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Graphic novels are revolutionizing literature in the 21st century. It’s a most nuanced form of telling a story that combines art and writing in way that captivates readers and keeps them coming back for more.
A lot of people compare graphic novels to comic books. While they do share a lot of similar traits, these two mediums are quite different. Some would even say that graphic novels follow a more mature way of storytelling that appeals to a demographic different than that which laps up superhero stories.
If you’ve never read a graphic novel before, here are our top 6 picks to get you started.
- Blankets by Craig Thompson
Combining a unique style of art with a fascinating, and sometimes heartbreaking, story about a boy raised in a strict Christian family coming to terms with his own lack of faith, Blankets manages to be one of the finest works of fiction produced yet.
- WE3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
At first glance, it might seem like a bizarre plot but WE3 is heartbreaking and thought-provoking all at once. It will definitely leave a mark on the readers’ minds and hearts.
- Black Hole by Charles Blunt
Black Hole defies the norms of several genres and goes out of its way to tell a story that’s both mesmerizing and terrifying in its strangeness. It captures the mood of the 70s perfectly, and brings to life the other-worldly isolation and savagery of the high school years.
- Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
The art of Jimmy Corrigan is simple but breathtaking, and perhaps the same can be said for the story. It’s a groundbreaking piece of fiction that works with the themes of loneliness and isolation, and does so with absolute perfection.
- Maus by Art Spiegelman
The story is told through the eyes of a holocaust survivor and it explores the horror of Hitler’s regime with the kind of blank-faced terror it deserves. The art is unique but not only does it not distract from the story, it presents the perfect canvas to lay down the monstrosity experienced by a person of Jewish faith who faced the holocaust.
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
It’s a coming of age story that combines the universal struggle of the adolescent years with the personal experience of a girl growing up in a country where the personal and public lives have distinctly different rules. The novel has a dry sense of humor that is both entertaining and mildly horrifying in its cruel honesty. The artwork is simply extraordinary and exactly what this tale deserves.
