Perp's Top 10 Graphic Novels!

Yeah, pretty sure I've heard that it was supposed to be a one off. Wasn't supposed to be included in the canon. And Moore himself later regretted what happened to old Babs.

She would've stayed paralysed and completely out of it all, too, if it weren't for a married couple, I believe, who decided to bring her back and make her into Oracle.

OK, I'll stop going on about her now.
 
Thanks for the comments No-one.

Right, The Killing Joke.

I read an interview with Brian Bolland, artist on the novel. It was written recently - so many years after the original and who knows how times has changed memories - but according to him:

DC had already made the decision to remove Barbara Gordon from active continuity. The Batgirl character had already been axed and she was little more than a background character.

Moore came in and wanted to write his definitive Joker story - the inference is that it was always going to be continuity. He said he needed something bad to happen to a character, and suggested killing Barbara, for whatever reasons it was decided not to, that crippling her would be more horrific.

After that someone suggested creating a new role for her, and that became Oracle.

Bolland does not say much else but from what he said it seems he believes it was always going to be in continuity.. but I'm sure I saw somewhere that it was going to be an Elseworlds story originally.

Ooooh haven't I written up the number one yet?
 
Most interesting perp - thanks for that.

Will be keeping a keen eye out for the much-vaunted number one :)
 
Perpetual Man said:
Any recommendations would be gratefully accepted - and the same goes for any European stuff Con!

Thatollie -he he he he he he
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Well, would you like something that collects in one volume or would you prefer I start you on a multi-volume series?
 
The Lead In​

In the mid 70's Marvel Comics decided that it was time for the UK to have its own superhero, and the result was Captain Britain. Written by Chris Claremont with art by Herb Trimpe. Although it was meant to be British, it was run from America, and it seemed to be a melting pot of conflicting ideas. Alan Moore indicated in interview that he had respect for Claremont (which surprised me) and felt that he did well with what he had, but he did not last writing the weekly adventures of Britain's premier superhero and what followed was a mishmash of adventures calling them poor would be a disservice to poor comics no one seemed to have a clue how to write the character, a rapidly rotating creative team - controlled by US editors - and the title character coming across as a weak Spider-man/Captain America/Generic Superhero hybrid.

Given time Captain Britain lapsed into near nothing, virtually all Claremont had put into place at the start had been forgotten, but not completely. When writer Steve Parkhouse was given to give the go-ahead to write a strip, drawn by John Stokes, that drew upon British mythology. He used as a central character The Black Knight, but brought Captain Britain into the story. The hero was definitely a supporting character but with a key role to play. For the first time he was written well and his appearance was considered strong enough to bring him back in his own strip.

In 1982 the new look Captain Britain strip debuted in Marvel Superheroes comic, a monthly six - eight page strip in black and white, with art by a young Alan Davis. The costume had been completely redesigned, and the story by writer Dave Thorpe was certainly very English.

Following his adventure with the Black Knight Captain Britain had returned to Earth with an elven sidekick (!), only it was the wrong Earth and something was terribly wrong. The country was governed by the BNP (British National Party) and all the superheroes had been destroyed. Various criminal groups run free, incredibly strange ones, most noticeable The Crazy Gang, and there leader Mad Jim Jaspers.

However...

Dave Thorpe and Marvel UK disagreed in which direction Captain Britain should go and amicably the writer walked away from the title. It seemed that Marvel was in need of a replacement, and it seemed a certain Alan Moore was available, and as is often the case a little magic happened.

captainbritain1.jpg
 
1. Captain Britain by Alan Moore and Alan Davis​

So... almost certainly not what anyone was expecting, but for me the Alan Moore & Alan Davis run on Captain Britain is by far the best single comic story I've read. Some of that is almost certainly down to emotional attachment. This is not a story I read in graphic novel format, I read it as it happened, I even came into it halfway through, the starting point for me was 'The Candlelight Dialogues' that appeared in Might World of Marvel # 7 and the story won me over there and then.

When Moore took over he wrote the final page of Thorpe's last story and if there is ever an example of just what a great writer is Moore proves it in one page. Davis seems to respond as well, his superb art moves to another level, and great though he has been ever since, there is very little that matches those issues with Moore.

Everything gets turned on its head. The story becomes cosmic, the mad Jim Jaspers turns out to be a being of power, with the ability to warp reality to his will. This world was chosen to return Captain Britain to because he is not just a threat to the universe, but the very multiverse. We are introduced to the Fury the cybernetic killing machine that had wiped out all of the worlds superheroes (except one). It hunts Captain Britain to the end of the world and destroys him, the Jaspers creature, now referred to as the Jaspers Warp runs wild and destroys the reality...

But...

Captain Britain is returned to his own reality. There, in the main Marvel Universe, the Jasper's Warp is beginning all over again, more powerful than ever and this time if it is not stopped all of reality will collapse and fall...

There is more though: Captain UK the surviving hero from the previous reality, the games the 'gods' play and the consequences; the introduction of the alternate realities 'Captains' and the small fact that The Fury has followed Captain Britain across realities...

It is a magnificent piece of storytelling, the art and writing melding perfectly. This could well be a single standalone novel, it has a beginning a middle and end, is totally self contained. Moore builds an epic out of nothing, defining a hero over the course of his run, deepening it by bringing back characters that had not been seen since Claremont first created the strip bringing it all together in a manner that is as close to perfect as Moore has ever achieved - and the fact that Davis does the same visually is just the icing on the cake.

The series redefined a costume to the extent that it is simply THE Captain Britain costume; it introduced the idea of the different Earth numbers for the multiverses and gave the 616 to the Marvel Universe, it raises a backwater character to new levels, providing him with a title of his own, and even though it only lasted 14 issues we saw Captain Britain welcomed into the Marvel Universe proper, and brought his sister to prominence, enough that she would become a core member of the X-Men.

There is very little is wrong with this story, and I'm sure that many will not rate as highly as I. But it is worth a read, and perhaps, just perhaps it might win a couple of people over.

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I was sure surprised there. I honestly thought you were going to post V for Vendetta.

Still, it's probably someone's favourite.
 
I wouldn't be surprised about V for Vendetta, the number of times it is listed as one of the great works surely gives it the kudos it needs.

I enjoyed it when I read it, but not to the extent of some of Moore's other stuff.

I thought Captain Britain would surprise you. It's probably just me, but I see that Moore/Davis story as the perfect superhero tale
 
Thanks Thatollie, who could resist a book with a title like Captain Swing and the Electric Pirates?

It'll have to be that one I take a look at first :D
 
I thought that was going to be the one. (The others are also all worth reading).
 
Thanks Thatollie, recently finished Crecy and loved it. Great to see something completely out of the ordinary in comic/graphic novel format.

Half way through Ocean and it's like a huge Hollywood blockbuster in print. The tension is slowly buy surely building and the characters are fantastic.

Thanks for these recommendations, really appreciate it and goes to show how useful this site can be.

Crooksy
 
Awesome thread Perp. I'm not much of a graphic novel reader - I'm only halfway through Sandman - but I do really enjoy that, so maybe I'll give some of these a go!
 
digs said:
Awesome thread Perp. I'm not much of a graphic novel reader - I'm only halfway through Sandman - but I do really enjoy that, so maybe I'll give some of these a go!
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Gulp I see some responsibility building up on my shoulders here.

Digs I'm not sure there is much here that compares or is like Sandman in many ways it is unique and all the more special for it. Of course you might find something totally different as equally enjoyable.

I would recommend Fables if you want to give something similar but very different a shot.
 
It doesn't necessarily have to be similar, it just has to be good! After reading Sandman 5 (A Game of You) yesterday I've really come to appreciate the things graphic novels can do that other media can't.
 
Hi Rand00 thanks for the comments, and the link to your review.

I've just finished reading it and really enjoyed your enthusiasm and obvious love for what is without a doubt one of the best Batman stories ever told, and certainly the definitive Joker story.

I'm not sure I see the story the same way you do, but your insights have made me think about it from a different angle, which only serves to deepen the tale.

I always felt that The Joker had no idea that Barbara Gordon was Batgirl and that his shooting of her was more because she was Commissioner Gordon's daughter. I felt that Joker was trying to prove to Batman (and the world in general) that anyone, no matter who they were, could be driven insane if life treated them badly enough. If he could prove that then in some ways it would excuse him for all he had done in the past, simply because circumstances had driven him insane.

He chose an upright steady man, Gordon, and tried to drive him insane. Barbara was just part of this.

I have to say the notion of rape being inflicted on her is distasteful, but something that it's almost impossible to rule out. I'm not sure whether the Joker would have done it himself, but encouraging his lackeys... There are also the images that Gordon is shown when he is sent through the funhouse - seemingly showing Barbara naked - which is sick enough, but when you consider she had been shot as well is sicker still.

The joke at the end is a strange one, I think it stands for itself, a metaphor from the Joker saying basically that he cannot be helped, if someone tries to help him out of the insanity he'll just drop himself back in.

As to why Batman laughs... that is the one that will always be open to interpretation!
 
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