Graphic Novels?

Anyone buy graphic novels? I don't mean trade paper backs and mangas, I mean something that's a complete story in and of itself. Begining, middle, end.

At the moment I've got:
Roninhood of the 47 samurai
Silent Dragon
Wll Eisner's The Plot (the secret story of 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion') a bit preachy to be honest
Kevin Smith's Blunt Man & Chronic

I love graphic novels. I've read quite a few, but the only ones I actually have are Kid Eternity and Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Alan Moore's Killing Joke.

Tintin and Asterix. lol

Manga IS a complete story in itself, there are plenty such books out there. XD Was that what you were saying?

too many to list, but Box Office Poison and Maus are two of my faves.

V for Vendetta, Watchmen, +1 on Maus, Kingdom Come

Watchmen, Batman: Dark Knight Returns & Year One... Ode to Kirihito is a bloody great manga, and it's only one volume.
And do my Calvin and Hobbes collections count?

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to put down manga, but I don't think it falls under the same catagory as graphic novels and that's all this thread is concerned about. Yes, Mangas have a story, but most of them are designed like periodical print comics where in order to follow a plot to completion you need to buy more than one issue (or volume). Graphic Novels start at the begining of a plot and end at the conclusion.

That said, I loved V for Vendetta, however I read it in the original issues. Maus is supposed to be great, but every time I pick it up at the store and flip through it, I just seem to lose motivation to buy it...or read it. I think the art more than anything else turns me off it, well, that and the lettering. Calvin & Hobbes are a bit of a toss up. There isn't really a plot, but they are truely wonderful.

As for recent editions to my collection, I now have Marvel Zombies, Mouse Guard: Fall 1125 and Sin City: Family Values.

i've got alot of the Calvin and Hobbes books.
i wish i had the Sin City books, i've only read one though.

By you'r definition of graphic novel. I've only ever read four. Dark knight Returns, Marvel Zombies and two others that I can't quite remember. One of them was about lions in Baghdad. I've also read several Marvel What if? novels, if those count. Astro City comics are fairly self contained as well.

I loved Marvel Zombies, The Runaway series, and the New White Tiger that was written by Tamora Pierce. I liked Tag, 30 Days of Nights and V for Vendetta.

I'm also currently reading Buffy Season 8.

However, I'd have to be honest and say I read more manga than Graphic Novels.

I almost forgot the best comic Marvel has created since The Punisher. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. One chapter alone is comprised almost completely of two page spreads of the Nextwave gang fighting clone army after clone army. ahahahaha.

Jar of Fools.

i like eragon , eldest , and brisenger. 1,2, and 3.

Those aren't graphic novels, they're just novels.

On a side note, I finally got around to reading The Watchmen. Well worth it.

Yes, Watchmen was very good, and the only comic I'd recommend reading prior to seeing the movie.

Almost anything by Alan Moore I find usually fits my taste. Anyways, I would recommend, Watchmen, Killing Joke, The Boys (ongoing), and Marvel Comics' Civil War series. I often hear about the amazing work of Neil Gaiman, but I have not gotten my hands on his work yet.

"Emperor Doom" (with the Avengers) was pretty good and "God Loves, Man Kills" (X-Men) was excellent. Written before Claremont's X-Men jumped the shark.

1001 Nights of Snowfall Self contained graphic novel not connected to the rest of the Fables series.
The First "Crossed" Series written by Garth Ennis. It's extremely violent. Though, if you can stomach it, it's worth reading.

sorry. double posted.

I've been keeping up with a Listal-based Comic Book Diary for two years now. It collects those graphic novels I read - as I do so - along with my thoughts on them. I also have a quick list of my subscriptions in the description; basically, I subscribe to the Archie Sonic line and a boatload of Marvel titles (mostly Spider-Man- and Avengers-related).

A self-contained graphic novel I can really recommend is Skull & Bones by Ed Hannigan. It's an espionage story out of Russia, published in 1992. I'm surprised this one hasn't gathered more of a following, because I really enjoyed it. If any fellow Listalians want to give it a whirl, I'd love to hear what you think as well.

We3 - Think Homeward Bound, but with the animals having been turned into killer cyborgs. Or at least that was the plan.
Rapture TPB I think they're rebooting this mini-series, actually. Basically all the spuer powers disappear one day and the world goes to shit.
North 40 TPB - two college students open a gate to chtullu or something like it in a small town. Weird stuff starts happening. Some of it is actually pretty funny.
Spider-Man: Blue - this one is a personal favorite of mine.