2006 in Comics

I agree with Serene's assessment of year end lists in general, yet I, too, am bowing to the pressure to recap 2006. Inlcuding a series of unranked, unrated, list-like groupings. Please note, nitpickers, that these are not "Bests," but more like "Favorites." Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

Floppy Comics (Ongoing or Limited, at least partly published in 2006):

DMZ is possibly the mainstream success story of the year, getting coverage everywhere from the New York Times to Utne Reader, thank to its timely subject matter and high quality. It's grown into its high concept over the year, as Wood and Burchielli flesh out their version of war-torn Manhattan.

Nextwave: Agents of HATE has been an amazing excercise in taking things just too damn far, in a good way. It's the only book that consistently makes me laugh out loud multiple times per issue, and the fact that Marvel is publishing it never ceases to amaze. Although, there's only one more issue to come, at least for now.

Speaking of amazing, Grant Morrison has brought the same reverent-yet-revisionist touch he used on New X-Men to All Star Superman, with Frank Quitely's gorgeous, well-thought-out illustration talents backing him up. It's a reminder that superhero comics can still be fun, smart, and surprising, when they want to be.

A little company called Tugboat Press started putting out a great little anthology title called Papercutter this year, which hasn't had anywhere near the attention it deserves. Aaron Renier's cover for the debut issue is one of my all-time favorite covers, hands down, and the first three issues include stories by him, Liz Prince, Elijah Brubaker, Graham Annable, Paul Tobin, Colleen Coover, Nate Beaty, Becca Taylor, Sean Aaberg, and JP Coovert are top-notch. Sure, Mome and Kramer's Ergot and other big anthologies like that get all the attention, but there's more happening in anthology land.

Kevin Huizenga's Or Else #4 and Ganges #1, while technically separate series, are both continuations of the life of Glenn Ganges, the everyman character at the heart of much of Huizenga's work. Both books are wildly experimental, pointing towards new possibilities in the medium, while retaining a very human heart and a sense of fun and exploration that many art comics lack.

Other notables: Shaolin Cowboy still chugging along every few months, raising the bar for insanity and daring. Dead Girl giving us some of that old X-Statix charm back. Local slowly becoming something very different, and more unified, than its original concept. And Love & Rockets, for still being one of the best after all these years.

Books & Graphic Novels

La Perdida, Jessica Abel's tale of a naive young American trying to get by in Mexico City, was finally released as a collected edition, in hardcover, with incredible painted covers. The story is gripping and realistic, with a lead character who's likable despite her sizable flaws.

Hope Larson's Gray Horses sealed her position as one of the most talented young cartoonists working today, with a clean art style married to ambitious storytelling. Sweet, melancholy, and ultimately uplifting, without being at all saccharine.

Larson's husband, Bryan Lee O'Malley released the third installment of his ongoing series of hilarious and poignant graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness. I've never seen a book so perfectly capture the touchstones of my generation's childhood and adolescence, with its young protagonists playing in indie rock bands trapped in an incestuous scene, relating their life experiences to video games they've played, and fumbling through love, lust, friendship and rivalry all the while.

And of course, Kaz Strzepek's The Mourning Star, which I first discovered as a mini-comic, before it was released by Bodega Distribution late this year. There's a lot of buzz about this book, as there should be. It's an accomplished debut by a relatively new face with a strong grasp of the language of comics, and a unique vision to share. Hopefully, it's the first of many books we'll see from him.

Comics Blogs

Paul Pope and Eddie Campbell have recently started excellent blogs about their own creations, and have proved to be insightful and prolific posters. From Pope's musings on his influences, to Campbell's in depth look behind the scenes of his (and Alan Moore's) most famous creation, From Hell, both are welcome additions to the comics blogosphere.

The best addition to the blogosphere, of course, is the return of the site that arguably got it rolling, or at least connected many of its disparate regions. I'm talking about Dirk Deppey's Journalista blog, at the Comics Journal site. While his reign as editor of the Journal itself was sadly short-lived, we are still blessed by his presence online, and his prolific and all-encompassing linking remains unmatched.

It's been a good year. Lots of good books, series, conventions, adn other events. We got to see Marjane Satrapi, Harvey Pekar, Ellen Forney, Peter Bagge, and Jessica Abel right here in Seattle, and got to see and meet plenty of other cartoonists at APE and Stumptown. We bought way too many comics, and enjoyed almost all of them to some degree. All the bullshit "mainstream" crossovers, promotions, and drama? Ignore it. It'll go away. And we'll probably all be better off for it.

Have a good 2007!