We’ve all heard and seen how the coronavirus has led to people stocking up on some basic grocery items – toilet paper, tissues, pasta, rice etc. Presumably, this is to make sure they’ll survive if they have to isolate themselves for a couple of weeks.
More important than food and medical supplies is of course, reading material. What is everyone going to do when they can’t get their daily* or weekly fix of comic story goodness from Impact Comics?
Madness. It will be utter madness.**
Fear not – we’ve got you covered with 5 graphic novels perfect for spending a couple of weeks alone, that’s five amazing big, chunky, graphic novels that will make sure the time passes quickly and enjoyably, through these long, dark, lonely times.***
So without further ado, here’s…
5 Graphic Novels Perfect for Spending a Couple of Weeks Alone
Note though – these aren’t necessarily for young graphic novel readers. Another blog post will cover long-form comics for all ages and different genres. The ones listed below though are perfect to dive into while the kids hog the tv with Mario Kart or your housemate spends their time off work learning the harmonica.
1) Watchmen
Published by DC, writen by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons
An oldie but a damn goodie. You’ve probably heard of it, maybe you’ve seen The TV sequel TV series or the movie (shudder,) but perhaps you’ve never read it. Or maybe you have. Either way, now is the perfect time to get lost in Moore’s alternative reality, alternive superhero, murder-mystery story.
Its themes – good v evil (and where the line is,) political and social crises looming over the world – speak to current political and economic situations in Australia and internationally. With just the right amount of doom and gloom. Also, it’s a beautiful book with a structure and depth of imagery that you’ll appreciate.
This is a comic book classic that you’ll revisit again and again. Plus if you rip through that and want more (legend!), there’s also the comic book sequel Doomsday Clock too!
2) Uzumaki, Junji Ito
This one is for the horror fans (especially ones like me who are too chicken about watching horror movies). In the city of. Kurōzu-cho, a supernatural curse has taken over and a spiral pattern is haunting the town and sending the people mad. It’s main character is a high-school teenager so you could say it’s a YA story, but really it’s for anyone into horror stories and beautiful books.
This series was orginally published weekly in Japan between 1998-1999, and since then it’s been published as sweet English language omnibus. We’ve got the Delux Edition for only $39.99, which will cover your own curse-avoidance/isolation period nicely.
Also, there are bunch of other Junji Ito manga to work your way through. Each one is essentially self isolated… er stand alone, so you can read them in any order.
3) Akira
by Katsuhiro Otomo.
Some of you might (rightly) be saying hang on, Akira is a series of books not one chunky work. This is true, however each of 6 volumes are chunky reads themselves. It covers a range of genres and themes, as a Japanese manga, cyperpunk, mental illness, superhero, story with political/social commentary. Kaneda, a teenaged biker and his crew try to stop their telekinetic friend, powered friend from reawakening Akira, the entity that turned Tokyo into the post-apocalyptic world they know.
4) Blankets
by Craig Thompson
A cult-classic, best selling graphic novel so beautiful that you’ll read it again and again. Set in Wisconsin, USA, this is a autobiographical, YA, coming-of-age story about Craig finding his first love with Raina while also navigating his Evangelical, devout Christian family, his rivalry with his brother, and discovering his own beliefs. Black and white illustrations give the story a wintery tone and depth to match the quality of writing. But don’t just believe us when we say it’s amazing, believe Time magazine who ranked it #8 in it’s Best Comics of the Decade (2000-2010) and #1 for 2003. Plus Thompson’s other work has received four Harvey Awards, three Eisner Awards and two Ignatz Awards, and nothing says quality like institutional recognition.
5) The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
compendium, by Gilbert Shelton
We’ve given you horror, coming-of age, manga, alternative political superhero stories – now we give you iconic San-Francisco stoner alternative culture. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are not actually brothers, they’re three guys who, along with their cat… well, Fat Freddy’s Cat, are trying to find more drugs. It’s a product of 1960’s counter-culture having first been published in 1968 and at a deeper level, it critiques government, politics, and the establishment (i.e The Man), and counterculture itself, through a comedic, pantomime style.
The original 13 issue run was kept in print for decades, and now this volume contains the entire run in one book, so your mates can’t lose one issue down the back of the couch.
Of course, that’s only 5 graphic novels perfect for spending a couple of weeks alone. We’ve got plenty more chunky graphic novel goodness to get you through two weeks (or more) alone, so get in touch if these ideas don’t grab you or you just want to chat about them further, either through our socials or the Impact Comics website (where you can also shop online and get delivery to you).
*Yes daily. Some people shop with us daily. We love them.
** Maybe madness is too strong a term
*** Times may not be as long, dark, or lonely as indicated.
