Love and Rockets

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.”

My List of the 10 Favorite / Best / Most Significant Comics Works
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (the arrival of non-fiction graphic novels)

Yesterday morning, the Hooded Utilitarian posted my list along with 21 others who contributed to a giant survey of comic book creators, retailers, publishers, educators, commentators (like me) and other industry folk from all over the world to determine the 10 Best Comics. In total, 211 people responded.

I sent my list on June 15, in response to the question, “What are the ten comics works you consider your favorites, the best, or the most significant?” I started my email response to the Hooded Utilitarian with the following: “I want you to know, this is IMPOSSIBLE.”

And it is. But despite that…

My list:

Start clicking and see if something interests you.

There are plenty of comics that are just as good as the above that deserve to be listed, and even some that are better. But I had a few guidelines to help focus my list down to a manageable size.

First, I had to have actually read the material. Of the above, only Peanuts has material that I have never read. But I’ve read enough of it that what I haven’t read would have to be an absolute bomb for it to tarnish the goodwill. That means there was some material that I am fully expecting to love and that I love for its mere existence and concept that I had to leave out. I really wanted to include Carol Tyler’s You’ll Never Know on my list. It sits by my desk in my to-read pile from last year‘s Comic-Con.

Second, I leaned much heavier on the “most significant” portion of the question. As some have pointed out, the question asked by The Hooded Utilitarian is really three different questions which could result in three very different lists. Because what interests me is comics’ efforts to find new audiences, I interpreted “most significant” as the comics that have been most successful in winning over new readers. That was probably my biggest barometer. Each of the above have helped establish a genre or publishing strategy or level of skill that has expanded what comics can be and are today. In retrospect, I might’ve leaned a little too heavy on modern material but I think some of the most innovative and inclusive material is being made now (if you know where to find it).

OK, so let’s hear it. What did I miss?

(More random thoughts after the jump.)

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Comic-Con Wrap-Up: Comics Debuts

I know it’s hard to believe with all the big flashy Hollywood things, but Comic-Con actually had stuff about comic books! There were a number of exciting debuts this year. Scroll through and see if something catches your eye. If so, read the blurb I’ve put together from the publisher’s write-ups, and if you’re intrigued, click the links to find out more.

Any Empire by Nate Powell

Any Empire by Nate Powell

Any Empire by Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole) recalls aimless summers of Nancy Drew and G.I. Joe, treehouses and army surplus stores… but when fantasy starts to bleed into reality, whose mission will be accomplished? [Interview]

Big Questions by Anders Nilsen

Big Questions by Anders Nilsen

Big Questions by Anders Nilsen: A haunting postmodern fable, this beautiful and minimalist story is the culmination of ten years and over 600 pages of work that details the metaphysical quandaries of the occupants of an endless plain, existing somewhere between a dream and a Russian steppe.

Daybreak by Brian Ralph

Daybreak by Brian Ralph

Daybreak by Brian Ralph is an unconventional zombie story. Drawing inspiration from zombies, horror movies, television, and first-person shooter video games, Daybreak departs from zombie genre in both content and format, achieving a living-dead masterwork of literary proportions. [Interview]

The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes

The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes

The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes: Classic staples of the superhero genre – origin, costume, ray-gun. sidekick, fight scene – are reconfigured into a story that is anything but morally simplistic. With subtle comedy, deft mastery and an obvious affection for the bold Pop Art exuberance of comic book design, Daniel Clowes delivers a contemporary meditation on the darkness of the human psyche.

Freakshow by David Server, Jackson Lanzing and Joe Suitor

Freakshow by David Server, Jackson Lanzing and Joe Suitor

Freakshow by writers David Server and Jackson Lanzing, and artist Joe Suitor: When five refugee survivors develop monstrous mutations from a devastating chemical explosion that leaves their city in ruins, they band together to seek revenge against the clandestine government quarantine that has seized control in the aftermath. But are they monsters…or heroes?

WAIT, there’s more! Click through…!

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LA’s All-Star Comic Creators Team-Up

LA Comics Creators (left to right): Johnny Ryan, Jaime Hernandez, Ron Regé, Jordan Crane, Sammy Harkham, Frank Santoro (click for Comics Comics article)

Some of Los Angeles’ finest and most innovative sequential storytellers met up for dinner recently, and Frank Santoro of Comics Comics was there. Part one was posted last Saturday and part two should be coming this weekend. It’s a fascinating look at the comics community of Los Angeles with interesting observations about the storytelling style of these local artists. Santoro is an acclaimed artist himself, and in fact his arrival in town for a gallery exhibition of his work at Dem Passwords in West Hollywood (still happening until February 18th) was the impetus for the epic meeting.

So who made up the all-star lineup?

Jaime Hernandez makes up one third of the legendary Los Bros Hernandez, creators of the hugely influential Love and Rockets, a series that revolutionized the alternative comics scene in the ’80s. The rich characters Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez created in that series continue to this day in the annual publication Love and Rockets: New Stories. Jaime’s primary narrative grew out from the California punk scene of the time and his home town of Oxnard, about an hour or so east of LA. As you’ll see from the article, Jaime is greatly revered by Santoro, and for good reason because of the high caliber of his work and the trailblazing he did in the industry almost 30 years ago. It’s entirely possible that without him, the rest wouldn’t be doing comics, or if they were, their work would look significantly different and possibly never make it to our hands.

Sammy Harkham is the editor of Kramer’s Ergot, one of the most acclaimed comics anthologies of the last 10 years. He is a respected artist himself, his current work is his series Crickets. He also co-owns the comics and book store Family on Fairfax in West Hollywood. The shape of the sector that is often called literary comics, art comics and/or alternative comics would look a lot different today without him.

Ron Regé, Jr. is, like me, originally from Massachusetts and now lives in Los Angeles. So basically we’re the same person. Except that he’s created amazing artwork that explores colorful dreamscapes like Skipper Bee Bye and Yeast Hoist. He’s apparently working on a new release that sounds amazing. Regé is also a musician, currently playing drums for the LA-based country/folk/psychedelic Lavendar Diamond.

Johnny Ryan is a mad man. Also originally from Massachusetts, he is responsible for reinvigorating humor comics with a brash and often shocking energy, in Angry Youth Comix, Prison Pit, and his work for VICE magazine. Definitely a lot of NSFW, and he’s not for everyone, but I think he’s hilarious. He’s one of the few people carrying the torch of the underground comix of R. Crumb and others.

Jordan Crane is a wonderful artist perhaps best known for The Clouds Above, a delightful children’s story. But he has also created some heartbreaking, simply beautiful stories, such as The Last Lonely Saturday, a poignant tale of an old man visiting his late wife’s grave. The latter is seen in our documentary short Dig Comics, and won over a self-proclaimed book snob and English major who thought comics were just violence.

All of these artists are unique creators to be treasured. Check out the links above and discover stories you didn’t even know you were missing.