Graphic novels

I'm an avid comic(strip/BD/...) reader. I mostly read French and Belgian strips as these are the most availanle to me. I also read american comics from time to time but mostly with a good storyline: the graphic novels.

So far I've read:
- Maus: strong, honest story. I, however, felt that the medium of a comic was rather coïncidental, it didn't provide anything extra to the story.

- Watchmen: an appealing concept but the setting is dated by now and the story drags itself to an all to easy end. There has been made good use of background information to keep the comic from being cluttered.

- Sandman: one of my all time favorite comics if not my most favorite. A story about stories, a truly epic tale. I also think that the sandman serie can't be presented beter by any other medium.

- V for vendetta: also a bit dated but not so much as watchmen as the movie proved. Excellent story that builds up the tension towards a climax. The use of other media (songs, poetry, movies, ...) was a succes. The graphical quality on the other hand was sub standard to the point that it became dificult to recognise certain characters.


are there other American or British graphic novels I should consider reading next?

For a good laugh, I would advise reading the Dr&Quinch series or the Cholly and Flytrap series of Arthur Suydam. Both are almost non-sensical but very different graphically. The Cholly series have a sort of poetry to them, while the Dr&Quinch are just vivid.

I would also advise the Marada the She-Wolf series by John Bolton and Chris Claremont... Visually beautiful and with a good storyline and very attractive main character.

Last, you should try to grab anything drawn by P. Craig Russell, notably his rendition of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe or his rendition of the legend of Blue Beard (can't remember the title of that book) or even better his comics adaptation of Moorcock's Elric Cycle. Once again, these are old books but remain among my classic of all times.

All of these stand in my Hall of Fame of graphic novels. They are a bit dated now so they may be a bit difficult to lay your hands on though.

I'll think of some more.

Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, by Hayao Miyazaki.