Favorite comics

[Melville]

Post your lists.


Jimmy Corrigan (Chris Ware, 2000)
Quimby the Mouse (Chris Ware, 2004)
The Trumpets They Play! (Al Columbia, 1998)
Peanuts Treasury (Charles Schulz, 1968) - lots of other great Peanuts strips, but this collection is the most consistently great
Louis Riel (Chester Brown, 2004)
Amphigorey (Edward Gorey, 1972)
Frank (Jim Woodring, 2003)
From Hell (Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell, 1997)
The Acme Novelty Library Annual Report to Shareholders (Chris Ware, 2005)
Hellboy (Mike Mignola, 1990s) - standout stories: Wake the Devil, all the short folk tales
Abstraction (Shintaro Kago, 2000)
Watchmen (Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, 1986)
The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller with Lynn Varley and Klaus Janson, 1986)
City of Glass (P. Karasik & David Mazzucchelli, 1994)
The Acme Novelty Library #19 (Chris Ware, 2008)
Hey, Wait… (Jason, 2001)
Cerebus (Dave Sim, 2004) - standout volumes: Jaka's Story, Minds, and Guys. The last two volumes are almost unreadable though.
Daredevil: Born Again (Miller & Mazzucchelli, 1986)
Elektra: Assassin (Miller & Sienkiewicz, 1987) - I just read this recently. Gloriously gonzo. Also just read Elektra Lives Again. Also great.
Bone: The Great Cow Race (Jeff Smith, 1994) - really, all of issues 1-17 will do
Batman: Year One (Miller & Mazzucchelli, 1987)
Pim and Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Al Columbia, 2009)
Weapon X (Barry Windsor-Smith, 1991)
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Lorenzo Mattotti & Jerry Kramsky, 2002)
In the Night Kitchen (Maurice Sendak, 1970)
Ghost World (Daniel Clowes, 1998)
V for Vendetta (Alan Moore & David Lloyd, 1989)
Black Hole (Charles Burns, 2005)

[dreamdead]

In ranked order:

Watchmen
From Hell
Jimmy Corrigan
Sandman
Maus
Fun Home
Promethea
Safe Area Gorazde
V for Vendetta
Asterios Polyp
Shortcomings
City of Glass
The Invisibles
Batwoman: Elegy
Marvels
Dropsie Avenue
Persepolis
Y: The Last Man
Bone
Transmetropolitan
Blankets
Blue is the Warmest Color
Planetary
A Contract with God
Palestine
Deus Ex Machina
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City
Kingdom Come
Preacher

Utter meh:
Pride of Baghdad
Are You My Mother?

If Calvin and Hobbes count, they'd be near the top. I haven't read the Hernandez brothers, so that's a gap. Not a big fan of Clowes, either...

If a book hasn't concluded yet, I've left it off the list (so no Saga or Locke and Key).

[EyesWideOpen]

I have a hard time remembering all my favorites off the top of my head but here goes:

Watchmen
Runaways (BKV run)
Gotham Central
Alias
Daredevil (Bendis run)
Saga
Asterios Polyp
Fun Home
Sandman
Black Hole
Criminal/Incognito/Fatale
Scott Pilgrim
Starman (James Robinson)
Planetary
Pluto (Naoki Urasawa)
Essex County
Astonishing X-Men (Whedon run)

[ledfloyd]

I'll work on something, but there's bound to be a fair amount of overlap with the lists here.

[Acapelli]

copied this from another board, probably hasn't been updated in at least a couple years

Nextwave by Warren Ellis & Stuart Immomen
Young Avengers by Allen Heinberg & Jim Cheung
Captain Britain & MI-13 by Paul Cornell & Leonard Kirk
Whiteout by Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber
Top 10 by Alan Moore & Gene Ha
Sleeper/Criminal/Incognito by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
Omega The Unknown by Jonathan Lethem & Faryl Dalrymple
All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
New X-Men by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely/Various
Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday
Runaways by Brian K. Vaughn & Adrian Alphona
Seven Soldiers by Grant Morrison & Various
The Parker books by Darwyn Cooke
Madman Atomic Comics by Mike Allred
Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison & Richard Case/Various
Human Target by Peter Milligan & Various

[D_Davis]

I won't repeat stuff that's been mentioned already:

1. Akira - Otomo
2. Nuaiscaa - Miyazaki
3. Appleseed - Shirow
4. Black & White - Matsumoto
5. Groo the Wanderer - Aragones
6. Grey - Tagami

[Dead & Messed Up]

Couple others that haven't been mentioned:

Maus
Batman: The Long Halloween
Superman Birthright

[Q & T]

I'll add in a few I haven't seen yet.

Flex Mentallo
Ex Machina
Justice League International
Formerly Known as the Justice League
Hawkeye
Batman: Year One
Batman: RIP
David Boring

[Mysterious Dude]

I should read some more comics, but I think these are quite good:

1. Epileptic (1996, David B)
2. Drawn Out (2005, Don Nace)
3. The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch (1994, Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean)
4. Fun Home (2006, Alison Bechdel)
5. Jonas Fink (1991, Vittorio Giardino)
6. Akira (1982, Katsuhiro Otomo)
7. The Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius (1976, Moebius)
8. Stitches (2009, David Small)
9. Arkham Asylum (1989, Grant Morrison & Dave McKean)
10. Road to America (1990, Jean-Marc Thévenet & Baru)
11. The Arrival (2006, Shaun Tan)
12. Exit Wounds (2007, Rutu Modan)

[Sven]

51 Comics that Sven Likes (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?3525-51-Comics-that-Sven-Likes)

As of 2.5 years ago:

50. Bad Boy
49. Crisis on Infinite Earths
48. Shaolin Cowboy
47. Steampunk
46. Brat Pack
45. Earth X
44. Skreemer
43. OMAC
42. Iron Man: the Inevitable
41. Enginehead
40. Cy-Gor
39. X-treme X-men: the Arena
38. Promethea #12: the Magic Theatre
37. Matt Fraction's Thor
36. Silent War
35. Hybrid Bastards
34. Bad Dog
33. Mesmo Delivery Service
32. All Star Batman and Robin
31. Hitman: Ace of Killers
30. The Question (Veitch)
29. The Winter Men
28. Swamp Thing (in Gotham City)
27. Hellboy: the Wild Hunt
26. Gravel
25. Mr. Majestic
24. Charlatan Ball
23. The Authority: the Kev saga
22. Punisher: Dark Reign
21. Igor Kordey's Cable
20. 1963
19. Global Frequency
18. Rock Bottom
17. Red Mass for Mars
16. X-Men: the Blood of Apocalypse
15. JLA/WildCATS
14. Rarebit Fiends
13. The Mask
12. The Filth
11. Planetary: a Mystery in Space
10. Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset
9. Major Bummer
8. Peter Milligan's Animal Man
7. Justice League Elite
6. Supergod
5. Enigma
4. Final Crisis
3. Human Target
2. Seaguy
1. Grant Morrison's Batman

Been meaning to do an updated list because I've read lots of great comics since.

[Sven]

Ten top of the head additions:

Adventures of Luther Arkwright
Outlaw Nation
Ferals
Violent Messiahs
Connor Willumsen's work
X-Men Legacy
Queen and Country
Deathmatch
Wasteland
Kate Beaton's work

[Melville]

Safe Area Gorazde

How does this compare to Palestine?


51 Comics that Sven Likes (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?3525-51-Comics-that-Sven-Likes)
I was perusing that thread the other day. A lot of interesting-looking comics, of which I've read literally not a single one.

[sevenarts]

How does this compare to Palestine?

It's better! Safe Area is probably Sacco's best comic, which is really saying something. His style is much more polished and sophisticated in that one than it is in Palestine, which is great as well of course.

Anyway, here's a rough top 10 off the top of my head, probably leaving out a lot.

1. Love & Rockets (Jaime & Gilbert Hernandez)
2. Krazy Kat (George Herriman)
3. From Hell (Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell)
4. Jimbo In Purgatory (Gary Panter)
5. Stray Bullets (David Lapham)
6. Acme Novelty Library #19 (Chris Ware)
7. Frank (Jim Woodring)
8. Madman (Mike Allred)
9. David Boring (Daniel Clowes)
10. Travel (Yuichi Yokohama)

[dreamdead]

How does this compare to Palestine?


It's much stronger in my eyes. Better art, more conflict between official narratives of the Bosnian War and the focus on the people (that is, better contrast between the words and the art that critiques those narratives), and nice engagement of how American music featured throughout the text undercuts some of the optimism ("Hotel California" especially).

[Melville]

4. Jimbo In Purgatory (Gary Panter)

I've owned this since it was published, took it with me when I moved across the ocean, and yet have never read it. Have you written anything on it?


6. Acme Novelty Library #19 (Chris Ware)
7. Frank (Jim Woodring)
Nice.


It's much stronger in my eyes. Better art, more conflict between official narratives of the Bosnian War and the focus on the people (that is, better contrast between the words and the art that critiques those narratives), and nice engagement of how American music featured throughout the text undercuts some of the optimism ("Hotel California" especially).
Sounds good. I'll add it to the to-read list.

[sevenarts]

I've owned this since it was published, took it with me when I moved across the ocean, and yet have never read it. Have you written anything on it?

Just a short blurb in my best comics of the 2000s (http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-comics-of-decade-20-1.html) countdown.


Gary Panter's magnum opus is his epic mash-up of the Purgatory section from Dante's Divine Comedy with Panter's own punk everyman character Jimbo and a wide array of cultural reference points, ranging from Boccaccio's Dante-inspired Decameron to Frank Zappa, John Lennon, 50s sci-fi movies, pin-up models, punk rock, and more. It's a dazzling pastiche, with every page laid out in a tight grid of nine panels, and each panel starting with a quote from Dante and relating it to all sorts of other cultural reference points, images and quotes. The panels don't just stand alone either, but instead form unified patterns and images at the level of the page, so that each page can be read both as a sequence of nine panels and as a single image in itself. The denseness of Panter's references and cross-references makes the experience of reading this book a truly overwhelming experience; every line, every image, spirals into multiple other references and ideas, pulling in the whole wide expanse of world culture as a stomping ground for Jimbo's wanderings through the Purgatory of modern existence towards enlightenment.

It's really unlike anything else in comics or anywhere else for that matter. It's just a blast to read and is packed with so much on every level, not to mention Panter's batshit/beautiful imagery. Panter's one of the all-time greats in general and this book is his masterpiece.

[Melville]

Just a short blurb in my best comics of the 2000s (http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-comics-of-decade-20-1.html) countdown.

It's really unlike anything else in comics or anywhere else for that matter. It's just a blast to read and is packed with so much on every level, not to mention Panter's batshit/beautiful imagery. Panter's one of the all-time greats in general and this book is his masterpiece.
Very cool countdown, even if I'm indifferent to (A Drifting Life, Epileptic,...), dislike (Lost Girls), or loathe (Promethea) many of the entries. Interesting inclusion of Dark Knight Strikes Again. The Mattotti looks great.

[Melville]

After reading more comics in the last year than in the preceding decade (maybe. A lot of comics, anyway), I decided to rejig my list. New additions in bold.

1. Jimmy Corrigan (Chris Ware, 2000)
2. Quimby the Mouse (Chris Ware, 2004)
3. Peanuts Treasury (Charles Schulz, 1968)
4. The Trumpets They Play! (Al Columbia, 1998)
5. From Hell (Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell, 1997)
6. Frank (Jim Woodring, 2003)
7. The Acme Novelty Library #19 (Chris Ware, 2008)
8. Hellboy: the folk tales, especially ‘The Corpse’ and ‘The Troll Witch’ (Mike Mignola, 1990s-2000s)
9. Amphigorey (Edward Gorey, 1972)
10. Louis Riel (Chester Brown, 2004)
11. Short stories in Lose and Very Casual (Michael DeForge, 2009-2015)
12. Daredevil: Born Again (Miller & Mazzucchelli, 1986)
13. Abstraction (Shintaro Kago, 2000)
14. Elektra: Assassin (Miller & Sienkiewicz, 1987)
15. Watchmen (Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, 1986)
16. The Dark Knight Returns (Miller, Varley, and Janson, 1986)
17. The Acme Novelty Library Annual Report to Shareholders (Chris Ware, 2005)
18. Hawkeye (Fraction, Aja, and Wu, 2015)
19. Hellboy: Wake the Devil (Mike Mignola, 1996)
20. The Ticking (Renee French, 2006)
21. Zero (Ales Kot et al, 2015)
22. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Lorenzo Mattotti & Jerry Kramsky, 2002)
23. Batman: Year One (Miller, Mazzucchelli, and Lewis, 1987)
24. Elektra Lives Again (Miller & Varley, 1990)
25. Pim and Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Al Columbia, 2009)
26. Bone: The Great Cow Race (Jeff Smith, 1994)
27. City of Glass (P. Karasik & Mazzucchelli, 1994)
28. Cerebus (Dave Sim & Gerhard, 2004), especially Jaka’s Story, Minds, and Guys, and ignoring the last two volumes
29. Sundays with Walt and Skeezix (Frank King, 2007, original pub. dates 1920s & 30s)
30. Nijigahara Holograph (Inio Asano, 2006)
31. Clumsy (Jeffrey Brown, 2002)
32. Weapon X (Barry Windsor-Smith, 1991)
33. Hey, Wait… (Jason, 2001)
34. In the Night Kitchen (Maurice Sendak, 1970)
35. Black Hole (Charles Burns, 2005)
36. When the Wind Blows (Raymond Briggs, 1982)
37. Ghost World (Dan Clowes, 1998)
38. V for Vendetta (Alan Moore & David Lloyd, 1989)
39. Stray Bullets: Killers (David Lapham, 2014)

1 or 2 crime comics, even though I feel like I'm a fan of crime comics
2 manga
2 picture books, and one standard comic by a picture book author
2 collections of comic strips
7 or 8 horror comics of some variety
9 super-hero comics
5 Frank Miller comics from 1986-1990

[Melville]

New and improved list I made a few months ago:


Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth (Chris Ware, 2000)
The Cage (Martin Vaughn-James, 1975)
Peanuts Treasury (Charles Schulz, 1968)
Quimby the Mouse (Chris Ware, 2004)
The Trumpets They Play! (Al Columbia, 1998)
Daredevil: Born Again (Miller & Mazzucchelli, 1986)
Frank (Jim Woodring, 2003)
Hellboy: the folk tales, especially ‘The Corpse’ and ‘The Troll Witch’ (Mike Mignola, 1990s-2000s)
From Hell (Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell, 1997)
First Year Healthy (Michael DeForge, 2015)
The Acme Novelty Library #19 (Chris Ware, 2008)
Louis Riel (Chester Brown, 2004)
Short stories in Lose and Very Casual (Michael DeForge, 2009-2015)
The Acme Novelty Library Annual Report to Shareholders (Chris Ware, 2005)
Abstraction (Shintaro Kago, 2000)
Kierkegaard strip in Schizo #4 (Ivan Brunetti, 2006)
Amphigorey (Edward Gorey, 1972)
Fires (Lorenzo Mattotti, 1986)
Elektra: Assassin (Miller & Sienkiewicz, 1987)
Watchmen (Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, 1986)
The Dark Knight Returns (Miller, Varley, and Janson, 1986)
Hawkeye (Fraction, Aja, and Wu, 2015)
Hellboy: Wake the Devil (Mike Mignola, 1996)
Weapon X (Barry Windsor-Smith, 1991)
The Ticking (Renee French, 2006)
Mind MGMT (Matt Kindt, 2016)
Elektra Lives Again (Miller & Varley, 1990)
Batman: Year One (Miller, Mazzucchelli, and Lewis, 1987)
Cerebus (Dave Sim & Gerhard, 2004), especially Jaka’s Story, Minds, and Guys, and ignoring the last two volumes
Beautiful Darkness (Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoët, 2014)
Bone, issues 1-16 (Jeff Smith, 1991-94)
Clumsy (Jeffrey Brown, 2002)
Lucille (Ludovic Debeurme, 2006)
A Girl on the Shore (Inio Asano, 2013)
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Lorenzo Mattotti & Jerry Kramsky, 2002)
Pim and Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Al Columbia, 2009)
Panther (Brecht Evens, 2014)
City of Glass (P. Karasik & Mazzucchelli, 1994)
Sundays with Walt and Skeezix (Frank King, 2007, original pub. dates 1920s & 30s)
Zero (Ales Kot et al, 2015)
Nijigahara Holograph (Inio Asano, 2006)
Hey, Wait… (Jason, 2001)
In the Night Kitchen (Maurice Sendak, 1970)
Black Hole (Charles Burns, 2005)
When the Wind Blows (Raymond Briggs, 1982)
Essex County (Jeff Lemire, 2009)
V for Vendetta (Alan Moore & David Lloyd, 1989)
Stray Bullets: Killers (David Lapham, 2014)
Weirdworld (Jason Aaron & Mike del Mundo, 2015)
The Filth (Grant Morrison & Chris Weston, 2004)


I feel like Goodnight Punpun will be high on the list when I finish it.