Josh Neufeld

Best Comics of 2011 – A List of Lists for the Listophiles

Whether published as comic books, graphic novels, manga, web comics, digital comics, or some other form of sequential art, comics published this year continues a fantastic renaissance in the art form that brings more creativity and innovation. Barely able to contain their excitement, several outlets have already released their lists for the year’s best. And since we’re now knee deep in the holiday shopping season, let’s see what has won the attention of critics and reviewers in 2011.

I’ll add to the list as more are released. Check out the artists own webpages and check out the publisher links for more info on each book. Select quotes are taken from the site/publication, visit each for more.

First, here are some Black Friday shopping guides that are still worth consulting and will no doubt influence those site’s final Best Of lists:

Also of note is the Washington Post’s Comic Riffs blog sending out an open call for nominations for this year’s Best Webcomics. Let me know if I’ve missed a Best Of list worth reading. OK, on with the lists!

Amazon.ca – Best Books of 2011: Comics & Graphic Novels (published November 28, 2011) [mostly the same as Amazon.com’s list below except for 4 items]

Zahra's Paradise by Amir & Khalil

Publishers Weekly – Best Books 2011: Comics (published November 7, 2011)

“An Iranian blogger goes missing and his family enters a hellish twilight zone of obfuscation in a story that captures the uncertainty of living under religious dogma.”

Host of NPR’s On the Media, Gladstone uses a cartoon persona to take the reader on a thoughtful and entertaining excursion through the history of the media from ancient Rome to the rise of digital technology.

“In this epic work of science fiction, Rachel Grosvenor, an outcast in a world ruled by a complex network of clans, looks to find a place for herself by attempting to join a very exclusive clan.”

Habibi by Craig Thompson

Amazon.com – Best Books of 2011: Comics & Graphic Novels (published November 8, 2011)

“Habibi, Craig Thompson’s intricate and moving fairy tale about familial and romantic love, one’s relationship to their environment, the shared roots of Christianity and Islam, and the effects of industrial modernization, tops our list of the best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2011.”

The New York Times – Holiday Gift Guide: 100 Notable Books of 2011 (published November 21, 2011)

“In this capacious, metaphysically inclined graphic novel, a flock of finches act out Nilsen’s unsettling comic vision about the food chain, fate and death.”

Read It: A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld (Click to buy at Barnes & Noble)

With Hurricane Irene still a fresh and costly memory for parts of the east coast, and Tropical Storm Lee recently hitting the Gulf Coast, it seems like a perfect time to revisit this excellent graphic novel by comics journalist Josh Neufeld, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (published by Pantheon Books).

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst storms this country has ever faced and much of the aftermath was felt in the city of New Orleans. Neufeld used comics to recount the experiences of five people who made it through the 2005 storm. The material was originally serialized in a slightly different form as a webcomic on SMITH Magazine‘s website in 2007 and 2008.

As you might expect, A.D. can be a tough read since it’s not exactly a feel-good romantic comedy. But Neufeld’s art style and use of colors, as well as his choices in when his narrative checks back in with each character, make it easier to take in. The book could’ve been much more brutal in depicting the nightmare that happened during and especially after Katrina. Instead it wisely focuses on the human experience, trying to neither sugar coat nor sensationalize.

While the hard cover appears to be out-of-print right now, the book is also recommended for high school and college courses. The publisher has a teacher’s guide available (thank you for the updated link, Josh). You can also find an excerpt of the teacher’s guide at GraphicNovelReporter.com.

For a glimpse at the making of the book, check out this segment from the discontinued Pulp Secret show:

New to Comics? New Comics for You! 8/19/09

Never read a graphic novel before? Haven’t read a comic book in years?

Here’s some brand new stuff that came out last week that I think is worth a look-see for someone with little to no history with comics. That means you should be able to pick any of these up cold without having read anything else. So take a look and see if something doesn’t grab your fancy. If so, follow the publisher links or Amazon.com links to buy yourself a copy. Or, head to your local friendly comic book shop.

Disclaimer: For the most part, I have not read these yet, so I can’t vouch for their quality. But, from what I’ve heard and seen, odds are good they just might appeal to you.

Hexed – $19.99
By Michael Alan Nelson & Emma Rios
112 pages; published by Boom! Studios; available at Amazon.com

Blood. Theft. Sex. Magic. The critically acclaimed fan-favorite is finally collected in one horrifying volume! It’s said there’s no honor amongst thieves. Add to that a thief operating in the occult underground, and it’s a whole different kind of nasty! Luci Jennifer Inagcio Das Neves, Lucifer for short, takes a new job that will expose her to the macabre underbelly of the city, and a secret that she’d rather nobody know. By Michael Alan Nelson, the critically acclaimed author of FALL OF CTHULHU, and hot new art talent Emma Rios and colorist Cris Peters. Special cover by Paul Pope!

The next Buffy? Only one way to find out. Read it for yourself. Here’s a 10-page preview (although the first 4 pages are taken up with images of the cover, title page, and other kind of boring stuff like that. But the second story page has a nice twist from the set-up on the first page. In fact, if that twist wasn’t there, I probably would’ve pulled it from my recommendation list.)

Filthy Rich – $19.99
By Brian Azzarello & Victor Santos
200 pages; published by DC Comics’ Vertigo Crime; available at Amazon.com

Richard “Junk” Junkin has always lived on the wrong side of trouble. A former pro football star whose career was cut short by injury (and a nasty gambling problem), Junk now spends his time dreaming of what might have been, selling cars in Jersey and lusting after the boss’s unbelievably spoiled, unbelievably sexy and unbelievably rich daughter, Victoria. So when the boss asks him to be Victoria’s personal bodyguard while she tears up the New York City club scene, Junk leaps at the chance. But before long, he’s finds that Victoria wants a lapdog and not a chaperone, someone who’s going to do all of her dirty work—all of it—someone who wants to get filthy rich… 

From Brian Azzarello, the multiple Eisner Award-winning writer of Vertigo’s long-running crime series 100 BULLETS and the smash-hit graphic novel, JOKER, and artist Victor Santos, the creator/writer/artist of the hit French series Young Ronin.

Some crime noir from a great writer. The artist is clearly not too shabby either. The cover is kind of weird (looks like she’s spitting up jewels), but the interior pages look great. Here’s a 12-page preview in PDF form.

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge – $24.95
By Josh Neufeld
208 pages; published by Pantheon Books; available at Amazon.com

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is a masterful portrait of a city under siege. Cartoonist Josh Neufeld depicts seven extraordinary true stories of survival in the days leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina. 

Here we meet Denise, a counselor and social worker, and a sixth-generation New Orleanian; “The Doctor,” a proud fixture of the French Quarter; Abbas and Darnell, two friends who face the storm from Abbas’s family-run market; Kwame, a pastor’s son just entering his senior year of high school; and the young couple Leo and Michelle, who both grew up in the city. Each is forced to confront the same wrenching decision–whether to stay or to flee. 

As beautiful as it is poignant, A.D. presents a city in chaos and shines a bright, profoundly human light on the tragedies and triumphs that took place within it.

Yes, believe it or not, this sort of thing is still extremely relevant. This was originally released as a web-comic posted online here by SMITH Magazine, which has a lot of bonus material including a behind-the-scenes video on the making of A.D.. The Amazon.com link above also has an interview with the artist/writer and some preview pages.

Essex County – $29.95
By Jeff Lemire
512 pages; published by Top Shelf Productions; available at Amazon.com

Where does a young boy turn when his whole world suddenly disappears? What could change two brothers from an unstoppable team into a pair of bitterly estranged loners? How does the work of one middle-aged nurse reveal the scars of an entire community, and can anything heal the wounds caused by a century of deception?

Critically-acclaimed cartoonist Jeff Lemire pays tribute to his roots with Essex County, an award-winning trilogy of graphic novels set in an imaginary version of the Ontario county where he was born. In Essex County, Lemire crafts an intimate study of one community through the years, and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation. With the lush, expressive inking of a young artist at the height of his powers, Lemire draws us in and sets us free.

This new edition collects the complete Essex County trilogy (Tales from the Farm, Ghost Stories, and The Country Nurse) in one deluxe volume! Also included are over 50 pages of previously unpublished material, including sketches, promotional art, and two new stories. — Softcover Graphic Novel with French Flaps, 512 pages, 6 1/2″ x 9″

This has won and been nominated for a good handful of awards and has won lots of praise. Here’s an extremely generous 41-page preview. Expressive yet with impressive restraint, contemplative, beautiful.