True North Country Comics presents Ian Herring’s top 10 go-to comic books and graphic novels.

Ian is a Toronto-based illustrator and colourist with a dedication to making eye-catching visuals. Influenced by poster design and character art, he is always ready to push a new idea or pay homage to an old one. Splitting his youth between small town Ontario and smaller town Cape Breton, Ian claims to have been raised on Nintendo and reruns of The Simpsons. He’s provided colouring for Marvel on various titles including Ms. Marvel, Ghost-Spider and many more.

Here’s the top 10 go-to comic book and graphic novel list from Ian Herring:

1. Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
“The film had a big impact on me as a kid, was delighted to read the entire saga and see how much more the world was fleshed out in the manga.”

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
“I had access to the series because I was working on a few of the side stories. I loved how all the various characters of the Turtles, across every iteration, were worked into the stories.  Even some of the weirder ones.”

3. Beauty by Hubert Reeves and Kerascoët
“Modern take on a fairy tale with an interesting view on beauty.  Some of my favourite art in a graphic novel.”

4. Miss Don’t Touch Me by Hubert Reeves and Kerascoët
“Murder mystery in 30s France!  The colours and line work wouldn’t let me put it down.”

5. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoët and translated by Helge Dascher
“Soft and cute watercolours initially hide a dark story, sat with me for awhile. Yes, the last 3 were all by the same artists…”

6. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
“Classic that everyone should check out if they haven’t already.”

7. Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi
“Picked up one volume at a time from the Japanese library and couldn’t put down.  Has a great sense of the seasons passing while the story unfolds.”

8. Tintin – The Blue Lotus by Hergé
“Good entry point into Tin Tin, fictional story with real historical aspects colour the story.”

9. Godzilla Half Century War by James Stokoe
“A must read for any long-time Godzilla fan.  The human side of the story draws from 50 years of stories and the art is overwhelmingly detailed.”

10. Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod
“An epic that unfortunately sat on my desk for awhile before I dove in but it just kept me going, I always felt guilty that I let it sit so long because it was a great read and Kagan’s art is beautiful.”

You can discover more about Ian online at https://156thmongoose.com/