Just the Best of 2013

One of the first things that I didn’t get round to doing this year was submitting my best of 2013 to the Forbidden Planet International blog, despite being asked and knowing exactly what I wanted to pick.  The interested party can take a look at what I picked last year by taking a short hop over, but what of those who hang on my every word, desperate for the advice and guidance that only I can offer? I worried about those people, certainly I did.

So, here’s my very late guide to my favourite comics of last year – expanded from my original three picks to include a couple more deserving comics that warrant your love and attention.  Pay heed, my dear hearts, for this party would say that it doesn’t get better than this:

New School by Dash Shaw

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I started reading Dash Shaw’s New School three times before I got past the first couple of chapters. Every time that I picked it up I felt compelled to return to the beginning, to get the whole story in one gluttonous sitting.  And it really is great, a wonderful science-fiction story about a boy trying to reconnect with his brother as they both butt against growing up, though in lots of ways the story is secondary to what Shaw is doing here. The pages stutter with phenomenal colour as memories of the future turn up in dreams. Thick lines bruise each page as teenage emotions break loose. It’s a fine time, and lots of fun.

Swear Down by Oliver East

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Inexplicably, Oliver East wasn’t peppering the best of lists over the course of the end of the year, which seems crazy to me.  Again, Oliver uses the course of a journey as a structure to hang a narrative off of, but this time he’s speaking about something uniquely personal as he tries to work through his feelings over the traumatic birth of his son.  I think that the very personal nature of this work has almost scared reviewers off commenting on it, but it’s engaging and honest.  I don’t, as a rule, like autobiographical comics. There are exceptions of course, when that comic has something to say, and this is one of those exceptions. By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, this is vital, excellent work that demands to be read.

Don’t Call Your Hands “Hands” by Malcy Duff

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Sneaking in at the end of the year, this is the first of Malcy Duff’s comics that I’ve read in a while, and it reminded me of why I love his work so much. Under a hand drawn cover (no pun intended) we find a deliberately paced vaudeville as a man chases his wind snatched hat.  Later, we find that it’s not a street that he’s been chasing the hat along, but rather a plank extended from the side of a ship. It’s these reversals of what we think that we are seeing on the page that Duff has trafficked in for a long time, directly forcing us to engage with what we are seeing. Don’t Call Your Hands “Hands” also features one of the most sinister moments of the year as a sinister black shape slithers into view. There is nothing quite like a Malcy Duff comic. This is no exception.

Julio’s Day by Gilbert Hernandez

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Not many people would argue with 2013 being Gilbert Hernandez’s year, in volume if nothing else.  But in the year that saw the publication of Marble Season, Maria M, Love and Rockets and more, it was Julio’s Day that really stood out to me. A recounting of 100 years of a man’s life in 100 pages, Julio’s Day had a grand sweep to it that I loved, and it was great to finally see it completed. To be honest, any of his work this year could have happily sat here.  He’s a comics treasure that man, and should be kept close to our hearts.

Violenzia by Richard Sala

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Richard Sala’s first direct to digital comic was a near plotless delight, a fantasma of violence that followed a silent assassin as she works her way through any number of targets. What makes this so special is Sala’s art – an off-kilter style that makes the most grotesque things fun to be around.  He’s been doing this for years, and just gets better.  One of the reasons I loved this so much is not only because it shows an established cartoonist embracing new platforms, but also because it represents a great shift in the way that I’ve been reading comics this year. Not to make this all about myself, but I’m more than happy to read things digitally now – and I’ve probably read more this last year than any year in the past. Sala’s right there among the top.

One thing that I do notice about these comics is the fact that they are all by creators that I was already well aware of and had an interest and affection for.  Maybe this is my own failing, in not seeking out new things as much as I should.  Hopefully I can address that in the coming year and find some new favourite that I can carry forward.  I hope we can all do the same – if any of the above are unfamiliar to you, they would make great places for you to start.



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