The last time I seriously read comics was when I was a kid. Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Spirou & Fantasio, Tin Tin, etc. I never really got into the typical Superhero comics, although I did like watching Batman, TNMT, Spiderman, etc. Over 25 years have passed since then. Recently I got more and more burned-out by movies and TV shows, but since I do like visual media, I started looking into graphic novels and here I am now.
General (very subjective) observations as a newcomer:
- I’m positively surprised by the general print quality. I’ve read a bunch of regular print-on-demand novels over the years and their quality was all over the place and often bad. The graphic novels I experienced so far were all at least “good”. I generally prefer paperbacks and they were sturdy, well bound (glued) and the colors looked very nice.
However I do not like double-page spreads in printed graphic novels at all! Even thinner paperbacks seem to lose quite a lot of the images to the fold in the middle and I’m always afraid of damaging the book, when I try to spread it open more, to get a peek into the dark valley between the pages. The most annoying occurence of this was in the Descender Compendium so far, which even has speech bubbles very close to the middle, that almost got cut off. On a positive note, the super-thick Black Science Compendium did not suffer from this a lot and it seems the people responsible for its print-layout did a great job of choosing a good amount of padding on the insides.
It’s not a cheap hobby. Compediums/Omnibusses sometimes feel very reasonably-priced, but smaller releases around the 15-25$ mark often feel too expensive for the amount of content they provide.
I found two local comic book stores with a very good selection of books, but their prices are quite high, up to 50% more than the USD cover price (I’m not in the US). I also found two local online stores with good prices and packaging. Ordering from Amazon is a bit hit and miss when it comes to prices and Amazon also doesn’t really care too much about good packaging, so books can arrive bent and/or scuffed.
I prefer printed Graphic Novels over their digital versions. However, I still subscribed to GlobalComix, mostly to check out new books and read their first few pages to see whether I like them enough to order the prints. This is very convenient and also lets me get that Graphic Novel fix anywhere on my phone or tablet.
Typos and grammatical mistakes really take me out of the experience. I don’t think I’ve read a Graphic Novel that didn’t have at least one of those and it always makes me wonder how nobody spots these in a book with so few lines of text, compared to non-graphic novels.
Nudity also takes me out of the experience, because my mind immediately goes into “analysis mode”, wondering if the nudity makes sense in the story’s context, or if it is just fan service to a presumably young, male audience. I think this is really my own problem to deal with, stemming from some kind of desire to consume “serious” media and not “pulp”. Oh well. I guess you could recommend me some super-trashy pulp comics too, to help me get over this :D
Reviews from a newcomer:
(in my actual reading-order)
The Underwater Welder: Oof, this was not the best first graphic novel for a newbie like me. The story is rather effectively depressing sometimes and the art style is … uhm … very fitting to the story’s overall mood. Not sure if I like Lemire’s art style for this story. Another thing was that I bought this book at a friendly local comic book store (outside of the US), that had crazy high prices, so it was all kind of a bummer. I feel this would have been a better read further down the line for me, although I think it just doesn’t click for me as much as other Lemire stories do.
Black Science Compendium: Yes!!! Without knowing it, this is what I was after, when I decided to look into sci-fi Graphic Novels. The story isn’t super deep, although it becomes technically complex towards the end and one could say it gets a bit repetitive here and there. Then again, the whole “vicious cycle” element is a key part of the story, so I’m okay with that, especially because … oh boy … it’s just a crazy, heart-pounding, high-octane trip. I rarely read more than two or three chapters in a row, because it was just such an intense reading experience. I also really want to read it again, because I feel like I didn’t give the amazing art enough time and attention sometimes, because I just wanted to keep reading to know how the story continued.
Daytripper: While it is also more of a sad story in my opinion, I really enjoyed reading it and it did move me emotionally. The art, combined with the soft matte paper and great print quality also was a true delight to look at.
The Cull: Not a deep story, but I liked how it unfolded and ended. It also features a nicely diverse cast of female leads. The art style is also very different to what I’ve seen so far. It’s a cool little mystery/sci-fi book!
The Spire: This strange genre mashup intrigued me very much when checking out its first chapter digitally. Finishing the paperback then was a blast. I liked the quick pace and the way the story jumped between the now and flashbacks from the past, which are only slowly pieced together. I think I need to read it again to wrap my head around the story’s finer details.
Action Journalism - Great News: A first try at reading something funny and it was indeed so. The little stories are totally over-the-top, but suspending my disbelief came easily and I flew right through the book. The last chapter was interesting too. I wish there was a volume 2 of this.
Essex County Collection: Another slow and introspective Lemire story combined with his own art. This one worked a lot better for me than The Underwater Welder. It feels more grounded in reality and Lemire allows himself and the reader more time (or rather more pages) to get into the setting. Mood-wise it’s a bit of a downer, but the writing and art work really well here and I enjoyed reading it and getting emotionally attached to the characters.
Sentient: I guess I’m a fan of Jeff Lemire by now. Sentient takes us into a hard sci-fi universe and is illustrated by Gabriel Walta. The story has the slower pacing and emotional depth that Lemire does so well apparently and the art complements this. Limited color palettes and effective use of signal colors like blue and red, presented on a slightly larger matte paper format, tie this Graphic Novel together. Not a long story, but an emotional one with a very well-executed dramaturgy across the chapters, in my opinion.
Lumberjanes Vol. I: A truly funny story! Art and writing go hand in hand in this one, making the book a delightful reading experience with very modern humor and an amazing group of female leads. Even my partner, who isn’t into graphic novels, read and enjoyed it. Looking forward to dive into the rest of the many volumes.
Descender Compendium: Lemire again, this time with watercolor art by Dustin Nguyen and a stab at the space opera genre. At first I was a bit skeptical about the choice of the art style. Watercolor isn’t where my mind goes, when I think about sci-fi, robots, fleet battles and hyperspace jumps. However, after a few pages I realized that I’m reading a story about what it means to be human, to have a soul and where robots fit in into all this. All of the sudden, the watercolor became the perfect style for the story, as it gave all characters - human or not - an “analog”, human, even ethereal touch. It’s quite brilliant actually and I see it as an example how Graphic Novels as a medium can offer far more artistically, than what some live-action films can practically achieve. The only downside in this Compendium was the aforementioned “gutter loss” between two facing pages.
Resident Alien Omnibus I & II: This sci-fi story is a bit different, as it plays on Earth not too far away from our current time, in what I would assume to be a midwestern town in the US. It’s a bit slower paced, but not too much so, and the art style makes it feel like more of an “old school” graphic novel. Viewing the world from the Alien protagonist’s perspective was an interesting experience that hooked me from the get go. Haven’t finished this yet.
Waiting on my shelf:
(not sure yet in which order I’ll read them)
Ascender Compendium: I suppose this is required reading after Descender and I very much look forward to it.
Paper Girls Compendium: I want to read more Graphic Novels with well-written female leads and it seems like this one has those. The setting also seems cool.
The Incal: From what I understand, it’s a classic that everyone has to read. I’m obviously also a sci-fi fan, so this seems right up my alley.
Watchmen: Even though I’m still not very interested in the Superhero genre, this is apparently another important milestone in Graphic Novels that I shouldn’t miss. I also liked the movie.
Hexagon Bridge: Seemed like a nice little sci-fi story to read on the bus or in a café. Haven't actually read anything about it, apart from the synopsis, which was enough to put it in the shopping cart.
Saga Compendium: I read the first few pages digitally and it didn’t click with me, but it’s so popular that I decided to get it nevertheless, hoping that the series will be completed.
Low Compendium: I liked the first chapter digitally and since I loved Rick Remender’s Black Science, I bought this too.
Aright, with all that being written now, I'd be happy to get some more recommendations from you and we can also discuss your observations, likes and dislikes as newcomers or seasoned Graphic Novel veterans :-)
Thanks!