Exploring Comics by Genre: Fantasy

Smallest of the last three entries, there's plenty to read that I've not read. Fantasy books hold a great place in comics, with some of the best stories.

Bone- Jeff Smith's masterpiece. An excellent all ages book, with a great tie-in miniseries, Rose.

Sandman- Did you somehow think this wouldn't be here? Please.

Mouse Guard- This is the beauty that happens when a printmaker has a story to tell. In some ways, like Prince Valiant in that the text is out of the way, but there's less in this case. Mr. Petersen tells stories well with minimal words.

Alice in Wonderland- Specifically the Dynamite comics adaptation. Well done, beautiful, and there's no additives of drug/sex culture. Kid safe.

The Book of Ballads- Charles Vess took some old ballads, some new ones, and drew comics to go with each. Some are fantasy, others simply fantastic.

Cerebus- I haven't read much, but it's worth a look at this iron man tale(300 issues).

Fables- This couldn't be left off the list. Willingham's fairy tales in the real world story, which predates TV ripoffs by years. See also the spin-offs Jack of Fables, Fairest, Cinderella, and Fables: a Wolf Among Us. There's also a novel and two standalone graphic novels.

Birthright- The story of a child that wandered into a fantasy world, became their prophesied hero, is corrupted, and sent back to conquer our world. By the way, while he grew up, only a year or two have passed here.

White Sand- Yes, I'm cheating here. Dynamite hasn't published it yet, but I've seen a couple pages. It's a Brandon Sanderson Cosmere story. I can't resist that.

Stardust- More of an illustrated novel, this marvelous work is half told in the prose of Gaiman, and half in the art of Charles Vess. Don't bother with the straight novel, there's a part the art moves much better than the words. The movie's pretty good, but doesn't encompass the book.

Jim Henson's Storyteller: Dragons- A recent miniseries from Archaia/Boom! Great vignettes of folk tales with dragons that work for most ages.

The Unwritten- This series explores the power of the written word, and stories having their own lives and reshaping our world. Had a crossover with Fables. Admittedly, I didn't finish the series. I was cutting back at that time.


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