Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

Tell us what non-superhero graphic novel are you currently reading and what do you think about it.

Leave It to Chance Volume 1: Shaman's Rain

A re-read. Absolutely love. Between Robinson story and Paul Smith art, I just can't say enough good things about it.

Jersalem - Guy Delisle.

American Vampire - and loving every page.

Just finished Fables: Covers and moving onto Kickback from Dark Horse with story and art by David Lloyd.

I’ve been reading some Torpedo. (There's a recent English edition: Torpedo, Volume 1)

These are short-stories collections about a ruthless assassin-for-hire in the gangster era. The stories aren’t bad but the real highlight is the beautiful black and white art by Jordi Bernet and Alex Toth.

I’ll let the art speak for itself.






(Clowns with machine guns are awesome :) )

I have just finished "Logicomix". (3 out of 5 stars).
I liked the history facts and the way it is telling the story. I am scientific educated, but have not much knowledge in filosofy and mathematic, but this book is still interesting.

http://www.uvureview.com/2010/03/10/f...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/boo...

Oouh really !? that's a surprise Antaeus since it's a greek comix ( I know they promoted the En version a lot also)
but I could nvr get my head down to raed that one, I hated the art-work & kept thinkin that if one is "savvy" with scientific insights then that book won't have anything new to offer. Perhaps I am wrong, which parts did U find loaded with insight. could U give a description in a hurry.

Also I did finish "daytripper" bu the Bad brothers and i am on the IIV chapter of Olypia de Gouz
A very fascinating read by a woman who is fighting for her"liberation: amidst the house of pre-revloution in France!!! SInce I did a little digging b4 in French philosophers of that era, I find it very intriguing to know personal details abuot Rousso--Voltaire & their ongoing arguments and hostility that is "breeding" btn those two great men.

Sérgio wrote: "I’ve been reading some Torpedo. (There's a recent English edition: Torpedo, Volume 1)

These are short-stories collections about a ruthless assassin-for-hire in the gangster era.


Y?eah Sergio I hear Ya, I grew up with these comics, we had 2 comic mages ( Babel -Parapente) that they existed simply to publish EU stories, hhm perhaps i can say with ease that I;ve seen all the stepping stoneas of Bernet. ( if I am not wrong he went on a collaboration with Abuli correct?)

Anyway how does the fat guy of Torpedo get out alive, I seem to remember that he always got the back=hand from his boss, he was like a comic-side kick ( and I did Luv the scene before when he-they were tryin desperately to crack up a joke in the audience)
-did U check out Bernet on his run-through with Jonah Hex.. He is very good there also..

I just finished the 2nd and 3rd volumes of Gravel (couldn't get v1 on ILL). Now I'm reading American Vampire, just started the 3rd volume. Next up is The Sixth Gun. Then it's back to plain text for a while.

Hi Dan,

I read Logicomix in Danish. The art is not Moebius, but it suit the novel good. So I had no problems with the art. Normally is the art (and also the stories) one of the reasons that I'm not much into graphic novels.
Normally I much more into the old comics and not so much graphic novels, manga or superheroes.

But I liked Logicomix. It is probably much better if you have some knowledge of the greatest in the field (it is not about Voultaire or Rousso). It is a story about Bertrand Russel from child and up to he is about 60 years old, and how he is driven to find the truth about mathematic and logic. You can almost feel his passion. It is also a novel of other "logic-scientists". It may not sound great, but I liked it. I read more than 300 pages in two days.

One Danish reviewer, who have studied some filosofy, wrote that Logicomix made him go back to some of his old books, and I'm sure it will make others doing the same. I have always liked the stories behind great scientists, like Pasteur or pioneers in cars, planes, medicine etc. And Logicomix is a good story.

If you want to know more, please read the two reviews (linked) or seek for reviews in google, a lot are available. Here you will get a lot of information.

@Dan: Yeah, Abuli was the writer of the Torpedo series. I don't know if they collaborated in other series though.

No, I haven't read his Jonah Hex run but I looked at some issues and, in my opinion, his work looks better in black and white.

I've read some Rip Kirby, an old 40's comics strip. The art is great, masterful black and white drawings. The story a bit too melodramatic and simplistic but still entertaining.




Also read a couple of Buddy Longway books. We can really see that the artist loves the natural world because of the care he puts into drawing animals, forests and mountains. It's a pleasant read.

And having a moose who apparently thinks that he's in a Jaws movie is always great. :D

Just finished the Freakangels series by Warren Ellis and Dreamless. Read them online since they were both originally released in webcomic form.

Loved both. Excellent art and strong stories. Freakangels is dystopian steampunk and easily one of the best things I've read by Ellis.

Dreamless is a WWII era story about two people half a world apart who see each other's lives instead of dreams when they sleep. It could have stood to be a LOT longer, as there are tons of interesting things not explored, but what's there is great none-the-less.

Antaeus wrote: "Hi Dan,

I read Logicomix in Danish. The art is not Moebius, but it suit the novel good. So I had no problems with the art. Normally is the art (and also the stories) one of the reasons that I'm no..."

Hi, Antaeus,

If you like stories behind great scientists, I recommend picking up Feynman by Jim Ottaviani. It is a pretty recent release and shares important events from the physicist Richard Feynman's life. He worked on the Manhattan Project and won a Noble prize for his work on quantum mechanics. He also loved the bongo drums.

Just finished Blacksad: A Silent Hell. I recommend it and the first book

Blacksad. Just started Koko Be Good

It's not been collected yet but I am reading the first storyline from Fairest - the latest Fables spin-off. Excellent so far with fabulous art from Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning.

I've been reading some Chester Brown lately--just finished The Little Man yesterday, a collection of various short strips. Today I'm reading The Playboy, his autobiographical account of his relationship with Playboy magazine as a teenager. Next, I Never Liked You, another autobiographical account of his teen years.

Hi Catherine,
Thanks for the recommendation.


For Sérgio
Rip Kirby stories are masterpieces, both by Raymond and Prentice.

Buddy Longway is a fine Euro-comic, but not great. If you want something great, go for Blueberry.

This week I read:
Diabolik (Giussani) 3,5/5
No Pasarán 1-3 (Giardino) 3/5
Mezek (Yann & Juillard) 3/5


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mezek-Andr%C3...

Sergio: If you liked Rip Kirby, there are currently two separate sets of reprints of Raymond's Flash Gordon, both nice, but not cheap. Titan Books is doing the relatively cheaper version ($40.00 or so), but I'm not keen on how they format the book vertically. The gold standard is the IDW version, which also reproduces (for the first time, as far as I know) the topper strip, Jungle Jim. However, these are expensive ($75.00, though you can get them for a lot less on Amazon and may want to shop around--my local store has voume one discounted to something like $25.00 at the moment) and rather unwieldy, as they're printed at a very large size--not full newspaper page size, but big. Highly recommended, at least for the art--the stories tend to be rather silly, certainly less smart than the Rip Kirby stories.

Dominick wrote: "Sergio: If you liked Rip Kirby, there are currently two separate sets of reprints of Raymond's Flash Gordon, both nice, but not cheap. Titan Books is doing the relatively cheaper version ($40.00 or..."

I got a lot of Rip Kirby stories in Danish magasines, but I also bought some of the books from IDW (I couldn't get them all - but they will probably be reprinted - IDW normally do that I was told). I also bought Flash Gordon. I didn't know Jungle Jim so I choose the Titan version.

If you like Rip Kirby you probably also like X9 Secret Agent Corrigan, Modesty Blaise, Garth, The Seekers, and Steve Canyon.

And if you want to buy the ultimative Flash Gordon, then you need this by Al Williamson (also comes in HC):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Williamson...

Criminal - The Last and the Innocent -- Absolutely stunning piece of work. Reads like Archie on steroids !

I just finished Polina and Le dragon bleu. The art in both of them is amazing, and the stories pretty nice to read.

Well earlier on the previous week, I did finish ( after a long time of waiting) the 10th tome of Vampire Requiem
( that's9 & 10 in the French/belgian Ed)

I was left in amazement after all that's the way Pat Mills highlights the plot as a cliffhanger, and leaves U speechless waiting to see what hapens next!
I also did like a lot the new installmnet of this Japanese Samurai, fighting along the ghouls side instead of the Vampires so as to uncover the true "perpetraors" behind the Nagasaki nuclear bombings
( I have to disagree with the writers idea, by placing Openheimer to the 3 manipulators- but I suppose it's in line with the comics alltogether feel)
I sence he is able to dissipate a "feel" much alike the sence of rightfull retribution true to the comics of the 60s that Gaines produced (even Creepy).

CAn't wait to see where he gets to on his next tome! I do hope he has kept aside some new ideas for more characters to spring in their own world except Lady Claudia!!!

Antaeus wrote: "Hi Catherine,
Thanks for the recommendation.


I would do anything to be able to read " NO Passaran" Sergio..
But when it first "surfaced the market here in greece it was way too expensive ( Hard cased in small tomes and I suppose up to 30-35% higger prices than the rest of the countries.. But I did go through the pages of the first tome in a relaxed environnet*
I like the feel of Giardino and I can' wait to get my hand in this small series ( only 3 tomes? ) I had the feeling that it was meant to be more..

* That would be the salon of the most esteemed comic eitions in Athens =Babel= WE had many new promising creators tarvel in the pages of their annual comic, sadly it has faded away form the scene altogether...

At the moment I'm reading these two old European comics.

1. Schwarzbart der pirat (Danish version)
http://comicwiki.dk/images/thumb/Trum...

2. Modesty Blaise - The Black Pearl (Danish version)

Just finished this one: Okko: The Cycle of Air

Read Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 14. It's good.

It's always fun to see Dredd sending people to jail because of littering and Judge Death wreaking havoc.

Recently read Concrete Volume 1: Depths and The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. Both very interesting, and seem to be taking their stories in unique directions.

Dominick wrote: "Sergio: If you liked Rip Kirby, there are currently two separate sets of reprints of Raymond's Flash Gordon, both nice, but not cheap. Titan Books is doing the relatively cheaper version ($40.00 or..."

Thanks for the tip.

Those comics do look good but also really out-dated so I guess I'll give them a pass.

I'm reading 'Habibi' by Craig Thompson.
I'm still in doubt whether he can top 'Blankets' for me - but I'm halfway through now and it's not disappointing, to say the least!

I've moved on to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser for the time being, since I've picked up the first two books of Fritz Lieber's series.

Oooh, I LOVED 'Fun Home'. And just finished 'Are You My Mother?'. Great comics that really stretch the concept of what a graphic novel can convey. The first "psychological" graphic novel, I think.

I just finished My Friend Dahmer, which was a trip to be sure. Watching the seeming last days of sanity of Jeff Dahmer in high school. Scary.

I just read the first part of "A Chinese Life" and now started on the second part. In Danish it comes in 3 parts. It seem that it got lot more rates and reviews in French so I also posted the French cover (in French it is also split in 3 parts as in Danish).

The first part is a fine graphic novel concerning the life in China from 1949 - 1976 (the time of Mao Zedong).

Complete Dick Tracy volume 3.

Read Vol. 11 and 12 of Valérian. They were very dissapointing, especially after reading the previous ones that were much better.

Finished Habibi last week. Amazing read. Was skeptical about Thompson's ability to amaze me yet another time, especially after his endearing Blankets - but he did it again!

At the moment, I'm reading Boody, a collection of Boody Rogers comics from the thirties and forties. They're mainly silly kid-oriented stories--about Babe, the stacked, naive, superwoman--basically a female Lil Abner--super-powered Sparky Watts, and so on. Amusing stuff. Also, Peter Bagge's Bat Boy, his strip for The Weekly World News collected. Weird stuff.

Sérgio wrote: "Read Vol. 11 and 12 of Valérian. They were very dissapointing, especially after reading the previous ones that were much better.

"
I enjoyed them both. The two previous albums are better, however they are often mentioned as the two best albums in the series.

How did you add the picture?

Hi Antaeus.

You have to click the "(some html is ok)" link above the comment box. There you'll find the html code to post images, just copy that to your comment and put in the web address of the image you want to post.

I just read The Underwater Welder (which I recommend more for discussability than for how good it is), Bendis' Scarlet, vol. 1 (which is still too early in the story to judge well—could go either way), and Ryan Inzana's Ichiro (which confused reviewers keep trying to refer to as manga, even though it's clearly Western despite the setting).

Dana * wrote: "I just finished My Friend Dahmer, which was a trip to be sure. Watching the seeming last days of sanity of Jeff Dahmer in high school. Scary."

I thought My Friend Dahmer was great. We read it for the book group at my local comics shop, and then had a Q&A session with the author after it. Smart guy.

Anyway, I just read Bendis' Jinx. Really smart book - downside is I'm going to have to track down a copy of his earlier Goldfish to get the back story.

Now I'm reading the third volume of Fantagraphics' complete Gottfredson Mickey mouse--dandy humour/adventure stuff--and a collection of Our Boarding House from 1927.

Dominick wrote: "Now I'm reading the third volume of Fantagraphics' complete Gottfredson Mickey mouse--dandy humour/adventure stuff--and a collection of Our Boarding House from 1927."

Great, what do you think ?
I bought the first collector's box set including volume one and two, however I still haven't read it. I'm also going to have the next box set.

I'm a huge Disney fan, especially Carl Barks and Paul Murry.

Antaeus wrote: "Dominick wrote: "Now I'm reading the third volume of Fantagraphics' complete Gottfredson Mickey mouse--dandy humour/adventure stuff--and a collection of Our Boarding House from 1927."

Great, what ..."

You should add Gottfredson to your list; he's not only a great Disney artist but a great comics artist, period. The Mickey Mouse is great stuff, overall. The first volume's a bit weak, both format-wise and material-wise. Format-wise, Gottfredson's visual and verbal style early on, when he was still learning the comic strip ropes, looks too cluttered at the somewhat reduced (from original publication) size, but by volumes two and three, Gottfredson's evolved his cleaner, more elegant line and clearer composition, and he's found the right balance of words and images, so it reads fine. Content-wise, volume one takes a while to find the right balance between a sort of gag-a-day format, allowing a punch line for pretty much every strip, and the longer adventure-oriented stories for which the strip ultimately came to be so highly regarded. Some of the early continuities are rather meandeirng and unformed. By volume two, though, he's got that down pretty much pat, and by volume three, the stories are generally both funny and adventurously exciting, as wlel as well-constructed and plotted. And Fantagraphics is including a good amount of editorial material, both in the form of commentaries/articles and archival materials, which make for great supplements. Highly recommended.

I'd also recommend their current Barks reprint series, though I can't say I'm entirely won over by the recolouring they're doing. It's much better than recolouring usually is, but--probably because I read a lot of those comics back in the day, with the original colour--the new colouring just doesn't always look right to me. Nostalgia speaking, no doubt. I'm also not entirely sold on how they're doing the material--not integral reprints of material in chrolological sequence but rather compilations of material, divided up into longer and shorter story sections. However, the Barks stuff is intended more as a way of finding new general readers than as a comprehensive archival collection, so that's a legitimate neough approach, and I have the Carl Barks Library, done by Another Rainbow a few decades back, for the archival approach, anyway. I think Fantagraphics might be up to volume three in this series, too, but I haven't checked recently.

Azzarello's Loveless.

Jeff Smith's Bone

Dominick wrote: "Antaeus wrote: "Dominick wrote: "Now I'm reading the third volume of Fantagraphics' complete Gottfredson Mickey mouse--dandy humour/adventure stuff--and a collection of Our Boarding House from 1927..."

"Great"
Great that you are reading Gottfredson and some of the old stuff ;) It is almost a new gold age for luxurious reprints. We are having a lot of great stuff these days. I'm buying a lot.

Don't you know Paul Murry ?
Gottfredson is great and there are many great Disney artists. However, my favorits are Barks and Murry.

I have also bought the first two American Barks collections, but I also got the most luxurious edition ever printed a few years ago (in Danish it is also printed in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany and maybe Spain). I want the Barks comics in color that was how we got it presented as kids and the Barks comics were ment to be printed in color, though Barks delivered it in black/white. The Danish edition also had some color problems and could have been even better.
You can see all the albums here

http://comicwiki.dk/wiki/Carl_Barks&#...

Robert wrote: "Azzarello's Loveless."

I read that 2 or maybe 3 yrs ago.. loved it. Althought on the 3rd TP, tihngs get way outta hand & rather violent.. The author get off in .. perhaps I'll spoit it for Ya.. At what point are U now?