So, you’ve just finished the latest issue of your favorite comic book and are looking for your next read. If your mind is slowly slipping away as you sit in lockdown and you’ve been paying attention to the industry, you’ve probably noticed a lot of major shake-ups to the status quo. That’s right. That “covid” thing you’ve heard about is actually a big deal.
When it comes to literature, comic books get a bad rap. They are seen as children’s books, or at best, light reading, and not up to the standards of “serious” literature. But in recent decades, comics have been taken more seriously: more adults are reading them, they are used as educational tools, and are even accepted as a form of art.
And it’s no wonder: comic books are a great way to tell a story. They are well-suited for depicting action, suspense, horror, and more. But many comics can have a lot to offer readers of all ages and backgrounds.
There are many great comics out there, but there are a dozen great comics that fly under the radar for every great comic. This article will show you three comics that you will surely love once you start reading them! Let’s get started.
- Lumberjanes
Lumberjanes was a sleeper hit when it debuted in 2014. It is a comic book series written by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters and published by Boom! Studios. The Lumberjanes are a group of campers who spend their days bonding over the usual camp activities like crafts and canoeing, but they’re also on the lookout for any strange creatures that happen to be lurking in the woods.
Minnie May (member of the group Lumberjanes) has spent her whole life at Lumberjanes scout camp, and she can’t imagine going anywhere else. She loves everything about camp: the cool lake, the tall trees, the way the sun shines through the branches.
But one day, while poking around in the attic, Minnie finds a mysterious book with no author page, no title page, and no table of contents. This turns out to be a big mistake, and Minnie finds herself in a whole lot of trouble.
- Daytripper
Daytripper is a comic book series by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba that was initially published in Brazil. It was later translated into English and published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics. It is one of the few large-scale projects from Brazilian comic book artists.
The comic was first released in serialized form (in a black and white format) in the Brazilian magazine Casa da Palavra, from 2004 to 2007 and later as a graphic novel published in the United States in 2009.
As the title suggests, the story consists of a single day in the life of Brás, a young male Brazilian, as he passes through various events and encounters in his life. He is married to a woman named Marta and is about to become a father. He is also a writer, and his wife is a translator. The story is told in a non-linear manner, jumping from one point in time to another.
- The Wicked + The Divine
Suppose you don’t know what The Wicked + The Divine is. In that case, it’s a comic book series authored by Kieron Gillen, with illustration from Jamie McKelvie (worked on a bunch of other comics you might have heard of, like Young Avengers and Uncanny X-Men) and Matt Wilson (done a ton of comics and illustration, but is probably best known for his work on Phonogram). Second, it’s really, really good (the first volume won three Eisner Awards, which might help explain why).
This one’s about a comic series that’s about a group of gods who are reincarnated over the course of several centuries and pop culture. Every 90 years, 12 Gods coming back as young individuals, live two years and are then sacrificed. Well, now the 90 years are over, and the gods are back, and they are just as wicked and divine as you would expect. Each chapter focuses on two gods, as it tells one of their tales, and then they die and move on to the afterlife.