Gothy Comics

Inspired by this post at Stripey Tights and Dark Delights, which seems like it was written yesterday (and it was, if yesterday was thirteen days ago; shows how well I keep up with things), I've decided to compile a list of Goth-friendly comics. Not webcomics, mind you; that would be blatant copying. These comics will be the kind you find in volumes and issues. By the by, I'm only trusting myself to write about the ones I've read, so The Crow, Deady, and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac will not be on the list. Also, since all the manga-loving Goths I've talked with enjoy various series' beside Black Butler and Bizenghast, none will be discussed in detail.

Emily the Strange

In this post, Amy of STDD refers to Emily as a 'brat' when comparing Emily's 'girl power' to Siouxsie Sioux's. It is my mission in life to collect every issue of her comics and novels. I personally agree with the Emily vs Siouxsie comment (Emily, in the books and comics, has nothing to do with girl power, or grrl power; she's more of a loner than a feminist), but not with the name brat. Emily is truly an inspiration to us Gothy folk.
She wanders around towns after dark with four black cats trailing behind, exploring sewers, playing pranks on the dull townsfolk, and inventing wild things to make life more interesting and strange. I say 'towns' because Emily has to move towns every few months or the neighbors drive them out with pitchforks. There are four comic issues and an art book published by Dark Horse, four graphic novellas published by Chronicle Books, and four fantastic novels written from Emily's point of view as a diary published by HarperCollins. There's also a movie in the works, to be produced by Universal Studios' Illumination Entertainment. It has been officially announced that Chloe Moretz is to play the title character, which I think was the casting director picking the current movie sweetheart. Emily also has a clothing line of t-shirts for men and women with popular sayings such as "I want YOU to leave me alone" and "I know I'm strange, but what are you?" Emily's website can be found here.

Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl

Oh, Roman Dirge, one of the two most well-known artists in all of Gothy comicdom, the other being Jhonen Vasquez. Lenore is a black humor comic about the afterlife of a little girl who got sick and died, then came back as a cute little dead girl. The name and concept of the character are taken from Edgar Allen Poe's poem, Lenore. The plot usually involves Lenore doing something that would normally be harmless, like blowing the fluffy white things off of a dandelion, and end up causing extraordinary pain or gruesome deaths. There are many odd and unusual characters, such as her lovelorn stalker, Mr. Gosh, her mysterious neighbor, Taxidermy (take a look at this fabulous cosplay of him), and the artist himself.  Slave Labor Graphics publishes her series, which is (I believe) four seperate books, 14 or so issues, and two volumes. There are 26 animated shorts distriuted by Sony. There was talk of a film adaption, but the script was rejected. Dirge said at his 2011 Comic Con panel that " Neil Gaimajn has agreed to serve as an executive producer on a CGI film adaptation." Lenore's website can be found here.

Oh My Goth! 

Oh My Goth! is Voltaire's original satirical comic book that pokes fun at Goth. It start out with Heirmonyous Poshe, an alien who flies around in a spiky castle-shaped spaceship, searching for the Gates of Hell. He finds the Gates of Hell-a Goth club on Earth! Poshe and the denizens of the club go around having normal Gothy endeavors such as being chased by skeletal aliens and minions of Satan and going back in time to visit the ancestry of Goth. The entire comic is a a disguised version of events about Voltaire getting sidetracked while going to his shows. Voltaire is already known as a funny Goth musician, as well as a stop-motion animator, comic artist, author of a Goth guide and home decoration book, a toy maker, and professor at the School of Visual Arts. On a side note, I've seen him in concert. Sadly, it was the first and last concert I've been to and it was during my BabyBat stage and before I lost a lot of weight and knew how to apply makeup. And before I hit puberty, now that I think about it, so I was about 4'10, fat, ignorant about most of Goth, wearing a hideous outfit, in terrible makeup, and had a squeaky voice. GETTING BACK ON TRACK, Voltaire's web site can be found here

Sandman

Sadman is a complicated series, so I won't be going into detail. In the Sandman universe, there are omnipowerful entities that also happen to anthropomorphic personifications of their names and control the world. They are called The Endless, and are Death, Destiny, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. The story follows Dream mostly, though a few issues are about the other Endless. I refuse to reveal any of the plot because I would have to go into excruciating detail. I'd just like to say that it's a wonderful series and has been recommended by Goths everywhere. And just to stroke your ego, it's been called the "intellectual's comic", so if anyone asks, you're educating yourself. Issues 1-46 were published by DC Comics. 47-75 were published by Vertigo. There are many, many spin offs and such, which I won't list because I haven't read any of them. You can visit the Wikipedia article to find them all. At this year's SDCC, Neil Gaiman announced that a new Sandman Project is in the works to explained the story of Dream before Preludes and Nocturnes. Sandman doesn't have it's own website, but Neil Gaiman does.



Here is a list of other comics and manga popular with Goths:

• Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Johnen Vasquez
• Squee by Jhonen Vasquez
• Vampire Kisses: Blood Relative by Ellen Schreiber and REM (#3 Elisa Kwon)
• Elfen Lied by Rin Okamoto
• Black Butler by Yana Toboso
• Bizenghast by M Alice LeGrow
• The Crow by James O'Barr
• Wet Moon by Ross Campbell
• Tank Girl by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin
• Deady by Voltaire
• Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro by Satoko Kiyuduki 
• Rozen Maiden by Peach-Pit
• Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
• Nightschool by Svetlana Chmakova
• Nightmares and Fairy Tales by Serena Valentino
• Hellblazer by DC Comics and Vertigo
• Gloomcookie by Serena Valentino
• How Loathsome by Ted Naifeh and Tristan Crane
• Little Gloomy by Landry Walker and Eric Jones
•  Vampires Unlimited by Bart Thompson

I'm sorry this post was so long, Goths like comics and I like writing. Also, if I missed any comics (physical comics), just tell me in the comments!


With teased hair and ankh pendants,