xkcd

by **dbsmith** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:45 am UTC

Go on....
I've never found anything that comes even close to Watchmen and Sandman
But i havent read that many of them

by **Various Varieties** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:38 am UTC

Maus.

Daredevil: Born Again. (But preferably not until you've read Frank Miller's earlier Daredevil run...)

DC: The new Frontier (or anything else by Darwyn Cooke)

Any of Alan Moore's America's Best Comics work: Tom Strong/Top 10 (and Smax!)/League of Extraordinary Gentlemen/Promethea

All-Star Superman.

Road to Perdition.

(Yes, I know some of those are more properly referred to as trade paperbacks than graphic novels...)

by **TheAmazingRando** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:51 am UTC

Kingdom Come has stellar artwork, even though the story is a bit weak.
Anything by Dave McKean has artwork that's sure to impress. Arkham Asylum, for one.
For story, though, I've yet to read anything that approaches Alan Moore.

Last.FM · by **DarkKnightJared** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:58 am UTC

Almost anything from Warren Ellis is a keeper. I'd whole-heartedly recommend Transmetropolitan.

I'd also recommend Garth Ennis' Marvel MAX run of The Punisher.

by **Malice** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:49 am UTC

Ellis's "Fell".
Brian K. Vaughn's "Y: The Last Man" is a tasty, tasty soap opera, and if you stick them all together they're basically a graphic novel.
Frank Miller's "Sin City" series is excellent in every way, shape, and form. His "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" is a defining classic in the medium, and its sequel, "The Dark Knight Strikes Back" is, while not as good, still very interesting (especially in terms of the art) and innovative (not to mention politically timely).
I'd also recommend, in a very different vein, Daniel Clowe's "Ghost World."

I second both parts of "Maus."

Oh, and Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis" is fantastic.

by **Reid** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:00 pm UTC

Kurt Busiek's "Astro City" series. Read them. Read them now.

by **red artifice** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:44 pm UTC

Epileptic- David B

by **SecondTalon** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:52 pm UTC

Orbiter - Warren Ellis

Quick Synopsis - Space Shuttle goes missing. Reappears ten years later minus the rest of the crew except for the pilot. Has funky organic stuff on it, and the pilot's gone kooky. Goes from there. Relatively short, but a nice read.

If you like the DC Universe (Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman), Kingdom Come is a nice read.
On the Marvel side, Marvels is a good one as well.

Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing.
Hellblazer. Any of them.

by **Zohar** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:19 pm UTC

Anything by Moore (except perhaps Promethea, which could be boring to some).
Preacher (Garth Ennis)
As mentioned, anything by Warren Ellis
Sin City
Fables
Y: The Last Man
The DMZ is really good so far

That's off the top of my head.

by **asanisimasa** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:25 pm UTC

Probably not really what you're looking for but...

Daniel Clowes' Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron

by **spiral->0** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:33 am UTC

'Watchmen' is both awesome and a graphic novel.
'V for Vendetta' fits the bill too.

by **Oort** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:34 am UTC

Superman: Red Son

Ex Machina

Thor: Dissasembled (the one about Ragnarok).

If it helps, some of my favorite writers, in no particular order, are Brian K. Vaughan, Ed Brubaker, Neil Gaiman, and Alan Moore. Vaughan did Y The Last Man and Ex Machina. Brubaker does Captain America. Gaiman does Sandman, and Moore wrote Watchmen.

by **Jesse** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:59 am UTC

Transmetropolitan. Go, now, read it.

(Apart form that, other suggestions are good. Other stories by Ellis tend to be rather short, still enjoyable though.)

by **une see** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:30 pm UTC

Malice wrote:Ellis's "Fell".
Brian K. Vaughn's "Y: The Last Man" is a tasty, tasty soap opera, and if you stick them all together they're basically a graphic novel.
Frank Miller's "Sin City" series is excellent in every way, shape, and form. His "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" is a defining classic in the medium, and its sequel, "The Dark Knight Strikes Back" is, while not as good, still very interesting (especially in terms of the art) and innovative (not to mention politically timely).
I'd also recommend, in a very different vein, Daniel Clowe's "Ghost World."

I second both parts of "Maus."

Oh, and Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis" is fantastic.

Um...no offense or anything, but I hated that graphic novel. Almost every little piece of it (some panels were pretty awesome, but still not awesome enough to counteract the incredible dullness of the rest of the graphic novel). Maybe it was because I had to read it for school, but I doubt it; I probably would still have disliked it if I read it on my own, if not as much. I actually came in this thread specifically to warn against reading "Persepolis," but I guess people other than English teachers actually like it.

by **4=5** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:13 pm UTC

20th century boys, nothing else I've read comes close.

edit: looking it up it hasn't been released in english yet, sorry

by **Killy_mcgee** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:53 pm UTC

Nawls. It's a digital one if it matters.

by **Rodan** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:43 pm UTC

Maus
V For Vendetta
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Y: the Last Man
What's happened so far in the Walking Dead
Transmetropolitan
Sin City

and some more stuff as I remember.

by **WaywardAngel** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:41 pm UTC

Rodan wrote:Maus
V For Vendetta
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Y: the Last Man
What's happened so far in the Walking Dead
Transmetropolitan
Sin City

and some more stuff as I remember.

You have Rorschach as your avatar but didn't mention Watchmen? Guess I'll have to do it then.

Watchmen. First graphic novel I ever read, and still my favourite. All the other suggestions are cool as well from my limited experience.

by **TheAmazingRando** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:55 pm UTC

WaywardAngel wrote:Watchmen. First graphic novel I ever read, and still my favourite. All the other suggestions are cool as well from my limited experience.

It's been mentioned, by the person asking for suggestions:

dbsmith wrote:Go on....
I've never found anything that comes even close to Watchmen and Sandman
But i havent read that many of them

by **Rodan** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:20 am UTC

WaywardAngel wrote:You have Rorschach as your avatar but didn't mention Watchmen? Guess I'll have to do it then.

I would have, but the guy's read it. Still the best graphic novel, no, the best book that I have ever read.

by **Endless Mike** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:40 pm UTC

Grant Morrison stuff worth reading that holds up by itself (all technically trades):
Animal Man
Invisibles
We3
New X-Men

Others:
Seconding Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina (to a lesser extent)
Runaways is light fun (at least Vaughn's stuff, I haven't read Whedon's and haven't heard anything good about it)
Alan Moore's DCU book has a ton of really great shorter stories
DMZ is good, but New Yorkers seem to not like it

by **Jesse** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:39 pm UTC

Whedon's Runaways is actually quite good, however he takes forever to release each new one. Since the last three issues have all just been build-up that is mostly unimpressive this had had the unfortunate effect of being roughly five months worth of unimpressive issues. I'm sure that when he wraps up the series it'll read quite nicely all together.

by **Nyssa** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:46 pm UTC

I second the Preacher, Transmet, and Ennis' Punisher books.

Also want to toss in JMS's Rising Stars.

And for something not along the normal comicbook lines, Johnny The Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez and his Squee graphic novel are awesome. (Same guy who did Invader Zim, if you enjoy that show.)

by **hobo386** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:20 pm UTC

The Five Fists of Science!

The only comic where Tesla is a superhero.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Fists_of_Science

by **Zohar** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:06 am UTC

Personally, I dislike Grant Morrison. It always seems to me like he has a semi-interesting idea and then he tries to create a story to show it off. I know other people love him, but I don't think I read one thing of him that I liked. It all seems gimmicky, to me.

Just what I thought... I agree with most of the other suggestions (as I have always mentioned).

by **Endless Mike** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:55 pm UTC

hobo386 wrote:The Five Fists of Science!

The only comic where Tesla is a superhero.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Fists_of_Science

It's not as awesome and Teddy Roosevelt and ghost Edison fighting Argentinian Nazis on Mars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_From ... lly_Pulpit

by **Adalwolf** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:06 pm UTC

Marvel's Annihilation arc is awesome!

I haven't read Annihilation Conquest yest, but I've heard good things about it.

DC's Infinite Crisis is very good-I've read the first half of it. The lead up story the Rann-Thanagar War is also pretty damn good.

Some of the new Captain America stories are also very, very good.

I've heard good things about Planet Hulk, and some not so good things about World War Hulk, but I still am planning on reading both.

by **Mo0man** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:45 pm UTC

ronin

by **steewi** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:40 am UTC

I just enjoyed Five Fists of Science, mostly on novelty value, but well worth it.

+1 on Y, Maus.

I've heard great things about Fables, but haven't gotten to reading it.

The best I've read in graphic noveldom is Mother, Come Home, by Horschenmeier (or actually, Tennant). It's not like other GNs, really (except in the artwork - kind of Emily the Strange, maybe?), but carefully thought out placement of drawings and sparse text. Nothing is there that shouldn't be, and everything has a purpose.

I also enjoyed Rushkoff's Testament series, while it lasted.

by **4D2travels** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:10 pm UTC

Fables, while more of a comic book than a graphic novel, is awesome. Not necessarily the same caliber of Sandman or Watchmen, but still a very enjoyable read.

by **SecondTalon** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:00 am UTC

Zohar wrote:Personally, I dislike Grant Morrison. It always seems to me like he has a semi-interesting idea and then he tries to create a story to show it off. I know other people love him, but I don't think I read one thing of him that I liked. It all seems gimmicky, to me.

I like Morrison best when he's not dealing with Superheros. Or, at least when he's not putting Superheros through almost the exact same thing again and again and again. The leaping around the panels was clever when he did it for Animal Man. It was expected and kinda tiresome when he did it for Zatanna.

by **Reid** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:14 pm UTC

SexyTalon wrote:Hellblazer. Any of them.

But especially All His Engines.

And since someone mentioned the Punisher, let me point out that the Archie/Punisher crossover may be the greatest comic the world has ever known.

by **Belial** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:24 pm UTC

Alright, most of these have already been stated, some haven't.

If you enjoyed Sandman, "Lucifer", "The Books of Magic", and "Hellblazer" may bring you enjoyment. They are all set in the same universe as Sandman, and they are all *fantastic*. Hellblazer's John Constantine is possibly my favorite character of all time next to Spider Jerusalem, and "Lucifer" is probably one of my top three favorite comics ever.

I say "one of" because "Transmetropolitan" is actually my favorite. Warren Ellis is your god and master. Bow down.

Also going to second "Fell", by the same author.

Speaking of Warren Ellis, if you enjoyed the superheroes-in-a-nontraditional- light aspect of "Watchmen", you may enjoy "The Authority", which started as an Ellis book and was taken over by others later. It basically follows a group of superheroes who get tired of trying to clean up humanity's messes, and decides to use their superpowers to establish a benevolent dictatorship instead.

In the same vein, "Rising Stars" by J. Michael Straczynsky depicts people with superpowers as very realistic "real folks", or at least attempting to be. Also an extremely good comic.

I'm going to go ahead and second "Y: The Last Man" and, as long as we're talking about Brian K. Vaughan, throw "Runaways" on there. A bunch of teenagers find out their parents are supervillains. Fun times are had.

"Preacher" is fun times. Nothing deep or overly meaningful, but it's a fun little romp.

"Fables" is great stuff. Good story, great characters, great use of folklore. Just don't read anything the author has ever said about Fables. Just trust me on this one. He's very good at ruining his own work.

Edit: It also stands to reason that if you enjoyed sandman, "Death: The Time of your Life" and "Death: The High Cost of Living" are almost definitely right up your alley.

Also, as I read back, I realize a lot more of these were already mentioned than I thought. Going to second Nyssa's mention of "Johnny the Homocidal Maniac" as well. I was less impressed with Squee, but JTHM was golden.

by **Pilsner** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:51 pm UTC

Another voice for Transmetropolitan, the Ellis written Authority issues (it declines precipitously after he leaves, IMHO), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Top 10, Sin City, and Maus here.

Now, if you want something really extraordinary and weird, try and get your hands on a few issues (or better yet, one of the trade paperbacks of Larry Marder's Beanworld series. Marder creates a discrete and bizarre universe concerning little crudely drawn ellipsoid creatures who hunt and eat a substance called Bean, and interact with the subterranean Hoi Polloi Riding Herds.

Last.FM · by **DarkKnightJared** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:04 am UTC

A few more reccomendations:

Pride of Bhagdad: Written by Brian K. Vaughan, it's basically a twisted version of The Lion King based on the true story of a pride of lions exploring Iraq at the beginning of the 2003 occupation.

Doktor Sleepless: Written by your Internet Jesus, Warren Ellis, about a man named John Rindhart who comes back to his hometown of Heavenside and becomes a "cartoon mad scientist" known as Doktor Sleepless, with an ulterior motive--to jumpstart the future of humankind, or destroy it. I would recommend reading Transmetropolitan first, though, since Ellis has said that Sleepless is sort of the anti-thesis of it.

by **Zohar** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:34 pm UTC

DarkKnightJared wrote:Pride of Bhagdad: Written by Brian K. Vaughan, it's basically a twisted version of The Lion King based on the true story of a pride of lions exploring Iraq at the beginning of the 2003 occupation.

I didn't like it that much. It felt very superficial and Disney to me.

by **McCaber** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:31 pm UTC

I just read the first volume of Y:The Last Man. It is truly awesome.

I would recommend The Crow by James O'Barr.

by **existential_elevator** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:48 pm UTC

We3 is a great short story. Homeward Bound gone horribly wrong. With robot killing machines.

Fables is quite fun, as is Johnny the Homocidal Manic

Y: The Last Man is a complete must.. though I was disappointed with the end. Everything up to that point is sheer win though. Once you pop, you can't stop..

by **Endless Mike** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:51 pm UTC

Adalwolf wrote:Marvel's Annihilation arc is awesome!

I haven't read Annihilation Conquest yest, but I've heard good things about it.

DC's Infinite Crisis is very good-I've read the first half of it. The lead up story the Rann-Thanagar War is also pretty damn good.

Some of the new Captain America stories are also very, very good.

I've heard good things about Planet Hulk, and some not so good things about World War Hulk, but I still am planning on reading both.

Annihilation was good, but Conquest was not so much. Not bad, but not great. It's just hard to top the villains of Annihilation. The Starlord lead-in mini was really great, however.

You're literally the first person I've seen who said they liked Rann-Thanagar. I thought it was the worst of the Countdown to Infinite Crisis minis (with Villains United being the best). I also really didn't care for Infinite Crisis, and regardless of quality, I think it's a really bad recommendation for someone who seems largely unfamiliar with the DCU since it's just dripping continuity...and not really in a good way.

by **mosc** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:24 pm UTC

I really want to get into this but I've run up against some strict barriers of entry

1) Things are "collectable" which seems to mean "Man, good luck". They become only available used for huge mark ups.
2) Too many copy cats and varying versions of the same thing.
3) The line between graphic novel and comic is all too blurry. I'm really not interested in serials and forever ongoing plot lines. I like things with a beginning and an end.

I want to find high quality volumes that produce the art faithfully (meaning good paper/ink and not some "novelization") and contain a lot of content that I can buy NEW, don't cost an ever loving fortune (<$50) and are the genuine article. Can anybody help?

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