Top 10 graphic Novels of the '00s

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:01:41 -0500

10. Black Hole by Charles Burns

If Peter Shaffer had worked for EC comics, I imagine he would have written something similar to Black Hole. The story is set in an eerie, dreamlike 1970’s Seattle, and focuses on a group of high school students infected by the sexually transmitted “Teen Plague” which mutates their bodies into nightmarish forms. Equal parts B-Horror Teensploitation and philosophical exploration of the void that lies just below the surface in all our psyches, this book will undoubtedly have lasting haunting effects on nearly anyone who reads it. Charles Burns also has the cleanest brush line in comics, and his oddly nostalgic style suits this story in the oddest way possible. By nostalgia I don’t mean the kind you have towards your first car, but more towards the memory of when you lost your virginity to a guy who had a mouth growing out of his throat.

9. Complete Bone by Jeff Smith.

Characters reminiscent of classic-Disney and Walt Kelly’s Pogo find themselves in a Lord of the Rings style epic adventure in Jeff Smith’s 50-something issue, 1300 page series collected here in its entirety. One of the greatest products born of the ‘00s trend of printing ridiculously large comics collections, Bone reads so well as a single volume that it was clearly always intended to be collected this way. A rare example of truly all-ages entertainment, I grew up reading this series, enjoy it just as much today, and look forward to sharing it with kids of my own some day.

8. Louis Riel by Chester Brown

Both the illustrations and storytelling are presented in a masterfully disciplined and straightforward style in Louis Riel, the story of a Canadian revolutionary who I probably never would have heard of if there wasn’t a really good Graphic Novel about him. Whether Riel was a truly messianic figure or a schizophrenic isn’t a question that can really be answered, so rather than take a stance on the issue Brown simply presents Riel’s reality and allows the reader to interpret it as they choose. A worthy addition to any Canadian History course, I can only hope that comics equally relevant to U.S. history will be made someday…

7. Ripple By Dave Cooper

Dave Cooper has produced several Graphic Novels thematically focused around his reverence towards women and the self-loathing born from his sexual desires. While I’d recommend any one of them, Ripple is easily the most outstanding example. The story explores a lonely artist and his pursuit of a divine transcendental plane of existence found through depraved sex with a dumpy model. While the characters’ personalities and kinks are compelling enough, its Cooper’s kinetic pen line that really drives the narrative. The jarring and vibrant line work implemented throughout the story suggests more than any character interaction or voice-over narration ever could.

6. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

In the ‘90s, Superman had become such an obsolete character that the only thing left to do was kill him. The ‘00s saw quite a few remarkable Superman stories, but none as dazzling and grandiose as All-Star Superman. Set outside of standard continuity (this story is meant to be read on its own, and doesn’t directly correlate with other Superman comics), All-Star mixes the wacky story elements associated with comics’ silver age (the 1950s-‘70s) with the emotional complexity and attention to detail found in more recent eras. Superhero comics at their best can be viewed as a sort of contemporary mythology, and I think this is the best example to come out of the ‘00s. (note: All-Star Superman is currently printed in 2 volumes, but I’m counting it as one because it’s only a matter of time until it’s printed as such.)

5. Notes for a War Story by Gipi

Italian artist Gipi had quite a few terrific releases this decade. While the large-format publications (The Innocents and They Found the Car) were a better showcase of Gipi’s spontaneous line work skillfully combined with impressionistic ink washes, Notes For a War Story carries out the strongest narrative. Four young men survive life during wartime by acting as willful pawns in a conflict they know nothing about. While they don’t all end up following the same path, their collective ignorance about the movement at hand and the role they play in it just might say something profound about a generation’s response to politics and war.

4. Deogratias by J. P. Stassen

Deogratias is the titular character in an historical fiction that alternates between periods before and after the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi people by the Hutu in the early ’90s. While we never see the massacre itself, its lasting effects are evident as we follow the paths of survivors with nothing left to live for. Beautifully rendered, fully painted artwork vividly creates both the real world and subjective reality of Deogratias, a Hutu man who can’t come to terms with the horrors he has witnessed. Deogratias is a very personal story that is as emotionally affecting through its characterization as it is historically illuminating.

3. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

After stylistically transcending the superhero genre in the ‘80s while illustrating Batman and Daredevil comics written by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli collaborated with Paul Karasik on a brilliant comics adaptation of Paul Auster’s existential detective novel, City of Glass, founded a short-lived anthology series called Rubber Blanket, and then, aside from a few small stories sprinkled here and there, effectively disappeared from the comics world. Fans of Mazzucchelli were left clamoring for new work for years until the abrupt release of Asterios Polyp in 2009. Despite the long wait, no one was disappointed by the artists first book-length solo project, which many would argue pushed the medium of comics to a new standard in visual storytelling.
Asterios Polyp is a snooty architect who is rethinking his outlook on life after a failed relationship and possible divine intervention leave him alone in more ways than one. While the story and characters within this book are certainly interesting enough to work well in any medium, it’s the quality of design and innovative implementation of storytelling techniques unique to comics that make this such an outstanding work. Aside from having distinct actions and mannerisms, characters are knowable by the precise and separate quality of line in which they’re illustrated, as well as the font in which they speak and shape of the word bubble surrounding it. The limited color palette utilized throughout the book not only effectively conveys emotion and atmosphere, but also orients the reader to the period at hand in the book’s non-linear narrative (for example, the color yellow is only used in scenes that take place in the present). The smart design is reflected in the writing, which is rich with existential musings and philosophical perspectives on life, art and interior design. I could go on and on, but the point is simply that Asterios Polyp is a very innovative, controlled, accessible and sometimes challenging narrative that earns its place among the best of the best.

2. Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

While it’s hard to disagree with a statement that no list like this would be complete without the inclusion of Alison Bechdel’s deftly illustrated and highly literate memoir, Fun Home, I have to say that it pales in comparison to the definitive collection of her long-running serialized strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. DTWOF ran in alternative newspapers for over 20 years as a real-time soap opera, chronicling the life and times of a community of Lesbians in a small city somewhere in the U.S. While it all starts out simply enough by following the trials and tribulations of a few choice characters, before you’re aware of what’s happening you’ll find yourself sucked into a large cast of the most fully-realized and three-dimensional characters ever to grace a comics page as they go through break-ups, hook-ups, scandals, career changes, academic degrees, childbirths, personal tragedies, triumphs, and many other aspects of the human condition.
But it’s not just the soap opera aspect that makes for such a brilliant and compelling read; The thing that really sells it is that it so fully captures the times in which the stories take place. Amidst all the interpersonal relationships and character development is an ongoing discussion of contemporary politics, both social and governmental. Like any great comic strip, DTWOF features characters that represent different aspects of an argument and present their cases accordingly. Although this is a community with a singular commonality, the strip does not present a homogenized view, and the discussions that take place are always intriguing and occasionally enlightening. It’s also interesting (although not always enjoyable) to relive events of the last 20 or so years. Remember Monica Lewinsky? How about the 2000 election? There’s even a long-running subplot in which the local independent bookstore (employer of many of our heroines) endures competition when a large chain-store moves in across the street, only to finally close its doors due to being unable to compete with dot com book sellers. If that doesn’t summarize the last few decades, I don’t know what does.
Dykes to Watch Out For transcends any perceived limitations that surround it and tells a universal story of culture and community. Beyond the ongoing emotionally affecting drama (I can think of at least one break-up that still hurts every time I think of it…), I can’t think of a single work of art that better encapsulates the last 2 decades.

1. Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware

I was hesitant to put Jimmy Corrigan in the #1 spot because it felt like such an obvious choice, but in the end I accepted that this was exactly why it belonged there. Not since the 1985 publication of Art Spiegelman’s Maus has the release of a single Graphic Novel so completely altered popular perception of what the medium is capable of. I think it’s fair to argue that Jimmy Corrigan is the catalyst for the current wave of interest of comics in general. It’s the game-changer, the main event, the break-out hit. It’s the most ground-breaking and influential Graphic Novel of the decade.
The story follows four generations of the hapless, emotionally repressed Corrigan family, inter-cut with modern-day Jimmy’s journey to meet his estranged father. However, a story synopsis says so little about this book. Throughout the sprawling, emotionally subdued narrative are so many revolutionary approaches to comics storytelling that it’s difficult to find a way to even begin to describe it.
The art is a revelation. It’s as influenced by classic cartooning as it is by traditional Japanese woodcuts. Ware’s brush line is so inhumanly precise that many people assumed that these pages were crafted in Adobe Illustrator. The color palette (which was done digitally) masterfully compliments the understated emotion and ambience of the story. The panel arrangements break many rules and make new ones: each element in an environment is the focus of a tiny panel on the page as a character silently meditates on his surroundings. Other panels focus on odd, tiny moments, like an old man’s withered fingers while he eats a hamburger, or a doctor’s beard stubble while he examines his patient. Innovative diagrams previously unseen in comics display generations of history in complex full-page layouts. Pages shift without warning between time-periods and fantasy sequences.
Beyond the challenging sophistication of the story and art is the previously unseen quality of production that went into the book itself. Jimmy Corrigan is the greatest example of a Graphic Novel being an art object in and of itself. Even the book’s dust jacket unfolds into an elaborate and ornate narrative. Every aspect of the book’s production, both form and content, is a labor of love (or at least obsession). Since its publication in 2000, Jimmy Corrigan remains an unsurpassed achievement in the world of comics. One can only dream of what the future will bring…

Honorable mentions:

Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa: Former Disney Animator Cyril Pedrosa crafts a fable about stages of grief as a father journeys to faraway lands in a futile attempt to contest his sons grim fate.

Epileptic by David. B.: Celebrated French cartoonist David B.’s shares a harrowing memoir about growing up with a brother who has severe epilepsy. Stark illustrations and inventive layouts keep the reader turning pages throughout this heartbreaking story.

The Ultimates By Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch: Mainstream comics in the ‘00s will probably be best remembered for the movies they inspired. This continuity-free remake of the founding days of the Avengers reads like an adaptation of a movie that hasn’t been made yet, but would be pretty damn good if it was.

Top 10: The Forty-Niners by Alan Moore and Gene Ha: A prequel to Moore and Ha’s phenomenal ‘90’s series, Top 10, about a police precinct set in a city of super-powered citizens, The Forty-Niners reads just fine on its own. Arriving in the newly-built city of Neopolis, teenage WWII hero Jetlad must cope with life among science-heroes, supernatural threats and robot racism, all while facing his greatest challenge in learning to accept his own homosexuality.

Hey, Wait… by Jason: Norwegian cartoonist Jason had a slew of his graphic novels translated into English in this past decade, and while I’d recommend every one of them, Hey, Wait… was the one that left me with the strongest lasting impression. Told in Jason’s signature understated style with sparse dialogue (many of his books contain no words at all) and no-frills storytelling, this book examines the lasting effects of a split-second decision that destroys 2 lives.

Tricked by Alex Robinson: One reason that I think comics are so culturally marginalized is that there are so many genre stories and so few that are just about regular people. Thankfully there are a handful of artists out there like Alex Robinson who are telling stories by, for, and about regular people. My favorite of his Graphic Novels is Tricked, the story of six distinct characters whose lives unknowingly weave in and out of one another’s until they all suddenly come together in a shocking and skillfully executed conclusion.

Works That Were Disqualified:

Crumb’s Book of Genesis. The most famous book of all time faithfully adapted by comics greatest illustrator (and biggest celebrity) is a real buzz-kill when you’re writing a top 10 list. It’s just not even fair. It’s quite possible that Crumb, who’s pushing 70, might not produce another major work, and you have to wonder if part of his motivation for creating this book was to put every other comics artist in their place before calling it a day.

Cusp by Thoms Herpich: This single-issue collection of experimental comics narratives is as visually impressive as it is innovative in its storytelling. Many of the stories are like a form of visual poetry. While both format and content prevent it from qualifying as a Graphic Novel, I would still give this my highest recommendation.

Schizo #4 by Ivan Brunetti: My pick for best single issue of the decade, this tabloid-sized collection of single page strips is the best showcase of Brunettis incredible skill as both a draftsman and a storyteller. Brunetti’s elegant linework showcases cartooning in its purest form, while his stories tend to feature the most brutally crass sense of humor you’ve ever read.

Ice Haven by Danie Clowes: A series of strips in a wide variety of styles that collectively tell the story of several odd characters who inhabit the town of Ice Haven. While I do think that this was one of the best comics of the decade, it still doesn’t qualify as a graphic novel. Originally published as Eightball #22, the whole thing was reformatted and collected into a neatly designed hardcover book, but it’s still just Eightball #22.

Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez: The Hernandez brothers have been some of the most revered and influential figure in comics for decades, but it wasn’t until more recently that they were able to cultivate the audience they deserved. If I had to guess why, I’d say it was because their work was collected in a really odd manner that made it difficult for new readers to find a decent jumping-on point. Thankfully that error was finally corrected, as both Jaime and Gilbert issued much more well-designed and comprehensive collections of their work in the ‘00s. If I had to recommend one, I’d pick Palomar, an enormous collection of Gilbert’s Heartbreak Soup stories that tells the non-linear, multi-generational stories of the citizens of Palomar, a small town somewhere in Mexico. Although Palomar was collected this decade, all of the stories it contains were created during the ‘80’s and ‘90s, so it was regrettably disqualified.

100 Demons by Lynda Barry: Lynda Barry is another cartoonist who really got her due this past decade. More of a collection of strips than a graphic novel, 100 Demons nevertheless showcases Barry’s naturalistic prose and illustrations to tell some of the most touching and personal stories of her career.

Addendum

Top 10 lists are inherently pretty silly, and I wrote this one more as a list of recommendations than a numerically ordered declaration of which Graphic Novels were the best.

Some of you might be wondering, especially after the list of disqualifications, what exactly qualifies as a Graphic Novel. By my definition, a Graphic Novel is a bound (not stapled) comics narrative that tells a cohesive story. While it’s not necessary for a Graphic Novel to be a singular narrative (much like how Harry Potter and the Blabbity Blah is still considered a novel even though it’s an installment in a larger series, Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 4 is also a Graphic Novel in and of itself), I tended to focus more on works that stood on their own, both for the sake of the uninitiated and also because most of the Graphic Novels I really enjoyed were stand-alone works. As far as differentiating between works that were serialized or released all at once and things like that, I’d just like to say that if you’re not sure what those things mean, they’re really not worth worrying about.

Beyond the label of the Graphic Novel, I found it tricky to decide what did and didn’t qualify as work from the ‘00s. Creating a Graphic Novel is a long, slow process, and many of these works were started in the ‘90s or even earlier. In the end I decided that as long as some of the content was created in the ‘00s it qualified, even if the bulk of it came before. Works that were collected in the ‘00s but contained content entirely from previous decades were disqualified.

Finally, just to preempt all the angry nerds on the internet (a.k.a. guys like me), I’d like to state that this list is just my own opinion based on the comics I read. I’ve no ambition that it should be viewed as an objective manifesto listing the greatest Graphic Novels. I’d also like to clarify that this list is made up of works that I read, so if your personal favorite isn’t included it’s pretty likely that I didn’t get a chance to read it. Feel free to share any recommendations that weren’t included in the comments section or, better yet, send me a free review copy in the mail.

~R@~'s Open Salon Blog

Top 10 graphic Novels of the '00s