Graphic Novels

Advantages: Never ever has there been a Batman this violent
Disadvantages: It will take ages to read this all the way through.

The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel is really the Holy Grail of comic books as this stirred up the Batman legacy in such a sufficient manner that it changed to an extent it is what it is today. At the time of its release in February 1986 the sales of the Batman comic started to dwindle, the movies were not even released and the only time Batman was seen was if cartoons and shows were re-run on TV which was damaging the sales potential of the Batman ...
...whole as this was really the first time that a graphic novel had departed from the normal passage of a character and gone off on a completely new tangent, telling a story that for the mid-eighties had an awful amount of violence and involved 13 year old characters who would accompany Batman as his sidekick Robin. The story revolves around a totally different world than what we are used to, gone is the clean cities and bright colours to be replaced ... Read review

Advantages: beautifully drawn
Disadvantages: badly plotted

...other three I’ve talked about. Like his other work, the drawings are beautiful, and the whole experience is cinematic – unlike his other works, the story spiralled too far into the realms of the bizarre, and ended up coming out the other side at just ridiculous. ***Ten weird chapters*** Our story is split into ten chapters, and starts with our ‘hero’ Clay watching a bizarre film in the cinema. Something in it is familiar to him, so he asks the ...
...Glove Cast in Iron’ is like watching a David Lynch film; you don’t really know what’s going on, and you feel a bit deflated at the end. You might think that with the pictures being permanently there for your perusal, it might be easier to fathom after a few reads, but somehow repeated reading left me even more bemused. Each reading revealed detail or dialogue I had missed in most frames, which just added to the confusion. The drawing is, as usual, ... Read review

Advantages: Endless classic one for all the family!
Disadvantages: Not enough people have read this timeless classic

If you are one of the few people who have never read The Hobbit, it should be on your "must-read" list. This is one of the most important, seminal works in fantasy fiction. It's a story about a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins (Frodo's Uncle) and chronicles his adventures from being quite content with his cosy village life, that consists of eating and drinking mostly, that is of course until he bumps into the wizard Gandalf who decides to hire Bilbo ...
...and their lost treasure from the magnificent smaug a deadly and ruthless dragon! Now of course Bilbo has no idea that Gandalf has volunteered his services to the dwarves and is quite taken back when one by one the dwarves appear at his door and all wanting food and drink. Bilbo eventually agrees to go with the dwarves much to his dismay. From this point on you will not be able to put the book down, you will actually want to be a fat bearded fellow ... Read review

Advantages: lots of interesting tales
Disadvantages: slightly depressing

...Neil Gaiman, or his creation The Sandman, here are some things you need to know. Neil Gaiman is an author who works not only in novel and short story form, but also in the graphic novel genre. He's one of the key players in transforming this into a 'serious' genre rather than just comic book. 'Sandman' was a comic series that was re-released as graphic novels. While it helps in terms of understanding characters and plots to read these in order, they ...
...in the series, and to be honest, it isn't a good place to start - the book is full of allusions, and you'll only really understand what's going on if you can get the many refernces. At points in time, across many worlds, where there is crisis, there exists a pub. Two travellers from our world, Brant and Charelene, are driving long distance when they get caught up in a dreadful storm and find themselves at the inn. It's clar as soon as they step through ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful story & characters/ beautifully drawn / dramatic & funny
Disadvantages: None!

'Persepolis: The story of a childhood', is one of the best animated books I have ever read. It is a beautiful memoir about a young girl's experiences of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. The illustrations are all in black and white and are beautifully drawn. The story is heartbreaking, yet incredibly funny at the same time. And what makes it so special is that it's all based on truth, history and the experiences of one girl and her ...
...Persepolis and felt it was true to their own experiences of living in Iran and then having to flee the revolution and come to the UK. I can not recommend this book enough. Pure brilliance! And once you've finished reading it, you can get the sequel 'Persepolis 2: The story of a return'. I didn't want the story to end! An animated film has already been made and released in the US, and it should come out in the UK shortly. I can't wait to see it! ... Read review