Thu 9 Oct 2008
After Alfredo from theexplodingbarrel suggested I read Y the Last Man, my good friend Jean-Francois lent me the first books from the series. I was instantly hooked! I’ve been a comic book fan practically since I was able to read but rarely has a non-superhero comic so captivated me.
I’ve read quite a few non-superhero comics in my day and so have decided to make a list of a few I highly recommend. This isn’t a “top x of all time” list since I haven’t read every non-superhero comic out there.
This is simply seen as a list of recommendations. If there’s something I left out, by all means let me know!
Y the Last Man
This Vertigo Comics book is the reason I even made this list. Y the Last Man was amazing on so many levels and hooked me by the first few comics. It’s the story of Yorick, the last man left alive after a mysterious plague wiped out every y chromosome on the planet, human or otherwise. If the premise doesn’t get you, the pacing will. At times funny and light-hearted and at others deep and disturbing, Y the Last Man will suck anyone in. My wife is living proof, this is the only comic that she’s read and it served to spark her interest in the medium as a whole.
I’ve read the entire 60 book series and although I’m sad it’s over, I feel that it needed to end to make it an epic. That’s one of the things I hate the most about Marvel/DC superhero comics. I would have preferred short graphics novels over the book-a-month + spin-offs + limited series approach but Marvel/DC has finances to think about, not just fan service.
Bone
This book caught me by surprise! It’s the story of three bone creature brothers that get lost and in a valley populated by humans, rat monsters, and other strange and wonderful creatures.
I stumbled on Bone when I went into my regular comic book store and they didn’t have anything for me from my list. I asked Jay the comic store guy to suggest something and he enthusiastically pushed the first Bone graphic novel in my face! I looked at the funny white creature on the cover and rolled my eyes but he was so sure I would like it that he offered me my money back if I didn’t. An offer I can’t and didn’t refuse and I haven’t looked back since.
Bone is a book for everyone. Hilarious and light-hearted yet possesses a deep a satisfying story with many twists that are mostly unpredictable and always a pleasure to discover. This is a world that could only be done justice in the comic book medium (and perhaps as a 2D animation).
Battle Chasers
This is a comic that I feel guilt for recommending but compelled to recommend at the same time. Although the book itself is gorgeous and is illustrated by one of my favorite comic book artists of all time, Joe Madureira who I once made a tribute PS3 theme about, it only ran for 9 issues and ended on a cliffhanger that was never resolved. If this infuriates you, then leave this recommendation aside since it will only end in disappointment. But if great art and the promise of a great fantasy world entices you, then by all means find this comic and treasure it.
The story revolves around a little girl in a fantasy setting that finds a pair of gloves that belonged to her missing father. These gloves grant the wearing strength and invulnerability. She is joined by an animated Golem, a legendary sword-fighter, and an elemental wizard on her quest to find her missing father. Throw into the mix is a red-head bombshell pirate who may or may not have been intended to join the band. The potential for this comic was great but sadly will never be realized, tread at your own risk.
Warlands
Although honestly not as good as the other books in this series, Warlands did help me get my fantasy fix after Battle Chasers was canceled. I’m not a fan of Pat Lee or Alvin Lee’s art but they did a decent job on the series. In general, the art seemed a little amateurish at times and the story, although very entertaining, wasn’t very deep.
Warlands is the story of a Vampire army that threatens to take over the world. There are elves and dwarfs and pretty much every other fantasy creature thrown into the mix. Definitely a good read but this book won’t make you wet your bed or anything. For fans of the genre only.
Ghost in the Shell
I confess, I only read the graphic novel after watching the brilliant 2d animation, and mostly to understand what I was missing from the movie. Still, whether you’ve seen the movie or not, you have to read this book. Extremely deep and compelling story and some of the best art ever in a manga (if you like that kind of thing).
The story’s main protagonist is agent Motoko Kusanagi, a law enforcement officer that is almost entirely synthetic. Her “spirit” is that of a human though but she starts to question even that when a computer program becomes self aware. Yes, very deep stuff and the series doesn’t lack in the action department either. I won’t delve any deeper and ruin any more of the story but suffice it to say that this book is a must read.
So there you have it. I’m sure there are TONS of non-superhero comics/manga/graphic novels out there that I’ve missed. On my “to read” list I have Black Sad, Blade of the Immortal (Which I’ve Started), and Crossed. Anything else worth reading?
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- More bad French in Marvel Comics
- My Joe Madureira PS3 Theme!
- Superman Returns was made by Marvel?
- Marvel vs DC: Who makes the better movies?
October 9th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
What? No Sandman? Maus? Persepolis?
October 9th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Noted!
Off to the comic store I go 
October 9th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
No “Contract with God” by Will Eisner?
October 9th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Midnight Nation from J. Michael Straczynski is even better Oz.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I would recommend “Sentences: The Life of M.F. Grimm”
Powerful stuff.
October 10th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
What about Fables ? It’s one of the best comics i have read.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:35 am
I just read the first Fable yet and it rocks indeed.
October 13th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
whaaaat? no Walking Dead???? I’m not big into comics but the Walking Dead series is awesome
October 15th, 2008 at 9:15 am
I still need to buy the Y the Last Man.
Someone mentioned Sandman, on that note, House of Mystery is a pretty good read so far.
October 21st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I have yet to finish as they do cost a bit of money, but I can’t wait to get the last half of them. So far, it seems like its going to be worth it.
October 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Warlands SUCKED. The rest are all worth a read.
November 12th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I haven’t read Warlands or Battle Chasers but I will try them out. I wish I could stab the person who asked about Maus and Sandman.
Keep reading your New Yorker book reviews and leave comics to comic fans.
January 28th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
sandman is a superhero comic… it has them intricately laced into the story line… it is not the focus of the story but when you have Zantanna and Martian man hunter in the book I think it’s a little hard to dispute the superhero comic moniker.
January 29th, 2009 at 5:57 am
The DMZ anyone? Nothing by Alan Moore is on here? Nor Grant Morrisson…If I had to make list of five: Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Palestine by Joe Sacco, V For Vendetta by Alan Moore (I’d go Watchmen, but no superheroes, right?), Bone by Jeff Smith, Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore. But then, I haven’t read everything on this list. Hmmmmmmm.
And Sandman is not a superhero comic. Admittedly there are superheroes in one single issue of the comic from the first few issues, well maybe in three issues, but when the vast majority of the comic deals with gods, myths, Shakespeare and the like I think we can agree that one issue or two doesn’t define a series that went on for years. Of course this does get into the debate as to what a superhero comic is, but that is another issue entirely. Question: is Top 10 a superhero comic?
Also – comics fans can’t appreciate the art of Spiegelman? Are you mad? Maus was a defining work in the comics medium. Look no further than Persepolis to see a modern example that shows clear influence. You are perfectly at liberty to not like it, but to mock those who do appreciate it in order to enhance a feeling of superiority – well, you need to try harder.
July 11th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Crap list. On the one hand, it completly ignores about 3 decades worth of Indie comics (which is pretty amazing, considering that the only non-superhero comics available for most of the ’80’s and ’90’s came from the indie houses), on the other, it manages to completely ignore some of the seminal comics of the modern age. No Preacher, or Transmetropolitan? No Cerebus,or Love and Rockets. Battle Chasers? Really?!!? How about From Hell, or Zot!, or Strangers in Paradise, or Mage, or Grendal, or Mr. Monster, or Flaming Carrot, or even TMNT.
And really, if you’re going to throw high fantasy into the mix, you really should toss in some of the borderline “super-hero” comics into the mix, like Sandman, and Swamp Thing. Hell, WildCats 3.0 probably deserves a place too, if you have something like Ghost in the Shell on your list.
Last bit here. Try looking up the graphic novels that DC and Marvel (under the “Epic” imprint) where realizing in the late ’80’s. An amazing amount of underappreciated work was produced at the time. Example: Skreemer. A comic about a crime and suffering set in a dystopian future with the narrative based around the poem “Finnegan’s Wake.” Classic.
January 1st, 2010 at 5:11 pm
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