recommend me some essential graphic novels to acquire

Yeah my 11yo loves those

Axe cop is also great

The Dungeon Zeniths are the non-racy, continuity-lite, non-venereal disease containing ones IIRC. Although, er, try before you buy..

Of course it's the often the books with the flashes of Verboten Adult Things that are the most interesting. We had a copy of L'Incal in the French section of my junior school library. The first pages were well-perused.

(NB not recommending L'Incal - although I did enjoy Bllueberry as a kid.)

The Lucky Luke translations are pretty good too. The Spirou ones are awful, sadly.

Thinking back to what I was reading at 14 and, hey, why not Sandman? You could do a lot worse, and it's even arguably educational (made me a whole helluva lot more interested in like Shakespeare and mythology than stupid school ever did). I might argue that it's practically tailor-made for fourteen-year-olds.

All-Star Superman is p much perfect though

yes, otm, 100% - the best superman story ever told, and suitable for all ages

Dungeon Zenith is good but Dungeon Parade is even more non-racy and continuity-lite (as I understand it they're repurposed plots from an aborted Dungeon cartoon?)

I just picked up Jason Lutes' Berlin: City of Stones, Vol. 1, which compiles the first 8 issues and was published in 2000. Luckily, the second volume (issues 9-16, I assume) comes out tomorrow, and then I suppose there will likely be another 8 year wait for the third and final volume to come out.

― Z S, Tuesday, August 19, 2008 1:34 AM (ten years ago)

this guy knew what was up

would like to second the bone rec for either age but specifically i was obsessed with bone when i was 10

Thanks all - I'll dip into those.

*this is like saying "can you recommend some songs for an 11yo and a 14yo"*

Yes, I get this completely. The younger one draws a cartoon about a lemon and a lime every day - in the first one the lemon is telling the lime "You're bitter". He likes Minecraft.

The older one seems to like tracksuits and rugby but I don't really know his cultural reference points - I've been told he likes graphic novels!

The younger one draws a cartoon about a lemon and a lime every day

this kid seems awesome

Yes, definitely get that kid some Axe Cop.

(And it occurs to me now that Axe Cop has been evoked multiple times itt without anyone stating outright that its writer was six years old when it started and this is why Axe Cop is one of the most awesome comics ever.)

(Sorry, I just double checked and Malachi Nicholle was actually only five when he started writing Axe Cop. My apologies.)

n the first one the lemon is telling the lime "You're bitter".

Lime's response: "Good God, lemon."

Yes, I get this completely. The younger one draws a cartoon about a lemon and a lime every day - in the first one the lemon is telling the lime "You're bitter". He likes Minecraft.

Seems like some The Far Side treasuries might be good for this fella

The older one seems to like tracksuits and rugby but I don't really know his cultural reference points - I've been told he likes graphic novels!

Find out which ones!

Re: the call for Marvel recommendations in the MCU thread, I went through what they'd collected over the last couple of years (both new and older stuff) and that is likely still in print, and here's some of what I've read and would recommend to a newcomer:

Agents of Atlas Complete Collection Vol. 1
Annihilation Complete Collection Vol. 1-2
Astonishing Ant-Man Complete Collection
Black Panther (Ta-Nahesi Coates) Vol. 1-6
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Complete Collection Vol. 1
Legion: Son of X Vol. 1-4
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beginning
Ms. Marvel: Kamala Khan (Vol. 1) and Metamorphosis (Vol. 2)
Silver Surfer (Dan Slott & Michael Allred) Vol. 1-5
Spider-Gwen (Jason Latour) Vol. 1-6
Thor by Jason Aaron Complete Collection Vol. 1
Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. Power

And these two will be out sometime within the next couple of months:

Hawkeye: Private Eye
Miles Morales: With Great Power

The majority of this stuff is appropriate for most ages, but the stuff that maybe skews a little older (Annihilation, Thor, Legion) isn't exactly inappropriate. There's no Grimdark McHardman material in my list, is what I'm saying.

Gonna take this thread bump as an opportunity to ask for some recs. Every time I go to the comics shop I get overwhelmed and leave empty-handed. There's just so much stuff these days that I have no idea where to even begin.

Things I've enjoyed: Bone (like BradNelson, I was obsessed with it as a kid), Hellboy, Finder, Kate Beaton stuff, Achewood, Derek Kirk Kim, James Kochalka, March, Fun Home. I guess like out-there sci-fi and fantasy stuff, down-to-earth stories about regular people & non-fiction, and sheer absurdity. I've never really been able to get into superheroes. A couple of years ago I started reading Saga, and I liked it OK, but not enough to really stick with it.

Three recent favourites:

https://www.amazon.ca/Prince-Cats-Ron-Wimberly/dp/1632159260

Hip-hop samurai adaptation of Romeo & Juliet; eye-popping art & action.

https://www.amazon.com/Beverly-Nick-Drnaso/dp/1770462252

Dry, dark comedy of suburbia, like a Tod Solondz movie.

https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Jon-McNaught/dp/1910620246

One of the best cartoonists working today. Quiet, meditative, poetic, if you like those things.

I really enjoyed Sabrina

(also by Drnaso)

RIYL

Bone

Try Zander Cannon's Kaijumax, a colour series about grumpy giant monsters on a prison island.

Hellboy

The Hellboy spin-offs BPRD &al. might have missed you previously? Also, Beasts Of Burden by Evan Dorkin with Jill Thompson & others is simpatico enough that there was a crossover issue.

Finder

Space light-opera written by a woman, not medium-hard sci-fi cartooned by a woman, but Starstruck by Elaine Lee and M. W. Kaluta

Kate Beaton stuff

Try My Dumb Dirty Eyes by Lisa Hanawalt and The Fart Party by Julia Wertz.

Achewood

For long-running absurd plots filled with a cast of distinctive weirdos, try the last ten years of Thimble Theatre by E. C. Segar, collected in six whopping great Popeye hardcovers by Fantagraphics Books.

Derek Kirk Kim

For more young-ish Asian-Americans living regular lives in the Bay Area, try some Adrian Tomine collections.

James Kochalka

The diary books? The childrens books? The twee metaphor stuff? The motivational speaker stuff? (If the answer was 'everything but the diary books,' those are his best work.)

March

On the real, Maus got its rep for a reason.

Fun Home

But also rolling the previous into this one: Stuck Rubber Baby is a not-entirely-semi-autobiographical novel by a significant gay cartoonist from the '80s.

I guess like out-there sci-fi and fantasy stuff

Sci-fi: Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo. Most of Moebius' work. RASL by Jeff Smith (the Bone guy).
Fantasy: Dungeon by Sfar, Trondheim & various. (there are eleventy billion of these.)

down-to-earth stories about regular people

Real Stuff by Dennis Eichorn. Nearly all of the work of Jaime Hernandez (around 1982, and again around 2009, there are about 90 pages with some sci-fi elements). Dori Stories by Dori Seda. The Poor Bastard by Joe Matt.

non-fiction

Kampung Boy by Lat. Most of Joe Sacco's work. Most of Carol Tyler's work.

and sheer absurdity

Ed The Happy Clown by Chester Brown.

Two recommendations from last year that roll a few elements of your taste together: Girl Town, a short-story collection by Carolyn Nowak, and The Prince And The Dressmaker, a graphic novel for YA-and-up readers by Jen Wang.

I really hated Sabrina.

I enjoyed Beverly more, mostly for how funny it is.

xxp wow sic, I didn't expect to get such a thorough reply! Many thanks, will def look into all of these :)

also with Kochalka, I liked the diary stuff & twee metaphor stuff, but mainly I just dig his art style

Hello! Any new recommendations for the 14 year old? Jon McNaught's Kingdom went down really well.

Did you try Bone? definitely worth a look.

Kurt Busiek's 'The Autumnlands'
Jeff Lemier's 'Black Hammer'

Arsene Schrauwen by Olivier Schrauwen

oops sorry, this was a general recommendation, definitely not a specifically for a 14 year old recommendation

Spider-Gwen (Jason Latour) Vol. 1-6
Thor by Jason Aaron Complete Collection Vol. 1

I hated the writing in both of these and couldn't finish the runs on either, despite really liking the character designs.

Thanks. I'm not a reader of graphic novels but I strangely enjoy hunting down nice presents, with your advice.

Oh! One more by Jeff Lemier, 'Descender'

^ Went with this.

(Ta).

Keep going with the recommendations, though. There is Xmas.

i picked up a few of the American Vampire graphic novels recently in a charity shop.
enjoyed them, so grabbed the rest via amazon.
not overly pricey, and fun.

Also looking for suggestions for a couple of years older - 16 or 17?

what other books or movies or TV do the 16/17 year old reader like?

Um. I'm conflating two brothers but they've like Grant Morrison's We3, some of the darker Batman Comics, Axe Cop, Jon McNaught's Kingdom.

There's a whole bunch of things they could go for, things really kinda open up at that reading age.

Perhaps Morrisson's take on Doom Patrol? Which is excellent, lemma chew on this and I'll come back with a list.

Hope Descender goes down well!

Descender was well received. Also bought http://www.claypipemusic.co.uk/2019/03/stagdale.html.

Now shopping for Xmas ...

obvious one but i can't recommend louis riel by chester brown highly enough. maybe 14 is too young tho

yeah, get 'em I Never Liked You and The Playboy by Brown instead

^ Looking at the subject matter, I'm trying to decide whether this was a comedy response. Are they reasonable things to buy as presents?

it was a joke - they're fine for teen boys to read if they discover 'em themselves, but not to come from a parent or authority figure! both are about teenage insecurity, including burgeoning sexuality.

"Son, here's everything you need to know about visiting prostitutes..."

With recent(ish) comic books, I'd say Supermutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki and Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell are excellent reads for a teenager:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22752445-supermutant-magic-academy

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40864790-pumpkinheads

And speaking of Hicks, here Nameless City trilogy is one of the best fantasy comics of this millennium. It's kid-friendly, but an extremely enjoyable and beautiful read for adults too.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/books/review/the-nameless-city-by-faith-erin-hicks.html

Sorry, the post above was cut short, Pumpkinheads is written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks, and the Nameless City is by Hicks alone.

Seconded on those Tamaki and Rowell books.
Gotta catch up with Nameless City, only read the first volume which I liked

Sikoryak's Masterpiece Comics I feel is the platonic ideal of a gift you can get anyone.

... no, lol (as much as I like his work)