I’ve been asked to come up with a list of my favorite comics. That’s a tough list to make since I’ve read a lot of great comics over the decades. I broke it down categories. This week is single volume stuff. Some of it has more than one volume but it’s mostly finished stuff or graphic novels. Next week will be long running series.
Single Volume Stuff (Almost)
“It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken” by Seth
One of my all-time favorites by the one names cartoonist Seth. It’s an semi-autobiographical comic about him living live as a cartoonist, contemplating what that means, and trying to track down an obscure old “New Yorker” cartoonist who’s work reminds him of himself. The “semi” is in autobiographical because the cartoonist his is tracking down is fictional so who knows how much of the rest of it is fictional too? But that doesn’t matter. It still resonates with me.
I also love his other works: “Clyde Fans,” “Wimbledon Green,” “George Sprott,” and anything else you might find by him.
“Hate”by Peter Bagge
The first volume of “Hate” is “Buddy Does Seattle” and this is considered “The Funny One” and at the time it come out in the early 1990’s it became considered the unofficial comic of Grunge Music and that young generation.
I love all three volumes and to me they add up to the Great American Novel. They are the story of Buddy Bradley’s life from a teen to a man pushing fifty. I find them funny and insightful.
There are three volumes. “Buddy Does Seattle,” “Buddy Does New Jersey,” and “Buddy Buys a Dump.” Plus you can find the earliest Buddy Bradley stories in a volume called “The Bradleys” which is about Buddy and his family when he was a teenager. Plus there was just a new volume called “Hate: Revisited” that is also really good.
“Peepshow” Joe Matt
Another late 1980s to early 1990s favorite. It’s a warts and all autobiography comic about Joe Matt and how he lives his life. Weirdly I must say. The volume just named “Peepshow” is a collection of his earliest strips and is quite good. Then he did 15 issues of a comic named “Peepshow” and those stories were collected into volumes with names. “Spent” and “The Playboys” were two of them.
“Finder” by Carla Speed McNeil
One of my all time favorite series “Finder” is collected in various volumes with various titles. There are two huge collections called “Finder: Library Edition (One and Two) from Dark Horse that collect most of the material.
It’s hard to describe “Finder” except to say that McNeil creates whole cultures to set her stories in. Lots of different families and clans that act within lots of different traditions. I find it all really interesting.
One favorite volume is named “Talisman” and is all about a young girl’s love for books. Anyone with a love for books will probably like this one.
“Berlin” by Jason Lutes
Though it came out in individual issues over 20 years you can find this one in a single volume called “Berlin.” Make sure it’s the 580 page volume if you want all of it because it’s also available in three 200 page volumes. I actually have and prefer the three volumes because the pages are a little larger and they are easier to handle.
“Berlin” is the story of a bunch of people living in Berlin in about 1930 during the fall of the Weimar republic. It’s historical fiction and I find it fascinating stuff. Jason Lutes is an excellent cartoonist. He’s also done “Jar of Fools.”
“The Death-Ray” by Daniel Clowes
Picking out a Daniel Clowes book to put on this list is tough. I tried to pick one that I thought would be the best for a first time reader of Clowes. I could have also picked “Ghost World.”
“The Death Ray” is the story of a guy who fins a death ray and how that impacts his life. He just points it at someone, pulls the trigger, and that someone disappears forever. As with all Clowes stuff it’s a weird story but relatable. A superhero reader might want to start here with Clowes.
I think “David Boring” might be my favorite of his but I also love “Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron.” I also really liked his latest that’s called “Monica.” Anything by Clowes is good comics!
“Asterios Polyp” by David Mazzucchelli
Most of the comic world loves Mazzucchelli for his art on “Batman: Year One” and “Daredevil: Born Again” and both of those deserve all the praise they’ve gotten but I’m an Asterios guy. This is the story of a middle aged “Paper Architect” (he’s never had any of his buildings actually built) who has spent his career teaching and now has lost his way.
The art in this one is terrific and inventive and the story has really grown on me over the years. The main character is fifty years old. I was younger than him when the book first came out but when I reread the book a few years ago I was then older than him. I think I related to him more when I was older. That was a little odd but good.
“Mister X: The Archives (Volume One)” by Dean Motter and a lot of people.
This is the most up and down book on this list because a lot of different people had their hands on trying Mister X stories. This first volume is a collection of stories from the 1980s.
Mister X is the architect of the city called Somnopolis and he was a practitioner of “Psychotecture” which tried to use architecture to make people’s minds more healthy. Except he was kicked off the project and his ideas were subverted. Now it’s years later and he’s back trying to fix things.
Though the comic is often uneven what I love about it was that the creators were always trying to make something different and stylish. That can’t be said about almost all comics.
Volume Two which is called “The Brides of Mister X” is also good. Volume two has really grown on me over the years. There are even more Mister X volumes that are smaller and from the 21st Century. Give any of them a try.
“Bone” by Jeff Smith
This can be found all in big 1360 page volume or broken up into a nine volume series. Either way it’s great comics.
“Bone” is a classic adventure story done in an all ages style. Maybe a PG13 style. It’s drawn in a classic Pogo Possum or Disney cartoon style and the characters are drawn simply but with a lot of expression. It’s top shelf cartooning.
“Phone Bone” is the name of the lead character and he has two traveling companions that are also “Bones.” The name goes with their cartoon racial/ethnic identity. Sort of like a Hobbit, elf, or dwarf.
The three of them having had to flee their home town end up on a grand adventure and in the middle of a war between good people and the forces of evil. It’s a beloved classic and well deserved.
“The Original’s” by Dave Gibbons
You’ll find “Watchmen” by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore on most people’s “Best Of” lists but I’ve never been a hug fan of that one. For good Gibbons work I much prefer “The Originals” especially the oversized version that came out a few years ago.
The story of “The Originals” is a “Mods versus Rockers” story taken from the 1960s and placed in the future. It’s a coming of age story and you’ve probably read something like it before but not with such great art.
I really like the storytelling and visualizations in this one. The drawing and design is terrific and I revisit this one every so often even if to just look at it for a while.
“The Fade Out” by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Here is another creative team I had trouble picking out just one comic from. Brubaker and Phillips have been collaborating for about 20 years and they have put out a lot of books. The “Reckless” series, “Criminal” the series, “Incognito,” “Fatale,” and a few more that I’m forgetting.
These two do a lot of crime stories. They are all good. This one was a 1940s noir story set in Hollywood. I’d start here but you can really start anywhere with any one of Brubaker and Phillips’ books.
One thing that really stood out for me about the art in this one was Phillips’ ability to differentiate between drawing a normal pretty woman and a Hollywood beauty. That’s hard to pull off and something I never really thought about before reading this but Phillips pulled it off and made me think about it.
“Sin City – Volume One” by Frank Miller
Frank Miller is an all time great in the comic book world and there is a lot to choose from. Other people would probably pick his “Daredevil” issues or “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” but I would rather read the first volume of “Sin City.” I could read this volume over and over.
“Sin City – Volume One” is a simple story. A beautiful woman in danger shacks up with the biggest, meanest, tough guy she can find. It doesn’t help. She still gets killed with the tough guy, Marv, sleeping beside her. Now Marv wants revenge and doesn’t care if he has to die to get it. From then on in it’s noir action drawn in a high contrast style with visuals and storyteller that are pure Frank Miller. I want to read it right now!
“Grendel: Devil by the Deed – Master Edition” by Matt Wagner
There is a lot of “Grendel” to choose from but I would start here. I’ve always been a huge fan of the original “Grendel: Devil by The Deed.” It came out in the 1980s but this version is all new.
Matt Wagner decided to revisit, rewrite, and redraw this original Grendel story and now it’s about 120 pages long instead of the original 40. It’s really well done. I had my doubts since I love the original so much but this is a much better version to introduce Grendel to new readers.
Grendel is a crime lord. Yes, the main character is the villain of the piece and that’s not the only convention Wagner turns on its head. This is the story of Grendel’s rise and fall. Or does he really fall? That’s a question for many other Grendel series.
The story is mostly told in captions and illustrations with is a style I’m not always fond of. But it works well here. I 100% love it.
“Planetary” by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
This one is a favorite from the late 1990s. Planetary is the name of an organization that investigates strange phenomenon. The comic is filled with geek culture references as it attempts to unite them all. It’s also got a lot of superhero stuff but different from the usual stories. It’s fun and mysterious.
My one criticism of “Planetary” is that I wasn’t overly fond of how the story concluded. But I love it anyway.
The original seres ran 27 issues but they can all be found in “The Planetary Omnibus.” Or there are a series of smaller volumes of it.
“Velvet” By Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
Here is one that you won’t find on a lot of favorite lists but anyone who has read it loves it.
“Velvet” takes place in the late 1960s and is about a female spy who was once a top agent but now has retired to a spy office job. Then things go wrong and she’s on the run and has to avoid capture and clear her name. It’s sort of like if Miss Moneypenny from a James Bond novel was an agent.
This one is fast paced and exciting. Epting does a terrific job on the art and it has a level of realism that makes me believe everything. A fun spy action comic that is a great read.
“Jupiter’s Legacy” by Mark Millar and Frank Quietly
Here is another that you won’t find on a lot of lists but to read it is to have a lot of fun. It’s a story of a long time super hero group and family and how they are betrayed. Lots of classic super hero action.
I often call Mark Millar: “The Master of the Expected” because he rarely puts twists in his plots and he likes to telegraph his moves. Most of the time you can see everything coming but then he and Quietly pull it off and it’s a rush. I’m a big fan of Quietly’s art and storytelling and he’s got it going on in this one. It’s a fast paced and easy to read series.
There are two five issue volumes of “Jupiter’s Legacy” collected into two paperbacks. There was also a boring Netflix series made from this but don’t bother with that.
“Negation” by Tony Bedard and Paul Pelltier
You’ll probably not find this one on anyone’s list but mine. To me it’s a classic. It was published by Crossgen in the early 2000s and ran 27 issues but the story was not finished before Crossgen went out of business. Most of it can be found in old paperback collections.
Negation starts as the story of a jailbreak and then the people have to find their way off planet and try to find safe haven in a universe ruled by an all powerful dude named Charon.
The rest of it is a super hero sci-fi type story as our band of escapees travel from planet to planet in their space ship and try to figure out what to do. It’s faced paced and full of action. One of my favorites.
As an aside Marvel Comics now owns the rights to Negation and all of Crossgen’s comics so maybe one day they can collect this all in a nice volume and even finish the story. I can dream.
“Karmen” by Guilliem March
Here is a recent graphic novel that I really liked. It’s not even a type of story I’m interested in. It’s the story of a recently deceased woman and the angel (maybe) who has to guide her to the afterlife. Of course that involves lots of contemplation about the recently deceased woman’s life (is her name Karmen or is that the angel? I can’t remember).
What I love most about this comic is the art. March takes us on a visual journey that’s rich and satisfying. The people and the city he draws are spectacular and I was glad I was along for the ride. It’s really good stuff.
That’s the stuff I thought off as I sat here. I’m sure I left things out plus next week I’ll have a list of long running series that I like.