Sin City by Frank Miller, extremely noir and stylish, also known in film version obviously

The dark knight returns by Frank Miller, also film adapted but the graphic novel is still outstanding

Preacher by Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon,  a crazy outrageous epic western story with vampires and angels and inbred religious figures and goddamn awesome characters all over, includes a bonus guest appearance by Bill Hicks, just to illustrate the awesomeness of it

Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis, I've invested in these books twice due to losing the first set in unfortunate moving-circumstances, and it was all worth it, because Warren Ellis is the coolest man and the only thing cooler is his character Spider Jerusalem, or possibly his two-headed cat; Spider writes a column named I hate it here, which should give you some idea of the general tone of things

The Invisibles by Grant Morrison is also... extreme, in just about every way, but satisfyingly so -  I'd say more about it but I just have no idea where to even begin, haha

and for something completely different
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - about as far from the traditional graphic novel style and plot as you can get, this is a sombre autobiography describing an Iranian woman's childhood and adolescence and identity within Islam and Europe,  from an illustrator point of view it does some very cute things, otherwise not something I'd recommend unless you have at least a passing interest in the subject. ;)

Oh and also!  

Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or is a series of short-ish album stories, of which my favourite is the one called Arctic Nation -  some say the stories themselves are unremarkable, because they expect a certain level of wackiness from the anthro-style I'd assume, but I'd say they're very successful in their private investigator-genre. Ofc, the remarkable thing about Blacksad is the art, all gorgeously painted in watercolours, with the best - and most expressive - anthro faces and ideas I've ever seen - I mean, it's good enough that I forgive it for what is basically graphic furry porn. ;)

I knew you'd likely have some input :) I went with the initial suggestion first so Enter Sandman, and we'll see how that goes.

Mox is wise in the way of the novel.

First things first though, read the Alan Moore novels. There is a reason why Watchmen is considered the best Graphic ever written over 20 years after it was first released, also the travesty that is the LXG film is in no way shape or form anything remotely like the graphic by Moore. It insults the name by using it.

If you are into the superhero stuff: Anything written by Geoff Johns and/or Gail Simone, in fact Tranquility by Simone is a damn fun read anyway. Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer is also a top notch read though don't expect the usual superhero faire.

Planetary by Warren Ellis and the first two Authority graphics - again by Ellis - are worth a look at too. You can't really go wrong with Jenny Sparks.

Over on the Marvel side of things I'm a bit weaker - The ultimates line is a good re-imagining of the marvel universe in contemporary times and there's a some good stuff there.

Uljin wrote on 09/02/09 at 00:49:05:

If you are into the superhero stuff.

I don't know if I am because I have never read a comic other than an online comic thing. I watched some cartoons as a kid. Never watched Anime, Never read graphic novels. Only "superhero" stuff i have ever seen is what was on CITV, old TV series or movies.

I don't know about all of it, but certainly the first volume (or possibly 2) of the Authority I'd recommend.  Obscenely powerful superheroes with potential power abuse ftw!

Skar wrote on 09/02/09 at 11:49:25:

I don't know about all of it, but certainly the first volume (or possibly 2) of the Authority I'd recommend.  Obscenely powerful superheroes with potential power abuse ftw!

Mark Millar takes over writing after the 2nd volume and runs it into the floor alas, it was cancelled shortly after as sales fell rather rapidly.

If you liked the early Authority you'll probably like Stormwatch...some crossover of characters and the backstory to what happened to the original Doctor and Engineer. Plus the crossover with Aliens is a good  ending to the series.

Warren Ellis recently released "Crecey" an adorably painted history lesson disguised as a graphic novel.  Well worth reading.

There's also a few classical Hellblazer, drawn by Dave McKean and written by Neil Gaiman that are -very- worth investing in.  ( So are a few of the azzarello (spelling?) things, but I ramble)

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight"  sort of redefined the comics industry in it's day, unfortunately people chose to reproduce rather than emulate the things that made Watchmen (Moore et. al) so groundbreaking.

Matt Wagner's "Grendel" (Black, white and red)  started a new series of teamworks, but I'd recommend getting the things where he wrote the manuscripts rather than the followups.  If nothing else so for the way it ties styles of artists together with the story told from the various angles of characters.  (Different artists from different viewpoints, and so on)

Jhonen Vasquez -  Johnny the Homocidial Maniac, aka. "Z?" is another extreme, going towards the humorous bizarre and ultraviolent rather than taking the medium seriously.

People covered many of the good graphic novels already, but I'd also recommend some of the French ones.

One of the more famous ones is Régis Loisel who is primarily known for his Peter Pan (Not the original story, this is more like a prequel to that one) series and The Quest for the Time-bird (La Quête de l'oiseau du temps). Loisel has a very distinctive style and his stories are both very dark and beautifully illustrated, with some great humor. One of the things I really like about him is the illustrations, they are so alive! They are teeming with movement and life and his universes are so rich. The Peter Pan series is way more Dickensian in nature than the real Peter Pan story, although it is more grim and mature than both Dickens and Barrie and also more emotionally involving when it seeks to be. The Quest for the Time-bird is about a women, Roxanne and a knight or warrior called Bragon going out to find, well, this Time-bird, in order to stop the summoning of an evil god. It is very much the fantasy story that it sounds like, but it excels in it's detailed and well done characterization of Roxanne and Bragon. The story focuses slightly more on Bragon, who is an old man, and it's very much melancholic in this respect, as it tries to explore how an aged hero deals with his fading glory and how the different characters, minor and more important, have to deal with their existance within this world and the hardships therein.

Apart from Loisel I'd like to suggest also Jacques Tardi (Not to be confused with Jacques Tati) who is my favourite cartoonist. He has been one of the main innovators of ligne claire, apart from of course Hergé himself, and uses the style and it's conventions in a much better way than Hergé. Tardi has made a lot of graphic novels, and they basically come in two categories: War novels and crime novels, though of course this is slightly generalised. As for his style, he obviously uses ligne claire, but he mixes this with extremely well done expressionism. His war novels are focused on the horrors of war and the loss of patriotism. They are also noteworthy for his indepth research on his subjects and times, which actually serves to better his novels more than what most heavy researchers do. In his main series, Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Dry-White), he uses caricatures or characters taken from history to make amusing social commentary and satire, though his series are often using the humour to make the horrific content more edible, some of them are monstrous, and way scarier than Loisel, but then I guess expressionism is just that awesome. *hides* Adele is a wonderful character too, misandrist and asexual, conversing mostly with a mummy in her appartment, though he eventually leaves her for Cairo. This series is his main creation as said, and most of the other are single volumes. That said, some of the richer stories are often in these single volumes and I have no idea how hard these are to find for you island dwellers over there. So if you see something, pick it up, as everything is good really, though some are very esoteric, so be warned!

EDIT: Mm, this really is not very well written at all, and there are clumsy typos. I blame lack of sleep, zzz. Hope it's readable.

Help me, I'm brain-wounded!  Is there a DICTIONARY in the audience?!

Also, don't be scared by what movies you have seen, the originals are pretty much better in every single case. :p Alan Moore is absolutely brilliant, and he hates the movies for a reason!

apart from the league average blokes, i kinda liked the movies of novels suggested here.

Uljin wrote on 09/02/09 at 12:23:10:

Skar wrote on 09/02/09 at 11:49:25: I don't know about all of it, but certainly the first volume (or possibly 2) of the Authority I'd recommend.  Obscenely powerful superheroes with potential power abuse ftw! Mark Millar takes over writing after the 2nd volume and runs it into the floor alas, it was cancelled shortly after as sales fell rather rapidly.

While that's likely a defence mechanism of your brain, I'm sad to say that The Authority is still going as of May this year.  :(

My two recommendations would be the Fables books by Bill Willingham, and the Lucifer spin-off from The Sandman by Mike Carey.

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Oh, and also my own little personal favourite, Suburban Glamour by Jamie McKelvie... Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or

Ewww.. don't let these guys sucker you in to all that american crap. Most adult manga could be concidered graphic novels, and as a first I'd suggest Berserk, by Miura Kentaro. Very brutal, but the story of brotherhood and betrayal is just great. Go fetch. Now. :)

Lan wrote on 09/03/09 at 21:24:31:

Ewww.. don't let these guys sucker you in to all that american crap. Most adult manga could be concidered graphic novels, and as a first I'd suggest Berserk, by Miura Kentaro. Very brutal, but the story of brotherhood and betrayal is just great. Go fetch. Now. :)

Most of the writers suggested are British, actually.   ;)

Rakhona wrote on 09/03/09 at 20:04:03:

While that's likely a defence mechanism of your brain, I'm sad to say that The Authority is still going as of May this year.  :(

Aye it's currently being written by Dan Abnett and is pretty good actually - the whole of the Wildstorm world is running through an apocalypse storyline currently and it's a good read - but yes, the line was cancelled after Millar's run, brought back, ditched, brought back again. It seems to be a line they crank out with a different writer to try and get some sales every now and again.

So the postman delivered Preludes and Nocturnes a few hours ago and I just finished it. It was quite good, I liked it, just felt a bit short but then I guess its part of a bigger series so i guess i buy book 2 and 3 now and see how those go.

I hate to start anything else until I have finished this series. I already feel awkward enough for not finishing another book before starting these.

Lan wrote on 09/03/09 at 21:24:31:

Most adult manga could be concidered graphic novels, and as a first I'd suggest Berserk, by Miura Kentaro. Very brutal, but the story of brotherhood and betrayal is just great. Go fetch. Now. :)

I might consider it, ha. I have severe japanophobia actually, having been exposed to far too many super-enthusiastic yellow-fevered monsters forcing me through abominations such as Chobits,  thus I'm prejudiced towards all of it except Miyazaki/Ghibli-films. :>  Have also heard good things about Lone wolf & cub, but still don't trust the drooling kawaii-konnichiwa-stutter-mumble-SAN-zomg part of the comic book store. (am I being offensive enough yet? :D)

Veilyn wrote on 09/04/09 at 15:28:38:

So the postman delivered Preludes and Nocturnes a few hours ago and I just finished it. It was quite good, I liked it, just felt a bit short but then I guess its part of a bigger series so i guess i buy book 2 and 3 now and see how those go. I hate to start anything else until I have finished this series. I already feel awkward enough for not finishing another book before starting these.

If your local library deals in comics at all, chances are very high they'll have the Sandman books in their shelves.  Just if you're not already hooked enough to not hesitate to purchase, I mean. ;)

They might do. I don't know. I'd have to go through some ceremony to become a member however.
It might sound snobby, largely because it is, but I usually like to buy my own books. Have my own copy that no one else gets their grubby hands on like some wierdo who picks his nose and scratches his ass before he turns the pages, or worse.
I often share books with my Mum and my brother so usually they get at least 3 reads, though I doubt the other two will be interested in comics, I'm on my own there. :p

While these comics seem to cost a bit more than regular books, they're not *that* expensive. same price as a movie and lasts slightly longer. I'll just buy 'em.

By all means, I prefer to buy too, but that's because libraries hate me and my "I'm only going to suddenly remember to return this in approximately TWO YEARS FROM NOW" ways. 0:)

Glad you enjoyed. As Mox says Sandman is pretty well known/in libraries etc. but I can also understand wanting your own copies.

And if you thought that was short I had to wait for the comics to come out one by one, rather than just grabbing the book at the time! :P

If you ever get stuck short, I'm not a million miles away and I have all of The Sandman collected, V, you're welcome to borrow.  You can even make a day of it and poke Dai's belly & drink le booze.  Not necessarily in that order.

Also : Japanophobia is an awesome word that ought to see more use.  Just say it out loud to yourselves a bit...   :D

Also, also : Here's a download link for Suburban Glamour.  It's short and sweet, for you to digest easily.  I'm sure you can find an online reader easily enough.  If you like it and feel guilty, then just go visit Jamie's website and give him a couple of quid - I've done so in the past.

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My Book 2 still hasn't arrived and I am ready to rip off the testicles off whomever is responsible!

In the mean time I've looked through the suggestions etc here and had a think.
I'm don't think I'm too interested in superheroes in the superman/xmen sense, mega world changing super-powers are just so... bleah....(Spiderman might be an exception) but Batman isn't a real super hero and his stories interest me. But then I hit a wall.

Batman has been invented and reinvented and screwed about so many times... and one writer can write a story where he dies, but another writer writes something else and there's no continuity, at least it seems so. (I HATE lack of continuity) And I'm left wondering, how do i separate the crud from the good stuff? How do I cope with "different interpretations"?

I loved the last Batman film. Hated the ones prior to it with George Clooney. Val Kilmer was "ok" as was Keaton.

So much has been suggested here and I have no clue. All I can do is eeny meany miney mo, pick a comic by the toe...

I haven't read most of what's listed but I've never heard of anyone say a bad word against Preacher.  Whilst the main character(s) does have a world changing superpower, it's handled in a very personal way and it's far more about the characters than the power they posses through most of it.

For a rather serious novel, but considered a work of genius, Maus

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oh, definitely Maus!

Bleah. "The war".

"Hitman" by DC is great if you get a chance to read it. Darn funny story about an Irish-American hitman in Gotham city who gains the power to read minds and see through walls. He starts to hire himself out to kill supervillians...hillarity ensues.

Some of the finer moments include him vomiting on Batman following a night of heavy drinking and calling the Green Lantern a "tightwad" for not standing his round in the bar. :)

Mox wrote on 09/04/09 at 15:30:18:

Lan wrote on 09/03/09 at 21:24:31: Most adult manga could be concidered graphic novels, and as a first I'd suggest Berserk, by Miura Kentaro. Very brutal, but the story of brotherhood and betrayal is just great. Go fetch. Now. :) I might consider it, ha. I have severe japanophobia actually, having been exposed to far too many super-enthusiastic yellow-fevered monsters forcing me through abominations such as Chobits,  thus I'm prejudiced towards all of it except Miyazaki/Ghibli-films. :>  Have also heard good things about Lone wolf & cub, but still don't trust the drooling kawaii-konnichiwa-stutter-mumble-SAN-zomg part of the comic book store. (am I being offensive enough yet? :D)

That sounds more like the typical teen manga. You need to read something that's made for adults. :)

Lan wrote on 09/24/09 at 12:37:12:

Mox wrote on 09/04/09 at 15:30:18: Lan wrote on 09/03/09 at 21:24:31: Most adult manga could be concidered graphic novels, and as a first I'd suggest Berserk, by Miura Kentaro. Very brutal, but the story of brotherhood and betrayal is just great. Go fetch. Now. :) I might consider it, ha. I have severe japanophobia actually, having been exposed to far too many super-enthusiastic yellow-fevered monsters forcing me through abominations such as Chobits,  thus I'm prejudiced towards all of it except Miyazaki/Ghibli-films. :>  Have also heard good things about Lone wolf & cub, but still don't trust the drooling kawaii-konnichiwa-stutter-mumble-SAN-zomg part of the comic book store. (am I being offensive enough yet? :D) That sounds more like the typical teen manga. You need to read something that's made for adults. :)

Hentai BAD!

You need to learn to embrace the tentacle!

and to let it embrace you

There's an achivement for that...

*Embraces Uljin's tentacle*

After much waiting on deliveries and such, i finally completed the Sandman series tonight.

Twoo, thankyou sooooo much for recommending these. It was *perfect* and exactly what I was looking for. I enjoyed it a lot! :) /pat

I give graphic novels a rest for the moment while i clear out another backlog of books I have, but when I return, I think it will be with Batman!  8-)

Pleasure! Glad you loved 'em. Trip down memory lsane for me too.


*bites*

MY ANIMES! GLORIOUS NIPPON!

Read Preacher and V for Vendetta. And Watchmen. absolutely excellent (even though I have issues with Ellis).

Cu wrote on 10/14/09 at 23:50:22:

MY ANIMES! GLORIOUS NIPPON! Read Preacher and V for Vendetta. And Watchmen. absolutely excellent (even though I have issues with Ellis).

Do you mean Ennis? Warren Ellis didn't write the three you listed, Garth Ennis wrote Preacher though.  :)