Favourite Graphic Novels:

1) Watchmen by Alan Moore. The seminal masterpiece of the genre, and still as relevant twenty years later.

2) Scott Pilgim by Brian Lee O'Malley. This still unfinished slacker epic is terrific, bizarre, and wholly Canadian. let's hope the upcoming movie doesn't screw it up.

3) Therefore, Repent! by Jim Munroe. Another Canadian winner, a look at a bizarre world where the rapture seemingly occured, magic is now rampant, and two confused lovers are caught in the middle.

4) The Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman. A stark, brutal examination of the downfall of humanity after zombies take over the world. The closest anyone has yet come to capturing the original horror of George Romero's first two zombie epics.

5) Black Hole by Charles Burns. Gorgeous B&W images highlight this tale of teens infected with an STD that transforms their bodies in unique and unexpected ways.

6) Maus by Art Spiegelman. A holocaust memoir presented with jews as mice and the Nazis as cats. Utterly brilliant.

7) Howard the Duck by Steve Gerber. A collection of the 1970's genre-shattering comic book.

8) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. A re-examination of Batman's methods and style that transformed both the comics and the movies.

9) From Hell by Alan Moore. An attempt to unearth the true face behind Jack the Ripper.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs

For a story that feeds the head and heart, I'd go with American Widow by Alissa Torres, the story of a 9/11 widow. For pure, unabashed style and brilliant artwork I'd go with the edgy steampunk tale Honour Among Punks by Guy Davis & Gary Reed. It's a re-telling of the classic Watson and Holmes tale (with zeppelins and piercings).

One of my all-time favourites is The Burma Chronicles by Guy Diesel.

I also really liked Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Unshelved by Gene Ambaum.

CardCaptor Sakura by Clamp is such an adorable and cute manga!

Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa is THE fashion manga of Japan. ;P

Wow, Corey! What a list! I LOVED Black Hole, too. And I'm totally embarrassed to admit (not to mention bewildered as to how this can be) that I've never read Maus! It's one of those books I've always meant to get my hands on. And Alex - I loved Blankets, too. For sure. But Caro - your Guy Delisle recommend is the one that's most interesting to me right now - that author did Pyongyang, too, which I was fascinated by (although it frustratingly cannot explore much more about North Korea than what his handlers will let him see - so what's new?). I recently saw an incredible doc called Burma VJ - and so interested in learning more about Burma. I've gotta get my hands on that one! Amazing suggestions thus far - keep 'em coming!

That's a tough question. I loved Maus when I read it - so long ago - and Cancer Vixen - read a few years back - both terrifying and moving books.

What is it about so many graphic novels tackling death and destruction, especially the Holocaust (I haven't read Bernice Eisenstein's I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors yet, but it looks compelling and sad as hell).

Of course, I love Skim, summons up all my own misfit years and teenage agony.

If I have to settle on only one graphic novel this very second, I'd pick Baloney by Pascal Blanchet. It's subtitled A Tale in 3 Symphonic Acts, and it's a tragic/brutal tale, with a "score," images tied to orchestration. At the end, there's a suggested playlist of classical music.

The visuals are stunning, the sound is great too..it's a book that's living on in my mind/memory.

Love the top 10 lists, just wish people would expand on why they love books/what the books are like/about...more please.

1) Sandman series by Neil Gaiman
2) Sin City series by Frank Miller
3) The Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman
4) Watchmen by Alan Moore
5) V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
6) 30 Days of Night series by Steve Niles

I'll always love Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the first one in the series. It's like the way the first Harry Potter book lures you in by introducing you to its magical universe, before all the drama comes in.

Also great is the entire Love and Rockets series by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, recently collected in a bunch of volumes by Fantagraphics.

Berlin - Jason Lutes

Sam n' Max: Surfin' the Highway - Steve Purcell (Seriously one of the funniest comics ever)

New Frontier - Darwyn Cooke

I know there's a hate on for hero comics these days (I love 'em), but this is classic all-out world war super hero stuff. Drawing on cold war themes and in Cooke's 50's style, it's a beautiful book and incredibly engaging story-telling.

@Maddie - Did you know Jaime Hernandez is writing Runaways for Marvel now? One of the good books on Marvel.

Blankets - by Craig Thompson

Gorazda - by Joe Sacco

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel!

I loved loved loved Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It's a graphic novel memoir based on her experiences growing up in Iran. They made it into a movie that I have yet to see, but I'll bet it's good.

Years ago I read Seth's "It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken" - the gentle story of a man's slightly obsessive and deeply revealing hunt for the story of a comic artist who had only one single joke appear in the New Yorker. It is a perfect example of this genre at its best. Others I'd add to a list:

Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, and Frank Stack's "Our Cancer Year" (I'd rather recommend any "American Splendor" but don't know if they count as graphic novels.) Pekar is one of the most honest writers I know, and the raw illustrations suite the tale of a brutal year of fear and suffering.

"Maus." Obviously.

And, for a good set of graphic novels that you can enjoy with your kids: "Bone" by Jeff Smith. They are beautiful, intense, and quite funny. As my 12-year-old waited for the final volume to be published, he amused himself writing lists of predictions about the outcomes. He enlisted me in this project too, so thanks Jeff Smith! This collection was originally black and white and is now out in a coloured version from Scholastic.

Also, and I don't know if this counts, but David Zane Mairowitz and Robert Crumb wrote "Kafka for Beginners" or "Introducing Kafka". In it Crumb does comic adaptations of many of Kafka's works of fiction. It's interspersed with clean, clear, helpful literary commentary and biography by Mairowitz. Sane, helpful, somewhat harrowing. Also great for highschool-aged offspring who are reading Kafka for the first time.

Lots of stuff here I've not heard of, thanks for the recommendations!

Something I'd like to add is The Red Star by Christian Gossett. Great story and simply amazing artwork. Definitely worth being considered for top 10.

I love Ghost World! I read it again every year. Not intentionally, you know, not ritually, but I always come back to it. So anyway if you like Ghost World you would like David Boring, which is also by Clowes. It's a mystery/bildungsroman/sexual odyssey. Awesome.

Also, I think it's obvious that Watchmen, Bone and Maus are in the top 10. Let's also consider The Chained Coffin and Others by Mike Mignola—a collection of short stories adapted for the Hellboy universe from folk tales, with amazing art.

Some of my favorites which haven't been mentioned yet.

'David Boring' and 'Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron' by Dan Clowes

The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For (collection) by Alison Bechdel

Epileptic by David B.

Locas (Love & Rockets collection) by Jamie Hernandez

The Frank Book (collection) by Jim Woodring

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch

A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw

Late Bloomer by C. Tyler

Some of my favorites that have not yet been mentioned:

Wimbledon Green by Seth - The mad-cap tales of the world's greatest comic collector.

Gray Horses by Hope Larson - An exchange student's dreamy experiences.

Zombies Calling by Faith Erin Hicks - The zombie apocalypse, spurred by... student loans?

Northwest Passage by Scott Chantler - Adventures in the pre-Canadian north a.k.a. Justice League British North America.

Comic Book Tattoo - A massive anthology of stories inspired by the music of Tori Amos.

Flight I through V - Anthologies that define the "flight generation" of comic creators.

1. Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore is a must read ~ beautiful art, great story and characters that feel so believable.
2.Artesia by Mark S. Smylie ~ stunning hand painted full colored watercolors.
3. Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura
4.Chobits by Clamp ~ something haunting about this manga sc-fi and the art work is beautiful and evidence of art nouveau influences.
5. Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson.
6. Angora Napkin by Troy Little ~ up and coming cartoonist with some real chops and zany style & humor.
7.Demo by Brian Wood (Author) & Becky Cloonan (Illustrator) ~ same illustrator but different styles that define each story and it's theme.
8.Local by Brian Wood
9.The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Ohtsuka
10.Blankets by Craig Thompson

Nobody's mentioned what is probably the most accomplished graphic novel (or series, I should say) of all time:

Cerebus, by Dave Sim

I don't really agree with his politics or his religious beliefs (although I respect the man for pulling no punches, even going so far as to extensively parody his own rather fervent religious beliefs), but he did more to expand the visual language of comics than pretty much anybody since Jack Kirby, and was a tremendous influence on the establishment of a strong, genuinely creative independent scene. Besides, where else can you see a talking aardvark trying to explain Judaism to Woody Allen?

Despite being newly released this year I've been waiting 20 years for a Beanworld graphic novel. And this year Larry Marder did it!

Beanworld Book 1: Wahoolazuma!

Not only is Larry Marder collecting all his old stories in one place but he is finally finishing the series
Beanworld Book 2: A Gift Comes!
Beanworld Book 3: Remember Here When You Are There!

and I also loved (and bought a copy for all my family as well):
Blankets - by Craig Thompson

1) Heavy Liquid - Paul Pope

2) Black Jack - Osamu Tezuka

3) Understanding Comics- Scott Mccloud

4) Scott pilgrim - Brandon lee O'malley

5) Black Hole by Charles Burns.

6) Goodbye Chucky Rice - Craig Thompson

7) Summer Blond - Adrian Tomine

8) Little Nemo in Slumber land-- i dont know if his collections count-- but they should!

and i've ran out... :(

はだしのゲン (Hadashi no Gen, or Barefoot Gen) by Keiji Nakazawa - about a boy growing up in the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima

1) Maus
2) Welcome to Tranquility
3) Pride of Baghdad
4) We3
5) Watchmen
6) Walking Dead
7) Powers
8) The Killing Joke
9) Alias
10)The Black Widow

I'm probably forgetting a lot, but that's what a skim through my bookshelf yields

Sorry to be pedantic, but a lot of these aren't graphic novels, they're collected editions (including Watchmen). Why are people so afraid to use the term comic book?

Agree in many mentions.
I add:

"Cages", Dave McKean.

A big gulp... but a must (in my humble opinion).

A few favorites, off the top of my head (well, that I can see siting on the shelf from here):

- Mitchum by Blutch.
- Nausicaä by Hayao Miyazaki.
- A Week of Kindness by Max Ernst.
- Minerve by David Turgeon.
- the Gus series by Christophe Blain.
- Six Hundred and Seventy-Six Apparitions of Killofer by Killofer.
- Une Vingtaine by Sébastien Lumineau.

Acme Novelty Library (whole Series)
Watchmen
Epileptic
Black Hole
Epileptic
Dark Night
Preacher
Blankets
Bone
Sin City
All the books that I have seen on this blog are great!

I agree with some of those mentioned previously:

Watchmen by Alan Moore;

Sin City (series) by Frank Miller;

Maus by Art Spiegelman;

I'd like to add the work of an author that hasn't yet been mentioned: Enki Bilal. La Trilogie Nikopol (The Nikopol Trilogy) is probably the best sample of his style, mainly "La foire aux immortels" and "Froid Équateur", first and third volumes, respectively. (Well, but all of his work is highly recommended). I also enjoyed "Animal'z".

I could add one or two graphic novels by portuguese artists, but it's not a "product for export" yet (I believe), so, in-house consuption only... sadly.

1. "To The Heart of the Storm" by Will Eisner
2. "Bone" by Jeff Smith
3. "The Complete Maus" by Art Spiegelman
4. "Blankets" by Craig Thompson
5. "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan
6. "Cages" by Dave McKean
7. "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi
8. "Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East" by Joann Sfar
9. "The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom" by Katherine Arnoldi
10. "Last Day in Vietnam" by Will Eisner

many of the above plus

Hey, Wait... by Jason
Flood by Eric Drooker
not sure it qualifies as a graphic novel but Snake and Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret by Michael Kupperman

Louis Riel by Chester Brown!

I can't believe nobody mentioned Y: The last man. IMO it's one of the best novels ever written let alone graphic novels. The art is beautiful and consistant. The story telling and the twists are top notch. If i had to choose one top graphic novel, this one will be it.

I love Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan. It's such a moving story. I also like the Way Chris Ware uses infographics inside the novel.
Rich Koslowski's The King is one of my favourites too.

The Lost Colony by Grady Klein - nineteenth century America at its weirdest. Filled with great characters and mind twisting concepts. Love the illustration style,very black and bright.So far there are three books, waiting for the fourth.

Brain K. Vaughn doesn't make the list? I think the real problem is they want this to be of 10. Comics is a medium with numerous genres, also there are only Canadian's and American's on this list, what about European or Japanese?

Great thread. Here's my faves.

'80's style Marvel bigsizers:
The thing vs. the hulk
X-Men God Loves, Man Kills

Compilations:
The Essential Howard the Duck
The Essential Dazzler

Traditional Classics:
Batman: The Dark Knight
Ronin

Non-trad:
Jeffrey Brown's Clumsy
Jeffrey Brown's Be a Man

My list just happens to be what I am interested in now; it has changed, and will change again. I have tried not to repeat any of the great books listed above. I have also tried to keep this material somewhat youth-friendly.

1. The Photographer, by Emanuel Guibert et al, is just phenomenal. The photographs ground the story in reality in a way i've never seen before.

2. Tamara Drewe, by Posey Simmonds. A compulsively readable re-telling of Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd; like watching a train wreck.

3. Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua Cotter. Is a series of interconnected coming-of-age stories about youth's injustices; told with heavy reliance on symbols.

4. Notes from a War Story, by Gipi, is about disaffected (orphaned?) youths calmbering at the periphery of a Balkan-style war.

5. The Rabbi's Cat, by Joann Sfar. A meditation on faith through the eyes of a lying cat and his adoptive family.

6. Exit Wounds, by Rutu Modan. A strange look at love and relationships in the reality of living in Isreal.

7. The Left Bank Gang, by Jason. This is a fractured, Tarantino-esque heist tale told with Jason's deadpan wit, starring famous writers of 1920s Paris: Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, Pound, etc.

8. Louis Riel, by Chester Brown. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one yet. It's a massive biographical account of the titular life, exploring Brown's preoccupations with madness, religion, and distrust of government.

9. Capacity, by Theo Ellsworth. This is a strange trip inside Ellsworth's brain. He fills the page with marks like no one else.

10. George Sprott, by Seth, really uses the size of the book to full effect. It combines the best attributes of Wimbledon Green and Clyde Fans to make something beautiful, moving, and ambiguous.

11. (a cheat) I wanted to include many classic newspaper strips, but they are not really graphic novels: Little Orphan Annie, Moomin, Terry and the Pirates, Gasoline Alley, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Calvin and Hobbes etc. etc.

Most of my favourites have already been mentioned, but here are some others:

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine

Paul Moves Out, Paul Goes Fishing, etc. by Michel Rabagliati

One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 / Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip) by Ashinano Hitoshi: okay I suppose this one isn't really a graphic novel (in fact, it's not been published in English but you can find text translations online) but it's one of the best manga series I've ever read. An elegant and beautifully drawn story that took 10 years to tell.

My top 10 in no particular order would be

1. Fate of the Artist by Eddie Campbell

2. Dykes to Watch out for Omnibus by Alison Bechdel

3. Gus by Chris Blain.

4. Bourbon Island 1730 by Appollo and Trondheim

5. Complete Moomins vol 1 by Tove Jannson

6. The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfarr

7.Bone by Jeff Smith

8. American Flagg by Howard Chaykin

9. Nausicca by Miyazaki

10. Thorgal by Van Hamme and Roszinski

I love things like this because it helps me track my changing tastes. Once upon a time the list would have been all Marvel and DC.

Fun Home by Allison Bechdel

Pyongyang Guy Delisle

You may wish to listen to my interview with 101 Best Graphic Novels author Stephen Weiner here:

http://nigelbeale.com/2006/05/the-rise-of-the-graphic-novel-stephen-weiner-audio-interview-with-nigel-beale/

1) High Society by Dave Sim
2) Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
3) Calvin and Hobbes (any collection) by Bill Watterson
4) Swamp Thing: Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore
5) Blankets by Craig Thompson
6) Pogo by Walt Kelly (any collection)
7) Little Vampire by Joann Sfar
8) Bone by Jeff Smith
9) Plastic Man: On the Lam! by Kyle Baker
10) Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez

So, I threw two in there that may not count as actual stand-alone graphic novels. It was hard leaving out any Will Eisner, Peanuts, Krazy Kat, Johnny Ryan or New Yorker cartoon collections. Or maybe I'm cheating by mentioning them now.

In no particular order...

Akira - Otomo Katsuhiro

Bone - Jeff Smith

Barefoot Gen - Nakazawa Keiji

Watchmen - Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons

Black Hole - Charles Burns

Anything by Los Bros. Hernandez - Love and Rockets Etc...

Metropol - Ted McKeever

From Hell - Moore, Campbell

The Drifting Classroom - Umezu Kazuo

Monster - Urasawa Naoki

Goodbye Chunky Rice - Craig Thompson

Tintin series - Herge

The Metabarons - Jodoworski et. al.

The Hunting Party - Bilal, Christin

Stray Toasters - Bill Sienkiewicz

anything by Jason

I'm forgetting a few, but you get the idea.

In no order:

a)Bone by Jeff Smith
b) Dark Knight Returns (the c) only good thing done) by Frank Miller
d) The Last Train by Kazu Kibuishi
e) We 3 by Grant Morrison
DC: New Frontiers Vol 1 (vol 2 is a bit weak in the story, but still good)
f) Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith

and, since who said this is American Only here are some Europeans. Now they do true Graphic Novels:

g) Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows and
by Canales and Guarnido
h) Rocco Vargas, The Astral Adventures of #2: The Whisperer Mystery by Daniel Torres (a classic!)

i)and any love for the beautiful lumbering beast that is Akira?
and here's a genre all it's own:

j)Beast of Chicago: An Account of the Life and Crimes of Herman W. Mudgett, Known to the World As H.H. Holmes by Rick Geary

There. I'm slightly bored with superheros and totally fed up with the glut of whiny, go-nowhere Graphic Memoirs.

Blankets is #1 on my list. Also love The Arrival, and actually anything by Shaun Tan.

Ten of my personal favourites in no particular order...
Kane by Paul Grist
The Salon by Nick Bertozzi
Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker
Metropol by Ted McKeever
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
The Shutterbug Follies by Jason Little
Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco
Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware
Three Shadows by Pedrosa

Three of my favourites that I never, EVER see mentioned are:

1) "Hicksville" by Dylan Horrocks - a comic about comics, revolving around a fictional town in New Zealand housing an underground library of comics that were never drawn. Perhaps Hicksville only appeals to people REALLY into comics, due to all the intertextual references - the town's local cafe is called "The Rarebit Fiend," for example - but the story is absolutely magical.

2) "The Tale Of One Bad Rat" by Bryan Talbot - a young English girl with ties to Beatrix Potter runs away from home, fleeing abuse at the hands of her father. This comic was recently reprinted, so you have NO excuse - go out and read it NOW.

3) "The Cowboy Wally Show" by Kyle Baker - This is the funniest comic ever drawn. Period.

Hi there. "Drawn" drew me over here, so here's my ten penneth, in absolutely no particular order, and I do apologise in advance for how long this is:

1. From Hell. Mind blowing, psychedelic Victorian serial killer yarn, with added London psychogeography! Who could ask for more?
2. Berlin, Jason Lutes. My God, I'm so jealous of Jasaon Lutes. Not only is he a great storyteller, but his art work is brilliant, subtle and humane. Berlin volume 2 is just as wonderful, but Vol 1 is something else.
3. Goodbye Chunky Rice, Craig Thompson. What I really like about this is that it's a universal story. A reasonably young child could pick it up, and get a lot out of it. The simple story touches something very deep and yes, fairly sentimental, about the human condition, but it's a genuinely moving story. Really well worth reading.
4. The Invisibles (all volumes) by Grant Morrison. A swaggeringly brilliant masterpiece of mentalist storytelling. I sorely wish that Morrison would concentrate on alt.comics but I guess he loves his Xmen and superhereoes too much! There's something gloriously over ripe about The Invisibles. It's a crazy trip! The art work is superb too.
5. Safe Area Gorazde. Joe Sacco. Sacco tones down the Woody Allen-ish shambolic 'self' in this, as he interviews people from the town where horrendous events took place during the Yugoslavic war. It's truly appalling reading, and the reason is becuse he's such a great artist, and a great listener too.
6. Space Dog. Now, bear with me. You will never have heard of this. I got it in a second hand bookshop, completely by accident. It's by a guy called Henrik Dorgathen, and you can't get it for love nor money - I know, I've tried, many times so friends can share in it. Luckily, Henrik hasa a website! here's a link to this truly wonderful story, which could be read to children - I say read, there are no words in it. Well. 1 word. It's brilliant. Take a look: http://www.dorgathen.org/cont/comix/spacedog.htm
7. The Idea. Frans Masereel. Frans Masereel's art and ideas are so strong they make me swoon. No words, only pictures and a billiant, first half of the century Kafka-like quality to the work. Also, a bawdy and rather lewd sense of humour which is a joy. I love all his stuff, but there's something about this one which just blows you away every time.
8. "Hate" comics, by Pete Bagge. Or in other words, the complete story of Buddy Bradley. There's so much painful and embarrassing truth in Bagge's work, and it's carried along by a sharp, wisecracking sense of humour. I really think he's wewirdly underrated, despite loads of people knowing of him!
9. Love and Rockets - the Herenandez brothers. What can I say. A stunning, extraordinary, even feminist (or humanist) body of work primarily about the strongest people all with loose ties to one another within an Hispanic community over time. And those people all happen to be women. It's always a joy, and I'm so glad they're still writing these stories.
10. Now I have about 5 more in my head! But, I think I have to say "Transmetropolitan" by Warren Ellis. Very much of it's time, it's broad satire and it's speedy, adrenalin fuelled science fiction. THere's something bizarrely "Hitch Hiker's Guide"ish about it at times in the crazy ideas soup within, and if you've never read it, I challenge you to get up after reading two or three volumes without wanting to listen to extremely loud punk music and pogo round the room shouting. It's that kind of an experience. That Warren, he's a bit crazy. There's a ton of stuff from Warren worth checking out. Particularly the rambling mess that is Planetary. It's visionary, mystical and at times, truly glorious. Global Frequency and the current Freakangels have within them a core of hopeful humanity which transcends the sometimes apocalyptic plotlimes.

Enough! That's yer lot :)

Arrival by Shuan Tan.

So many....it is really hard to narrow down, but here are my top thirteen in no particular order.
1. Fun Home
2. Why I Hate Saturn
3. ANYTHING by the Hernandez brothers but particularly Love and Rockets series
4. Yummy Fur series later known as Ed the Happy Clown
5. Skim
6. Maus and Maus II
7. Hate
8. Y:The Last Man series
9. Watchmen
10. Blankets
11. Persepolis and
Persepolis 2
12. It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken
13. Bone series

Here's my top 3:

- Fun Home
- Maus
- Dark Knight Returns

Hello! I am glad the the brilliance of Jim Woodring's FRANK has been mentioned, as well as Dave McKean's CAGES. I am surprised by the omission so far of Neil Gaiman's and Dave McKean's Signal to Noise. Absolutely stunning painted art by McKean, which illuminates a heart-wrenchingly, achingly beautiful little story by Neil Gaiman. It's a dual-masterpiece and not to be missed, please and thank you.

ghost world
fun home
persepolis 1 & persepolis 2

nil Qs answered now. I'd like to get my bilingual daughter(14) reading in order to expand her knowledge interests!

1. Three Shadows - Pedrosa
2. Isaak The Pirate - Blain
3. Gus - Blain
4. Wir können ja Freunde Bleiben - Mawil
5. Notes of a war story - Gipi
6. Hey Wait - Jason
7. Donjon (Dungeon) - Sfar/Trondheim etc.
8. Pascin - Sfar
9. Goodbye Chunky Rice - Thompson
10. Dragon Ball - Toriyama

Perfect Example by John Porcellino. His simple drawings support a strong and emotional narrative.

1)Maus - art spieglman
2)Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
3)It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken - Seth
4)Ghost World - Dan Clowes
5)I Never Liked You - Chester Brown
6)Get A Life - Dupuy & Berberian
7)Buddha - Osamu Tezuka (this one should be on more people's lists)
8)A Drifting Life - Yoshihiro Tatsumi
9)The Rabbi's Cat - Joann Sfar
10)Buddy Does Seattle - Peter Bagge

My favourite graphic novel is City of Glass by Paul Auster. Perfect blending of text and art.

Like many here I loved Maus, but am also a huge fan of Spiegleman's In The Shadow of Now Towers.

With honourable mentions to Acme Novelty Datebook and Bone.

While I find the "comics" vs. "graphic novels" nomenclature debate annoying, I think it's valid to make a distinction between work that was intended to be published as a "graphic novel" and collections that originally saw print in a serial format.

They're all flipping comics but I think the intention behind each format is different. For example, can I call Grant Morrison's run on X-Men a "graphic novel" if I own it in that format? While it was published serially, it seems obvious he had a finite story to tell.

Of course, there is the grey area that maybe there is the foreknowledge that a series will later be collected, or financial constraints, etc.

I guess what I mean to say is that I'd like to see the term "graphic novel" be used more discerningly, such that the term should describe something that tells a finite story but can be presented in a variety of ways (collected or not).

Everything I'd have voted for has already been mentioned so I have nothing new to add. But to name a few:

• Epileptic, David B.
  
• Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo
  
• Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware
  
• 100%, Paul Pope
  
• Paul Has a Summer Job, Michel Rabagliati
  
• Planetary, Warren Ellis & John Cassaday
  
• etc.
  

1. when the wind blows - raymond briggs

2. the airtight garage - moebius

3. maus - art spiegelman

4. black hole - charles burns

5. destination moon/explorers on the moon - herge

In the past few years, some of the best fiction I've found has been in graphic fiction/sequential art/comics.

Joann Sfar's Rabbi's Cat tells a tale of a rabbi, his daughter, and an talking cat in an Algerian Jewish community. This book (along with Craig Thompson's Blankets) showed me the possibilities that are possible with graphic storytelling.

The most recent edition of the Best American Comics anthology introduced me to the work of Cathy Malkasian and her character, Percy Gloom. I soon found the entire book. Percy lives to write warning labels on products; meanwhile, he is pursued by an unstable young woman, who has an infected toe that she is healing with the power of her mind. Percy's not a superhero, but possesses one super power; when he twists his head, it shines like a light bulb. Malkasian's book is a treasure. Her Website also shouldn't be missed (www.percygloom.com) not only for its images but for the fabulous audio track, Goats Solstice Song.

I've recently finished Posy Simmonds' Gemma Bovery. In this book, the title character's life parallels the tragic life of Madame Bovary. Her neighbor, a baker called Joubert, witnesses the sad events, recognizes how they match the story of Flaubert's heroine, but is near powerless to change circumstance.

Finally, Osamu Tezuka's Ode to Kirihito tells a tale of a land where disease turns men into dog-like creatures. The author/artist's work is not to be missed.

Since a lot of my favourites are already listed here, I thought I would add a few titles which might be less familiar to some, but are also deserving of attention.

"The Blot" by Tom Neely was one of those books that I finished and began again in the same sitting. It's gorgeous retro-style characters, and its sophisticated, and darkly surreal storytelling, put it in a class above a lot of the fare we've seen on shelves these past few years.
"Swallow Me Whole" by Nate Powell, is an boldly ambitious attempt to treat mental illness in young people. It's not typical of the books I read, but having read it I could not get my hands on enough of Powell's books. Gorgeous line-work.
"Although I have never read the translation, "Ordinayr Victories" by Manu Larcenet (titled "Le Combat Ordinaire" in French), is probably one of the best written comics I've read in a long time.
And finally, "Goodbye Chunky Rice", though often over-shadowed by "Blankets", is still one of my all-time favourites. As much as I like "Blankets", I think that "GCR" may be the better book.

Jimmy Corrigan
Maus
Blankets
Black Hole
Anything by Winsor McCay or Jim Woodring

I tried reading the Walking Dead and found it incredibly misogynistic. Does the series get any better?? I trust you Hannah so I'm going to still read the other nine you recommend.

1. From Hell- Alan Moore
2. Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron- Daniel Clowes
3. Watchmen- Alan Moore
4. Black Hole- Charles Burns
5. Jimmy Corrigan- Chris Ware
6. Epileptic- David B.
7. Exit Wounds- Rutu Modan
8. David Boring- Daniel Clowes
9. Batman: Year One- Frank Miller
10. Ghost World- Daniel Clowes

Wow, I'm amazed at all the people here with such good taste in comics. I don't know anyone in mtl that even cares about graphic novels.

Some of my favs: Ghost World, Scott Pilgrim, Stardust, Strangers in Paradise, A Touch of Silver, American Born Chinese

davie
spiderfan.org reviewer

Robot Dreams is a very nice wordless graphic novel that's wonderfully illustrated.

Fables is a serial comic but the trades are more or less self contained stories. A fun modern take on fairy tales living in exile in a secret community in new york.

My top three (in my opinion these defined the artform in N.America):

1. Watchmen (without a doubt)
2. Dark Knight Returns
3. Arkham Asylum

Here are my picks:

1) Any of the Cerebus the Aardvark collections by Dave Sim;

2) Mr.X: The Definitive Collection

3) Louis Riel

4) Black Kiss - Howard Chaykin

5) Maus - Art Spiegelman

6) Paul Has a Summer Job, Paul Moves Out, Paul Goes Fishing, by Michel Rabagliati

7) It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken - Seth

8)I Never Liked You - Chester Brown

9) Bone - Jeff Smith

10) Love & Rockets - Hernandez Bros.

That's my list - although, I imagine after I post this that I will have remembered something else.

I'd have to go with:

1)Watchmen (Alan Moore) - too intricate for words. There's a reason it's on university course lists everywhere.

2)V for Vendetta (Alan Moore)

3)Sandman (Neil Gaiman)

4)Pride of Baghdad (Brian K. Vaughan) - Probably one of the most original and affecting commentaries on the Iraq War you'll ever see.

5)We3 - Grant Morrison

It probably says something that all of these titles are published by Vertigo. Probably that Vertigo makes good books.

In not particular order:

Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
V for Vendetta
Watchmen
Domu
Akira
Invincible
Bone
Fables

1.The Sandman series as a whole (esp. "Endless Nights")
2.Marvel 1602. Again, writing by Gaiman, art by Andy Kubert. A great retelling of the Marvel Universe, what is by some temporal foul-up, the Elizabethan version of the X-Men were brought into being, as well as other Marvel characters like "Sir Nicholas Fury" and Dr. Stephen Strange?
3. Crisis On Infinite Earths - the 12-part series bound as a trade paperback.
4. Watchmen
5.Maus, books one and two
That's all I can cite for now...

1. Blankets by Craig Thompson
2. Watchmen by Alan Moore
3. Ghost World by Terry Clowes
4. Black Hole by Charles Burns
5. The Dark Knight Returns by Alan Moore

"Y: The Last Man", Eden: It's an Endless World", "The Dark Tower", "Gantz", "Battle Angel Alita"

Little Nemo in Slumberland

And Julie Doucet! Anything by Julie Doucet. New York Diary is a classic

I've been reading a lot of graphic novels lately. Its great to see so many people reading and writing about them. Here's ten that I think are worth your while:

1) Ed the Happy Clown - it was my first exposure to bizarre grown up comics and its great
2) Ode to Kirihito - Tezuka was a master and this story is compelling
3) Black Jack - more thrills from the prolific Tezuka who, I am just learning, should be widely read
4) Peter Bagge's Hate was anthologized and deserves inclusion because each issue was unmissable
5) Big Baby - a title by Charles Burns that deserves more notoriety
6) Stuck Rubber Baby - I bought this on remainder for a few bucks and am still surprised since it won an Eisner for best graphic novel
7) Death of Speedy - from Love & Rockets - I can't resist Maggie and Hopey
8) Blankets - yeah its as good as everyone says
9) Peep Show by Joe Matt - fun read deserves inclusion on someone's list
10) Skim - it felt so real, loved it
11) Goodbye-Bye - I just read this one by Tatsumi; gritty and literary (ok, I got that from the back cover)

I would also recommend American Splendor. There's also a movie which is good.

It looks like most of my top 10 are listed already, so I'll just mention a book I just picked up and am in the middle of:
Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua W. Cotter- a fantastic collection of stories about childhood that are both funny and painful.

Graphic novels I've enjoyed:
1)Maus - gripping and classic
2)Julius Knipl -Real Estate Photographer by Ben Katchor
3)One Hundred Demons- Lynda Barry- wonderful insight.
4) School is Hell (1987) by Matt Groening-- in fact the whole Hell series - not really novels,but such good satire
5)Pogo series - anything Walt Kelly ever did was amazing.

In no particular order...

Fun Home by Allison Bechdel
Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes
Poor Bastard by Joe Matt
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Unlikely by Jeffrey Brown
Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
The Little Man by Chester Brown

Needless to say, a lot of these are already getting love above.

A couple of people have mentioned these but they deserve special attention - two *great works* of the genre that happen to be by Canadians:

I Never Liked You by Chester Brown

Paul Has a Summer Job by Michel Rabagliati.

Also in no particular order:
Watchmen
The Walking Dead
Usago Yojimbo (didn't notice it above!?)
From Hell
V for Vendetta

I also vote for It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken.

I don't think Brian K. Vaughan's Ex Machina series has been mentioned.

Love all these lists! New stuff for me to check out!

I'd like to put in another plug for Pride of Bagdad ... a poignant commentary on the Iraq War (told from the perspective of animals that escaped from the Baghdad Zoo), beautifully illustrated.

No particular order, but start with:
Art Spiegelman, Maus: It took me so long to get through Maus because I had to keep stopping. It is not often that a "comic book" carries such emotion.
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Some of the best fantasy I have ever read.
Frank Miller, Batman Year One: Less original but more timeless than Dark Knight.
Bill Willingham, Fables: I look forward with great delight to every new volume of the continuing story of these childhood favourites.
J. Michael Straczynski, Midnight Nation: I have always had a soft spot for this dark American road trip.
Alan Moore, V for Vendetta: Even if you hated the movie, read this totalitarian tale.
Alan Moore, Watchmen: This gave birth to the modern graphic novel.
Warren Ellis, Planetary: Probably shouldn't judge this one until it is actually finished, but definitely Ellis's finest.
Judd Winick, Exiles: A little out of place, but some of the early stories were brilliant (Legacy, With an Iron Fist).

For me it's a two-way tie between Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Stellar, stellar books.

I also liked Jokes and the Unconscious by Daphne Gottlieb and Diana DiMassa.

Also, anything by Lynda Barry and Julie Doucet.

Along with my thousands of comic books I have come to enjoy a wide variety of book/novel ect...and the only two comics(graphic novel) I display on the book shelf (and not tucted away in the comic boxes) are as followes.

X-men God loves,Man kills. An excellent example of the struggle for equality.

I'm ashamed to note that no others on this page have even mentioned it, my no.1 choice for best Graphic novel...drum roll please...

Weapon X, by Marvel commics! Wolvie at his darkest..'nuff said, I know that most of you would probably say that there is very little action and alot of useless dialogue, but I found it to be a fierce battle between the animal within and the man without...

some of my favourites are persepolis,naruto, and scott pilgrim

10 BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS
All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa
Berlin by Jason Lutes
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch
Epileptic by David B.
The Frank Book by Jim Woodring
Heavy Liquid by Paul Pope
Hey Wait... by Jason
Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka
One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry

FIVE BEST COMIC BOOK SERIES
Concrete by Paul Chadwick
Love and Rockets by Los Bros Hernandez
Preacher by Garth Ennis
Promethea by Alan Moore
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan

In no order:

- Acme Novelty Library (Chris Ware)
- The Invisibles (Grant Morrison)
- Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)
- Louis Riel (Chester Brown)
- It's a Good Life if you Don't Weaken (seth)
- Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea (Guy Delisle)
- Black Hole (Charles Burns)
- Watchment (Alan Moore)
- R. Crumb's Kafka (R. Crumb)
- Testament (Douglas Rushkoff)

Check out "The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam" - It's by Canadian artist/filmmaker Anne Marie Flemming. It's one of my absolute favorites!

There are so many graphic novels and comics that are worth checking out. Here are some of my favourites:

Graphic novels

ALIEEN - Trondheim
Art D'ecco - Langridge/Langridge
Don quichotte dans La Manche - Douay/Leroux
Emiko Superstar - Tamaki/ROlston
Fred the Clown - Langridge
Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth - Ware
The Pride of Baghdad - Vaughan/Henrichon
Pyongyang - Delisle
300 - Miller
The Wolves in the Walls - Gaiman/McKean

Series and/or compilations

Asterix et Obelix - Goscinny et Uderzo (the Uderzo solo books, however, aren't nearly as good)
Batman : The Dark Knight Returns - Miller
Blacksad: Arctic-Nation - Canales/Guarnido
Chosen - Millar/Gross
Ex Machina, vol. 1 + 2 - Vaughn/Harris/Feister
Kingdom Come - Waid/Ross
Monster, vol.1 - Urasawa
La nef des fous, Tome 1 + 2 - Turf
Queen and Country - Rucka
Samurai Executioner - Koike/Kojima
Sardine de l'espace - Guibert/Sfar
Sin City - Miller
Stranger in Paradise, Pocket Book 1 - Moore
Superman : Red Son - Millar/Johnson/PLunkett/Robinson/Wong
Tintin - Herge
Ultra : Seven Days - The Luna Brothers
La vie comme elle vient - Trondheim
V For Vendetta - Moore/Lloyd
XIII - Vance/Van Hamme

A few will be obvious, understandably, but others less so. I hope you'll discover a few. Enjoy!

Some great suggestions here so far. Mine are:

1. Fun Home
2. Watchmen
3. Blankets
4. Jimmy Corrigan
5. Louis Riel
6. Epileptic
7. Black Hole
8. Skyscrapers of the Midwest
9. Safe Area Gorazde
10.Love and Rockets

Y the last man
100 bullets
scalped
wasteland
queen & country
walking dead
watchmen
dark knight
marvel's civil war series
v for vendetta

Okay, it falls under the serialized-then-collected-into-one-volume category, but I'm still surprised that Alex Robinson's excellent "Box Office Poison" hasn't gotten a mention.