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Yeah, Graphic Fiction is just a glorified term for comics, but who cares? We can even call it Graphic Literature. Meh. I started reading comics way back in 1994. Or was it 1993? Whatever. The point is, I’ve been a comic book geek for more than a decade now and I’ve read a lot of the best that the industry can offer. As a true fan of the medium, it’s hard to pick just 5 great pieces of comic book goodness from the dozens of stories I’ve read, but I managed to do it.

#5: Identity Crisis - It’s probably the most disturbing superhero story I’ve ever read. Also, the most touching. Written by Brad Meltzer, this spandex drama involves rape, murder, witch hunts, triumph, and great loss. One gripe I have about it, though, is that Superman cries. Again.

#4: Y: The Last Man - Although I’ve only read the first three volumes of the collected editions, I still hold it in the highest regards. It doesn’t involve superheroes, but it does involve a global catastrophe, a reluctant everyman hero, a monkey, and lesbians. I can’t wait to read the rest of the story. Curse local comic shops for not having copies of volumes 4 onwards! Bah.

#3: Agents of Atlas - Jeff Parker was an unknown writer for me until I read this mini-series about the strangest mix of super-heroes, possibly ever! Stranger than the X-Men, and a Washington DC cosmetic surgery even. OK that didn’t make sense. Anyway, Parker is now one of my favorite writers in the industry, and the Agents are some of my favorite characters. I’ll be looking forward to their next appearance.

#2: Kingdom Come - I have never been a fan of realistic painted artwork in comics, but Alex Ross‘ work is an exception. It just looks amazing. Truly worthy of being placed in an art gallery. And as for the story, Mark Waid did a fantastic job at bringing a gloomy end-of-the-world gods-walk-among-us holy-shit-that’s-awesome story starring the stars of DC Comics.

#1: Watchmen - There’s a reason why this is considered the greatest comic book story ever told. It’s a good dense read. Really dense. I spent weeks scouring the internet for little pieces of nods to classic literature, and I enjoyed it a lot. The references alone to pop culture make it a fun read. This is the comic series that you would want to give to people who you want to convince that comic books aren’t just for kids.

It’s funny that although I’m a Marvel zombie, 4 out of 5 of my top 5 are DC books. LOLZ

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