GQ Magazine's "20 Graphic Novels You Should Read (After Watchmen)"

When I quit my last job, I had about 10 billion frequent flyer miles racked up that eventually expire if you don't use them. American Airlines did a pretty cool thing and offered me the chance to trade them in on (why this, I don't know) free magazine subscriptions. I didn't have any travel planned that I could book and rather than just lose them, I plunked down my AA dollars and got about 100 magazine subscriptions. Really, it's crazy. The house is inundated with half read magazines strewn about. In any case, this caught my eye in this month's issue of GQ.

Nestled in between the articles on Robert Pattinson, Emma Roberts, and $1,200 Prada and Burberry trenchoats was this wonderful 4 page spread, complete with spiffy spot illustrations by Becky Cloonan. The way the title is structured one could construe that the article would somehow have a direct or thematic connection with Alan Moore's work, but that's not really the case. It simply means, after you've read Watchmen, assumably because a) you've seen the movie, and b) you've already read the book - here are 20 other, completely different, but equally great books to read.

Now, I don't want to nitpick the list to death and completely rewrite it. I'm sure that everyone would probably have their very own unique 20 to put in front of civilians, so I'm just going to suggest a few tweaks based on what's already presented here. I think it's certainly become more acceptable, even de rigeur, in the past few years to be doing lists of Graphic Novels in "mainstream" publications, but nevertheless kudos to writers Alex Pappademas and Kevin Sintumuang (Greek and Filipino, I'm guessing? Wow, what a Marvel Team Up!), along with GQ Editorial for pulling this off. It really is a great list to begin with. Original GQ picks in black, my comments in dark blue.

1) Madman by Michael Allred (not a huge fan personally, but an ok choice, I recognize the importance)

2) The Invisibles: Say You Want a Revolution by Grant Morrison et al (great pick)

3) All-Star Superman: Volume 1 by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (great pick, would have been on my list)

4) The Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman (a good and interesting pick, though I personally feel Pax Romana is far superior, but it's still a good gateway to his divergent style)

5) Alias: Volume 1 by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos (great pick, best BMB book in my opinion, might’ve been on my list as a sort of token "let's see something different with ostensible superheroes" choice)

6) Black Hole by Charles Burns (great pick)

7) The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.: A Love and Rockets Book by Jaime Hernandez (this will sound like blasphemy, but I'm not a huge fan, it's becoming standard and expected to include something from Los Bros on lists like these)

8) Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine (great pick, I like seeing something from Tomine on this list, probably the best "collection" of his material)

9) Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra (BKV, check. I think he should have something on the list, though I would have definitely gone with Ex Machina instead, would have been on my list)

10) Concrete by Paul Chadwick (a respectable choice and I understand the logic behind it, but I would have probably gone with Zot! by Scott McCloud in this category - and while we're at it, how about putting Understanding Comics on the list?)

11) Criminal: Bad Night by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips (Yes, Criminal is done very well, but it's not personally my thing, I would have definitely, without a doubt, every day of the week and twice on Sundays, gone with Scalped here as my "crime" slot book, nice to see Bill Hader mention it in one of the sidebar pieces)

12) Pyongyang by Guy Delisle (a fine choice and certainly a gateway to Delisle's other books, but I might have gone with Craig Thompson's Carnet de Voyage as part travelogue, part journal, and part sketchbook ruminating on life that pushes the bounds of the medium)

13) Heavy Liquid by Paul Pope (great choice and no argument here, would have certainly been on my wholly original list)

14) La Perdida by Jessica Abel (great choice, might have been on my list)

15) Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco (great pick, love the inclusion of Sacco, would have definitely put him on my own list, but probably would have gone with Palestine as a more timely and accessible example of his work)

16) Fell: Volume 1 by Warren Ellis & Ben Templesmith (great pick, good gateway to the style of both the writer and artist, plenty of other offerings from both to explore)

17) It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken by Seth (not a huge fan personally, but good choice)

18) Super Spy by Matt Kindt (great pick, another good gateway to a different style of storytelling and unique aesthetic)

19) Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw (great pick, nice showcasing of an "underground" creator, plenty of other work to track down)

20) Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White by Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkon appears to be the token manga selection for this list, it is indeed a good book, for me, I would have probably gone with something from Osamu Tezuka, maybe a classic like Lone Wolf & Cub, Blade of the Immortal, or even something from Yoshihiro Tatsumi)

Misc. Thoughts: I was pleased to see that I either own or have read every single book on the list, that's either a testament to my voracious and encyclopedic reading appetite, umm, or the rather pedestrian nature of the list. Heh. Just a couple other books that popped into my head...

In one of the sidebar pieces, Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber's Whiteout is mentioned, no doubt because of the impending film and the magazine's love for Kate Beckinsale. Me? I would have certainly included something about Queen & Country, for all of the rabid Bond fans out there.

For something totally offbeat and different, with plenty of follow up material to track down, I would have considered including Billy Hazelnuts from Tony Millionaire.

I know the urge here was to stray away from pure superhero fare, and All-Star Superman was already included, but for an old school superhero kick done extremely well, I would have been tempted to include Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier.

Is this list really complete without something from Chris Ware?

Considering the venue, I think Antony Johnston and Christopher Mitten's Wasteland would have been an easy sell for the rabid moviegoers that peruse GQ Magazine.

I noticed a pretty discernible lack of female leads, with the exception of Alias and La Perdida. How about Promethea to complete the reference to the Alan Moore helmed book in the title of the piece?

Enjoy!