For this final installment of Comics Should Be Cheap, we’re going counter to the entire premise of this column: we’re throwing costs out the window.
Inspired by the long running BBC Radio Show Desert Island Discs, we asked our regular contributors and friends to identify the five comics/graphic novels/manga that they would take with them to a desert island, along with one optional luxury item. The comics could be classics or recent, and as stated earlier, money is no object.
To all those who contributed to Comics Should be Cheap over the years, and to all those who read and offered their own opinions on our picks: we’re truly grateful for your passion and engagement. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
Elias’s Desert Island Picks:
I’m going to use my Kaiba Corp patented DUEL DISC SYSTEMTM to decide which five comics I’ll be taking with me. Oh god this is going to be tough.
The Contract With God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue by Will Eisner: Yes. I’m counting this as one book. If it’s got one binding, it’s one book! I picked this one not really for its titular story, which I like well enough, but for the third part of the trilogy, “Dropsie Avenue.” I read this when I was in high school, looking for something new to read and seeing it on a library shelf. This 150-some-odd page story is the history of a neighborhood, the Dropsie neighborhood specifically, from a Dutch farm through then present day. It’s an immigrant story, but a cyclical one, and that’s the triumph and the tragedy at its heart. Eisner knew better than anyone that bittersweet is the name of the game.
Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore: I wonder if every comic I pick will be in black and white. Probably not, but considering my tastes, the odds aren’t favorable. Anywho, I recently re-read “Strangers in Paradise,” a comic that had a profound effect on me the first time I read it, lonely as I was, awake for 18 hours as I was, and it simply reaffirmed my love for the series. It’s not a perfect work – the whole “10 years in the future” gambit never quite resolves properly – but folks, you won’t read a better tragicomedy. You will laugh, you WILL cry, and you will love watching a cartoonist throw spaghetti at the wall as he comes into his own.
Bone by Jeff Smith (and colored by inimitable Steve Hamaker): I really struggled to pick one version of this. The original B&W is gorgeous, with a darker tone thanks to the contrast between stark whites and deep blacks that perfectly fits the narrative’s aims. However, I first read “Bone” in the Scholastic editions as a child and I share a love for those versions as well. For those who don’t know, those editions contained Steve Hamaker’s gobsmackingly beautiful colors. It’s a whole other comic. Lush and fantastic but properly dark and serious, the only knock on those releases is there’s a bit of censorship & cutting, which I believe is fixed in the one-book release of the color edition?
Whichever version ends up with me on the island though, I will be happy. The fantasy adventure of the Bone boys and Rose is one I will take in any format gladly.
52 by, primarily, Geoff Johns, Keith Giffen, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid: There are many mainstream DC comics I adore. Many runs I hold dear and many series I would gladly revisit time and time again. But there are few that have stuck with me as much as “52.” I couldn’t tell you why. There’s just something about its focus on lesser known characters, many of whom are kinda screw-ups, that appeals to me. Using them to tell a big, cosmic narrative full of twists and turns is also right up my alley. And a giant cork-board full of teasers? Sign me the hell up! It helps that I have a meaningful connection to the novelization and fond memories of reading it during a summer bus trip around the country.
If I had to complain about the series, it’s that it was a victim of its own ambition in some ways and not every thread gets a resolution within its pages or even outside of it. Such is the trials of working within corporate comics, and with a weekly series. It doesn’t matter though. The comic is a joy from page 1 to page, I dunno, 1144? It’s a marvel it ever succeeded and may be the one weekly series that has actually been unequivocally good.
Continued belowSpinning by Tillie Walden: There are few artists for whom I will read everything they publish as soon as it’s out. Tillie Walden is one of those artists and “Spinning” is the work to thank for that. It’s not my favorite of her works – “On a Sunbeam” still holds that title – but it is the one that affected me the most, coming at a time when I most needed it.
Also, while the book is not black and white, it is monochrome so I guess my preferences have been laid bare.
Luxury Item – A Really Comfy Chair: Don’t discount the importance of a comfortable place to sit. Take it from me. If I’m stuck on a deserted island, I’m gonna want something with a back, something cushioned, and probably with a leg rest. Will it stay like that? I mean, this is all a hypothetical anyway so sure, why not?
Mark’s Desert Island Picks:
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (box set, $80): I know it must come as a surprise to everyone that Hayao Miyazaki is an incredible visual storyteller, but this series has some of the most story-focused layouts I’ve ever seen in a comic. There are sequences in this comic that I like to return to and just read the images, for the pure pleasure of how they flow together. Thankfully, this two-volume set is collected on a larger page than your standard manga, allowing the reader to really appreciate the details.
The Complete Harrow County ($149.99): Thankfully, this Halloween the original run of Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook’s “Harrow County” is being collected in a single volume, along with all the short stories, the essays, and all the sketchbook material. It really is complete. I wrote the Harrow County Observer column here on the site for the entire run of the series, so this isn’t just a comic I enjoyed, it’s one that taps into some of my most fond memories of writing for Multiversity Comics.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes ($225): All eleven years of Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes.” I haven’t sat down and read this in quite a few years now, and honestly, the idea of spending some time on a deserted island getting lost in these strips again sounds heavenly.
The Making of Tintin: In the World of the Inca (~$1000): Long out of print, this volume collects one of my favourite Tintin stories, the diptych “The Seven Crystal Balls” and “Prisoners of the Sun,” along with a making-of section. Unlike many multi-volume collections, it presents the stories with the full page size. And given the way the story was created, originally serialized as black and white daily strips a mere 4cm (1.6 inches) tall, and by its end serialized as a double-page color landscape, it shows Hergé’s mastery of the comics medium to its fullest.
Hellboy in Hell – Library Edition ($49.99): It was a challenge to figure out which Mike Mignola book I’d bring with me to my exile on the island. I know I could’ve picked “Monster-Sized Hellboy” and gotten way more Hellboy stories, but that volume doesn’t have any special features, and the absolutely enormous 84-page sketchbook section in this library edition is what I need. There is a magic about seeing an artist’s thumbnails and layouts and pencils and concept sketches and everything else that I never tire of.
Luxury Item – BASIK Chocolates: My favorite chocolatier makes four flavors every month and they are sublime.
Christopher’s Desert Island Picks:
Watchmen: Often lauded as the best comic book and frankly still is, there’s no way I’m gonna go to a desert island and not have access to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s beautifully constructed alternate superhero history. A slowburn riposte to cynicism, this masterpiece is also funnily enough a story about how solitude and loneliness can drive even the most well-meaning person mad, so perfect! I think “The Sandman” is a greater achievement, but sadly even with the omnibus it’d take up too many positions on this list.
Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo Vol. 1: Look, ‘Year One,’ “Dark Knight Returns,” “Killing Joke” et al. are all magnificent books, essential must reads for anyone interested in Batman and superheroes, but Snyder and Capullo’s ‘Court of Owls’ is hands down my favourite Batman comic story, an eerie, terrifying, and exhilarating jumping on point for every newcomer (naturally, given it was the series’ first ‘New 52’ arc), especially with Capullo’s wonderful art that resembles a more mature DCAU. If you’ve ever wondered: this is the arc I would’ve adapted into a live-action film if I had been given the keys to the kingdom, Arkham opening fight and all. ‘Death of the Family’ and ‘Zero Year’ are excellent too.
Continued belowSuperman: Birthright: I don’t want to leave out Big Blue, but unfortunately Geoff Johns’s late 2000s run (which is still my favorite) has not been collected in an omnibus format. In any case, Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu and the late Gerry Alanguilan’s 2003-04 origin story remains my favourite Superman series, one that should be thrown at anyone who ever dares imply Clark Kent is boring. Up, up and away!
Infinity: I love Jonathan Hickman’s whole Fantastic Four/Avengers metaseries, but ‘Infinity’ is such a high point for “Avengers,” “New Avengers,” and Marvel as a whole. Hickman, Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver, Mike Deodato Jr. and co.’s epic explores the fun question of Earth facing two completely different threats at the same time (Thanos and the Builders), and delivers it with such aplomb it manages to feel even bigger than “Secret Wars.” It was a clear influence on Avengers: Infinity War, but until the MCU’s Avengers see combat in space, this remains Marvel’s answer to Star Wars, Star Trek, or Mass Effect for sheer scale.
Ms. Marvel Omnibus Vol. 1: From ‘Infinity’ to ‘Inhumanity,’ with my final pick being the original run from G. Willow Wilson and co. that introduced me to my favourite Marvel character of the past 15 years. Simply a great, emotionally affecting and fun YA superhero series, that’s easily the most important title of its ilk since the original Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Spider-Man run. It’s a shame it got cut short by ‘Secret Wars,’ but at least Captain Marvel shows up here.
Kate’s Desert Island Picks:
The MARCH Trilogy: I had the privilege and honor of meeting the late John Lewis at the American Library Association conference in January 2017, at a time when many of us were in despair of the state of our country. He shook my hand, autographed my slipcase, and reminded me to “keep the faith.” Not many can say we have met a pioneer of America’s civil rights movement, and the story contained within this graphic novel series sheds light on just what a pivotal role Congressman Lewis played. I mourned fiercely when he died, but work every day to cause plenty of good trouble in this world.
Ms. Marvel Omnibus Vol. 1: Like Chris, I’m also picking this omnibus because Ms. Marvel was the character that got me hardcore into comics. She’s hyper, she’s passionate, and she’s from New Jersey – all just like me. I also loved how gently G. Willow Wilson used Kamala Khan and her family to gently educate readers in Muslim life and culture, all while providing representation beautifully on the page, with plenty fo heart and humor. We wouldn’t have Iman Vellani today if it wasn’t for this series.
Arsenal: The Game We Love: If I had known when I wrote the review for this graphic novel in 2022 how much this f*cking football club would change my life, maybe I wouldn’t have written it. It’s such a beautiful story of a lesson I’ve learned in two years of my love affair with the beautiful game: football is family.
Peanuts 2000: The 50th Year Of The World’s Favorite Comic Strip: Picking something Peanuts related was a necessity for this installment for me, having grown up with Charlie Brown movies and TV specials as appointment television, and a house where the Snoopy toys and memorabilia are slowly taking over and one day will grow sentient and murder me in my sleep. But where to start? There’s at least 26 volumes collecting the series over the years, which itself could be an entire Desert Island Comics series. For this moment, I’ll choose the collection of the final year of comic strips, culminating in the final strip that served as both farewell to the series and to its creator, who passed away the day it was released. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy . . . how can we ever forget them?
They Called Us Enemy: George Takei’s memoir of his childhood in internment camps for Japanese-Americans in World War II are a sobering reminder of our own racist, xenophobic history in America – – and a call to action to ensure such history is never repeated again. It is one of few first person accounts of life in these camps that personalizes the history books, particularly as it is told from a child’s point of view. May it teach us all a powerful lesson.
Continued belowLuxury Item – iPad: Initially this was going to be a bottle of Glenlivet 15 year scotch, but I went with the iPad as it can provide me with entertainment on all forms: comics reading, games, and (since our fictional desert island has internet), some connection to the outside world so I can hope someday to get rescued.
Brian’s Desert Island Picks:
Who’s Who Omnibus Vol. 1: “Who’s Who” was my favorite comic growing up, which is as surefire a sign of being a huge fucking nerd as anything else I could tell you. I remember buying issues with my dad off the spinner rack at The Varsity, the coffee shop we’d go to every Saturday morning, so this is both a nostalgia thing and the foundation for me to write hundreds of new stories on banana leaves in my own blood as madness starts to creep in, but not before I ask myself questions like, “What was Clayface III’s first name again?”
Starman Omnibus Vol. 4: This is the hardest choice of the whole bunch; which volume of Starman to take with me? This one has the crossover with “The Power of Shazam,” so I get to have two of my favorites represented in one volume. Yeah, that’ll do.
My Brain is Hanging Upside Down: David Heatley’s memoir of his early life blew me away when I first read it and, since Heatley grew up two towns over from me and much of the story is set in suburban New Jersey, this will be a nice piece of home to take with me.
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth Omnibus Vol. 3: This was the second hardest decision, because any of the ‘Hell on Earth’ omnibi would be welcome, but I think “Reign of the Black Flame” has the most moments that speak to me, though as I’m typing this I’m leaning more towards Vol. 2. I don’t know, you pick for me.
The Book of Genesis: If I’m stuck on a desert island, I’ll probably need to get right with God, so why not let R. Crumb be the conduit to my salvation?
Luxury item: loaded iPod: I go on eBay, buy the biggest iPad classic they have, and load it will all the good stuff, plus episodes of my favorite podcasts, recordings I made of my parents and my kids, and a few audio books. I suppose I’d also need a set of headphones, lest I find myself in a “Time Enough at Last” situation. And a charger. And an outlet. Can my luxury item be a generator with an iPod and a pair of nice headphones atop it?
