Personally, I've never read a graphic novel but I'm intrigued by the concept. More and more I'm hearing about memoirs done in this format and that's fascinating to me. When I heard about We Are On Our Own I decided that I really need to break out of my comfort zone and read it. I'm hoping to win it from Dewey because it's going to take a LONG time to get it through the inter-library-loan-system.Are any of you fans of the graphic novel? I'd love to hear some suggestions on which ones I should try. Keep in mind that I like history, avoid personal tragedies (like abuse, suicide, etc. but I do like WWII topics - go figure), and am new to this genre.
Also, there's a Graphic Novels Challenge going on until the end of the year. If you're not a part of it, you can join now and read just 3 graphic novels by the end of the year (rather than 6). Of course, you can always just visit the blog to check out their recommendations - that's what I did!
6 comments:
I have never read any! But if were too I think i would read Buffy The Vampire Slayer ones! hee hee!
Here from NaComleavMo
I've heard of a lot of people breaking into the genre with Persepolis. That would be my suggestion. Graphic novels are really fun, definitely a great challenege to take on!
If you like history and don't mind reading about WWII, then Maus is definitely one for you. It's a really powerful book. I second Alea's recommendation of Persepolis too.
I agree with both Persepolis and Maus, and want to add Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, if you enjoy fantasy at all - they are amazing!
I agree with pretty much everything that's been mentioned so far. I would give the caveat for Sandman that in the first volume, Preludes and Nocturnes, he hadn't found his voice yet and it has a much stronger horror tone than the rest of the series. So if you have a problem with occasional horror, you might want to start with the second volume, The Doll's House, instead. Or if you'd like to try some different Gaiman, Stardust is wonderful.
Other suggestions: if you want a completely different take on superheroes, Watchmen is excellent. It might violate the "no personal tragedies" rule, but Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is so good that I have to recommend it. If you want to try something much lighter, Castle Waiting by Linda Medley is a lovely, whimsical fairy-tale themed series of stories. Bone by Jeff Smith is another lighthearted but good fantasy-themed comic that's been collected into one volume.
If you like WWII, then Maus and Maus II are must-reads, as Nymeth says, and I third Persepolis and Persepolis II. And Fun Home was one of my favorite books of last year. I wouldn't say it falls under personal tragedy unless you think her family life is a tragedy, though I think it's more just sad. No abuse, suicide, etc. Just a girl growing up knowing she's not quite what people expect her to be.
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