Wednesday 8 June 2011

My Enduring and Growing Love for Graphic Novels

So before I started this blog, I was thinking about using it specifically for a monthly feature. My first ever review was Alan Moore's V For Vendetta, and my plan was that I was going to incorporate my obsession with film much more into the blog than eventually ended up being the case. I was initally planning to feature a different graphic novel, along with the film adaptation, every month. I really do love graphic novels - I love the fact that they're really quick to read, but can also contain as much depth, if not more, in some cases, than many novels. I really enjoy the amalgamation of so many different media in graphic novels - lots of my favourites include popular culture, social commentary, and mythological references, as well as music, films, and sometimes ever cookery. They're such a gorgeously well thought out medium, and I really think everybody should read them! For me, graphic novels are an outlet for people who want to be slightly more visual in their imaginings,and sometimes I just want to look at something beautiful.

So here's the thing. I've decided to start a new feature. I'm not sure yet whether it will be monthly, bi-monthly, or just when I feel inspired, but here goes! I want to write about graphic novels, along with their film counterparts, whether they be old favourites, or new loves. I'm trying to expand my graphic horizons this year, by participating in  The Graphic Novels Challenge, and I'm discovering so many new things!

As a starting point, here's a list of my old favourites:
1) Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
2) The Sandman Series - Neil Gaiman
4) Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Bryan Lee O'Malley
5) Lost at Sea - Bryan Lee O'Malley
6) Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

Currently I'm reading Daniel Clowes Ghost World. I love the film, so I think this may be the subject of the first feature! I'm also a very recent manga convert. My little sister started me off on the Deathnote series, and I'm really really enjoying it. I read a great article this week about Reading Outside Ourselves, and how we have to challenge ourselves to read outside of our comfort zones. This is how I originally got into Graphic Novels, and I'd just like to thank Neil Gaiman for writing books that I loved so immensely much that I was willing to brave the terrifying frontier of the Graphic Novel to be able to read more of his stuff! So yes, new feature :-) I'm excited. I love to try to develop both the blog and my reading in new ways, and give myself new outlets to think and talk about things, and I'm really just starting out in the genre.

Does anybody have any recommendations of graphic novels that you love and want me to read?

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