New to the graphical novelties, or just looking to plug holes on your shelf? DC has some suggestions:
Watchmen
The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vols. 1 & 2
V For Vendetta
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
The Sandman: Endless Nights
Fables Vol. 1: Legends In Exile
Superman For All Seasons
Superman: Birthright
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
Batman: Year One
Batman: Hush Vols. 1 & 2
Kingdom Come
Identity Crisis
JLA Vol. 1: New World Order
Green Lantern: Rebirth
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back On The Street
The Quitter
Hellblazer: Original Sins
Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned
Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne
Sword Of The Dark Ones
Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days
Jeph Loeb is represented quite well here, with six books to Alan Moore’s four (no Swamp Thing) and Frank Miller’s three. Mark Waid, Grant Morrison, Brian K. Vaughan, and Neil Gaiman each get two. Tim Sale is the only repeated artist, represented by three books. Overall, it’s a decent representation of DC’s imprints; and we could talk for a while about the relative merits of, say, Morrison’s superhero work (JLA or Doom Patrol, for example).
Still, no Authority? No New Frontier? No Pride Of Baghdad? No Wonder Woman or Birds of Prey? No Jack Kirby?
Are the sequels to Dark Knight and Long Halloween really that “essential?”
[Via Collected Editions.]
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Good collection…but at the same time there are a lot of Vol. 1′s there…implying that if you like the first you should get the others. If that’s the case then Gaiman, Ellis, Willingham, and especially Vaughn come out on top.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I love the write-up for Dark Knight Strikes Again:
“BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN – The infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile when a savage creature known as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales. These magical characters now disguise themselves as normal citizens in modern-day New York and around the world.”
Now, maybe they accidentally threw the ad copy for Fables in there, or maybe it’s a very interesting way of describing DKSA. Hmm.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I’m actually pretty surprised that hasn’t been fixed yet….
August 24th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I think the driving force behind this list is that those sequels essentially make more money in bookstores than what you list.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Essential? Only in understanding what soul killing mediocrity and contempt for reader intelligence truly is.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
The Dark Knight Strikes Again copy’s been changed to the “right” listing now. I think it sounded more interesting when it read like Fables …