Book picks similar to
Stigmata by Lorenzo Mattotti


graphic-novels
comics
graphic-novel
fiction

Streak of Chalk


Miguelanxo Prado - 1994
    On no map. In heavy summer heat. One general store with a woman and her taciturn boy. A lighthouse with no light. Memories and messages graffitied on the pier wall. A chance encounter with a beautiful elusive woman. A Murder. Or was it? Nothing seems completely real. Only the graffitied memories are constant. A mysterious multifaceted novel steeped in magical realism that can be read a number of ways, Streak of Chalk is one of Spain’s best comics authors’ magnum opus, and one of the greatest, most pioneering graphic novels NBM ever published.

Joker


Brian Azzarello - 2008
    The Joker has been mysteriously released from Arkham Asylum, and he's none to happy about what's happened to his Gotham City rackets while he's been "away." What follows is a harrowing night of revenge, murder and manic crime as only The Joker can deliver it, as he brutally takes back his stolen assets from The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, Killer Croc and others. Brian Azzarello brings to THE JOKER all the visceral intensity and criminal insight that has made his Vertigo graphic novel series 100 BULLETS one of the most critically-acclaimed and award-winning series in all of comics.

Seconds


Bryan Lee O'Malley - 2014
    She’s a talented young chef, she runs a successful restaurant, and she has big plans to open an even better one. Then, all at once, progress on the new location bogs down, her charming ex-boyfriend pops up, her fling with another chef goes sour, and her best waitress gets badly hurt. And just like that, Katie’s life goes from pretty good to not so much. What she needs is a second chance. Everybody deserves one, after all—but they don’t come easy. Luckily for Katie, a mysterious girl appears in the middle of the night with simple instructions for a do-it-yourself do-over:   1. Write your mistake 2. Ingest one mushroom 3. Go to sleep 4. Wake anew   And just like that, all the bad stuff never happened, and Katie is given another chance to get things right. She’s also got a dresser drawer full of magical mushrooms—and an irresistible urge to make her life not just good, but perfect. Too bad it’s against the rules. But Katie doesn’t care about the rules—and she’s about to discover the unintended consequences of the best intentions.   From the mind and pen behind the acclaimed Scott Pilgrim series comes a madcap new tale of existential angst, everyday obstacles, young love, and ancient spirits that’s sharp-witted and tenderhearted, whimsical and wise.

Batman: Hush, Vol. 1


Jeph Loeb - 2002
    What is she plotting? No one quite knows, but by manipulating both Batman and his enemies Killer Croc and Catwoman tensions are high and no one is to be trusted in Gotham City tonight!Originally published in BATMAN #608-612.

Notes for a War Story


Gipi - 2004
    Obviously there were other wars going on, but they didn't have anything to do with us. There were wars for blacks. Wars for Arabs. Wars for Slavs. Our war started on the 18th of January, and in a few days, everything had changed."So recounts Giuliano, a loner among outsiders, one of three young drifters caught up in the whirlwind of a war in the Balkans. The three boys are like passing shadows; they live in abandoned houses, dodge the occasional bomb, and steal car parts for money. Meeting Felix—a powerful, fast-talking mercenary—changes everything for them. Felix is an expert manipulator; he speaks to their ambition and to their desires for power, wealth, and purpose. They're instantly hooked, especially the trio's unofficial leader, Stefano, and they soon escalate from petty crime to working on behalf of a mafia-style militia, bullying and extorting money in Felix's name. But as Giuliano comes to realize, they don't know what they're fighting for—if they're even fighting for anything.Notes for a War Story is an astonishing look at life in a lawless, war-torn nation, heightened by the harsh, moving, pencil and watercolor artwork of Italy's best graphic novel author.

Royal City, Vol. 1: Next of Kin


Jeff Lemire - 2017
    In a return to the literary and thematic territory of Lemire's breakthrough graphic novel ESSEX COUNTY, ROYAL CITY follows Patrick Pike, a fading literary star who reluctantly returns to the once-thriving factory town where he grew up. Patrick is quickly drawn back into the dramas of his two adult siblings, his overbearing Mother and his brow beaten Father, all of whom are still haunted by different versions of his youngest brother, Tommy, who drowned decades ago. As each member of the family struggles to keep themselves above water, it quickly becomes clear that Tommy's death isn't the only dark secret tearing the town, and this family, apart at the seams. Can each member of the Pike family come to terms with their own guilt over Tommy's death, and make peace with the many versions of Tommy that still haunt them, or will they all be dragged down below the river along with his lingering ghost? ROYAL CITY promises to be a sprawling, serialized graphic novel that will chart the lives, loves and losses of a troubled family and a vanishing town, across three decades. Jeff Lemire is the creator of DESCENDER (with DUSTIN NGUYEN), AD: AFTER DEATH (with SCOTT SNYDER), ROUGHNECK, SECRET PATH (with Gord Downie), PLUTONA (with EMI LENNOX), ESSEX COUNTY, SWEET TOOTH, TRILLIUM, and THE UNDERWATER WELDER. He had also written celebrated stories featuring Green Arrow, Animal Man, Bloodshot, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Teen Titans, the Valiant, the X-Men and Inhumans for the major comic book publishers. Collecting issues 1 through 5.

Scooby Apocalypse, Vol. 1


Keith Giffen - 2017
    Daphne. Velma. Shaggy. Scooby-Doo. Roaming the globe in their lime-green Mystery Machine, they've solved countless crimes and debunked dozens of sketchy supernatural shenanigans.But what if the horror was real?Something terrible has transformed our world, turning millions of people into mindless zombie hordes. And only five people--well, four people and one mangy mutt--have the smarts, the skills and the sheer crazy courage to stare down doomsday.Can these pesky kids and their canine companion--using every incredible contraption in their arsenal--defeat the evil that has overwhelmed planet Earth? We've got only one thing to say about that: ZOINKS!From comics mastermind Jim Lee and the superstar creative team of Keith Giffen (JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001), J.M. DeMatteis (JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK) and Howard Porter (JLA) comes SCOOBY APOCALYPSE, a whole new spin on the most beloved paranormal investigators in history. Get ready to give Scooby Snacks a whole new meaning! SCOOBY APOCALYPSE VOLUME 1 collects issues #1-6.

V for Vendetta #1


Alan Moore - 1982
    When young Evey Hammond is saved by a mysterious masked stranger, she is pulled into his quest to fight back and overthrow the government.

The Big Hoax


Carlos Trillo - 1991
    Now, no good to himself or anyone else, he agrees to help a captivating woman known far and wide in La Colonia, a living myth of perfect virtue and reported healing powers, a facade that conceals a sordid web of deceit and depravity as ugly as the illusion is beautiful.

The Apocalypse Suite


Gerard Way - 2007
    Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world."These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.Collecting: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite 1-6, as well as out-of-print short stories and an expanded sketchbook section featuring work by Gabriel Bá, James Jean, and Gerard Way

Middlewest, Book One


Skottie Young - 2019
    The town of Farmington has been destroyed sending an unwitting adventurer and his vulpine companion in search of answers to quell a coming storm that speaks his name. From author SKOTTIE YOUNG (I HATE FAIRYLAND, DEADPOOL) and artist JORGE CORONA (NO. 1 WITH A BULLET, FEATHERS, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA: OLD MAN JACK) comes the tale of Abel, a young boy who must navigate an old land in order to reconcile his family's history.Collects MIDDLEWEST #1-6

Billy Hazelnuts


Tony Millionaire - 2006
    Billy Hazelnuts transmutes nursery rhymes and the golem myth into a storybook about Becky, girl scientist, her friend Billy Hazelnuts (who was created from cooking ingredients by tailless mice), and their journey to find the missing moon while battling an evil steam-driven alligator with a seeing-eye skunk.Millionaire fuses the darker spirit of older fairy tales with an absurdist adventure story, throws gender politics into the mix, and brings it to life with his dementedly charming and meticulous drawing style that is utterly transporting. Billy Hazelnuts features all-new characters, a first for Millionaire after building a tremendous following for his Sock Monkey and Maakies characters, which is sure to delight existing fans as well as introduce an entirely new audience to his breathtaking line and imagination.

Doctor Strange: The Oath


Brian K. Vaughan - 2007
    Doctor Stephen Strange embarks on the most important paranormal investigation of his career, as he sets out to solve an attempted murder - his own! And with his most trusted friend also at death's door, Strange turns to an unexpected corner of the Marvel Universe to recruit a new ally.

The Lagoon


Lilli Carré - 2008
    For the wise—or pixilated—Grandpa, the song reminds him that, in the time he has left, he must pause to respect, appreciate, and fear nature. The song hints at something that Zoey, the daughter, is too young to fully grasp. And the song lures the sexually frustrated mother, and eventually, her husband, into danger…Carré experimented with nib pens and brushes while drawing this black-and-white graphic novel, giving the art a different feel from her previous, Eisner-and-Harvey-Award-nominated story, Tales of Woodsman Pete. The Lagoon was influenced by the films Creature from the Black Lagoon and Night of the Hunter, but reads more like the gothic, family narratives of Flannery O’Connor or Carson McCullers. Rhythms—Grandpa’s taps, the ticking of a metronome—are punctuated by silences that pace this “sound”-driven story. Older teen and adult readers are invited to imagine the enigmatic creature’s haunting, ever-shifting tune as it reverberates through weedy waters, eventually escaping the lagoon to creep into windows at night.

A God Somewhere


John Arcudi - 2010
    He starts out trying to help people, but his solitary position in the world isolates him in ways no average human could understand. This story charts the arc of the evolution of Eric from man to...well, who knows what, as seen through the eyes of his family and his best friend, Sam.