TEN ESSENTIAL
GRAPHIC NOVELS
(A not-so-humble suggestion for the
core of any great comic collection)
More and more, the graphic novel is becoming the prefered means for building a collection. Many fans are finding the monthly (or weekly) comic pamphlet to be too expensive and too eratic in quality. A graphic novel has a beginning, a middle and an end. It can often represent the best that the comic industry has to offer. It can also be a quick way to make an easy buck for the publisher. More books being published means more variety for the comic fan and (hopefully, at least) a better chance that they will find something that they like. It also means, however, that the average fan will have no money left over after carefully choosing his of her weekly stash of comics. This means nothing left over for the occasional back issue or graphic novel collection. This is unfortunate because the fan of today all too often misses out on some of the finest work that the world of comics rich , fifty-plus year history has to offer. Any serious comic collection should contain more that just a complete run of Spawn.
So here is my own list of ten collections that I feel every comic fan should own. In compiling this list, the following criteria was used: The book has to have broad appeal. Every comic fan should be able to take something from them (Roberta Gregory's Naughty Bits collections are excellent and important work, but they're not for everyone, ya' know!), they should provide more than just quick entertainment and (this was the tough one) they should be currently available. This is not a list of my ten favorite books- although most of these are certainly among my favorites- but rather ten books which should form the core of any comic library.
Frank Miller is one of the best storytellers working in comics today and this is quite possibly his finest hour. Set ten years after the Batmans retirement, Gotham City has fallen prey to a criminal element more violent and morally bereft than ever before. Against better judgment and the advice of a snide and sarcastic Alfred, he decides to don the familiar cape and cowl one last time to clean up Gotham. Along the way he enlist the aid of a female Robin, inspires a cult of fanatical followers, has his final encounters with Two-Face and the Joker and an ultimate fight to the finish with Superman.
First released in 1986, The Dark Knight Returns set the comic world on its ear and helped return the Batman to the fan favorite position which the character had lost. Using a highly cinematic style and dynamic page layout, each page virtually crackles with electricity, thanks in no small part to the work of Klaus Jansen (easily Frank Millers most complimentary inker) and the outstanding colors of Lynn Varley. DC Comics took a risk allowing Miller such freedom with an established character and the expensive "Prestige Format" was still a new concept that had not gained acceptance with the comic buying public. In fact, The Dark Knight Returns was only the second prestige format book. The first, Frank Millers' Ronin met with commercial disappointment and critical bewilderment and only belatedly gained the appreciation that it deserved. DC's risk paid off with a blockbuster success that brought unprecedented numbers of "civilians" into comic shops.
The next decade found a number of comics attempting to mimic Miller's approach. No single comic of the eighties was more influential to the general direction comics took during that period. For better of worse, Frank Miller created the "Grim and Gritty" superhero sub-genre. Recently re-released in a tenth anniversary edition, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is as big of thrill to read now as it was ten years ago. It is the top of any "must have" comic list.
Let's face it, the whole concept of people putting on skin tight costumes and going out on their own initiative to seek out evil doers is, well... pretty silly. Yet this is the basis for the overwhelmingly predominant genre in comics. So let's just accept that premise for a moment. What would drive someone to do this and , more importantly, what would really happen if they did? A superhero comic for grownups, Watchmen takes the concept as far as it has any right to go. Perhaps further.
It's 1985. Richard Nixon is still President. The availability of super beings enabled us to achieve a clear victory in Viet Nam which boosted the popularity of the lovable President to a number of successive terms. After the conflict, however, they became a political liability, public sentiment turned against them and the Senate passed the Keene Act outlawing vigilantism. It is in this world where heroes are outlawed that Rorschach, one of the last underground vigilantes, discovers that someone is killing the former costumed characters. In searching for the killer, he uncovers a much bigger plot that could spell the end for humanity as they know it ( isn't that always the way?).
Alan Moore cemented his reputation as the thinking mans comic writer with this ambitious work. Dave Gibbons was chosen to illustrate because of his willingness to fit tremendous amounts of details into the panels, no matter how seemingly insignificant. The result is a work which rewards repeated readings and reveals new facets on each successive reading. This is the book to show that English Lit. professor who ridicules comic books as having no literary value. Watchmen is not casual bathroom reading. It demands more involvement from the reader, so be prepared to give it the time it deserves. You'll be glad that you did.
Unless someone recommends it to you, you might not give this book a second look at your local comics shop. If it's even at your local comic shop, that is. The drawing is crude, the pages are a jumble of cluttered panels and the book seems to be about... well, a bunch of mice.
Perhaps you're aware that the book won a Pulitzer Prize and are afraid that the book might be boring or just too darn intellectual. Don't let any of this deter you. Maus is a deeply moving and personal account both of the Holocaust and of a son's desire to come to terms with his relationship with his father who survived it.
Using simply drawn animal characters to represent the Nazi's and their victims in World War II Poland, Spiegelman draws us into his story in an unconventional manner. (Americans are represented by dogs. Chew on that one for awhile.) Instead of shocking us with cold statistics, he calmly depicts the human story (I know, using animals- trust me, it works) at the heart of the tragedy and the impact it continues to have generations later. It is the kind of book that all too often gets lost in all the huge epics about saving the galaxy, or at least the world. It is, however, the kind of book that will stay with you for weeks. you will find yourself recomending it to everyone you know.
Neil Gaimen is the current darling of the deadly serious "comics as Art" crowd. He probably wouldn't know what to do with a Superman story, but when he sticks to his strong suit his work is outstanding. His strong suit is dark, introspective fables which include the original Books Of Magic (with the art of John Bolton, Charles Vess and Scott Hampton), the rebirth of Black Orchid and a couple of really dark psychological drama (Violent Cases and Mr. Punch- both Dave McKean art). The work which has brought him the most adulation is his run of Sandman comics which lasted for 75 issues (Jan 1985-Mar 1996), every page of which is now available in collected form. The entire run is worth having and once you read one of them you will probably want more. Rather than take up multiple spots on this list with individual recommendations, let's just make one big fat blanket recommendation for them all.
A variety of talented artist have worked on the various parts of the series, including Sam Keith, Kelley Jones, Brian Talbot, Charles Vess and Michael Zulli. If you want to read the books in order, they are: Preludes and Nocturnes; Doll's House; Dream Country; Seasons of Mist; A Game of You; Fables and Reflections; Brief Lives; Worlds End; The Kindly Ones and The Wake. You really don't have to read them in order, as each book stands completely on its' own. My personal recommendation to someone unfamiliar with the series is A Game of You. With art by Shawn McManus and Colleen Doran, it is probably the most visceral tale that Gaimen has done. Like all Sandman tales it is loaded with rich characterizations and interesting plot curves. With Gaimens work the story is always the star and it is to the individual artists credit that they are able to compliment the story so well.
All of the Sandman books are recommended for mature readers, so be prepared for the occasional graphic scene or naughty word. More to the point, in these books, Gaimen manages to explore a number of grown up themes and worries that would just scare you away if I told you what they were. Better to read for yourself. You don't have to wear lots of black and spend your time contemplating the mysteries of the universe to enjoy this rich fantasy world.
With all this "comics as Art" posturing that I've been doing, it's easy to forget the appeal of a good old fashioned superhero spectacle. Jack Kirby virtually defined the modern superhero comic and nobody could quite capture the grandeur and majesty of an Earth shattering conflict of titans like he could. This book is the closest thing that you'll find to recreating that sense of wonder the best superhero tales could produce.
Using fully painted art (which made an instant star of Alex Ross), Marvels retells some familiar events from Marvel Comics history, giving them a fresh slant by taking the perspective of a civilian observer coincidentally witnessing them. With Marvel Comics recent decline, we have to be reminded that they once produced a lot of truly fabulous comics. Several of those key epics are retold here, notably the Fantastic Fours' first encounter with Galactus, the X-Mens' early appearance and the publics response and fear and Spidermans' critical duel with the Green Goblin which caused the death of Gwen Stacy (Shame on you, Marvel, for bringing Norman Osbourne back!). The art of Alex Ross is so lifelike that you actually feel like a pedestrian watching these titanic battles.
Kurt Busiek excels at writing unpretentious superhero fare. There are no reflections here on the meaning of the universe, just solid entertaining storytelling. Using the character of photographer Phil Sheldon, Busiek draws us into the story with a human element that perfectly contrast the events that he witnesses. He builds his own success by photographing the heroes and experiences his own tragedies and loss. Easily the finest book that Marvel Comics has produced over the past several years, Marvels deserves a place in any comics library.
Cerebus was not the first independently produced comic, but it is the first to continue publishing throughout the ups and downs that ended most creator owned titles. Begun as a parody of Barry Windsor-Smith era Conan, Cerebus evolved into a sociopolitical satire unmatched in comics history.
The issues of Cerebus are sequentially collected into massive "phone books", of which High Society is the second. Although you might want to start with the first for continuity sake, it is with these stories that Cerebus fully came into his own. In High Society the barbarian Cerebus seeks to become Prime Minister Cerebus, to which end he must defeat Lord Julius (who seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to Groucho Marx), the current Prime Minister of Iest. Along the way he runs into an assorted cast of characters including the Moon Roach (soon to become Captain Cockroach, Wolveroach and the Punisheroach- get the idea?), Elrod the Albino, Dirty Fleagle and Dirty Drew McGrew.
With these issues of Cerebus, Dave Sim took a basic "funny animal" barbarian parody, spiked the story with all sorts of artistic ambitions and satirical views and emerged with a genuinely entertaining book. Certainly Cerebus broke open many doors in the world of self published comics and showed that a single creator could retain control of his creation, not compromise his vision and not only survive but enjoy lasting success.
SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette and John Totleben (DC Comics)
In 1983, DC comics was on the verge of canceling Swamp Thing for the second time. They had revived Len Wein and Bernie Wrightsons' classic monster series in anticipation of the release of the Swamp Thing movie. The movie sank quietly in the box office quagmire and the comic proved to be, at best, uninspired. Enter Alan Moore, a writer who had enjoyed some success in Britain with his work on Miricleman, V for Vendeta and other various series in the British anthologies Warrior and 2000 AD. The British comic industry was painfully small and Moore knew that his next step was to work for the American giants. DC was largely unwilling to let him work on one of their better selling titles so they gave him a shot at Swamp Thing.
In his very first issue (#20) he killed the character. With his next, #21's The Anatomy Lesson he began complete reconstruction of the muck monster. It is with this award winning story that Saga Of The Swamp Thing begins. Here we learn that the Swamp Thing was not a man that had been turned into a plant monster, but rather a plant that mistakenly thought it had been a man. In The Anatomy Lesson and the five stories that follow it in this collection, Moore, Bissette and Totleben broke many of the horror comic conventions of the time. Pushing the boundaries of what their readers expected and what the Comics Code Authority would allow. Soon after these stories, Swamp Thing would stop submitting stories to the Comics Code entirely. This may seem insignificant now but at the time it was a bold move for a corporate giant normally more interested in licensing characters to lunch box companies.
Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing was the blueprint for the mainstream adult comic book and paved the way for DCs' Vertigo line. Saga Of The Swamp Thing is both entertaining and important work. No self respecting comic fan should be without it.
X-MEN: THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA by Chris Clairmont and John Byrne (Marvel Comics)
Most X-Men fans probably aren't reading this list anyway and many of the rest of you are undoubtedly appalled that something from the X-Men could actually be termed essential. Lighten up, folks! Sure, the X-Men have been milked and exploited to the point where most of us no longer care about them, but remember back to the time when you couldn't wait for each issue to hit the stands. X-Men was a lot of fun and there's nothing wrong with a good old fashioned superhero soap opera. So put on that ABBA album and take yourself back to the days when Clairmont and Byrne were kings of the comic hill.
Dark Phoenix Saga was most likely the best story of a truly impressive run of comics. Jean Grey becomes the mega powerful Phoenix, destroys a few star systems and must make the ultimate sacrifice to save the galaxy (a busy day for any superhero!). What made the X-Men stand out from all the other galaxy saving superhero teams was a higher degree of characterization than was normally offered. This was (at the time, at least) a group of heroes that you could care about.
Unmistakable in its' effect on comic fandom, X-Men in its' heyday provided us with a monthly dose of fun that made comic fans out of a lot of us. Dark Phoenix Saga is the book that you will want to pull out when you want to remember just what it was that got you so excited in the first place.
THE GREEN LANTERN / GREEN ARROW COLLECTION
by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams (DC Comics)It is unfortunate that only two of the books on my list contain material that was originally published prior to 1980. It's not that the essential comic work has only been produced over the last fifteen years, but rather that so much of the great work prior to then is simply unavailable in collected form. DCs' excellent, if expensive Archives series is one notable exception, but it concentrates mostly on golden age material. There is still a rich legacy of comic work that is not available to an audience that consequently cannot appreciate the contributions of a number of early masters of the form.
Among the many fine writers/artist whose work is under represented is Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Their run on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series helped to change the face of comics in the 70's. Fortunately DC has released this landmark work in collected form. Green Lantern represented heroes of the past- conservative, regal happily maintaining the status quo. In contrast, Green Arrow indicative of what was happening in the late sixties and early seventies. He questioned authority, angrily sought change and had mostly contempt for the "status quo". Together they allowed O'Neil to take a broad perspective on the issues of the day such as drug abuse, racism, poverty, misuse of authority, pollution and bigotry.
O'Neils writing was always crisp and thought provoking (although perhaps a tad heavy handed by today's standards), but it might never have caused such a sensation if not for the incredible pencils of Neal Adams. Adams dominated and refined comic art in the 70's like no single artist since. Todays readers might not see what all the fuss was about, as his influence was so pervasive that it is hard to remember what artist did with the page before him. It is Adams dynamic art that keeps Green Lantern/Green Arrow firmly rooted in the superhero genre. Sure, it's thought provoking, but more importantly it's entertaining. A good read, plain and simple! Imagine that!
No comic library would be complete without something by Jack Kirby. The King! The most important artist in the history of comics was responsible for more characters, more stories, more ideas than could ever be represented by one work. From his creation of Captain America with Joe Simon in the forties, through his creation of most of the Marvel Universe with Stan Lee twenty years later to his work in some of the earliest independents produced in the eighties, Jack Kirby's work paralleled and defined the evolution of comics. Sadly, prolific as he was, there is surprisingly little of his work available in collected form. One excellent book that is available is this jewel , part of his "Forth World" saga done for DC in the 70's. When Kirby left Marvel for DC the shock waves were felt throughout the industry. Initially given a tremendous amount of creative control (unprecedented at the time) he set out to create a series of interlocking books which would tell one grand epic. The intention was to bring the story to a definite conclusion and end all the books, ultimately collecting the story in a definitive book. The concept of the "graphic novel" was many years away, but as usual Kirby was ahead of his time. Unfortunately he was also a little too far ahead of his audience. Although the books were a hit with the more serious comic reading and college crowd, they didn't succeed with the general newsstand comic buying public. DC canceled the series before it was completed, leaving comic fans to speculate for decades on the ultimate fate of Darksied, Orion, Lightray and all the others ( In the 80's DC published The Hunger Dogs graphic novel with the intention of finishing the story. Although well intentioned, it was ultimately an unsatisfying jumble that didn't do justice to the epic.).
Printed in two tone black and white, Jack Kirby's New Gods is essential reading. Although not a commercial success at the time, it had a great impact on the serious fans, many of whom became comic professionals themselves. Ambitious but never pretentious, Jack Kirby's New Gods remains a fun work to read. Although any one work could only scratch the surface of Kirby's genius, this book provides a great introduction.
There you have it. My list of the ten books that every serious comic fan should have. Disagree? Good. Undoubtedly I have left off something important. Certainly there is a number of terrific books that I hated to leave off the list: Kingdom Come, Ronin, Astro City- Life In The Big City, Frank Miller's Sin City books and many others.
Think up your own list and send it to me. You can just list them although a brief explanation would be helpful. We'll print the lists that we receive and perhaps you could introduce someone to your favorite comic work. I'd also like to hear your views on comics that should be available in collected form but aren't. I'll post my own list of those next time.