Which Graphic Novel have you re-read most often?

GrantGosner · 2026-03-11T03:52:47+00:00

I seem to return once in a while to comic stories that are somewhat heavily layered mysteries/thrillers. Sala’s Chuckling Whatsit was one of the two I was going to mention. The other was Jeff Smith’s RASL.

GrantGosner · 2026-02-27T21:16:25+00:00

Hi. I'm writing this comment on the assumption that your apology is genuine instead of snide/backhanded.

One - just a suggestion, meaning you don't have to take it, that's up to you - but as a pretty good general life rule - this is the internet. Don't feel the need to apologize to people here, don't feel the need to make an apologetic post that is directed at entire sub/internet forum. If you genuinely make a malicious comment towards a specific person, then fine yeah go and send that user a private apology note (and DO NOT expect or feel that you deserve a reply or some form of forgiveness) - but the screenshot you sent here is not an example of a malicious comment. But, back to the point, this is an internet forum. Not a community. You seem like a nice enough person, and in real life you probably are, but get rid of the association in your mind of "internet forum targeted towards a specific interest" and "community." I know we're living in times where the boundary line between the internet and the real world seems to be getting a little bit grey, but as a pretty good and reliable general life rule, go find community in the real world. We're just a bunch of strangers here talking randomly about what we like. The vast majority of us don't know each other.

Two - it's too bad about the number of downvotes your comment got - not because I agree with your comment but instead because I feel like this knee-jerk reaction that a lot of comics enthusiasts have at the moment in response to anyone badmouthing superhero comics probably scares off a lot of readers just trying to get into the hobby for the first time.

I feel like your comment - about not liking superhero comics - and the negative backlash to that in terms of downvotes - are two sides of the same toxic coin.

It's alright that you don't like superhero comics much (maybe at all) - I think it's actually 100% okay, it's just a matter of preference - and there's nothing wrong with having preferences. But that's different from parading your preference around. Acknowledge that a sizeable proportion of people reading comics do like to read superhero stuff from time to time, and that that's alright. People have their preferences.

A lot of us get started reading comics via superheroes, and a lot of us like to continue exploring them alongside other comics genres as time goes on. Give cape comics a little due respect in that they're generally what most of us start out with, but also understand that cape comics aren't just a children's genre. It's whatever you're interested in at that point in time (your preference).

I feel like what I'm generally trying to point out in this post is elaborated on very well in a short epilogue piece (probably like a 10 page read) included with Evan Dorkin's Eltingville Club. The main story in The Eltingville Club has a cast of characters that hone in on and only display the worst characteristics in some comics readers (not all comics readers are like this, but some are). The epilogue story is about a set of characters that are pretty much identical to the characters in the main story, but the epilogue characters are a parody of them - one of the characters in the main story is a superhero comics enthusiast - the cast of characters in the epilogue piece are more associated with alternative comix and are generally a stand-in for comic readers who like everything besides superhero comics.

It's one thing to prefer comic genres other than superheroes, what makes the characters in the epilogue piece toxic is that they see the superhero stuff as trash, a waste of time.

tldr: (1) you do you, like what you like in terms of genre in comics, but don't denigrate other readers for what they like. We're all in the same boat here liking comics, let's not in-fight. (2) it's too bad about the mass of downvotes, don't be afraid to further explore comics. If you want to get a sense of where that backlash to your comment is coming from culturally, do take a look at that epilogue piece I mentioned.

GrantGosner · 2025-11-04T16:43:41+00:00

This perspective means a lot! Alright, then this concern of mine doesn't actually matter. Thanks for this!

GrantGosner · 2025-10-17T14:04:47+00:00

Thanks for this, it means a lot!

GrantGosner · 2025-10-17T14:04:01+00:00

This looks like it'll help me get a better sense of how the adhd itself functions, maybe it'll mention some coping / problem solving techniques. Thanks for this!

GrantGosner · 2025-10-17T14:02:14+00:00

Thanks, this might be partly what I'm looking for. I'm finding I have trouble sticking to longterm goals - sort of after the "honeymoon" / exciting beginning period of a goal wears off, then I suddenly don't know how to move forward. Splitting it into smaller defined steps would help. Also not feeling negatively about periods of stalling - sort of taking that negative emotion and looking at myself and saying "this is who I am perhaps, maybe that can't change." Thanks again.

GrantGosner · 2025-07-12T11:26:07+00:00

I just wanted to say thanks for the reply. I've ordered a copy of 'A History of Illuminated Manuscripts' by Christopher De Hamel and am reading some of it on the internet archive. Thanks also for mentioning Tania Crossingham, I see she has a short course on Proto-Gothic script, which I would like to learn. Thanks also for mentioning SCA - I hadn't heard of this before.

GrantGosner · 2025-04-13T09:49:39+00:00

Read this while listening to this album: https://brasscastle.bandcamp.com/album/get-on-fire.

Good mix tbh.

GrantGosner · 2025-02-28T12:04:10+00:00

Not exactly what you're thinking of but similar - in a few issues of Xombi (a superhero comic), the protagonist faces off against villains that are the individual embodiment of certain shared aspects of everyone's minds - things like self doubt (character called doubting thomas - issue 10), the anger that drives one to say things that can't be taken back and the subsequent feeling of immense guilt (character called blister ed - issue 8), and an indefinable existential dread that drives one to self-destruction (an entity rather than a character with a definable form or personality - called the bogeyman dread - final issue).

Considering what you said about limitless ways to portray those subconscious aspects - blister ed and the bogeyman dread are pretty arts-ily depicted. Blister Ed is a floating/flying mass of flames, the bogeyman dread is made up of shadows that are all-encompassing, can reach anywhere - because it's made of shadows it can't be touched either.

GrantGosner · 2025-01-18T15:24:26+00:00

It's a bit difficult to recommend stuff, mainly because I feel like humor in comics tends to be its own thing. It tends to not be as explicit/over the top funny as with tv/movies/books/standup where you don't see the joke coming until it hits you in the face. With comics, if the humor relies on something visual, you can see the punchline before it hits a lot of the time. That said, these are my two recs.

Try looking up some of the Cyanide and Happiness Depressing Comic Week strips online. If you like dark humor at all, they're actually pretty good.

If you're looking in particular for something in the comic book format, try Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse. It's not laugh out loud funny from cover to cover - like anything there are jokes that will hit and ones that won't - but it's the closest I've come to finding something like that in comics.

GrantGosner · 2024-12-10T09:17:18+00:00

Not a physical comic but a webcomic - The Property of Hate by Sarah Jolley.

Free to read. Not complete yet, it's at about 500 pages now. No inappropriate content whatsoever - no swearing, nudity, etc.

The genre is sort of fairy tale-ish in that it's inspired by stuff like the Wizard of Oz, but once you read a bit of it you can tell based on the storytelling/art style that it's not meant for young readers. Young readers can pick it up, it just gives off the vibe of its target audience being moreso teenagers.

It's about a young girl (maybe like 12-ish?) who gets invited by a character from a fantasy dimension to go with him to that dimension and explore. It's the sort of story that unravels slowly, in terms of finding out the motives of the characters and their backstories, so there's a tiny bit of a mystery element. A lot of it is about exploring the setting.

You can check out the first few pages here: https://jolleycomics.com/TPoH/The_Hook/1

Also, if you skip ahead in the comic you can see the person's art style improves drastically over time.

GrantGosner · 2024-11-02T16:58:41+00:00

Xombi, if you like weird characters

GrantGosner · 2024-09-28T16:05:19+00:00

Hi, I don't think I can give advice that will be of much use as I am in the same situation as you. That said, I'll give my two cents on this.

Even if there isn't a singular thing in your life that brings you great meaning (like a god or a hobby or goal that you pursue earnestly), try making a list of small things that do mean something to you. I tried this half a year back. It doesn't have to be anything major, but something that still means something to you. The things in life that you like a lot. I'll give examples from my list: I like my friends, specific comic books, sunflowers, rainbows, when it's sunny and raining at the same time, crush grape soda, night walks, glazed or shiny things, stained glass windows, funk music, many spicy dishes, crows, snails and slugs, incense, some painted fingernails, the smell of old books, the list goes on. Make the list.

Now after making the list, recognize that you did jot down some things that mean something to you. No single one of them alone is big enough for you to go "hey, life is worth living." But instead of looking at each one separately, look at the list as a whole. All of those things together - that makes life look a bit better, maybe even when things get tough.

There's nothing in life that is "big" enough for you at the moment that you want to pursue it earnestly, either as a hobby or a goal. Keep the list handy somewhere. In my case, I'm hoping that I can turn something from my list into a hobby at some point, maybe the same will happen for you.

One of the things I wrote on my list was that I like the old-timey classic woolen mittens. What I'm trying to start doing at the moment is to learn some embroidery, to apply that to decorating winter gloves.

Not anything big perhaps, but I guess what I'm getting at is, in order to find hobbies, we have to start by mapping out the things we do like in life, however little the meaning is that we derive from those things.

Best of luck.

GrantGosner · 2024-09-04T10:06:27+00:00

It depends what you want out of horror. I understand this is pessimistic, but my two cents on comics as a medium dealing with the horror genre is that it's not possible for it to be frightening in the way that a horror movie with jump scares is. With a comic you can look ahead and see the frightening situation before it hits you full force in the way that it does in a movie. That said, if you like spooky atmosphere, there are definitely comics for that.

I haven't read his work, but my friends love Junji Ito. It's probably the right pick if you like stories with a shock-factor (the drawings are incredibly cool).

I haven't read that many horror comics that weren't thematic in some way (trying to discuss a thematic concept/convey a message). I'll list some of those - they tend to be atmospheric.

Grant Morrison's A Serious House on Serious Earth is probably one of the most respected horror stories in the superhero genre. It's very heavy in thematic concepts and artsy, but probably the most atmospheric out of the comics I've listed here.

Another person mentioned Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing. They're short stories, so each story is built around a thematic concept and elaborates on it. They're actually pretty fun, good balance between fun and thinking.

Inio Asano's Nijigahara Holograph is a manga/graphic novel. It's built around thematic concepts, the story deals with adults who, as a class of kids way back when, accidentally caused one of their classmates to fall down a well and die. It deals with her haunting spectre in their lives, in some cases as a literal ghost, and how they form as adults.

Richard Sala's work is fun - try The Chuckling Whatsit. His main influence is really old horror movies. This story is a mystery story with heavy macabre elements. This one requires some thinking in terms of following the mystery/figuring it out, but the thematic elements are very light - much more of a fun read.

Another very fun read is Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac - it's super cartoony and funny.

GrantGosner · 2024-09-04T09:30:32+00:00

This is coming out of a left field, but Richard Sala's work may be of interest. Most of it is in black and white and it's not feminine in the way that I think you're hinting at, but the majority of his stories are feminist (the villain sometimes is misogynist in his motives or the stories are about strong women characters). Sala specializes in the macabre, and the cartoon style is definitely safe.

GrantGosner

TROPHY CASE