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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:
- San Francisco Chronicle
- The Comics Reporter
- Comic Book Resources
- GeekChicDaily
- LA Times’ Hero Complex
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]
- Habibi by Craig Thompson, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $35.00
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $19.95
- Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips Volume 1: Through the Wild Blue Wonder by Walt Kelly, published by Fantagraphics Books, $39.99
- Love and Rockets: New Stories Volume 4 by Los Bros Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books, $14.99
- Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case, published by Dark Horse Comics, $24.99
- Kill Shakespeare Volume 2: The Blast of War by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col and Andy Belanger, published by IDW Publishing, $19.99
- The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- Joe the Barbarian by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy, published by Vertigo, $29.99
- One Soul by Ray Fawkes, published by Oni Press, $24.99
Zahra's Paradise by Amir & Khalil
Publishers Weekly – Best Books 2011: Comics (published November 7, 2011)
- Zahra’s Paradise by Amir and Kahlil, published by First Second Books, $19.99
“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.”
- Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, published by Vertigo, $19.99
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld, published by W. W. Norton, $23.95
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.
- Love and Rockets: New Stories Volume 4 by Los Bros Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books, $14.99
- Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod, published by Top Shelf Productions, $24.95
- Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil, published by Dark Horse Comics, $19.99
“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.”
- Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95
- Farm 54 by Galit Seliktar and Gilad Seliktar, published by Fanfare / Ponent Mon, $25.00
- Habibi by Craig Thompson, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $35.00
Habibi by Craig Thompson
Amazon.com – Best Books of 2011: Comics & Graphic Novels (published November 8, 2011)
- Habibi by Craig Thompson, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $35.00
“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.”
- Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $19.95
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95
- Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips Volume 1: Through the Wild Blue Wonder by Walt Kelly, published by Fantagraphics Books, $39.99
- Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla, published by DC Comics, $29.99
- Love and Rockets: New Stories Volume 4 by Los Bros Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books, $14.99
- King of the Flies Volume 2: The Origin of the World by Mezzo and Pirus, published by Fantagraphics Books, $18.99
- Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case, published by Dark Horse Comics, $24.99
- Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, published by Vertigo, $19.99
The New York Times – Holiday Gift Guide: 100 Notable Books of 2011 (published November 21, 2011)
- Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95 (New York Times review)
“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 (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:
- Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
- Bone by Jeff Smith
- Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
- Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
- Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
- Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley
- Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
- The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard
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.)
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 (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: 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 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: 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 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…!
Web and Digital Comics dominate Harvey Awards nominations
Gutters by Ryan Sohmer, Lar deSouza, et al.
The prestigious Harvey Awards have released their 2011 nominees for excellence in the comics industry. Named after the influential cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman, founder of MAD Magazine, the Harvey Awards are the only comics industry award both nominated and selected by comic book creators, those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit and/or otherwise help create comics.
This year showed an unprecedented number of nominations from web comics and digital comics, with a total of eight different works getting recognized in multiple categories. Most significantly is the showing from Gutters, which is nominated for a startling six nominations, more than any other single creator or comics work whether in print or not. The web comic that satirizes the comics industry appears to have won a significant number of fans within the industry, as it has been nominated for Best New Series, Special Award for Humor in Comics, Best Online Comics Work, Best Writer (Ryan Sohmer), Best Artist (Ed Ryzowski), and Best Colorist (Ed Ryzowski).
The digital comic Box 13, originally released through ComiXology, also had a decent showing, with two nominations: Best Letterer (Scott Brown) and Best Inker (Steve Ellis). Comfort Love and Adam Withers also received two nominations, one for Most Promising New Talent for their web-comic Rainbow in the Dark, and one for Best Anthology for their Uniques Tales.
The remaining Best Online Comics Work category had the following nominations: Guns of Shadow Valley by David Wachter and James Andrew Clark; Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton; La Morté Sisters by Tony Trov, Johnny Zito and Christine Larsen; and PvP by Scott Kurtz, who will be the Master of Ceremonies at the award show at the Baltimore Comic-Con in August.
Last year’s Harvey Awards only saw 3 categories outside of the Best Online Comics Work category nominate digital and/or web comics. The Best Online Comics Work category was added to the Harvey Awards in 2006.
Harvey Awards (1988-present)
On the print side of thing, this year’s Harvey Awards gave five nominations to Darwyn Cooke and his adaptation of Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit. Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov won four nominations for his work in Echoes with artist Rashan Ekedal and Tumor with artist Noel Tuazon. Tumor is nominated for Best Graphic Album Previously Published; it was originally published digitally on the Kindle in 2009. Artist Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets: New Stories) and Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee each had three nominations, with an additional nomination each for The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death, edited by Todd Hignite, and Langridge for his writing on The Muppet Show comic book series.
IDW Publishing raked in 16 nominations, more than any other publisher. Marvel Comics brought in 13, including 1 from their Icon imprint. DC Comics and Image Comics both obtained 11 nominations each with their respective Vertigo and Top Cow imprints bringing in more than half.
