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How many of you also read Graphic Novels? Any favorites?
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I just got into graphic novels with Joss Whedon's BVS season 8 and Fray. I really like them...and so do my kids! lol
I read Jim Butcher's WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE and was disappointed with it. Have liked some of the Buffy & Angel graphic novels. I know the idea is all the artwork in these, but I still feel ripped off when I finish with one. I prefer more story. I can imagine the pictures in my head.
What some publishers are forgetting is that some stories are better told through the graphic novel format than others. So things like Buffy or any TV franchise extension won't work as well. I like to think of it as this: if the budget for the movie is going to have to be a billion dollars then it's probably a good graphic novel concept. There are exceptions to everything, of course, look at Persepolis.
Graphic novels just aren't my thing. I have tried. And as mucha s I adore Dresden, I wish Welcome to the Jungle had been done like "Backup" as a short story, instead of as a graphic novel.
The only graphic novels that I really got into were the Sandman series by Neil Gaimen. I've tried other ones, but I just couldn't get into them.
If you liked the Sandman series, you'd probably like the Watchmen too. Much better than the movie. Alan Moore collaborated with Gaiman but he's a solid writer himself. V for Vendetta is his as is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I also found that the more recent issues of the Swamp Thing to be great despite what you might expect.
Michael wrote: "If you liked the Sandman series, you'd probably like the Watchmen too. Much better than the movie. Alan Moore collaborated with Gaiman but he's a solid writer himself. V for Vendetta is his as is T..."The Watchmen graphic novel would HAVE to be better than the movie! The movie was a train wreck!!
In defense of Alan Moore, he divorced himself of it entirely didn't believe it could be made into a movie - full circle to my earlier point. Some things are better done, and left, as graphic novels.
I'll have to try the watchmen. I have heard good things about the books but everyone I have talked to hated the movie, so I still haven't seen it. I loved the V for Vendetta movie and Leauge of Extraordinary Gentleman as well. I didn't know that LOEG was a graphic novel.
Moore's Graphic Novels are WAY better than the movies. Even Moore wants nothing to do with the movies based on his graphic novels.
Moore has written some fantastic work - his Batman comic 'The Killing Joke' was a big inspiration for Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. But Watchmen will forever be his masterpiece.I read the first trade of DMZ and found it a bit unsatisfying... my favourite series on Vertigo would have to be Y: The Last Man. I think that is destined to be turned into a movie or mini-series some day... I heard Shia Labeoouf wants to play Yorick??
And Jessica, I totally agree with you about Welcome To The Jungle. Too heavy on prose to suit the graphic novel format... would have worked much better were it put together as a novella like Backup (which I thought was really great!)
I've read Watchmen, but I didn't care for it. I can see why it's considered a great graphic novel, though. I'm glad I read it, but I wouldn't do it again.
I have read the Watchmen and I liked it alot. I just bought Mercy Thompson: Homecoming. Any recommendations on some good graphic novels?
Best graphic novels I have read in recent times would be:Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn (speculative story about all the men in the world dying except one). There are ten trades in the whole series, but worth getting into.
Alias by Brian Michael Bendis (it's about the darker side of the world of heroes... brilliant art and great dialogue, but gets a bit heavy on the F word at times. I'm not averse to a bit of swearing, but after a while you start to really notice it).
Buffy Season 8 isn't too bad - they have collected a few trades of that already... but for the real Buffyverse touch, you need to read Fray by Joss Whedon. It's set 200 years after the Hellmouth closed. Great stuff!
Emmett those sound great! I'm especially interested in Fray by Joss Whedon. Thanks:o)
I loved The Maxx by Sam Keith for great complex story telling featuring 'real' seeming people and an incredible 2nd (and later 3rd) magical world they also exist in. (i have a note published in the back of one, too!)Because I enjoyed The Sandman, talking about the endless ones, (death, delirium/delight, dream, desire, destruction, despair) The Dreaming series about some of the characters that only live in the dream word (like the fairy workers) was really good.
I loved Scud, very action based but great strong female character and great monster and original concept.
Bone is worth a read, very fairy tale like, but takes a lot longer than the others to get through. It gets really cork-screwy and complex at the end.
Emmett wrote: "Best graphic novels I have read in recent times would be: Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn."I read the first of Y and the political humor really cracked me up. I haven't gotten around to the rest.
I'm one of the few who did NOT like the Watchmen comic. I have yet to see the movie. But I'm no longer a fan of American style superheros anyway. I do recommend Berserk, Vol. 1 and Black Butler, Vol. 1 both manga.
The Sandman comics are now so classic they are in a huge hard cover collectors book set [[book:The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1|23753]] in beautiful high end print (with ribbon book mark.) Oh, for $100+ bucks to spend on comics.
Thanks Emmet, I'm adding The Last Man for sure.
I read or have read several graphic novels.Sandman
Lucifer
the Death books
Hellblazer
Books of Magic
Books of Faerie
Watchmen
V for Vendetta
(also not a really big Moore fan)
One of my current faves is 'Fables' by Willingham and Sturgis.
I also really like a new series call 'House of Mystery' by Sturgis.
There's also some which are sort of designed like a manga, but which are American comics: Courtney Crumrin, Nightmares and Fairy Tales, Serenity Rose, and others.
I used to love comics when I was younger (man it's hard to face the facts I can say that now "when I was younger") but I've been out of them for years. Until I found out about Buffy Season 8. I love the comics. They are just as good as the show. Also, I discovered the Batgirl. I know, Batgirl? But they have a hew girl and a new story and it's amazing. Her name is Cassandra Cain. She is darker than Batman, and her back story is ingenious.
Elvia wrote: "I read Fray - loved it! My 10 yr old daughter liked it too."I just put Fray on my list at the library, Elvia. Looks like it's going to be a long wait, though.
Aw that sucks, Anne! It's a really good GN so worth the wait.
Fray's on mine now too. I don't think I've ever had so many comics in my TBR pile!
Michael, isn't that funny? I have NEVER read a comic/graphic novel until I got on GR!! lol
I'm not sure what a graphic novel is. Is White Tiger A Hero's Compulsion by Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe considered a graphic novel? I did read that one and I did like the story (what little story there was). Don't know if I'll buy any more.
I forgot to mention Transmetropolitan, which is a really good one.
Gabriel wrote: "I used to love comics when I was younger (man it's hard to face the facts I can say that now "when I was younger") but I've been out of them for years. Until I found out about Buffy Season 8. I lov..."Your mention of Chelsea Cain as Batgirl sent me scurrying to Wikipedia to look up the history of the character Barbara Gordon. I'm glad to learn that she's still inspiring people as Oracle.
In graphic novels I love:
Witchblade Volume 6 Obakemono andDevi Namaha
Shomeret
I didn't think I would buy another graphic novel other than White Tiger, a few people mentioned Joss Whedon. I had to check it out. I really like much of Joss Whedon's work. Fray is listed at $20 ($13.57 at Amazon) and I wondered why. That's expensive for a comic book. However the graphic novel is 216 pages and if the book is part art book then $13.57 isn't bad. I put it on my wish list.
13.57 for a 216 page graphic novel is amazing, Paula. The production costs for the larger page size and color is definitely higher, and they can't do huge print runs because the market is smaller. @Shomeret - I'd never heard of Witchblade - that looks fantastic, thanks!
On the young adult side, I happily recommend Hayao Miyazaki's work.
Until recently, apart from a stint as a teenager, I limited myself to the "Great Works" in Graphic Novels. I read Alan Moore's Watchmen, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I, oddly didn't like Gaiman's Sandman series.However, based on the recommendation of some people I started reading Buffy s8 by Joss Whedon. Now I'm reading the Astonishing X-men which is also written by him. I like it. All the adventure I wanted as a kid with the snappy dialog of Joss Whedon. Its great!
I almost never buy graphic novels, but I borrow them from the library. Graphic novels are just too dang expensive to buy. (Usually.)Fray was okay. Didn't care for Watchmen. I liked Welcome to the Jungle. Maus and Persepolis are literature, though.
Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run was brilliant. The only problem was that I read the first arc before seeing X-Men 3 (the movie borrowed from this arc heavily - the "cure" concept)... and it ruined the movie for me. The book took a wonderfully simple concept (what if a cure could be found for mutancy?) and mined it beautifully, using it as a metaphor for "curing" what makes a person different (i.e. changing the colour of their skin, making them not gay). The tension was through the roof, with people fighting to get the cure, others fighting hard against it... and the movie glossed over all of it. Oh well...Cassaday's art is beautiful, too. He draws the characters like real people wearing colourful outfits, as opposed to overmuscled cartoons.
Also, just read "The Impostor's Daughter" by Laurie Sandell... it's bound up like a hardcover novel, but is an autobiographical story told with rudimentary cartoons. Better than it sounds. A bit like "Pedro and Me" by Judd Winick. The latter was quite affecting... an autobiographical story of Judd's close friend who suffered and eventually died of aids. Simple art, but a powerful story. Bit of trivia - Judd Winick actually incorporated those events from his life in his Green Arrow run... in the form of Mia, Oliver Queen's ward who is diagnosed as HIV+. Great socially consious title is Green Arrow (or was... it's a bit lame now)... was the first comic to deal with 'serious' issues, when Green Arrow's sidekick was revealed as a heroin junkie back in the 70's.
Has anyone read Fables by Bill Willingham? I just got a notice that my library has it in for me. It looked interesting, but I've never heard of this one before.I was also wondering if anyone could suggest anything for my son. He is nine years old and loves superheros. He is mostly a Marvel fan, but anything good will do. I found Ultimate X-Men at the library and he (and I) have loved volumes 1-3 so far. I don't mind if there is some bad language (he hears it at school anyway, why not know how to spell it?), but sex scenes (anything more than kiss-kiss fade to black) are a no-no in my book! He already gets comic books from Marvel in the mail, so I'm looking for something that a library might carry. Anybody got anything?
I read the first trade (6 issues)... it's well done. A clever idea that's worth a look in, even if only to see if it's something you'd be interested in. The title is probably just as famous for James Jean's cover art than for the stories... but the whole fairy tale characters existing in the real world is well handled, and it's an interesting concept to be sure. Definitely one for adults though. Plenty of blood.
I love Fables. The twists on the characters is great. Like Emmett said - definitely adult material.
Second that. Fables is fantastic, but there is violence.
Michael wrote: "13.57 for a 216 page graphic novel is amazing, Paula. The production costs for the larger page size and color is definitely higher, and they can't do huge print runs because the market is smaller. ..."Re Witchblade--I got turned on to Witchblade through watching the TNT series based on it, but it's been a long running comic book. They've been developing the concept more lately. It's turned darker.
Shomeret
I love that show! It was based on a comic? Cool!
There's rumours of a Witchblade movie... don't think it will be linked to the series, though... and I hear it's going to deviate from the comic as well. It's due to be directed by Michael Rymer, a regular helmer on BSG.......
Emmett wrote: "There's rumours of a Witchblade movie... don't think it will be linked to the series, though... and I hear it's going to deviate from the comic as well."I'll have to watch for that, I enjoyed the Anime but wasn't in love with it. I liked the Hellsing, Volume 1 vampire stories much better and the 2 Anime series that came from the manga I really like. Blood The Last Vampire Night of the Beasts is a great, as is the stand alone movie made of it. The series it also created was OK and at least hadn't any of those 'cute' sidekicks too many Anime have as comic relief. The movie is about to come out on DVD so I don't know how true it is to the original story since it has to be on DVD for me to see it.
I just finished Fables (vol 1), and I liked it!
Urban Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
BLOOD The Last Vampire: Night of the Beasts (other topics)Hellsing, Vol. 1 (other topics)
The Books of Magic (other topics)
Witchblade: Obakemono (other topics)
Devi: Namaha (other topics)
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DMZ is pretty good, but I prefer a denser comic with a bit more text. If I spend $20 I don't want to finish in 20 minutes no matter how good the artwork.