I just found a copy of my old 'Comics 4 Grownupz' list from my old website! This is ... out of date, of course, but captures a moment.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
David B - Epileptic
Eddie Campbell - Alec: the King Canute Crowd
Eddie Campbell - Alec: Three Piece Suit
Robert Crumb & Aline Kaminsky-Crumb - The Complete Dirty Laundry Comics
Sam Glanzman - A Sailor's Story
Harvey Pekar - American Splendor
Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis

FICTION
Daniel Clowes - Ghost World
Will Eisner - A Contract with God
Vittorio Giardino - Hungarian Rhapsody
Vittorio Giardino - Orient Gateway
Gilbert Hernandez - Palomar
Jamie Hernandez - Locas
Matt Howarth - WRAB: Pirate Television
Mark Kalesniko - Mail Order Bride
Jason Lutes - Jar of Fools
William Messner-Loebs - Journey
Terry Moore - Strangers in Paradise
James Sturm - The Golem's Mighty Swing
Bryan Talbot - The Tale of One Bad Rat
Jacques Tardi - Adele and the Beast: The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec
Jacques Tardi - Demon of the Eiffel Tower: The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec
Craig Thomson - Blankets
Alex Toth - Bravo for Adventure
Ivan Velez Jr - Tales of the Closet
Chris Ware - Jimmy Corrigan

HUMOR
Kyle Baker- The Cowboy Wally Show
Kyle Baker - My Trouble with Saturn
Steve Gerber & Gene Colan - Essential Howard The Duck
William Messner-Loebs - Epicurus the Sage
Gilbert Shelton - The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Vol 1
Gilbert Shelton - The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Vol 2
Gilbert Shelton - The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in "the Idiots Abroad"
Evan Dorkin - Hectic Planet

HISTORY
Larry Gonick - Cartoon History of the Universe, Vol 1
Larry Gonick - Cartoon History of the Universe, Vol 2
Larry Gonick - Cartoon History of the Universe, Vol 3
Jack Jackson - Comanche Moon
Jack Jackson - Indian Lover
Jack Jackson - Los Tejanos
Jack Jackson - Lost Cause
Alan Moore - From Hell
Jose Munoz and Carlos Sampayo - Billie Holliday
Jim Ottavani (ed.) - Two Fisted Science
Joe Sacco - Palestine
Joe Sacco - Safe Area Gorazde
Art Spiegelman - Maus


SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
Enki Bilal - The Nikopol Trilogy
Neil Gaiman and Chris Bachalo - Death, the High Cost of Living
Neil Gaimin & Charles Vess - Stardust
Don McGregor & P. Craig Russell - Marvel Essentials: War of the Worlds
Carla Speed McNeil - Finder
Hayao Miyazaki - Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind
Moebius - The Airtight Garage
Alan Moore - V for Vendetta
Grant Morrison - We3
Wendy & Richard Pini - Elfquest
P. Craig Russell - opera adaptions
Jeff Smith - Bone

SUPERHEROES
Mike Baron and Steve Rude - Nexus
Will Eisner - All About P'Gell
Warren Ellis - Planetary
Steve Gerber & Jim Mooney - Omega the Unknown
Koiko/Ikagami - Mai the Psychic Girl
Scott McCloud - Zot!
Frank Miller - The Dark Knight Returns
Alan Moore- Watchmen
Matt Wagner - Sandman Mystery Theatre

HORROR
Alan Moore - From Hell
Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog - Marvel Essentials: Frankenstein
Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan - Marvel Essentials: Tomb of Dracula

BOOKS ABOUT COMICS
Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Paul Gravett - Graphic Novels : Everything You Need to Know
Gerard Jones - Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book
Richard A. Lupoff & Don Thompson (eds.) - All in Color for a Dime
Richard A. Lupoff & Don Thompson (eds.) - The Comic-Book Book
Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics

ANTHOLOGIES
Drawn & Quarterly
The Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics
The New Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Stories: From Crumb to Clowes
Art Spiegelman (ed.) - Raw


David B - Epileptic

David B is an important member of the Frenchy comics scene, and this book tells the story of his brother's experience with epilepsy, and how it transformed his family. The artwork is primitive and minimalistic, yet well suited to the story, as he details their encounters with healers both Western and alternative, some helpful and some mere quakery. He also explicates his own personal demons which he makes use of stunning symbolism to bring to life on the page.




Kyle Baker- The Cowboy Wally Show

Kyle Baker - My Trouble with Saturn

The Cowboy Wally Show is about a corrupt children's show host, reminiscent of W.C. Fields in chaps. Most of the humor is not to my taste, though there are a couple of scenes which I find very funny. My Trouble with Saturn is about a neurotic young woman and her relationship with her fanciful sister. I found much of the book preoccupied with rather primitive and unsophisticated discussions of contemporary feminist issues. Kyle Baker is not a personal favorite, but he is one of the most prominent humorists in comics today, and worth investigating for those seeking funny books.

Enki Bilal - The Nikopol Trilogy

Enki Bilal is one of the most prominent French cartoonists, with a detailed art style equally at home telling stories of the fantastic or the mundane. Most of his more significant work has been with collaborators, but the Nikopol Trilogy is a cycle of stories written by him which also features his return to the science fiction of his early years. The series concerns Alcide Nikopol, a contemporary astronaut, who finds himself in a horrific, dystopic future. At the same time (not coincidentally), an alien ship appears over Earth, its inhabitents identifying themselves with the ancient gods of Egypt. One of the gods, Horus, exiles himself from his compatriots, and joins with Nikopol in an attempted political coup. As the series proceeds, a young female journalist and Alcide Nikopol's (now adult) son ally themselves with the mismatched duo. The tone is unrelentingly dark, and the series descends further into surrealism as it progresses, but Bilal's artwork moves from strength to strength and the books are endlessly rewarding.

Eddie Campbell - Alec: the King Canute Crowd

Eddie Campbell - Alec: Three Piece Suit

Eddie Campbell tells autobiographical stories through the eyes of his alter ego, Alec McGarry. Rather than trying to paint himself as unpleasant and dwelling on the darker and more sordid aspects of life (like most autobiographical cartoonists), Campbell is the master of the gently amusing anecdote. He manages to be amusing and charming even when he is relating a story in which he behaves extremely badly (as detailed in the 'Graffiti Kitchen' segment on Three Piece Suit). Some may find his art style too sketchy, but I think it is extremely subtle and suggestive, putting down on paper just the lines necessary to convey complex emotions. My favorite of his works is 'Graffiti Kitchen,' in which he details his romantic entanglement with an older woman and her teenage daughter; the language and art style are graceful and poetic. Campbell is also the artist on Alan Moore's From Hell, discussed below.

Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Michael Chabon draws from the lives of Will Eisner (creator of the Spirit; see below), Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster (creators of Superman), and Joe Simon & Jack Kirby (creators of Captain America and innumerable other characters) in creating his titular characters, Joe Kavalier and Max Clay, who are founding cartoonists in the early days of the American comic book scene. The novel is meticulously researched, full of period detail, yet is explicable as a tale of the American immigrant experience even for readers not steeped in comic book history.

The Amazing Website of Kavalier & Clay - fan site on Pulitzer-winning novel.

Daniel Clowes - Ghost World

Ghost World: The Motion Picture

Ghost World is Daniel Clowes' most accessible work (he also wrote the screenplay for the excellent film adaption). The story of a pair of teenage girls, seeking to find themselves as they enter adulthood. The protagonist, Enid, is the more troubled (and entertainingly sarcastic) of the two, and her troubled attempts to make peace with the world are viewed with a sympathic, yet exacting, eye. Clowes also wrote the screenplay for the superlative film adaption, which is worth seeing quite independently of the comic.

Drawn & Quarterly Anthology Volume Three

Drawn & Quarterly Anthology Volume Four

Drawn & Quarterly Anthology Volume Five

Drawn & Quarterly has consistently been one of the most varied of American publishers, and their large-format anthology reflects that. Each volume might include a book-length work from a European creator, an experimental manga strip, a comic-book style pastiche of a work of classic literature, and a reprint of a classic newspaper strip from the 1930's.

Will Eisner - A Contract with God

Will Eisner - The Best of the Spirit

Will Eisner - All About P'Gell

Will Eisner's career spans the history of modern American comics. He was one of the founding creators of the 'Golden Age' era of the 1940's, he was one of the first creators to attempt to tell stories for adults, and he was one of the first creators to use to use the contemporary 'graphic novel' format. He was one of the cartoonists whose life Michael Chabon drew on, when he created Joe Kavalier and Max Clay. Some of his later works tended towards the excessively sentimental to my eyes, although his original graphic novel, A Contract with God (actually an urban short story collection) is still excellent. The current volume collects it along with some other short stories and vignettes originally published in A Life Force and Dropsie Avenue. Eisner's most enduring character, however, is the Spirit, a very human masked crimefighter. DC Comics is currently collecting the complete Spirit in expensive volumes; The Best of the Spirit is a good introduction to the character; another valuable intro to the character can be found in All About P'Gell, which collects all of the character's interactions with one of the series' most interesting villains, the ultimate femme fatale P'Gell.

Warren Ellis - Planetary Volume One: All Over the World and Other stories

Warren Ellis - Planetary Volume Two: The Fourth Man

Warren Ellis - Planetary Volume Three: Leaving the 20th Century

Planetary relates the adventures of a trio of super-powered archeologists. The dialog is sharp and cynical, and the action heats up as the team pit themselves against an competing group of super villains known as The Four. A lot of the charm of the series comes from the team's archeological investigations into the secret history of their world, which allows the writer to explore tropes from various creative genres (Japanese giant monster and 'gun fu' films, 50's paranoiac sci-fi, the writing of Jules Verne and other Victorian novelists, 1930's hero pulp characters such as Doc Savage and the Shadow, although the predominant factor is parodies of other company's superheroes). Some readers may find the constant references to characters about whom they are ignorant to be distracting; some will be able to put that aside and enjoy the overarching plot which pits Planetary against The Four (who are actually parodies of the comic book and movie characters, The Fantastic Four).

Neil Gaimin - Sandman

Neil Gaimin's first major work was a sprawling gothic fantasy epic about the Sandman, or Morpheus, the 'lord of dreams.' The first book is the weakest, as it reflects a preoccupation with the mainstream superhero comics from the title's publisher; however the series improves dramatically after that. There are many story arcs in the Sandman series and much has been written about them by people who know the series better than I; consequently I will simply list links to other sites and encourage readers interested in literary fantasy to investigate them.




Vittorio Giardino - Hungarian Rhapsody

Vittorio Giardino - Orient Gateway

When I visited Italy several years ago, the one comic which was on every single newsstand, was a copy of Giardino's Hungarian Rhapsody. The story is set in Europe just before World War Two, and features Max Friedman, a former espionage agent dragged unwillingly out of retirement. Friedman is about as far from a standard adventure hero as it's possible to get, and the storyline is as convoluted as any Graham Greene novel. Friedman's adventures were continued with Orient Gateway, which is not quite as involving but still readable; the original book remains one of my personal favorites.

Sam Glanzman - A Sailor's Story

Sam Glanzman has worked in comics for decades, for just about every major publisher, and has a practiced, journeyman style. These books record his life during WW2 aboard the USS Stevens. They are compelling, realistic war stories presented without an overwhelming political agenda, and very tastefully done.

Larry Gonick - Cartoon History of the Universe, Volume One: From the Big Bang to Alexander the Great

Larry Gonick - Cartoon History of the Universe, Vol Two: From the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome

Larry Gonick - Cartoon History of the Universe, Vol Three: From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance

Larry Gonick is a professional historian, and the research in these volumes is scrupulous. In addition, he has a clever wit and an accessible cartooning style, so these volumes make easy reading and are also extremely educational. These are only a few of his numerous Cartoon Histories and Cartoon Guides, and they are all worth examining.

Paul Gravett - Graphic Novels : Everything You Need to Know

There are many histories of comics and graphic novels available, but this is the only one which has impressed me with the breadth and variety of material which it covers. Many of the books on this page are discussed in more depth. In addition, Gravett offers brief excerpts from the various works, enough to whet one's appetite and discern whether a particular book may be to one's taste.

Justin Green - Binky Brown Sampler

'Binky Brown' is (presumably) Justin Green's alter ego, and many of these stories originally appeared in underground comics during the 60's and 70's, most notably Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. They explore the life of a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive adolescent as he struggles with thoughts of sex, death, and Catholicism. The stories are self-involved but extremely funny, as Green carves out his very individual niche in the comics field.

Gilbert Hernandez - Palomar

Jamie Hernandez - Locas

Love & Rockets was the showcase series which introduced Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez to the world in the mid-80's. From relatively crude beginnings, the series moved from strength to strength, setting the high-water mark for quality writing in the decade, particularly regarding their many female characters. Gilbert specialised in magic realist stories set in the South American village of Palomar; his stories span three generations, mainly centering on the woman Luba and her many children. Jamie's cartoons bore a lighter touch; he focussed on punk subculture, and with time his characters left behind the sci-fi and superhero parody of their early episodes and transitioned to more emotionally focussed stories. Both writers are adept at twisting comic clichés to their own ends and toying with their audiences' expectations. These thick volumes, Palomar and Locas, reprint the entire core storylines from the original 80's run of the series.


Matt Howarth - WRAB: Pirate Television

Matt Howarth is one of comics' most iconoclastic creators, his Philip K. Dick-influenced science fiction-based stories cast with an eccentric variety of characters who operate under varying degrees of sanity. WRAB is one of Howarth's most reality-based and accessible comics. Some of Howarth's standard cast members (for once not involved in a story which involves hopping from one alternate reality to another) are placed in charge of a pirate television station, which they use to remake the world's culture. The characterisation is not the most polished, as this is more of a manifesto than a drama, but the humor is irreverant and many readers will enjoy the steady stream of references to obscure music and film. Howarth's work is often difficult to find from mainstream publishers, though most of it can be purchased from the author directly, at the website below.

Matt Howarth's Attic - comics about science fiction, experimental music, Keif Llama, the Post Bros.

Jack Jackson - Comanche Moon

Jack Jackson - Indian Lover

Jack Jackson - Los Tejanos

Jack Jackson - Lost Cause

Jack Jackson has created several books about the history of Texas, and Native American history. The books are heavily researched, but he never shies away from the coarser aspects of the characters and stories which he chooses to relay. Viewed only as stories they are 'plot heavy,' as Jackson covers a great deal of material, yet the passionate intensity of his subjects shine through.

Gerard Jones - Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book

For all the innumerable books on comics history, this is the first popularly-written text which details the personal and business side of the comics world from its inception, as opposed to focussing on the characters and storylines. I have felt an irrational reluctance to actually read this book, based on dislike of the author's comic book writing; however, it has generally received favorable reviews and, I believe, would be worthwhile reading as an introduction to the subject matter.

Mark Kalesniko - Mail Order Bride

Mark Kalesniko's first full-length work covers a host of themes ... sexism, racism, social isolation, and the role of the artist in society ... and weaves them together seamlessly. A virginal comic book and toy store owner and collector invests in a 'mail order bride' from Korea, but the woman who arrives does not meet his expectations. The mail order bride of the title finds her own difficulties as she must deal with a foreign culture and an, in some ways, even more foreign husband. While occasionally the symbolism is heavy-handed, Kalesniko's writing shows a deft touch with his very human characters.

Richard A. Lupoff & Don Thompson (eds.) - All in Color for a Dime

Richard A. Lupoff & Don Thompson (eds.) - The Comic-Book Book

These books collect a series of articles, originally written in the 1960's for a magazine called The Comics Buyers' Guide, about the history of comic book characters. They were, for years, many fan's primary sources of information about the medium's past, though some of the research is outdated by this point. While the books focus heavily (though not exclusively) on superheroes, the writing is lively as the writers display obvious love for the topics. In addition to the myriad superheroes, All in Color for a Dime features articles by Bill Blackbeard on Popeye; Chris Steinbrunner on movie serials; and Harlan Ellison on the surrealistic humor of cartoonist George Carlson. The Comic-Book Book features more articles on superheroes as well as by Bill Blackbeard on Micky Mouse; Richard Lupoff on heroic aviators; Don Glut on Frankenstein in the comics; Maggie Thompson on the Spirit (discussed elsewhere on this page); Michael Barrier on Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge; Richard O'Donnell on heroic magicians; Camille Cazadessus on Tarzan and his myriad imitators; and Chris Steinbrunner on radio serials.

Jason Lutes - Jar of Fools

Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics

Understanding Comics is an attempt to deconstruct and explain the mechanisms by which comics work; that is, how characteristic features such as word balloons, panel-to-panel transitions, and caricature operate from an analytical point of view. Typically an appropriate topic for an academic text, McCloud presents his arguments in comic book form, thus creating a unique document in comics history ... one which is intellectually stimulating yet still entirely accessible. McCloud's art style is deliberately cartoony and narratively straightforward, the tone of his work lighthearted, yet he is one of comics' most dedicated formalists.

William Messner-Loebs - Epicurus the Sage

Unique in the comic world, Epicurus is a satire of Greek philosophy and mythology. Epicurus is cast as the only same man in Greece, certainly amidst the rarified environment of the philosophers. The writing is erudite, though only the most casual knowledge of Socrates and others is required to appreciate the humor. In his search for truth, Epicurus' life is further complicated as he finds himself involved in humorously depicted renditions of Greek myths, and must negotiate between various warring gods and goddesses.

William Messner-Loebs - Journey Volume One: Tall Tales

William Messner-Loebs - Journey Volume Two: Bad Weather

Journey recounts a series of 'tall tales' about a 19th century frontiersman named Wolverine McAllister. The stories are compelling and range from the mundane to the fantastical. Messner-Loebs' artwork is extremely stylised, but still convey action and emotion convincingly. The first issue of this series (collected in volume one) was agreed upon on an internationally based e-mail list to be the best single issue in a regular comic book format to give to someone of general interest as an introduction to the form.

Frank Miller - The Dark Knight Returns

This book was one of the milestones of the 80's, presenting a unique vision of an older, embittered, future Batman painted very much larger than life. I and others feel that its publication had a deleterious effect on the treatment of Batman in current comics, as other writers have attempted to match the unpleasantness of the character in a current milieu; Miller's followup projects have carried this trend to the point of making Batman downright repellent. Nevertheless, DKR remains a highly entertaining (if somewhat dark) depiction of a familiar character.

Moebius - The Airtight Garage

Jean Giraud (whose science fiction and fantasy work are published under the name Moebius), is one of the most famous European cartoonists. His artwork is diverse, running from the grittily realistic to the surrealistic to the excruciatingly detailed and fantastic. I have, however, rarely been enthralled with the stories he has chosen to tell ... so in selecting a comic to represent his oeuvre, I have chosen one which essentially has no story. Originally published (under the title Le Garage HermŽtique de Jerry Cornelius) in monthly two- to four-page segments, Moebius improvised the series as it ran, often with only vague memories of the storyline he had been establishing. The resulting vaguely defined epic comes to a fifteen-page climax which attempts to wrap together the existing plot threads in a grandly superheroic fashion. Essential for anyone with a taste for a Gallic interpretation of surrealistic science fiction.

Alan Moore - From Hell

Bearing little relation to the film adaptation, From Hell remains in my opinion the best English language comic in publication. Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell take the reader through a densely researched depiction of Victorian England during the time of the Jack the Ripper murders. While the presentation is extremely graphic in its presentation of sex and violence, Moore's primary interest is in the cultural environment which created Jack the Ripper and which made him a celebrity; consequently he fingers as the culprit the man whom he felt would make the most articulate expositor of the Victorian ethos, rather than the man he considered the most likely candidate to be the murderer.

Alan Moore - V for Vendetta

One of Moore's earliest projects, the book presents an anarchist terrorist as a romantic hero, pitting him against an authoritarian government. The first several chapters are crude (some to the point of being embarrassing), but the writer's skills improve as the tale progresses. This is one of my personal favorites of Moore's works. The story is told with considerable emotional depth despite the quasi-superheroic rendition of the title character.

Alan Moore- Watchmen

This is one of Moore's most famous comics. It takes the form of a mystery novel, detailing the investigation of several superheroes after one of their own is murdered. I have considerable problems with the series: I find most of the protagonists to be dull, the characterisation of many of the secondary characters to be ill-managed to the point of being caricatures, and the (much-criticised) ending to be simplistic. Nevertheless, it is one of the most technically proficient comics ever written, and remains extremely popular; it gathered much mainstream attention when it was originally released and has been clearly accepted into the comic book equivalent of the literary canon. Whatever my personal feelings, this is worth reading for anyone interested in superhero stories or who would like a glimpse of what has been done with superheroes in the current comics world.

Terry Moore - Strangers in Paradise

Strangers in Paradise is a series about the lives and loves of a group of young American women. The artwork is attractive and accessible. I consider the comics' qualities voyeuristic and meretricious at best, and have never been able to read past a half-dozen pages of any issue. Nevertheless, the series has been much acclaimed for its treatment of female characters, and many consider it an 'essential' comic to use when recommending comic series to female readers.

Grant Morrison - We3

Grant Morrison is one of the industry's most diverse and controversial figures. Hightly imaginative, his comics writing has ranged from illustrated prose poems, to the most mainstream of superhero comics. Unfortunately, some of his best work was done for English publications and I don't expect much of it to be reprinted in accessible forms (such as his anti-fascist tract, The New Adventures of Hitler). One of his most complex series is The Invisibles, about an organisation (or perhaps, a dis-organisation) of countercultural rebels. I considered the first arc to be unnecessarily profane, intellectually sloppy, and narratively incoherent, although readers who enjoy books such as Robert Anton WIlson's Illuminatus novels may give them a try; I have been told that the first volume is the weakest, though have not investigated further. We3 is the Morrison's blood-and-guts rendition of Watership Down. Three pets, a dog, cat, and rabbit, are altered to function as living weapons, and escape to find their way 'home.' The illustrated violence is gratuitously graphic, but the story can't help but tug at the heart strings with expert manipulation.

Jose Munoz and Carlos Sampayo - Billie Holliday

Munoz & Sampayo are best known for the 'Alack Sinner' series of character studies about a down-and-out private detective. Munoz has a deft touch at exploring the darker sides of human emotion, and his prose has a poetic lilt which comes through in the better translations of his work. Sampayo's artwork is stark and impressionistic and sometimes grotesque, not 'pretty' in the standard sense, but perfectly suited to Munoz's themes, which is why the two are most frequent collaborators. The difficult life and haunting artistry of Billie Holliday makes her a perfect subject matter for these cartoonists' styles.


Harvey Pekar - The Best of American Splendor

Harvey Pekar & Robert Crumb - Bob & Harv's Comics

Harvey Pekar has worked as a janitor and a music journalist, among other careers, has been documenting the mundanities of his existence since the 1970's. His scripts, recounting anecdotes of various complexity, are then drawn by a variety of artists (most notably Robert Crumb, discussed elsewhere).

Joe Sacco - Palestine

Joe Sacco - Safe Area Gorazde

Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

Marjane Satrapi lived in Iran during the time of the Shah, and this book recounts her childhood spent during the early years of the reign of the ayatollahs. The artwork is primitive and minimalistic, yet well suited to the story, as she recounts her hopes, dreams and fears during that difficult era. It also serves as an accessible Iranian history lesson, an important subject about which relatively few Americans have bothered to educate themselves.

Gilbert Shelton - The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Vol 1

Gilbert Shelton - The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Vol 2

Gilbert Shelton - The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in "the Idiots Abroad"

Gilbert Shelton is, in my opinion, the greatest humorist to arise from the 60's underground comix movement. The Freak Brothers began as a parody of the hippy movement, but despite the silly, druggy humor, their intrinsically rebellious quality has not dated them at all. The first two volumes track their earliest short adventures; "the Idiots Abroad" is a lengthier, more modern epic.

Dave Sim - Cerebus the Barbarian

Dave Sim - High Society

Dave Sim - Church & State Vol 1

Dave Sim - Church & State Vol 2

Dave Sim - Jaka's Story

Dave Sim - Melmoth

Dave Sim's Cerebus was a unique achievement in comics history: a 300 issue epic, released on a regular monthly schedule, by a single writer and artist. As a writer, Sim is unequalled at presenting a wide variety of voices, with immensely complex and multi-layered characters and plotlines. As an artist, he can convey complex emotions and nuanced actions better than anyone else in the field. The selection of volumes presented here represents the first half of his overall story. Cerebus the Barbarian is Sim's training ground. The series begins as a parody of Conan the Barbarian crossed with Howard the Duck (discussed elsewhere on this page). The opening issue is very rough, with stiff artwork, little in the way of interpersonal dynamic, and unfunny jokes. However, as the book continues, Sim's writing and artwork improve dramatically, and the later sequences show his skill with comedy; in some ways the first book is disposable, but it does introduce many of the characters who become important later on. High Society is Sim's most coherent work; Cerebus finds himself involved in an election, and the humor becomes much sharper as a new set of characters are introduced (including, in my opinion, a successful invocation of the Marx Brothers) and we begin to see Sim's skills with drama and political maneuvering. The two Church & State volumes refine and develop the scenario begun in High Society, as Sim turns his scathing wit on inter-relationships between religion and politics. The tale meanders at times, but his skills as a storyteller reach an apex. Jaka's Story slows the action down as Cerebus becomes a houseguest, and Sim's writing deals with longing and infatuation, as well as adding further to the development of some of the characters from the previous books as well as a new character loosely based on Oscar Wilde. Melmoth is Sim's meditation on death and his tribute to Oscar Wilde; the Cerebus character becomes a bystander as we are presented with a touching evocation of Wilde's last days. Following Melmoth, Sim's work takes a peculiar philosophical turn (at the same time as the humor makes a peculiar turn to the crude), which I find inaccessible, so I am unable to recommend the later volumes with the same enthusiasm. However, the first half of the series remains constantly rewarding.

The Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics

The New Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Stories: From Crumb to Clowes

Art Spiegelman - Maus

Art Spiegelman (ed.) - Read Yourself Raw

Art Spiegelman is one of the universally recognised auteurs of the comics field, from his pioneering Maus to his job as cartoon editor (and frequent cover artist) for the New Yorker. His art style is deliberately uncomplicated and readable, so as not to distract from the emotional complexity of his narratives. Maus has received the most mainstream attention of any comic book in the field, and for all the fine pieces which have been neglected in its wake, the praise is mainly deserved. In it, Spiegelman recounts the life of his father during the years of World War Two, using anthopomorphic animals to represent the human characters (Jews as mice, Germans as cats, etc.); this narrative alternates with scenes set in the present day, as the creator interacts with his father as he interviews him for the historical section. The journey is emotionally harrowing on both ends, and the scenes in Auschwitz carry enough depth to transcend the cartoonish visuals. In its early days, "Maus" was published in serial form in an anthology title, Raw; the series contained a wide variety of cartoonists from America, Europe, and elsewhere; sometimes artistically indulgent, the series had the advantage of retaining "Maus" as its emotional center. The final three issues of the series were published in digest format and are still available (Read Yourself Raw is a sampler from the first three issues).

James Sturm - The Golem's Mighty Swing

An evocative title opens up to an excellently 'high concept' story involving a barnstorming Jewish baseball team and their attempt to evoke the image of the Golem as a publicity stunt. There are some weknesses in the book: the art style makes it difficult to tell some of the characters apart, and more detail spent on drawing the backgrounds would improve the story's 'sense of place'. However, it still manages to evoke with a wistful air the ethnic tensions and cultural background of the amateur teams of the 1930's.

Jacques Tardi - Adele and the Beast: The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

Jacques Tardi - Demon of the Eiffel Tower: The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

Adele Blanc-Sec is a journalist active in pre-WW1 Paris, and one of my favorite comics heroines. Tardi's artwork is similar to the 'clear line' style popular in Europe, with complexly drawn, realistic backgrounds and more simplified human figures; however his characters are drawn in a noirish, flat, almost two-dimensional style which matches the protagonist's endlessly dour and cynical personality. The stories are complex intellectual exercises, with barely comprehensible twists and turns ... but for readers who enjoy the mystery genre and stories which wander into the fantastical, these black-humored 'extraordinary' adventures will certainly be to their taste.

Matt Wagner - Sandman Mystery Theatre

This version of the Sandman was one of the earlier superheroes, premiering in 1939 (a few months after Superman). Matt Wagner's series is set in the original era, but reinterpreted for contemporary readers. Aside from the affectation of donning a gasmask, the title character is presented as a flawed and very human detective, almost unrecognisable as the standard sort of 'superhero,' as he explores the darker and more torrid side of human affairs. His relationship with his female partner, which also dates back to the original series, is one of the most affecting and realistically presented romantic couplings in comic books, in which both characters are consistently intelligent; it develops in credibly, free of overwrought soap operatics. Only the first volume of the series of collections is listed here.

Chris Ware - Jimmy Corrigan

Chris Ware writes about depression, isolation, and the tedium of modern life. His artwork is stripped-down and basic in a style which perfectly suits the subject matter. Ware's playfulness side can be viewed in the novelty of his mazelike layouts. I find the Jimmy Corrigan stories to be tiresome and uninvolving due to their lack of emotional range, though the book has received considerable praise and Ware has a large following.

Keiji Nakazawa - Barefoot Gen Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima

Keiji Nakazawa - Barefoot Gen Volume Two: The Day After

Keiji Nakazawa - Barefoot Gen Volume Three: Life After the Bomb

Keiji Nakazawa - Barefoot Gen Volume Four: Out of the Ashes

Mike Baron and Steve Rude - Nexus Archives Volume One

Mike Baron and Steve Rude - Nexus Archives Volume Two

Nexus is a superhero (or super-antihero) story set in the distant future. The protagonist receives horrific dreams of mass murders, and finds himself granted amazing abilities to act as their executioner. Along the way he finds love, becomes embroiled in political crises, and sinks into existential despair. The artwork on the early issues is comparitively crude, but artist Steve Rude soon refined his skills, and the series became one of the best-drawn titles of the 1980's. For all its serious underpinnings, the series maintains a lighthearted tone, and is a lot of fun to read.

Evan Dorkin - Hectic Planet Volume Two: Checkered Past

Evan Dorkin - Hectic Planet Volume Three: The Young and the Reckless

Evan Dorkin started writing and drawing this series under the title Pirate Corp$, telling lightweight science fiction stories; these are disposable and contained within Volume One. Eventually two of the cast members, Halby and Blue, became the focus of the series as the tale shifted to a humorous soap opera (while still maintaining the science fictional setting). The writer has worked on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, and is one of the most notable humorists in comics right now. Hectic Planet (as Pirate Corp$ evolved into) is his labor of love.

Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog - Marvel Essentials: Frankenstein

This high point of this 1970's volume is the opening adaptation of the original novel drawn by Mike Ploog, whose art well captures the drama of the subject matter (Ploog has since gone on to animation, though he has occasionally returned to draw fantasy comics). The series continues in the modern day, with competantly told horror stories as the monster of Frankenstein proceeds through his tormented existence.

Neil Gaiman and Chris Bachalo - Death, the High Cost of Living

Neil Gaimin & Charles Vess - Stardust

Steve Gerber & Gene Colan - Essential Howard The Duck

Howard the Duck was a unique comic from the 70's, which spawned a small host of imitators (including the alternative comic series Quack, and well as Cerebus, discussed elsewhere on this page). Howard is a cartoon duck from an alternate universe (later referred to as 'Duckworld'), who finds himself trapped on Earth. He's no Disney character though; he is tough, cynical, and prone to bouts of depression; his incongruity with his surroundings is symbolic of his existential angst and alienation. It's all played for laughs, though, and author Gerber's humor is at its broadest here. Many of the jokes are specific parodies of superhero comics, and many are badly dated to the 70's milieu, but the series remains entertaining for the black-humored or those looking for an off-kilter take on standard superhero cliches.

Steve Gerber & Jim Mooney - Omega the Unknown

An unjustifiably obscure series, Omega is my favorite of the author's various projects, and one of the high points of the 1970's - early 80's so-called 'Marvel Renaissance' which was eventually ended by the company's coming under the reign of a new (and more responsible) editor-in-chief. Michael Chabon counts among the series' fans as well. It tells the story of James-Michael Starling, a complex and intellectual teenager, as he finds himself orphaned and lost in the violent school environment of Hell's Kitchen. At the same time, he discovers a strange connection to a silent, alien superhero named Omega. Steve Gerber intended the series to be, to a degree, autobiographical, and the emotional commitment shows. Unfortunately, the comic was cancelled before the storyline was completed, and the cliffhanger was finally discharged under the auspices of a different writer, who in the opinion of some of its fans, did his best to ruin the characters.

Koiko/Ikagami - Mai the Psychic Girl

Scott McCloud - Zot!

Zot is a lighthearted adventure series about a heroic boy from another world who visits ours, meets a young girl named Jenny and her older brother Butch, and involves them in an interplanetary struggle. There's a serious underpinning to the tale though; McCloud is an adept humorist, but the emotions ring true and actions are shown to have real (and sometimes dangerous) consequences.

Don McGregor & P. Craig Russell - Marvel Essentials: War of the Worlds

Starting off as a very standard sci-fi adventure series, by the end of the series it became prototypical of the 1970's - early 80's so-called 'Marvel Renaissance' (actually receiving a cutting parody in an issue of Howard the Duck) which was eventually ended by the company's coming under the reign of a new (and more responsible) editor-in-chief. The premise of the series is that H.G. Wells' Martian invaders return to Earth, immunised against the diseases which felled them the first time, and conquer the planet. Most humans are subjegated and treated as farm animals, but a small number of Freemen, led by a former gladiator known as Killraven, attempts to fight back. The first chapters are extremely mainstream, but once writer Don McGregor takes over, he increases the intensity of the stories and brings his poetic prose sensibility to bear. The artwork, once it is turned over to P. Craig Russell (who has since been working on opera adaptations discussed elsewhere on the page), is some of the finest done for a superhero comic.

Carla Speed McNeil - Finder

Hayao Miyazaki - Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind

John Ostrander - Grimjack

Jim Ottavani (ed.) - Two Fisted Science

Wendy & Richard Pini - Elfquest

The original Elfquest series was one of the most popular independent comics of the 80's. The art style is deceptively cute, masking the serious, life or death struggles in which the characters find themselves. The characters are extremely likeable, and the quest in the title takes them through some highly unexpected plot twists, particularly in the final book in the series.


P. Craig Russell - opera adaptions

P. Craig Russell is one of comic's foremost symbolist artists, and his recent years have been spent adapting famous operas into comics form. His complex designs and melodramatic presentations perfectly suit the subject matter, and it's an introduction to some of the characters and plots of classic stories which may either ease the reader into an appreciation of the form, or (for those who can't abide the music) a way to enjoy the benefits of the fantastical stories without the turgid music.

Jeff Smith - Bone (I need help here as I dislike the series too much to describe it honestly)

Bryan Talbot - The Tale of One Bad Rat

Bryan Talbot, mainly known for his 'head' comics and his surrealistic, alternate-reality crossing, Michael Moorcock-influenced science fiction, tells a very different story here about a teenage girl on the run from her physically and emotionally abusive parents. She takes to the streets of London and then heads north, eventually finding her way to a personal resolution and self-acceptance. Along the way she takes solace in the works of Beatrix Potter and in her relationship with her pet rat. The writing is emotionally intense without being depressing or melodramatic; Talbot's artwork, always a treat for the eyes, is at its finest here as it captures the feelings of the myriad characters as well as the settings in which they find themselves.

Craig Thomson - Blankets

Blankets is Craig Thomson's first graphic novel, and it shows an impressive beginning talent. The story's teen protagonist encounters his first love, and both must deal with a restrictive religious background. The psychology is realistically handled as the characters explore their feelings about sexuality and rebellion.

Ivan Velez Jr - Tales of the Closet

Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan - Marvel Essentials: Tomb of Dracula

This was one of the most well-known horror comics of the 70's. Marv Wolfman (who later became known for writing the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, as well as inventing the current version of the Teen Titans), penned an intense series about the lord of vampires operating in the modern day. Gene Colan's expressionistic artwork was perfectly suited to the dark subject matter. Wolfman assembles a diverse cast of very human characters to oppose Dracula, and his characterisation and sense of epic was at its peak here.