We have a wide range of interviews covering comics and graphic novels and graphic non-fiction. Will Brooker, professor of film and cultural studies at Kingston University, chooses his best comics and British cartoonist and illustrator Tom Gauld chooses his best books on comics. American cartoonist and illustrator Ben Katchor a chooses his best books on picture stories. Susan J Napier, Professor of International Literary and Cultural Studies at Tufts University, looks at manga and anime and Tintinologist Michael Farr chooses his best books on Tintin.
Hillary Chute, professor of English, art and design and Northwestern University selects her best graphic narratives and also chooses the best comics books of 2018 and the best of 2016.
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1
Last of the Atlases
Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen de Bonneval, Edward Gauvin (translator) -
2
The Labyrinth
by Guido Buzzelli & Jamie Richards (translator) -
3
Irmina
by Barbara Yelin & Michael Waaler (translator) -
4
Dirty Thirty: Thirty Years of Making a Scene
by Stripburger -
5
The ABC of Typography
David Rault, Edward Gauvin (translator)
The Best European Graphic Novels, recommended by Edward Gauvin
The Best European Graphic Novels, recommended by Edward Gauvin
The European graphic novel scene has unparalleled range. From indie science fiction to historical fiction, from France to Slovenia, there’s a sheer diversity of styles, palettes, and stories on display. Fulbright-winning and Eisner-nominated translator Edward Gauvin recommends five European graphic novels that show off the continent’s best writers, artists, and writer-artists.
The Best Graphic Novels That Were Made into Movies, recommended by Walt Hickey
Transforming a graphic novel into a movie might seem straightforward, but not everything that works on the page makes sense on the screen. Walt Hickey, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting, recommends five outstanding comics that were turned into films—with varying degrees of fidelity, and varying degrees of success.
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1
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi -
2
The Legend of Sally Jones
Jakob Wegelius, translated by Peter Graves -
3
Mysteries of the Quantum Universe
Thibault Damour, Mathieu Burniat, translated by Sarah-Louise Raillard -
4
Kariba
by Daniel Clarke, Daniel Snaddon & James Clarke -
5
Northern Lights - The Graphic Novel: Volume One
Philip Pullman, adapted by Stéphane Melchior, illustrated by Clément Oubrerie, translated by Annie Eaton
The Best Graphic Novels for 10-12 Year Olds, recommended by Harald
The Best Graphic Novels for 10-12 Year Olds, recommended by Harald
Even as kids become old enough to read books without pictures, reading a graphic novel is a great way to relax or get a grasp of a complex subject (like quantum physics). 11 year old Harald, an avid reader, recommends some of the best ones he’s read that other kids his age might also enjoy.
The Best Graphic Narratives, recommended by Hillary Chute
Nonfiction comics are an important genre and the tales they tell address important emotional and societal issues. Literary scholar Hillary Chute picks some of the best graphic narratives.
The Best Comics, recommended by Will Brooker
Fed up of superhero films? Hiding your copy of Watchmen behind the Economist on the train? Comics are a serious literary form as well as being fun, says the author of a new book on Batman.
The Best Comic Books, recommended by Tom Gauld
The cartoonist and illustrator says the relationship between words and pictures is an interesting one. A bad picture book would say “this is an apple”, a good one “this is not a pipe”
The best books on Tintin, recommended by Michael Farr
The adventures of Tintin are some of the bestselling books of all time, translated from French into languages across the globe, and still in bookshops nearly a century since they first started being published. Their stories, their humour, their characters continue to delight. Here, Tintinologist Michael Farr explains why the Tintin books have such enduring appeal and how their creator, Hergé, came to write them.
The best books on Picture Stories, recommended by Ben Katchor
Pictures operate in space, words in time, and the best stories are told with both, says the acclaimed American author and cartoonist, Ben Katchor. He tells us how visual narratives are making a deserved comeback.
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1
Crossroads: I Live Where I Like
Koni Benson, André & Nathan Trantraal (Illustrators), Ashley Marais (Illustrator) -
2
Aya
Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie (illustrator) -
3
All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa
by Richard Conyngham (editor) -
4
Madame Livingstone: The Great War in the Congo
by Barly Baruti (illustrator), Christophe Cassiau-Haurie & Ivanka Hahnenberger (translator) -
5
Kariba
by Daniel Clarke, Daniel Snaddon & James Clarke
The Best Comics on African History, recommended by Trevor Getz
The Best Comics on African History, recommended by Trevor Getz
Graphic narratives can be a great way to learn history but they need to be both good history and good comics. That’s a combination that can be hard to find. Trevor Getz, a professor of history at San Francisco State University, picks out his top comic books on African history.
The Best Comics of 2018, recommended by Hillary Chute
Comics are taking over the world, says Northeastern Professor and comics expert Hillary Chute. Here, she introduces the best comics published in 2018, from a Booker-nominated narrative about paranoia and living in the age of fake news to feminist comics published by underground, auteur-driven independent publishers