Mature Comics

Now, "mature-themed" is not meant as a euphemism for pornography. Instead, these comics address stories, characters, and issues that many people don't often associate with comics. Many of these titles would be entirely appropriate for readers as young as middle school. Not all of these titles are "serious"; some, in fact, are quite hilarious. Some are also heartbreaking. All of them are interesting. By the way, this list is by no means exhaustive; I didn't want this page to become image heavy and impossible to load, so I thought I would try to limit the number of titles. To see which of these titles we have in the Palomar College Library, CLICK HERE.

Anderson has been working on this monumental comic book biography of King for over a decade, and while it had been released inthree separate volumes, it is now available in a collected edition. This is a major work that dares to humanize King by showing what a conflicted and complicated person he was. At the same time, Anderson pays appropriate tribute to his many accomplishments. One of the most ingenious methods of the book is to deliver parts of the story in a kind of "oral testimony" format, where we "hear" from those who knew King. Like another historian who works in the comic book format--Jack Jackson--Anderson deploys the elements of the medium to show how complex the task of historical reconstruction can be.

With this work, French comic book artist David B. (Beauchard) has created one of the most complex and captivating works in the medium; it is an epic work about his family and their struggles to deal with his older brother's epilepsy. In the process of telling this story, however, David B. extends the narrative backwards to explore the history of his parents, his grandparents, and even his country. At the same time, he shows his development as an artist and the motivation behind his art, which is tied up with the anger, helplessness, fear, and loss he feels about his brother's condition. Along with Craig Thompson's Blankets, David B. shows how effective comic books can be as a vehicle for personal expression. These works also stand out because they show how this medium is particularly well-suited for exploring the nature of art and how at its core it is the struggle of an individual to make sense of his world. Epileptic is a lushly illustrated book where every panel is deep and expressive, and it stands as one of the most important entries in autobiography, comic book or otherwise.

Bagge's chronicle of the 90's in his comic Hate has been collected into six volumes (the first two of which are pictured above). The main focus of the series is Buddy Bradley and his series of hilarious misadventures that takes him from the heart of grunge Seattle back to his family's home in New Jersey. Scathingly funny and wonderfully drawn.

This graphic novel relates the hilarious and horrifying (but in a funny way) escapades that Bendis had in Hollywood trying to get a movie version of his comic book Goldfish off the ground. The part where a studio exec refuses to believe that Eliot Ness was a real person is just one example of Bendis's ironic and engaging take on the movie industry.

This is a wonderful and moving biography by Briggs of his parents, beginning with their chance meeting and ending with their deaths many years later. The book charts the ups and downs of their relationship and their movement through 20th century English history.

Chester Brown, Ed the Happy Clown, The Playboy, I Never Liked You, The Little Man, and Louis Riel

Brown is a Canadian comic book artist who continues to be an important figure in independent comics. Ed the Happy Clown was Brown's first major work, appearing first in the pages of his comic, Yummy Fur. The story is almost impossible to describe; it's an absorbing and satirical yarn involving Reagan, alternate dimensions, vampires, penis enlargement, and a diminutive little fellow--Ed--at the center of it all. The collection is out of print, but the individual issues are being published by Drawn & Quarterly. The Playboy is a stunning and incredibly frank autobiographical story about Brown's discovery of Playboy magazine as an adolescent, and the lasting impact it had on his life (particularly in his relationships with women). I Never Liked You is another autobiographical story from Brown's youth, focusing on his relationships with various girls that he knew. There's a real understated elegance to both the words and art, and readers of this might be surprised by how utterly absorbed they become by these characters. I Never Liked You is also about the power and curse of language and silence. In The Little Man, Brown collects a number of his "loose" strips; of particular note in this collection are "Helder" and "Showing Helder"--two autobiographical comics that explore the complicated nature of truth-telling and autobiography--and "My Mother Was a Schizophrenic"--Brown's meditation on his mother's history of mental illness. Louis Riel is a departure of sorts for Brown; instead of autobiography, the book is a historical biography of the titular anti-hero, a legendary rebel in Canadian history. At the same time, however, this book is very much Brown's: he plays with the truth by fictionalizing certain facts (and lets us know where); employs a distinctive illustrative style (inspired by Harold Gray's work on "Little Orphan Annie"); explores issues of authority, religious devotion, and madness (key themes in earlier works); and weaves a thoroughly engaging narrative. In many ways, Brown continues to fill the space opened by Jack Jackson and Art Spiegelman by creating a new breed of historical narrative--one that is highly personalized yet thoroughly researched.

Jeffrey Brown, Clumsy, Unlikely, aeiou, Every Girl Is the End of the World For Me, Bighead, and Funny Misshapen Body

Brown is the great chronicler of tender yet doomed relationships. The books above form, more or less, the "epic" saga of a long-term relationship, its dissolution, and the aftermath. What's most remarkable about Brown's work is that even though it is autobiography, he displays a remarkable lack of interiority; the stories unfold in an almost 3rd-person presentation, which creates both distance and engagement. His latest offering, Funny Misshapen Body, is a memoir in which he gives us more insight into his mind, experimenting as he does with the autobiographical perspective. The book is achronological and his most mature, sustained work yet. His graphic novel Bighead is a hilarious send-up of superhero comics.

Ivan Brunetti, Schizo #4, Misery Loves Comedy, and An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories

This latest and most accomplished issue of Ivan Brunetti's comic series is a true masterpiece of art. It's a big (tabloid-sized), beautifully illustrated collection of Brunetti's one-page strips, and they vary in focus from autobiographical musings (more like rantings) to biographical overviews of people like P. Mondrian, Louise Brooks, and Soren Kierkegaard to darkly humorous "gags" that often involve depressed animals. The unifying theme, however, is the artist as creator whose work is both torture and catharsis. Misery Loves Comedy collects the first three issues of Schizo and adds a few other pieces. It's a great collection that provides the reader with the twisted inner workings of Brunetti's mind--definitely not for the squeamish or easily offended. The final book here, Graphic Fiction, is an anthology edited by Brunetti that features some of the absolute best work in the medium, including Jaime Hernandez's "Flies on the Ceiling," Richard McGuire's "Here," Harvey Pekar and Robert Crumb's "Hypothetical Quandary," and outstanding selections from Art Spiegelman, Dan Clowes, Debbie Drechsler, Phoebe Gloeckner, Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, and many more. It's such a complete package that I am using it as one of the books in my Fall 2008 "Comic Books As Literature" class (English 290).

Charles Burns is without a doubt one of the strangest comic book artists around. Currently, his body of work is being collected into beautifully bound, oversize volumes. The first, El Borbah, follows the titular hero, a masked wrestler/detective, as he encounters all sorts of strange characters. The second, Big Baby, collects the stories featuring Burns's adolescent adventurer. These stories include the fantastic "Teen Plague." The third collection (in a projected four-volume series), Skin Deep, contains three stories of twisted romance. Burns's lone graphic novel--Black Hole--is without a doubt his masterpiece. The story, which originally appeared in twelve individual issues released sporadically from 1995-2004, was recently collected in a gorgeously designed hardcover. Set in early-1970s Washington state and uniting Burns's favorite themes of teen alienation and disease, Black Hole follows a group of teens who have contracted an oddly disfiguring, sexually transmitted virus. In Burns's hands, this set-up becomes a way to examine the volatility and horrors of youth. Each page of this book--which is certainly one of the best graphic novels ever published--is a stunning visual treat, full of evocative imagery that deepens the characters, mood, and ideas.

Juan Diaz Canales (writer) & Guarnido (illustrator), Blacksad 1 & Blacksad 2 (Arctic Nation)

Canales and Guarnido--two Spanish comic book creators--deliver a killer noir character in John Blacksad, a tough-as-nails PI. The hook of these books is that they take place in an anthropomorphic world where everyone is--literally--an animal. Canales's writing is hard and smart, and Guarnido's art is exceptionally detailed and expressive. The second volume is the stronger (storywise) of the two as it deals with issues of race in a fascinating and revelatory way.

Paul Chadwick, The Complete Concrete, Concrete: The Complete Short Stories 1986-1989, and Concrete: Think Like a Mountain

Concrete is actually Ron Lithgow, a speechwriter who was abducted by aliens and had his brain transplanted into a virtually indestructible 1,200 pound stone body. Sound ridiculous? Then you have to read some of these titles which are surprisingly moving, thoughtful, and intelligent. In fact, I would rate Concrete as one of the best titles for young adults (though it is certainly enjoyable for older readers as well). This is not a superhero story; instead, it is about a man on a journey to learn about himself and those around him. Adding to their value is the fact that the art is beautiful and the narratives engaging--especially in Think Like a Mountain, which is must-reading for anyone interested in the environmental movement.

Dan Clowes, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, Ghost World, Caricature, David Boring, Twentieth Century Eightball, Eightball #22, and Eightball #23

Clowes is one of my favorite comic book artists, and his work keeps getting more and more interesting. Velvet Glove is a surreal, apocalyptic vision of violence, secret societies, and dogs with no heads--it's weird, but impossible to put down. In Ghost World--which was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated (for screenplay) movie--Clowes tells the story of Enid and Rebecca, two girls who drift more or less aimlessly through their hometown, trying to find some purpose. This is one of the most poignant and effective depictions of Gen-X angst that I've read or seen. Caricature is a collection of excellent short stories dealing with varieties of weirdness in everyday life. David Boring follows the strange and sad adventures of the title character, a nineteen-year-old security guard and blank slate whose pursuit of his feminine ideal is also a subtle meditation on the nature of comics and narrative. All of Velvet Glove, Ghost World and David Boring and some of Caricature originally appeared in the pages of Eightball, the comic that Clowes started years ago. In addition to these tales, Eightball also featured some of the funniest, acerbic satire and cultural criticism around. The best of these pieces have been collected in Twentieth Century Eightball, a must for anyone who enjoys humor. The latest two issues of Eightball--#s 22 & 23--have been outstanding. Number 22 focuses on the flawed yet fascinating denizens of Ice Haven, while Number 23 provides a hilarious look at what would happen if a sullen, alienated teen actually got superpowers--and a death ray. "With great power comes great responsibility"? Not in Clowes's world.

A gifted minimalist artist, Crane's two graphic novels here may be small in stature (both are mini-comics) but large in compassionate storytelling. Saturday is a near-wordless portrait of a widower who visits the grave of his late wife, and Col-Dee gives us the day in the life of a seven-year old who thinks he's found a magic dollar--and the answer to all of his and his mom's problems. These books are a little tough to find in bookstores, but they're both available from the author himself, at his website, www.reddingk.com.

Robert Crumb, My Troubles with Women, R. Crumb Draws the Blues, and Kafka: An Introduction

Trying to list some important titles by Robert Crumb is close to impossible, for his oeuvre of work is so massive and relevant. He is, without a doubt, the inspiration for many of the people listed here and unofficial "godfather" of the underground comics movement. He is also a prolific and twisted artist (see Terry Zwigoff's 1994 film Crumb for a really disturbing look at Crumb and his family). My Troubles with Women is a good place to start for a glimpse into his mind and work. Interested readers might also want to check out any available issues of The Complete Crumb Comics, which is a chronological collection of his work. R. Crumb Draws the Blues collects some of the powerful biographies of blues artists that he has drawn over his career, and Kafka: An Introduction has some outstanding adaptations of Kafka's stories; in fact, matching Crumb and Kafka was an inspiring idea for collaboration.

This is a magnificent work that tells the story of Toland Polk, a young man whose realization that he is gay and his subsequent coming out are overlaid with his efforts to help African-Americans during the civil rights struggle in 1960's Alabama. This is a political tale, to be sure, but it is one that never fails to capture the humanity of its characters. Cruse's dense, richly detailed and shaded artistic style adds power to his story as well.

Deitch, a mainstay of the underground comics scene in the 1960s, continues to deliver great work today. Boulevard is a brilliant satire on the "Disneyfication" of animation, and it's fueled by Deitch's twisted imagination. The main player here is Ted Mishkin, a gifted cartoonist whose greatest creation--Waldo the Cat--haunts him as an impish sidekick that only he can see. The illustration work here is incredible; it's richly evocative of 1920's-style animation.

DeLisle, a French cartoonist, spent some time in the title city--the capital of North Korea, which is probably the most restrictive countries on the planet. Armed with his sketchpad, DeLisle has created an insightful look at life in this largely unknown (to Western audiences) society. DeLisle isn't the deepest social critic, but his story and depictions are definitely engaging.

Dougan, originally from East Texas but now living in Seattle, is a great storyteller, and this collection of autobiography (most of the book) and fiction (one story) is a great read. Among the stories included here are the famous "Chicken Trilogy," his ongoing war with vehicles, and a very weird but compelling tale about his job in an ice cream parlor.

These two wordless books are amazing examples of the power of visual narrative. Drooker is a gifted artist who tells stories about the endangerment of--and need for--beauty in an increasingly corporate and militant world.

This graphic novel tells the story of Elk's Ridge, West Virginia, a fictional town that was set up after the Vietnam War to be a utopia, free from the corruptive outside influence of American culture. Of course, complications ensue--in this case, when a group of teenagers decide that they don't like living in the insular world that their parents have created for them. The narrative is compelling, the characterizations strong, and the artwork engaging.

The perennial comics anthology gets its most ambitious (and biggest) version yet with Number 7. It's a gargantuan book, measuring 21 x 16 inches, with a price tag to match ($125!). The best part about it is the stellar array of contributors, such as Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Tom Gauld, Jaime Hernandez, and many others. What's interesting is how several of these artists take advantage of the larger canvas to really let loose; Chris Ware's entry, for example, features a drawing of a life-size baby.

Jaime and Gilbert Herndanez, The Death of Speedy, Blood of Palomar, Flies on the Ceiling, Love and Rockets X, Wigwam Bam, Poison River, Chester Square, Luba Conquers the World, Locas in Love, Dicks and Deedees, Ghost of Hoppers, Luba in America, Luba: The Book of Ofelia, and Luba: Three Daughters. BIG collections are Locas and Palomar.

Rolling Stone calls Love and Rockets "American fiction's best kept secret," and that assessment is spot-on. For over twenty years now, Los Bros Hernandez (Jaime and Gilbert) have been creating richly characterized and deeply felt stories about a stunningly original and varied cast of characters. These titles represent several volumes from The Complete Love and Rockets, which totals twenty-one books (and counting, now that Los Bros have started up Love and Rockets again). Gilbert's stories focus on the fictional Central American village of Palomar and its inhabitants, while Jaime's stories focus around the barrios of Los Angeles. It doesn't take long to get hooked on the Hernandezes' characters and stories, which are indelibly drawn and explored. Recently, Fantagraphics collected Jaime's Maggie & Hopey stories in Locas and Gilbert's Palomar stories in Palomar. These are two massive collections that represent a chronological retelling of Los Bros Hernandezes' stories. They are expensive, but well worth the price. The last five titles above represent Los Bros recent work in L & R; Jaime continues to explore the lives of Maggie, Hopey, Ray, and others, while Gilbert's focus is on Luba and her new life and newfound family in America. Taken as a whole and within individual stories, Los Bros Hernandez show how truly unique a storytelling medium comic books can be. With this form, they are able to age their characters, deepen their characterizations, and go back to earlier points in their grand narrative to tell "hidden" stories. Discovering and exploring the world of Love and Rockets is a one-of-a-kind literary experience.

Paul Hornschemeier, Mother, Come Home, Let Us Be Perfectly Clear, and The Three Paradoxes

Hornschemeier is a brilliant young comic book artist whose work just keeps getting better. His first graphic novel, Mother, Come Home, is a heartbreaking and extraordinary graphic novel about the trials that young Thomas encounters in the aftermath of his mother's death. One of these trials includes helping his grief-stricken father recover and function in everyday life. Let Us Be Perfectly Clear is a collection of miscellaneous comics, many of which appeared in Hornschemeier's series, Forlorn Funnies. His latest book, The Three Paradoxes, is a fascinating autobiographical piece in which a walk with his father opens up into various narratives from his past and imagination. The variety of artwork and Hornschemeier's meditations on stasis and change make this an engaging book that rewards rereadings.

An outstanding collection from one of the best new comic book creators around right now, Curses gathers up stories by Huizenga from various publications, including his own ongoing series, Or Else, from Drawn & Quarterly (people should also check out his other series, Ganges, from Fantagraphics). All of these stories feature Glenn Ganges, Huizenga's alter-ego, and they explore the mystery hidden within the commonplace--a noisy flock of starlings outside of Glenn's house, the text of adoption papers, the missing children pictures on carpet cleaning coupons that we get in the mail. The best story here is "28th Street," a retelling of an Italian folktale in which Glenn must retrieve the feather of an ogre so that he and his wife Wendy eradicate the curse that prevents them from having a baby.

Jack Jackson, God's Bosom and Other Stories, Lost Cause, Indian Lover: Sam Houston and the Cherokees, The Alamo: An Epic Told from Both Sides

Jackson is a historical scholar, a comic book artist, and a wonderful storyteller. He has spent his career documenting various episodes from Texas history, many in the form of book-length comics. These books--along with the hard to find Commanche Moon and Los Tejanos--represent his best historical stories.

Norway's Jason is one of the most interesting voices in independent comics today. His use of anthropomorphized animals evokes Art Spiegelman's work, and the bizarre allegories in which he places these characters make his stories both humane and surreal.

Kuper here collects some of his most candid and startling autobiographical stories, most of which deal with sex. Brazen and insightful.

Jeff Lemire, the Essex County Trilogy (Tales from the Farm, Ghost Stories, and The Country Nurse)

Set in a fictional Canadian locale, this trilogy interweaves the lives of various individuals and family members across three generations. Reading these books is a moving and rich experience, as each chapter reveals deeper connections among the characters.

Lutes's magnum opus about pre-WWII Berlin is now two thirds completed with the recent trade paperback release of City of Smoke. This amazing, layered work is thoroughly novelistic in approach, weaving a variety of characters and stories against the backdrop of a nation on the verge of war. Lutes also uses the comics form masterfully to make a variety of narrative perspectives come alive.

Mazzucchelli, who's probably best known for his illustration work on Daredevil: Born Again and Batman: Year One (both written by Frank Miller), has come out with an extraordinary graphic novel that's visually dynamic and thematically rich. The book is about the titular hero, a famous architect who loses everything (almost) at the beginning when a comet strikes his apartment. From that point forward, the narrative splits in two, one path following Asterios as he wanders into small-town America and the other delving into his past. The genius of Mazzucchelli's book is the way that he uses visuals as a narrative device, depicting his characters' changing moods and situations in various--sometimes contrasting--artistic styles.

This is a magnificent, brilliant historical fiction about Jack the Ripper. While the story has been culled from various historical sources and previously written materials on the Ripper (all of which are discussed in very helpful endnotes), Moore and Campbell have created a new and powerful addition to both Ripper lore and graphic novels and, for that matter, literature in general.

Chris Oliveros, Drawn & Quarterly 3, Drawn & Quarterly 4, and Drawn & Quarterly 5

Three great anthologies from one of the premier publishers of independent comics--Canada's Drawn & Quarterly.

Jim Ottaviani, Two Fisted Science, Dignifying Science, Fallout, Suspended in Language, and Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards

Ottaviani, a librarian at the University of Michigan, is also the writer behind the above titles, which are educational and insightful looks into the world of science and history. The first two--Two Fisted Science and Dignifying Science--are collections of short stories about various scientists. In the case of Dignifying Science, these stories focus on women pioneers. Fallout centers around Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb, while Suspended in Language is about the life of Neils Bohr, an enigmatic physicist. Bone Sharps retells the "high-stakes adventures" of paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, the main players in the "Bone Wars" of the Old West. If you thought that paleontology couldn't be entertaining, think again!

In 1976, Cleveland denizen Harvey Pekar created the landmark autobiographical series American Splendor, which details the minutiae of his daily life and redefined autobiography for comics (and beyond). His stories--all drawn by other artists, including R. Crumb--show that "ordinary" life is filled with drama, struggle, and heroism. The "American Splendor" books listed above represent the bulk of his autobiographical short stories, which he either self-published (until a few years ago) or sold to different magazines; the most recent collection--Best of American Splendor--is composed of Pekar's Dark Horse-published comics (they currently put out American Splendor). Our Cancer Year, which is a collaboration with his wife, Joyce Brabner, details Harvey's bout with lymphoma and Joyce's work with kids from war-torn countries. While the focus of Pekar's stories is usually Pekar, he upends this dramatically in Unsung Hero. Originally serialized in three issues of American Splendor, Unsung Hero is about one of Pekar's co-workers from the Cleveland VA hospital where he worked: Robert McNeill, an African American Vietnam veteran. McNeill's story recounts the fear, desperation, and racial tension that he witnessed and experienced before, during, and after the war. A very powerful book. In The Quitter, a book released by Vertigo in 2005, Pekar returns to his childhood and adolescence, an area that he has never addressed in his work. Like Pekar's work in general, this book is brutally honest, tracing the origins of his tendency towards (sometimes debilitating) obsession. Finally, if you haven't seen the film American Splendor, rent it! It's a remarkable adaptation of a very inventive comic book and life.

The first part of a longer story by this Xeric Award-winner focuses on the unusual tenants of a boarding house and their interrelated lives. The stories are fluid and engaging, and Pham is clearly exploring the narrative possibilities of the medium. He's like a more reader-friendly Chris Ware.

The first book--a slim (88 pages) graphic novel--is a vicious and viciously drawn story about Rall's middle- and high school days, when he was tormented ruthlessly by a bully. Aside from the dark, dark humor at work here, what makes this such an interesting book is Rall's examination of how his methods of dealing with his tormentor affected his later life. The second book is a hybrid of prose and comic book journalism that turns out to be an insightful critique of recent U.S. foreign policy.

This visually innovative graphic novel charts the intersecting lives of six characters who are heading toward a violent climax. Robinson creates very interesting characters, and he clearly puts a lot of thought into the visual architecture of each page.

Joe Sacco, Palestine I & Palestine II, Safe Area Gorazde, The Fixer, and War's End

Sacco's work stands as a testament to what all journalism is: interpretive, subjective, and compelling. In the first two titles above, Sacco recounts the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis in the Mideast, and in the third book, Safe Area Gorazde, Sacco recreates the time he spent in Eastern Bosnia during the Balkan War. The Fixer is a shorter, compelling story from his time in Bosnia. Sacco's most recent book--War's End--collects two previously published stories about his time in Bosnia: "Soba" and "Christmas with Karadzic." Like the so-called New Journalists of the 1960s, Sacco has reinvigorated journalism to show not only that this kind of writing is subjective and expressive, but also that subjectivity and expressionism can reveal a different kind of truth than the charade of objective writing. Given his subject matter, Sacco joins the ranks of writers like Michael Herr and Tim O'Brien, who have used a "postmodern" sensibility to reveal war in unique and startling ways.

Seth, It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken, Clyde Fans, Book One, and Wimbledon Green

It's a Good Life is a fluid, understated story of Seth's quest to track down information about an old, obscure artist named Kalo. Seth tells his story in a gorgeous two-color format that gives it an antiquated look that perfectly fits with the writer/narrator's obsession with the past. Clyde Fans is Seth's current work-in-progress, and it follows the fortunes of two brothers who run a fan company. Seth's work is gorgeous and compelling, and it is an amazing example of how comic books--in the hands of a gifted artist and writer--can create characters every bit as nuanced as in more accepted "literary" works. In Wimbledon Green--which began as a sketchbook exercise--Seth explores, with his unique sense of humor, the oddball world of comic book collectors. It's an offbeat little book with a touching core.

This door-stopper of a graphic novel (720 pages) depicts one weekend in the life of the aptly-named Loony family. The weekend in question is a momentous one: after forty years of marriage, Maggie and David Loony announce to their three adult children that they're getting a divorce. The charm of the book lies in the ingeniously leisurely pacing and Shaw's innovative use of the comics medium.

Jason Shiga is an independent, self-published comic book writer/artist who has produced some really cool comics. Two of my favorites are Meanwhile and The Last Supper, and they involve an interactivity whose construction (particularly with Meanwhile) boggles the imagination. He recently received a Xeric Grant and was able to publish Double Happiness, a book about a Chinese-American and his struggles with ethnic identity. All of Shiga's books are available at his website, www.shigabooks.com.

Many people credit Spiegelman (and rightfully so) with calling much-needed attention to the comic book format. What Spiegelman has done with these two volumes (the second of which won the Pulitzer Prize), is tell two large, related narratives. The first is of his father's life in Poland as a Jew during World War II, his time at Auschwitz, and his survival during the days immediately following the war; the second story is of Spiegelman's uneasy relationship with his father. There are so many aspects to these books that it is impossible to even gloss over them here, so I won't even try. I will say, however, that in my opinion this is one of the most important literary works to emerge this century. More recently, Spiegelman turned his craft to the 9/11 attacks in In the Shadow of No Towers. As a New Yorker who was present at ground zero on September 11, 2001, he was traumatized more than most by the attacks, and he filtered that trauma into a series of amazing one-page comics that originally appeared in Europe and have been collected here for the first time. The book also includes an essay about how, after the attacks, he immersed himself in classic comic strips. Their influence is evident in the pages he created. A big, stunning book. Finally, in 2008, Pantheon reissued the long-out-of-print-and-very hard-to-find Breakdowns, an early collection of Spiegelman pieces, many of which are experimental stories that deconstruct the comics medium. This collection includes the original, three-page "Maus" (which was the basis for Spiegelman's later Maus) as well as a new autobiographical story entitled "Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!"

Sturm's specialty is to unearth those rich yet obscure footnotes of American history that shed light on our country and its people. in his book, James Sturm's America, he collects three previously-published works: The Revival (a Hawthornesque story about a pioneer family at a religous revival), Hundreds of Feet Below Daylight (a tragedy set in a small mining town), and The Golem's Mighty Swing (a longer piece--previously published as a graphic novel--about the Stars of David, a traveling Jewish baseball team from the 1920s). Together, these stories provide an interesting and pointed glimpse of our country's past...and present. Sturm's artwork is deceptively simple in this challenging and thoroughly engaging work.

Tatsumi has been telling his stories for many, many years in Japan; in fact, this book was originally published there in 1969. Comic book creator (and longtime Tatsumi fan) Adrian Tomine has resurrected the Japanese master's work for Drawn & Quarterly, which is planning more reprints of other stories. Tatsumi's stories are edgy glimpses into the lives of ordinary people--lives that are typically characterized by sex, violence, and various forms of dehumanization.

This book has been raking in all kinds of awards, and with good reason. It is an excellent work of comic art and autobiography, all wrapped into one meaty, 500+ page package. Thompson traces his childhood, confused adolescence, and first love with care and insight. He is also a master craftsman, employing an impressionistic yet always sure line that underscores his story's themes relating to the importance of art in his life. Along with David B.'s Epileptic, this is one of the very best works of literature to come out in the last several years.

Sleepwalk and Summer Blonde collect stories from several issues of Tomine's Optic Nerve series, and the stories here depict characters, situations, and conflicts with a clarity and minimalism reminiscent of Raymond Carver's fiction. Tomine's artwork is clean and unforced, and his storytelling ability gets stronger and stronger with each story. The second collects his comic's later issues, where he works to develop longer, more involved narratives. Shortcomings represents Tomine's first attempt to tell a graphic-novel length story, and it's a remarkable tale of race and romantic entanglements. As these books show, Tomine is a great storyteller who has a very well-developed sense of character-driven fiction.

This graphic novel was originally published in the 1980s, during the first wave of media attention to the "graphic novel." The story is a beautifully drawn and moving story set during the Great Depression, and it follows a young boy and the older man that he befriends as they make their way, homeless and broke, across the country. Along the way they encounter economic strife, and labor and political unrest.

Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Quimby Mouse, The ACME Novelty Library (issues 16-19), and (as editor) McSweeney's 13

Ware is arguably the most brilliant and innovative comic book artist working today, as evidenced by this book, which collects the saga of Jimmy Corrigan from his ACME Novelty Library comic book series. The story follows Jimmy Corrigan, a pathetic loser who is going to meet his father for the first time. The story also moves backward in time to tell the history of Corrigan's family and draw parallels between his ancestors and him. Though leisurely paced, each page is a carefully designed and crafted masterpiece. Some have criticized Ware's work as being mean-spirited, and it certainly is that. However, it's that sharp and acerbic worldview that gives his work its real edge. That, and Ware's obsessive--almost psychotically so--attention to detail. This is simply one of the most important works of comic art ever published. Ware continues to deliver outstanding work in his ACME series: issue #18 contains a chapter of Building Stories, his epic tale of various tenants who inhabit a brownstone; and issues #16, #17, and #19 form the beginning of another graphic novel, this one about tragically pathetic Rusty Brown and his family. Quimby Mouse collects some funny (and mind-blowing) strips in a beautifully designed book. McSweeney's Quarterly Concern Issue 13--Dave Eggers's ongoing publication--is an issue devoted completely to comics, and Ware served as its editor. It is a gorgeous hardcover filled with outstanding comic work and some comics-related essays. The production design is out of this world: the book's dust jacket unfolds into a huge Sunday comic-size comic, and within its folds are two mini-comics.

Winick was a cast member of MTV's Real World: San Francisco, and while he was there he became best friends with another contestant, Pedro Zamora, and impressive young man who was also dying of AIDS. In this effectively touching book, Winick pays tribute to his friend while also educating the reader about AIDS and the people who get it

Told in twelve chapters, each section is set in a specific place and follows Megan McKeenan at different stages of her life. In most of the chapters, Megan is the central character, but in others, she appears peripherally. Regardless, there is a definite narrative trajectory to this book that is very satisfactorily tied up in the final chapters. Wood and Kelly have created a dense and moving character study in Local, and one that makes us think about the importance of "place" in our lives.

Yang's book is a thoughtful examination of racial stereotypes--in this case, American stereotypes of Chinese. He weaves together three seemingly disparate storylines and brings them together at the end in a thoroughly satisfying way. Even more impressive is Yang's identification of the true harm of stereotypes: racial self-hatred and denial. All in all, an engaging and visually appealing story that many can relate to.

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Mature-themed Comics