It’s that time of year again when we have a day of reflection and I sort through everything I’ve read and make a top graphic novel list of sorts. This year was difficult in a tremendous amount of ways, but I found solace among the pages of this spectacular medium. Comics were DOPE AF this year. There were so many fantastic stories. There were so many in fact, that I had to make three separate lists for all the books I wanted to include.
Without further ado, let’s get to my top graphic novels of 2016, ranked in no particular order! My criteria were few:
- Released at some point in 2016
- Stand alone or collected a mini-series
- I thought about it a lot throughout the year
HEAD LOPPER
IMAGE COMICS
LEGEND OF WONDER WOMAN
DC COMICS
POISON IVY: CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH
DC COMICS
STEVEN UNIVERSE & CRYSTAL GEMS
BOOM! STUDIOS
UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL BEATS UP MARVEL UNIVERSE
MARVEL COMICS
MOONCOP
DRAWN & QUARTERLY
MOONSHOT
AH COMICS
X-MEN TP WORST X-MAN EVER
MARVEL COMICS
HUCK TP
IMAGE COMICS
In a quiet seaside town, a gas station clerk named Huck secretly uses his special gifts to do a good deed each day. When his story leaks, a media firestorm erupts, bringing him uninvited fame. As pieces of Huck’s past begin to resurface, it’s no longer clear who his friends are-or whose lives may be in danger. Mark Millar’s bright, sweet story about a man particularly good at finding is akin to laying in bed in the sunlight on a Sunday afternoon. A completely pure story among this year’s indie sci-fi dystopias.
PLUTONA TP
IMAGE COMICS
That rounds out my top 10! It was not an easy task and I’m already not looking forward to doing one of these for 2017. Did I miss one of your favorites? Let me know in a comment!