1. Watchmen by Alan MooreAn alternate history, costumed superheroes in the Cold War, mankind closer and closer to it's final nuclear hour, a graphic novel written by the one and only Alan Moore, nowadays a cult title which has been controversial, influential and by all means huge. Some even say that Watchmen is the most important graphic novel every published, and judging by the strange, influential and touching story they might be right. And way before the acclaimed movie – which was caught in a limbo for a long, long time – this title was not only a bestseller for it's genre, but one the most discussed and admired.
2. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Surely many of Gaiman's fans are also fans of his lenghty series called Sandman, but Coraline is something for everyone and every age, for the story of little Coraline, who discovers a door which leads to another world (similar, yet so different) seems to catch on no matter who reads it. Gaiman is a famous author, many of his books already having been bestsellers, so this graphic novel version of Coraline was expected to be no different. And the kind of book you could easily gift both to your kid and your grown-up friend.
3. A Contract With God by Will Eisner
Another master in the world of comics and graphic novels, this is another popular title among readers of the genre, and although it is already several decades old – it was first published in 1978 – it hasn't lost any of the charm and bitter sweet humour. Way different from what we may think as the frame for a comic book, it is nostalgic, sometimes sad, often touching, even dramatic, and a book which will surely be understood and loved the older and more experienced the reader is.
4. Maus by Art Spiegelman
Retelling the horrors of the Holocaust in a graphic novel is by all means a difficult task, as the subject is so difficult
to handle and hard to represent in a new manner. Yet, Art Speigelman not only had the winning idea, using animals for the ethnic groups of the story – the Jews were mice in the book, hence the title, while the Nazi Germans were cats – but did so with narative power, feelings and sensibility. Drawn in black and white, which makes the images even more powerful, it was a huge hit among readers and critics, but still it was a surprise for all when it was awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1992. It was the very first graphic novel to receive it. 5. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Another highly acclaimed graphic novel, the story of Marji and her experience in Iran, during the Islamic Revolution was a coming-of-age story which fascinated readers both by it's exotism and it's intensity. Translated into several other languages and well received by critics and readers alike, it was another brilliant example of how you do not need heroes with superpowers to create an universe of facts and happenings.
Photo: amazon.com
