{"id":13901,"date":"2014-09-15T16:39:36","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T16:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/?p=13901"},"modified":"2023-03-06T12:23:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T12:23:21","slug":"top-ten-literary-graphic-novels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/top-ten-literary-graphic-novels\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Literary Graphic Novels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comic book writers have been widely and regularly dismissed as practicing a lower art than long-form novelists. A look at any of the \u201cbest novels of all time\u201d lists, especially the greatest offender, Modern Library\u2019s \u201c100 Best Novels<\/a>,\u201d shows a complete disregard for graphic novels. However, to say that in 2014 graphic novels go unappreciated would be a faithless claim, as movie adaptations of some of our favorite books have brought well-deserved attention to the medium.<\/p>\n

A few of the greatest graphic novelists who\u2019ve made our list have earned attention from reputable places. The New York Times<\/em> recently ran a\u00a0glowing review<\/a>\u00a0of Ware\u2019s novel\u00a0Building Stories<\/em>, and Alan Moore\u2019s\u00a0Watchmen<\/em>\u00a0is roundly considered one of the best books of the century by book critics. Still, those who review and appreciate graphic novels for major publications are a small minority. Ask anyone around your office who Chris Ware is, and you\u2019ll get a round of blank stares.<\/p>\n

To help bring a little recognition to some of our favorite authors, we\u2019ve put together this list of the top ten literary graphic novels. Browse our favorites below, and then head over to read the first issue of our on-going free digital comic,\u00a0Biowars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

10. A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories<\/h2>\n

\"a_contract_with_god_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

Will Eisner\u2019s short story cycle that popularized the term \u201cgraphic novel\u201d comes in at 10th<\/sup>. This novel follows a poor Jewish family living in a tenement in New York City. Eisner penned two sequels, but the original remains the most enduring.\u00a0Contract<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>takes a leap toward the literary in its close attention to narrative construction. A quartet of four interwoven stories, the brilliant and subtle ways stories overlap have influenced the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Colson Whitehead.<\/p>\n

9. Ghost World<\/h2>\n

\"ghost_world_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

A darkly comic graphic novel that captured an entirely new audience,\u00a0Ghost World<\/em><\/a>\u00a0was released in 1997 to commercial and critical success. The novel follows the exploits of Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer, two very trendy, very hipster (before the word even existed) teenage girls, as they wander their town and faux-philosophize about popular culture and the people they meet. After a much-later\u00a0film version<\/a>\u00a0brought additional attention to the book, critics were surprised to find how accurately Clowes not only captured the American 90s, but an entirely untapped and important voice of a generation.<\/p>\n

8. The Dark Knight Returns<\/h2>\n

\"the_dark_knight_returns_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

Often labeled as the\u00a0greatest Batman comic<\/a>\u00a0of all time,\u00a0The Dark Knight Returns<\/em><\/a>\u00a0sees Bruce Wayne, at 55, return from retirement to fight Two-Face, The Joker, and even The Russians. Featuring crossover appearances from Green Arrow and Superman,\u00a0The Dark Knight Returns<\/em>\u00a0is a strange, off-beat tale for the Caped Crusader. Penned by Frank Miller in his golden years, the book focuses on Batman\u2019s age, including the inevitability of his death, and features one of the most grisly scenes ever seen in a Batman comic in a final confrontation with the Joker.<\/p>\n

7. My Dirty Dumb Eyes<\/h2>\n

\"my_dumb_dirty_eyes_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

Not so much a graphic novel as a collection of odd vignettes, Lisa Hanawalt\u2019s\u00a0My Dumb Dirty Eyes<\/em><\/a>\u00a0explores the psyche of a twenty-something Brooklynite. Her art style should be immediately recognizable by anyone who\u2019s seen Netflix\u2019s new series,\u00a0Bojack Horseman<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0for which she served as production designer. The most surprising thing about this raunchy, hilarious, and often uncomfortable book is the number of times the reader is assaulted by their own private thoughts on the page\u2014not that they\u2019d ever admit it.<\/p>\n

6. David Boring<\/h2>\n

\"david_boring_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

Another Clowes classic,\u00a0David Boring<\/em><\/a>\u00a0encapsulates the life of nebbish, love struck, and unlucky narrator David Boring as he set out across a series of misadventures including a near-death shooting and the possible apocalypse.\u00a0Time Magazine<\/a><\/em>\u00a0chose\u00a0David Boring<\/em>\u00a0as one of the ten best graphic novels ever written, and we couldn\u2019t agree more. Anyone who\u2019s ever felt unrequited love will find solace in this book.\u00a0David Boring<\/em>\u00a0is incisive, eloquently written, and a deep portrait of misguided youth set against the backdrop of the human condition.<\/p>\n

5. From Hell<\/h2>\n

\"from_hell_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

One of the most expansive graphic novels ever made, Alan Moore\u2019s\u00a0From Hell<\/em><\/a>\u00a0chronicles the killings and motives of Jack the Ripper. The plot\u2014so sprawling it\u2019s impossible to summarize\u2014takes the backstage to Moore\u2019s philosophical musings about life, death, and metaphysics. Forums have been filled with readers\u2019 interpretations of the meanings behind events, panels, and dialogues, and an\u00a0entire book<\/a>\u00a0was written as a companion piece to help break down the themes. Don\u2019t mistake this for inaccessibility, though\u2014the novel is both entertaining and suspenseful, but to get the full experience, it\u2019s best read slowly and deeply.<\/p>\n

4. Building Stories<\/h2>\n

\"building_stories_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

Chris Ware\u2019s newest graphic novel isn\u2019t so much a book as a collection of books. It\u2019s packaged in a large, rectangular box filled to the brim with newspapers, traditional graphic novels, comic strips, and fold-out books all telling the continuous story of the occupants of a single brownstone. To call this book ambitious is selling it short. The combined effect of every narrative creates an odd, cohesive emotion something close to nostalgia. Each piece is meant to be read in whatever order you wish, meaning, with so many combinations, every reader\u2019s experience is something unique. In an interview with\u00a0The New York Times<\/a><\/em>, Ware said that this is supposed to make the reader feel as though they\u2019re lost in thought, or memory.\u00a0Building Stories<\/em><\/a>\u00a0certainly achieves this, and that\u2019s just one of many reasons we\u2019ve chosen it at number 4.<\/p>\n

3. God\u2019s Man<\/h2>\n

\"gods_man_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

The term \u201cgraphic novel\u201d was coined in 1964, meaning that Lynd Ward\u2019s wordless woodcut narrative predates the medium by thirty-five years. Released in 1929,\u00a0God\u2019s Man<\/em><\/a>\u00a0follows a nameless artist who signs away his soul for a paintbrush, which brings fame to all his works. This is a dark, terrifying novel in 139 engraved woodblocks. The atmosphere is enhanced by the deeply cut and fissured lines and the haunting absence of a single line of dialog or explanation. Don\u2019t worry about following along\u2014Ward is an incredible artist who can tell an entire story and convey fluid emotion in a single image. Its reputation speaks for itself: both Art Spiegelman and Will Eisner\u00a0credit\u00a0God\u2019s Man<\/em><\/a>\u00a0with inspiring them to create their first graphic novels.<\/p>\n

2. Watchmen<\/h2>\n

\"watchmen_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

The second of Moore\u2019s books to make our list, Watchmen is considered by prominent critics and fans alike to be the greatest graphic novel of all time. Manipulating a group of original superheroes, Moore plays with past, present, and future to paint a condemning portrait of 1980s America, but the book isn\u2019t so much about a particular time as it is about the human condition. That may sound lofty, but so are Moore\u2019s aspirations. In the introduction to the hardcover rerelease, Moore comments that while writing the series, he was finally able to purge himself of his nostalgia for superheroes, instead finding an interest in real human beings. That couldn\u2019t ring more true, as\u00a0Watchmen\u2019s\u00a0<\/em><\/a>cast of brutally realistic characters experience emotions and shortcomings so true to the human experience as to function as a spectrum for existence.<\/p>\n

1. Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth<\/h2>\n

\"jimmy_corrigan_top_ten_graphic_novels\"<\/p>\n

Taking our coveted number one spot is Chris Ware\u2019s second appearance on this list and our vote for the greatest graphic novel of all time\u2014Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>Centering on Jimmy Corrigan, a shy, middle-aged man meeting his father for the first time, the narrative splits into fictional universes, a parallel story of Jimmy\u2019s grandfather, and takes a look at Jimmy\u2019s own childhood. It\u2019s difficult to explain exactly what it is that makes this novel so special beyond its intense emotional payloads.Ware crafts a narrative that will make you weep as quickly as it will make you laugh, which, if the description sounds clich\u00e9, a look through the book\u2019s\u00a0Amazon reviews<\/a>\u00a0will turn up hundreds of similar phrases from readers struggling to explain its unique emotional resonance.<\/p>\n

This is a book beloved by critics and readers alike, and will stay with you months, even years, after your first read. You\u2019ll cringe at Jimmy\u2019s unwanted advances and unrequited loves, at the strained dialogue between father and son, and laugh aloud as Ware elevates Jimmy to something beyond a sad and lonely character in brief, comic moments, to a figure who best represents the human need for compassion.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, if you haven\u2019t read this masterpiece, pick it up today. It\u2019s a life-changing experience, and our vote for the greatest graphic novel of all time.<\/p>\n

Love comics as much as we do? Take a look at our\u00a0free digital comic<\/a>, Biowars, before our first graphic novel hits shelves next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comic book writers have been widely and regularly dismissed as practicing a lower art than long-form novelists. A look at any of the \u201cbest novels of all time\u201d lists, especially the greatest offender, Modern Library\u2019s \u201c100 Best Novels,\u201d shows a complete disregard for graphic novels. However, to say that in 2014 graphic novels go unappreciated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161,522,61],"tags":[309,83,311,310],"yoast_head":"\nTop 10 Literary Graphic Novels | Blog | BIOWARS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Comics are often described as having little literary merit. That couldn't be less true. 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