5 graphic novels I'd like to read

Graphic novels are not a genre I've ever really explored, I've only read one, Persepolis but after reading various reviews on Amazon and Good Reads, I think I might be missing out.

Here's a list of 5 graphic novels I have my eye on:

1. The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1, Robert Kirkman 

I'm a huge fan of the tv show, so would love to see how the original story deviates. If you're not familiar, basically The Walking Dead is about a zombie apocalypse and the destruction of society. Originally released as comics, this compendium includes numbers 1-48 and is a whopping 1088 pages! It is pricey though at over £30, and there is another compendium after this one. I can see how an interest in comic/graphic novels will be expensive.

2. The Nao of Brown, Glyn Dillon       

This novel is about OCD, and as I have an interest in mental illness I'd like to give it a try.

3. Black Hole, Charles Burns 

This sounds right up my street, a story about a plague effecting teenagers in the suburbs of Seattle.

4. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel 

I first heard of  Alison Bechdel test through watching a youtube vid by Anita Sarkeesian (link), basically the Bechdel analysis the gender equality in a film, to pass the film must have have at least two named women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Most films can't even reach this small requirement, and the figures are even lower when the test is applied to POC. 

Anyway, so my point is Alison Bechdel seems like an awesome woman fighting the patriarchy so I'm really interested in reading Fun Home, her memoir about growing up in her dysfunctional family.   

5. Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, Guy Delisle 

I used to live in South Korea, and have peered into the North when I visited the DMZ, so this graphic novel travelogue is very appealing.  Guy Delisle has also written other graphic novels about Jerusalem and Shenzen, both of which I've been fortunate enough to travel to, and quite fancy reading as well, though Pyongyang is first on my list 

Marjane Satrapi- Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel has been on my reading list for a while, ever since I saw the animated film of the same name.

The plot: A coming of age story set in Iran during the Islamic revolution of 1979. Marji is a rebellious child, outspoken and with a strong sense of justice, she resents the restrictions imposed on her life by the new government. Worried, her parents send her to Vienna to be educated. However, this move brings its own trials due to a unfamiliar culture and inhospitable people.

The images of this graphic novel are deceptively simple, but they mange to covey some massive ideas; war, revolution, religion, idealism and politics. Persepolis introduced me to the history of Iran and the 1979 revolution, but more importantly it gave me an insight into how normal people are affected by the regime. Iran is periodically mentioned in the news, so it is important to have some sort of understanding about the country.

Marji as a character is very likeable and it is lovely to see how she progresses through the novel. She made me appreciate how hard it must be to grow up and discover who you are, when so much life and freedom is dictated by the state. Marji's time in Vienna and her return to Iran are very difficult, personal struggles about identity, loneliness and love are honestly and heartrendingly told.