My Comics Canon

It was February 24, 2004, 08:27 AM, on the Comics Journal Messboard. I'm not sure if this was the first time that I listed these comics there (probably not), but that's what I did in that particular occasion. If I remember correctly (unfortunately I didn't write a crib sheet at the time) I did previously post what I now call "my canon" because I was fed up with the accusation of not liking comics at all because I found children's comics (and I do like Carl Barks' oeuvre) somewhat wanting (melodrama and manichaeism in particular bother me plenty).

This is a different list because I added a few titles over the last four years:

My Canon:

Anon (Cantigas de Santa Maria de Alfonso X El Sabio)

Hans Holbein (Diverses tables de mort)

Romeyn de Hooghe (The Siege and Liberation of Vienna in 1683)

Jacques Callot (Les misères et malheurs de la guerre)

William Hogarth (A Harlot’s Progress; Rake’s Progress)

Francisco de Goya (los desastres de la guerra; Los Caprichos)
Katsushika Hokusai (Thirty-Six Views; One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji)

Gustave Doré (Histoire de la Sainte Russie)

Gustave Henri Jossot (Le credo; Dressage)

Theophile Alexandre Steinlen (La vision de Hugo)
Frans Masereel (Mein Stundenbuch; Die Stadt)

Pablo Picasso (Songe et mensonge de Franco)

Charlotte Salomon (Leben? oder Theater?)
Héctor Germán Oesterheld (Ernie Pike; Mort Cinder; El Eternauta; Miedo; Randall)

Alberto Breccia (Ernie Pike; Mort Cinder; Un Tal Daneri; Versiones; Miedo; La Gallina Degollada; Buscavidas)

Hugo Pratt (Ernie Pike)

Carlos Trillo (Un Tal Daneri; Buscavidas)
Solano Lopez (El Eternauta)
Arturo del Castillo (Randall)

Tony Weare (Matt Marriott)
Reg Taylor (Matt Marriott)
James Edgar (Matt Marriott)
David Wright (Carol Day: Jack Slingsby)
Chago Armada (Sa-Lo-Mon)

Guido Buzzelli (Zil Zelub; I Labirinti; L’Agnone; Intirvista)
Philip Guston (Poor Richard)
Martin Vaughn-James (The Cage)
Yoshiharu Tsuge (Red Flowers; Oba’s Electroplate Factory; L’homme sans talent)
Ana Hatherly (O Escritor)
Fred (Le Petit Cirque; Le journal de Jules Renard lu par Fred)
Tardi (La bascule à Charlot; Cétait la guerre des tranchées; La veritable histoire du soldat inconnu)

Edmond Baudoin (Le portrait; Le premier voyage; Éloge de la poussière; Terrains vagues; Couma àco)

Richard McGuire (Here)

Andrzej Klimowski (The Depository: A Dream Book; The Secret)
Martin tom Dieck (hundert Ansichten der Speicherstadt; Monsieur Lingus; Territirroirs)
Fabrice Neaud (Journal (I); Journal (III))
Chester Brown (The Playboy; I Never Liked You)
Lynda Barry (The Freddie Stories; The Most Obvious Question; One! Hundred! Demons!)
Anke Feuchtenberger (Die Hure H; Die Kleine Dame; Somnanbule)
Ben Katchor (Julius Knipl Real Estate Photographer)
Eric Lambé (Ophélie et les directeurs des ressources humaines; Alberto G.; La Pluie)
Stefano Ricci (Tufo)
Philippe de Pierpont (Alberto G.; Tufo; La Pluie)
Jiro Tanigushi (L’homme qui marche; Le journal de mon père)
John Porcellino (Sam; Perfect Example)
Sylvain Victor (Le Doute)
Vincent Fortemps (Cimes; La Digue)
Olivier Deprez (Le Chatêau)
Olivier Marboeuf (Une Ville, un Mardi)
Dominique Goblet (Souvenir d’une journée parfaite; Faire semblant c’est mentir)
Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth; Acme Novelty Library # 18)
Barron Storey (The Adjustment of Sidney Deepscorn; Slidehouse)

Carl Barks (The Twenty Four Carat Moon; Valley of Tralla La; Back to Long Ago; A Financial Fable)
Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Goodbye and Other Stories; Kept)
Harvey Pekar (American Splendor # 4; American Splendor # 8)
Robert Crumb (American Splendor #4; American Splendor #8)

Jose Muñoz (Sudor Sudaca; Alack Sinner)
Carlos Sampayo (Sudor Sudaca; Alack Sinner)

Gary Panter (Daltokyo; Cola Madnes)
Art Spiegelman (Maus)
Federico del Barrio (El artefacto perverso; Lope de Aguirre, la conjura; Las memorias de amoros; La Orilla)
Elisa Gálvez (La Orilla)

Felipe Hernandez Cava (El artefacto perverso; Lope de Aguirre, la expiación; Lope de Aguirre, la conjura; Las memorias de Amoros)

Ricard Castells (Lope de Aguirre, la expiación)

Montesol (Fin de semana)
Ramon de España (Fin de Semana)
Joe Sacco (Palestine; Safe Area Goradze; The Fixer)
Mattotti (Stigmate; Il rumore della brina)
Jorge Zentner (Il rumore della brina)
Claudio Piersanti (Stigmate)

Eddie Campbell (Alec: How to Be an Artist; From Hell; The King Canute Crowd)
Alan Moore (From Hell)

Mat Brinkman (Teratoid Heights)
Yvan Alagbé (Dyaa; Négres jaunes)
David B. (L’Ascension du Haut Mal)
Aristophane (Les soeurs Zabîme; Conte démoniaque; Faune)
Daniel Clowes (Ghost World; David Boring)
Peter Blegvad (The Book of Leviathan)
Blanchet (La nouvelle au pis)
Max (El prolongado sueño del Sr. T.; Nosotros somos los muertos; Bienvenidos al infierno)
Seth (Clyde Fans; It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken)
Rutu Modan (Jamilti; Exit Wounds)
Pedro Nora (Mr. Burroughs)
David Soares (Mr. Burroughs)
Filipe Abranches (A Morte do Palhaço)
David Mazzucchelli (Big Man; Discovering America)

Image:

Carol Day by David Wright (strip # 2963). In the last panel we can see a medium close-up of Adam Boone, a character "played" by Matt Marriott's co-creator, Tony Weare.