When it comes to books I have a very hard time picking just one author to call my absolute favorite, so I will list some of my all time favorites.
Erich Maria Remarque is a writer that I can pick up anything of and know I will enjoy it greatly. The only reason I haven't read everything he has written is because I don't know German and I would like to save some of them to read later in life. He is just a great writer who lived through some tough times and writes about people living through tough times and coping with it. For anyone interested in reading his stuff, I would say his classic anti-war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front is the best place to start.
I am also very fond of Ernest Hemingway, Ismail Kadare, Herman Melvill, Charles Dickens, Philip K. Dick, Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Matheson, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, Harper Lee, H.G. Wells, Victor Hugo.
And a couple of one hit wonders (or people whom I have only read one book of but been overly impressed by), Chuck Palahnuik, Pierre Boulle, Anthony Burgess.
WOW, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I SUPPOSE THAT THEY COULD BE CONSIDERED ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. THEY COULD JUST AS EASILY BE DESCRIBED AS ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINES. HOWEVER, I DON'T THINK THAT A TEACHER WOULD ACCEPT A BOOK REPORT DONE ON A COMIC.
Originally posted by: PSYCHO_DAYV WOW, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I SUPPOSE THAT THEY COULD BE CONSIDERED ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. THEY COULD JUST AS EASILY BE DESCRIBED AS ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINES. HOWEVER, I DON'T THINK THAT A TEACHER WOULD ACCEPT A BOOK REPORT DONE ON A COMIC.
Many comic books have stories just as entertaining and complex as some of the best books. I've been reading Yotsuba&! lately. It is the happiest thing I ever read. If I ever have a bad day I'll just read one of the books and it will make everything better. I bought a Yotsuba figure from Japan a month or 2 ago.
Even in our day of diminishing intellect, reality tv, wikipedia, youtube, and blogs I would still be inclined to classify comic books and graphic novels in their own class and not as a sub class of literature. They are much more like a play or a script than they are like a novel in that dialogue and narraration are written and action is depicted through images rather than relying soley on words for everything.