Results 1 to 7 of 7
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2024-04-25, 01:13 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2006
- Location
- London, UK
Inspirational comics / graphic novels
Hi,
I’m looking to get a gift for my teenage nephew, who’s at that classic stage of getting rather demotivated in mid teens. I tried sending him a link to a webnovel called Mother of Learning that I thought he’d like but he says he’s more into graphic formats, and particularly likes the Solo Levelling Manwha.
Any ideas what might be a good birthday gift for him? My own preference for graphic novels along the lines of Sandman might not quite hit the mark, I think.
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2024-04-25, 01:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- England. Ish.
- Gender
Re: Inspirational comics / graphic novels
Asterix the Gaul is good for general entertainment (make sure you get the Hockridge/Bell translations). The stories are generally positive, with a lot of humour and some very clever historical references. The very first book isn't as good, and opinions on the much later ones are divided, but the bulk of the series is excelent.
Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.
"The main skill of a good ruler seems to be not preventing the conflagrations but rather keeping them contained enough they rate more as campfires." Rogar Demonblud
"Hold on just a d*** second. UK has spam callers that try to get you to buy conservatories?!? Even y'alls spammers are higher class than ours!" Peelee
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2024-04-25, 04:02 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2016
Re: Inspirational comics / graphic novels
Since he likes manwha, you could try having him take a look at The Boxer or Tower of God, as they're both good...that said, I generally think the South Korean storytelling style is likely to CONTRIBUTE to the natural demotivation/depression of that age than actually help. Manwha tend to have an overwhelming focus on the idea that hard work doesn't matter and only natural talent can carry you forward in life; if you are born "talentless" or even merely *shudders dramatically* "above average" you are doomed to failure.
Japanese Shonen manga (your Naruto, Black Clover, etc.; popular fighty manga) tend to take the opposite approach, that hard work, grit, and determination are the best things in life.
I know when I was a kid it was stories like that that really helped lift me up and push me forward compared to the "all powerful super-talented guy coasts through life while his hard working companions are left behind" stories.
For an American comics middleground between the two ideas, I love The Immortal Iron Fist run for the titular character. It has a lot of that standard superhero "you get knocked down you gotta get back up" messaging without the main character feeling like TOO much of an underdog.
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2024-04-25, 04:55 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2012
- Gender
Re: Inspirational comics / graphic novels
Maybe try the Digger graphic novels, first available as a webcomic.
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2024-04-27, 01:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2018
- Location
- Maupertuis
- Gender
Re: Inspirational comics / graphic novels
Calvin and Hobbes and Pogo remain solid choices, if you don't require the comics to have an overall narrative.
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2024-04-27, 09:10 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2009
- Location
- Birmingham, AL
- Gender
Re: Inspirational comics / graphic novels
Mid-teens? I have only seen the show and not read the comics, but Invincible, while i wouldn't call it "inspirational" per se and can be quite gory, has pretty notable themes about teenagers coming to terms with responsibility and ethics vis-a-vis their powers, especially with regards to feeling useless or out of place or like they're not having the effect they want on the world, as well as trying to balance responsibilities with relationships, school, and friendships. It does a pretty good job of having the teens actually act like teens, too, including sometimes being emotionally irrational. Again, this is all from the show, but i hear it's fairly faithful to the comics.
But for what you want, if you think it may be good for the kid, pre-screening is probably pretty essential just to make sure.Last edited by Peelee; 2024-04-27 at 09:12 PM.
Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.
Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 1
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2024-04-30, 10:44 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2006
- Location
- London, UK