Rate the last graphic novel you read

The Walking Dead Book 1 (hardback)


Containing the first 12 comic books, this hardback contains quite a lot of narrative, yet somehow doesn't hold nearly enough. You see, the book quickly engrosses you, into the characters, into the desperation and need for survival. There's always some tension and it is one of the few comic books that can truly unsettle and move the reader to the same extent (or greater extent) of a film.
As the book isn't a stand alone graphic novel, but is rather a compilation of the first comic books, there is not a wrapped up ending. This means that by the end you will be disappointed. Certainly not by the quality of the book, but by the fact that you are going to have to buy every single one of the next books in the series, because it is just that good. And the further you read, the sooner you begin to realize that the zombies aren't the biggest threat these survivors face.

Elephantmen 5: Devilish Functions


Elephantmen really is a hidden gem. So few know about this comic series, yet it is one of the greatest I have ever read. Firstly, who are the elephantmen? They are a species of semi-human and semi-animal beings intentionally created by the insemination of animal and human cells. They were created by an African coorporation by the name of MAPPO, who trained them to be soldiers to fight in war. However upon discovering this, the United Nations liberated the elephantmen and allowed them to live among society. Devilish Functions focuses heavily on the racist aspect of society, the resentment from humans, and follows Hip (Flask), a hippo human hybrid detective, as he looks into the deaths of dozens of elephantmen and unearths a rather dark past.
What is so compelling is how close to home the themes hit us. Also the characters are portrayed beautifully with a lot of depth. It is rather upsetting at times. Overall, a phenomenal graphic novel. I need to work my way back, start from book one because I feel like I have missed out on a lot.

Read Y The Last Man you cunt

Essential X-Men Volume 2
Couldn't find volume 1 for decent price. It's in black and white, but it's over 500 pages for less than a tenner.
Great stuff, contains the Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past, and all the other stories are great and show how they interact, and the X-Men's relationships with each other is the best part.

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing Vol.1
It's Alan Moore at his peak writing horror. That's all you need to know.

Kick-Ass 2


It's odd how compelling such a trashy comic can be. If you thought the first comic was unnecessarily gratuitously violent and vulgar, Kick-Ass 2 is even worse. Almost to the point in which you resent the fact that you are reading it, yet you continue to read on and on. The reason why is that it hits close to home. We've all grown up in the same way as Dave Lizewski, with the dream of being a superhero and being part of a superhero team like the Avengers or Justice League. Dave like us is just a human character without any spectacular superpowers, just a heightened resilience to injury due to metal plates implanted in his body (following an attack that involved him getting stabbed and hit by a car- see Kick Ass 1). In this book you see his sidekick Hit Girl abandoning the superhero lifestyle to return to her studies, while Kick Ass joins his new Superhero team, and in the meantime Red Mist (now known as The Motherfucker) ups the ante and goes to hurt those that Kick Ass loves the most....
A highly entertaining read, very extreme but also enjoyable. If you liked the first book, you will enjoy this too.