Inspiration breeds creation

So, just recently I've been finding it harder and harder to find the time to consume comics and art like I used to. When you start working full time in comicking, the medium can't help but be linked with a work headspace a bit. And when your schedules start getting more and more manic, it gets harder to steal time to turn off from deadlines and just get lost in the joy of reading and absorbing. I've had a couple of absolutely insane years (as I tallied up last night, I've produced nearly 800 pages of comic over the last two years between Vampire Academy, Avalon Chronicles, Dragon Heir, Bella Nolita, My Little Pony, Tara Duncan and a few smaller children's comics as well - phew) and so my reading has utterly plummeted. I've been picking up my weekly comic stash and then they've been sitting in bags, unread. It's all very sad.

But, I'm fighting back! It's time to get reading again. Because, without absorbing comics, it becomes hard to stay motivated and fresh or to even build the enthusiasm to draw at all. We need to remind ourselves why we're doing this in the first place, after all, and nearly all creators I know were fans first. ^_^ So, yesterday I asked my twitter feed to suggest just one title, one graphic novel that they'd recommend anyone read. I'd read a fair number of them already, but I will be working through the rest, for sure. I thought I'd share the list of the most suggested titles here, as it could be a handy selection for anyone to take a look at! So, what were the top 10 graphic novels and collections recommended by my twitter feed?:
Alec Omnibus - Eddie Campbell - Top Shelf
Tale of Sand - Jim Henson - Titan Books
Black Hole - Charles Burns - Jonathan Cape
The Incal - Jodorowsky & Moebius - Selfmadehero
Sky Doll - Barbucci & Canepa - Marvel
Lucille - Ludovic Debeurme - Top Shelf
Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson - Titan
Welcome to the NHK - Oiwa & Takimoto - Tokyopop
Promethea - Alan Moore, J.H Williams III, Mick Gray - DC
Bakuman - Ohba & Obata - Viz media
There were lots more suggestions besides, and if you'd like to see more just go check my @replies in twitter from yesterday. I couldn't list them all though, so went for those that were mentioned multiple times. It's a great spread of publishers, if not creator gender, which is really interesting to see. So, ten graphic novels you should read, as suggested by my twitter followers. Thanks, all! ^_^