Perp's Top 10 Graphic Novels!

One to recommend from me:

At the Mountains of Madness

Finished it very late last night. Couldn't put it down waiting to find out what happens. Only wish they were making this into a film but it's been canned.
 
In regards to Ellis, read Lazarus Churchyard, difficult to find, but pretty good. It's one of his earliest as part of some indy magazine circulating 80s London. You may find it a little primitive in areas, but apparently he wrote his ideas and characters while in a kebab shop in the middle of the night surrounded by drugs and alcohol. the reason:
It's about this meta-human (lazarus) who after undergoing ground-breaking scientific experiment turning his body into super-intelligent shape-shifting plastic goes on a millenia long bender. After a few centuries of immortality he's stricken with depression and a massive desire to off himself- and the planet's no longer so pleasant either. It's a great sci-fi comic, and short too. The portrayal of the future is jokes, and Lazarus Churchyard is a very likeable character.
Posted this because Ellis is good but not always in the top lists, this little pulp is one of the reasons he should be.
 
oh and nice list, I don't totally agree with some of the statements but it was clearly thought-through.
 
Nice list.
I would put something by Moebius in there. Magical stuff. Lots to choose from, but I like the series beginning Sur L'Etoile.

The book has been put to music on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq2nC8iNi0E

The subsequent volumes have speech. I read them in French. Not sure if they are available in English.

I would also add some Tintin.
 
Just about anything by Alan Moore is top rate, not only "Watchmen" & "V For Vendetta" but also his "Swamp Thing" series, excellent!
And of course there is the "Sand Man" series by Neil Gaiman, outstanding!
 
Wow, great list! I have heard of most of these, but have read maybe a quarter. I think I will check out "Batman: The Killing Joke" if it's at Amazon. I hope you wouldn't mind a recommendation from a newbie! But RE:Warren Ellis, "Planetary" is really amazing...it is one of my all-time favorite works. And I wonder, on a lighter note, if you have read Bone? I really love it (though Bone of course also has a darker side). And finally, I wonder if you read Naruto? It's been an obsession of mine for several years now...it's probably my all-time favorite Manga. Well, I'm off! Again, great list, very interesting stuff!
 
Interesting selection. A couple there I've brushed upon but didn't really take. But you did get me thinking. So, for contrast, here's my top ten - alphabetically as the sequence changes depending on mood.

Black Summer - Ellis & Ryp
Beyond Wonderland (original trilogy only: Return to, Beyond & Escape from)
Hotwire - Pugh & Ellis (both series, only first available as GN)
Midnight Nation - Straczynski & Frank
Rising Stars - Straczynski, Cha & Zanier/Lashley
Supergod - Ellis & Gastonny
Velocity (Pilot season mini-series, never GN'd) Marz, Rocafort, Gho
The Vinyl Underground - Spencer, Gane, Stewart/Kelly)
WE3
Watchmen

Delighted to see Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island get a mention!

Finally, if you're out Canada way, look for a chunky graphic novel called Nowadays. It's a zombie tale with a twist and a fine independent production.
 
It's difficult to choose one, apples and oranges in some cases here, really. For me, the first graphic novels that I read were Marvels, and my favorite story within the Marvel universe was Marvel's very first graphic novel...


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Ohh, that was a good one! Starlin is a very good writer. He had a huge impact on Marvel at one time!
 
Absolutely agree with that, CC. And not only Marvel, but DC Comics and even the independents (I really liked his Dreadstar series for EPIC). Great writer.
 
Heh, very interesting to see this thread become active again.

Some of the other recommendations have really caught my attention, and I'm determined to get around to them at some point. (I already have Captain Swing - mentioned many months ago) but my reading has been very slow - as can be seen elsewhere across the forums, and the comics have suffered as well. I have not read Captain Swing. :(

In the last few weeks I have nearly cleared the backlog of monthly comic books, and may yet get to start on the graphic novels that wait.

I will be mentioning a few of the things that have really caught my attention in the main Comic thread, but if anyone wants something very interesting, Uber is worth a look. The first graphic novel collection should be out soon.
 
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Absolutely agree with that, CC. And not only Marvel, but DC Comics and even the independents (I really liked his Dreadstar series for EPIC). Great writer.

Ah. You picked probably my favorite graphic novel. I'm still a huge Captain Marvel fan. And I still remember when Marvel Comics was getting ready to annouce the death of a beloved character. They showed four silhouettes, and... I knew it would be Mar-vell. When the graphic novel came out. I bought, read it, and was thrilled and saddened to read the last Captain Marvel story.

Yeah, I know they brought him back decades later but, for a while it really upset me.

Ohh, that was a good one! Starlin is a very good writer. He had a huge impact on Marvel at one time!

Besides the awesome Captain Marvel. I also really enjoyed the Adam Warlock series when Starlin was selected to take over. Jim's style is very cosmically cool.

I hope Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock make it to the big screen one day.

Heh, very interesting to see this thread become active again.

I have not read Captain Swing. :(

Howdy Prep Man. Nice thread you have here, I just noticed it.

Who's Captain Swing?
 
Thanks SB, glad you like the thread.

Captain Swing and the Electric Pirates is a graphic novel by Warren Ellis recommended by thatollie a page or so back. (I have a copy but have not read it yet)

I'm not really a majpr fan of Captain Marvel, although I really appreciated the Daeth graphic novel. I

Altough a big deal was made about Mar-Vell coming back a few years ago, I don't think he actually came back. Initially the way it was written was that they werebringing him back, using a time travel style loop hole that meant a version of Cap, came forward in time and stayed around,knowing that he was going to de fromcancer sooner or later.

However it was later revealed that he was a delusional skrull who thought he was Captain Marvel....
As far as I am aware they have not brought him back since (even though the Skrull is still out there somewhere) and the Marvel Universe has a new Captain Marvel now anyway.
 
Thanks Perpetual Man, for the info about Captain Mar-vell. May he rest in peace.

The first "New" Captain Marvel that entered into Marvel Comics after Mar-vell, was Monica Rambeau. First appearence: 1982 - The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (cute outfit) Created by Roger Stern & John Romita Jr.



 
I did have a liking for Genis Vell, who ran as Captain Marvel a couple of years ago, a great little series that I've just managed to plug a few gaps in. This Cap was meant to be the son of Marv... (I still haven't read the 'new' issues I got hold of and it's a stretch of the memory, but I think he was artificially created.)

He is no longer Captain Marvel though, now going by the name Legacy.

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And as I am sure Hoops would tell you (cos she loved the title), the current Captain Marvel sort of completes a big circle, as the original female take on the character, Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, is now Captain Marvel (after being Binary, Warbird....)

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Nice list. Some timeless stuff here, and definitely anything by Warren Ellis is worth picking up. I'd also like to mention Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.
Amazing book.
 

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Oh, yes, Kingdom Come is amazing! I have loaned that to a number of people to try to show them why I read comic books (I have done the same with Bone and Watchmen...sometimes it actually works, and people become fans!).
 
Thanks so much for making this list! I'm just now getting a chance to really dive in to the graphic end of novels, and this was a great breakdown! So much stuff I'll have to check out ~

A friend recently lent me her copy of Black Hole, which I guess is a pretty critically acclaimed comic (?) - have you guys read it? What did you think? Despite how much my friend raves about it, it was about as compelling as a sex ed pamphlet for me.

I did love some of the illustrations, but the story seemed so disjointed and angsty - is that a rare opinion or did anyone else feel the same?
 
A bit late in replying, but been away for a few weeks!

Yes, I have read Black Hole. I felt that it was an enjoyable read in it's own right with a lot of interesting ideas, only it seemed to be missing something, that little thing that would have made it truly great. It did come across as slow and disjointed, almost as though the ideas were there but had not been developed properly.
 

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