The Essentials

A friend of mine, Andy, is interested in starting a bookshelf of comics, trade paperback collections and the like. He wants to keep its scope fairly narrow, so he was quizzing me about what are the essential graphic novels, the classics, the universal recommendations, the books you have to have on your shelves.

Back in the day, he used to room with Rick Jones, so his foundations in the field lie in what was available in the late 80s and early 90s. This aligns his preferences closely to mine, except that my roots in the superhero genre run a lot deeper. For example, we can eliminate Supreme by Alan Moore, because it relies on an abiding love of the Weisinger-era Superman, and that's an affection that's not accessible to anyone who didn't grow up reading old Superman comics (or, as I did, old Superman reprints). Also, he likes Ronin and I don't.

For our purposes, we can treat a series of books, e.g. the nine volumes of Preacher, as a single entry in the list.

In no particular order, therefore, here's my first pass at a list of essential graphic novels for a child of the 1980s:

• Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: An extraordinary achievement in craft. One of the first comics with real production design. Enduringly influential on the rest of the genre. Compelling cast of characters, complex story. The ending's a bit weak.
• The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley: An endlessly entertaining melodrama, full of restless energy and enthusiasm. Enduringly influential on the rest of the genre and the new defining point for the character of the Batman. Innovator of the now-mandatory "broken strand of pearls" shot in Batman's origin.
• Swamp Thing by Alan Moore and various: Revitalizes an entire sub-genre. Brilliantly inhabits a superhero universe, compromising neither the rules of the universe nor its own purposes. Emotional, contemplative, and unusually ethical in its focus. Well-executed stories with genuine horror, fear, and loss.
• Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli: A tour-de-force re-envisioning of Batman's origins, marrying Watchmen's sense of production design to Miller's manic storytelling.
• Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison and Richard Case: Another case of a fringe book understanding better how to dwell in a superhero universe than the books at its core. Innovation at a frantic pace, anchored to a consistent theme.
• Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli: Miller's storytelling strengths at their apex in which traditional superhero man v. man conflict rises very nearly to the level of man v. nature. As strong an emotional core as Miller has ever achieved.
• The Cowboy Wally Show by Kyle Baker: Brilliant, incessantly-quotable comedy. The best production of Hamlet ever, using shadow puppets and murderers. Distinctive, clear, and effective cartooning.
• Top Ten by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon: Superficially Hill Street Blues with superheroes. In storycraft, I'm going to claim that it's superior to Watchmen, even if it's thematically thinner. A mystery you don't even realize you're in until it's two-thirds solved. Finely detailed art.
• Buck Godot by Phil Foglio: Pluripotent comedic cartooning in the form of genuine, imaginative, thoughtful science fiction. The Winslow alone is as potent a science fiction idea as the invention of "grok". The Gallimaufry is a master's course in revelation-based plotting.
• Sandman by Neil Gaiman and various. Initially heavily inspired by Moore's Swamp Thing, it found its own interesting voice, founded its own specialty publishing imprint, and ultimately foundered on its own hype. Expansive range of stories and art. A bit tweedy.

Would be on the list if they were in print: Zot!, Miracleman. Would be on the list if the list included comic strips: Complete Calvin & Hobbes, Peanuts Treasury, Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Too much a specialty taste: The Great Darkness Saga.

Andy had a comment in our discussion that I didn't have an adequate explanation for: "There doesn't seem to be much Marvel on the list. What are the Marvel essentials, and why?" Also, I had to concede ignorance on what was available in Hellblazer; Andy liked the Jamie Delano he'd read.

That's ten. What can you add, and why? Should it be considered before the things on my list?

Why should Bone, Maus, Astro City, The Dark Phoenix Saga be considered essential?

Posted by Greg at September 29, 2005 4:39 PM