It’s that time of year, time to do a year in review. Last year, I did a 12 Days of Crowdfunding. It would have been impossible to do so this year due to the volume of crowdfunded books that I purchased. So, instead, I took a look over my purchases of the last year and found a Top 10 formed rather easily. Wanna know what I REALLY enjoyed reading…that wasn’t a Phoenix Production? Read on…
ONE
Blade Runner 2029 from Titan Comics concluded in 2022, and the 12-part story continued driving forward from the 12-part Blade Runner 2019. Blade Runner Ash’s character grows that much older (and more conflicted) while the replicant community gets that much bolder.
If you like Blade Runner, or the cyberpunk genre in general, this series is just outstanding. Blade Runner 2039 has just kicked off, and I can’t wait to read it.
Oh, and the art? Andres Guinaldo is awesome. I love his work so much that I bought two original pages from the 2019 series.
TWO
Perhaps THE breakout title for me of 2022 was The Human Target. I’m a fan of Tom King’s writing, and his whodunnit tale of Christopher Chance trying to figure out his murderer in 12 days (which correlates to 12 issues pretty well) is great.
But it’s the transcendent art of Greg Smallwood that makes this book appointment reading as soon as it gets to my desk. Infusing vintage 50’s/60’s commercial art style with modern technology and storytelling, Smallwood has come up with a form of comics art that I did not know was possible.
Gorgeous, gorgeous book.
THREE
Another Tom King book, another miniseries, another amazing tale. This time, Supergirl travels through the cosmos to help a young girl bring the murderer of her parents to justice. Using a plot formula that King acknowledges was lifted from the classic film, “True Grit,” Kara and Ruthye have one incredible adventure.
On the art, Bilquis Evely is another revelation. How does King keep getting these amazing artists?
FOUR
I really don’t know why I bought this book but am so glad I did. The Sound of the World By Heart from Magnetic Press chronicles a man who lives in the crowded city of New York in total isolation for sixty days. But there’s more to it than a social experiment; he has personal issues to address. And, along the way, he opens his soul and finds love.
It’s a fantastic self-contained graphic novel. Highly recommended.
(For that matter, most everything I’ve ever bought from Magnetic Press is worthy of recommendation. They are the most consistently strong publisher going in my opinion. Go check them out.)
FIVE
Quad from Behemoth Press is a four-part miniseries of loosely-related science fiction stories. Each is a self-contained story on it’s own, written and drawn by different creators that keeps to a common theme.
I’m a sucker for good sci-fi (even mediocre sci-fi, if you press me on it). This is pretty good, and the anthology feel made the title an easy and engaging read each time.
SIX
What if you created a phone app to liberate people from the addictive quality of other apps…while making everyone addicted to yours? And what if you made it as a kid just out of college?
Zack Kaplan dives deep into this story with Mindset from Vault Comics. A small group of overwhelmed young adults stumbles onto the creation of a lifetime. Kaplan is one of my favorite writers, and 2022’s Metal Society (Image) and Break/Out (Scout) are right up there in reality-spawned science fiction comics.
Special mention to John Pearson, who delivers unique and appropriately trippy artwork. It’s a treat to read the unique story AND appreciate Pearson’s presentation of it.
SEVEN
Did you enjoy one of the best self-contained graphic novels of the last few years, Pulp? Do you enjoy seeing how three amazing creators go through the process of making such a masterpiece? Then Pulp: The Process Edition (Image Comics) is for you.
Writer Ed Brubaker hashes out how he came up with and plotted the story, then includes his entire script. Artist Sean Phillips offers blueline pencils for every single page. Colorist Jacob Phillips closes it out with a discussion of his approach to color in the book. Oh, then they present the entire finished product!
What a masterclass in modern comic book creation. I’ve got a sweet spot for process books (I made one myself, y’know), and this was such a great read.
EIGHT
Postmasters from Source Point Press was a surprising entry to this list. The dystopian tale of a mailman who has to cross the treacherous countryside to deliver That One Important Letter, while told well, isn’t entirely original. There were enough flashes of creativity to keep my interest, though, so don’t think that this is a hack script or anything.
What IS original, at least to me, is the art. I read very little (like none) manga, so the straight-up Japanese infused artwork on magazine-sized pages was a visual explosion. Of particular note was issue two, drawn by Stan Yak. WOW. I was sucked into the world that Yak presented. It wouldn’t surprise me if you were, too.
NINE
Colin Devonshire is a medical professional. And his comic, By the Time I Get to Dallas (PitDoc Press), is about an ER doc. Thing is, this ER doc is in the middle of a zombie apocalypse where all of the zombies are converging on…Dallas, Texas.
It’s an odd premise to be sure. However, I found this one on Kickstarter, and crowdfunding is exactly the place for a comic like this to get its legs. Devonshire is working on the fourth of six issues, and the first three are great. Art is more than adequate, and the story is extremely well conceived.
TEN
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the 1980’s small press phenomenon, Dishman, would return in a hardcover collected edition. But here we are, in 2022, and Black Eye Books reprinted all 12 issues of John Macleod’s The Mundane Adventures of Dishman. (I didn’t think that Miracleman would return, either, and that happened, too!)
Macleod deftly tells the story of a schoolteacher who acquires the superpower to…clean and put away dirty dishes. So of course he becomes a crimefighter! This presents all sorts of challenges, from getting started to telling his significant other to handling his day job. It’s just wonderful, and it’s sitting on my shelf. Go figure.
The book is sold out from the publisher, so you’ll have to find it on the secondary market. Good luck; it’s worth the effort.
ELEVEN
Eleven? When I only promised a Top 10? Yeah, well…
The Question, by Denny O’Neil with art by Denys Cowan and Rick Magyar, was one of my favorite titles as a teen in the 1980’s. Crusading journalist Vic Sage put on his faceless mask and, as The Question, attempted to find complex answers that otherwise would be unobtainable. There’s a ton more to it, with Hub City crumbling both physically and morally, Eastern philosophy (and fighting skills) everywhere and too few people willing to do what was right. It was just the best. Even the letters column was great.
Well whaddya know, DC Comics printed The Question Omnibus Vol 1 this year. Collecting the first 27 issues and 3 interconnected annuals with Detective Comics and Green Arrow, this massive tome was a must-have for yours truly and did not disappoint.
And then, in early December, I was able to meet Mr. Cowan at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio. He graciously sketched the title character in my book. I will treasure that one forever.
So yeah, I’m squeezing in an eleventh title.
That’s my list. A little conventional wisdom, a little off the beaten path. There were plenty of other books that I enjoyed reading – Sherman Burnett’s Matrix minicomics series immediately pops to mind as a solid, earnest read and a great example of small press hero work. But you have to draw the line somewhere.
Overall, 2022 was a decent year in comics. I’m finding myself gravitating further away from DC and Marvel’s mainline books, looking more and more toward independents and self-publishers. (But DC’s Black Label books still appear to be solid bets, as is the aforementioned Miracleman from Marvel.) There’s plenty of creativity out there, you just have to go looking for it.
What do you think? What did I miss? Leave a thought in the comments!
Phoenix Productions 