My Favorite Graphic Novels of 2018

I read a lot of graphic novels in the course of a year. Some I review here on this blog, and some I talk about on the Comics Alternative podcast with my co-host Derek Royal. What follows is my list of what I felt were the best ones I read published in the last calendar year.

Best Overall
All the Answers by Michael Kupperman

 This account of Kupperman's father's life is a fascinating look at celebrity, the early days of television, and how families keep and share secrets. It also is rather philosophical in how it treats the topic of writing autobiography as well. It's an excellent nonfiction debut by an artist mostly known for excellent humor comics.












Best Biography
Is This Guy For Real? by Box Brown

 I love Box Brown's comics, and they frequently end up on this list. Here, he told the story of a person I knew a lot about, and I love how he wrote a book that captured his spirit, dug into some areas I was unfamiliar with, and surprised me with how moving it was. It's great for Kaufman fans both new and old.












Best Nonfiction
Brazen by Pénélope Bagieu

Pénélope Bagieu is one of the premier comics creators going right now. This collection of biographies of ground-breaking, strong, and impactful women is informative, entertaining, and inspiring. I will read anything she publishes, and this book is another masterpiece.

Best Noir Story
Tyler Cross: Black Rock by Fabien Nury and artist Brüno

I love noir comics, and I waited to read this one for a few years now. This tale of a drifter who happens into a dangerous, small Texas town is gritty, violent, and thrilling. The artwork is colorful and really pops off the page. Also, it made me laugh out loud, a belly laugh even, with its dialogue.












Best Comedy/Western
Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt

This book did two things exceptionally well. First, it told an excellent and suspenseful western adventure. Second, it did so with a lot of humor, attitude, and modern sensibilities that wink at and comment on common conventions associated with western tales. I love this book's artwork, and the main character's style and panache made me love and root for her even more.










Best Memoir
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka

This YA memoir delves into some deeply personal and painful topics, and I love how it speaks to the redemptive power of art as well as how family is what you make of it. I was moved by much of it, and I hope this book becomes popular in middle school classrooms and libraries.











Best Short Story GN
I Am Young by M. Dean

This collection of short stories uses music as a background to look at people, how they define themselves, and how they try to build relationships with others. A few of these stories are excellent, and all of them are evocative and poignant. I loved reading them and also seeking out the artists and listening to the associated tunes.










Best Anthology
The Nib #1, edited by Matt Bors

Gathered from the content of one of my favorite webcomic collectives, this magazine is the first in a series of quarterly publications. They feature great political comics, funny observational comics, and excellent, absorbing nonfiction comics. It has something for everyone who loves comics.












Best Science Fiction
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Originally published as a webcomic, this tome tells the tales of a group of space archaeologists who travel the galaxy fixing up collapsing sites and also of one if its members and her first love. It also features exquisite artwork, goldfish-shaped space-ships, and Gothic cathedral space-buildings. This book is more about how people live, love, and relate to one another than it is about "hard"sci-fi, but it's gorgeously rendered and you will fall in love with the characters.










Best Autobiographical Comic
In the Future, We Are Dead by Eva Müller

I found much to relate to in this book that ponders death and what happens afterward. Told in a series of nine autobiographical short stories, it is incredibly thoughtful, beautifully drawn, and also darkly funny. The exploration and evolution of how she thought of death from childhood to adulthood was both enthralling and moving. A much more hopeful book than it appears.










Any how, that is my list. Thank you for reading, and Happy New Year!

I Am Young

I Am Young is a dazzling collection of short stories that use music as a springboard to explore people's relationships to others and themselves. It features one larger narrative that is broken up throughout the book. That story is about Miriam and George, who meet at a Beatles concert in the 1960s and fall in love. Their relationship does not really work out, though they do check in with each other from time to time over the span of decades, sort of When Harry Met Sally-style, but (SPOILER) without the happy ending. The Beatles are a backdrop to their interactions, as they check in after pivotal events such as John Lennon's assassination and George Harrison's death. The story is presented in black in white in a "big eye" cartoon style, and I love how these comics feature both characters' voices in letters to each other that appear on the top and bottom of each page. I think this format requires going back and looking at these pages multiple times, but I feel that it was very rewarding to do so.

Other stories in this book appear in color and in slightly different styles. They center on other characters and they music they listen to, but I feel thematically they are linked by issues of longing, searching for one's place in the world, and also exploring life in general. In "Baby Fat" a young woman named Roberta marries her friend Pepe in order to get him a draft deferment. For him, it involves no romance, but she wants something more out of it that does not deliver. For both, the relationship does not play out as expected.

"K.M. & R.P. & MCMLXXI (1971)" is about two young women in high school who bond over Tom Jones, Camus, and literature. Both strive to be novelists one day, but there are some strains and anxieties about life after school that drive a wedge into their friendship.

"Nana" depicts an exchange between two high school teenagers who are into The Carpenters. Even though they share a love for that group, they are divided by social status, as one girl is very popular and the other more marginalized. I loved how this story in particular represented how music can play a part in joining and dividing people.

"Alvin" is set in the 1980s and is about an African-American, teen-aged boy who is into Chuck Berry. He is able to intellectualize his fandom and speak against why it's not inherently nostalgic, but even though he is into rock-and-roll, he is still out of touch with his peers. The reasons why seem partly to lie in racial terms, and the complex ways that a person can find himself separated from others while employing a strong sense of identity are both fascinating to watch in terms of character and more social considerations.

I Am Young simultaneously does two things well: it made me think about people's situations and searches for identity, and it also moved me with their emotional states. I loved this book by M. Dean, and it is a strong and welcome introduction to her comics. She was the first recipient of the Creators for Creators grant, and she also created the webcomics The Girl Who Flew Away and Coming Soon: Regents Walk.

All the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review that concluded, "This stunning debut pulls off the rare feat of drawing about music with authenticity and charm." John Seven wrote about its complexities, noting, "It’s not a depiction of the importance of music in young folks, but an examination of its place in young identity and relationships." Etelka Lehoczky was lukewarm about some of these stories but impressed with M. Dean's art and concluded, "This book about the past makes you wonder what its author will do next." Derek and I also discussed this book on a recent episode of the Comics Alternative podcast.

I Am Young was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and more here.

A preview copy was provided by the publisher.