Along with comics creatorsย Nick Abadzis, Jeff Lemire,ย Jeffrey Brown, and Nate Powell, I was invited by Boing Boing to share my top 5 comics from the last year. 2012 has been an incredible year for comics, and I’ve been finding more to love than ever before. This really is an exciting time to be involved in writing, drawing and making comics and it was a real challenge for me to pare down my list of favorites to just five. In any case, here are five of my top comics from 2012:
Top 5 Comics of 2012
Hilda and the Midnight Giant, by Luke Pearson
This book is the first in a new album-style series from Nobrow, and elaborates on the creatures and world I fell in love with in 2010’s Hildafolk. Hilda is an engaging story filled with fantasy and dark humor, and makes beautiful use of the comics medium. (Bonus: the next book in the Hilda series, Hilda and the Bird Parade, is available now!)
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller, by Joseph Lambert
Joseph Lambert has put out some amazing work over the years, and I bought this book at first glance, without knowing anything about it. While we know about the indefatigable blind and deaf Helen Keller, there is little information on Annie Sullivan, Helen’s partly blind teacher. This is both a fascinating and informative biography, as well as one of the most visually rewarding reads I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.
Mastering Comics: Drawing Words and Writing Pictures Continued, by Jessica Abel & Matt Madden
The follow-up to 2008’s Drawing Words and Writing Pictures comics textbook from comics experts Abel and Madden is a detailed look at (and exercise in) the comics medium. A great study for writers, artists and comics-makers of all kinds.
Prophet, by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy,
Okay, I haven’t actually read any of the Prophet series, but I’ve had more people recommend this series to me in the last month than I can count (and I can count pretty high!). I’m buying this today.
[Edit: I read it andย loved issue #21!]
Around the World, by Matt Phelan
Great book, featuring three different stories of world-travelers in the late 1800s. (Bonus: if you like a little history in your comics, you might also like Matt Phelan’s The Storm in the Barn!)
More Favorites From 2012
Check out the full list of favorite comics from 2012 at Boing Boing.
Leave a Reply