What’s the problem with great graphic novels? They come to an end. While all good things must, some do so sooner than others. Imagine the disappointment when the graphic novel you expected to last through the rains of April only holds out for a few afternoons. You had an entire month of coziness planned! But those dreams were dashed by an author who selfishly decided to make their graphic novel a standalone. Oh the frustration! The disappointment! The sheer tragedy of it all!. When the single issues let you down, these titles will provide a long-running shoulder to cry on. Here are 10 of the best graphic novel series, to last you through this April and the next.
Saga
Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga is the ultimate soft sci-fi, a space opera of truly epic proportions. The series centers around two star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of an interplanetary war, who put their allegiances aside to escape with their new baby in tow. Refugees in a hostile and alien universe, Alana and Marko have few friends and an ever growing list of enemies. It turns out that carrying a literal poster-child for peaceful coexistence doesn’t bode well for war propaganda, and the lovers’ former governments have ordered them to be eliminated to bolster moral. As this nuclear family vaults across the stars, they discover an extended found family in the alien worlds between. Romance novel writing cyclopses, ghost nannies, adorable seal-men with an arsenal of high powered weapons – each of these extraterrestrial oddballsaid Alana and Marko on their quest to find peace and quiet, and do so with overwhelming violence. To ensure a pristine future, sometimes you gotta get your flippers dirty in the present.
Fables
Fables by Bill Willingham was recently made all the more famous by Telltale Games’ detective series The Wolf Among Us, centered around Bigby Wolf – a morally reformed Big Bad Wolf turned sheriff. After he and the rest of his fairytale ilk were exiled from their fantastical homelands by a being known as The Adversary, fable-kind had to learn to walk among humans. Disguised as “mundys” these mythical beings blend in with mundane people in order to get by. But when one of these folklore characters ends up getting murdered in cold blood, it’s up to Bigby to sniff out the killer. Snow White’s sister is dead. Was it the ex-fiance? The current boyfriend? Or does this conspiracy go deeper down the rabbit hole than it appears? RIP Brothers’ Grimm, you two would have loved this series.
Something Is Killing The Children
If James Tynion IV’s Something Is Killing The Children doesn’t have you hooked by the title alone, then allow me to reel you in further. It’s the story of an average American town come under the grips of extraordinary evil – something is carrying off the kids of Archer’s Peak, and they’re never seen again. When monsters have taken up residence in the wilderness nearby, there’s only one person you can call: Erica Slaughter, appropriately named for the job. Armed with a trusty chainsaw, Erica is prepped and ready to strike back against the creatures that lurk in the shadows – beings made of the sum of all human fears. But when the terrified townsfolk are looking for a culprit, they might just pin the blame on the lady with the bloody chainsaw, even if she is the only thing standing between their children and the hungry dark. Monster hunting is a thankless job.
Transmetropolitan
Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan is the story of Spider Jerusalem, a drug sniffin’, muck-slingin’, power-fightin’ journalist willing to stick it to the system. Fresh off his latest drug bender, Spider returns to his city to dig up the dirt on a sociopathic presidential candidate who craves power for power’s sake. Spider trades the usual crime-fighter’s arsenal for a more unique set of armaments: photo-taking sunglasses and a gun that forcibly loosens people’s bowels. A lover of mankind but a hater of the average man, Spider Jerusalem is the ultimate misanthrope – a man who endeavors to bring the truth to the populace no matter how many powerful people it ticks off. Smarmy, cynical, sublime, Transmetropolitan reads like a gossip rag preaching gospel truth.
Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa proves that the crackpot thinkers of The Renaissance were right, you really CAN turn lead into gold! Provided you offer something of equivalent value in return. Edward and Alphonse Elric live in the kingdom of Amestris, an autocratic regime where government alchemists uphold law and order. After these two alchemical prodigies commit the ultimate taboo and try to resurrect their dead mother through magic, their unwittingly forfeit their body parts in order to balance the equation. Deprived of their essence , Ed and Al go on a quest to find what they lost by uncovering ancient alchemical truths – and a massive government conspiracy along the way. It turns out the brothers aren’t the only humans who have tried to transmute a human soul – a shadowy organization is coming close, and the nation itself may by the price. I’m not exaggerating when I say this series is one of the greatest works of fiction ever.
Lumberjanes
From Nimona author NK Stevenson comes Lumberjanes, a rustic series about a gaggle of woodsy women who solve supernatural mysteries. Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for outdoorsy types is more than meets the eye, the grounds are home to all sorts of magical beings – as this quintet of woodchoppers will soon find out for themselves. Three eyed foxes, malevolent yetis, perambulatory statues, all these ethereal oddities appear and more. If you’re a lover of spooky wilderness stories in the style of Gravity Falls, Lumberjanes will land right in your neck of the woods.
Monstress
Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu is an art deco-drenched reimagining of 20th century East Asia. The action follows Maika Halfwolf, a teenage girl attempting to keep her identity a secret from the powers that be. Maika is an Arcanic, beings that is harvested by human sorcerers for their magical abilities. Hiding right under the nose of the ruling class, Miaka’s cover is nearly blown by the demonic being that resides in the stump of her left arm. When you’re a young woman on a quest to avenge your mother, you need to learn to manage your inner monster before consumes you entirely. Great Gatsby glamour combines with divine imagery to serve up an epic of biblical proportions.
Kill Six Billion Demons
Tom Parkinson Morgan’s Kill Six Billion Demons is many things – a martial arts manual, a spiritual text, and the biography of a barista turned god-breaker. Allison Ruth was a simple business major before being spirited away to Throne – the divine city that lies at the center of all 777,777 universes. Blessed with newfound holy power by a runaway god, Allison is charged with defeating the Demiurges – seven tyrannical divinities who have each claimed 111,111 universes for themselves. With the help of an angelic martial arts teacher and a demonic sapphic lover, Allison might have what it takes to break the cyclical nature of universal suffering – inheriting the powers of God themself. Action packed, beautifully drawn, and gloriously queer, this ongoing series is one of the most underrated fantasy titles of all time.
Akira
Often hailed as the greatest graphic novel series of all time, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira laid the groundwork for the cyberpunk genre, and is one of the most significant sci-fi titles to come out of Japan alongside Ghost In The Shell. Illustrated by the legendary Satoshi Kon, Akira transports the reader to the neon-drenched metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, built on the ruins of World War III. Biker gangs rule the dystopian streets, but one young rider’s world is turned upside down after he comes into contact with an escaped government experiment. Exposed to metaphysical contamination, young Tetsuo begins to develop psychic powers. Not the “bend spoons” kind, but the “implode reality” kind. As Tetsuo’s power grows, his warped mind begins to bend the physical laws of the universe to the breaking point – resulting in a climax of cosmically horrible proportions.
Pretty Deadly
Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick is a western horror that gives Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series a run for its money. This is the tale of Deathface Ginny – the daughter of Death himself. She’s an avenging angel, a supernatural gunslinger who can be summoned by those who have been done wrong. The plot follows a young girl named Sissy and an old man named Fox, traveling across the wasteland trading snippets of Ginny’s story. Little does Sissy know, she and her companion play a bigger part in the legend than the little girl can possibly imagine. Hallucinatory, surreal, and sinister, Pretty Deadly is a true acid western – assuming you bought the acid off a toothless old prospector in an abandoned ghost town. You’re for a very good bad trip.
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