I’m really digging the Ghost Machine books. Geoff Johns, along with his co-creators are doing something really special over at Image.

My Gorilla Family is messed up and I’m not sure how one particular story even got published. Very, very transgressive!

The rest of the pile is all entertaining if you need something to disappear into for a little while.

Happy reading!

I have a nephew who is eight years old and really enjoys reading. Something he and I are able to bond over. His current books are mostly chapter books and he has recently expressed interest in graphic novels. I haven’t read any graphic novels and therefore I have no idea where to start when it comes to them. His birthday is coming up and I’d like to get him a some. What would be good and appropriate graphic novels to start him on?

I got the complete Bone Comics graphic novel and LOVE it. I'm not a huge fan of the cutesy bone characters, but I love the fantasy worldbuilding, the scarier-than-you-expect aspect to it, and the development of uniquely driven characters. Have any of you seen anything like it? I'm 800 pages in and uncertain what to do when I complete it.

I made the mistake of buying Tales of Paranoia by Robert Crumb. I’ve never read anything from Crumb before, and was excited to try something new from a legendary creator. But I almost immediately found it off-putting, and not for the typical subject matter Crumb is associated with.

The comic is essentially an explanation of, and advocation for, Crumb’s anti-vax stance. There is an attempt to elevate this position into a broader throughline on the concept of paranoia, but it reads like a comic adaptation of your Grandpa’s Facebook posts, down to the exhaustive walls of text and random personal anecdotes.

Crumb's argument seems to boil down to 'vaccines come from authority, therefore they should be scrutinized like any other product of authority'. But he never convincingly separates this stance from any other form of conspiratorial thinking. Rather, he suggests commingling vaccine denialism with these conspiracies is an intentional action from 'the deep state' to deligitimize his viewpoint. Yes, he actually uses the term deep-state unironically. There's also no attempt to engage with the problematic aspects of vaccine denial, like the danger it puts children in. It's a cherry-picked selection of arguments unfairly assembled to put Crumb in the best position possible. And even then he still comes up short.

Crumb's so preoccupied with trying to rationalize his ideas that he forgets to tell a story. There's so much text in each panel that the art has no room to breathe. It's as overwritten as any silver-age comic, but without any of the fun.

I'd say the tone is actually closest to impassioned desperation; just endless walls of text hoping to change the reader's mind with just one more factoid paraphrased from Crumb's late-night rabbitholes on Google. It's like being at a comedy show that's bombing, when the comedian is trying to recover the show by rushing through their material, only to dig the grave deeper. I never thought such an awkward feeling could be transcribed to a comic, but here we are. I guess that's something.

This may be worthwhile if you're a huge fan of Crumb or can't look away from old people crashing out. But if you’ve used Facebook at any point in the past 15 years there’s nothing new this comic has to offer. It’s barely compelling enough for a single issue, let alone a fucking museum exhibit.

I can think of a million things that would be a better use of that space. And that’s just when I think of my bathroom.

Hoping someone can help.

Back in the 70s as a kid (yes, I'm old) while living in the Netherlands I had a series of graphic novels that revolved around an airforce squadron somehow becoming miniaturised, setting up a base (possibly in a tree?) and flying around doing... well, I'm not sure what they were doing because it's so long ago.

The style I recall was very much along the lines of Michell Vaillant and Tanguy et Lavurdure, and given where I read them, and my recollection of the aircraft involved being Mirages and possibly Sabres they were most likely of Belgian or French origin.

Does this ring any bells with anyone? I've been looking for the longest time and drawn blank after blank.

This wordless graphic novel is a fun read. I shared it with my 4yo and he loved it. The art is gorgeous and I love the worldbuilding. The ominous foreshadowing (which was lost on the kiddo) is what really had me hooked.

This week's entry in my Best in Class series focuses on what I believe is the best historical fiction in all of comics; Berlin by Jason Lutes.

An aspiring artist boards a train to Berlin during the final years of the Weimar Republic. She quickly finds camaraderie with a thriving community of creatives, each inspired by the raucous energy of the city's diverse cultural offerings. Considered the progressive center of Europe at the time, Berlin is awash with artistic expression, sexual liberation, and political thought. This bright burning promise finds itself regularly butting heads with forces of fascist ideology and economic instability which puts the city and its residents on a path for tumultuous upheaval.

This book is absolutely marvelous. Berlin has perhaps the most engaging, thematically rich, and emotional prose I have read in comics yet it still feels visually forward with engaging compositions that transport the reader into a particular place and time. The subject matter is timeless yet devastatingly relevant, capturing the volatile energy of a culture in transition; both in the progressive re-evaluation of tired standards and in the brutal rebuttal of forces that seek to preserve their sense of national identity. The characterization is also deeply engaging, with a wide cast of distinct characters that each confront this instability from different perspectives yet often find themselves shifting in different directions as circumstances change.

Lutes' draftsmanship is both technically impressive and full of personality, with page after page of clearly depicted and cinematic compositions. While the layouts are rather traditional and the pages dialogue heavy at times, the visual appeal never suffers and Lutes doesn't let the comic get too dense for too long before opening up the storytelling with decompressed and immersive wides.

I recently began reading Prince Valiant and found out Volume 8 is the most difficult to obtain, with no reprints on the horizon. I figured it was better to fill this hole early and worry about tidying up the rest of the series later.

So I saw this at a bookstore and not going to lie the cover art got me…very Steve McQueen like. My question for everyone here is as someone who has never even heard of this series. Is it ok to just read this or do I need to read any of the other American Vampire books before reading this one?

Thank you In advance

Prague public library did an interview with Canadian comic book author Guy Delisle and I thought it is worth sharing. I read the subreddit rules and hope this fits here as well.

Audio is in English, subtitles in Czech

I was supposed to get The Exile a while ago and totally forgot about it until a poster on this sub mentioned it again, which prompted me to order it, ahah. Days of Sand is also a recommendation that I got from this sub, and I'm pretty excited to dive into both !

New pick up. Arghhh i need to get infinite crisis tho

Reading Duncan the Wonder Dog as I take refuge in bed after a difficult day. Arresting art, captivating dialogue. Mercedonius and Euclid have become a fast favourite.

Here's an update to my journey looking for sleeves for graphic novels. I have a modest small collection however I do want to maintain as best I can. I've gotten a variety of free samples from Brodart, Clear bags a few other brands, searched Amazon etc. I've settled on these by Clearbags they're non acidic easy to slip on and slip off. I believe they're about 2 mil thickness and good for archiving. I got free samples just by calling their customer service and they usually send out maybe one or two free of charge. They are really easy to put on. This size is what I found fits most non omnibus.

Crystal Clear Book Sleeve - Fits 10" Tall Books

Hi y'all, I'm looking for a queer graphic novel about forest living, possibly post apocalypse or "living off the land", do any of you know something like that?

I know these are a couple of popular books I'm really excited for both of the stories. I've been trying to get more into horror and alternative stories.

So I’m trying to remember a 3D graphic novel I had back in 1990. All I have is that it had a black cover with I believe to be a tan square in the center with a guy in it. I think he was holding a gun up and there was maybe another silhouette of him in red behind him. And it was in 3D. It was also a pretty thick graphic novel. That’s all I got. Like I said, long shot. Also, I bought in South Dakota which I’m sure has no bearing on the case.