Perhaps you just picked up your first graphic novel. Perhaps you have been reading superhero monthlies for nearly your entire life. Whatever the impetus, you’ve come to a conclusion: you love comic books. Not just the stories they tell or the characters that inhabit their pages, but the medium itself. Something about the medium of sequential art clicks for you, more than any other. And so you set out on a mission of sorts: to learn about the medium, to expose yourself to as many different kinds of comics as possible, and generally relish the unique possibilities this niche has. Of course, there’s one big question to answer before you do that — where do you start?
That’s where I found myself shortly after I began writing for this website. A few years later, and I still consider myself a novice — there are so many comics that I still want to read, and every time I finish one of them I learn of five more. Never, ever, ever would I consider myself an “expert” or an “authority” on anything, much less an entire medium. That being said, I thought I would give my thoughts on what should make up the first “shelf” of someone’s comic library, as generic as it may be. It’s hardly thorough, but I think these comics to be the “essentials” for anyone who loves comics more than they do a specific genre: a little bit of everything, from graphic novels to ongoings, from Europe to Japan, and some broader, less specific recommendations. If you have any others that you think unquestionably everyone should own, please be sure to leave them in the comments!
Understanding Comics and The Comic Book History of Comics – These are your textbooks. Study them. There are plenty of other books on the theory behind comic art, or the history of the form, but these two are perhaps the best examples of the most succinct and easily accessible books for each category. Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics is a cheerful examination of what makes the medium tick, and Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s The Comic Book History of Comics is a sometimes hilarious, always thorough and factual survey of the American industry, as well as other nationalities — between the two, learning has never been so goddamn delightful. Plus, they’re comics, so they count both as essential comics and essential books on the medium.
A Contract with God – It’s one of the most famous graphic novels around, and for good reason. Will Eisner’s masterpiece may not be the first graphic novel it once was believed to be, or even the first comic to call itself a graphic novel, it is still one of the most important works in the medium, one that completely changed the public definition of what a comic was. Beyond that, though, it’s just damn good. The man the Eisner award is named for was a master of converying true human emotion through stylized art, and A Contract with God is him at his very best. The term “graphic novel” is a bit misleading, though, as the book is a collection of short stories, but the misnomer has stuck not only to Eisner’s masterpiece, but to other graphic albums, no matter whether they contain a single narrative or a hodgepodge of shorter tales. Either way, it’s a great read — the title story being my personal favorite of the batch. You can either nab it in paperback or a hardcover containing three other albums by the late master.
Bone – A major component of the current comic publishing model is the ongoing series. For the most part, American comics are published first as individual issues, and later reprinted in paperback form. This episodic format requires an almost entirely different approach to writing, if you want to do it well, where the creators must mix long-form storytelling with the need to make each individual chapter easy to read on its own (assuming the series isn’t a collection of unrelated stories, which is well and good, too). Jeff Smith’s all-ages comic “Bone” is an excellent example of the ongoing series done right — the way that the issues are written make it easy to put the book down for maybe a month or two, then come back to it without much difficulty. Of course, considering it is very well written and equally well illustrated, odds are likely you might end up plowing through it in a single weekend (I know I did). The cherry on top is that unlike other long-form series, where you can spend over $100 getting each separate paperback, you can get “Bone” in a single, black and white tome for forty dollars or less. Score.
Continued belowBuddha – For reasons I can’t fathom, some people talk about manga like it is an entirely different medium from comics. Most of us know better. When asked to name the Will Eisner of manga, I guarantee you that ninety nine times out of one hundred the person you asked would answer Osamu Tezuka — provided they had read manga beyond that which is currently “hip.” Tezuka was one of the finest illustrators and storytellers in the medium, and nearly any one of his many works would be a perfect addition to any comic fan’s shelf, but Buddha is perhaps his finest achievment. Chronicling the life of Siddhartha Gutama, known better as the Buddha, the series is a humanistic take on the quasi-mythic figure that manages to come off not as preachy, but as touching, exciting, and even humorous at points. Recently re-translated, it is collected across eight books — like in America, a lot of manga series are long-running — and is an excellent introduction to manga for a western audience.
Arzach – On the other hemisphere we have Europe, a font of comic creativity. Unfortunately, not even some of the best comics an entire continent has to offer have been sent overseas to America, and those that have are often cursed with short print runs and high cover prices. As such, many American comic readers (myself included) have little to no experience with European comics. If you only add one comic from this part of the world to your shelf — which would be a shame, but I have no room to talk — I would have to recommend the late Jean Giraud’s Arzach comics. There are many reasons to read these comics: Moebius’s art is beautiful, the landscapes are fascinating and filled with imagination, and they pushed the envelope of what a comic could be. The reason it makes the cut, though, is that it is almost purely visual storytelling. Not only does this serve as a great example of how the medium can be utilized, but it means that you don’t have spend time (and money) searching around for a good translation. This is one you will probably have to find secondhand, or through eBay, but there is no question that it is worth it.
A Script – Here we move from the specific recommendations to more general things you should look out for. With the separate writer/artist dichotomy we have in mainstream comics, many comics go from being a script first to a finished, illustrated product, and looking at an actual comic script can help bring a fresh new set of eyes to bear when reading comics you thought you knew thoroughly. A few big name writers actually have put out script books for their comics — Robert Kirkman fans can probably dig up copies of his “Walking Dead” and “Invincible” script books that float from comic shop to comic shop, and Brian Michael Bendis fans should have no difficulty in finding his “Ultimate Spider-Man” or “Powers” scripts. Otherwise, though, you may be in a tough situation. Scripts are more frequently published as “bonus material,” and are typically collected in bigger omnibuses, but sometimes you can get lucky and find a trade that has a script for a short selection, or even an entire issue (the latest printing of “The Sandman: Dream Country” includes a full Gaiman script). There are a few books out there that collect lesser-known comic scripts from big-name writers, but these don’t mean much if you don’t have the comic on hand to compare it with.
Something with Big Pages – Let’s be honest — while we have a myriad of reasons for loving comics, a major part is “the pretty pictures.” The omnibuses, absolute collections, library editions, and general deluxe copies of acclaimed comics tend to cost an equally pretty penny or two, but boy is it nice to be able to soak in the artwork of a comic you love in a size closer to or equal to the size it was when first drawn. Not only is it neat, but it can bring out some details in the artwork that you may have missed before, furthering your understanding of what it is that makes that artists “work” for you. As these can often be a big expense, I recommend sticking with a writer or artist you know and love already, or even something you’ve already read (that was me when “The Invisibles” omnibus came out). The nice thing is that a lot of these larger editions come with script excerpts, so you’re essentially killing two birds with one stone. When it comes to quality:cost ratio, I personally recommend the hell out of the gorgeous “I Kill Giants” Titan Edition by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura, which will run you about $40 at the very most, and is packed full of extra goodies, including scripts, but that just happens to be one of my favorite comics of all time, so I’m a bit biased.
Continued belowPick Two or Three Superhero Classics – For better or worse, superheroes are the foundation American comic industry at this point, and have been for some time. While we might hope for a day when, say, romance comics are just as plentiful on the stands as cape books, it is undeniable that they have had a major effect on the industry. As such, I find it hard to say that no one should own at least a couple of superhero trades. If we’re talking about significance, you really can’t do wrong with one of DC’s Chronicles series and one of Marvel’s Masterworks collections. These collect the first few issues of the character/series on the cover, beautifully restored without resorting to horrid re-coloring. Depending on how you want to break it up, I’d recommend choosing one of each to see the stark difference between the time that Marvel joined the rink and the early years of DC, but if you want to up it to three I’d say choose a DC Chronicles of a Golden Age hero (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) and a Silver Age one (Green Lantern, the Flash) to see how things changed even within the same company.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – That’s right — a “real” book (I know, I hate it when people say that, too). Michael Chabon’s most well-known book is thoroughly entrenched in the early years of the comic book, and whie it is a fictionalized account, it still does an excellent job of getting across what the time was like for the men who dared to waste their lives away drawing pictures of cosumed vigilantes doing good. It’s also a damn fine novel that gets not only to the heart of what it means to be human (why I’d recommend it to everyone), but what exactly makes comics so great (why I’d recommend it for this column). Everyone should read this, and as a comic fan, that goes double for you, reader.
Watchmen – Because you probably already own it at this point.
With that, you more or less have a shelf full of varied comics — hopefully all of which you’ll find as fascinating as the first funny book you opened, if you haven’t read them already. Not a bad start, if I may say so.
That’s right, I didn’t even recommend the comic I ripped the opening image from. I love “Flex Mentallo” even more than I do a lot of the books on this list, but sometimes you have to recognize the difference between “essential” and “favorite.”
