Top Ten Tuesday #97

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. 

1. Preacher Volume One; Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis Illustrated by Steve Dillon

One of the most celebrated comics titles of the late 1990s, PREACHER is a modern American epic of life, death, love and redemption also packed with sex, booze, blood and bullets - not to mention angels, demons, God, vampires and deviants of all stripes. At first glance, the Reverend Jesse Custer doesn't look like anyone special-just another small-town minister slowly losing his flock and his faith. But he's about to come face-to-face with proof that God does indeed exist. Merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Jesse now possesses the power of "the Word," an ability to make people do whatever he utters. He begins a violent and riotous journey across the country in search of answers from the elusive deity.

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Reason For Choosing: This was the first graphic novel that I read, and it was our very own Mr. Turning the Pages that introduced me to the genre many moons ago at the beginning of our relationship (8 years ago!). My love for the genre and this series keeps growing but this is by far my favourite series and now I've read more graphic novels than Mr. Turning the Pages!

2. The Boys, Volume One: The Name of The Game by Garth Ennis Illustrated by Darick Robertson

THIS IS GOING TO HURT! In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone's got to make sure the "supes" don't get out of line. And someone will. Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman and The Female are The Boys: A CIA backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth-superpower. Some superheores have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them-sometimes-need to be taken out of the picture That's when you call in THE BOYS.

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Reason For Choosing: I'm a big Garth Ennis fan and The Boys is a phenomenal series. There's sex, drugs, violence and a lot of dark humour. Plus the artwork is badass.

3. Back To Brooklyn by Garth Ennis, Jimmy Palmiotti Illustrated by Mihailo Vukelic

The controversial, over-the-top crime-thriller, Back to Brooklyn, is finally collected! Big Bob Saetta made the biggest mistake of his life by pissing off his brother, one of the biggest and most brutal crime bosses in New York City. This is the story of two brothers at war, wrapped in a special package of extreme language and hardcore violence. Join award-winning writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher), Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex, Painkiller Jane), and artist Mihailo Vukelic on an adrenaline ride that rips the roof off Brooklyn's criminal underworld! 

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Reason For Choosing: Sensing a theme? Yeah, I know another ENNIS book Kimberly? What can I say, the man is a genius and I love his work. This one was very dark, disturbing and gritty and an AMAZING standalone.

4. Rat Queens Volume One: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe Illustrated by Roc Upchurch

Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit. It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack! 

Collecting Rat Queens #1-5!

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Reason For Choosing:  An ALL female cast? LGBTQ characters? Monsters? Magic? VIOLENCE? Kick-ass women breaking all the gender defining roles? Rat Queens is all those things. The artwork is some of the best I've ever seen and the story is original and funny.

5. Revival Volume One: You're Among Friends by Tim Seeley Illustrated by Mike Norton 

Subtitle to the book is "A rural noir by Tim Seeley + Mike Norton"

For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it's up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them. In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect. The sell-out hit series created by NYT Bestselling author TIM SEELEY and Eisner winning artist MIKE NORTON is collected with bonus material!

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Reason for Choosing: This one blew me away when I read it and I COMPLETELY obsess over it when new volumes come out but I have a secret shame. I've let myself become two volumes behind. 

*Sharp intake of breath*

I know. 

HOW COULD I?

In my defense, my library can be slow in getting the new volumes and I like to binge them when possible so I let a couple volumes go by before I borrow them. The story is amazing and the characters are wonderfully written and the artwork is beautiful.

6. Chew Volume One: Taster's Choice by John Layman Illustrated by Rob Guillory

Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.

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Reason For Choosing: I picked this one up on a whim a few years back to read and I went into it with such low expectations and boy did it ever surprise me. It's such a unique story, with a lot of laugh out loud moments and the artwork is so bright and colourful that I truly enjoy this outlandish series. 

7. The Strain Volume One by David Lapham Illustrated by Mike Huddleston

When a Boeing 777 lands at JFK International Airport and goes dark on the runway, the Center for Disease Control, fearing a terrorist attack, calls in Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team of expert biological-threat first responders. Only an elderly pawnbroker from Spanish Harlem suspects a darker purpose behind the event--an ancient threat intent on covering mankind in darkness. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months--the world.

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Reason For Choosing: I started this series in preparation for the FX television show and I love it! The artwork is perfect. It suits the story so well and the story is so detailed it's a nice surprise to see that the amazing attention to detail was not one sided in terms of quality. This series is everything I want a vampire series to be.

8. Saga Volume One by Brian K. Vaughn Illustrated by Fiona Staples

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. 

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. 

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Reason For Choosing: It IS sexy and subversive. It's more on the adult side of the graphic novel genre in terms of content and while there is a lot of intergalactic politics, war and space travel there's a beautiful love story at the heart of it. Wonderfully illustrated and delightfully written I recommend this one to everyone. 

9. Letter 44 Volume One: Escape Velocity by Charles Soule Illustrated by Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque

On Inauguration Day, newly elected President Stephen Blades hoped to tackle the most critical issues facing the nation: war, the economy, and a failing health care system. But in a letter penned by the outgoing President, Blades learns the truth that redefines "critical": seven years ago, NASA discovered alien presence in the asteroid belt, and kept it a secret from the world. A stealth mission crewed by nine astronauts was sent to make contact, and they’re getting close - assuming they survive the long journey to reach their destination. 

Today, President-elect Blades has become the most powerful man on the planet. This planet.

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Reason For Choosing: I love a good read set in space and this one didn't disappoint. The author didn't scrimp on the story and the artwork is outstanding. There's a lot going on in this one, and I love how action packed the story is. This series always has me on the edge of my Seat. 

10. The Sixth Gun Volume One: Cold Dead Fingers by Cullen Bunn Illustrated by Brian Hurtt

THIS IS NOT THE OLD WEST AS WE KNOW IT. 

In the passing shadow of the Civil War, defiant Confederate General Oleander Hume waits to be let loose, too evil and warped to die, too mad with bloodlust to let go of his black magic.
He hungers for his lost and most precious possession, an ancient weapon of foreboding doom. Having fallen into the hands of an innocent girl, this last and most powerful of six revolvers is the key to unlocking unstoppable power.
But before General Hume, with his wicked bride and four twisted horsemen, can summon an army of undead to claim what is his, in his path stands Drake Sinclair--a gunslinger playing with cards close to his chest.
However, Sinclair is no white knight and is himself on the hunt for the six guns... 

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Reason For Choosing:  This is the first graphic novel series that I picked up on my own without a recommendation from Mr. Turning the Pages. I've been reading the series since 2011 and I love the mixture of the old west with the supernatural. This is an amazing series that I highly recommend!

Click on the images to be taken to the Goodreads pages for full descriptions