What non-Japanese Graphic Novels do you Love?

[Tatsuki]

What are your Favorite non-Japanese Graphic Novels?
There are so many incredible graphic novels that do not originate in Japan! I personally love graphic novels from all genres all over the world, so let's discuss the gems here!

My personal favorites include:
<Memoir>
Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
It's about the author's experiences as a kid in Iran during the revolution. It's funny and touching. I recommend it to everyone. It was recently made into an animated movie, but the first graphic novel is the best of the bunch.

Maus: by Art Spiegelman. No list is complete without it. It's about the author's father's experiences during the Holocaust, and it is not for the squeamish.

We Are On Our Own: By Miriam Katin The author and her mother's travels whilst escaping the Nazis during the Holocaust. Incredibly touching and beautifully written.

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
Author takes a business trip to Pyongyang. You wouldn't think it would be funny. It is. It's also culturally enlightening, educational, and quite scary.

Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics by Miriam Englebert
The funniest, most honest, and most delightfully sarcastic look at cancer ever, from an insider's perspective.

<Fiction>
The Tale of One Bad Rat by Brian Talbot
A sexually abused teenaged girl runs away from home with only her pet rat, and her love of Beatrix Potter books, to accompany her. It made me cry, but the tears are cleansing...

<Superhero/Fantasy/Sci-Fi>

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn
This series has everything! Ninjas, Evil Amazonian warriors, Kick-ass Israeli soldiers, Science fiction, fantasy, romance (both hetero and homo), a monkey, and lots and lots of humor. If you love manga, you can't go wrong here.

Ex: Machina by Brian K. Vaughn
A guy gets the power to "speak to" and control all things mechanical. Then he becomes a Superhero. Then he retires. Then he becomes Mayer of NYC. Anything goes. It's funnier if you know a little bit about NYC politics, but it's smart and fun enough for everyone!

Ultimate Spider-Man By Brian Michael Bendis
A brilliant and extremely funny retelling of the Spider-Man mythos. The jewel of the "Ultimate Marvel Universe". Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.

Runaways by Brian K. Vaughn and others...
One of the latest and smartest additions to the regular Marvel Universe. A group of teens discover that their parents are evil supervillians who basically control Los Angeles' underworld. Some of them gain or discover various superabilities, some don't, but they decide to gather together and bring down their parents, no matter what!

[casin]

Arkham Asylum is pretty awesome. I love Dave Mckean's artwork.
And Sandman. Everyone seems to like Sandman.
Alan Moore's work is always brilliant. I can't really pick fave.

If I could ever get my hands on any of The Tick volumes, they'd be on my list.

[cornflakes]

I rarely read non-manga graphic novels, but I read a fantastic Sandman one a few months back (forgot what it's called), it has a chapter each for Morpheus and his siblings. The stories are mostly unrelated, but they come together into a very rich thematic whole, even though I've never read any other Sandman work. Neil Gaiman is a genius.

[Awakenedgirl86]

My favorites are Owly by Andy Runton, Runaways because they're superheroes that don't wear tights, and my all time favorite the HEROES graphic novels.

[CeriaHalcyon]

There's such a thing as a non-japanese graphic novel? :learn

I'm new to this genre so i've only read japanese.

Oh i see, you're referring to comic books also, im not used to them being called that, :learn

still, i'm not much of a comic reader, i know and love most marvel characters.

[ninhoic]

I like to read Bone when I get the chance to. The artwork is so cartoony, it doesn't match what is going on in the story. The Runaways are great to read, wish I could keep up with them more. I used to be into American comic books when I was a little kid...thanks mom and dad. So I kind of like to just read stuff from Marvel and Dc from time to time.

[ilovemytub]

i liked American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang

the arts not anything to get all excited for and it's only one novel, not a series, but it's a funny, honest and very good story for all sorts of readers. i highly recommend :thumbs

[ninhoic]

I feel so stupid about forgetting the absolute greatest american graphic novel ever. Watchmen. and all of Alan Moore's other works. The man's a genius.

[memnarch]

Bone's amazing! You wouldn't think that cartoony images and epic storytelling would go together, but they do! Stupid, stupid rat creatures!

Watchmen is without a doubt one of the greatest graphic novels ever. Its influences can be found in movies, comics and television. The characters are all incredibly complex and human.

Scott Pilgrim has got to be my favorite though. The art is fantastic, all the Toronto references make me want to move there, and it's flat out hilarious.

[cornflakes]

I'm thinking of picking up "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller, anybody read it before?

[wicked_liz]

"Persepolis" was so much love. I like the animated version as well.

Also "Transmetropolitan" written by Warren Ellis. Anything by Ellis actually, Thunderbolts is also awesome.

I loved early "Runaways", Whedon's run not so much - I'm still hoping for Gert to be resurrected. ;_;

Current Joker's Asylum is going really good, the art switches for each issues and it's always amazing.

I also really like "Death" from Neil Gaiman, "The Authority", "The Young Avengers", "The House of M", "Gotham Central", "The Dark Knight", and the new Teen Titans book. "Sin City" and "300" from Miller are also pretty amazing, but his recent run in "All Star Batman And Robin" is ... :err

Current JSA stuff is also going really good :D Also these days anything with Hercules is awesome, and Blue Beetle. And not forgetting "Trinity" which is like mad funny.

I prefer to collect the trades, since issue to issue is a bit much. Trades are like the takabon in manga.

Some of the Golden Age and Silver Age and be really cracky and entertaining. I've always love comics and graphic novels, though the Japanese have a broader range of manga. Since I'm also a fan of BL this is a big draw for me, since comic thread very lightly there.

I AM HATING MARVEL'S SECRET INVASION.

[Tatsuki]

I'm hating on Marvel right now, period. Anulling Pete and MJ's marriage???What were they thinking?! But um, I'll always love you Spiderman! (Ultimate Spiderman is definitely better than the original at this point.)

"Gotham Central" is one of the best things DC has ever put out. Right up there on my list with "Y" and "Ex Machina."

"Death" is my favorite character from Sandman. The rest of it I just don't really get.

Ninhoic, have you heard about the "Watchman" movie? It's presence on the cover of Entertainment Weekly is one of the few things that could motivate me to actually purchase the magazine...(note to self: must read Watchmen again b4 movie comes out...)

Ilovemytub-American Born Chinese! How could I forget that one! It's awesome, very well-told and Memoirish.

Casin-I actually have a bunch of Tick volumes that I've been trying to figure out how to sell...

[Awakenedgirl86]

Do manga influenced comics count for this thread? Cause I like alot of them

[Drizzt]

Frank Miller had revolunized the way graphic novels were made. The Spirit, 300, and Sin City were all just too damn good.

[Tatsuki]

Do manga influenced comics count for this thread? Cause I like alot of them

Yup! Which ones do you like? :)

[emoloz]

Only read the heroes one xD

[Tatsuki]

Heroes was manga-influenced? I didn't know that.

[WinterLove]

The star wars comics are fun to read. But batman was the best. And spider man....and x-men...XD

[Awakenedgirl86]

Yup! Which ones do you like? :)

Well, Dramacon, Bizenghast, and alot of manga influenced comics titles by Tokyopop. Also Red String a webcomic now in print by Dark Horse Comics.

[ninhoic]

Tatsuki -yea, I'm totally aware of theWatchmen movie. im looking forward to it so much. and i have got to read it again before the movie comes out too.

I Luuv Halloween is a decent series too. more for the humor than anything.

[cornflakes]

The star wars comics are fun to read. But batman was the best. And spider man....and x-men...XD
Oh yeah! I forgot about those.... I bought the four issues of the Revenge of the Sith comics back in 2005. It's a pretty faithful adaptation, and flows well. Don't know about the 'original' comics though.