I read a lot of comics. The few that are particularly striking move over to this little bookshelf over there so that I can look at them a bit more, but now it’s the end of the year, and I have to empty it. These are those comics.
I’ll try not to natter on too much. One sentence or two per book! Max! I promise! Sort of!
Unwholesome Love by Charles Burns (Fantagraphics)
Such a fun surprise — a compact little thing from Burns.
Star of Swan by Margon Ferrick (Breakdown Press)
Peep no. 1 edited by Sammy Harkham and Steve Weissman
Kramers Ergot is back.
Smoke Signal edited by Gabe Fowler (Desert Island)
The strongest Smoke Signal issue ever.
Love and Rockets #15 by Jaime & Beto Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
I know, I know, Love & Rockets could be on the “best of” every year, but this was an especially brilliant issue.
Hot House by John Hankiewicz (Fieldmouse Press)
Comics as ballet. An amazing book even on a John Hankiewicz scale.
Lucky Luke: Untamed by Blutch (Cinebook)
I know! Nobody takes these “special” editions of European children’s comics into account, and for very good reasons. But this is Blutch, and it’s both hilarious and kinda moving.
Convoy by Molly Stocks (Breakdown Press)
Gorgeous and affecting.
Sunday by Oliver Schrwauwen (Fantagraphics)
I know, I know — everybody’s got this on their list. But it’s really something. I think it has the potential to become one of those “comics staples” — a thing you’ll find in any serious comic book shop for decades to come. It may appear to be too much of a challenging read, what with all the overlapping stories, but despite it being dense enough to spontaneously implode, it’s a straightforward read, really.
And so funny.
Adrift on a Painted Sea by Tim Bird with Sue Bird (Avery Hill)
It’s about the author coming to terms with his mother’s death, and musing about the paintings she left behind. It’s very moving.
Chrysanthemum Under The Waves by Maggie Umber
Gorgeous and mysterious.
Amarcito 6 edited by Luis Yang
A small collection of short, mysterious pieces.
Spiral & Other Stories by Aidan Koch (New York Review Comics)
I guess this is the other book that’ll turn up on hundreds of “best of” lists… but it’s good! I promise!
Masters of the Nefarious by Pierre La Police (New York Review Comics)
Absurd and hilarious.
Mors dag by Klara Wiksten (Galago)
Moving and original.
OK, that’s it! Those are the best comics of 2024.
But I also read a whole bunch of other comics this years, so here’s the very best of those:
Forty Lies by David Shenton (Knockabout Comics)
This is a collection that shouldn’t work — it’s so chaotic. But it’s brilliant! Both funny and gripping.
Warnebi by Wiebke Bolduan (Fieldmouse Press)
Totally compelling.
Jag älskar Astrid Lindgren by Elin Lucassi (Galago)
This is about a woman going insane who obsesses about Astrid Lindgren (and her old apartment). It grabs you by the scruff and doesn’t let go.
Alte Zachen by Ziggy Hanaor & Benjamin Phillips (Cicada Books)
Is this the first book on this list that’s a collaboration between two creators? I think it might be? Anyway, it’s about a guy going grocery shopping with his grandma, and it’s amazing.
Unended by Josh Bayer (Uncivilized Books)
I think this ended up on many 2023 “best of” lists, but I got my copy too late.
Anyway, it’s Beyer’s best work, and it’s so compelling.
She Would Feel The Same by Emma Hunsinger (Shortbox)
This is about breaking up and stuff. But in a good way!
Stages of Rot by Linnea Sterte (Peow)
Oh my god; so gorgeous! Every spread is like *gasp*.
And the story’s good, too. I think Sterte had her breakthrough with her subsequent book, A Frog In Fall. This is nothing like that, but of you were one of the multitudes (ahem) that bought that book and liked it, you should get this, too.
Bark Bark Girl by Michael Furler (Peow)
Very original storytelling choices, and they all work.
The Cliff by Manon Debaye (Drawn & Quarterly)
Wow, I didn’t notice… this is the only Drawn & Quarterly book on this list? There’s usually a handful at least. I think I’ve read everything they published this year? But nothing made an impression? Wow, that’s a change…
Anyway, this translation of a French book is pretty harrowing, if I remember correctly.
Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel by Anya Ulinich (Penguin Random House)
This is about returning to dating as an adult, and it’s a funny and dense read.
Louis Undercover by Fanny Britt/Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood Books)
Hey! Another collaboration! It’s another one of those sad/funny childhood things which you’ve all read too many of before, but this one is different.
Aaand… that’s it. How many books was that? *counts* 26! If I handwave correctly, that’s about 4% of the comics I’ve read this year. That’s a pretty good percentage, isn’t it? Hm.
Ready for a new year.
Hey, it’s looking very Xmassey out there all of a sudden.