Graphic Novel Recommendations

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ConnieBDowell

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Hi, all!

I'm just getting into reading graphic novels and I could use some recommendations to help me get more grounded in the genre. I'd love to hear what you all think are must-reads, especially those aimed at the YA or MG age groups.

Thanks!
 

Flutterlight

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I'd say the obvious MG graphic novel to read is easily the Captain Underpants series. It's a lot of potty-humor, which kind of goes without saying.
 

alleycat

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Maybe Road to Perdition; although it's not MG, it does feature a younger character.
 

U2Girl

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Neil Gaiman's "Sandman". I re read it every couple of years and still get something new out of it.
 

JQ377

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I remember really liking the BONE series. I only read the first Amulet book but that's because I couldn't find anymore. The art in that is great. I think they're turning it into a movie.
 

bladestalker

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I'd reccomend taking a look at your local library. Mine has hundreds of GNs.I've always liked the POWERS series by Brian Micheal Bendis.Teh Death of Retro Girl is the first and best of these.
 

ChimeraCreative

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I'm a little late to this party. However,

Bone by Jeff Smith is fantastic.
Runaways by Brian Vaughn is stellar reading for younger folks getting introduced to the Marvel Universe.
Invincible by Robert Kirkman is responsible for many kids getting hooked on comics, especially boys.
The Astounding Wolf-Man by Robert Kirkman is cute, but not as addictive as Invincibles.
Chew by John Layman is very colourful and kitschy.
 

lastlittlebird

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I recently discovered the Castle Waiting series by Linda Medley and it is incredible. Such gorgeous, gentle stories, based loosely around classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
If I had daughters (or sons for that matter) I would buy them copies.
 

willwalton

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Hi, all!

I'm just getting into reading graphic novels and I could use some recommendations to help me get more grounded in the genre. I'd love to hear what you all think are must-reads, especially those aimed at the YA or MG age groups.

Thanks!

The Raina Telgemeier books are AMAZING. You will pick up SMILE and read it all in one go. (DRAMA is another great and popular one.) It's the perfect MG read too - all about getting braces and first crushes and, importantly, holding your head up despite life's little awkwardnesses. Also HEREVILLE by Barry Deutsch is awesome for a YA audience. For an audience a *little* older than your HEREVILLE readers is BLANKETS by Craig Thompson. BLANKETS is my favorite graphic novel of all time. It is a touching, even haunting depiction of a boy from an evangelical Christian home and his first romance. It will remind you of that feeling of your first love. And for teens themselves experiencing first love for the first time, it might be somewhat cathartic.
 

mrFurious

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bendis' run at ultimate spiderman is pretty YA. pete's stuck in highschool and has tons of underdog highschool crap to deal with yet still has all the cool parts of spiderman and the art is great. plus you can grab 'em just about anywhere.

ultimate-spider-man-20060214013959599_640w.jpg
 

Mystikal

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There's a few really good graphic novels by an Iranian woman that have been getting a lot of attention because they're banned in schools. You should check out Persepolis, it is a really good insight into a girl growing up during Revolution. I've also ready Chicken with Plums which is awesome.
 

AnthonyHill

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Try Persepolis. It’s a childlike black-and-white graphic novel about the author’s childhood in Iran. I personally loved it. You might find it unappealing at first because of its childish representation but the story itself will blow you away. It’s quite a breath of fresh air.
 

jmikehub

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A nice little jem called Daytripper, pick it up at your local bookstore and you won
t regret it

its about life and death, sounds vauge but its cool
 

AlyssaCroft

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I was a weird little kid who started reading outside of the kid's section of the library when I was 9, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt:

Rising Stars by J. Michael Straczynski
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore
Batman: Knightfall (saga)
The Authority by Mark Millar (and others)
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore (definitely beyond MG, but might be liked by YA)
Watchmen by Alan Moore (as above, and also note that one of the main events the story revolves around is a woman being abused)
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo and Satoshi Kon
The Darkness and Witchblade series (the stories tie in together)
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (this is new so obviously didn't read as a kid, but I'm sure teenage boys are all over TWD)
Y: The Last Man (another newer series, but one that teenage me would've read if it was out that early)

I also read a bunch of other Batman comics, X-Men (including a pretty cool story about Magneto losing his memory), WonderWoman, and Spiderman, as well as some other random standalones, but they're defying memory at the moment.

All of these are probably suited to more mature teen readers (sexy/violent/political are common threads), so use your discernment whether this is the kinda inspiration you're looking for. ;D
 

small axe

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I've luv'd FLOOD by Eric Drooker (it's nearly dialogue-less, but graphically beautiful)

Lynda Barry's comix teen memoirs (100 DEMONS, MARLEYS) might be interesting to YA adults going through that time.

CASANOVA
by Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon

is a weird, James Bondian sci-fi mindtrip for older teens



BAREFOOT GEN by Nakazawa about a boy who survives the Hiroshima bomb is a dark, scary tale ... but important history and story-telling.

MAUS obviously is dark, mature but vital reading, I'd say, obviously one of the timeless and greatest graphic novels!
 

Nadezda

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I third Bone! Also, the Scott Pilgrim series might be worth considering.

I know you said you were interested in comic books, but most teenagers these days are into manga as well (at least, among my circle of friends, it was more popular--I have only recently become a grown up :p). Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist were the most commonly read.

But I suggest you look up ANYTHING by Mark Crilley. His middle grade series is excellent. He does drawing tutorials on YouTube, which I loved them as a teen. Ended up buying his teen graphic novels, which are on the tame side as far as violence and such are concerned, so they would probably be appropriate for the 10-14 age group too (Mikki Falls is an adventure romance, basically).

V for Vendetta is very good, and I recommend it if you're interested in darker stories (it's dystopian) than those previously mentioned. It's not really YA, but the protagonist is a teen.
 

Evaine

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My Young Man is a fan of Captain Britain, and he lent me the three volume set of stories by Paul Cornell - Captain Britain and MI 13 - Secret Invasion, Hell Comes to Birmingham and Vampire State. Despite not really knowing anything about the backstories of the characters, I thought they were great - the Black Knight has a rather sweet romance with a Muslim woman doctor, who gets to wield Excalibur! Which is extremely cool! Running MI-13 is Pete Wisdom, who gets his own Paul Cornell comic spin off (also extremely good) Rudiments of Wisdom.

And for something completely different, I also enjoyed Widdershins, by Kate Ashwin, which now runs to three volumes - the adventures of Harriet Barber, pipe smoking bounty hunter and inept wizard Sid Malik in an 1830s alternate universe where magic works, and a separate story about a man who can see normally invisible spirits and his German violinist friend. Those are only available online, I think, or from the author herself at Conventions.
 

Dark Princess

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I second everyone who recommends Persepolis.

Scott Pilgrim series (starting with Scrott Pilgrim vs. the World by Bryan Lee O'Malley)

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Maus by Art Spiegelman

What it Is by Lynda Barry

YA: A Wrinkle in Time by Hope Larson; I've heard nothing but good things about this, although I haven't read it myself.
 

Axl Prose

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On the comic side of things:
Batman The Dark Knight Returns and
All Star Superman. Hard to top those.
Non comic side:
The Crow and Sin City series. Not mg by any means but both are great.
 
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