Stela redesigned comics to be read on the mobile formats. Here are some of the greatest comics and graphic novels that helped define the medium.
Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu)
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka, the father of manga, created the seminal Astro Boy in 1952. Osamu started the manga revolution in 1947 but Atro Boy solidified the medium in Japan. He is the most enduring character in manga.
A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories
Will Eisner
The first book to use the term “graphic novel” used by Will Eisner (along with “sequential art”) to differentiate it from the sea of superhero titles. The book tells various stories of the poor Jewish residents of the mythical Dropsie Avenue.
Amazing Fantasy #1
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Spider-Man came swinging into the public consciousness with this comic. Excelsior!
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Marv Wolfman and George Pérez
Company-wide events are common now but Crisis on Infinite Earths was the first. In the late 80’s DC’s continuity was a mess, there were a muddle of various alternate universes, multiple versions of the heroes, and overall confusion. Crisis fixed all this by resetting all the titles and heroes.
Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
A deconstruction of the superhero genre that helped revitalize the medium in the late 80’s (much to Moore’s chagrin). It and Dark Knight Returns introduced a darker more gritty style of storytelling that continues to today.
Pep Comics #22
Vic Bloom and Bob Montana
Deep in the pages of Pep Comics #22 surrounded by the likes of Shield, The Hangman, Jolly Rogers, and Bently of Scotland Yard was a short humorous story about a redheaded teenager named Archie Andrews.
Yes. That Archie.
Detective Comics #27
Bill Finger and Bob Kane
Emblazoned across the cover of Detective Comics #27 was a man dressed like a bat. Thus was introduced the little known character Batman.
Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics
The very first comic book as we know them. It reprinted popular comic strips of the day. It was an experiment, and it is uncertain whether it was sold or given away, but it was followed up by the simply titled Famous Funnies.
Maus
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman had been an experimental underground cartoonist for years when he started to publish Maus in Raw magazine. In it Spiegelman interviews his father about World War 2 and his time at Auschwitz. It is a mixture of history, family drama, and biography told with anthropomorphic animals.
Maus was the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Action Comics #1
Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster
Is it possible that comic books may never have experienced the popularity they did without this issue showing a man in blue tights throwing a car into a building? Superman started the superhero genre which dominated the medium for decades. It’s not an understatement to say that comics may not have survived without Action Comics #1.
Stela is the next step in comics and graphic novels. By formatting our stories in the vertical scrolling view of mobile devices we have made reading comics dynamic and unique.