BEST OF 2020: GRAPHIC NOVELS

Now, over the last several years I have broadened my graphic novel reading interests.  I have never been much of a superhero genre reader so there will be very little to sometimes no Marvel or DC comic titles on my list.  Over the years I have been more interested in the output of particular creators and titles derived from some of my favorite film and TV characters since most film and TV franchises thrive in the novel and graphic novel forms.

What I can say is that due to the COVID shutdown I read 134 volumes which is a higher-than-normal count than usual.  Most of these titles were Image, Dark Horse, Aftershock, Boom! Studios, Eibon Press, IDW, and Titan. 

 

WILL EISNER.

Over the last couple years, I have discovered the amazing talents of the celebrated graphic novel writer/artist Will Eisner.  I have always known who he was but never read any of his work until 2019 at which I became obsessed with reading everything he ever created.  This year I read Fagin The Jew, The Last Knight: An Introduction to Don Quixote, Life On Another Planet, The Lost Work of Will Eisner: The Earliest Comics of the Legendary Cartoonist, The Name of the Game, The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of Zion, The Princess & The Frog, and Sundiata: A Legend of Africa.  Even though most of these titles were the less known works of Eisner this does not mean that they are not just as good as his most famous works.  Eisner brought his amazing storytelling talent to whatever story he crafted no matter how big or small.  If you have never read an Eisner any one of these books will be a great introduction.

 

OSAMU TEZUKA & SHIGERU MIZUKI.

This year I took a break from reading Osamu Tezuka having only read his Atomcat.  He has plenty of works that I’ve yet to read and normally I try to read as much of his work that I can but this year I decided to catch up on some of my other favorite writers of which Shigeru Mizuki was one of the main ones.  I decided to finish his Showa series (Showa 1939-1944, Showa 1944-1953, and Showa 1953-1989). This is one of the best series ever crafted and its expansion is like something from Tezuka Budha or Adolph series. 

 

FROM COMIC TO ADAPTATION AND VICE VERSA.

There are a lot of titles that I finally got around to because they were adapted as films and TV series.  One of the series was Locke & Key (volumes 3-6), The Crow: Hack/Slash, The Kitchen, I Am Not Okay with This, Outcast (volumes 6-7), October Faction (Volumes 1-5) and Umbrella Academy (volumes 1-3).  I enjoyed all three of these series (and their TV counterparts).

 

Some of the graphic novels that derived from film and TV that I managed to read are the following – Firefly (This Sting, The Unification War Part 1&2), Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, Fight Club 3, Aliens: Rescue, Labyrinth: Coronation (volumes 1-3), Lost in Space: Countdown to Danger (volume 3), Night of the Living Dead (volume 2), Penny Dreadful: The Ongoing Series (volumes 2-3), Plan 9 From Outer Space, Sadako At the End of the World, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia Part 1, Django/Zorro, Stranger Things (Into the Fire, The Bully, and Zombie Boys), The Walking Dead: Here’s Negan, and Your Name: Another Side: Earthbound (volume 1-2).

I have always been someone that loved to immerse myself into stories beyond just the film or TV series.  Titles like Penny Dreadful, Lost in Space, Stranger Things, and especially Aliens (which I’ve been reading for over thirty years).  The reverse is true of titles that were adaptations.  I love to know how the original creator envisioned his story and then watch how a different created interpreted the material.  I loved Locke & Key, October Faction, and Umbrella Academy and the adaptations (and changes made therein) were also quite good.

 

MIKE MIGNOLA.

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I’m a huge Mignola fan especially his Hellboy universe.  I only read the single Hellboy graphic novel Hellboy & B.P.R.D.: 1956 but I finally got around to reading the entire Joe Golem: Occult Detective series (volume 1-4), Baltimore (volume 6), and Our Encounters with Evil: The Adventures of Professor J.T. Meinhardt & His Assistant Mr. Knox.  2020 was just a light year for Hellboy Universe items but I am sure that 2021 will be the year that I catch up with everything I missed out on.

 

NOVELS TO GRAPHIC NOVELS.

There are a few graphic novels that were adapted from novels.  I read yet another version of one of my favorite stories of all time Beowulf (from Image Comics and Santiago Garcia & David Rubin).  I probably have six or more versions of this story that have been adapted over the years and I am sure I will read more.  I also read Blade Runner 2019 (volume 2), Terry Pratchett’s The Discworld Graphic Novels – The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic, Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto, Marvel Illustrated: Moby Dick, and Titan Comics Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest). 

I have noticed that there is a new trend to adapt into graphic novel form all the major classic novels as well as some of the more popular modern novels and I for one am okay with this.  I would love to see more of Stephen King, Ira Levin, Clive Barker, and others adapted.

 

EIBON PRESS.

I include Eibon Press despite most of there output being single issues, but they craft some of the very best comic books that can be considered graphic novels if not for the low page count.  Their VHS box style comics are some of the most visually stunning on the market and will appeal to everyone.  The thing that might turn readers away is the graphic nature of their books since they freely adapt movies from infamous director Lucio Fulci.  This includes The Beyond (issue #1-3) and House by the Cemetery (issue #1-3).  I also read their original series Wasteland:1989 (issue #1-2).  I have pretty much read everything they’ve produced and will continue to do so since they are unique to the industry.

 

MY ONGOING SERIES.

There are a few ongoing series that I would like to mention!  Since I do not read individual issues of any comic (except for the Eibon Press titles) there are many that I read and have been reading for years!  One of the longest running titles I’ve been reading is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of which it was light for me this year (Volume 23, The Ultimate Collection Vol 6, and Batman/TMNT II and III).  I plan on catching up with my TMNT reading soon!

Other titles include Beyond the Clouds: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky (volume 1-2), Ascender (volume 2), The Beauty (volume 5), Black Science (volume 8-9), Blood on the Tracks (volume 1-3), Dark Ark (volume 2-3), Ghost (volume 3-4), Happiness (volume 10), Manor Black (volume 1), Pretty Deadly (volume 3), Sandman (volume 6), Tales From Harrow County (volume 1), Trinity Seven: The Seven Magicians (volume 13-15.5), and Vampirella (Dejah Thoris and Hollywood Horror).

 

THE OTHERS.

There are a lot of others that I would like to take mention of especially since I have a love of blind buys and reads simply because the back cover blurb is interesting.  I am always interested in reading something I was not expecting.  For this reason alone, I enjoy just walking into a bookstore and seeing what gen I can find.

Some of the titles that fall in this list are Berlin (from Jason Lutes), Dissolving Classroom (from Junji Ito), Downfall (from Inio Asano), Eleanor & The Egret (from Sam Keith), A Fire Story (from Brian Fies), Grass (from Keum Suk Gendry Kim), High Crimes, Hot Lunch, Knights Temporal, The Last Space Race, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron (from Daniel Clowes), The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs (from Celine Loup), Mary Shelley Monsterhunter, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, No Ivy League (from Hazel Newlevant), Poe, Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D, Shipwreck, The Story of My Tits (from Jennifer Hayden), Transparent Light Blue, Venus in the Blind Spot (from Junji Ito), The Wonderful World of Perfecto (from Paul Oakenfold), and Zombie Tales Omnibus: Undead.  This is probably one of the most diverse years I have ever had with me taking a chance on so many different creators.

One of the real surprises is just how much I loved the titles from Aftershock Comics.  I was seeking out many of the above titles just because they had been published through them.  This does not dismiss the fact that I still had time to read titles from Kitchen Sink Press, Drawn & Quarterly, Viz Media, Dynamite Comics, Kondansha Comics, and Vertical Comics.  I ended up reading only a single Marvel title (Moby Dick) and it was an adaptation.  For DC I only read four titles. 

 

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For 2021 I’m looking forward to expanding my reading list especially since I’m hoping to end some of my long-term reading titles.  There are a lot of titles that I still need to catch up with since I did not read anything from them this year which includes Animosity, The Woods, Ultraman, and more.  I did not mention every title that I had read but I hope this is a good year to catch up and to add a few new titles to my read list.

I hope you enjoyed this list and I look forward to letting you all know what I ended up reading in 2021!