I like comics. I like graphic novels. I like them on the web, in the newspaper, on the iPad (I will get to that, don’t worry). If you look at my LibraryThing “read in 2011” list, there’s 11 graphic novels there, including the 5 below. I actually kept up my Ottawa Citizen subscription a few years longer than I needed to, merely to have the comics with my breakfast. Having children solved that problem. It isn’t 1960 anymore. I can’t eat my morning meal hidden behind the paper, pipe in hand while my sweetness takes care of everything and everyone else.
Anyway, I like the graphic storytelling form. It’s good. I really enjoyed them all, and could put a 1 next to all of them. I’m giving the number 1 spot to the Unwritten because as soon as I finished it, I wanted more. I’ve read Volume 1, and will get Volume 3 as soon as I drop into Wizard’s Tower. I am waiting impatiently for Volume 4 to come out in October. The rest did not give me this reaction. I’ve read Schlock and the first couple of volumes of Girl Genius online, but I never really got hooked, though I enjoyed reading them again immensely. The other two had compelling story-lines, and I found it hard to choose between all of them. I opted instead to vote with what I know. Sorry Bryan, Bill and Mark.
- The Unwritten, Volume 2: Inside Man, written by Mike Carey; illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)
- Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler; colors by Howard Tayler and Travis Walton (Hypernode) – Read Online
- Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse, written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment) – Read Online
- Grandville Mon Amour, by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse)
- Fables: Witches, written by Bill Willingham; illustrated by Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
As an aside, I won’t vote for editors, or zines. I don’t know enough of them to make an informed decision, and that isn’t fair. I’ll put up my choices for novel in Vegas, as I haven’t started Blackout/All Clear yet (most of the way through The Dervish House, and it is phenomenal, BTW).