……… I love reading comics.
I mean YA is my favourite book category by far which is why I blog about YA fiction, but I actually frequent comic book stores a bit…. and where I live that trip takes me over an hour and a half by train and tram. Dedication right? haha
I never used to be into them. My last boyfriend though was really into them… and in the 6 years that we spent together I guess the mentality of “if you can’t beat them join them” took over - I mean, I’d always been a fan of Batman so surely there’d be some comics out there for me! Even though that relationship has ended, I am still buying comics.
Something more recently has happened, and that is that I bought 4 comics for my 7 year old nephew last week and he just absolutely ate them up. It’s encouraging him to read and he’s really enjoying them. So there are kickbacks to comics!
Over the years I have bought some really good comics - comics that I think others would love EVEN if you’re not a fan of comics in general because they read like books and have beautiful illustrations. And in some cases…… are based on YA books anyways! Yes you read that right!
Now if you’re like I was before I understood comics… I want to explain the terminology. Comics themselves are usually sectioned into issues. So one series for example might have 8-12 seperate issues or comics that you buy and it’s like buying the chapters of a book seperately - one story divided into issues.
Often once all the issues are published, they will eventually bring out the graphic novel version, which is often a hardcover book and it binds all the issues together in a book. That’s usually what I buy - they read as a whole story from start to end, so you can pick it up without having known anything about comics and enjoy them. All the books presented below are like this, so if you like the sound of any - seek them out!
So without further ado I am presenting to you:
Book Nerd Reviews Top 5 Graphic Novels
| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum Published by Marvel Comics It was love at first site when I saw the beautiful graphics in this book. Adapted from the original works by L. Frank Baum, this has stayed true to the books. This was followed up by The Marvelous Land of Oz and more recently Ozma of Oz which I bought last week! I highly recommend this series to ANY Wizard of Oz fans.. I was constantly amazed everytime I turned the page. Just gorgeous. |
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| True Blood Volume One - Published by IDW OMG right? I bought this one last week… it’s pretty awesome! It’s drawn in the likeness of the HBO series so straight away you know who is who. It’s different to the show though. Volume Two just came out a few weeks ago also. |
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| Twilight Volume 1 This is the book to start with if you’re not a fan of comics! Whilst I liked it because it stuck with the book in terms of story, the illustrations aren’t REALLY my style. This is a Japanese style of illustration which IS pretty, but for me, not preferred. But still, really good collectable! Volume 2 is out also. |
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Kick-Ass This comic is so original and so good they made a movie out of this! You may have seen it a couple of years ago with Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl. More violent than any of the ones I’ve talked about so far, but if that doesn’t phase you, HIGHLY recommend this - it’s amazing! Kick-Ass 2 is almost out too! |
| Anita Black Vampire Hunter - Guilty Pleasures Published by Marvel Comics I still finished the book, but I have read parts of it, and it matches the Graphic Novel in parts word for word so it’s true to the book! This is a great novel to transition from books to comics! |
I read a lot of Batman comics also like Gotham Central which is a detective style graphic novel, but above are my top 5 if you’re not a comic fan presently, but are thinking about picking one up!
Hmm… I haven’t read a comic books since I was probably 10… maybe I’ll look for one this weekend
You should - they have changed so much since then!
Heck, there are even some graphic novels out there for those who maybe would like to read classic literature, but don’t have the attention span/motivation/whatever to get through the old language and such.
At my Borders location’s closing sale, I picked up a graphic novel by Marvel of Sense & Sensibility.
My daughter is collecting a series of graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, The Sandman series, i think they’re beautiful.
I can totally see the art of comic books but I’m more about the pictures than the story. Just not my genre bit I know lots of people that love them.
yay for comics!! I would have to say my early introduction into comics came from reading the funny pages in the sunday paper and the ever classic, ever hilarious Calvin and Hobbes. Manga came next for me but has since kind of petered off. I LOVE great illustrations though and so am still drawn to comics (haha, no pun intended) but just don’t get around to them as much as I would like. Great list!!
I’m right there with you! I also love graphic novels. I don’t have a huge collection though. I love them for the art - I just gobble it up. In fact I just bought that OZ one at the borders closeout sales
Pabkins @ Mission to Read