Welcome back to Top Five Wednesday!
Top Five Wednesday is a book tag started by GingerReadsLainey. Join the goodreads group to get each week’s topic and participate yourselves!
For some reason there has always been a rift between reading comic books and reading novels. Comics have always been looked down upon as either something for children, or something so far into the darkness of nerd culture that it should never see the light of day. This of course is completely ridiculous. Both prose novels and graphic novels/comics have their strengths and weaknesses.
Today, Chelsey and I are going to talk about some of our favourite comics, why we love them and why you should be reading them!
5. Sandman by: Neil Gaiman
When I was a teenager Sandman reintroduced me to comics. Sandman is considered the comic for literary fans. The story references everything from mythology to the classics, from history and pop culture. The story begins with Morpheus, the personification of dreams being held captive by a group of mages. From there is dives into the importance of dreams and stories. Sandman is both a narrative and a piece that critiques narrative fiction. Though Sandman has been finished for a while now, author Neil Gaiman is in the process of writing a prequel to the story. If you love grand narratives, mythology or religion, I recommend you read Sandman or its many spin offs.
4. Angel Sanctuary by: Kaori Yuki
Angel Sanctuary is a manga full of mature themes. The Angel Alexiel is punished for her rebellion against God. She has her soul ripped from her body and is forced to be reincarnated as a human. In each of her human lives she undergoes different tortures. In her current reincarnation she is Setsuna Mudo, a teenage boy struggling with his incestuous feelings for his sister. Over the course of the novel. Setsuna encounters various angels and demons as he tries to come to terms with the burden of his identity. If you’re interested in a story that is heavily influenced by Christian mythology but still manages to do something new and exciting with it, then I suggest you give this one a read. You will not be disappointed.
Also, it’s worth mentioning just how insanely pretty the art is:
3. Locke and Key by: Joe Hill
After the death of their father Tyler, Kinsey and Bode move into his childhood home. While exploring the house they come across magical keys that do different things. At first the story is full of childhood whimsy, but as the narrative continues you realize that there might be something darker at work under the surface. The house has a dark past that comes back to haunt them and the three kids need to find a way to overcome it’s evil. If you like magic or darker fairy tales this is something that you should check out. The series just finished recently, making it possible for you to binge read it in one go.
2. Full Metal Alchemist by: Hiromu Arakawa
This is one of Chelsey’s favourite series of all time. The story follows two brothers who were trying to bring their mother back using alchemy, only it fails. One brother loses his whole body, while the other loses his entire leg. As the series progresses the two brothers have to navigate a highly politcal society in their quest to create a philosopher’s stone. If you like stories about magic or alternate societies with a political element, then this story is for you. Full Metal Alchemist is also an anime so you can check that out as well.
1. Happle Tea by: Scott Maynard
Happle Tea is one of our favourite webcomics of all time. The comic follows a kid named Little K and his cat (who is actually God) and the sasquatch that takes care of them. The comic is all mythology, all religion and all folklore and the hijinks that surrounds it. Along with each strip, Maynard includes a blog post that offers some background on whatever he is riffing and what he was thinking while he was creating the strip. This comic is just so funny and clever and smart and totally deserves more exposure.
