Help me build a good graphic novel starter collection for my library

[davy]

Here's what I've got so far: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/XGV7LUF623Y6/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o

Trying to strike a balance between the more serious and the more entertaining, etc. Omissions? Suggestions?

Keep in mind, this is an academic library at a small private liberal arts college. For whatever that's worth.

[davy]

Also, we already have 15 or so in the collection, which is the reason Habibi and Stitches, et al. aren't on this list.

[YojimboMonkey]

it's a good list. some hellblazer trades would be ace, Dangerous Habits for sure and I'd probably go with Original Sins, which is the first 9 or so issues of the monthly title. Under no circumstances should you get Son of Man though, which is so terrible that I have to believe Ennis wrote it to get himself kicked off the title.

[Greg Nog]

That's a great list!  The mention of Seth makes me think of Joe Matt and Chester Brown; maybe Fair Weather and Louis Riel?

I really like Eddie Campbell, too, so I might say Alec or Bacchus for him.

And Joe Sacco, who I don't like that much, but is Important.  Though I wouldn't be surprised if Palestine is already in the "15 or so" you mentioned.

Are you thinking about any newspaper comics, too?  If so, I'd throw in at least one Peanuts collection, the new Pogo collection that just came out, and at least one Dykes To Watch Out For collection.

EDIT: oh fuck yes Jim is right Dangerous Habits definitely.
And along the lines of British writers who say Bastard a lot, maybe the first Authority?  Maybe Planetary?  Both academically-fertile for talking about deconstruction of tropes, as well as pulpy fun in their own right.

[YojimboMonkey]

On the silly end of things, I've always been a fan of Camelot 3000, but I can't really bring myself to recommend it seriously.

If you've got some budget you might look into some Lone Wolf & Cub (specifically the Dark Horse editions which are sized more like a paperback book but are more complete than the earlier First Comics translations) but that runs to 28 books.

[clare]

Need more Shaun Tan (The Arrival (can't be without it) and The Rabbits (with some text by John Marsden) specifically.  
Grant Morrison Animal Man is worth it if I remember right
Enigma I can't remember who by...

You probably oughta get all the Sandman, not just vol1

(I initially couldn't see Maus, but finally found it.)

[Greg Nog]

Oh!  Lone Wolf and Cub reminds me that Usagi Yojimbo is actually really fucking good; get Grasscutter, maybe?

[YojimboMonkey]

Grant Morrison Animal Man is worth it if I remember right

Yes and also Doom Patrol

[bethany_m]

Lynda Barry! One Hundred Demons is a good one. Also anything by Gabrielle Bell.

[Greg Nog]

Oh!  How did I forget Leviathan!  This is my number one rec, actually.

[YojimboMonkey]

Batman: The Killing Joke might be pretty good too, it's one of the better treatments of The Joker out there & informed both the 1989 Jack Nicholson and the 2008 Heath Ledger film versions.

[Chet]

is it just me or is the drawing in batman: Year One AWFUL?

[DCDave]

I have started reading "The Unwritten" and it is really good.

[alistarr*]

Batman: The Killing Joke might be pretty good too, it's one of the better treatments of The Joker out there & informed both the 1989 Jack Nicholson and the 2008 Heath Ledger film versions.

I know very little about this stuff but I really like this book, so I guess I second this but also that my opinion should count for very little!

[G.C.R]

This is a great list, but if you're looking to omit anything, for such a small collection, do you need 2 Adrian Tomine books? I mean, I like Tomine, but if you have limited funds in that respect, I'd maybe sub in some Gabrielle Bell/Aline Kominsky-Crumb/Debbie Dreschler for one of his. And 100% backing Bethany on the Lynda Barry, and Greg on the Dykes to Watch Out For. Or how bout some of Kochalka's better kids stuff, like Peanut Butter and Jeremy's Best Book Ever? 

[fishjim]

I haven't read a whole lot of these, but I love most everything Alison Bechdel's done. Also Crumb's Book of Genesis and Eric Drooker's Flood.

[hannah]

My favorite Sacco is Footnotes in Gaza.

[davy]

Awesome suggestions, guys! Thanks! Keep 'em coming!

Greg, I read Leviathan over the break and man, I didn't get it at all! I even read like a cheat sheet about it and still that shit was way over my head.

[Babar]

Wow, thank you for allowing us be a part of this.

Grant Morrison Animal Man is worth it if I remember right

Yes and also Doom Patrol

Yes. Yes. Yes. Gotta have some Morrison.

Batman: The Killing Joke might be pretty good too, it's one of the better treatments of The Joker out there & informed both the 1989 Jack Nicholson and the 2008 Heath Ledger film versions.

Another great suggestion and if you could, go for this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Universe:_The_Stories_of_Alan_Moore It's a collection of everything Alan Moore has written for DC Comics using their universe. It includes formerly mentioned The Killing Joke but also Moore's take on superheroes like Green Lantern, Superman and the Omega Men. My favorite aside from The Killing Joke is Mogo Doesn't Socialize, a fantastic short story within the Green Lantern canon.

I will also recommend Osamu Tezuka's Buddha. It's an eight volume graphic novel about the life of Buddha by the godfather of Japanese manga, both drawn and written. Great story and an affectionate silly humor pops up every once in the while. Buddhism is fun.

People of all age will enjoy The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck and it's companion The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion about the life and times of Scrooge McDuck written by Don Rosa. It chronicles the beginning of Scrooge's life in Scotland as a young boy and his rise to success and becoming the richest duck in the world. It's based around the original stories from the creator of Scrooge, Carl Barks, and Rosa only considers Barks' stories canonical. I'm sure Finn would love it but believe, you will too.

Lastly let's throw in Crisis on Multiple Earths by Gardner Fox. I think it would cover the Silver Age of comic book heroes pretty well. It's a collection of stories about the JLA where they team up with JSA. This was the beginning of the DC multiverse where JLA are from Earth 1 and JSA from Earth 2. If you're confused by these acronyms, JLA are a collection of superheroes in their second carnation (silver age), their carnation in the 60s while JSA are the same collection of superheroes in their first carnation (golden age) beginning with Superman in 1932. The book collects stories from the 60s where these superheroes all team up and it's revealed that there are multiple universes and the heroes from both the golden age and silver age coexist in parallel universes. As the years went by DC went kind of crazy with the multiverse and it finally blew up with Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. Unfortunately Crisis on Infinite Earths is a huge drought out bore. But with Crisis on Multiple Earths you get these funky multiverse stories with an all star collection of superheroes from both the Golden age and the Silver age so canonically I would say something like this would be great for a library to have. Plus, you know, it's really fun.

Have fun ordering a bunch of great comics of your choice my man.

[Nick Ink]

We have an amazing graphic novel store here in Brighton, in the North Lane, and I often wander around it in awe of the whole thing, even though I've never really read any:



What I'm more interested in though is things aimed (primarily/partly) at children. I grew up on comics - 2000 AD was my favourite one (Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and all that) and I think my older daughter would love something like that. She's got a really nice Doctor Who graphic story hardback that she loved, and she's always trying to draw her own, so it would be great to find something inspiring with good art that wasn't full of corpses and bondage.

So, not to hijack the thread, but I wonder if LPTJ has any suggestions for graphic comics/novels for 8-12 year-olds?

[Babar]

Nick, this:



and when she's finished, you read it. I remember when I was about 10-12 and I'd make myself a cup of tea with candice on the side and read Don Rosa comics like they were prestigious literary classics, giving myself time to ponder thoughtfully after finishing each story. Revisiting these stories a few years later, neatly organized in graphic novels, was a different experience but just as enjoyable and I really appreciated the attention to detail in the artwork.

[Nick Ink]

Interesting Babar, thank you.

[Antero]

Wow, thank you for allowing us be a part of this.

Grant Morrison Animal Man is worth it if I remember right

Yes and also Doom Patrol

Yes. Yes. Yes. Gotta have some Morrison.

The Invisibles! 

[jm]

Wow, thank you for allowing us be a part of this.

Grant Morrison Animal Man is worth it if I remember right

Yes and also Doom Patrol

Yes. Yes. Yes. Gotta have some Morrison.

The Invisibles!

[fishjim]

Just remembered one more: The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis (2011). I got it for Christmas this year and it's wonderful. It's a retelling of the famous 12th century Persian poem by Attar, heavily abridged but with a good deal of the story communicated graphically rather than textually. I think it works.