I know it's a bit of a long shot to ask this here, but since there was a bit of user participation in Top Comics/Graphic Novels of All Time thread and it actually contained some books I liked, too, I thought it doesn't hurt trying.

The other thread is just a list with little info and based on the (undescribed) personal preferences of the posters, so I wonder can anyone recommend me a graphic novel based on my own preferences?

Here's what I'm looking for:

1. Must be a complete novel-sized book, preferably a standalone story, or if it's a series then all printed in one tome.
2. The more pages the better (250+?); it's a bit of a superficial requirement, but graphic novels aren't cheap and if I pay good money for it, I don't want to be done with it in a hour or less.
3. I generally prefer drama to action; themes that make you think a bit and that have a certain connection to life, as opposed to pure geek entertainment like your average superhero, horror, fantasy, sci-fi comic.
4. I also appreciate graphic novels that set great store in experimenting with the form, that make you savor each panel and don't just tell a story you quickly flip through.

Prominent examples of the type of GNs I'm looking for:
- Blankets (by Craig Thompson)
- Jimmy Corrigan (by Chris Ware)
- Black Hole (by Charles Burns)
- Asterios Polyp (by David Mazzucchelli)
- Daytripper (by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá)
- Stuck Rubber Baby (by Howard Kruse)
- Harukana machi-E / A Distant Neighborhood (by Jiro Taniguchi)
- The Sculptor (by Scott McCloud, which I haven't read yet, but it looks like just the thing)

Any suggestions?

watchmen ( off course )
marvel man V1 ( the alan moore run marvel is collecting it in a single hardcover )
v for vendetta
a contract with god
transmetropolitan ( 10 volumes )
batman the dark knight returns
daredevil born again
batman year one ( both batman year one and daredevil born again are by miller and mazuchelli and really stand alone stories )

those should get you started

From Hell
From Hell

Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Everything by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Everything We Miss by Luke Pearson
Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
Maus by Lev Grossman
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

There are a ton of great GN out there.

Yeah, those are funny books! If you like them, you should also read the "Werner" books. I also would recommend some graphic novels/comics from Moebius. You can also read the "Heavy Metal" comic magazine.

I've already read A Contract With God, Ghost World, Maus, Persepolis, Batman Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. I think I've read a volume or two of Blacksad, too (I'm not aware of a One-Volume-Edition though, so it might not meet requirement #1)

I've read a couple of Ralf König's books, and they were nice enough, and I've read many of the Werner books as a teen, but I'm not sure if I'd still like them as much now.

I admit I didn't read Watchmen and V for Vendetta yet (only watched the movies which are probably worse than the comics, at least I hope so), and neither From Hell, and I mean to catch up on them one day, but I'm not overly enthusiastic about it. I can imagine being somewhat entertained by their stories, but not really falling in love with them as I did with the ones mentioned above. Same goes for Daredevil Born Again. Like the two Batman stories, I suppose they are all excellent, a bit more serious superhero and thriller stories, but they're still superhero and thriller stories, which isn't quite what I'm looking for (see requirement #3). I haven't heard of Transmetropolitan, but it doesn't seem to meet requirement #1.

Essex County sounds interesting and so does My Friend Dahmer, I haven't heard of them yet, so those are exactly the kind of suggestions I was hoping for!

Everything We Miss also looks very cool, just a bit too short. (To clarify, I'm not just looking for a graphic novel to read, I'm looking for one to buy; the length requirement has nothing to do with how I judge comics, I'd definitely read the short ones, too, I'm just a bit more reluctant to buy them, as the prices seldom reflect the length and I don't like the thought of paying 15-20+ EUR for a book I'll finish in less than an hour. Of course it also depends on how detailed and impressive the pictures are.)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, much appreciated!

I'm interested to see where this thread goes as I have very similar tastes in graphic novels, but I haven't found a whole lot that I like. Aside from what's already mentioned here:

The Crow by James O'Barr is my all-time favourite graphic novel. Even if you've seen the film, the book is quite a different experience. It's much more dramatic. 250+ pages.

We3 by Grant Morrison. It's mostly action, but if you're empathetic towards animals, it can get a little emotional. Only 104 pages.

The Resonator by Prentis Rollins is another interesting one I found at my library a while ago. I think it was fairly short, though. Also included the complete making of it and a lot of tips for writers.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the world? It was a crazy movie, I liked it. Never read the comic yet, must look if it is available in Germany!

Goodness gracious, I had to google for "graphic novel" ... I feel old, and definitely do not put up with these new terms.

On topic... Sorry, I do not follow this entertainment to provide a relevant entry. I am just passing by this thread, ya... :)

1) Spiegelman's Maus.

2) From Hell. And maybe some other Alan Moore, like Watchmen and the two first League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

3) Jason's Hey Wait.

4) You could try some Hugo Pratt, like Ballad of The Salt Sea or The Scorpions of the Desert...

I've heard good things about Satrapi's Persepolis, but haven't read it yet.

That may be a bit all, because I am horribly insanely difficult to please, in that domain.

Your fourth point led me to suggest the works of Marc-Antoine Mathieu, but I don't know if they qualify as "graphic novel" (the notion is a bit blurry to me, I'm a mere bandes dessinées guy).

5) Oh, also absolutely anything by Jacques Tardi. But especially It Was the War of the Trenches.

6) And maybe Silence, by Comès.

7) Arrgh, forgot Jeff Smith's Bone. That stuff is extraordinary.

Splitter Verlag is generally recommendable.

Sergio Toppi - Sharazde: Tales from the Arabian Nights

It only has 224 pages but every single page and every single panel is a piece of art. One page drawn by Toppi is worth a hundred pages by a lesser artist - which includes pretty much everyone.

Here are some non-superhero graphic novels that might interest you

A Tale Of One Bad Rat, by Bryan Talbot
Fax from Sarajevo, by Joe Kubert
Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (has a sequel, Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama)
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken, by Seth
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (also has a sequel, Persepolis 2)
Safe Area Goražde, by Joe Sacco
Tricked, by Alex Robinson

These are long-running series but often have self-contained stories in each volume and are still worth reading:

Girl Genius, by Kaja & Phil Foglio
Love and Rockets, by Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez
Strangers in Paradise, by Terry Moore
Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan