5 graphic novels that bring me joy

1) Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: Forget the film. The future of adult comic books hasn’t been the same since the publication of Watchmen in 1986-'87. Set in 1985, Nixon is still the president (the US won the Vietnam War) and the world is about to be nuked.

Caught in middle are a motley bunch of ageing, neurotic and powerless superheroes who reconvene when they discover that one of their own has been murdered. Intricately drawn with many overlapping stories, Watchmen employs superhero tropes to raise larger questions about power, responsibility and compromise.

2) A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories by Will Eisner: Never mind whether this is really the first graphic novel. Here the legendary Eisner, a quarter of a century after his famed "The Spirit" comic book series – reinvents the genre as well as himself as a storyteller.

In A Contract with God, he looks back at his own Depression-era childhood growing up in a Brooklyn tenement, to explore the celebratory as well as the claustrophobic nature of folk bordering on poverty, living in close quarters. All the four standalone stories depict immigrant life in 1930s New York and share the motifs of repression, frustration, violence and loss.

3) Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson: Spider Jerusalem is a badass. This cyberpunk series follows the story of Hunter S Thompson inspired gonzo journalist as he sets out to expose and attack the corruption and the injustices of his surreal 23rd century surroundings.

Jerusalem hates the city, which has become a melting pot of sorts, where “humans are mass-cloned and sold as fast food”, extraterrestrial life has become a fashion statement, a new religion is born every second, and income inequality and health problems are overcome by short attention spans.

Not to miss is Jerusalem’s encounter with the US President in a toilet where he blasts him with the infamous bowel disruptor gun, which makes you literally shit in your pants.

4) Sandman by Neil Gaiman: American novelist Norman Mailer, no other, once said, “Along with all else, Sandman is a comic strip for intellectuals, and I say it’s about time.” What is particularly interesting about the comic book series is how it has attracted a substantial number of female readers – unusual for graphic novels – for its treatment of women.

The story is about Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, who belongs to a pantheon of beings known as the Endless, along with Death, Despair, Destiny and others. Beautifully drawn and illustrated, Sandman is filled with literary, myth and philosophical allusions, an epic in its own proportion.

5) Journalism by Joe Sacco: Even though it was not my introduction to the Maltese-American comic book artist and journalist's work, Journalism remains most memorable. It was a gift from my father on completing ten years of working in journalism. Sacco, who has extensively covered the Eastern Bosnian war and Palestine, offers shorter works that he had been commissioned to do.

One such includes, his visit to Uttar Pradesh, to write about a village where Dalits are living abysmally, surviving on grains stolen from rat holes. What I love about Sacco is that he doesn't take sides. He tells stories. And his monochrome drawings even the gore, closening up to people to whom the mainstream never reaches.