All about the visuals: Top Ten Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics or Ten Comics on My TBR or Top Ten Favorite Picture Books

I’ve read my fair share of comics and so narrowing it down to just ten isn’t easy as there are so many good ones out there. I know that many of you are probably going to have lots of these in your lists too. But that’s because they are just SO AWESOME.

Persepolis – Marjane Sartrapi

I have to credit Persepolis for being the first graphic novel I ever personally bought. I bought The Complete Persepolis before I moved to the US so that’s about 8 years ago.

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye – Sonny Liew

Probably the most successful graphic novel to come out of Singapore (Publisher Weekly named it one of the best comics of 2016). Sonny Liew has done lots of work before this, like collaborating with Gene Luen Yang on Shadow Hero, doing illustrations for Wonderland, Marvel’s Sense and Sensibility etc. But this is very much his own work, his story, and a complex intriguing one at that.

Saga – Brian K Vaughan, Fiona Staples

Perhaps the best ongoing comic series out there. An inter-planetary love story, an impossible child, an exploration of worlds and racism of sorts.

Ms Marvel – G Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona

I just adore Kamala Khan. I love that there is such a character out there – a young Muslim girl fighting crime and all the other responsibilities of a teenager as well as her conservative but loving family.

Monstress –  Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda 

It’s dark, it’s complex and rich in both its storyline and its breathtakingly beautiful illustrations. I cannot wait to see what else they come up with.

 

 

 

The Sandman series – Neil Gaiman 

In my opinion, this is Neil Gaiman at his best. First of all, the Endless! Death! Dream! (Yes I did name Death before Dream because I just adore her. Dream can be a bit too mopey sometimes). And all those fantastic and unique side characters, from those who serve Dream, to all those dreamers and storytellers and creatures. This is what storytelling is about. This is what comics are about.

Sunny – Taiyo Matsumoto

I don’t read much manga but I do adore this series set in a home for down and out kids. Unlike most manga, which is more fantastical and strange, this is more of the ‘slice of life’ kind that I appreciate. Some of the kids are orphans but many of them are from broken homes or dysfunctional families – it isn’t really said. So there’s an air of sadness throughout. The kids are well taken care of but they are fully aware that they are different from the other kids at school.

Squirrel Girl – Ryan North

It’s all about the footnotes! It’s just SO MUCH FUN. And I absolutely adore Doreen!

Lumberjanes –  Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen and Noelle Stevenson

What great characters. The friendship! The camaraderie! The things that go bump in the night! I just adore Lumberjanes.

Shinya Shokudo – Yaro Abe

It’s not fair at all that this manga has not been translated into English. So far the only translation is into Chinese. It is such a fantastic food-related manga. A late night diner where the customers are of the late-night sort – strippers, yakuza, celebrities, students, taxi drivers. It’s such a great read and as you can guess from Sunny earlier, I like manga that is more real than fantasy, and this is such a great one. The Japanese TV series is available on Netflix though, so you could check that out to see what it’s about – not the same as reading the manga I know, but until an English translation is available at least!