Graphic Novels & Manga

I’ve been less than impressed with the world of comic books lately. It seems pretty much to revolve around short run “events” that “promise to change the (insert your own comic universe here) FOREVER!” Sigh…

So I’ve been trying out graphic novels and manga. Sort of a mixed bag here and I’m looking for some advice.

I don’t remember which of the blogs recommended them, but I tried out Monster by Naoki Urasawa and The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezu, Monster faired better with story and more literate translation, but I tried #8 in the series to start, and maybe that was a mistake. Still neither really floated my boat.

However I’ve been completely blown away by Brian Fie’s Mom’s Cancer and Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese. Both wonderful wonderful books that left me hoping there’s more out there like them. But where are they?

I know Bechdel’s Fun Home is supposed to be fantastic, and Blankets is on my list, but anyone got any other titles to suggest?

And where’s the really interesting manga? What am I missing and where might I start?

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