What to read on winter break: 11 graphic novels

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you are tired of noisy New Year's parties and do not like to leave the house on a well-deserved day off - this article is for you. Employees of the St. Petersburg publishing house "Comilfo" have chosen graphic novels with which it will be interesting to spend their holidays.

1. "Chances" by Brian Lee O'Malley

The main character of the novel Katie is a pretty, young, talented and skillfully managing girl in the kitchen. Once, together with her friends, she opened a restaurant "Chances", where she works as a chef, but enough time has passed since then, and Katie decides to open her own restaurant. At the same time, he is still trying to manage the "Chances", as well as to establish a personal life and not go crazy from overwork.

One fine (actually full of failures) day, Katie receives a mysterious sign that radically changes her life.

Brownie girl, groundhog day, teenagers' relationships and the search for the meaning of being - you will find all this on the pages of the fascinating and funny graphic novel "Chances" by Brian Lee O'Malley, the author of the well-known "Scott Pilgrim".

2. "Patience" by Daniel Close

Patience and Jax are an absolutely happy, albeit very poor, family that is expecting a child. But one day, returning home from work, Jack finds his wife dead, for which he goes to prison, being the only suspect.

Years later, without stopping to grieve and remember his wife, Jack finds a way to travel in time. He has a chance to find the murderer of his beloved.

The plot is full of passion, a mixture of detective and science fiction in acid-bright colors. And yes, this is the only novel in the collection that was written by an Oscar nominee (in 2002, Daniel Close was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for his screenplay for The Phantom World).

3. "Beyond the Fence" by Patrick McHale

If you haven’t heard about the wonderful, funny and naive universe of "Beyond the Fence", then it's time to fix it! It's not for nothing that this mini-series won an Emmy award and became perhaps the most popular Cartoon Network show. And the comic itself was awarded the Eisner Prize.

In the center of the plot are brothers Wirth and Gregory, who got lost in a mysterious and strange forest, and a little bird Beatrice and an old Forester help them find their way home.

Touching and witty dialogues, amazing simplicity of life wisdom and great jokes - these stories will be the perfect companion for a glass of mulled wine and good old gingerbread. And at the end of the book there are notes and words to the songs sung by the main characters.

4. "Blacksad" Juanjo Guarnido and Juan Diaz Canales

John Blacksad is a detective. An excellent detective who can unravel the most difficult case and find the culprit. Blacksad is very fond of women and is friends with Smirnov, the police commissioner.

This whole story would seem absolutely trivial, if not for one nuance. John Blacksad is a black cat, and Smirnov is a German shepherd. The classic noir detective story acquires new features thanks to the four-legged characters, while not losing its atmosphere and cynicism.

5. "Ocean of Love" by Wilfried Lupano and Gregory Panaccione

This amazing romantic story of an elderly couple who, by the will of fate, is separated, and her halves are looking for each other in different parts of the world, is told through a drawing. Exclusively drawing. Without a single word. Therefore, understanding the plot and subtle jokes is easy for readers of all ages and language groups. Maybe that's not why - after all, the language of love is understandable without words, right?

Together with the main characters, the reader is transported from a small French province to vibrant Cuba, to the raging sea and even to the open ocean. It's all for love.

6. "Don Quixote" by Flix

Windmills are transformed into a park of electric generators, the cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha turns into a German retiree, and the loyal squire Sancho Panza is turned into a ridiculously plump teenager with a fan of Batman.

You don't have to be an avid comic book fan or Miguel de Cervantes to fully appreciate this modern adaptation of the legendary Don Quixote by German informal artist Flix. You just need to have a sense of humor and be attentive to the little things that make up this tragicomic story.

And yet a real Dark Knight suddenly appears here!

7. "Kinderland" Mavila

Nostalgic, sometimes sad, and sometimes very funny, this novel tells the story of schoolboy Mirko Watzke, who suddenly became enemy number one for a gang of high school thugs. And he can only be helped by a mysterious new student, who is not so easy to reach. The main thing is that the whole action takes place in East Berlin on the eve of the fall of the wall.

The novel is based on the recollections of the author's parents, overheard conversations of adults in childhood, gossip and rumors that were discussed by the guys in the yard. What is the disintegrating FRG like through the eyes of an ordinary German schoolboy?

8. "Umbrell Academy" by Gerard Way

Few people know, but the ex-lead singer of the now disbanded group My Chemical Romance Gerard Way is also a talented comic book writer. Moreover, his comics are very atmospheric, gloomy, saturated with serious ideas, and ordinary people become heroes. Just a little more gifted.

Umbrella Academy is two complete stories under one cover. One is devoted to an alternative version of events that unfolded during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy ("Dallas"). And the second, "Suite of the Apocalypse", tells about how the existence of peace on earth is threatened by music.

The sumptuous graphics by artist Gabriel Ba and the script by the mystical Way are perfect for reading on a chilly January evening to the songs of My Chemical Romance.

9. "Collector" Sergio Toppi

Second half of the 19th century. A mysterious and strange character nicknamed the Collector travels the world in search of ancient amulets. In this race for trophies, he is not afraid of bullets, diseases, or magic, or murders and other crimes committed around in a huge amount.

A kind of mixture of Indiana Jones and the heroes of Westerns by Clint Eastwood: a mocking, serious, successful lone hero will appeal to all lovers of ferocious male charisma. And travel to the most interesting and dangerous places on the planet will not leave indifferent anyone who has ever stepped outside passport control with a backpack on his back.

10. "Aurora" by Timofey Mokienko and Maria Konopatova

A weighty volume written by Russian authors tells about the events that could have unfolded in the Russian Empire if the October Revolution of 1917 had not occurred.

The country in the novel is run by some mysterious imperial machines, and the main character, Ivan Diogenes, accidentally finds himself on the legendary Aurora. Where will this story take him?

Good old steampunk, bright and complex heroes, many unusual inventions, the most beautiful old Petrograd - everything we love is here. You will probably love it too.;)

11. "Three seconds" by Marc-Antoine Mathieu

We could not fail to include this unique novel in the list for a must-have winter reading. Three seconds is the time it takes for a revolving bullet to travel one kilometer. Three seconds is the time it takes to notice something in an ordinary picture that will alert an attentive gaze. Three Seconds is a classic detective story told without words, but with the help of recursion.

The illustration inside the illustration will help you find answers to questions that seem daunting at first, and reflections, mirrors, door and window openings will become your best friends and helpers in solving confusing cases. The perfect graphic puzzle!