Seattle Picks: Graphic Novels and Comics
Annotation:Carla, an idealistic young American woman, travels to Mexico in search of her heritage, where she finds the path to self-discovery more complicated than she expected.
Annotation:Amazonian princess Diana’s world turns upside down when dark secrets are revealed about her lineage, which is further complicated by the sinister machinations of a vindictive Hera, Queen of the Gods.
Annotation:Lesbian cartoonist Bechdel examines her fraught relationship with her aloof mother, as well as her life in therapy, in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Fun Home.
Annotation:After ending a dissatisfying relationship, Chester Brown decided henceforth he would only pay for sex. He meticulously details his encounters with sex workers and his friends’ mixed reactions to his decision in this controversial account.
Annotation:A strange, mystical hero is brought back to life to continue his battle with evil in this absurd retro story complete with fake ads and design from the heyday of 1970s and '80s comic books.
Annotation:If David Lynch directed a film of Tintin’s adventures, it might look something like this comic, in which our hapless hero Doug stumbles through a confusing and nightmarish landscape. First in a series.
Annotation:On the crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side circa 1910, twin sisters Esther and Fanya learn the mysteries, joys and tragedies of life in a bustling Jewish immigrant community.
Annotation:An unlikely alliance of heroes and villains join together to defend a town from a siege of demonic forces in this alternate history of medieval Europe.
Annotation:In a raw, intense memoir, Forney details her personal struggles with bipolar disorder while exploring the history of mood disorders, their treatment and their impact on the lives of famous artists.
Annotation:Nicole Georges always believed that her father died when she was two, until a psychic informs her that her father is alive. Unlike the psychic’s other predictions, this one turned out to be true.
Annotation:A motley crew of super-villains attempts to escape lengthy prison sentences by going on reckless suicide missions as part of a government black ops group.
Annotation:The mythical South American town of Palomar is home to a number of strong-willed women, from Chelo, the sheriff, to Luba, proprietress of the local bathhouse.
Annotation:Best friends and sometimes lovers Hopey and Maggie carry on their tumultuous relationship amidst the punk clubs, barrios and professional wrestling circuit of Los Angeles.
Annotation:When Leonard Batts, a journalist writing a biography of world-famous cartoonist Dick Burger, travels to Hicksville, Burger’s remote New Zealand hometown, he discovers a community of avid comics fans and the dark secret behind Burger’s extraordinary success.
Annotation:The hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history is told from the perspective of a detective who worked on the case for over 20 years.
Annotation:In a fictional land where humans have artichoke leaves for hair, the North and South have reached an uneasy peace after decades of civil war. However, three generations of a family divided by the conflict are still confronting its consequences.
Annotation:In this art deco/noir take on Batman, a mysterious costumed figure appears at the same time a string of catastrophes strikes the newest Wayne Industries project.
Annotation:Buddy Baker must balance his identity as Animal Man, a B-list superhero who possesses strange supernatural powers, with being a good husband and father.
Annotation:As the civil rights movement heats up in Houston, two families – one white, one black – come together to fight for black college students wrongly accused of murdering a white policeman. Based on a true story.
Annotation:After Sue Dibney, the wife of the irrepressible Elongated Man, is murdered, the rest of the Justice League uncovers dark secrets within the group while trying to find Sue’s killer.
Annotation:When a powerful witch goes mad and unleashes hell on Earth, it’s up to the outcasts of the Justice League, those who work in magic and shadows, to save the world from the mystic terrors let loose.
Annotation:When one of their former colleagues is murdered, a band of retired superheroes reunite to investigate his death and stumble upon a plot with vast consequences for a world teetering on the brink of nuclear war.
Annotation:The Man of Mystery Muscle returns to discover that his one-time friend, The Fact, holds the key to some disturbing happenings that threaten reality itself.
Annotation:In 1956, 111 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in the town of Rafah. Fifty years later, reporter Sacco traveled to Rafah to expose the causes of this little-known incident and document its aftermath.
Annotation:The little rebellions of adolescence have much deeper consequences for young Marjane, as she grows up under the strict religious regime of the Ayatollah’s Iran.
Annotation:The continuing adventures of Conan the Barbarian include his battle with an army of undead warriors and the return of his arch-nemesis, the ruthless King Konar.
Annotation:After a terrible accident, scientist Alec Holland is transformed into the Swamp Thing, a creature with mystic connections to the “Green” and a penchant for encounters with supernatural horrors.
Annotation:The burdens of history and filial responsibility are intertwined in this moving account of a Jewish Holocaust survivor’s wartime experiences and his difficult relationship with his adult son, a cartoonist.
Annotation:Child slaves Dodola and Zam struggle to preserve their love in a world full of lust, corruption and cruelty. Arabesque illustrations of Islamic tales mirror their story and the power of religion in a fantastical world.
Annotation:Before Abraham Lincoln became a national hero, he was a penniless, lovelorn and depressed state legislator in Illinois. Through densely cross-hatched illustrations, Van Sciver evokes Lincoln’s melancholy moods during this dark period in his life.
Annotation:Jimmy Corrigan, a shy and awkward 36-year-old who retreats from reality through his active fantasy life, journeys to the city to meet the father he never knew as a child.
Annotation:In vivid hues and authentic dialect, this graphic biography recounts the humble origins and steady rise to fame of the Carter Family, country music’s first superstar group. Includes a CD of rare radio recordings.
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Description
The depth and variety of stories told through the graphic novel format is truly breathtaking. Here are some of our favorites.
English
Genre Guide
