On my shelf: 5 graphic novels that made me feel something

Put down your non-fiction door stoppers - it's time to stare at pictures that make you feel something.

Graphic novels are my favorite format of book.

They are low commitment but elicit feelings of high achievement (you can usually finish them in a day or afternoon), I get to look at beautiful illustrations, and they make for beautiful additions to a shelf/coffee table when you’re done reading.

When somebody tells me they don’t like reading, my canned response is, “…but have you tried graphic novels?”. Graphic novels are palatable for almost everyone and are perfect for a completely screen-free afternoon - something we all desperately need more of.

If you are looking to read more this year or are a fellow graphic novel lover, then please allow me the honor of introducing you to five of my favorites. Next time you hit up your local bookstore or Barnes & Noble, keep your eyes peeled for these titles - you won’t be disappointed.

Five graphics novels to add to your read list

Sacred Heart

By: Liz Suburbia
Publisher: Fantagraphics

The children of U.S. small-town Alexandria are just trying to live like normal teens until their parents' promised return from a mysterious, four-year religious pilgrimage, and Ben Schiller is no exception. She's just trying to take care of her sister, keep faith that her parents will come back, and get through her teen years as painlessly as possible. But her relationship with her best friend is changing, her younger sister is hiding a dark secret, and a tragedy is coming for them all. Filled with teenage loves, fights, and parties, Sacred Heart is a wonderful coming-of-age graphic novel set against the threat of a big reckoning that everyone fears is coming but has no proof.

Fungirl

By: Elizabeth Pich
Publisher: Silver Sprocket
Fungirl is a hapless (hopeless) hot mess of a woman crashing through life, leaving chaos in her wake. Although her oblivious antics infuriate her roommate, terrify the teenage skaters she tries to impress, and threaten her every employment opportunity, Fungirl remains charming, transgressive, and hilarious.

Spa

By: Erik Svetoft, Translator: Melissa Bowers
Publisher: Fantagraphics

Somewhere in northern Europe, a five-star spa and conference hotel caters to anyone who can afford it. But, at every turn, where luxuriance should reign, things are amiss. A demanding VIP client disappears without a trace. A business seminar is cut short. A young official gets lost looking for his room. A socially outcast masseuse struggles to find acceptance. Two lovers struggle to escape the horror of everyday life — which includes horrific apparitions routinely haunting them. An egocentric manager doubts himself. Abused employees accept their sad fate. Curious inspectors come to settle their accounts.

Meanwhile, mysterious moisture damage is spreading. Amidst the extravagant decor, black and viscous liquid flows slowly in the labyrinthine alleys of the resort and trickles down the walls. Hot and humid, the dampness is suffocating. Mold sets in and with it skin diseases, hallucinations, ghosts, malevolent spirits, hybrid creatures, and other monsters both dead and alive. Spa is a horrific graphic novel debut marked by grotesque and whimsical humor.

This nightmarish debut, a biting critique of consumer society and the “wellness” industry, recalls the films of David Lynch and Lars Von Trier and the horror manga of Junji Ito.

Bark Bark Girl

By: Michael Furler
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Jolanda is a high-schooler struggling and/or failing at math, until she has the bright idea to lose her dog (that she loves more than anything else in the world) on purpose to skip an important test. The plan actually works and she gets a few more days to study for the dreaded maths test, but now Jolanda has a bigger problem... where the FUCK is her dog?>:[

Seconds

By: Bryan Lee O’Malley
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Katie’s got it pretty good. She’s a talented young chef, she runs a successful restaurant, and she has big plans to open an even better one. Then, all at once, progress on the new location bogs down, her charming ex-boyfriend pops up, her fling with another chef goes sour, and her best waitress gets badly hurt. And just like that, Katie’s life goes from pretty good to not so much. What she needs is a second chance. Everybody deserves one, after all—but they don’t come easy. Luckily for Katie, a mysterious girl appears in the middle of the night with simple instructions for a do-it-yourself do-over:

1. Write your mistake
2. Ingest one mushroom
3. Go to sleep
4. Wake anew

And just like that, all the bad stuff never happened, and Katie is given another chance to get things right. She’s also got a dresser drawer full of magical mushrooms—and an irresistible urge to make her life not just good, but perfect. Too bad it’s against the rules. But Katie doesn’t care about the rules—and she’s about to discover the unintended consequences of the best intentions.

From the mind and pen behind the acclaimed Scott Pilgrim series comes a madcap new tale of existential angst, everyday obstacles, young love, and ancient spirits that’s sharp-witted and tenderhearted, whimsical and wise.

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