1. The Dark Knight Returns
First of all, this is my favorite not just because of the amazing dark artwork in it; but because Batman is the first character that comes to mind when I think of graphic novels (or comic books as the rest of us non-fanciful people would call them). As a kid I always wondered what would happened to superheros when they got old and if they all would end up in a superhero retirement home or if they would still be just as bad-ass fighting crime. The question has been answered by TDKR. Batman, still as kick ass as ever, starts to realize his mortality (as many middle-aged people do) and genuinely thinks of retiring. Also, I love that Catwoman is a Madame at a brothel in the book — so fitting.
2. Persepolis
Honestly, this book was always on one of those “I’ll read it when I get around to it” kind of lists and I never got around to it. I loved the simplicity of the drawings and the lack of colors. The narrative began so strongly and it pulled at your heartstrings, but alas I was disappointed with the ending.
3. The Watchmen
I was most familiar with this graphic novel when we started class and by luck of the draw ended up getting to do my Pukea Mucha (joke.) presentation about it. I hated the movie, and that was the driving force behind me wanting to find out what kind of narrative could inspire such a god awful movie. Needless to say, the book’s much better.
4. Maus
After reading Maus several other times for other classes, I found this class discussion of Maus to be the most interesting. Not only did we focus on content, but we focused on the more subversive nature of the book — the art. Never before had I looked so closely at every detail in every frame. Its a heavy read but so worth it.
5. Jimmy Corrigan
Had a tough time reading this one, didn’t really like the narrative and could only relate/admire the intricate details in certain frames and pages.
6. American Born Chinese
Quick read, great moral. Simple drawings, but I couldn’t relate culturally.
7. Fun Home
I think this book would have better served itself earlier on in the semester. Its such a lush book with so many facets that placing it at the end of the semester when everyone is burnt out and stressed about so many other projects is a bad idea. Yes, there are a lot of literal references, nooks and crannies that can be explored (no pun intended), and I would have loved to have spent more time reading into these details — save for the fact that I am inundated by multiple term papers and essay tests.
8. Uzumaki
Didn’t like this book at all. The drawings were detailed and the story was horrific but I don’t really like horror stories to begin with.
9. In My Darkest Hour
Tied with Uzumaki. I could grasp the fuzzy images and I hated the collage of different media types. I have bad eyesight to begin with and trying to focus on a blurred page gave me a headache.