Top Ten Graphic Novels

Thinking about what to write about today, I found myself looking at comics. Or graphic novels, if you prefer. A while back (OK, in 2009), Time magazine published a list of what their editors consider to  be the top ten graphic novels like, ever. At the time I responded to it on an internet forum I hang out on, and I think my assessment is still accurate. Plus I like lists. I’m cranking up the internet time machine… can you hear the thunder of its mighty gears engaging? Here we go…

… OK, I keep thinking about the all-time best graphic novels list and how except for a couple of picks how wrong, wrong, wrong it is.

  1. Berlin: City of Stones (2000), by Jason Lutes
  2. Blankets (2003), by Craig Thompson
  3. Bone (2004), by Jeff Smith
  4. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2002), by Kim Deitch
  5. The Dark Knight Returns (1986), by Frank Miller
  6. David Boring (2000), by Daniel Clowes
  7. Ed the Happy Clown (1989), by Chester Brown
  8. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (2000), by Chris Ware
  9. Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (2003), by Gilbert Hernandez
  10. Watchmen (1986), by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

A “greatest” graphic novel should have top-notch art and a top-notch story that really stands out from other works. The list should have been (allowing only one title per author, in no particular order) :

  1. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman (1986)
    It should be a no-brainer to have this on any graphic novel list.
  2. Like A Velvet Glove cast In Iron by Dan Clowes (1998)
    David Boring? Really? How pedestrian, at least pick Ghost World if you’re being uninspired.
  3. Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison & Dave McKean (1990)
    These guys DOMINATE the latter 20th century graphic novel landscape, for good reason.
  4. Black Hole by Charles Burns
    Collected edition of volumes originally released 1999-2008) (A genius artist & great writer by any standard whose strong influence has been felt since the 80’s.
  5. The Nikopol Trilogy Enki Bilal (1980-92)
    It’s not just Americans making comics, duh, and Bilal is GENIUS.
  6. The Hard Goodbye (Sin City Book 1) Frank Miller (1991)
    Far superior in plot and art to Dark Knight.
  7. Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in Tibet Hergé (1958)
    Again, show some love to the non-American masters, graphic novels didn’t begin in the 1980’s.
  8. Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia Joe Sacco (2000)
    You like plot, little boy? Comics journalism at its finest.
  9. Perla La Loca (Love & Rockets) los Bros. Hernandez
    Rerelease of volumes originally published roughly 1985-1989) (they picked Palomar? come ON.
  10. Hellboy Library edition vol.1 Mike Mignola
    Rerelease of volumes originally published roughly 1994-1998) (Colour! Line & shadow! Plot! …this guy out-Kirbys Kirby.

I like Lutes, Thompson, Smith, Dietch, and Brown – but best of all time? Hardly. And Watchmen, while a great story (though it shouldn’t have been on the best fiction list either), had pretty uninspired art. There, I said it.

I guess you could exclude Bilal & Hergé as they weren’t originally published in English … In which case I’d include Black Kiss Howard Chaykin (1988) (Seriously underrated artist who can also write a hell of a noir vampire transexxual hooker corrupt police detective story) … and / or Tank Girl Martin & Hewlett (1991 rerelase of early material) (C’mon, Tank Girl. Seriously influenced pop culture and graphics for years, forget the stupid movie version) … or maybe Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits Garth Ennis (1994) (This is where the series really started to blossom IMO & Garth Ennis made his reputation outside the UK. Again, forget the stupid movie version).