A good graphic novel
 

Hey guys, this one is mostly for the comic book readers. It seems like I have a little bit of money, and I was interested in getting a graphic novel. I would prefer something from either X-men,Batman,Spiderman but I'm pretty open minded though. Thanks.

Try Watchmen--it's one of two graphic novels I know, but it's really, really good, the sort of thing that demonstrates comics' potential to be genuinely literary. It does for superhero comics what Blood Meridian did for the Western, if that makes any sense...(review here: http://www.grovel.org.uk/reviews/watchm01/watchm01.htm)

The other graphic novel I know is the ten-volume Sandman series, which is also very good: http://www.neilgaiman.com/comics/essay_sandman.asp

Try the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Far better then the movie.
Great characters and a fun plot line filled with references to just about every book from the Victorian era.

I like that star wars comic, dark emire, good stuff all around :)

Go classic Batman. They have some great stuff there. I am a BIG fan of Red Rain and Bloodstorm (Dracula´Crossovers)

Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns is awesome. The Jeph Loeb / Tim Sale books are very good also, such as Batman: The Long Halloween or Dark Victory.

If you want X-men or Spider-man, get the Ultimate trade paperbacks. For those that don't know the Ultimate line was a ravamp of the Marvel universe that started a couple years ago. It's kind of fun getting in at the start of things.

And if you want something totally different, look for 100 Bullets, Fables, or Y: the Last Man. redravin40 is also right to recommend LOEG. The references in every single panel are fun to see.

This isn't a Comic-related Graphic Novel, but one of the greatest Graphic Novels I've ever read is "The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth"

It made me laugh. It made me cry. It raped my mind.

Precher and Sandman both offer up unique experiences, although you'll eventualy want to get the rest. Gone to Texas and Preludes and Nocturns, are the first trades for each series.

Planetary is a highly enjoyable read.

Someone mentioned Watchmen already. V for Vendetta is excellent also, if a bit high handed.

Leon listed some truely great Batman books, another excellent DC graphic novel is Kingdom Come.

Watchmen, DK returns, Death of C. Marvel are all good ones

Right up my alley! (As I just got BACK into comics after a decade away and have been buying... Trades!)

Starting with MY personal faves:

Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series
Garth Ennis' "Preacher" series
Jeff Smith's "Bone" series
Brian Michael Bendis' "Jinx" and "Fortune And Glory"
All 28 TPB's of "Lone Wolf And Cub"

Then:

"Watchmen"
"Powers"
"Alias"
"Ultimate Spider-Man"
"Ultimate X-Men"
"The Punisher" (Starting with "Welcome Back, Frank")
"Sin City"
"Astro City"
"Transmetropolitan"
"Barry Ween"

As for comics, I just started reading these NEW titles:

"The Losers"
"Born" (Punisher's Origins)
"The New Mutants"
"Empire"

And EAGERLY awaiting Neil Gaiman's "1602" next month!

I'll give you the same advice my friend gave me in January when I was all like, "So what the hell should I be reading now?"

Bendis, Ellis, Ennis.

You WON'T go wrong.

Frank Miller: Sin City. Any of them.

Preacher. Holy shit this series rocked. Start with the first book and then move along.

For the more forward straight ahead mavel titles:

Ray Romitta's Dare Devil Origin Mini series... Outstanding!!!

Wolverine: Weapon X

Really only those two.

And if you got 200 bucks: buy all 6 of the Akira Graphic novels. 2000 pages of blood, violence and things that morph and explode.

Did Garth Innus (sp?) write those. If so and you liked them. Read PREACHER.... you'll fuckin flip.

For Spider-Man, I still think the old Lee/Ditko books from the '60's have yet to be topped. The "Essential Spider-Man" books reprint huge chunks of them, but sadly they're in black and white.

For X-Men, many people swear by the Claremont/Byrne era. While this is certainly the time period that made the X-Men what they are today, I find that the writing style hasn't aged well (and unlike Stan Lee's stuff, it doesn't have a retro-fun feel to it either). Still, you could do a lot worse than "The Dark Phoenix Saga," which has a lot of defining moments for the classic X-Men characters. For a more modern take, I recommend Grant Morrisson's "New X-Men" series. Trade paperbacks are numbered on the spine for easy chronological reference.

If you do feel like branching out a bit, while staying in the super-hero realm, "Watchmen" is the way to go. It's generally considered the best super-hero story of the modern era (if not the best ever) by the best comics writer of the modern era (and artist Dave Gibbons is hardly a slouch).
Have fun!
sk

Hey! Almost all of these are compilations. What about pure, 1 shot graphic novels?

Godloves man kills?
New mutants?
Thing vs Hulk? - great ending.

The classic Wolverine 4 issue mini-series
How about Scud & La Cosa Nostra by Rob Schrab?
And for purely mean fun, Milk & Cheese by Evan Dorkin.

if you have some time and $$ then i recommend Cerebus...tons of books.

The series willbe ending soon :'-(

Warren Ellis' 'Strange Killings' is really dark and twisted.
a cool read.

Its the story of an english special forces guy, i don't know if it was released in america tho

Vagabond.

I've only read the first one though, but it was a quality graphic novel.

Thanks for the last so far guys...I'm still looking around and weighing my options. Also:

leon2345 - I've read The Dark Knight Returns and enjoyed it for the most part. Personally, the art didn't do too much for me, but the story telling made up for it.
Has anyone read the sequel to it, The Dark Knight Strikes Again? I've heard mixed feelings on it and the art isn't doing much to pull me in neither. Thoughts?

If you didn't like the art in the first DK, you'll be even more set off by the second.

The story in the second is pretty good. Too quick for my tastes though. I think Miller could of brought more to the table than he did. Miller is one of my favorite writers for this genre and I think he held back for this series of books.

Dark Knight Strikes Again had too much to live up to. It was a fun read, but not much to it. However, it was real fun to see his take on some of DC's other characters, like the Flash, Atom, Plastic Man, etc.

Hey a big vote for the Sandman series. Well worth reading.

I agree with most of the options offered.

My suggestion is V for Vendetta, an old one but good one. Also I really like Dave McKean's Cages, though the later ones in the series are more abstract.

Anything by Alan Moore, anything.

Try the collected sets of
Promethia

Very deep,
once you get through the base story
the symbolism is excellent.

Sandman.
and for superheros try to find Byrne's Captain America//Batman crossover Very good stuff.

anything in the ultimate line is gonna be great.
Ive never read anything by bendis i didnt like. I think Jinx is probably one of the best trades i have read. especially for the price.

preacher was awesome.

check out 100 bullets. it kicks ass.

i dont know if they have done a trade yet but global frequency rocks. or pretty much anything by warren ellis

How could no one have mentioned the only graphic novel to ever win a pulitzer?-->Maus. Should be required reading for comic collectors, along with Watchmen, DK Returns, and Jimmy Corrigan. Though if you're looking for x-men or batman, Maus will likely be a bit too heavy.

yeah maus gets my vote.