The first graphic novel I read was Art Spiegelman's Maus I and II, which I bought many years ago from a pavement bookseller in Mumbai. In fact, I was lucky to find both volumes at the same place and time. I’m guessing a discerning reader, though not necessarily a collector, must have sold them to the bookseller.
Although I’d been reading comics since childhood, Maus opened up a whole new world of storytelling for me. Graphic novels can be funny, entertaining, disturbing, poignant, moralistic and even literary—not to mention visually appealing—and I realised they deserve to be read alongside regular fiction and comic books. And just like these two categories, graphic novels can tell both simple and complex stories, create memorable characters, and leave you wanting more.
Here are nine graphic novels I think every book lover should know about—and perhaps read.
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Here are nine graphic novels I think every book lover should know about—and perhaps read.
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
1. Maus by Art Spiegelman
I have been told Maus is one of the most powerful graphic novels and that it has had a lasting cultural impact since it came out in the mid-eighties. Having read it, I believe so too. In Maus, Art Spiegelman tells the true-life story of his father’s harrowing experiences during the Holocaust while also illustrating the difficult relationship between father and son. What makes the book special is that it is not just about history. It is also a poignant memoir and a family story. I thought the use of animals to represent different groups was unusual but very effective. For anyone who thinks graphic novels are only about entertainment, Maus is a good place to start.
Cover image: Pantheon Books via Wikipedia
Watchmen may have superheroes—or masked vigilantes—at its heart, but I don’t think calling it simply a superhero story does it justice. The series tells a dark and complex story about power, morality and the consequences of believing that the ends justify the means. The characters are flawed, and some of them are unpleasant, but that is what makes them interesting. I also found the visual storytelling as important as the words. After watching the Watchmen television series, I was curious enough to read all 12 issues of the original comic-book series, and I found the experience even more rewarding. Watchmen may change your view that superhero comics—or graphic novels in general—are simply a form of light entertainment.
Cover image: DC Comics via Wikipedia
Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, originally published as a 75-issue comic-book series and later collected into several volumes, showed me how much a graphic novel can do. At its centre is Dream, one of the Endless—a family of seven immortal beings, including Death, Destiny and Desire, who shape human existence. The story moves between mythology, fantasy, horror, history and fiction. Gaiman brings together myths and stories from different times and places, while creating characters that stay with you. What I remember most about The Sandman is that you never quite know where the story will take you next. It will appeal to fantasy readers, but really, anyone who enjoys imaginative fiction, can read it.
Cover image: DC Comics via Amazon
Another Alan Moore classic, V for Vendetta is a story about authoritarianism, freedom and resistance. Its masked protagonist, V, remains mysterious throughout, and I found myself wondering whether he was really a hero or some kind of villain. The political ideas are central to the story, but Moore puts them across through the characters and events rather than simply preaching them. The question—how far are people willing to go when their freedom is taken away?—lies at the heart of the book. V for Vendetta is an unsettling and thought-provoking read.
Cover image: DC Comics via Wikipedia
Craig Thompson's Blankets is very different from the books above. It is an autobiographical coming-of-age story about family, first love, faith and growing up. There are no superheroes, dystopian scenarios or fantasy worlds. Instead, Thompson finds drama in ordinary human experiences, which, from what I've read about the book, is one of its strengths. The artwork and storytelling work together beautifully, creating a graphic novel that feels intimate and personal. Readers who normally gravitate towards literary fiction rather than comics may find Blankets particularly interesting.
Cover image: Top Shelf Productions via Amazon
Also on my reading list is Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, a graphic memoir about her relationship with her father, her childhood and her coming to terms with her sexuality. The story, by the author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, moves back and forth in time, slowly revealing more about both father and daughter. I believe what makes the book particularly interesting is the way Bechdel uses literature itself as part of the story, with references to writers and books helping her make sense of her family and herself. For a lifelong reader like me, the connection between books, memory and family may make Fun Home particularly interesting.
Cover image: Houghton Mifflin via Wikipedia
Will Eisner's A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories has an important place in the history of the graphic novel. Set in a tenement in the Bronx, New York City, it brings together four connected stories about ordinary people dealing with faith, disappointment, ambition and survival. Eisner showed that comics could tell serious stories about everyday adult life. His expressive, borderless panels and atmospheric cityscapes also changed the way comic art could be presented on a page. His influence on the graphic novel is considerable, and A Contract with God is an important book for anyone interested in how the form developed beyond traditional comic books.
Cover image: Baronet Books/W.W. Norton & Company via Wikipedia
I haven't read Shaun Tan's The Arrival, but I have read about it. In The Arrival, Tan does something remarkable: he tells an entire story without relying on conventional written dialogue. A man leaves his family and travels to a strange new country, where everything—from the language to the animals and everyday objects—is unfamiliar. The absence of conventional written language puts the reader in the same position as the protagonist. We have to observe, interpret and learn. The Arrival is a profound story about immigration, displacement, loneliness and finding a new home—one that shows just how much can be communicated through pictures alone.
Cover image: Arthur A. Levine Books via Amazon
Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell takes the Jack the Ripper murders and turns them into something larger and darker: a historical mystery mixed with psychological speculation and social commentary. It isn't a conventional detective story, nor does it provide easy answers. Moore and Campbell recreate Victorian London almost as a character in its own right. For readers who enjoy crime fiction, historical fiction and books that blur the line between fact and imagination, From Hell would be a fascinating read.
Cover image: Top Shelf Productions via Amazon
The nine graphic novels above cover a broad range: Holocaust memoir, superhero fiction, mythology, autobiography, political dystopia, coming-of-age fiction, literary memoir, historical storytelling and wordless narrative. The sheer variety of these books—and my love of comic books—is why I plan to read the ones I haven't got around to yet.
Have you read any of these graphic novels? What would you add to the list?
No comments:
Post a Comment