Comix! Comix! Comix!

Imagine a kid walking into a library. He roams the shelves, looking for the perfect book. Finally he spots the book he's been looking for and plops down on a beanbag chair to read for hours on end. Can you guess what I would have picked if that kid was me? You guessed it, comics. Now some people could argue that comics aren't really a book, but I say if it has pages with words on it, it's a book. Even if it wasn't a book, I would love it just as much. You see, while most writers just have to print words and be really good at it, comic book writers have to be good at writing, drawing, and marketing. It makes you appreciate a graphic novel/comic book and understand why it takes so long for it to come out. I like everything from the morning news comics to the book store graphic novels, they all are the same to me. I hope you enjoy my favorite graphic novels/comic books and maybe find a new read.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Let's start with my favorite comics. I've always seemed to like the older comics better than the current ones, but I don't like Calvin and Hobbes, I love it. This is easily my favorite comic series of all time. I got every single Calvin and Hobbes comic a few years ago and I have been addicted ever since. The plot is pretty simple. An obnoxious boy with his imaginary tiger go on adventures. It may not sound the best, but you have to read it. It is hilarious and doesn't stop getting funny. It can be interesting, because Calvin is very unpredictable. The drawings really show the personality of these wacky and fun comics. The other characters, like Calvin's mom, dad, teacher and schoolmate, all have their own personality and the way Calvin is immune to their scolding is one of my favorite parts of these comics. I have literally read all of the comics three times over and they still don't get old.

Far Side by Gary Larson

Another older comic series! This comes in close second of my favorite comics. I really wish they were still going, but they would probably get less funny when the author ran out of ideas. Like Calvin and Hobbes, I have all the comics from Far Side. These comics don't have a plot, but that makes it all the better. These comics do have a dark kind of humor, but that's why I like it so much. There are no specific characters either, sometimes it will be about an alien, other times it will be a cow talking. The characters are usually pretty dumb, even when they are in life-threatening situations, but the bizarre nature of these comics is another reason I like these comics so much. I have to say, it is risky not having specific characters, but it also gives you a wider range of humorous possibilities. It's pretty hard not to like these comics.

Bone by Jeff Smith

Onward to graphic novels! I really like graphic novels because unlike comics, they tell a continuous story. Bone has a series of maybe nine different graphic novels all in a series. The plot is about these cute creatures called the Bones getting kicked out of Boneville and having to live with a girl called Thorn and her grandmother. Thorn's village is being attacked by these monsters called Rat creatures and the the Bones try to help them. One bone is silly, one helpful, and the other snotty. This book is hilarious at times, but also really sad at the end. I won't give away too much, but things get pretty crazy towards the finish of the series. The drawings in this series are one of my favorites out of all of the graphic novels I have read because they are actually pretty detailed for such a long series. It really is hard to find something wrong with these books.

Maus by Art Spiegelman

This one is not your typical graphic novel. Unlike the others, this series is not about comedy and/or action, it's about historical fiction. I knew I would like it after the first page. The book is about how a young comic book writer interviews his dad, who lived through the Holocaust, and writes a graphic novel about his disgruntled dad's story. This one is the most serious out of all of the graphic novels I have read, but also the most interesting. While they are all technically human, they have the heads of animals representing where they come from (for instance the main character and his family are mice, and so are all the Jews.) The main character of the graphic novel is also the writer of these graphic novels and the story switches from present day problems, like his dad's marriage, to back when he was in the Holocaust. The drawings show the brutal nature of the Nazis and the suffering that took place in the Holocaust. This was an awesome change for me when it comes to graphic novels.

Smile/Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Smile and Sisters are two different books, but they have the same characters, so I treat them as one series. These are the most relatable graphic novels of the list for me. Smile is about the main character in her teenage years dealing with braces, mean friends, and her creative personality. She eventually realizes that she shouldn't care what other people think and finds new, more respectful friends. Sisters is about the main character in her teenage years, dealing with a long road trip with her obnoxious sister and brother. The book has many flashbacks to when her little sister was just a baby. The two books are funny, but also sad in some parts. These two books have really detailed drawings and are almost impossible to put down, once you start.

I hope you have found some new graphic novels/ comics to read and enjoy them as much as I did :)