True North Country Comics presents the top 10 go-to comic book and graphics novel list from Lonnie Nadler.
Lonnie is a writer and filmmaker from Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known for his comic book work at Marvel that includes Age of X-Man, Cable, X-Men: Black, and Edge of Spider-Geddon. He released his critically acclaimed debut graphic novel, The Dregs, in 2017 from Black Mask Studios. His horror comic, Come Into Me, from the same publisher was named one of the best horror comics of 2018 by Paste Magazine. Lonnie has also written for Aftershock Comics, VICE, HuffPost, Blood-Disgusting, Seraphim Films, PanelXPanel, and numerous other publications.
Here is the list of Lonnie’s ‘go-to’ comic books and graphics novels:
10. The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
“Growing up in Ontario I was a child of the bilingual education system. We always had to take out French books from the library to help with reading comprehension and I almost exclusively would take out Tintin comics. I probably read them all dozens of times and I still see Hergé as a master of the medium.”
9. Incidents in the Night by David B.
“David B. is one of those European cartoonists whose work is masterful, yet he remains largely obscure in the North American world. This book is a perfect example of how comics are the ideal place for postmodernist stories.”
8. Uzumaki by Junji Ito
“It’s Junji Ito. What else can I say? Nobody does horror better than him.”
7. Last Look Trilogy by Charles Burns
“Charles Burns makes the kind of comics I wish I could make. His attention to detail and dedication to the visual world is intimidating. What stands out about this series is the juxtapositions between the incredibly bizarre world and the humanity underneath it all.”
6. Sandman by Neil Gaiman and others
“Neil Gaiman uses his love for storytelling to explore how important myths, religion, and fairy tales are in our lives. There’s wit, lyricism, and profundity, the likes of which few comics have achieved.”
5. City of Glass by David Mazzucchelli and Paul Karasik
“One of my favourite artists adapting one of my favourite novelists. David Mazzucchelli shows how adaptations can be so much more than simply retelling the exact same story in a different medium. And his use of the 9 panel grid is delicious.”
4. Black Hole by Charles Burns
“This was my first exposure to Charles Burns. I remember reading it in one sitting when I was in university. I should have been studying for exams but I couldn’t put it down. I recall thinking, ‘You can do this in comics? That set me on the path to be the creator I am today.”
3. Miracle Man (Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham) and Swamp Thing (Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and others)
“As far as I’m concerned these are the two best superhero runs ever made. Moore brought poetry to a genre that was previously devoid of it entirely. Stephen Bissette’s layouts were wildly innovative. And Gaiman’s takeover of Miracle Man is equally good. I’m shocked more people don’t talk about that book.”
2. Watchmen (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbson) and Providence (Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows)
“There’s nothing I can say about Watchmen that hasn’t been said already. If you want to make comics, you need to study it. It is and forever will be the pinnacle of narrative structure. What Moore did for superheroes with Watchmen, he did for Lovecraft with Providence.”
1. From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
“Yeah, I know, I know, it’s a lot of Alan Moore but I have no shame about it. If there’s ever been a comic book to prove the medium’s legitimacy as an artform, it’s From Hell. The equivalent of a classic novel in graphic form. It’s dense, incredibly well researched, terrifying, and singular.
You can discover more about Lonnie on Twitter at @LonnieNadler and online at LonnieNadler.com
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