The 25 Best Comic Books of 2016 – Paste

More than in previous years, 2016 took a deeper look at what the comics industry is and, more importantly, what it could be. On the Big Two front, Marvel further diversified its core titles with heroes who weren’t relegated to white, straight guys created in the ’50s. DC took big strides forward with its rebirth initiative, embracing the soul of its legacy characters and a new majority of the market share for a few months.

but the indies seemed to scream louder this year. Despite all of the comic journalism’s attention to diamond dealer lists, Raina Telgemeier is a one-woman industry that routinely dominates the majority of the New York Times graphic book list. that success shouldn’t come as a surprise after work as ghosts, telgemeier’s excited and joyful look at mortality. but she has new company that won’t be leaving any time soon; Congressman John Lewis’ graphic novel autobiography, March, concluded with her third entry, co-written by Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell. it is the first graphic novel to win a national book award and is legitimately being adopted as required reading in public schools.

You are reading: Popular comic books 2016

Also, fans of drawn & quarterly and fantagraphics delivered a slew of groundbreaking and mind-blowing tomes, writer tom king infiltrated marvel and dc with two of the year’s most melancholy and harrowing comics, and image continued to carry the torch for the progressive genre of fiction, with greats of all the times like saga, southern bastards and lazarus losing ground on this list not because of a drop in quality, but because of an expansion of the playing field this year may have been a garbage fire of bad vibes, but at least the comics continued to foster dreams of a brighter 2017.

25. moon knight

writer: jeff lemire artists: greg smallwood, francesco francavilla, james stokoe, wilfredo torres, others publisher: marvel comics

Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood’s radical take on the Fist of Khonsu is a singular and disorienting sight to behold. lemire, who has tackled mental illness in other comics like bloodshot and the underwater welder, gets closer to a character who was once a mercenary saved by the egyptian god of the moon. Since then, that man has disguised himself as a vigilante called the Moon Knight, who protects those who travel at night. lemire asks what most reasonable readers might: is that behavior normal, even by superhero standards? Add the historical footnote that the term “lunatic” translates to “moonsick,” and Lemire and Smallwood are the perfect character to dissect mental illness from a cloak-and-hood perspective. sean edgar

24. tetris: the games people play

writer/artist: box brown editor: first second

tetris: the games people play is a layered examination of pixelated nostalgia, politics, and philosophy. Box Brown’s second biographical novel adopts the same personality and obsessive research as his previous work, Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, this time focusing on Russian game developer Alexey Pajitnov. the affable genius escorts the idea of ​​him through a tangle of cold war bureaucracy and parasitic entrepreneurs until his narrative reaches a kind of catharsis. But Brown is not content with reconstructing the intricate rhythms of protogame history; He discusses the philosophical underpinnings of the why humanity games and its history to the present day. intelligent, obsessive and passionate, the narrative blocks of tetris align perfectly. sean edgar

23. house of penance

writer: peter j. tomasi artist: ian bertram publisher: dark horse comics

house of penance is a grand gothic epic built on a foundation of dilated art, informed by one of the strangest incidents in late 19th century history. Sarah Winchester, the widow of the man who founded the Winchester Repetitive Weapons Company, built a sprawling mansion in San Jose to house the souls of Native Americans and soldiers who fell victim to her husband’s counterfeit weaponry. Writer Peter Tomasi scripts the limited and eloquent dialogue of Spook Slingers M.R. james or bram stoker, while artist ian bertram wraps the plot in sinuous, gridlike tendrils of blood and architecture, conjuring up a dwarfed sense of doom from which no character escapes. The closest we’ll ever get to a collaboration between Edgar Allan Poe and M.C. escher, house of penitence is a horror that could only be achieved in comics, and its morbid majesty has to be seen to be understood. sean edgar

22. giant days

writer: john allison artists: lissa treiman, max sarin, caanan grall editor: boom! box

john allison and artists max sarin, caanan grall and lissa treiman have spent the last few years building a world and characters that are deeply human and relatable without losing a sense of how messed up each of them is. It’s hardly surprising, given Allison’s successful decade of creating webcomics, but it’s still a real treat to read a story about young women where they’re supportive and loyal (sometimes to the extreme), even while making an utter mess of their lives. , as is their right and duty as university students. caitlin rosberg

21. the mighty thor

writer: jason aaron artists: russell dauterman, various publisher: marvel comics

Despite all the misogyny that ignited a female thunder bearer in 2014, few could have predicted her complete dominance as the coolest super-wonderperson a few years later. Switching from the heavy metal oeuvre of his initial “god butcher”/”godbomb” arcs in thor: god of thunder, jason aaron now weaves a meticulous tapestry of shifting loyalties and gender dynamics into one story. which deserves all the connotations of “epic”. All of Asgard has accepted that a mysterious lady now throws Mjolnir except for one man: Odin, the one-eyed king of the realm. Throw in exploitative corporations, dark elves, and branching fantasy worlds, and The Mighty Thor remains a story built on sweat and blood with serious relevance outside of its fantasy trappings. sean edgar

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20. copra

writer/artist: michel fiffe editor: bergen street press

michel fiffe continues to shame everyone else who works in comics with his one-man assault, copra. written, drawn, colored, lettered, and self-published sequentially by fiffe, copra began as an homage to copyright proofing the suicide squad tales of the ostrander era before evolving in its own bizarre way round four continues the psychedelic assault of fiffe’s highly expendable commandos, presented in his masterful multimedia style. copra collections can be hard to catch, and the title is much more appreciable after reading the entire epic in order, but fiffe’s wacky creation is still one of the best comics out there and worth worth looking for. down. steve foxe

19. nod

writer/artist: joshua cotter editor: fantagraphics

nod away, a complex and beautiful science fiction epic, alternates between a narrative of scientists working on a space station to modify a biologically hardwired “internal network”, and back to scenes almost speechless of a man traveling alone through the desert, towards an unclear goal. Dreamy, packed with interesting ideas, and tinged with the same quiet but heartfelt emotions as cartoonist Joshua Cotter’s debut, Nod Away fills a void that makes the author’s eight-year absence all the more apparent. hillary brown

18. harrow county

writer: cullen bunn artists: tyler crook, carla speed mcneil editor: dark horse comics

dark horse’s eerie and atmospheric flagship title continues to dive deep into a southern nexus of horror, folklore, and nostalgia. Most of the series has focused on Hester Beck, a witch woman who wasn’t afraid to make fabulous deals with the townspeople. but that plot has branched out in a myriad of equally chilling and visually arresting directions. More importantly, writer Cullen Bunn and artists Tyler Crook and Carla Speed ​​McNeil keep a dark and magical heart beating throughout Harrow County, even as they expand their borders. his book of enchanted tales remains dangerous and alluring, disturbing and melancholy. it is an adequate look at the past; Although it may seem kinder and simpler, it obscures a history of violence and discord that waits to flare up again. sean edgar

17. midnight/midnight and apollo

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writer: steve orlando artists: aco, fernando blanco, various editor: dc comics

It was disappointing, if not surprising, when Steve Orlando and Aco’s Midnighter came to an end in early 2016; The title “DC You” was a critical success and a fan favorite for its expansion of DC’s “violent gay Batman” into a full-fledged (and still very violent) protagonist, but sales never matched the near-universal praise. from the book. Despite being the first successful integration of wildstorm characters into DC since the two universes merged in 2011, midnighter seemed destined to become a high-quality footnote as rebirth remodeled dc’s shelf space. midnighter and apollo, the six-issue sequel with new artist fernando blanco, takes the sting out of the original title’s cancellation by offering the bloodiest, most homoerotic take on orpheus and eurydice than the world of superheroes has been. ever seen, as Midnighter fights his way through Hell to rescue his lover, solar-powered Apollo. for dc readers worried that rebirth could turn back the clock on queer representation, orlando and white shines’ sexy, violent, epic and, yes, romantic miniseries when it’s needed most, and hopefully bodes well for Midnighter’s continued leather-clad presence in the DCU. steve foxe

16. patience

writer/artist: daniel clowes editor: fantagraphics

Colored in flat, desaturated tones that readers of clowes will instantly recognize, patience is the longest work by the ghost world author to date. the story of a man who travels back in time to rewrite history and save his wife, the book stumbles and falters at several key points. the policies are not clear and, at times, he falls prey to the same objectifying gaze that he seems to criticize. but it is ambitious and complex, and it deals with a set of emotions, honestly, forcefully and extensively. the clowes family work is intact and the book feels timeless. or rather, clowes nostalgically evokes a hodgepodge of bygone aesthetics, imbuing patience with a lust for a time that didn’t even exist.

The book has received both incredible praise and worthwhile criticism, but regardless of how you end up feeling about it, it really is something you should read for yourself. shea

15. cosplayers

writer/artist: dash shaw editor: fantagraphics

This collection of dash shaw’s introspective dives into the most theatrical element of comic fandom oozes humanity and texture. while the cartoonist’s earlier works like new school and doctors weren’t afraid to suspend realism for wildly inventive versions of exploratory fantasy and sci-fi melodrama, cosplayers borrows from shaw’s intimate observations on con floors. The perfectness of the title is especially interesting, as the art and characters are imperfectly designed: instead of depicting facsimile versions of the genre’s gods, mutants, and culture heroes, Shaw’s mission is to make the characters impeccable. mundane: making reality asymmetrically reflect surreality. For fans of Adrian Tomine and Dan Clowes, this is essential sequential art. sean edgar

14. the legend of wonder woman

writers: renae de liz artist: renae de liz, ray dillon editor: dc comics

dc comics offered fans a host of amazon origins this year, from jill thompson’s beautiful wonder woman: the true amazon to the controversial wonder woman: earth one by grant morrison and yanick paquette. > to greg rucka, nicola scott and liam sharp soft reboot of rebirth in continuity. For our money, the last unicorn illustrator renae de liz did better than diana this year in the legend of wonder woman. This nine-issue outing retells Wonder Woman’s origin on Themyscira and her first encounter with the world of man in a way that distills the best and most hopeful aspects of the character for a new audience as well as the legion of fans. of Wonder Woman dissatisfied with her inconsistent treatment over the years. Illustrated with clean lines and a clear respect for the subject, the legend of wonder woman vol. 1: origins is the best sequential introduction to a character everyone will be talking about in 2017, as the heroine becomes the first female character to headline a solo superhero movie. steve foxe

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13. moon police

writer/artist: tom gauld editor: drawn & quarterly

tom gauld is the book lovers cartoonist. his comics regularly appear in high-profile populist publications such as the guardian and new scientist, where they focus on literary genres, both fiction and non-fiction. they’re silly, but in a serious way, where a dry-as-sandpaper delivery makes absurdity fun. Gauld demonstrates a very British way of executing humor: the appearance of loud attention-grabbing is vigorously eschewed for more informal methods of engagement. at the same time, comics are swimming in melancholy, even when they aim to make you laugh. Gauld’s simplified forms, often appearing in silhouette, have slender arms and legs. if they have faces, he often defines those faces with just eyes and an occasional nose. this visual technique, along with the restrained body language of the figures, can make the characters appear dejected, and an atmosphere of failure pervades the strips (because failure is so much more fun than success).

his latest work, mooncop, is a great exercise in moderation: a brief page count, panels with an ernie bushmiller level of minimalism, emotions expressed with body language and few words. however, despite its location, it is not without air. gauld mixes sweetness and melancholy in a thin but not light story. hillary brown

12. black hammer

writer: jeff lemire artist: dean ormston editor: dark horse comics

Jeff Lemire’s portrayal of a dreamy rural (surrural?) town and the family of retired superheroes inexplicably trapped within its borders remains one of the author’s most captivating and melancholic titles in years. the comic moves from the characters’ nostalgic battles of the past to the conflicts raging inside their heads as they navigate involuntary retirement. Ultimately, black hammer is an accessible and articulate comic that would be welcome for fans of post-prime time shows like the leftovers and the path. , drawn with vigorous darkness by dean ormston. sean edgar

11. monstress

writer: marjorie liu artist: sana takeda editor: image comics

monstress may flaunt an exterior filled with unicorns, multi-tailed cats, and angelic warriors, but like her titular heroine, she hides something far wilder on the inside. seriously: shit gets really dark really fast. Writer Marjorie Liu and artist Sana Takeda fearlessly tackle human trafficking, experimentation, and the horrors of war through the tribulations of Maika Halfwolf, a survivor who hides a bloodthirsty giant in her soul, both metaphorically as well as literally. takeda contrasts an escapist world and lovable character designs against unflinching horror, shining a light on the brutality of war no matter the context. liu has also built an ornate background mythology, where ruthless humans, body-harvesting witches, and magical hybrids don’t even try to co-exist. While plot density and exposition currents don’t make monstress the most accessible comic, there’s nothing like it in the stands. sean edgar

10. ghosts

writer/artist: raina telgemeier editor: scholastic graphix

raina telgemeier is our generation’s ambassador for comics, producing poignant and funny graphic novels that not only reach a wide readership, but appeal to people outside of the male adult demo most associated with the medium. . ghosts adds an intoxicating dose of magic to the cartoonist’s masterful grasp of character and relationship; the protagonist catarina’s family forces her to move to a gloomy norcal town to help her sister, who is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Ladybug not only accepts the presence of the playful undead, but she also faces issues of mortality. great topics for a children’s comic, right? Let Telgemeier articulate overwhelming concepts with kindness and clarity, as she fills her panels with a dizzying array of dancing skeletons and grinning demons. sean edgar

9. the evil + the divine

writer: kieron gillen artists: jamie mckelvie, various publisher: picture comics

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Few books capture the spirit of the times like the evil + the divine. The gods of yesteryear are back as cranky, prissy teenage pop stars, adored by countless fans for two years and then extinct… only someone is extincting the current pantheon before its time. Creators Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie bring all the skills they’ve honed over the past decade of collaboration to their work at Wicdiv, from Mckelvie’s expert facial “acting” to Gillen’s knack for the perfect “wish-I-would-have-thought- in-say-what-during-my-last-breakup” dialog. wicdiv, much like saga, knows exactly how to leave its audience gasping and eager for the next issue, and his ability to reach readers beyond the usual comic book store regulars makes him one of the best — the best cultural ambassadors in the medium — what could have been a cynical feud about Rihanna, Kanye, Gaga and Other Overexposed Pop Stars has become a meditation on mortality, morality, and the seeming invincibility of youth, with plenty of flair and sheer coolness to spare.steve foxe

8. big kids

writer/artist: michael deforge editor: drawn & quarterly

the experience of reading big kids is almost synaesthetic; it puts inarticulate emotional states into unrelated images that evoke those feelings with pinpoint precision. how can a page of six panels of two intertwined wavy lines suggest a sexual encounter between teenagers? Does guilt and shame translate into a body slowly absorbing raindrops that feel like little balls of heavy metal? How do you draw the concept of becoming aware of a new dimension of thought and feeling? big boys sets crazy, ambitious goals, and artist michael deforge doesn’t always achieve them, but his work here is reliably intellectually and emotionally intelligent, as well as garishly beautiful. hillary brown

7. the vision

writer: tom king artists: gabriel hernandez walta, michael walsh publisher: marvel comics

Under the direction of Tom King, The Vision was Marvel’s most interesting character, thanks to this witty, surprising and magnificent series illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta and Michael Walsh with colorist Jordie Bellaire. The premise is simple: the Synthezoid Avenger literally becomes a family and moves to the suburbs. Needless to say, shenanigans do occur, but not the kind of winking, not-quite-funny shenanigans of most “wacky” Marvel titles – in this comic, sci-fi horror unfolds unflinchingly and tragically. like a lost play by shakespeare ( the visions of verona?). this is a violent, over-the-top nightmare and an eye-opening look at domesticity. mark pedros

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6. hot dog taste test

writer/artist: lisa hanawalt publisher: drawn & quarterly

lisa hanawalt’s second collection of work isn’t just about food, it also has blurbs from momofuku’s david chang and pulitzer prize-winning food critic jonathan gold on the back, so the food is definitely a big part of it. most writing about food can fall into insufferable extremes: too full of adjectives, too rude, too focused on morality at the expense of deliciousness, too boring, too smug, and/or too much about the writer. hanawalt manages to avoid any of these traps. she appreciates strange foods without seeming like a dilettante and expresses her love of junk without seeming like a glutton. she even can be directly autobiographical without being annoying, exemplified in her comic about how she prefers well-cooked egg yolks. one explanation is that she keeps things short instead of getting carried away with 6000 words at breakfast. a better reason is that her comics about food are no different from her comics about anything: the product of a mind with a wonderfully strange perspective. hillary brown

5. paper girls

writer: brian k. vaughan artist: cliff chiang publisher: image comics

Set in the 1980s, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls find themselves threatened by something even stranger and more malevolent than teenagers. In this sci-fi mystery, writer Brian K. vaughan brings the heart and charm of saga to a story about kids that isn’t just for them. this title is also a strong contender for the most kirbyesque current comic. The main characters are a genre update of the King’s many boy gangs, and Cliff Chiang’s art is bold and innovative. Whether illustrating a sci-fi contraption or a drunken stepmother, Chiang’s clear lines (and Matt Wilson’s evocative daytime colors) convey the wonder, fear and excitement of adolescence. This is one of the best recent comics to share with your friend who doesn’t read comics, especially if he yearns for the 80’s. mark pedros

4. dark night: a true batman story

writer: paul dini artist: eduardo risso editor: dc comics/vertigo

More than two decades ago, Batman: The Animated Series writer, producer and editor Paul Dini was attacked by two men with such ferocity that parts of his skull were “powdered”. The event ignited a crisis of faith in Dini, who struggled with her day job of telling stories of good perpetually triumphing over evil when…sometimes it doesn’t. is irresponsible? Do the men and women in costume offer easy escapism that discourages their fans from acknowledging the seriousness of existence?

What begins as a harrowing autobiography turns into something much more daunting and analytical, testing the very concept of fiction. Artist Eduardo Risso presents Dini’s narrative with startling violence and sultry, moody palettes, balancing the impact of the event around a whirlwind of failed romances and supportive friends. but dark night isn’t just beautiful, it’s one of the bravest and most intelligent expressions of the medium in recent memory. sean edgar

3. panther

writer/artist: brecht evens editor: drawn & quarterly

let’s cut to the chase: panther is fucking scary. Belgian cartoonist Brecht Evens covers similar ground as the previous graphic novel, Nocturnal Animals, which shows the dangers of little girls cavorting with storybook monsters. In this lush watercolor fever dream, teenage Christine bonds with the titular talking cat that emerges from the lowest drawer of her dresser. Panther regales Christine with fanciful tales of Pantherland before displaying a mix of red flags, including emotional codependency, inappropriate touching, and incomplete, incomplete, and incomplete friends. As their time together increases, Panther takes the tension of the comics to its most poignant extremes, and trying to reveal a metaphor or resolution is just as unnerving. As an unholy love child between Winnie the Pooh and Harmony Korine, Panther is the harrowing comic event for 2016. Sean Edgar

2. the sheriff of babylon

writer: tom king artist: mitch gerads publisher: dc comics/vertigo

The Sheriff of Babylon is a murder mystery set during the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s rule, though the audience is fully aware of who murdered whom and why. writer tom king makes the most of alfred hitchcock’s advice to allow the viewer to feel empathy through the characters rather than themselves. Watching police trainer Christopher, diplomat Sofia, and disgruntled ex-cop Nassir collide and repel each other is far more tense than any clue-hunting exercise could be, and more addictive. But it’s the little details and the delightful bits of characterization that make this dissection of one-sided politics so impressive. In a subject that is often morally oversimplified, King draws on his years as a CIA agent to explore a world with onion layers of morality. when sofia says, “there’s something about dirty arab kids that makes senators say yes,” there’s a dim realization that countless variations of this conversation fuel all scenarios of war and reconstruction. the sheriff of babylon is a thinking man comic based on the horror of realpolitik, where the corpses of patriotism litter the battlefields of yesterday. sean edgar

1. March book three

writers: congressman john lewis, andrew aydin artist: nate powell editor: world-class productions

Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell conclude the autobiography of Lewis’s journey through the civil rights movement, and the importance of this book cannot be overstated. Lewis played an integral role in the fight against racial inequality throughout the 1960s (and beyond), and these graphic novels have expertly captured that battle, whether against Jim Crow legislation or even state authorities. trying to block the movement’s election campaign in alabama.

The very fact that the creators chose the comic medium speaks to the versatility and power of the genre. Artist Nate Powell’s expressive facial expressions and soulful streets infuse a sense of melancholy and hope into this defining chapter of American history. With this ending, it is impossible to imagine a work with this degree of emotion, immersion or relevance as anything other than the narrative of the year. sean edgar

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