Staff Picks

Michael's pick
This compilation has books 3-4 of the greatest comic of all time, Calvin & Hobbes.

Michael's pick
The rare sequel that lives up to its predecessor, Dark Victory is a follow-up to the brilliant Long Halloween. It chronicles the rise of Two Face after Harvey Dent’s fall in The Long Halloween, and introduces the first (and best) Robin, Dick Grayson. (Fun fact: there have been 5 different canonical Robins.)

Michael's pick
Hush is my favorite Batman graphic novel of all-time (The Long Halloween is a very close second). Unlike Jeph Loeb’s other Batman works, this takes place not at the beginning of the Dark Knight’s career, but at its peak: at a time when his “gallery of rogues” is fully established, and he has almost as many allies in his fight against them. If you’ve read any of the other stuff we have by Loeb, you know what to expect: a plot full of twists and turns and red herrings, as a new villain in town (or is he new…? dun dun dun!) manipulates pretty much every Batman character you’ve ever heard of (along with some you haven’t) in pursuit of a personal vendetta against the Dark Knight.

Michael's pick
Paul Dini is one of the best Batman writers out there. His contributions to the Batman mythos are many, but the biggest is without a doubt the creation of Harley Quinn, the Joker’s crazy girlfriend (and my second-favorite comic villain after only the Joker himself). Mad Love, which Dini co-wrote with frequent collaborator Bruce Timm, tells a brilliant dual tale that chronicles Harley’s origin, and her attempt to kill Batman under the delusional belief that this will lead to a happily ever after with her “puddin’.”

Michael's pick
One of the best graphic novels of all-time, this is a mystery set early on in Batman’s career. A serial killer who murders people on holidays is loose in Gotham. What sets this story apart from many superhero stories is the writing – the art isn’t particularly great, but that is more than made up for by the fact Jeph Loeb is a master storyteller. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy was heavily influenced by both The Long Halloween and its sequel, Dark Victory.

Michael's pick
This is the first volume of the greatest comic series of all time, covering strips from the comic’s first year. How many other comics are still not only in print, but actually printed daily in newspapers 20+ years after they ended? (I can think of only one, Peanuts). If you’re one of the two people on the planet who have never read any Calvin & Hobbes comics, you owe it to yourself to do so. Brilliance awaits.

Michael's pick
The final part of the Long Halloween trilogy, this tells where Catwoman disappeared to in the middle of Dark Victory. The answer, it turns out, is Italy, and provides a much better and far more fascinating origin story for Selina Kyle than the incredibly stupid one in Frank Miller’s overrated Year One (in which, as is typical of Miller, she’s a prostitute). While this is definitely the weakest part of the Long Halloween trilogy, it’s still very, very good.

Mike's pick
Quite simply the greatest graphic novel of all-time. While North Americans don't really know Scrooge, he's huge in Europe. And you can see there's a very good reason for this, once you've read anything by Don Rosa. But this - this is his magnum opus.

Sabrina's Pick
What happens when you and your grandparents go on a seniors’ cruise? In the second graphic novel of a series, Lucy volunteers to accompany her grandparents on a cruise and reflects on what happens when you become responsible for the care of aging loved ones. A quick read but a tender one.

Michael's Pick
The premise of Fables is simple: fairy tales are real, and the characters from them live in New York in secret after they were forced to flee their homeworlds due to an invasion. The series is super dark, not at all suitable for children, and is quite simply one of the greatest graphic novels/comics of all time.
Note: for any gamers out there, I highly recommend you first play The Wolf Among Us. It's a brilliant murder mystery that serves as a prequel to the series proper.

Michael's Pick
If you've read Fables vol. 1 (or played the prequel game, The Wolf Among Us), you know what you're in for: rich, dark takes on your favorite fairy tale characters (and some not-so-favorite ones - seriously, screw Goldilocks in this).

Trevor's pick
A graphic novel on quantum physics and the really funny Nobel-prize winner Richard Feynman.

Dalene's pick
Do not pick up this book unless you have enough time to read it all in one sitting. I actually hid from my family so I could finish it!!

Michael's pick
This has books 5-6 (The Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes Boink) of the greatest comic strip of all time, Calvin & Hobbes.

Dalene's pick
A cartoon with a cockroach and a misinterpreted word in the leisure section of an Iranian newspaper landed cartoonist Mana Neyestani and his editor in an Iranian prison for many years. A compelling read!

Michael's pick
The first graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize, this tells a Holocaust story (that of the author’s father) where the Jews are mice and the Nazis are cats. There is more to this book than that clever premise, however, as the author follows through with an unflinching look at the horrors his father lived through.

Michael's pick
This, the second collection of Calvin & Hobbes comic strips, was the very first one I got as a kid. I remember getting it for Christmas, maybe when I was 7 or 8. I was instantly hooked, despite the fact that a lot of stuff in it flew over my head. That’s one of the many brilliant things about it – different ages will love it for different reasons. It’s as close as you can come to having universal appeal. Calvin & Hobbes is one of the very few things that I loved as a child that I still love as an adult, without needing nostalgia to do so.

Michelle's pick
The author, Kate Beaton, shows her “fully-evolved storytelling” (from the Forbes review) with humorous and satirical tones. I am happy to recommend this book to anyone who likes history and hilarious comics. The book spent six months on the New York Times Bestseller List and was on 25 Best of the Year lists.

Elizabeth's pick
Take it as a Compliment is a collection of stories from anonymous users via Maria Stoian's project tumblr. Stories by survivors of sexual abuse, harassment and assault, this graphic novel features some powerful narratives. With Stoian's illustrations visually reflecting the stories, the graphic novel serves as a testament to all survivors as well as an open dialogue and a call for change.

Dalene's pick
Mariko Tamaki teamed up with her cousin Jillian Tamaki, an illustrator, and perfectly captured the time when you transition from being a kid to a young adult. Love that the whole novel is done in shades of purple.