# What's the SECOND best graphic novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879 "2009-03-26T16:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Superhero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Superhero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Superhero)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/21 "2009-03-26T17:47:58Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > And I know this is nitpicky, but strictly speaking “Watchmen” was not a graphic novel. It was a mini-series, meant to be read in monthly installments like a ‘regular’ comic book. It was collected into ‘novel’ format, but wasn’t originally published as a single volume. Strictly speaking, none of the terminology that is ever applied to comics as a medium is ever particularly accurate, so why be nitpicky about it? It originally came out in monthlies - so what? It reads as a “graphic novel” (a term I despise) now, so why does it matter? As to the OP, I think it really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want more stuff in the vein of “Watchmen,” then “The Dark Knight Returns” is probably a good pick. If you’re looking for comics, but don’t necessarily want super-heroes, “Maus” is, as others have noted, probably the top pick and the best place to start. Spiegelman is one of the major figures in comics, and “Maus” is his best and best-known work, and well-worth a read for anybody. I guess the real question is, what do you like in other media? What kind of prose novels do you like? Movies? TV? If you like “Lord of the Rings”-style fantasy, try Jeff Smith’s “Bone” or Richard and Wendy Pini’s “Elfquest” (though I’m not sure how easy it is to find in stores these days). If you’re into sci-fi, you might try “Fear Agent,” which works as sort of a throwback to pulp sci-fi and 1950s “Weird Tales”-type comics. It’s all kinds of fun. If you like more mainstream literary fiction, you might try Craig Thompson’s “Blankets” or Jason Lutes’ “Berlin.” If you like historical stuff, try Stan Sakai’s “Usagi Yojimbo” series. Other than the fact that the characters are all rabbits, cats and other anthropomorphic animals, it’s a well-researched and hella fun Medieval Japanese adventure. There’s comics to fit just about any genre you can name. Figure out what genres you want to read, then find a decent local comic store (or bookshop with a good comics selection), and go to town. If there’s not a good brick-and-mortar shop in your area, you can try [www.cheapasstrades.com](http://www.cheapasstrades.com) to help you find good prices on lots of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/22 "2009-03-26T17:56:55Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > The idea that **Watchmen** is the _best_ graphic novel ever is mostly hype from the Hollywood machine promoting the movie. I’m not dissing the graphic novel, which I liked a lot, but best ever? No… Well… _Time_ magazine several years ago named it one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923, and it’s the only graphic novel on the list, so I’d say it’s not just Hollywood hype: [http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/0,24459,watchmen,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/0,24459,watchmen,00.html) Here’s _Time_’s ten-best GNs, too, FWIW: [http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/0,24459,graphic\_novels,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/0,24459,graphic_novels,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/23 "2009-03-26T18:06:37Z")
_Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth_. I think it’s the one book that makes more use of the medium than even _Watchmen_. That said, I agree that _Watchmen_, great though it is, isn’t the best. But that’s nitpicking, I guess. Other great works I’d suggest are _Maus_, _Jimmy Corrigan_, _Goodbye, Chunky Rice_, _Blankets_, _Persepolis_, _Fun Home_, _American Born Chinese_, and various volumes of the _Acme Novelty Library_. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/24 "2009-03-26T18:12:48Z")
Cerebus: High Society should be in this discussion as well. Dave Sim’s first ever attempt at a longer form and he changed the face of the industry with it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/25 "2009-03-26T18:16:16Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > And I know this is nitpicky, but strictly speaking “Watchmen” was not a graphic novel. It was a mini-series, meant to be read in monthly installments like a ‘regular’ comic book. It was collected into ‘novel’ format, but wasn’t originally published as a single volume. By that logic, Charles Dickens never wrote a novel. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/26 "2009-03-26T18:17:43Z")
**shy guy** has pretty much covered what’s on my shelf. Not yet mentioned is Guy DeLisle - he wrote 3 really interesting travelogues: Pyongyang, Shenzhen, and The Burma Chronicles. I highly recommend them all. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/27 "2009-03-26T18:27:08Z")
These are repeats from upthread, but deserve multiple noms: [**Maus**](http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Maus-Survivors-Tale-No/dp/0679406417/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238091955&sr=1-2) and [**Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid on Earth**](http://www.amazon.com/Jimmy-Corrigan-Smartest-Kid-Earth/dp/0375404538) ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/28 "2009-03-26T18:41:04Z")
**V for Vendetta** and **Sandman** (which is broken up into a bunch of volumes, but we’ll pretend it counts as one “novel”) are my favorites along with **Watchmen**. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/29 "2009-03-26T19:06:13Z")
I really like _Persepolis_. The art is beautiful and it’s very funny, touching, and observant. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/30 "2009-03-26T19:07:12Z")
Autobiography is one of the strongest parts of the art-comics end of the spectrum. I’ll put in a big plug for Alison Bechdel’s excellent and moving memoir [Fun Home](http://www.amazon.com/Fun-Home-Tragicomic-Alison-Bechdel/dp/0618477942), one of the very best works in comics form (but be warned, it’s far more tragic than fun). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/31 "2009-03-26T19:08:18Z")
I nominate [_Hooky_](http://www.mycomicshop.com/graphicnovels/item?IID=4045741), a little-known Spider-Man GN from 1986. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/32 "2009-03-26T19:22:47Z")
As an outside choice, I’d recommend [The Arrival,](http://www.shauntan.net/books.html) by Shaun Tan. I’m a\* huge \*Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman fan , and _Maus_ is also great, but _this_…there are no words. …no, _literally_, there are no words. But it’s beautiful, and sad, and inspiring, and breathtaking, and artistic and surreal. I cannot praise it highly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/33 "2009-03-26T19:40:35Z")
Akira ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/34 "2009-03-26T19:44:00Z")
I haven’t read it, or any other graphic novel for that matter. FWIW: Batman “The Killing Joke” ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/35 "2009-03-26T20:48:34Z")
Holy cow, that link **MrDibble** provided has some fabulous pages from that book. It’s definitely on my list to read now. ---
**Author:** ![satoridt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@satoridt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/satoridt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/36 "2009-03-26T22:10:31Z")
hmmm… I guess it’s a Manga, but have any of you read Barefoot Gen? It’s the story of a boy who grows up in WWII era Hiroshima. It takes place in the 4 months before the bombing and immediately after. I highly recommend reading it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/37 "2009-03-26T22:25:01Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > [Maus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus) won a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. In my opinion, after reading **Maus** , **The Watchmen** _is_ the second best graphic novel. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/38 "2009-03-26T23:16:48Z")
Another vote for **The Dark Knight Returns** and one for **V for Vendetta** as well. I also found the _V for Vendetta_ movie to be very entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/39 "2009-03-26T23:25:32Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > In my opinion, after reading **Maus** , **The Watchmen** _is_ the second best graphic novel. Try Persepolis and you might think Watchman is the third best graphic novel. But I suspect it depends on what you are looking for - Watchmen is a great graphic novel with a LOT of comic book memes twisted around itself (I like V for Vendetta as well). Maus and Persepolis are personal histories written as graphic novels - and more powerful because they are true stories. Persepolis has rather simplistic art - of those three Watchman blows the other two away for art - but that isn’t what Maus or Persepolis are about. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879/40 "2009-03-26T23:29:37Z")
It’s interesting that both _Maus_ and _Watchmen_ have smaller comics within there larger framework (_Prisoner on the Hell Planet_ and _Tales of the Black Freighter_). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-second-best-graphic-novel/490879.md?page=3)