Advertisement 1

Graphic Novels: Dan Brown's top picks of 2020

Article content

One thing about this year that didn’t suck was the work done by comic creators, both locally and elsewhere. Here’s my annual list of the best in graphic novels.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

1. Bix

For sheer ambition, I have to give it to Stratford’s Scott Chantler for this wordless biography of forgotten jazz player Leon Bix Beiderbecke, who died in 1931 after a career that was truncated by hard living. In 2020, Chantler took the form to places it has never been.

Article content

2. Wendy: Master of Art

Maybe I loved this satire of academe so much because I got my M.A. at the University of Hell (the University of Guelph). Or because, I too, taught classes there while hungover. Bravo, Walter Scott.

3. Paul at Home

National treasure Michel Rabagliati returned with this tale of a frustrated middle-aged Montreal cartoonist who can’t cope with life’s inevitable changes.

4. Snotgirl: Is This Real Life?

Former Londoner Bryan Lee O’Malley gave us the third instalment in his satire of the social-media generation, and I hope he keeps them coming.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

5. Moms

All I ask from a comic is that it have compelling characters in interesting situations. That’s what Yeong-shin Ma does with this tragicomedy about four desperate women in Seoul.

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Find some of Dan Brown’s latest reviews on Instagram

6. Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics

Tom Scioli did the logical thing, publishing a graphic novel about the one talented person — my personal hero, Jack Kirby — who had more impact on comic books in the history of the form than anyone else.

7. Jenny Jinya’s Loving Reaper online cartoons

These virtual comic strips about doomed pets who find solace in the afterlife upset me, confounded me, but most of all they moved me.

8. I Know You Rider

I may not want to be Leslie Stein’s friend, but I have all the time in the world for her observations about modern life, be they bite-sized or in a longer narrative as here.

9. Superman Smashes the Klan

Written by Gene Luen Yang with art by Gurihiru, this comic aimed at young readers tells the story of how the Man of Tomorrow got the courage to tell the world he is an immigrant from outer space. A nice companion piece to 2019’s They Called Us Enemy from George Takei.

10. Glenn Ganges in The River at Night

Kevin Huizenga tells the story of one man’s struggle to fall asleep — something we can all relate to during this unsettling year.

danbrown@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/DanatLFPress

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers