Eddie Campbell: 45 Graphic Novels of Serious Intent

Alec: How To Be An Artist (2001)

by Eddie Campbell

"Graphic Novel... The term will embody the arrival of an idea; a serious intent will be brought into the common comic and remain as a trend through the last quarter of the twentieth century, perhaps further. The trend will be revealed through attempts to build extended works using the mechanics of the humble comic strip. They are probably to be numbered in thousands. Such a waste of paper is bound to make you wonder if the end result can be worth it. Some will be bad, some dull, perhaps the worst crime a comic can commit. Some will be no more than regular comic books dressed up pretentiously. Some will be well-meaning, some bright. Some may be good even, and just not make my list because I'm a fallible clairvoyant. There will be around four dozen books at year 2001 whose theoretical aggregation (for in reality we cannot expect them all to like each other) will nevertheless imply a worthwhile phase in the human continuum, and to be a part of such a moment is perhaps the longing at the heart of artistic ambition. Needless to say, some of those authors listed will make shorter works superior to the long ones for which I have celebrated them. I am pointing out the landmarks. May a perceptive historian map the ground between and may his book be better than some of the stupidities out there." 

 ~ Eddie Campbell, from Alec: How To Be An Artist

1. The Cowboy Wally Show (1987)
   by Kyle Baker
   
   
2. Why I Hate Saturn (1990)
   by Kyle Baker
   
   
3. Dear Julia (2000)
   by Brian Biggs
    
4. Ethel & Ernest (1998)
   by Raymond Briggs
    
5. When The Wind Blows (1979)
   by Raymond Briggs
   
   
6. The Playboy (1991)
   by Chester Brown
   
   
7. I Never Liked You (1994)
   by Chester Brown
   
   
8. Alec: The King Canute Crowd (1990)
   by Eddie Campbell
   
   
9. Ghost World (1997)
   by Daniel Clowes
   
   
10. David Boring (2000)
    by Daniel Clowes
     
11. Stuck Rubber Baby (1995)
    by Howard Cruse
     
12. A Contract With God (1977)
    by Will Eisner
    
    
13. A Life Force (1985)
    by Will Eisner
    
    
14. The Dreamer (1986)
    by Will Eisner
    
    
15. To The Heart Of The Storm (1991)
    by Will Eisner
    
    
16. Dropsie Avenue (1995)
    by Will Eisner
    
    
17. Casanova's Last Stand (1993)
    by Hunt Emerson
    
    
18. Tantrum (1979)
    by Jules Feiffer
     
19. Violent Cases (1987)
    by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean
    
    
20. Signal To Noise (1992)
    by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean
    
    
21. Mr Punch (1995)
    by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean
    
    
22. Hicksville (1998)
    by Dylan Horrocks
    
    
23. The Jew Of New York (1998)
    by Ben Katchor
     
24. Berlin (2001)
    by Jason Lutes
     
25. Cages (1998)
    by Dave McKean
     
26. City Of Glass (1994)
    adapted by David Mazzucchelli
     
27. V For Vendetta (1988)
    by Alan Moore & David Lloyd
    
    
28. Watchmen (1988)
    by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
     
29. Big Numbers (1990)
    by Alan Moore & Bill Sienkiewicz
    
    
30. From Hell (1999)
    by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell
     
31. The New Adventures Of Hitler (1990)
    by Grant Morrison & Steve Yeowell
    
    
32. Blood Of Palomar (1989)
    by Gilbert Hernandez
     
33. Poison River (1994)
    by Gilbert Hernandez
    
    
34. The Death Of Speedy (1989)
    by Jamie Hernandez
    
    
35. Uncle Sam (1998)
    by Alex Ross
     
36. Palestine (1996)
    by Joe Sacco
    
    
37. Safe Area Gorazde (2000)
    by Joe Sacco
    
    
38. It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken (1997)
    by Seth
    
    
39. Gemma Bovary (1999)
    by Posy Simmonds
    
    
40. Jaka's Story (1990)
    by Dave Sim & Gerhard
    
    
41. Going Home (1999)
    by Dave Sim & Gerhard
    
    
42. Maus (1993)
    by Art Spiegelman
    
    
43. The Tale Of One Bad Rat (1995)
    by Bryan Talbot
    
    
44. Goodbye Chunky Rice (1999)
    by Craig Thompson
     
45. Jimmy Corrigan (2001)
    by Chris Ware

Eddie Campbell is the celebrated creator of Alec and Bacchus, and collaborator (as artist) with Alan Moore on From Hell. His recent book The Goat-Getters explores the early years of the newspaper strip.