Anyone like graphic novels? What are you reading?

[RubaiyatOfAnyone]

Many years ago, pre-children, i used to love graphic novels and read tons. I got into them with Sandman in my teens, and read loads over my 20s, from Preacher to The Invisibles, Hellblazer to Gloom Cookie. (I also have a degree and MA in English Lit for anyone worrying about my reading habits, i just really like the combo of art and story in graphic novels).

my kids are now old enough that i have occasional flashes of free time. in a fit of nostalgia went looking for a new graphic novel to read, but everything out there seems to be either

1. 2D superhero marvel/dc stuff which struggles to be interesting;
2. real life accounts of depression or abuse or similar struggles which are not my bag in graphic or standard novels; or
3. ULTRA violent, and to a certain extent misogynistic.

Vertigo publishing which used to do quite a bit i wanted to read has closed down, and no one else seems to be trying to market to the “intelligent, literate, adult, and women-friendly” market.

the only good graphic novels i’ve read recently are some of the “Phoenix Presents” ones my 9yr old DS gets from the Phoenix comic, and they are great but marketed at 9-12 yrs old.

what is everyone else enjoying at the moment?

Saga? Or The Wicked and the Divine?

I'm a fan of horror type ones as well as sci-fi, favourites include Postal, The Beauty, Nailbiter, and Wytches. These are all a few years old now, I don't get much reading of any kind done at the moment with 2 under 3!

I recently bought my first graphic novel, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. I read the book a long time ago, and it was also serialised on r4. It's a political story written in the early part of the last century I think, about a team of painters and decorators and their exploitation. Quite a famous book. I saw an artist had done the drawings, so I bought it.
i used to read graphic classic comics as a child, Wuthering Heights etc etc.

@Burgerqueenbee thank you! I hadn’t heard of the Wicked & the Divine - just ordered to the first volume to try.

i did used to read Saga and had completely forgotten about it, so i’m excited to see they’ve published some more since i thought it had finished.

i don’t think - post children - i could stomach horror comics, as i seem to have a really low gore threshold now, but i’m going to look into the titles you listed and have a good nosy. Thank you for so many new ideas!

@FizzingAda that looks a good one, thank you, i shall give it a go.

if you like classics, may i also recommend “Poems to see by” by Julian Peters which illustrates famous poems. It made me love T S Elliot’s The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” which i hadn’t been gripped by before.

I highly recommend Kindred as a graphic novel. It was originally written by Octavia Butler and was then visualized 30 years later in 2017.

@JingsMahBucket ooh, thanks. I’ve just read the teviews of that and it looks fabulous. On the list!

Not a graphic ’novel’ but an autobiography - Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi is a must-read (the film’s good too!) www.waterstones.com/book/persepolis-i-and-ii/marjane-satrapi/9780099523994

'Alison' is good https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alison-stunning-emotional-graphic-illustrator/dp/1788169069/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=OBSONW13RLSB&keywords=alison+graphic+novel&qid=1701035508&sprefix=alison+graph%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1

'Sabrina' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sabrina-Nick-Drnaso/dp/1783784903/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=3BJWOUG9PBY8X&keywords=sabrina&qid=1701035651&sprefix=sabrina%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2

Not gonna lie, I mostly read Bunny vs Monkey these days 😁
But also currently reading When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed & Victoria Jamieson, which is a really good autobiography.

I usually go for offbeat humour so would always recommend:
Rat Queens
Bad Machinery
Scott Pilgrim
Chew

There's a great comic shop, Page45 in Nottingham, which does a monthly recommendation, all sorts of great graphic novels to get inspiration.

@LifeofBrienne i’m not going to lie, i know Persopolis is incredibly well thought of but i tried to read it when it came out and it was so grindingly depressing i just couldn’t. I know it is autobiography and all real, but i read for entertainment and plot so it really isn’t aimed at me.

@Tiddlywinkly thank you - Alison looks very interesting and beautiful, i’ll definitely give that a go. Sabrina looks exactly how i’d expect the graphic equivalent of a booker shortlist book to look, and i usually treat the booker as a helpful list of books to avoid, so i might skip that for now 😊

There's a good version of King Lear, illustrated by Ian Pollock, published by Can of Worms Press. I was going to recommend "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel, but it's another autobiographical one, so you might not like it.

@SandcastleQueen thank you - never heard if Rat Queens or Bad Machinery but they sound right up my street. ordered!

@MaudGone that King Lear does look interesting, thank you. Yes, Fun Home is one i’m aware of but it very much comes under my category (2) in my OP, not so much a fun read.

Ps @SandcastleQueen i also, sadly, am often reading Bunny v monkey. The shame…

Slightly more grown up than Bunny v Monkey, have you read Lumberjanes? Have you read Posy Simmonds? She might hit the spot. The Guardian does a Graphic novel of the month which might have some suitable suggestions. Otherwise here are some I've enjoyed recently:

Esther's Notebooks 1. Tales from my ten-year-old life by Riad Sattouf. Based on a year of weekly interviews with the daughter of a friend of the author. Captures the voice of a 10-11 year old really well.

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. YA and my DC are obsessed but a light fun read.

Aya, Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie set the Ivory Coast in the 1980s might be fun as well.

Ah - I was going to recommend Persepolis too but I see you’ve already tried it.

Such a fantastic book, and full of humour and sharp satire.

Neverlanders by Tom Taylor is brilliant. Clever story based on Peter Pan (with a swearing Tinkerbell).

I was recommended this dystopian graphic novel which is so good. It’s a little bit titillating so you might read it as mysoginistic as there are females who are scantily dressed BUT they are kick ass strong women so I could overlook this … and there is some violence but nothing extreme, it’s an excellent story about a dystopian society which felt original. Love finding gems like this. Artwork is amazing

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0957291469/ref=tmmpapswatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I also read my kids Bunny v Monkey - which is linked to the phoenix comic - bit silly and their only strips not full narratives but I do enjoy them

Book marking!
I gave upon graphic novels same reasons as you op.
looking forward to some stuff to enjoy!
(and yes, bunny versus monkey is the only thing I’ve read recently! It’s good 😀)

Might have to read the Bunny vs Monkey book I got for DS myself at this rate!

and I forgot about this series which I borrowed from my daughter- think I enjoyed it more than her!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Netflix-Original-Collection-Stephen-Pearson/dp/952654031X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=36JDCJ1T9TPNU&keywords=hilda+books&qid=1701071826&sprefix=hilda%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

Have you read the Fables series, about fairy tale characters living in New York? They are good.

Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley (of Scott Pilgrim fame) is great, too.

@JaninaDuszejko that's a FABULOUS list, thank you. I've ordered Lumberjanes, and i'm delighted to see that Posy Simmonds has a sequel to Literary Life which i loved but somehow never thought to look up for other stuff by.
Have added all your other suggestions to my now growing 'To Be Read' list.

I know - i'm slightly disappointed in myself that i don't love the very literary and worthwhile ones, but i just don't. i'm definitely a "for escapism and fun" reader.

I do think this thread is doing a good job of highlighting the massive spectrum under the broad heading of 'graphic novel' though. It's long past the time that sniffy readers could dismiss them as mere comics.