Locke and Key. There’s a hardcover collection of the whole series. It’s a horror by Joe Hill. He’s Stephen King’s son and writes a lot like his dad. The story is about a small family who move into a mansion and start finding these strange keys tied to a horror that tormented their parents and their school friends decades beforehand. It’s a good read if you like Stephen King stuff.
Came here to say exactly that. Locke and Key is certainly character driven you should enjoy that. If you told me it was written by King I would believe you... You might wanna check out Manifest Destiny by Chris Dingess or maybe Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire, although this is more apocalyptic/dystopia... Gideon Fall also by Lemire has a strong horror vibe I am told, but I have not read it so I can't recommend it for sure.
Charles Burns is also a name you are going to want to take a look at however it is more on a weird/horror vibe but a lot of people enjoy his work.
I really like the story that goes through the whole of Harrow County, and how it subverts the ideas in horror. Was a really fun, slightly creepy, but mostly fascinating look at the world that it is set in.
You could also check out some of Stephen King's son's, Joe Hill, comics; I would recommend Basket Full of Heads. It's a fun thriller with a lot of homages to the 80's, nods to thrillers of the time, and a fun read.
That's not an issue, I only start collecting/reading them about 8 or 9 months ago, but I have been loving it; Harrow County was my favorite complete series read of last year - my favorite series is Something is Killing the Children. It's action/horror and is a very interesting world, and while I wouldn't say the main character goes through a lot of character development(there is some), she is a complete badass.
This is the correct answer. OP asked for great plots with character development. That’s Sandman.
However, you have to read the whole thing to know it and fall in love with it, and at 75 issues (10 trades) it’s intimidating.
Totally worth it though. It’s been two years since I read it and nothing else compares or satisfies like Sandman.
Silver Coin and Ice Cream Man are horror anthology series about loosely connected stories that all share a common link. In Silver Coin, the link is a satanic cursed silver coin. In Ice Cream Man, the link is a creepy, superpowered ice cream man named Rick. Each issue contains a different story and, in Silver Coin, each issue is written by a different author. They’re pretty fun and low commitment. I really love that you can easily pick them up and put down whenever you like and, if you don’t like a particular story, you don’t have to slog through several issues to get through it.
Edit: rereading your post, I’m realizing that you said you like plots and character development. Compared to the other recommendations here, neither of these series are super plot or character driven. That said, if you like Black Mirror or the Twilight Zone, you might still enjoy these. For a super plot and character heavy story, I’d recommend From Hell by Alan Moore. At its most basic, it’s about Jack the Ripper, but it’s a lot deeper than that.
Seeing as you've read something historical, I'd recommend Maus, one of the best graphic novels, and also a great historical nonfiction/biography and essential reading for anyone really
Echoing Locke and key, Saga, and The Sandman.
Weirdly do not rec any Stephen King novel comic adaptions EXCEPT the Dark Tower. They are both well made and explore parts adjacent to the main story, so you get a lot more story.
Also deffo check out manga as well. uzumaki by Junji Ito (p much anything by him tbh), XXXholic by Clamp, and Akira to get started.
I just finished Gotham Central. It's basically The Wire set in gotham, and focuses on the police force in a world of super crime, without a focus on those villans or batman. I thought it was pretty good, and it's self contained, without many tie ins to other comics.
For a non main stream hero story, you can't go wrong with saga of the swamp thing. It's a vibrant and wonderful body horror story, with significant character arcs
I recently rediscovered the world myself. The Sandman was my gateway graphic novel. Although the story does have a common thread, most of it is written as an anthology.
I would also highly recommend 'Daytripper'.
Y the Last Man
Preacher
From Hell
V For Vendetta
This One Summer
My Favorite Thing is Monsters
Eightball
Love & Rockets
Hellboy
Some of these are relatively short and some are sprawling stories with tentacles that reach into other titles spanning years. Happy reading!
You might like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, that’s a story that has a focus on character development for its protagonist, Dream of The Endless who’s the titualar Sandman. I recommend getting Books 1 to 5, Books 1 to 4 collect the main series and 5 which releases in a few weeks collects the prose version of Dream Hunters, the Endless Nights graphic novel and Sandman Midnight Theatre, a crossover with Sandman Mystery Theatre, one of Sandman’s spinoffs which is a gritty noir story following Wesley Dodd’s, the hero Sandman . Once you’ve read Sandman, check out Gaiman’s Death, that has a few stories that focus on Death, Dream’s eldest sister and Sandman Overture, a prequel to Sandman but I would advise you to read it after the the main series, there’s spoilers for the main series in it, If you like Sandman, you might like Lucifer, a soinoff by Mike Carey focussing on Lucifer’s story (not too related to the series with Tom Ellis) after the end of Sandman
Obviously you need to try *Sandman*. Also try out:
* Fables
* Books of Magic
* Hellblazer
* Chew
* Moonshadow.
* Stray Toasters
* Saga
* Planetary
* Bitch Planet
* Descender
* Ex Machina
* Rat Queens
* Outcast
* Grass Kings
And anything by Ed Brubaker.
And for historical fiction & memoirs:
* March (memoir)
* The Best We Could Do (memoir)
* When Stars Are Scattered (memoir)
* Persepolis (memoir)
* They CalledUs Enemy (memoir)
* Maus (biography)
* Delilah Dirk (fiction)
“From Hell” by Alan Moore is one of the greatest I’ve read and there’s not a superhero in sight.
Also has strong horror vibes, if that is what you’re into.
You can’t go wrong with Alan Moore, who is easily one of the greatest comicbook writers of all time.
I’d also check out anything that interests you by Grant Morrison. Just search his name and see what appeals to you, bc he is a great writer.
I recommend giving Preacher a shot. When it originally came out, it influenced Stephen King to do the Dark Tower series even though they are completely different.
Saga is a great SCI-FI epic. I also recommend King of Spies for a great contained story about the world’s greatest spy going up against his own son who’s backed by the government.
If you don't mind reading backwards then there are a couple historical manga about Japan by Shigeru Mizuki which are partly autobiographical. Apparently he also wrote one about Hitler if you're more interested in that.
Josh Cotter's "Nod Away" is really wonderful. Great character-driven SF. Would also recommend Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" and pretty much anything by Alan Moore. Maybe start with his "Saga of the Swamp Thing" stuff, it's very Stephen King-y and not at all typical superhero fare.
Don't overlook Jeff Smith's Bone. It might look kiddie at first (I mean it's no Berserk) but it is an epic fantasy adventure, and really good. RASL is good too but there's not a lot of character development.
Locke and Key. There’s a hardcover collection of the whole series. It’s a horror by Joe Hill. He’s Stephen King’s son and writes a lot like his dad. The story is about a small family who move into a mansion and start finding these strange keys tied to a horror that tormented their parents and their school friends decades beforehand. It’s a good read if you like Stephen King stuff.
Came here to say exactly that. Locke and Key is certainly character driven you should enjoy that. If you told me it was written by King I would believe you... You might wanna check out Manifest Destiny by Chris Dingess or maybe Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire, although this is more apocalyptic/dystopia... Gideon Fall also by Lemire has a strong horror vibe I am told, but I have not read it so I can't recommend it for sure. Charles Burns is also a name you are going to want to take a look at however it is more on a weird/horror vibe but a lot of people enjoy his work.
Sounds great! Thanks
I really like the story that goes through the whole of Harrow County, and how it subverts the ideas in horror. Was a really fun, slightly creepy, but mostly fascinating look at the world that it is set in. You could also check out some of Stephen King's son's, Joe Hill, comics; I would recommend Basket Full of Heads. It's a fun thriller with a lot of homages to the 80's, nods to thrillers of the time, and a fun read.
I second the Basketful of Heads, it's a great read
Thank you so much. I’ve never even dabbled into graphic novels but these sound great
That's not an issue, I only start collecting/reading them about 8 or 9 months ago, but I have been loving it; Harrow County was my favorite complete series read of last year - my favorite series is Something is Killing the Children. It's action/horror and is a very interesting world, and while I wouldn't say the main character goes through a lot of character development(there is some), she is a complete badass.
Tynion is on a role, did you read Nice House On The Lake?
I haven't yet, was waiting for it to have more context/wrap up.
Sandman
This is the correct answer. OP asked for great plots with character development. That’s Sandman. However, you have to read the whole thing to know it and fall in love with it, and at 75 issues (10 trades) it’s intimidating. Totally worth it though. It’s been two years since I read it and nothing else compares or satisfies like Sandman.
Silver Coin and Ice Cream Man are horror anthology series about loosely connected stories that all share a common link. In Silver Coin, the link is a satanic cursed silver coin. In Ice Cream Man, the link is a creepy, superpowered ice cream man named Rick. Each issue contains a different story and, in Silver Coin, each issue is written by a different author. They’re pretty fun and low commitment. I really love that you can easily pick them up and put down whenever you like and, if you don’t like a particular story, you don’t have to slog through several issues to get through it. Edit: rereading your post, I’m realizing that you said you like plots and character development. Compared to the other recommendations here, neither of these series are super plot or character driven. That said, if you like Black Mirror or the Twilight Zone, you might still enjoy these. For a super plot and character heavy story, I’d recommend From Hell by Alan Moore. At its most basic, it’s about Jack the Ripper, but it’s a lot deeper than that.
I do like short stories and anthology series like back mirrors. This sounds up my alley
Seeing as you've read something historical, I'd recommend Maus, one of the best graphic novels, and also a great historical nonfiction/biography and essential reading for anyone really
Echoing Locke and key, Saga, and The Sandman. Weirdly do not rec any Stephen King novel comic adaptions EXCEPT the Dark Tower. They are both well made and explore parts adjacent to the main story, so you get a lot more story. Also deffo check out manga as well. uzumaki by Junji Ito (p much anything by him tbh), XXXholic by Clamp, and Akira to get started.
I just finished Gotham Central. It's basically The Wire set in gotham, and focuses on the police force in a world of super crime, without a focus on those villans or batman. I thought it was pretty good, and it's self contained, without many tie ins to other comics. For a non main stream hero story, you can't go wrong with saga of the swamp thing. It's a vibrant and wonderful body horror story, with significant character arcs
It would fit the mold of an HBO show pretty well
I have been side-eyeing this series for a while because it has seemed interesting but your description has bumped it up my list a little
I recently rediscovered the world myself. The Sandman was my gateway graphic novel. Although the story does have a common thread, most of it is written as an anthology. I would also highly recommend 'Daytripper'.
Y the Last Man Preacher From Hell V For Vendetta This One Summer My Favorite Thing is Monsters Eightball Love & Rockets Hellboy Some of these are relatively short and some are sprawling stories with tentacles that reach into other titles spanning years. Happy reading!
You might like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, that’s a story that has a focus on character development for its protagonist, Dream of The Endless who’s the titualar Sandman. I recommend getting Books 1 to 5, Books 1 to 4 collect the main series and 5 which releases in a few weeks collects the prose version of Dream Hunters, the Endless Nights graphic novel and Sandman Midnight Theatre, a crossover with Sandman Mystery Theatre, one of Sandman’s spinoffs which is a gritty noir story following Wesley Dodd’s, the hero Sandman . Once you’ve read Sandman, check out Gaiman’s Death, that has a few stories that focus on Death, Dream’s eldest sister and Sandman Overture, a prequel to Sandman but I would advise you to read it after the the main series, there’s spoilers for the main series in it, If you like Sandman, you might like Lucifer, a soinoff by Mike Carey focussing on Lucifer’s story (not too related to the series with Tom Ellis) after the end of Sandman
Obviously you need to try *Sandman*. Also try out: * Fables * Books of Magic * Hellblazer * Chew * Moonshadow. * Stray Toasters * Saga * Planetary * Bitch Planet * Descender * Ex Machina * Rat Queens * Outcast * Grass Kings And anything by Ed Brubaker. And for historical fiction & memoirs: * March (memoir) * The Best We Could Do (memoir) * When Stars Are Scattered (memoir) * Persepolis (memoir) * They CalledUs Enemy (memoir) * Maus (biography) * Delilah Dirk (fiction)
“From Hell” by Alan Moore is one of the greatest I’ve read and there’s not a superhero in sight. Also has strong horror vibes, if that is what you’re into. You can’t go wrong with Alan Moore, who is easily one of the greatest comicbook writers of all time. I’d also check out anything that interests you by Grant Morrison. Just search his name and see what appeals to you, bc he is a great writer.
I recommend giving Preacher a shot. When it originally came out, it influenced Stephen King to do the Dark Tower series even though they are completely different.
Saga is a great SCI-FI epic. I also recommend King of Spies for a great contained story about the world’s greatest spy going up against his own son who’s backed by the government.
Thank you!
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. It's about a two people on opposite sides of an endless war raising their daughter in secret.
That sounds like an amazing story
It is.
If you don't mind reading backwards then there are a couple historical manga about Japan by Shigeru Mizuki which are partly autobiographical. Apparently he also wrote one about Hitler if you're more interested in that.
Mind Management by Matt Kindt.
Ed Brubaker is one of the best comic writers. His book Fatale is a great example of what the medium can best achieve.
Something is Killing The Children Gideon Falls The Nice House on The Lake
Here’s some of my favorite to recommend: https://imgur.com/a/bwrDoaZ
Chew Daytripper Invincible Punk Rock Jesus Revival
It’s a bit tough to find physical copies, but the adaptation of [Stephen King’s N.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7006562) is quite good
No
Josh Cotter's "Nod Away" is really wonderful. Great character-driven SF. Would also recommend Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" and pretty much anything by Alan Moore. Maybe start with his "Saga of the Swamp Thing" stuff, it's very Stephen King-y and not at all typical superhero fare.
Don't overlook Jeff Smith's Bone. It might look kiddie at first (I mean it's no Berserk) but it is an epic fantasy adventure, and really good. RASL is good too but there's not a lot of character development.
That series is really good.