Top 10 Best Graphic Novels of all time

#10

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

Chris Ware

This is a very strange story about a boy who escapes into his imaginary world from his very depressing life. The story of the graphic novel flows as if writer / illustrator has tried to make it a more physical experience. Various diagrams and craft ideas have been interspersed to push the imaginary world. While the narrative flows aloud seamlessly back and forth, tracking past. Present and parallel it gives you a holistic perspective on the line “the sins of the father pass down to the son” and so on.

#9

300

Frank Miller

This novel was going to make it to the list. The novel was adapted into a very stylish movie of the same name. 300 is written by one of the reigning super gods of graphic novel medium, Frank Miller, who is responsible for greats such as Ronin and Hard Boiled among others. Miller is a master of sequential, and uses panels of art, close-ups, and vistas to tell a gripping tale. Sometimes for pages and [ages you will find nothing but images and suddenly there would be one well placed speech bubble that sends you into the goosebumpsland. 300 is the story of a small group of 300 Spartans led by their king Leonidas against the billion – strong Persian army of Xerxes.

#8

From Hell

Alan Moore. Eddie Campbell

No. Not the movie starring Johnny Depp, which is an insult to the genius that is From Hell. Alan Moore is the most iconic writer that’s ever walked the face of the planet. He is considered the father of the graphic novels genre and is unsurpassed to date. From Hell chronicles the tale of Jack the Ripper. There has been many a book about the infamous serial killer, but this one is different. It explores the world through the eyes of ripper himself, and jumps to everyone who’s affected by him. Moore creates complex characters and sets them in gritty, unapologetic, uncensored London. He also draws in the major writers of that era and the political scenario. Grotesquely beautiful, a must read.

#7

Palestine

Joe Sacco

If hunter S Thompson invented the concept of Gonzo journalism then Joe Sacco is his illustrative disciple. This book is a very sharp piece of graphic novel journalism about the writer / illustrator’s stay in the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Where he chronicles his meeting with the people about the tense situation there. Somehow, the illustration style hits home as he goes from topic to topic as a silent observer. His other work, Notes from a Defeatist and War Stories come close, but this is his best.

#6

Arkham Asylum: A serious house on a Serious Earth

Grant Morrison, Dave McKean

Set in DC’s Batman universe, arch-enemy Joker has taken the entire asylum hostage and lures Batman in. where the writer Grant Morrison paints a never-brfore-seen thin line between madness and vigilantism, and master illustrator Dave McKean creates the circus hall of mirrors that will make you question your heroes. Running parallel to the main story is the story arc of how Amadeus Arkham went about forming the asylum. A very dark body of work and an experiment in madness. And with a heavy play of symbolism to push the point through.

#5

The Preacher

Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon

Preacher Jesse Custer finds himself possessed and bound to an entity known simply as Genesis – and offspring of a demon and an angel. On his birth God abandons heaven. Which leads Jesse in search of God across America, where he is joined by his girlfriend and a drunk vampire named Cassidy. His journey is not without encounters with strange characters, but also both angelic and demonic enemies intent on stopping them from reaching their goal. The preacher uses religious symbolisms and writings without prejudice that might offend few religious people. However this is a brilliant graphic novel that stands from the crowd.

#4

The Dark Knight Returns

Frank Miller

This is undoubtedly one of the best Batman graphic novels currently in existence. A middle aged Bruce Wayne returns to his cape and cowl, in a future dystopian, middle-of-cold-was Gotham city, which is on a brink of destruction as Joker, Two Face and a bunch of criminals known as the Mutants reign supreme. Frank Miller has used TV news programmes within the story to clue the reader on whats going on in the world. The Dark Knight Returns is a wild ride that never lets up, and ends in a climatic battle between Superman and Batman. If you think this has given away the ending, read it to believe how deep a simple superhero comic book can really go.

#3

SinCity

Frank Miller

A bunch of stories across volumes set in the noir city of Sin City. Each story follows a specific character, and all of the stories intersect at some point of time. Illustrated by Frank Miller himself, the art style is stark black & white with the only color being primary colors for blood, satin and eyes. Be it the enigmatic tank of a man Marv, the righteous Hartigan, the agile and deadly Miho or the resourceful Dwight, all of there characters live and breathe in Sin City, which makes you want and not want to live there at the same times.

#2

The Sandman Series

Neil Gaiman

The Sandman series has always been an iconic and inspiration in the graphic novel world. The main protagonist is Morpheus, the God of dreams, the keeper of the dream realm. From the first book Prelude and Nocturnes, which sees Morpheus (just freed from imprisonment by a mad magician) seeking to restore dreams back to world. From there on you are led down to rabbit hole, into the brilliant mind of Neil Gaiman. You are introduced to Dream’s siblings: Death, Despair, Destruction, Destiny and Desire. Across all the volumes you will follow Morpheus as he encounters mythological, religious, real and even popular characters from carious other comics, on his ethereal travels. Truly a masterpiece. A must own.

#1

The Watchmen

Alan Moore

Who Watches the Watchmen? This very line sends shivers and goose bumps down the spine of anyone who’s read what is undoubtedly the best graphic novel in the history. Alan Moore has done for the sequential genre what Shakespeare did for story telling. The Watchmen was set and written around the time of the cold war, where nuclear war was eminent, and countries just needed an excuse to press that big red nuclear button. With vigilantism outlawed, the death of a former superhero (The Comedian) brings out the Watchmen from hiding to uncover a conspiracy that spans the space – time continuum itself. All started by a yellow smiley badge lying in a pool of blood. Ladies and Gentlemen, this then is the best graphic novel.

Recommendations from eslevy17

Blankets
by Craig Thompson

beautifully, sensuously illustrated, about a first romance while growing up in an unwelcoming town.

Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi

set during the Iranian Revolution, told through the eyes of the author as a young girl, about lost innocence, persecution, and the value of family (ironically running counter to the "family values" pushed by the regime).

Asterios Polyp

by David Mazzucchelli

one of the most groundbreaking works I've seen in the field, experimenting with page design, surreal imagery, non-linear narrative, and communicative character design.

I just saw the movie last night. Wondering how the Alan Moore novel must be. The movie was a great piece of art.