Originally posted by Mvoid:
Before we get started though, let's get a couple of ground rules down. . . .
(snip)
Lastly, let's get specific. For instance, Sandman is not an answer. Kindly Ones is.
See, I have a big problem with this. I really do regard the entire "Sandman" sequence, from "Sleep of the Just" to "The Tempest," to be a single novel. That it happens to be printed in 10 volumes doesn't disqualify the whole to be thought of as a single work of art -- would you insist that "The Return of the King" is a novel but "Lord of the Rings" is not?
The entire "Sandman" saga is only a little longer than the two-volume "Church & State" -- surely you wouldn't deny that those two volumes form one novel (more on Cerebus itself in a moment)? I agree with the guy who put the five-volume "Adolph" down, too.
Now, I'll admit that there are works such as "Cerebus" or "Lone Wolf and Cub" that are so long they are difficult to treat as a single novel. We need a new category or term for such works, "graphic epic" or the like, to indicate that they are just too vast to be properly compared to what we normally think of as a novel. And when large chunks of stories that big can be broken out into unified wholes that can stand alone, it makes sense to do so, as at least one of many valid ways to examine them.
But "Sandman" just isn't that huge. It's one novel, made up of smaller stories, some of which could be thought of as novels if they could stand on their own, but for the most part they really don't. "Cerebus"
is that huge, so I do list parts of it.
"Berlin" is an unfinished work in progress. The first volume is on my list as a separate work just because that's all that's published in this format so far, but when it's finished it will be a single work published in three volumes.
"Love and Rockets" isn't any bigger than "Sandman," but it's not as monolithic, either. While the chunks fit together, they don't really make a coherent whole from beginning to end. "The Death of Speedy Ortiz" doesn't really have a resolution, but neither does "Chester Square," so even aside from the two brother's separate concerns (three really -- people forget Mario), it makes no sense to insist on "Love and Rockets" being thought of as a whole.
On the other hand, short stories related only by place or theme without a unified narrative running through them do not to me consitute a "novel," no matter how good they are, so I've excluded "A Contract With God" and "A Life Force" by Eisner, though I did include "Dropsie Avenue," since it tells a single story throughout. There are other Eisner works that probably fit, but I haven't read them all yet.
Ever since Truman Capote published "In Cold Blood" as a "nonfiction novel" it's been accepted that a true tale told novelistically qualifies, but not everything labeled a "graphic novel" should be. "Understanding Comics" is an absolutely essential book everyone should have on their shelves, but it's not on this list. "Maus" is.
Those are
my ground rules. I was going to try to put these in order of preference, but I decided to go alphabetical instead:
Adolph (5 volumes)
by Osamu Tezuka
Age of Bronze Vol. 1 - A Thousand Shipsby Eric Shanower
Alec: Three Piece Suitby Eddie Campbell
(Yeah, I know it violates my unity rule, but the two graphic novels included ("Graffiti Kitchen" and "The Dance of Lifey Death") are almost impossible to find as stand-alones. And yeah, they're too short to really be novels, at 48-pages each. Tough. I'm calling each one a novel, and each one's worth being on this list. So there.)All the Wrong Placesby Tom Galambos
Berlin - Part One (of 3)
by Jason Lutes
The Birthday Riotsby Nabiel Kanan
Blood of Palomarby Gilbert Hernandez
Bone (7 volumes so far)
by Jeff Smith
Cagesby Dave McKean
Chelo's Burdenby Gilbert Hernandez
Church and State (2 volumes)
by Dave Sim and Gerhard
The Compleat Moonshadowby J.M. DeMatteis and Jon J. Muth
The Cowboy Wally Showby Kyle Baker
The Death of Speedy Ortizby Jaime Hernandez
Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhoodby Will Eisner
Ethel and Ernestby Raymond Briggs
Flies on the Ceilingby Jaime Hernandez
Four Immigrants Mangaby Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama
From Hellby Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
High SocietyBy Dave Sim
I Never Liked Youby Chester Brown
Jaka's Storyby Dave Sim and Gerhard
Jar of Foolsby Jason Lutes
A Jew in Communist Prague (3 volumes so far)
by Vittorio Giardino
The Jew of New Yorkby Ben Katchor
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earthby Chris Ware
Lost Girlby Nabiel Kanan
Love and Rockets Xby Gilbert Hernandez
Maus (2 volumes)
by Art Spiegelman
Melmothby Dave Sim and Gerhard
Our Cancer Yearby Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner and Frank Stack
Palestine(2 volumes)
by Joe Sacco
Pedro and Meby Judd Winick
The Playboyby Chester Brown
Poison Riverby Gilbert Hernandez
Safe Area Goradzeby Joe Sacco
Sandman (10 volumes)
by Neil Gaiman and various
(if you insist, consider each of the 10 volumes listed separately -- there's not a weak one among them)Signal to Noiseby Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
Stuck Rubber Babyby Howard Cruse
The Tale of One Bad Ratby Bryan Talbot
Thieves and Kings (3 volumes so far)
by Mark Oakley
Torsoby Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punchby Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
Uncle Samby Steve Darnall and Alex Ross
(I know what you're thinking -- wasn't there a 40s superhero character by this name? Yes, there was. Doesn't DC own that character now? Yes, they do, but no, this doesn't have anything to do with him.)Violent Casesby Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
Wandering Star (3 volumes)
by Teri Sue Wood
Why I Hate Saturnby Kyle Baker
Wig Wam Bamby Jaime Hernandez
Final note: I left off
Preacher and
The Invisibles because it could possibly be argued that they are essentially non-costume superhero books, and because I've certainly got enough stuff on my list already, but I think they're well worth reading.
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