2020: Best Comics

In 2020 I read a lot of comics - it was a lockdown thing. Also a Humble Bundle thing, they’ve done some great packs from Image and Humanoids (as you’ll see). Due to this, the comics have mostly in eBook form on a tablet, although I did starting buying physical editions of the ones I liked. Here’s the comics I’ve read that I really liked, in order, starting with my favourite.

1. Criminal series - Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It turns out I’m a sucker for dark noir that’s tragic (and beautifully inked). There’s loads of these, and I’ve started buying them in hardback. The stories intertwine, so ideally start at the beginning, but to be honest, it doesn’t matter. Even if you read in reverse order, I don’t think there would be any spoilers. I’d have bought all of them in physical form by this point, but the early deluxe hardcovers are between print runs at the moment.
2. My Boyfriend Is A Bear - Pamela Ribon and Cat Farris. It’s your classic girl/bear romance story. I bought it on a whim during a business trip in February, even though the plot doesn’t sound like it makes any sense. And it kinda doesn’t, but it’s just great.
3. We Stand On Guard - Brian K. Vaughan and Steve Skroce. Deadpan silliness about Canada being invaded by the USA. It’s a straight story of future-mech violence but with some very silly jokes (of course the Quebecois only speaks French) that are ignored by the characters. And the double-page spread of Parliament Hill being nuked is very impressive!
4. Abigail and the Snowman - Roger Langridge. Children’s cartoon about Abigail and the yeti that only she can see. It is a hug in book form.
5. The Black Incal - Jodorowksy & Mœbius. An older style of comic which I find a bit harder to get into, but it’s got a lovely mood, now it’s virtually retro-futurism. It’s also excellent research for playing Ultraviolet Grasslands. And of course now I see Jodorowsky and Mœbius’ stuff everywhere¹. Some of their other stuff is just softcore pornography though.
6. Plutona - Jeff Lemire. Another children-focussed comic, but definitely not a hug. This is a bit more like Stand By Me - a bunch of kids find a dead superhero, and, uh, they don’t all react well to it.