Pete's Top Ten Comic Books...
1: Maus - Art Spiegelman (1980's)
An autobiography of a biography, if you will. Art Spiegelman interviews his dad Vladek about his experiences surviving Auschwitz, and his memories of Anya, his wife and Art's mother who survived the holocaust but couldn't survive living. What elevates this above most books on this subject is the unsparing yet light-handed analysis of surviving-the-survivor, as Art tries to come to grips with his dad's neuroses, control freakery and recurrent anxiety brought on by his ordeal, and the impact that had on him as a kid. The artwork is wonderful, simple and memorable. Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Nazi's are cats, Americans are dogs - but there is nothing Tom and Jerry about Maus. The artwork is restrained yet adult, with just the heads of the characters being animal. It provides a valuable distance that gives you breathing room to more completely slip into the strangely enchanting and terrifying world of Art and Vladek. It forms two books, 'My Father Bleeds History' and 'Here My Troubles Began', but both can be got in a 'Complete' volume. This work deservedly won the Pulitzer prize, the only comic ever to do so. Intensely personal but very accessible, Maus also had the distinction of making me cry in the final, understated panel.
2: Sandman - Neil Gaiman (1990's)
A Greek tragedy both modern and ancient. Lord Morpheus has lived since the first living thing began to dream. He is one of the Endless, seven anthropomoprhic personifications older than gods. Yet despite his power in the early 20th century he is captured by a petty human magus after the secret of eternal life. It is seventy five years before Morpheus breaks free, exacts his revenge and gets on with his old job, which consumes him with responsibility. And yet, despite his still cold, aloof nature, Morpheus has changed a little during his time of imprisonment. He finds himself drawn to human affairs more and more, and discovers a quality of mercy within himself. This, ultimately, has terrible consequences...
Of all comics Sandman has had the most love laboured upon its supporting cast. Of the dozens of characters who crop up in this tale, each frequently becoming the focus of an issue with Morpheus being more of a background (sometimes even invisible) figure, they are all human, vital and utterly memorable. You might not like them all, but you can't claim that Gaiman has rushed the writing of any of them. A little more fun, anarchic, spikier than its goth fans credit it with, The Sandman actually turns its back on the po-faced trappings of gothdom and becomes an immortal saga for the everyday working joe. Pretentions are frequently skewered and, aside from the sometimes amusingly stuffy Endless themselves, the main characters are devoid of any pretentious trappings. This angle was unfortunately cast aside for the sequel anthology 'The Dreaming', which was penned entirely by other writers but mainly by Caitlin Kieran, who despite being a talented storyteller had the irritating belief that only morbid, moody, whiny goth/emo people could share in these sorts of adventures. In spite of this, The Sandman remains one of the most refreshing, involving and intelligent comics written. Praised by the likes of Stephen King, Samuel Delaney, Norman Mailer, Harlan Ellison and Charles Shaar Murray in fiercely dedicated introductions. Running at 75 issues, The Sandman is a bit of an investment, and the first volume is merely 'quite good' and is somewhat unsure, but none of it can be considered filler. This remains Gaiman's masterpiece.
3: The Adventures of Tom Strong - Alan Moore (and others) (2007-now)
While irritating people keep harping on about Watchmen being the be-all and end-all of comic writing, sensible people will be more drawn to the sheer fun of Moore's Tom Strong saga. A hybrid of several superhero origins, Moore's humanistic, scientific hero with Charles Atlas physique overcomes threats from dapper evil geniuses, dimension hopping Aztecs, Nazi amazons, self-replicating modular-men and primordial sentient ooze. Moore uses this comic to have as much fun as Michael Moorecock was having with his 60's-70's output, with equal inventive effect. Every volume is guarenteed to put a big grin on your face and despite the lightness of touch the stakes are frequently and unconventionally terrifying and the solutions presented amusingly inventive. Russel T. Davies take note.
4: Hate / Hey Buddy comics - Peter Bagge (1990's - now)
Following a slacker through the aftermath of Seattle grunge and beyond, Peter Bagge's comics deal with the precise psychological torture living with companions you cannot choose, be they family, friends or housemates. Unfolding like the greatest perverse soap-opera ever, the hapless, lazy, selfish yet thoughtful anti-hero Buddy must survive psycho-girlfriends, his own contempt for humanity, managing a terrible teen-grunge band, dealing with drugged up psychotic comic convention vendors and his frequent dalliances with 'Ballard Bitter' which is the "finest brain lubricant money can buy." I can't say much more about it other than the artwork by Bagge is ace, it's very funny and I've used it mostly as a great gateway into comics for those who have never read one.
5: Krazy Kat - George Herriman (1920's)
Krazy Kat loves Ignatz the mouse. Ignatz the mouse just wants to throw bricks injurously at Krazy Kat's head. Krazy Kat takes this as a sign of affection. Officer Pup has a crush on Krazy Kat but more so on law and order, and views Ignatz's brick throwing as evil. Thus the games begin. Nearly every single page tale revolves around Ignatz acquiring a brick from a variety of sources, attempting to lure Krazy Kat into range and then chucking said brick, before being undone by Officer Pup. The endlessly inventive routines revolving around this simple tale echo the Fast Show's ever-amusing takes on the same gag. Only better. The artwork is simply stunning, with the landscape surrealistically evoked in towering mesas, monumental arches, blazing deserts and limpid lakes - frequently changing even as the characters remain fixed in one location. The dialogue, a strange Twain-esque 'negro-jazz' patois, is pure poetry. The books, issued by Fantagraphics, are the best coffee table fodder ever.
6: From Hell - Alan Moore (1980's-90's)
Probably the cleverest comic book ever written, and one that has its cake and eats it. This single novel follows Dr William Gull as he shows his uncomprehending assistant Netley and friend-reader the 'lights' of various prostitutes, ancient rites, the psychography of London and his own inclination to wax lyrical on 19th century culture, the future, blood-sacrifice, the act of creation and pretty much everything that has ever intrigued writer Moore. Less a tale about the ripper than a book about the birth of the 20th century, From Hell features amazing art by Eddie Campbell - black and white, inky, corrupting, ornate, choking with coal dust and blood. To my mind Moore's greatest work.
7: American Splendor (1970's-2009)
Cleveland hospital admin clerk Harvey Pekar notes down amusing incidents and annecdotes and reflects on his own obsessive compulsiveness, be it getting a good deal, record collecting, losing his glasses for the hundreth time or feeling the need to dangerously upset the corporate apple-cart on his guest spots on Letterman. Drawn by a variety of guest artists from Robert E. Crumb to local talent such as Frank Stack, American Splendor also features Pekar's battle with cancer and his myriad 'hustles' to make a buck on the side. Featuring not one shred of fiction, Splendor is essentially a comic-book blog written before there was blogging. And Pekar's excellent combination of celebrating the little guys of work and the marketplace whilst knocking himself with shrewd punches makes for compelling reading. At first you won't get what the fuss is about, but slip into his world and you begin to find yourself strangely protective of this poetic schmuck.
8: Sock Monkey - Tony Millionaire (2000 - now)
Follow the adventures of Uncle Gabby the crow and Sock Monkey as they cavort and caper around their fine gabled house on the shore, get into battles with wooden model tall-ships, aggressive clams, cruel and self-obssesed Inches the Doll and their own alcoholism. Beautifully, beautifully, beautifully illustrated in gorgeous black and white. Nonsensical yet welling with Melville and Conrad references. Each tale usually ends in death, albeit amusing death. Very lightweight and very immersive, with some of the most baroque yet whizzing dialogue ever to take wing. "Oh, Elyssian fields!"
9: Preacher - Garth Ennis (1990's - 2004ish)
Rude, crude, yet fueled with humanity. Preacher does the age-old trick of making you care about a bunch of people and then really put them through the wringer. The result is what a Stephen King novel would be like if he really liked dick jokes, was a lapsed Catholic and had a cruel sense of humour. The villains are superbly evil and their fates justly horrible. The artwork by Steve Dillon is simple, clear, gripping and features some of the best action sequences in comics. Texan Preacher Jesse Custer discovers he has the word of God and can command people to do anything. With his girlfriend and party-animal Jack Daniels glugging Irish Pogues-esque vampire Cassidy, they seek God to make him answer for the abandoment of humanity... whilst having a bit of fun on their own time as well. However, an assortment of right bastards want to use Jesse for their own ends. John Wayne is the mythical hero guiding Jesse through this roller-coaster ride through modern-America, and you can see why Ennis chose him. This is the ultimate cowboy story.
10: The Spirit - Will Eisner (1940's to 2000)
The modern comic started with Will Eisner. Framing his work like a movie director, putting the same heart, snap and soul into his writing as Chandler and featuring one of the best rogues galleries of villains and femme fatales ever. The sinister shadowy Doctor Octopus. The ultimate femme fatale P'Gell who has a habit of rich husbands dying on her. And an assortment of hapless gangsters, thugs and spies. Despite the trappings of the lone-masked man protecting a city genre, Eisner weaves in a lot of social issues, inventive story-telling and real humour and grace. This is the touchstone for all modern comics and the artwork is revolutionary. It's just a shame that most people know the name for the terrible, terrible Frank Miller film.
That do mate?
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