Here are 100 books that Akira, Volume 1 fans have personally recommended if you like
Akira, Volume 1.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
From an early age I have been drawn to dark themes in stories. I always wanted to hear the dark fairy tales when I was a kid. My mother is from Finland originally, so I was weaned on Finnish folk tales and the Finnish mythology, the Kalevala, which has very many dark stories. Being a graphic novelist myself, I tend to favor morally ambiguous, darker broken characters in my stories. Happy characters make for boring stories I believe. There needs to be conflict for there to be drama. And there needs to be drama to make interesting stories.
An incredibly haunting book. At first glance it looks like a fairy tale for children but after only a few pages in you realise it is quite a sinister tale and something much darker altogether. It is a very brave book I think and I’m not really sure how to categorize it other than it being very, very dark indeed.
Newly homeless, a group of fairies find themselves trying to adapt to their new life in the forest. As they dodge dangers from both without and within, optimistic Aurora steps forward to organize and help build a new community. Slowly, the world around them becomes more treacherous as petty rivalries and factions form. Beautiful Darkness became a bestseller and an instant classic when it was released in 2014. This paperback edition of the modern horror classic contains added material, preparatory sketches, and unused art. While Kerascoet mix gorgeous watercolors and spritely cartoon characters, Fabien Vehlmann takes the story into bleaker…
From early on, I found myself captivated by the concept of a dystopic future for humanity. Years later, a 20+ year police career cemented the notion that people are not inherently good and that if a dystopic future is at all possible–we as a species will make it a reality. My love of science fiction, especially all forms of dystopia, combined with a hard-earned street-level grit and a love of action. Whether writing solo or with my amazing co-author, Dr. Gareth Worthington, I often inject these elements into my stories. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I did!
I don’t think cyberpunk as we know it would exist without William Gibson’s Neuromancer. If PKD jump-started the genre, then Gibson advanced it in ways previously unimaginable.
I love the tone and texture of this book. Written in a gritty urban style, the mixture of atmosphere and wacky characters vividly paints the concept of high-tech and low-life that underpins the cyberpunk genre. Plus, it has “street samurai”–I mean, let’s go!
The book that defined the cyberpunk movement, inspiring everything from The Matrix to Cyberpunk 2077.
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
William Gibson revolutionised science fiction in his 1984 debut Neuromancer. The writer who gave us the matrix and coined the term 'cyberspace' produced a first novel that won the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards, and lit the fuse on the Cyberpunk movement.
More than three decades later, Gibson's text is as stylish as ever, his noir narrative still glitters like chrome in the shadows and his depictions of…
From early on, I found myself captivated by the concept of a dystopic future for humanity. Years later, a 20+ year police career cemented the notion that people are not inherently good and that if a dystopic future is at all possible–we as a species will make it a reality. My love of science fiction, especially all forms of dystopia, combined with a hard-earned street-level grit and a love of action. Whether writing solo or with my amazing co-author, Dr. Gareth Worthington, I often inject these elements into my stories. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I did!
I’m an action guy. It drives me. So when you have a very well-developed sci-fi dystopia that asks tough questions about consumerism, corporate power, and our growing addiction to tech, and it’s loaded with action, I’m in.
This is that book, and while the actual writing is not always to my specific taste, the overall presentation is masterful. And did I mention action-packed? Looking back, Stephenson’s depiction of our addiction to technology is basically prophetic. Put this one on your list.
The “brilliantly realized” (The New York Times Book Review) breakthrough novel from visionary author Neal Stephenson, a modern classic that predicted the metaverse and inspired generations of Silicon Valley innovators
Hiro lives in a Los Angeles where franchises line the freeway as far as the eye can see. The only relief from the sea of logos is within the autonomous city-states, where law-abiding citizens don’t dare leave their mansions.
Hiro delivers pizza to the mansions for a living, defending his pies from marauders when necessary with a matched set of samurai swords. His home is a shared 20 X 30…
I believe comics are one of the very best storytelling mediums for stories with big imagination. Prose and film are amazing, but comics have artwork for every single moment of the story, artwork not bound by space, time, or budget. I’ve written and drawn 5 graphic novels published in 11 different languages. I’ve dedicated my entire life to the pursuit of imagination. The books I’ve recommended have given me endless enjoyment and inspiration, I hope they can do the same for you too.
The Incal follows John DiFool, an everyday goofball, as he is swept away on the most metaphysical, surrealistic, galactic adventure possible. Written and drawn by two of the wildest, most ingenious imaginations to ever grace the page, Jodorowsky and Moebius guide the reader gracefully to the edge of existence and back – without confusing or pandering to its audience.
This book works so well because, first, Moebuis’ art is an absolute delight to look at, and second, because using the common-man-character of DiFool as the protagonist, the reader can learn alongside the story in a way that feels smooth and natural – in a world that would otherwise be beyond the understanding of mere mortals.
Moebius' and Alejandro Jodorowsky's Sci-Fi masterpiece collected in one epic volume. Lose yourself in the in the story that inspired many legendary filmakers including George Lucas and Ridley Scott.
John Difool, a low-class detective in a degenerate dystopian world, finds his life turned upside down when he discovers an ancient, mystical artifact called "The Incal." Difool's adventures will bring him into conflict with the galaxy's greatest warrior, the Metabaron, and will pit him against the awesome powers of the Technopope. These encounters and many more make up a tale of comic and cosmic proportions that has Difool fighting for not…
I believe comics are one of the very best storytelling mediums for stories with big imagination. Prose and film are amazing, but comics have artwork for every single moment of the story, artwork not bound by space, time, or budget. I’ve written and drawn 5 graphic novels published in 11 different languages. I’ve dedicated my entire life to the pursuit of imagination. The books I’ve recommended have given me endless enjoyment and inspiration, I hope they can do the same for you too.
I absolutely adore Miyazaki’s art in Nausicaa. Although dealing in themes of plague and pollution, the artwork really feels like it comes from a place of love. His creature and vehicle designs exude his adoration of nature and science. And everything is rendered in a soft, effortless chiaroscuro that makes reading an endless pleasure.
But maybe the single most endearing attribute is the character, Nausicaa, herself. It seems to me, that more often than not, a hero story asks its protagonist to go through some sort of reluctant change to become a hero. But not Nausicaa. She comes to us fully formed, full of virtue and ambition. And so the story is centered on her choices. The story doesn’t happen to her, she drives it herself.
Nausicaa, a young princess who has an empathic bond with the giant Ohmu insects and animals of every creed. She fights to create tolerance, understanding and patience among empires that are fighting over the world's remaining precious natural resources.
I believe comics are one of the very best storytelling mediums for stories with big imagination. Prose and film are amazing, but comics have artwork for every single moment of the story, artwork not bound by space, time, or budget. I’ve written and drawn 5 graphic novels published in 11 different languages. I’ve dedicated my entire life to the pursuit of imagination. The books I’ve recommended have given me endless enjoyment and inspiration, I hope they can do the same for you too.
In a post-apocalyptic world run by an oppressive American empire, we find Little Bird hiding in a hole. Though her mother was a great leader of the rebellion, Little Bird has found herself very lost, in a very cruel world - and she just might be the last chance that the freethinking people of the Western world have.
I love that this story takes familiar forces and fears of our modern life and cranks them up to eleven. With that in mind, the star of the show must be Ian Bertram’s artwork. All the huge ideas and themes created by Darcy are elevated to a startling degree by the way Ian is able to build this world visually. The iconography, the violence, the characterizations, it slaps you in the face page after page.
With the limitless scope of Star Wars and EAST OF WEST
paired with the sociopolitical explorations of A Handmaid's Tale and MONSTRESS,
LITTLE BIRD tells the story of a young resistance fighter battling against an
oppressive American Empire while searching for her own identity in a world on
fire. A gorgeously illustrated epic from Award-winning filmmaker DARCY VAN
POELGEEST and Angouleme-nominated artist IAN BERTRAM in which one girl
risks everything to save her people, their land, and the freedom they so
desperately deserve.
I’m a writer/artist inspired by a lifetime of reading graphic novels. A visual artist at heart with a BFA in Industrial Design I have worked over a decade in conceptual thinking for research and development in the manufacturing sector. I love the experimentation that breaks the boring norms of industry standards. I wanted to use my talent, experience, and passion to create a sci-fi graphic novel, Bear Serum, and break the medium norms. I wrote and drew it to satiate my own wild ideas in the sci-fi category to push the medium further.
Before a Friday night drink, turn on some heavy metal (or hard rock) and decide if you want to, “Become a cop or die.”
This indie sci-fi graphic novel has style with thought-provoking themes that will make you wonder about our lives in the near future.
The monochromatic color palette is not only stylistically cool but it frames emotion perfectly well. I loved the raw indie art by Ziritt, feels like a classic tattoo artist took his inks and drew inside comic panels. He frames a lot of statuesque and memorable moments with his violent, dystopian characters.
As an indie artist and writer, it’s awesome to see another indie story. Indie at its core is unfiltered, which is what makes it great. It isn’t watered down to hit the right tone to sell a lot of copies. It’s the creator’s voice being heard.
Night Hunters is a pulsing cyberpunk classic that tells the tale of two brothers who have to navigate the futuristic dystopian world of Venezuela, 100 years in the future.
How far would you go for your family? Would you enlist in a corrupt police department and slowly sell your body-parts for cyborg replacements so that your aging father can have a roof over his head? The only answer is pick up your gun and put one foot in front of the other.
This sci-fi epic by indie comics all-stars Alexis Ziritt (Space Riders, Tarantula) and Dave Baker (F*** Off Squad,…
I’m a writer/artist inspired by a lifetime of reading graphic novels. A visual artist at heart with a BFA in Industrial Design I have worked over a decade in conceptual thinking for research and development in the manufacturing sector. I love the experimentation that breaks the boring norms of industry standards. I wanted to use my talent, experience, and passion to create a sci-fi graphic novel, Bear Serum, and break the medium norms. I wrote and drew it to satiate my own wild ideas in the sci-fi category to push the medium further.
Scud is a ’90s indie comic at its best and is now in one giant collection. Vending machine robots with various whacky, funny, and violent scenarios. Artist/writer Rob Shrab created a ton of awesome indie work. His passion and talent are undeniable as he creates one crazy scenario to the next. I recommend going to a local coffee shop and spending some time with the printed copy sipping a latte while listening to 90’s grunge rock.
I suggest that you read this one on a Saturday afternoon.
In the world of Scud, bullets are cheaper than human life. Corner
vending machines provide any weapon you might need. The most popular weapons are
Scud disposable assassins: Robot hitmen that self-destruct when they kill their
target. This volume follows Scud 1373, assigned to take out a hideous female
man-eater named Jeff. While fighting the indestructible Jeff, Scud discovers his
infamous warning panel in a bathroom mirror. Realizing that to kill Jeff is to
kill himself, Scud blows off her arms and legs and hospitalizes her. Her life
support bills will have to be paid, and Scud will have to…
I’m a writer/artist inspired by a lifetime of reading graphic novels. A visual artist at heart with a BFA in Industrial Design I have worked over a decade in conceptual thinking for research and development in the manufacturing sector. I love the experimentation that breaks the boring norms of industry standards. I wanted to use my talent, experience, and passion to create a sci-fi graphic novel, Bear Serum, and break the medium norms. I wrote and drew it to satiate my own wild ideas in the sci-fi category to push the medium further.
This is my favorite mainstream graphic novel of the Caped Crusader. Mostly because of the art by Tim Sale. This graphic novel has a special place for me because it is my first experience with Tim’s art. Tim represents style, emotion, and grit through his visuals. I am an art-first comic book fan. I got into writing later as a young adult but art is what drives me to pursue graphic novels. I flip through graphic novels without reading a word first. If it is visually appealing throughout the story, I go back and read the whole story.
Dark Victory is technically Jeph Loeb and Tim’s second Batman novel after but Dark Victory is more polished, feels cooler and the story is smoother.
I suggest that you read this one on a Saturday night.
It is early in Batman's crimefighting career, when James Gordon, Harvey
Dent, and the vigilante himself were all just beginning their roles as Gotham's
protectors.Once a town controlled by organized crime, Gotham City suddenly finds
itself being run by lawless freaks, such as Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and the
Joker. Witnessing his city's dark evolution, the Dark Knight completes his
transformation into the city's greatest defender. He faces multiple threats,
including the seeming return of a serial killer called Holiday. Batman's
previous investigation of Holiday's killings revealed that more than one person
was responsible for the murders. So the question…
I’m a writer/artist inspired by a lifetime of reading graphic novels. A visual artist at heart with a BFA in Industrial Design I have worked over a decade in conceptual thinking for research and development in the manufacturing sector. I love the experimentation that breaks the boring norms of industry standards. I wanted to use my talent, experience, and passion to create a sci-fi graphic novel, Bear Serum, and break the medium norms. I wrote and drew it to satiate my own wild ideas in the sci-fi category to push the medium further.
I picked this book up on a whim, I’m glad I did. It was a pleasant surprise with no expectations. A simple, easy-to-read story with art guiding you frame by frame from artist Ann Xu. The smooth art guides you through the effortless story. It shines a light from a different perspective of life. It is soft, warm, and enlightening as we question death around the corner (especially close for the elderly woman in this story who literally vacuums up death). If you are looking for something different from a harsh dystopian/superhero graphic novel, pick up Shadow Life.
I suggest that you read this one on a Sunday morning.
When Kumiko's well-meaning adult daughters place her in an assisted living home the seventy-six-year-old widow gives it a try, but it's not where she wants to be. She goes on the lam and finds a cosy bachelor apartment, keeping the location secret even while communicating online with her eldest daughter. Kumiko revels in the small, daily pleasures: decorating as she pleases, eating what she wants, and swimming in the community pool. But something has followed her from her former residence - Death's shadow.
Kumiko's sweet life is shattered when Death's shadow swoops in to collect her. With her quick mind…
