Here are Brian's suggestions for 10 great graphic novels to give as gifts this holiday:
Top 10 Graphic
Novels to give as gifts
1.
Saga Vol. 1: A great
gift for fans of science fiction or fans of compelling characters combined with
great art and storytelling. It has been
showered with awards and is, in my opinion, the best comic currently available.
2.
Scott Pilgrim Color Edition
Hardbacks: The top choice for
the video-game fan in your life. This
new edition has been colored gloriously and presented in quality hardback form.
3.
Gunnerkrigg Court: Based on the award winning
web-comic series, it has also been praised by Neil Gaiman. It mixes Science Fiction and Fantasy into a
wonderfully understated mystery set in the enigmatic Gunnerkrigg Court. Great for fans of Harry Potter.
4.
V For Vendetta with Mask: Make the political activist in your life
happy with Alan Moore’s eponymous series about a corrupt fascist government
being brought down by a lone revolutionary hero. This edition also comes with a Guy Fawkes
mask! Great for any budding anarchist.
5.
Star Wars: The Shadow of Yavin: This Brian Wood series follows the
Rebel Alliance after the battle of Yavin IV as they try and re-group and evade
the Imperial navy. It focuses on
Princess Leia coming to terms with the destruction of Alderan and her new
leadership role in the Alliance. We also
see Luke have to deal with his new status as one of the Alliance’s greatest heroes. On the Imperial side, we see Lord Vader
dealing with his failure to prevent the destruction of the Death Star and the
Imperial officers who would take advantage of this to improve their position in
the eyes of the Emperor. This would be a
wonderful gift to any Star Wars fan especially those who have shied away from the
daunting expanded universe.
6.
Girl Genius Book 1: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank: This introduces the reader to an
alternative Victorian Europe, ruled (badly) by Mad Science. We follow Agatha Heterodyne, the lost
daughter of one of Europe’s greatest heroes as she struggles to find her
destiny in a chaotic collection of city-states kept from controlled by the
fearsome Baron Wolfenbach. Ignorant to
her famous lineage, she discovers that she, like her parents, possesses the “Spark”,
the ability to create impossible feats of science. Though This series borrows a lot from
Steampunk, it’s creators describe it as “Gaslamp Fantasy”. It is full of Heroism, Adventure and Romance,
a must for any fan of Alternate History, Victorian Adventure, or Steampunk.
7.
The Massive Vol. 1: Black Pacific: This near future tale is set after “The Crash”,
a combination of Social, Economic and Environmental collapse. World governments dissolve, countries
splinter into factions, weather goes haywire, economies crash and all of the
side effects push the world past the breaking point. We follow the crew of the Kapital, members of
the Environmental Direct Action group, 7th Wave, as they search for
their sister ship, the Massive with which they have lost contact with. They must carefully find their way through a
new, frightening world that is emerging in the “Post-Crash” world. How can they save a world that has already
been destroyed? Can they hold on to
their ideals is a world gone mad? This
is a thrilling story that hits very close to home and would be a great addition
to the library of the Environmentalist in your life.
8.
Maus: Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer award winning book
gives not only the harrowing account of his father’s experience surviving the
Holocaust, it is a detailed study of his relationship with his father as he
puts his story to paper. One of the most
notable features of this award winning book is the way he depicts the different
ethnicities; The Jews are depicted as
mice, the Nazis are cats. As enthralling
as his father’s survival story is, the story of the long-lasting effects are
just as gripping. Probably one of the
most important works of graphic fiction ever, this is a must for anyone looking
for a powerful story of humanity, survival, and family.
9.
The Walking Dead Compendium 1: Collecting the first 48 issues of
the hugely popular zombie apocalypse series, this would be a great gift for
zombie fans of all types, especially fans of the AMC television series.
10.
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152:
This heroic tale follows members of the Mouse Guard, a group
of brave mice who guard the roads between the independent mouse city states and
protect the settlements from the barbaric weasels and all sort of predators. Written and beautifully illustrated by David
Petersen, readers young and old, will fall in love with the brave, tiny heroes
trying to protect the innocent and each other in a big, dangerous world. A great gift for fans of heroic fantasy and
beautiful artwork.
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