COMIC ONLINE: Comic Online

Comic Online

The 1980s saw an explosion in the popularity of graphic novels, especially in the use of the term itself to apply to anything other than your typical superhero comic. And while purists can (and do, vociferously) debate the relevance and meaning of the phrase, there’s no doubt that the spread of graphic novels has allowed for the telling of nuanced and personal tales that used to be almost nonexistent in comics. The lengthy comic books on this list are sharply observed autobiographical works that blend humor and heartbreak with unique artistic skill, turning each book into a special experience. Comic books let the authors slide between literal representations of their lives and surreal, emotion-driven images that evoke everything from love to longing, and these books are true works of art.

Now collected in several volumes, American Splendor is the story of Harvey Pear, an eternally worried and pessimistic guy from Cleveland. The series began in 1976, and it was ahead of its time for being so blunt and enjoyably ordinary. The novel Our Cancer Year dealt with Pear battle with lymphoma. The work is an autobiography constructed as it was lived. Pear died in July 2010 from prostate cancer, leaving behind an impressive and influential body of work.
This dazzling biographical fable won Art Kriegspiel a special Pulitzer Prize in 1992. The two-volume narrative tells the story of Art’s father, Vlad, a Polish Jew, before and after World War II. The true-life account depicts Jews as mice and Germans as cats, amplifying the relationship between hunter and prey and lending a fantastical but haunting element to the story. The book also explores the author’s own relationship with his father. One of the best historical comics ever written.