Habibi (2011)

Craig Thompson spent nearly six years on this 672-page black-and-white epic about Dodola and Zam, two escaped child slaves whose bond is tested across years in an invented Islamic landscape. Its pages are threaded with Arabic calligraphy and retold Bible and Quran stories, and the ornament is so dense that one spread can hold you for minutes, which is the point on a long flight. Go in knowing the arguments: critics have faulted its Orientalist imagery and its scenes of sexual cruelty. The intricate linework is best in print or on a large tablet.