Best Mystery Graphic Novels
Presented for the first time with stark, stunning new coloring by Brian Bolland, BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE is Alan Moore's unforgettable meditation on the razor-thin line between sanity and insanity, heroism and villainy, comedy and tragedy. This is a no-holds-barred take on a truly insane criminal mind, masterfully written by British comics writer Alan Moore. The Killing Joke provoked fury among many readers who lamented the disposal of Barbara Gordon as a mere pawn to testosterone; yet Gordon reinvents herself later as superinfohacker Oracle, poster girl for disability empowerment (see Birds of Prey, LJ 7/08).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Playing the Arkham video games by Rocksteady made Batman really stand out."
"The book reveals how he was once sane but turned insane due to personal reasons (read the book)."
"Before reading The Killing Joke, I've ready V for Vendetta and Watchmen. Both are other graphic novels written by Alan Moore. I had no idea what to expect, but a friend of mine did call this (in his opinion) the greatest graphic novel of all time. They're all awesome, so of course I was gonna love Batman in this story too. This story isn't so much about Batman fighting bad guys as it is about proving the joker wrong. Batman (and Gordon) are pushed to their limits as they not only try to stop the joker, but prove him wrong. One thing I liked from another comic, Batman: Hush, was the use of other DC characters to progress the story, but I really liked how The Killing Joke told another amazing story with less character in less pages."
"But that's just me, and don't get me wrong, some of his pictures have an absolutely incredible amount of depth, you can just see layer after layer of the character. This book is an absolute gem, Bolland and Moore play off one another to absolute perfection, one of the best comics I've ever read."
"The events in this story felt much more real than other superhero comics/graphic novels that I have read in the past."
"Incidentally, the bonus story 'An innocent guy', was pretty good as far as it went, but seemed to lack a real resolution."
In a world without political freedom or personal freedom, and precious little faith in anything, comes a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask who fights political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts. Alan Moore has led the field in intelligent, politically astute (if slightly paranoid), complex adult comic-book writing since the early 1980s. The original series was black and white and that added to the grittiness of the feel while the coloring here in the graphic novel sometimes blurs David Lloyd's fine drawing. Moore's dystopian, fascist version of England, ruled by one central leader and his sects (named after parts of the body, such as Finger, Nose, and Voice), is systematically dismantled by the enigmatic V. Readers must ultimately decide if V is a mad anarchist/terrorist or a freedom-fighting avenger for good. Combining alternate history with moral questions about freedom and identity, this book would work well in a school setting; and while there is some slight nudity and violence, they fit well within the framework of the story.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The imagery and artwork is beautiful and makes you want to scan every panel carefully to take in all of its details, and the dialogue may seem simplistic but has strong intent, riddled with metaphors and historical context."
"The art is old school, very typical of comic books from the early 80s, and in my opinion dreadful."
"The art does the book and the story line justice and the character development of the book sets a solid foundation for the characters in the movie."
"Whatever Alan Moore writes, I read."
"V is versed in Shakespeare, plays the piano, and has a hideout decorated like the dressing room of a community theatre. Suffice to say, Alan Moore and David Lloyd weave a well written and illustrated tome that plays with the reader's mind."
"In this day and age of the NSA, "Alt-Right", and Donald Trump, stories like V for Vendetta become more and more nonfiction and hence, more and more important."
"The new edition doesn't have as much development as the original and left me a bit disappointed."
"I read this first (and at least 5 times) and only then saw how the movie butchered the writing."
BATMAN: HUSH is a thrilling mystery of action, intrigue and deception penned by Jeph Loeb (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN) and illustrated by comics superstar Jim Lee (ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER). In comics, he is best known for his work with the supremely talented artist and partner-in-crime TIM SALE on BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS,CATWOMAN: WHEN IN ROME for DC as well as Daredevil Yellow, Spider-Man Blue and Hulk Gray for Marvel. Prior to his current post, Lee served as Editorial Director, where he oversaw WildStorm Studios and was also the artist for many of DC Comics’ bestselling comic books and graphic novels, including ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER, BATMAN: HUSH, and SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As with The Long Halloween, the ending has the story kinda tearing at the seams and in my opinion it kind of undoes (in only a few pages) what had been building up so excellently in the previous chapters."
"I can't say too much about who else is in it because I'll get into spoiler territory, but it's awesome to see other faces from the DC universe. Hush throws a curve ball and takes away all of Batman's momentum. They add a really interesting level of depth to the overall story*** I also really liked the ending's big twist and the resolution to it all. The idea is that someone is playing this complex game of chess, and Batman as well as his friends and foes are the pieces, so I guess you HAVE to be kept waiting, but I was just hoping we could have seen more of Hush in the other two thirds of the story. Final Verdict: You absolutely need you read this book! I really enjoyed The Dark Knight Returns, but I couldn't read it for THAT long without needing a mental break."
"I loved the character interactions best--here is where the skill really shined--you got the weight of whole backgrounds and relationships in simple moments and dialogues, which gave the story a rich depth and 'real feeling' to it. Not an easy balance as seen in comics that have no character and are merely flash bang--or in ones that grind to a halt with too much character 'time' and not enough movement."
"I prefer standard novels, where you use the theater of the mind to paint the pictures the words evoke, rather than an artists renderings on a page. So, in a conversation with a friend who has been collecting comics his entire life, he said "hey, why not pick up a copy of Hush, and give it a read."
Best Military Graphic Novels
Dark Horse presents new editions of the entire Hellboy line with new covers, beginning with Seed of Destruction , the basis of director Guillermo del Toro's blockbuster films. Ottakar's Outland Magazine Issue 31, Autumn 2004 : "Rather like an X'-File' investigating the 'X-files', the lantern chinned, wisecracking Hellboy is one of the most endearing heroes to have emerged in comics for a long time, coming across as fresh, inventive, and, above all, highly entertaining."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This includes the story on which the first Hellboy movie is based on along with two short stories and a gallery of arr."
"A really great read."
"The first volume was great, and I am looking forward to further reading."
"Holy crap this thing is huge!"
"This is probably one of my favorite comics ever, the writing and dialogue are both great, and the artwork is fantastic."
"Hopefully someone will combine the series or more soon so we can enjoy it."
"This is the way the Hellboy books should be read, the larger (then the original comic book size) print and vibrant colors will make your eyes bleed with joy."
"Great read."
Best Horror Graphic Novels
From his apocalyptic origin in World War II England to the modern-day case of the sole survivor of a doomed Arctic expedition, Hellboy must battle vampire frog creatures and worse in his debut miniseries. Ottakar's Outland Magazine Issue 31, Autumn 2004 : "Rather like an X'-File' investigating the 'X-files', the lantern chinned, wisecracking Hellboy is one of the most endearing heroes to have emerged in comics for a long time, coming across as fresh, inventive, and, above all, highly entertaining."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This includes the story on which the first Hellboy movie is based on along with two short stories and a gallery of arr."
"A really great read."
"The first volume was great, and I am looking forward to further reading."
"Holy crap this thing is huge!"
"This is probably one of my favorite comics ever, the writing and dialogue are both great, and the artwork is fantastic."
"Hopefully someone will combine the series or more soon so we can enjoy it."
"This is the way the Hellboy books should be read, the larger (then the original comic book size) print and vibrant colors will make your eyes bleed with joy."
"Great read."
Best Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
Collecting Incredible Hulk Vol. Monsters and heroes... and the Incredible Hulk!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you loved the cartoon this is worth a read!"
"After I finished I got World War Hulk because I wanted more."
"One of the best HULK stories ever, like it's crazy (Hulk having sex LOL) but great read and really does a great job making the HUlk come alive as a character."
"This e-comic anthology is complete including minor related stories."
"Fun read - collection of the Planet Hulk comics...no wonder he was "ticked" when he made it back to Earth."
"Great story line."
"This is a must read for those who like dark stories."
"I may have built the hype up in my mind before reading Planet Hulk and I was extremely disappointed in the story as a whole."
Best Fantasy Graphic Novels
Plus, previously unpublished extras and bonus materials make this mighty tome one that's required reading for Scottaholics everywhere!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Bryan O'Malley's run pokes fun at the banalities of life while making you feel like a twenty something kid again."
"Same great story, except this time it's in glorious color."
"I am a huge fan of anamaguchi who did the most for the game for the ps3 and xbox360 and I scrambled around the web to find a code for this rare digital title..."
"This is a great start, yet you can notice the attempts at making this story flow, it starts out roughly introducing each character, I can honestly see where O'Malley is heading with a very straight forward narrative, and I'm glad it works."
"The art style, characters, dialogue... everything drew me right into the world of Scott Pilgrim."
"Fun goofy read, with fun dialogue and cool artwork."
"I found out about this series through the movie, as many people did."
"Arrived on time and in perfect condition."
Best Erotica Graphic Novels
Two women deal with modern themes of sex, relationships, and fetishism in this erotic romantic comedy.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a 7-year member of the bdsm subculture and a submissive/masochist in my own 5-year power exchange relationship, I cannot praise Sunstone enough."
"There are subtle differences in the art from the online to book version and the extras are fantastic. If you havent read it, the art is AMAZING and detail is breathtaking, the characters are deep and truely human none of that cliche boxed character type crap you find in other stuff and the story is beautiful."
"The only flaw this series has it wasn't very long, and only three days have passed so far."
"I started reading Sunstone on Stjepan Sejic's side DeviantArt account (shiniez) and fell in absolute LOVE with the comic... so I decided to purchase the tidied-up, published version for myself. I love Stjepan's drawing and art style and am a HUGE fan of his work. He puts so much detail into his comics -- from the unique speech bubbles, the amazing plot, the wide-range of expressions he's able to convey in his characters, to the stunning full-page masterpieces. Sunstone is truly a creative spin on the erotic genre that is usually associated with one of the most horrid cliche BDSM books of all time (*cough* Fifty Shades of Grey *cough cough*). It's beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, alluring, jaw-dropping, elegant, intimate, aesthetic -- *insert more positive synonyms here*. So if you're looking for huge (unrealistic) boobs and a whole book full of raunchy nude women -- hit that back button, buddy. Sure, you could say that it's on the brink of falling into the risque category, but the scenes are perfectly balanced, straddling the line between being racy and intimate."
"I've been a fan since the early illustrations first started popping up online, and the official graphic novel does not disappoint."
Best Romance Graphic Novels
Witness the beginning of a grave-crossed love and the prequel to the Erma web comic series, as we meet the parents of the ghostly little girl in their younger years and how they came to know one another.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"BABY ERMA IS SOOOOO CUTE!!!"
"I am a Beetlejuice-loving, October born, macabre immersing madman and this makes me come as close as is possible to 'squee' with my male homosapien vocal chords."
"I enjoyed the prequel to Erma webcomic in how her parents met."
"The Erma cartoons are fun, creepy, mysterious."
"It's a nice background to the Erma stories."
"I’ve been a fan of Erma for a while and was naturally curious about her parents ."
"This book shows how it all began and some insight to the upcoming stuff."
"Fantastic start to a wonderful girl and her creepy relatives."
Best Superhero Graphic Novels
Collecting Incredible Hulk Vol. Monsters and heroes... and the Incredible Hulk!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you loved the cartoon this is worth a read!"
"After I finished I got World War Hulk because I wanted more."
"One of the best HULK stories ever, like it's crazy (Hulk having sex LOL) but great read and really does a great job making the HUlk come alive as a character."
"This e-comic anthology is complete including minor related stories."
"Fun read - collection of the Planet Hulk comics...no wonder he was "ticked" when he made it back to Earth."
"Great story line."
"This is a must read for those who like dark stories."
"I may have built the hype up in my mind before reading Planet Hulk and I was extremely disappointed in the story as a whole."
Best Media Tie-In Graphic Novels
Plus, previously unpublished extras and bonus materials make this mighty tome one that's required reading for Scottaholics everywhere!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Bryan O'Malley's run pokes fun at the banalities of life while making you feel like a twenty something kid again."
"Same great story, except this time it's in glorious color."
"I am a huge fan of anamaguchi who did the most for the game for the ps3 and xbox360 and I scrambled around the web to find a code for this rare digital title..."
"This is a great start, yet you can notice the attempts at making this story flow, it starts out roughly introducing each character, I can honestly see where O'Malley is heading with a very straight forward narrative, and I'm glad it works."
"The art style, characters, dialogue... everything drew me right into the world of Scott Pilgrim."
"Fun goofy read, with fun dialogue and cool artwork."
"I found out about this series through the movie, as many people did."
"Arrived on time and in perfect condition."
Best Science Fiction Graphic Novels
Collects Darth Vader #1-6. He is known for his creator-owned comic Phonogram , created with artist Jamie McKelvie, published by Image Comics, and for numerous projects for Marvel Comics, such as Journey into Mystery and Uncanny X-Men.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It's a good story and the art is beautiful."
"Great product at great price."
"Nicely done by the author."
"Delivered in great condition!"
"Fits somewhat within star wars canon."
"Very good art."
"My favorite character in the Star Wars franchise, Darth Vader does not disappoint!"
"If they don’t make this into a movie then they truly underestimate the power of the dark side this book is amazeballs."