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I feel like I've read all the usual recommendations when it comes to graphic novels, and I'm looking to dive deeper into the graphic novel community's hidden gems. What are some of the best graphic novels you've discovered that don't get enough attention? I'm particularly interested in indie comics and works that push the boundaries of the medium. Any graphic novel recommendations that surprised you recently?

Oh I have so many indie comics recommendations for you! One that completely blew me away recently was The Black Monday Murders by Jonathan Hickman. The graphic novel analysis potential there is incredible the way it blends finance, occult, and crime. Also check out The Nice House on the Lake from DC's Black Label. It's technically from a big publisher but feels like an indie comic in its approach to horror and character work.

For graphic novel recommendations that push boundaries, I'd suggest Monsters by Barry WindsorSmith. It's a masterpiece of graphic storytelling that took him decades to complete. The art alone is worth studying. Also The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V is phenomenal it explores mortality and reincarnation with stunning artwork. Both are among the best graphic novels I've read in years and perfect for deep graphic novel analysis.

If you're looking for something truly unique in the graphic novel community, check out The Incal by Moebius and Jodorowsky. It's a classic but still feels revolutionary. For more recent work, Department of Truth by James Tynion IV is doing incredible things with conspiracy theories and reality bending. Both are excellent examples of what the medium can do beyond traditional superhero comic discussions.

At the shop, we've been recommending The Good Asian by Pornsak Pichetshote to everyone. It's a historical noir that's just brilliantly executed. Also Sabrina by Nick Drnaso if you haven't read it it was the first graphic novel nominated for the Man Booker Prize. Both are fantastic examples of what graphic novels can achieve when they're not constrained by traditional comic book formats.

I’m trying to evaluate a potential investment in a new layer-1, and their whitepaper keeps emphasizing the token’s role in achieving consensus through a delegated proof-of-stake model. I’m not sure how to weigh that specific utility against the actual adoption metrics I’m seeing on-chain.

I skimmed the whitepaper too. The idea of the token securing consensus via delegated proof of stake sounds nice on a slide, but in practice I care more about what people actually do on chain. I pulled the daily transaction count and the number of active validators and tried to see if higher stake participation correlates with more activity. It didn’t jump out at me, the adoption numbers seem more driven by onboarding events than by any clear token utility.

I played with a simple model last week: if the stake was a big percent of supply and the yield looked good, would that attract more users? I looked at on chain transfers and found the metric flat for weeks even as staking grew a bit. It felt like the consensus story wasn’t translating into real use, at least not yet.

I delegated to a validator and watched my rewards, but the fees still ate a chunk. The on chain activity for dapps on this layer is sparse, so the token's role in consensus might be more political leverage than practical use.

One question I still have from a call: is the real bottleneck adoption or is it the UX? If people can't onboard or send a transaction easily, the numbers look weak no matter how strong the tech looks.

I checked validator health: more validators coming online, but some have skewed stake distributions. Security vibes are solid on paper, yet user activity is the missing piece for valuation.

There was a moment in a forum where someone drifted into cross chain talk; I let it drift and came back to the core: token utility vs on chain adoption is the tension here. Not conclusive, I'm still unsure.

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