h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've said elsewhere that I don't tend to read graphic novels. I have absolutely nothing against them. It's just that I like the creative things that 'proper' books do with words and I haven't found a graphic novel that can compete there. I've read some that do do very good things that wordy books *can't* do - but I have only one life so haven't always the time for both.

Assuming that I were to read some Graphic novels for a change...any suggestions?

I'm currently reading 'V for Vendetta' and have 'Preludes and Nocturnes' lined up.

I tend not to do Fantasy/SF (but not out of principle), but I'm aware that not all graphic novels involve superheroes.

In the past I've read:

- the Love and Rockets / Palomar series (a wee bit of SF in the early issues when Maggie was a pro solar mechanic)

- Cerberus the Aardvark

- Persepolis

- Palestine (Joe Sacco)

- Maus

- Sin City

- Probably some others.

Sideways suggestions appreciated. Obviously I'm aware of the existence of stuff like 'The Dark Knight' and 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'. (But, hell, if something is both popular and extremely good - feel free to rave.)

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. At least until "Mummies on Parade", after which the series becomes increasingly unreadable.

Oh, and "120, rue de la Gare", a detective story set during the early 1940s.

Miss Remarkable and her Career, by Joanna Rubin Dranger. Also other books by her are good.

I take it you've read Watchmen? If not, read Watchmen. Everyone should read Watchmen. It's brilliant.

Missed that one. Yes - I've read it.

May have to read it again because It didn't impress me.

Well, you're onto a winner there with Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Pretty much anything by either of them will be a delight to read. On the 'Sandman' series though, do make sure to read past 'Preludes & Nocturnes': the general consensus (with which I agree) is that the series only hits its stride right at the end of that volume. It still contains stuff that's important later on, and is a good read besides, but it's a bit different in tone to the truly awesome stuff that comes later.

Oh God! As if the book piles/avalanches weren't already high enough!

Cough

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FB

I love comics. I have a large collection of the "Pogo" books by Walt Kelly, and a growing collection of the "Liberty Meadows" books by Frank Cho. technically, these are collections of comic strips, but
They're very good.

Many of the movies I've seen have been based on graphic novels. I've seen "Watchmen," "Sin City," "300," and several others.

I'm a retired librarian. Before I retired, I built up the library's collection of graphic novels. I don't know how well they books circulated after I bought them, but I tried. There is something called "Manga" that is very popular in my area. It is Japanese.

This one's more entry-level, FB. Indulge me.

The only problem with "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is that unless you're entirely immersed in the popular culture of the Victorian/Edwardian/pre-war/Sixties era, you're probably only getting about 20% of the references. The depth of Moore's references, when you read Nevin's annotations, is practically ridiculous.

And if it's wordy, bookish stuff you're after, you're maybe barking up the wrong tree with Moore - he's explicitly about what can be achieved in the medium of comics that explicitly can't be done in prose or film.

That said, "From Hell" is pretty good.

I'm not necessarily saying I'm looking for wordy, bookish stuff. That's what Actual Books are for. I know from experience that Graphic Novels do something different. 'Love and Rockets' can go pages without a single word.

Although on that basis...maybe 'League...' might be for me.

Most of my friends are into manga, but I'm less keen on it. I seem to have trouble following the flow of movement, the way they do it. I'm more into the animated side, anime.
That said, I gather that 'Death Note' may be up your street, or one of several series by Naoki Urasawa, e.g. '20th Century Boys', 'Monster' or 'Pluto'.

Also pretty good is "1602" by Neil Gaiman.

I've seen five or six anime movies. I liked them all. The latest one was "The Secret World of Arrietty."

DMZ is a really good comic I enjoyed recently. Set in a near future US in which there has been a kind of civil war and what remains of New York is in a de-militarized zone between the two parts. Is interesting I think.

FB

I'm reading a graphic novel at the moment. It's called "Hark! a Vagrant" by Kate Beaton.

I take it you're looking for the kind of stories that could only be done in a comics medium, rather than book form. Perhaps Promethea by Alan Moore would be good for that, though I know little about it.

The Walking Dead

Judge Dredd - The Cursed Earth and The Day The Law Died

Slaine The Horned God

I want to recommend Gutsville. I really, really want to. But I can't. Because the artist flaked out on the project having been lured with the bigger money promised by Marvel so wheras by now a graphic novel version should be available only the first three individual comics are.