Something different

Hey everyone, thought I'd switch it up from talking about my workouts today and talk about another thing that consumes my life: reading. In my job, especially in the shift I work, there is a lot of downtime, which I fill with reading. Naturally, at a bout 4 am my eyes start getting heavy and every line that I run my eyes across makes my brain go into dreamland, so the written word just doesn't suffice. Recently I found a way to combat this drowsiness, and keep my brain going through these rough hours; graphic novels.

If you're anything like me, you've shunned the graphic novel genre due to thoughts of it being kiddies cartoons, superhero nerd fantasies, and general loserdom. I never wanted to be associated with that crowd, so I never cracked open one of their books to give it a try. After watching a couple movies that were based on graphic novels, which is becoming quite the rage in Hollywood, I thought I'd give it a shot and was pleasantly surprised. There are some incredible stories out there that are written and presented in drawing form. I typically stay away from superhero comics, they seem a bit too juvenile for me, and still carry a stigma in my brain that I don't want to be involved with. I tried to read a couple of them and just couldn't get into it. If that's your thing, it's cool, it's just not mine.

Anyways, here are a few graphic novels for the beginning graphic novel reader to try out if you want to give it a shot. Each of these are great stories and will move you to think about them for a long time after you have read them.

The Complete Maus by Art Speigelman

This is probably the best book I have ever read, bar none. That includes both written and graphic forms of literature. It's a true story written by the survivor of parents who survived Auschwitz. He interviews his father for years and then made it into this book, which drives home the grandiose amount of violence that existed in those times. This should be required reading for all students in elementary school. Even if you do not wish to get really involved in graphic novels, I would suggest a quick trip to the library to check this book out. It will change the way you view the past.

Rating: Teen. Violence, Holocaust

Y: The Last Man by Brian Vaughan

This is an exceptional story and is better than 95 percent of the novels I have read. It's about a man and his pet monkey that survive a plague that kills every male on the planet. It's a great story about love, maturity, friendship, and the special ability of the human species to evolve and survive. This is one of the few books that has ever hit me so hard as to cause a few drops of water to come out of my eye. It will affect you in some way. I finished the series 3 days ago and have thought about if often since then. Highly suggested.

Rated: Adult. Sexual content, Nudity, Language, Violence


Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Man on Earth by Chris Ware

This is a great book about a socially awkward loser who goes on a mission to find his biological father, whom he has never met. The way it is told is original, and strange, but it makes you feel what the main character is feeling and expresses his thoughts in a great way. If you are like me an had a screwed up childhood, this story will affect you in some way. Great read.

Rated: Teen. Maybe some veiled references to sex, but should be fine for all ages.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

A dynamic story about teen love, family, and maturity. I guarantee that after you read this you will find yourself back at the age of 16 and remembering what it was like to have your heart broken when the girl or guy you loved didn't like you anymore. Of course, if you were the quarterback of your school football team, you never felt this. You can skip this book and get back to servicing my air conditioner now. For most people though, this will make you think about your family, your childhood, and how life always evens out in the end. I actually passed this book around in my workplace and everybody who read it loved it.

Rated: Teen. Sexual content, some nudity, very upsetting part involving child abuse.

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello

This was the first graphic novel series I ever read and I got hooked hard. It's a story that starts out as a mysterious old man who arrives in people lives in hard times and offers them a chance to change their lives for better or worse by giving them a briefcase that contains one handgun and 100 bullets, and a photograph of the person who has ruined their lives. None of the ammunition nor the gun can be traced to the person, and they basically have carte blanche to do whatever they choose with the gift. It quickly escalates though, and over the course of 13 volumes has more twists than Chubby Checker. I would give this a high suggestion to anyone that is a fan of mystery or detective novels. It's just a great all around series.

Rated: Adult. Gratuitous and graphic violence, strong sexual content, and language that would make a lumberjack blush.

These are my favorite graphic novels, but there are a few that aren't too far behind them. There are a ton of high-quality books out there, and the hunting and discovery of them is a lot of the fun as well. Given that, there are also a lot of turds that you'll have to float through as well. You'll know them when you see them. If you are intrigued after reading the listed books, I can point you in the right direction for further reading.

Happy reading -Brock