What kind of graphic novel has stayed with you since you've first read it? Or have read time and again? Which ones have made you laugh at the notion that Comics are just "kiddie stuff"?
To get you started, here are my favorites:
- The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This graphic novel was first published as two separate volumes. Volume 1 tells of Satrapi growing up in Iran during the revolution against the Shah, then observes the oppressive hard-line Islamist rule that followed under the Ayatollah Khomeni (much to the chagrin of her liberal parents). The next volume deals with the grown Satrapi's experiences studying in Europe, being crushed by a relationship gone wrong, and ultimately returning to Iran for a time. Other novels by Satrapi I've enjoyed are Embroideries and Chicken With Plums.
- The Cartoon History of the Universe Volumes 1, 2 & 3 by Larry Gonick. This series deals very humorously with the history of the ancient world from the beginning (literally). Volume 1 tells of the creation of the universe (and the dawn of man) and ends with the rise of Alexander the Great. Volume 2 deals with the early civilizations of India and China and ends with the fall of Rome. Volume 3 deals with the rise of Islam, the Middle Ages, and the dawn of the Renaissance. It is all told with a lot of wit and style by Gonick who throws some really wicked jabs at current society along with the history. Other Gonick favorites are The Cartoon History of The Modern World and The Cartoon History of The United States.
- Maus, A Survivor's Tale by Art Speigelman. This tale, also published in two volumes (but is available as a complete version), tells of how Speigelman dealt with his often stormy relationship with his dad, a holocaust survivor. And how Art learned from his father just how horrific the "final solution" really was. Volume 1 (My Father Bleeds History) features Art's dad telling him about how the Nazis rose to power in Germany and soon invaded Poland (where Art's dad,Vladek, lived with his wife Mardja) and how the Poles were all too eager to assist the Nazis in exterminating the Jews. In the second volume (And Here My Troubles Begin), Vladek and Mardja (having been captured at the end of volume one) are sent to separate prison camps and Vladek tells Art of his ordeals and how he ultimately had a bittersweet reunion with Mardja before her death. Part of what makes this novel so moving is how Speigelman, used cartoon conventions as part of his storytelling. The Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, the Poles are pigs and the Americans are dogs. If you want to know just how horrific the holocaust was I would reccomend this.
- Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse. Cruse first came to fame as the creator of the gay comic series Barefootz, but he is far more serious with this tale of a closted young gay man living in the south during the Civil Rights era. How he becomes involved with the Civil Rights demonstrations in his hometown and his personal observations of the horrific violence committed not only on Blacks but on the local Gays as well. The "N-Word" is used quite literally, but don't let that stop you. This is a great work of history that (if it was up to me) would be required reading for history students as well as anyone inclined to tell blacks and/or gays to "get over it".
That was just a sampling, but what are your favorites