Ok, I am by no means a comic book expert and I’m not trying to pass myself off as one. However, it is a medium and art form that I’ve had an interest in for some time and thanks to taking a comic book module in my last year of university and listening to/watching fantastic podcasts/videos from iFanboy (which if you’re interested in comics or want to know where to start, is incredibly useful and entertaining) my interest and passion for comic books and graphic novels has truly grown. Graphic novels are one of the most underrated and disrespected art forms around, they are constantly seen as childish and stupid when really the variation in genres and styles in this medium is more wide and varied than what you will find in cinema or even classic literature. In many ways graphic novels are the mid-point between prose and film, two greatly respected mediums, and I hope one day graphic novels receive the same respect. Anywhos, here are my top 5 graphic novels/series that I have read so far, the more graphic novels/series I read, the more top 5’s I plan on putting on the blog.

If you’re not familiar with the books I’m talking about, I may as well say it now rather than later… Spoilers!

5. Batman: Year One– Written by Frank Miller, Illustrated by David Mazzucchelli

When it comes to Batman, Frank Miller is the authority and the go to guy. With the release of Miller’s The Dark Knight returns in 1986, along with Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Art Spiegelman’s Maus, not only did Miller revolutionise the comic medium, but he changed Batman forever, (no Val Kilmer pun intended). Before Miller, Batman hadn’t progressed much from his Adam West days, but with TDKR Miller created the modern Batman we all know, love and now recognise from the hugely successful Nolan trilogy; that of a dark, brooding, complex, psychologically damaged and compulsive hero. These character traits that Miller created for Brucie have come to define the character forever more. Though I appreciate and respect what Miller did with TDKR, I think to truly enjoy the book to its full potential you needed to be there in 1986 upon its release when everything to do with Batman, as well as the comic book medium itself, changed. Since then we have had so many awesome and in my opinion better interpretations of the character, such as the already mention Nolan films, the now forgotten yet amazingly gothic looking Batman of the Tim Burton films, as well as other great writers’ interpretations of the character, such as Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke and Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. Also let us not forget the amazing Arkham Asylum and Arkham City video games or the brilliantly dark Batman: The Animated Series from Paul Dini in the early 90s. It is because of this that TDKR is not on my list, what is on my list however is Miller’s Batman: Year One. Year One was originally published only a year after TDKR, and although it is a much shorter book, all this means is that the story is more condensed and concise. The story follows Bruce Wayne‘s return to Gotham City and his first year as being Batman. The parallel story line to this is Jim Gordon’s rise through the ranks of the Gotham City Police Department. The story may sound familiar, that’s because it was basically the template for Nolan’s Batman Begins, a great film based on a great book. Unlike TDKR in which Miller both wrote and drew the story, Miller left the illustrations up to David Mazzucchelli. Miller usually goes for grotesque, over sized looking characters, and though I like this style, certainly in his later works such as Sin City, I find Mazzucchelli’s more conventional style more aesthetically pleasing, as not only does it look more cinematic, but the bright pages pop and the dark pages evoke the sinister themes of the book, and I believe this style invites comic newbies in and embraces them, rather than frightening them away with abstract or overly complex illustrations. All in all this is a great book, and as it focuses on Batman’s origins, it is a good place for any comic book virgin to pop their cherry.

4. Superman: Red Son– Written by Mark Millar, Illustrated by Andrew Robinson and Kilian Plunkett

I am by no means a fan of Superman, this is actually the only Superman book I have ever read. I am not even a fan of the films and I can’t actually recall if I have ever sat down and properly watched any of the old Christoper Reeves films and I thought Byran Singer’s Superman Returns was only ok, but not brilliant. This year’s Man of Steel had a great opening and was a decent enough film until the last 30 minutes or so when it felt like Zack Snyder suddenly stopped directing the film and handed it over to Michael Bay, so he could make a ridiculous amount of destruction and unbearable fight scenes that take over any idea of plot or realism in the film. I still find the best live action interpretation of Superman to be, purely because of nostalgia, the corny Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and I haven’t even watched that in 16 years! This rant may make you feel that I absolutely hate Superman, but this isn’t true, I respect the character because in many ways he was the first American comic book super-hero, and without the character where would the likes of DC and Marvel be, and how would the pop culture landscape look without super heroes dominating our cinema screens, game consoles and now even our TV? The world would be a very dull and boring place without super-heroes and their eccentric villains and interesting lives, and though we can never truly know what the state of the comic book industry would be like without Superman, it is still very clear that he was the first of his kind and paved the way for the likes of other popular DC heroes such as Batman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern, as well as Marvel’s X-Men, Spider-man and the rest of the now very popular Marvel Universe.

As I have so far made very clear I respect but do not particularly like Superman, this is mainly because he is too straight laced and therefore boring, especially in comparison to the psychologically messed up Bruce Wayne and charming Tony Stark. Also, in terms of his super-powers and abilities, he has everything, and only one weakness, Kryptonite. Therefore there is no sense of danger or drama with Superman, and we can therefore never truly engage with the character, which makes reading any Superman comic seem pointless and redundant. So why is a Superman book number four on my list I hear you ask? It is because in Superman: Red Son, Mark Millar has taken everything Superman stands for and has represented in pop culture for the last half a century; the all American, patriotic hero, and has turned the character’s mythos completely on its head by making Superman a communist who instead of landing on a farm in the heartland of America, Kansas, lands in Communist Ukraine. This change occurs because Millar asks the simple question, what if Superman landed on earth at a different time and therefore a different place, resulting in Clark landing in Ukraine instead of America.

This whole premise is what makes the book so brilliant, as instead of seeing a flag waving American, we see a Superman that fully supports Stalin and Communism and therefore stands opposed to America and all its ideals. I have always found Communist and Russian artwork and propaganda visually striking and stunning, so I therefore find the cover of this book, as well as the single pages of Superman/Communist propaganda which runs throughout the book brilliant. The artwork throughout the entire book is rather conventional, but still rather pleasing and easy for a new comer to the medium. Also, the fact that this book is a one off and was part of DC’s Elseworlds stories, a section of DC which published ‘what if’ stories for iconic characters and their origins, means that as a reader, you don’t have to be bogged down in Superman’s history and back catalogue to fully enjoy and appreciate Millar’s story.

3. The Walking Dead: Volumes 1-8- Written by Robert Kirkman, Illustrated by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard

I’ll admit that I never wanted to actually read The Walking Dead, my girlfriend, and fellow contributor to this blog, started picking them up after we started watching and loving the AMC TV show. However, once the first volume was bought I thought I’d give it a go, if I didn’t like it or didn’t find it as good as the TV show, it wouldn’t matter because the first volume is relatively short, and at least I’d be passing my time reading a comic. Upon starting it, and still to this day after reading 15 volumes, I found I disliked the artwork. Not only is it not in colour, which is very common for graphic novels outside of the Marvel and DC spectrum, but I just found the actual style unappealing. It seems as though it doesn’t know what it wants to be, and ends up being a mis-match between cartoony and realistic. What did impress me however was the story and the characters. It seems Kirkman’s goal with this series was not to be a typical zombie story which are typically all gore and horror, but with no depth. Instead Kirkman has crafted a story that focuses more on normal people and how they, i.e. us, would deal with such a horrific situation, that of a zombie apocalypse taking over humanity. The fact that a reason or cause is never given by Kirkman, and we actually miss the beginning of the outbreak, as the main protagonist of the story, Rick Grimes, is in a comma at the time, emphasises the point that Kirkman doesn’t care about the actual zombies, but more so how such a shocking event would revert humanity back to a primeval state, in which mortgages, bills and what’s trending on Twitter no longer matters. Nothing matters, expect surviving.

The fact that this deep narrative is focused on and infused with a fine amount of gore, horror and plenty of shocks makes the first 8 volumes of The Walking Dead truly engaging and masterful. Even though the very first volume includes a shocking death, it’s safe to say that the first couple of volumes are slow-burners, however this is ok, as it fully develops the state of the world that the characters find themselves in, as well as the characters themselves. The plot builds and builds to volume 8, where there is a definite explosive climax as the vast majority of the characters die in shocking and savage ways.

Sadly my love and interest for The Walking Dead also died at volume 8, as the 7 volumes I have read since then have been incredibly boring with few sparks of interest or creativity which made the first 8 volumes so great. I appreciate that after the bloodbath that was Volume 8, Kirkman may have wanted to take it slow for a few volumes and build up a whole new plot arc which would reach another dramatic climax, however this still hasn’t happened. What Kirkman has given us in the last few volumes seems to be mere re-treads of previous plot lines, with no clear plot arc or ending in sight. This disappoints me as it feels as though Kirkman is now milking a dead cow purely to keep his pay checks from Image Comics high, as well as keeping the idea of the TV series going for many more years.

If, like me, you love the TV show, then it’s your choice if you want to read these comics or not, as though there are some differences and alterations between the show and the books, such as when certain characters die, and Daryl Dixon, the show’s most popular character who doesn’t appear in the comics, it’s still fair to say that the first three seasons of the show mirror the first 8 volumes pretty closely. This therefore makes the pleasure and enjoyment of reading these books seem almost redundant if you have watched the first three seasons of the show.

2. Maus- Written and Illustrated by Art Spiegelman

If there was ever a graphic novel to give to someone who had the ignorant view that comics are childish and futile, then Art Spiegelman’s Maus is the perfect example. Everything about this book screams mature, serious and dramatic. The story is biographical as it is the story of Spiegelman’s father and his horrific time during World War 2. Art’s father was a Polish Jew during the rise and reign of the Nazi’s over most of central Europe, and therefore faced the harsh life of a hated and despised Jew who was forced to live a subhuman life in the ghettos before struggling to survive the terrible ordeal of the concentration camps and the Jewish Holocaust. Pretty tough going for a simple comic book hey? The black and white colouring and sketchy drawing style adds grit and tries to recreate on an aesthetic level the harsh realities of the time. This helps the tone and feel of the book and never once as a reader do you wish for giant splash pages of bright, obtrusive colour.

Looking at the front cover of this book, which focuses on a pair of cute mice, it is actually quite easy to mistake this book for a simple child’s comic. However, the visual metaphors used in this book, that of the Jews being mice and the Nazi’s being cats, helps emphasise the relationship these two sets of people had, that of hunter and hunted, predator and prey, and certainly wasn’t included to appease a younger audience.

This book should not only be greatly respected for what it did for the perception of comics, as it proved comics could be mature, dramatic and acceptable for an adult audience, but it was also one of the first pieces of art to focus and dissect the horror of the Holocaust. It may be hard to believe for a modern audience who are well aware of the tragedies of the Holocaust through the likes of Schindler’s List and The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, but there was a time when the Western World was not fully prepared to accept the horrors of what went on. Spiegelman paved the way with Maus, and opened the floodgates for survivors to tell their stories, as well as for artists and story tellers to use this rich dramatic backdrop for stories full of fact and fiction.

Even if this book didn’t have the Holocaust as its major plot line, the fact Spiegelman pulls no punches when presenting his broken and strained relationship with his father should be respected, as it is as engaging, frustrating, sad and sometimes blackly comical.

I don’t think I can truly explain how incredible and important this book is, not only to comics, but to literature and story-telling as a whole, it won the Pulitzer Prize after all, and I am so glad that Spiegelman is a man who believes in integrity as he has never sold the rights to the book. This has meant that no heartless, soul-less film studio who wanted to ride on the back of the book’s success has been allowed to make a terrible adaption of the book for a quick and easy buck. To be honest, I don’t think there is a film-maker alive who could grapple with this source material and win, as not only would they have to keep the characters looking like mice, cats and dogs etc. which would therefore make it look like a family friendly film, but the intense and graphic depictions of innocent Jewish people burning alive would also have to be included, therefore making it quite the opposite of a family friendly film and would no doubt offend and disturb many people.

1. Sin City: Volumes 1-7- Written and Illustrated by Frank Miller

From one type of very mature comic to another. The picture I have included on the left does a pretty good job at summing up the violence, grit and beautiful brutality that defines Frank Miller’s finest work in my humble opinion. Every volume of Sin City is priceless, from its distinct stark black and white style, to its noir homages, brutal story lines and characters that you manage to grow such strong attachments to in one book. These books are graphic brilliance.

I became aware of Sin City, and its brilliant creator through the 2005 film adaption which was directed by both Miller and Robert Rodriguez. I am so thankful that this film was made, as not only did it usher me into a new world of mature and independent cinema, but it was the film that first introduced me to the brilliant Robert Rodriguez, and in turn Quentin Tarantino, who both remain two of my favourite directors of all time. The film also introduced me to Frank Miller and through this film my intense interest in comics and graphic novels began. Both Miller and Rodriguez should be applauded for the 2005 adaptation, as not only is it a visually striking film, but along with Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation, Sin City has to be one of the most faithful adaptations of a comic book I have ever seen. This is mainly because Rodriguez said himself that he wanted to make the film look like a comic book come to life, and he certainly achieved that.

The fact that the film adaptation is so faithful means that if you are a fan of the film then you will certainly enjoy the books. If you think that you’ve seen the film so what’s the point in reading any of the books, well I’ll tell you. The Sin City film is made up of three different Sin City books, The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard. This means that there are another four volumes of Miller’s world of noir to read, and they are certainly worth a read.

I’m a sucker for continuity and shared universes, that’s why I’m such a massive fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tarantino’s Universe and any long running franchise or TV show that manages to connect and link up plot points and characters. This is another reason why I am such a massive fan of the Sin City series. There are so many moments in each book where primary characters from other books will pop up and play a minor role. There are also some moments which though happen once, can be seen in multiple books. This helps create a living breathing Basin City, the setting of the books, and emphasises that though all the books don’t connect to tell one long story and are instead more like anthologies, there are still connections that run throughout the entire series, and when you notice those moments of certain background characters, the reading of the books becomes so much more rewarding and fun.

Like Maus and The Walking Dead, Sin City is certainly a comic book series for a mature audience as the books frequently show moments of extreme violence, death, sex, nudity, fetishes and torture. These are troupes that are quite common in Miller’s work, but it is only in this series, set in such a corrupt and evil world, that such graphic images feel necessary and not just forced in by Miller for shock value. Miller has a weird and disturbing skill at making such horrible images come across as beautifully drawn pieces of modern art and remains one of the best, but also, one of the most controversial comic book writers/artists around, and though he may miss the mark with some of his more recent material and public outbursts, the man still retains my respect as the great story teller and artist he is.

The biggest problem with the Sin City series is the disappointment when you put down the last book and realise there are no more to read, especially when there are so many minor characters that Miller has created that would do a great job at being the primary hero or villains of their own story, or in the case of my favourite character, Jackie Boy, deserve their own origin/back story.

We Miller fans can at least take solace in the fact that next year we will finally be able to see the long-time rumoured sequel to the 2005 film, entitled Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, which will not only adapt more of the comics, but will also include brand new Sin City stories and characters. Exciting times!

Be sure to check out my next lot of Top 5 Graphic Novels/Comic Series, as well as any other blog posts!

By Joe