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ADD (AKA ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) alandaviddoane ) posted his top 100 must-read graphic novels yesterday, and I thought it'd be fun to do that meme thing where you take the list and bold the ones you've read and so forth.
So I did.
Here's the list. Bold means I've read it, bold italic means I've read some of it but not all (so if it's a collection, I'll have read some of the original material, or if it's a series of trades I'll have read some of the volumes etc), just italic means I've been meaning to get around to reading it.
100 - Little Nothings: The Curse of the Umbrella by Lewis Trondheim (NBM)
099 - Reid Fleming: Rogue to Riches by David Boswell (Deep Sea Comics)
098 - Real Stuff by Dennis Eichhorn et al (Swifty Morales Press)
097 - The Norm in Color by Michael Jantze (thenorm.com)
096 - Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Drawn and Quarterly)
095 - Life's a Bitch: The Collected Bitchy Bitch by Roberta Gregory (Fantagraphics)
094 - Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
093 - Curses by Kevin Huizenga (Drawn and Quarterly)
092 - American Splendor: The Best of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar et al (Ballentine)
091 - War Stories by Garth Ennis et al (two volumes) (DC Comics) (got one of these out of the library last week actually, only read one story so far)
090 - A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary (NBM)
089 - Storeyville by Frank Santoro (Picturebox)
088 - All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)
087 - Spent by Joe Matt (Drawn and Quarterly)
086 - My War with Brian by Ted Rall (NBM)
085 - Mad Night by Richard Sala (Fantagraphics Books)
084 - Late Bloomer by Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics Books)
083 - The Collected Hutch Owen by Tom Hart (Top Shelf)
082 - God's Bosom and Other Stories by Jack Jackson (Fantagraphics Books)
081 - Fred the Clown by Roger Langridge (Fantagraphics Books)
080 - Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)
079 - Ripple by Dave Cooper (Fantagraphics)
078 - Conan: Born on the Battlefield by Kurt Busiek and Greg Ruth (Dark Horse)
077 - City of Glass by Paul Auster, Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli (Harper Perennial)
076 - Bone One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
075 - Black Hole by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
074 - Daddy's Girl by By Debbie Drechsler (Fantagraphics Books)
073 - The Gypsy Lounge: Lunchtime Variety Criminals by Jasen Lex (Aweful Books)
072 - Marvel Boy by Grant Morrison and JG Jones (Marvel Comics)
071 - The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
070 - Waterwise by Joel Orff (Alternative Comics)
069 - Red Eye, Black Eye by K. Thor Jensen (Alternative Comics)
068 - Good-Bye by Yosihiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)
067 - Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)
066 - The Push Man - by Yoshiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)
065 - Shuck Unmasked by Rick Simth and Tania Menesse (Top Shelf)
064 - Paul Has A Summer Job by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn and Quarterly)
063 - Monkey vs. Robot by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)
062 - Hellboy by Mike Mignola (six volumes to date) (Dark Horse)
061 - Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie (Top Shelf)
060 - McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13 edited by Chris Ware (McSweeney's)
059 - The Legend of Wild Man Fischer by Dennis Eichhorn and J.R. Williams (Top Shelf)
058 - The Fart Party by Julia Wertz (Atomic Books)
057 - Demo by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (DC/Vertigo)
056 - The Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Marvel Comics)
055 - Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (four volumes) (DC Comics)
054 - Pizzeria Kamikaze by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka (Alternative Comics)
053 - James Sturm's America by James Sturm (Drawn and Quarterly)
052 - Palestine by Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics Books)
051 - Strangehaven by Gary Spencer Millidge (three volumes to date) (Abiogenesis Press)
050 - The Outer Space Spirit by Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer and Wallace Wood (Kitchen Sink)
049 - Top Ten by Alan Moore, Zander Cannon and Gene Ha (two volumes) (America's Best Comics)
048 - The Placebo Man by Tomer Hanuka
047 - We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC/Vertigo)
046 - David Boring by Dan Clowes (Pantheon)
045 - Cages by Dave McKean (NBM)
044 - Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw (Fantagraphics Books)
043 - Crecy by Warren Ellis and Raulo Caceres (Avatar Press)
042 - The Maakies by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics Books)
041 - The Book of Leviathan By Peter Blegvad (The Overlook Press)
040 - Fantastic Butterflies by James Kochalka (Alternative Comics)
039 - B. Krigstein Comics by Bernard Krigstein (Fantagraphics Books)
038 - Jay's Days: Rise and Fall of the Pasta Shop Lothario by Jason Marcy (Hairy Bald Guy Books)
037 - Gødland by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image Comics)
036 - Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley (four volumes to date) (Oni Press)
035 - The Filth by Grant Morrison and Chris Weston (DC/Vertigo)
034 - The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
033 - Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
032 - Marbles in My Underpants by Renee French (Oni Press)
031 - Catwoman Volumes One through Four by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, et al (DC Comics)
030 - Bluesman by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo (NBM)
029 - The Castaways by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo (NBM)
028 - DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics)
027 - Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (DC Comics)
026 - The Journal Comic by Drew Weing (Self-published)
025 - 32 Stories by Adrian Tomine (Drawn and Quarterly)
024 - The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best (First Second)
023 - It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken by Seth (Drawn and Quarterly)
022 - Street Angel by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (SLG)
021 - Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (DC Comics)
020 - Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (Marvel Comics)
019 - Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (three volumes to date) (Marvel/Icon)
018 - Sleeper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (four volumes) (DC/Wildstorm)
017 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
016 - The Complete Peanuts by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics Books)
015 - King-Cat Classix by John Porcellino (Drawn and Quarterly)
014 - Locas by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)
013 - The Frank Book by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics Books)
012 - The Ticking by Renée French (Top Shelf)
011 - Bob and Harv's Comics by Harvey Pekar and R. Crumb (4 Walls 8 Windows)
010 - Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)
009 - Alec: How to be an Artist by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)
008 - Hey, Wait... by Jason (Fantagraphics Books)
007 - Ghost World by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics Books)
006 - Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
005 - American Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka (Top Shelf)
004 - Ice Haven by Dan Clowes (Pantheon)
003 - Louis Riel by Chester Brown (Drawn and Quarterly)
002 - Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner (Frog LTD)
001 - From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)
So obviously, once I'd done that, I had to do my own. I decided to be little less rigid than Alan (fnarr), so mine is just comics of all descriptions rather than graphic novels and collections. Because comics has been a serial medium for most of the last hundred years, it stands to reason that some of the best work won't be available in graphic novel format. Also, where Alan tried to limit the number of appearances by any one creator, I found I just couldn't bring myself to do that, because, well, Alan Moore. I also decided to include webcomics, because I read a lot of webcomics.
This list is in no particular order- you'll notice that things are kind of grouped together in categories a bit, because I just typed them in as I thought of them.
And finally, Alan's got a good ten years extra reading time on me, so I only managed fifty...
50 - The Ballad Of Halo Jones books 1-3 by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson
49 - Nemesis The Warlock (volume one of the current series of collections) by Pat Mills, Kev O'Neill, Bryan Talbot, and Jesus Redondo.
48 - Bad Company books 1 and 2 by Paeter Milligan, Brett Ewins and Jim McCarthy
47 - Slaine: The Horned God books 1-3 by Pat Mills and Simon Bisley
46 - as much Judge Dredd as you can lay your hands on. It's an ongoing body of work, and the more you read the better it gets. I only say this, because the real genius of it isn't really apparent untill you've read a good two or three years worth.
45 - Charley's War by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun
45 - Krazy Kat by George Herriman
43 - Little Nemo In Slumberland by Windsor McCay
42 - Will Eisner's New York Stories by Will Eisner
41 - When The Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs
40 - Maus by Art Spiegelman
39 - Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
38 - The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
37 - A Small Killing by Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate
36 - Preacher (all of it) by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. You can also read the tie-ins, by Garth Ennis and various, but they aren't essential (apart from maybe the saint of killers one)
35 - Sandman by Neil Gaimen and various (all of it)
34 - Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson (all of it. twice. with knobs on.)
33 - Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley
32 - Zenith Phases 1, 2, and 3 by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell.
31 - Tank Girl by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin.
30 - R. Crumb Draws The Blues by Robert Crumb
29 - Calvin And Hobbes by Bill Waterson (any and all. I'm still drooling for that completet collection... soon, my pretty, soon...)
28 - Crecy by Warren Ellis and Raulo Caceres
27 - Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen (the best super hero fight comic ever. The purest expression of the form)
26 - Jack Staff by Paul Grist
25 - Signal To Noise by Neil Gaimen and Dave McKean
24 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
23 - Hellboy by Mike Mignola (and latterly Duncan Fegredo)
22 - Fred The Clown by Roger Langridge
23 - Lobo and Lobo's Back by Alan Grant, Keith Giffen and Simon Bisley (yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking BUT Alan Grant is one of the greatest but most under-rated writers we have. He's spent most of his career turning in solidly excellent work on other people's properties, in whichever style is appropriate to the title. Lobo is Grant at his demented best, and if you think it's meant to be taken seriously- and especially if you think Lobo is meant to be in any way likable- you're a fool)
22 - The Crow by James O'Barr
21 - The Airtight Garage by Moebius (get it in french, it makes more sense if you can't read the words)
20 - Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
19 - Marshal Law by Pat Mills and Kev O'Neill (the first one, and maybe Kingdom Of The Blind. The rest is okay, but nothing to write home about.)
18 - Third World War by Pat Mills and Carlos Ezquerra
17 - The End Of The Century Club by Ed Hillyer
16 - Violent Cases by Neil Gaimen and Dave McKean
15 - Whiteout by Greg Rucka and Steve Leiber
14 - The Question by Denny O'Neill and Denys Cowan
13 - Scalped by Jason Aaron, RM Guerra and various
12 - Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips (I've only read two issues and I already know it deserves to be on the list. It's that good)
11 - All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
10 - Overcompensating by Jeffrey Rowland
9 - Diesel Sweeties by R. Stevens
8 - ...If by Steve Bell
7 - The Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman
6 - Nil: A Land Beyond Belief by James Turner
5 - Cerebus by Dave Sim (Dave Sim is a vile human being, but there's no getting away from the fact that Cerebus is one of the most amazing artistic achievements of the twentieth century)
4 - Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
3 - Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
2 - Dick Tracy by Chester Gould
1 - Tintin by Herge
What's yours?
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