But there's an astonishing variety of stories being told through the medium of graphic novels, stories that go far beyond capes and cowls. The storytelling possibilities present through the use of text matched to artwork is boundless, and writers and artists have used the graphic novel medium for Westerns, mysteries, sci-fi and fantasy, historical fiction, and even autobiographies. So if superheroes aren't your thing, you might want to try picking up one of these titles instead, and see if you don't have an inner comic book fan waiting to be released.
Just be sure to read them in time for New York Comic Con 2013. Only 357 days to go!
-- Bone, by Jeff Smith
Lord of the Rings meets Seinfeld? This fantasy series has a unique humor that has made it wildly popular for fans of all ages, detailing the adventures of the Bone cousins (Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone, and our hero, Fone Bone) as they find themselves lost in the mysterious Valley. The series eventually grows to encompass a Tolkien-styled quest to save the world, but there's plenty of misadventures and high good humor along the way to make this series a thoroughly unique read.
-- Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
Satrapi wrote and drew this autobiographical series about her experiences as a girl and young woman in Iran, during and after the Islamic revolution in the late 1970s. Satrapi's use of heavy black-and-white artwork makes for a compelling, powerful read, emphasizing the effects of political unrest on Satrapi's everyday life. The graphic novels were eventually adapted into an animated film.
-- Maus, by Art Spiegelman
It's hard not to think of Orwell's Animal Farm while reading this book, the first-ever graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. Don't let the animals in the artwork above fool you, however: this graphic novel is a true story, based on interviews between Spiegelman and his father, in which the elder Spiegelman recounted his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Of course, some details were changed -- most notably that of the characters, in which the Jewish people are drawn as mice (while the Nazis are portrayed as cats). Part fable, part memoir, it's a powerful look at one of the darkest periods in human history.
-- Womanthology
Keep an eye out on MPL's shelves for the soon-to-be-added title Womanthology, a book written and drawn entirely by female writers and artists. After criticism was leveled last year at the comic book industry for their lack of female creators (and characters), artist Renae De Liz came up with the idea for an all-female-created graphic novel. Posting the project on Kickstarter (a site designed to allow artists and creators to gain financial backing for their independent projects), the book took only a single day to meet its $25,000 fundraising goal. The result of the project was a book featuring original stories by over 150 female creators, and was successful enough to warrant an ongoing series.
-- A Wrinkle in Time, by Hope Larson
It will probably be helpful to read Madeleine L'Engle's fantastic (prose) novel A Wrinkle in Time before picking up this graphic novel adaptation. However, if you've read, and loved, L'Engle's story, this becomes a must-read. L'Engle's classic "science fantasy" details the story of Meg Murray, her brother Charles Wallace, and her classmate Calvin O'Keefe, on an adventure across space and time to find Meg and Charles's missing father. The creatures, worlds, and enemies they encounter defy description, however, and here they are brought to life in blue-toned artwork that is weirdly and wildly imaginative -- while never losing track of the emotional heart of the story.
-- Post by Ms. B
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