I’ve been in a bit of a graphic novel fad lately (neglecting all the books I had intended to read), and I wanted to blather on about them for a bit. I don’t know why I’m finding them so attractive lately, probably because it’s the only way I can read really old comics (since the original copies are out of print).
First up is Bone. Bone is an indie hit from the 90’s, created by Jeff Smith. I don’t know why it took me so long to get into Bone; I was aware of it for a long time, but for some reason I never picked up a copy. I’ll just blame it on the fact that it was indie and therefore hard to find, yeah that’s why. But it’s an amazing story. They say its geared for children, but I still like it! Then again, I’m a bit of a child. There is a giant single volume that collects all 10 years, as well as a 9 volume set that features stunning colors of the original artwork.
I’ve also recently read the first book from The Walking Dead. There’s a bunch of different volumes and collections of this series, so it’s sort of hard to figure out which one to grab. Luckily I found the regular trade paperback. Now, I’m not usually a fan of “zombie” stories (or horror in general), but The Walking Dead has a very compelling story. Sort of like Lost meets zombies. The artwork of the first trade is really great, even in black and white (though I’m told the artist changed after issue 6).
The last one I’ll comment on is Daredevil: Battlin’ Jack Murdock, by the team who created Spider-Man Noir. While looking for the trade of the latter–and coming up empty (I don’t know why Marvel isn’t reprinting that book)–my local comic guy recommended the Daredevil book. It’s a short volume, but it tells a gripping story. It looks back at the life of Matt Murdock’s father, a down and out boxer forced to cow-tow to local mobster scum.
I have a few other books sitting in a stack by my desk. Hopefully I’ll get to them, somewhere between work, drawing/writing, and playing Wow.