Graphic novels that *aren't* major Marvel or DC titles

[TheBigCheese]

This thread is for discussion and recommendation of any graphic novels that aren't major Marvel or DC titles.

I'm new to the graphic novel scene (only a couple of years in, if that) and though I started out with the Ultimate series moving onto Astonishing X-Men I've been discovering there is a massive and at times very moving world that's away from the superhero staple and I hope we can share hints here.

Initially I was going to say no Marvel/DC books at all then I remembered that some of the lesser well known stuff can still be published by the major two houses, so can we keep talk of Spider/Bat/Super/Iron/X Man/Men out of this thread please.

I've been reading a wider range of books lately so here are the ones I would recommend in no particular order.

Blankets

Synopsis
Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel by Craig Thompson, published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions. As a coming-of-age autobiography, the book tells the story of Thompson's childhood in an Evangelical Christian family, his first love, and his early adulthood. The book was widely acclaimed, with Time magazine ranking it #1 in its 2003 Best Comics list, and #8 in its Best Comics of the Decade.

This book is the book that showed me how powerful graphic novels can be, it's an exceptional read showing the authors life from childhood up to early adulthood and how his experiences affected his life and outlook. It's multi-layered and even the illustrations tell their own tale, the way characters and situations loom over the vulnerable characters and even the way the author has drawn himself - not quite complete with a triangular nose speaks volumes.

10/10


Transmetropolitan

Synopsis
Transmetropolitan is a cyberpunk comic book series written by Warren Ellis with art by Darick Robertson and published by DC Comics. It chronicles the battles of Spider Jerusalem, infamous renegade gonzo journalist of the future, a homage to gonzo journalism founder Hunter S. Thompson. Spider Jerusalem dedicates himself to fighting the corruption and abuse of power of two successive United States presidents; he and his "filthy assistants" strive to keep their world from turning more dystopian than it already is while dealing with the struggles of fame and power, brought about due to the popularity of Spider via his articles.

Where to start with this book...it's not a 'nice' read. The lead character makes for compulsive reading but he's certainly not a character you can root for. The world he inhabits is incredibly well drawn and realised with small details really standing out such as video screens in the pavement. It shows mankind pushing themselves to extremes in the hope of the next big thing, drug taking has given way to splicing DNA with that of aliens or uploading consciousness to spend eternity on the internet.

There is a strong story throughout the sixty issues leading up to a very definite conclusion. I found it a bit hard to get into but incredibly addictive after the first few issues.

8/10


Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea

Synopsis
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea is a black and white graphic novel by the Canadian Québécois author Guy Delisle, published in 2004.
It documents Delisle's experiences in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, where he stayed for two months. Acting as the liaison between a French animation producing company and the SEK Studio (Scientific Educational Korea) company, he struggles with the difficulties of outsourcing and the bureaucracy of the totalitarian closed state.

This is a fascinating read as it's just observations about his everyday life and work in very unusual situations. The drawings are simple yet powerful and his observations are a real eye opener.

8/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

Fun Home

Synopsis
Fun Home (subtitled A Family Tragicomic) is a 2006 graphic memoir by American writer Alison Bechdel. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, USA, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in understanding oneself and one's family. Writing and illustrating Fun Home took seven years, in part because of Bechdel's laborious artistic process, which includes photographing herself in poses for each human figure.

Like Blankets, this book is so detailed in it's descriptions and meticulous in it's artwork it's almost like you are watching the characters in front of you. They feel very real and very flawed. It can be rather depressing to read as with every page it feels like opportunities for a happy family are squandered in favour of the materialistic and appearance. Though it can be a little downbeat in tone it's a fascinating read.

9/10


Asterios Polyp

Synopsis
The title character, Asterios Polyp, is a professor and architect of Greek and Italian descent who teaches at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After a lightning strike burns up his apartment, he leaves the city on a Greyhound bus and takes up employment as an auto mechanic in the town of Apogee (somewhere in America), the farthest point his money will take him. The novel is interspersed with scenes from his past (ostensibly narrated by his stillborn twin brother, Ignazio), including his childhood and troubled marriage; as well as dreams and allegorical sequences. Finally, he must confront not only his own flawed nature, but the implacable and amoral whims of the gods themselves.

I really didn't know what to make of this book to begin with. It starts with the narration by the lead characters dead twin and you see the dotted outline following the character down the street...that's a really interesting premise for the book, then you don't see the dead twin again, though he does still narate sometimes.

I don't know whether I manage to pick books with lead characters who all have huge personality flaws or whether lots of writers are trying to purge demons but this is another book about a flawed character and how his decisions and actions impact on those around him.

It's a great study into a meticulous mind with a superiority complex...a good read though I'm not sure if I would come back to it again.

7/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

And that's it for tonight, I'm going to bed but will try and update the thread with other titles tomorrow and in the next few days.

I'd really like to hear some suggestions from others and read your reviews of the books!

 

[TheBigCheese]

Yes, I know it's DC, but you did cite Transmetropolitan, so I figure it's ok

Yeah absolutely, I explained that in the OP. I think Marvel publish other smaller work as well, I just wanted to keep the thread away from the popular super hero stories really, the other thread is all about that.

Thanks for the hints, I'll look into them!

I'll try and get some more posted tonight, I've got a really interesting 12 parter to add!

 

[TheBigCheese]

Midnight Nation

Synopsis
Midnight Nation is a religious-themed twelve-issue American comic book limited series, created by J. Michael Straczynski and published from 2000 to 2002 by Top Cow Productions under their now defunct Joe's Comics imprint. It is about a man who is killed, in a sense, and is on a journey to save his soul.

Don't be put off by it's being 'religious themed', it's an incredibly interesting book! It starts off with the lead character becoming 'lost in the cracks', he loses contact with people and eventually disappears - literally! He becomes ghost like and has to walk across America to try and save himself. It's a short story, only twelve issues and did skip over lots of details of the journey which I thought a shame but it really gets going in the last few issues. Both myself and the missus were quite gripped by it.

8/10


Kick Ass

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Synopsis
It is the story of Dave Lizewski, a teenager who sets out to become a real life superhero. His actions are publicized on the Internet and inspire others. He gets caught up with ruthless vigilantes Hit-Girl and Big Daddy who are on a mission to take down the gangster John Genovese.

This story is probably familiar to most people because of the film, I saw the film first and have only recently read the comic. It was 'more' than the film I thought, the dialogue was snappy, the story was a little stronger, things were dumbed down for the film. It's not the best comic I've read but it nodded nicely at the reader, having the characters

Spoiler

discussing Astonishing X-Men

was a really nice touch.

All in all a good book but not a classic.

8/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

Locke & Key

Synopsis
Following her husbands murder his wife takes their three children to move to the family's old residence in Lovecraft

Wow...what can you say about this book? It'll probably be like nothing you've ever read! The house is full of keys that fit into locks (literal not metaphorical), but they are just devices to drive the story into new and strange directions.
Each key does a different thing and the way they are realised in their illustrations is absolutely fascinating.
It's one of those books that when I recommend it to people I'm jealous of them as they are experiencing it for the first time.

Make this your next read!

10/10


That's it for tonight, I'll try and add some more tomorrow.

Please add any recommendations you may have, good graphic novels can be hard to find sometimes!

 

[TheBigCheese]

V for Vendetta?

Yes indeed, V for Vendetta and of course Watchmen...I didn't include them at first as I think they are very well known now but certainly worth another mention!

10/10 for both.

Infestation - IDW

Zombie vampires vs Transformers/Ghostbusters/Star Trek/GI Joe.

It's as brilliantly awful as it sounds .

I can't even score it - it's like watching a made-for-SyFy film...rubbish, but somehow entrancing

That sounds absolutely bonkers, might be worth a giggle if the artwork is good!

I've got some more to post when I get the chance...would still like any recommendations from others though!

 

[TheBigCheese]

No worries, glad it's been of some help!

Ah I'm jealous...getting to read Locke and Key for the first time

I'll try and post a few more when I get the chance but I'm running out myself now, need mooorrrreeee, anyone else got any recommendations?

 

[TheBigCheese]

Excellent thread, thanks for posting it, I will pick up most of these I think.

Do you buy from a local store or Amazon? or somewhere else?

I will add some more to this thread shortly when I get my wishlist on my other PC.

I don't have a local store unfortunately,the nearest one is a motorway trip away...I don't think I could trust myself in one anyway, I certainly can't in Waterstones!

Yup, Amazon is the way to go, I don't buy comics, I wait for them to come out in trade paperbacks, the quality of the paper and colouring is superb!

Maus is excellent too.

Thanks for the tip I'll have a look!

 

[TheBigCheese]

Though I'd post probably the best known 'alternative' graphic novels...


Watchmen

Synopsis
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form. Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore's proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced the writer to create original characters instead.

Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to critique the superhero concept. Watchmen depicts an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the United States to win the Vietnam War. The country is edging toward a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement, and eventually leads them to confront a plot that would stave off global nuclear war.

The thing I like about books and graphic novels is the ideas they can convey and situations that are too complex to adequately convey in films. Watchmen (despite the reasonable film) is such a book. It's an incredible multi-layered story and the characters feel like real people. For me the most fascinating part was Dr Manhattan (small spoiler coming), what the accident allows him to become, how everything takes on new meaning and how he is the master of time and space and yet somehow doomed to sail through it like the rest of us...just utterly fascinating. Truly one of the best books ever written.

10/10


V For Vendetta

Synopsis
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government, profoundly affecting the people he encounters. Warner Bros. released a film adaptation of V for Vendetta in 2006.

The series depicts a near-future UK after a nuclear war, which has left much of the world destroyed, though most of the damage to the country is indirect, via floods and crop failures. In this future, a fascist party called Norsefire has exterminated its opponents in concentration camps and now rules the country as a police state. V, an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent, and intentionally theatrical campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and convince the people to rule themselves.

Shockingly I overlooked this book when I first discovered it! It was when I was new to graphic novels (only a couple of years ago) and it was sat on the shelf in Waterstones next to the shiny bright bold Ultimate Spidermans...it has to be said it is quite dense, there is quite a lot of lettering on many pages and the artwork is quite basic, if you are just browsing it's easy to overlook. If you do you've just made a terrible mistake, truly V for Vendetta is another of the best graphic novels ever written (and another Alan Moore masterpiece). It's deep, it's incredibly powerful with one image in particular sticking with me and feeling like a real emotional kick when it happened. Forget the film good as it is, if you haven't read this book yet order it tonight or go out and buy it tomorrow!

10/10


The Walking Dead

Synopsis
The Walking Dead is a monthly black-and-white comic book series chronicling the travels of Rick Grimes, his family, and other survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

Don't let the cover artwork mislead you, the book is a stark powerful vision of the collapse of civilisation, survival, relationships and trust.
The book isn't about the zombies, it's about the people surviving and it's gripping. You can't predict where it's going to go and death is everywhere...don't get too attached to the characters, in this world no-one is safe, and that's not for shock value to sell more, that's just the way the zombie infested world is, and it's not just the zombies that are dangerous...

The early comics are exceptional, though I feel it's lost some of it's power in the later issues, but that still puts it head and shoulders above almost everything else available.

I would suggest you buy the trade paperbacks, definitely buy volume 1-3 in one go, you won't be able to stop reading it once you start!

10/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

Long time no read but Lucifer and The Sandman were both excellent GNs, long indepth loads of info and great art, hm gona get them for the Note, thanks for the thread.

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into them!

The Alcoholic by Johnathon Ames is supposed to be quite good. Vertigo though which is part of DC so not sure if that counts.

Absolutely it counts! As I said in the OP, I just didn't want discussion of all the most popular superhero comics, there's a thread for that, publishers aren't banned...just the major superheroes.

Some great comics here! Here's one that hasn't been mentioned:

The Unwritten

I find it hard to sell this comic to be honest.

"It's about a boy named Tom, who's father wrote a series of books with him as the main character that is a lot like Harry Potter. Parts of the book begin to bleed into reality and Tom can't tell where he ends and his book self begins"

SOLD!

That sounds absolutely brilliant, I'm going to get it asap, thanks for the tip!

I've just discovered something new...Garth Ennis - Battlefields. It's about World War 2...powerful stuff and very well illustrated, I'll try and write more of a review about it tomorrow, I'm off to bed to read a bit more of the same collection!

 

[TheBigCheese]

I wouldn't want to live in a world where Vertigo didn't count

As I said, just the major superheroes are barred in this thread...I need to investigate Vertigo more, they seem to do some really good stuff!

I'd love to own the Walking Dead hardcovers, or even better the special edition hardcover of compendium one. Now there is a thing of beauty, 48 editions 1000 pages in one bound book.

That is a thing of absolute wonder! <--- that's my version of a drool smiley.

Crikey...it's been a almost a week since I posted last...where does the time go?

Reviews following shortly...

 

[TheBigCheese]

Battlefields

Synopsis
Battlefields is a comic book metaseries written by Garth Ennis, comprising three mini-series, each illustrated by a different artist and published by Dynamite Entertainment.

The series is divided into three self-contained mini-series of three issues, all of which are set during World War II. The first mini-series, with artist Russell Braun, titled The Night Witches is set on the Eastern front and concerns a women-only Soviet bomber regiment.

The second series, with artist Peter Snejbjerg, titled Dear Billy concerns a British nurse, who had survived rape and attempted execution by Japanese soldiers in Singapore, and her relationship with a decorated flying ace.

The third series will be Tankies with artist Carlos Ezquerra, and is about an inexperienced British tank crew of Londoners in a Churchill Tank led by a Geordie veteran as they attempt to catch up with their company, enduring attacks by Nazi Tiger tanks as the Battle of Normandy rages on.

For anyone who has read comics/annuals such as "Commando" these books will feel like a familiar warm blanket. That's the immediate nostalgic impression I got when I started reading this, however it soon shakes any memories of "smashing Jerry" and instead shows war for what it is from very different perspectives. From the Russian female pilots who are ill equipped and ill trained to the British trying to strike against German tanks the books never fail to be less than gripping. There are so many touches that make them feel well researched, such as the captain explaining to a soldier that the Chaplin insists on removing the bodies from destroyed tanks and admitting that if the soldiers saw what happened to their unfortunate comrades they would never step in a tank again.

I should note that I have only read volume one so far but I certainly can't wait for volume two!

9/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

Superior

Synopsis
Simon Pooni, an angry, bitter 12-year-old boy suffering from multiple sclerosis, idolizes superheroes, particularly Superior, a Superman analogue. An alien monkey named Ormon appears at Simon's bedside, informing the boy that of all the people on Earth, he has been granted the honor of being bestowed a single magic wish. Simon is then transformed into Superior.

Bit of a controversial choice as it's Marvel publishing and a superhero yarn but it's a bit different from the norm. For a start it's written by Mark Millar of many comic hits including the Marvel Ultimate reboot (which incidentally got me into graphic novels), Marvel Civil War and Kick Ass.

There isn't a huge amount I can say about Superior without revealing the plot, don't look at the Wiki either as that will also give away the story. I'll just say it goes in unexpected directions, is a bit surprising and certainly worth a read. It is however a little contrived in places and possibly a little cliched, there is definitely overtones of Lois Lane in there!

8/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

This thread needs an update, I've been reading bits and bobs since May, the next one certainly deserves a read:

The Sword

Synopsis

The LUNA BROTHERS' (ULTRA, GIRLS, SPIDER-WOMAN: ORIGIN) modern-day fantasy about a young woman who discovers a mysteriously powerful sword after her family is brutally murdered by three powerful strangers. If you like Kill Bill, Blade of the Immortal or Highlander, you'll love THE SWORD!

The blurb isn't wrong, The Sword is a fantastic read, involving, deep, sometimes shocking and with precise and detailed illustration.

This is a highly recommended read!

9/10

 

[TheBigCheese]

Thanks for the posts guys, glad this thread has taken off again!

PREACHER

Thanks Robosapien, that sounds right up my alley, that's next on my list!

Would you mind editing your description a bit though, as I was reading it I felt a bit spoilerish, hoping I've not ruined it for myself!

All the 2000ad and judge dredd stuff, I see none of it has been mentioned.

Can you be a bit more specific on what you would recommend and why? All of 2000AD is a lot to choose from, Judge Dredd alone has been going for 30 years hasn't it?

 

[TheBigCheese]

Way ahead of you with The Sword, see post 28.

Can you explain your choices a bit further, why would you suggest buying them.

Is it the story, the artwork? What makes them great (without mentioning spoilers of course!).

Cheers!

 

[TheBigCheese]

Wow, it's been a while since I've been into this thread...life has happened and I haven't really been reading any graphic novels for a long while now.

However, cross as I was when I found out, my curosity got the better of me and I've started reading Before Watchmen. More specifically the four issue Dr Manhattan issues.

Oh. Wow. They are absolutely exceptional! Dr Manhattan was always the most fascinating character for me in Watchmen and they've taken the most fascinating parts and made a story around it.

I'm incredibly impressed with it and am looking forward to reading the rest of Before Watchmen now, I'll report back with what I've read!

What has everyone else been reading the past nine eek months?