1. Doctor 13: Architecture & Mortality by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang
2. Cairo by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker
   These two books surprised me most this year. The first presented an up-to-date yet completely new take on forgotten superheroes, reassuring me that there were still imaginative things to be said with that tired old genre without resorting to sordid sex and excessive violence. Gorgeous art by someone with a solid grasp of all the necessary skills helps. The second came out of nowhere (at least for me, who hadn’t heard of it or the creators previously), tackling a Middle Eastern adventure in a modern, exciting way with distinctive, emotional characters and a thought-provoking take on a significant part of the world.
3. Nothing Better by Tyler Page
   Everyone thinks they can do a story of college life, because it seems so simple, especially to the majority of the audience who’ve been through academia. That’s not the case, because realistic characters, and especially dialogue, are harder to do than you might think. Page gets it right. He even covers a subject most are afraid to tackle in depth, religious belief, with sensitivity and understanding through the story of two first-year roommates getting to know each other and themselves.
4. Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot
   Not as much a graphic novel as a happening, made up of bits and pieces of every kind of image and graphic design. An unusual blend of pictures and text that eschews the usual panel borders or page grids to immerse the reader in a phantasmagoric trip through Talbot’s mind and the history of this particular area of Northeast England. Nearly impossible to describe accurately, it must be experienced.
5. Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
   A quiet exploration of family in the face of Tel Aviv terrorism told through deceptively simple styling. The most “novelistic” of the books on this list.
6. Age of Bronze: Betrayal Part One by Eric Shanower
7. A Treasury of Victorian Murder: The Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary
   Both of these are just plain old good comic storytelling with juicy subjects. Age of Bronze retells the Trojan War with detailed, precise linework and emphasis on the people politics of the day. Victorian Murder is the historical equivalent of a tacky talk show, exploring what drives people to graphic crimes in long-ago times. This time, it’s a murderous family in frontier Kansas knocking off travelers in Geary’s distinctive thick-lined style.
8. First in Space by James Vining
   An impressive debut that reminds us of the contributions animals have made to science through the story of the first chimpanzee in space.
9. Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, and Marc Hempel
   The best of DC Comics’ Minx line, aimed at teenage girls, follows the same “young woman finding herself” formula, but it does it so well.
10. The Annotated Northwest Passage by Scott Chantler
    This reissue collects the adventure series in a handsome hardcover with author’s notes. It covers the struggle over possession of a key fort on the Canadian wilderness frontier just before the Seven Years War. Chantler’s art combines the best of a simplified, cartoon-influenced style with historical research for the story of an old-fashioned hero.

And then there’s my favorite manga of 2007 or my best of 2006 list for comparison.

• The Plain Janes
• Re-Gifters
• Clubbing
• Good as Lily
• Confessions of a Blabbermouth
• Kimmie66

This completes the first year of Minx. Interestingly, Karen Berger when interviewed a year ago about the line, said there would be seven Minx releases in 2007. Which book went missing?

Valerie also looks at the line as a whole up to the point she posted.

Due in 2008

They do plan seven books for 2008, including work by Joelle Jones (12 Reasons Why I Love Her) and Steve Rolston (One Bad Day).

I’m more excited about the artists than the writers because the latter are performance artists, novelists, journalists … the kind of non-comic-writers that have caused some of the pacing and structure problems in the line’s books so far. (I hope the former Vertigo editor doesn’t have that problem!) At least this time the majority of writers are women, and they finally got around to including their first female artist (Joelle Jones)!

Looks like David Hahn still isn’t returning to Private Beach, as he’s done All Nighter about “an angry young punk rocker” (oh joy). And the only sequel so far is to the worst of the bunch, Clubbing in Tokyo. My guess at 2008’s best? Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly’s The New York Four, about new college students.

The Big Question

Is the line a success? I don’t pay attention to sales figures much, so I don’t know how well the books are selling either in the direct market or in the bigger bookstore field. That they’re doing a second year says to me that they still are optimistic about the idea. I’m guessing the books are most popular among schools and libraries, since they’re classically styled stories (teenage girl learns life lesson) that are easy to justify for purchase. I have yet to hear anyone really excited about them, though, in any market.

It’s such a pain in the butt when you don’t know your friends’ real names. I mean, people who live outside the lairs just don’t have problems like this, do they?

Kimmie66
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(Ok, that’s early on — there’s more to come.) I could relate. I don’t game or get involved in MUDs or networking sites (both of which are similar to the “lairs” described here), but anyone who spends a lot of time online has had the problem of how to talk about it to offliners.

Alexovich’s distinctive look works better for me here than in Confessions of a Blabbermouth, since most of the settings are artificial. His exaggerations fit better in such an environment, although some events are a tad unclear. I love Telly’s hair (the girl on the cover, our hero) with the way it looked as though a spiky octopus has taken up residence on her head, flopping every which way.

Telly’s friend Kimmie isn’t quite gone yet, though, reappearing as a ghost when Telly connects, which leads Telly to investigate further. It’s only after a significant event forces things that you realize how much you might not know or how much you’ve assumed about the people you call friends. In a world where you relate based on which fantasies you prefer (and thus decide how to tag yourself), you have to accept how people present themselves, or be constantly rude.

This is the most imaginative Minx title, and one that has at its core something beyond “learning more about the person the teen girl is or will be”. It allows Telly to focus on someone other than herself, so from an intellectual perspective, it attracted me more than the other books. I still like Re-Gifters best, though, because I like that girl the most of all the leads.

David Welsh faintly praises the book, and this interview with the author explores more of the question of identity.

Good as Lily
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Why now? Because Grace is unsure of where her life is going to take her, and her other selves aren’t very reassuring. The 29-year-old is single. The 6-year-old only wants to eat constantly. And the eldest is an annoying pain. This is a turning point for Grace, her chance to experiment with love and being the lead in the school play before she heads off to college and adulthood.

The exposition is naturally presented, with all of Grace’s friends introduced as they give her birthday gifts at a surprise picnic. Best friend Jeremy wants to be more, something subtly clear to the reader from their introduction to him. Typical of the high school age, though, Grace needs more of a nudge. She’s distracted by her crush on Mr. Levon, her drama teacher.

Particularly impressive in terms of the writing is how Kim balances the voices. All four women are Grace, so they should all sound like her, but at the same time, they’re distinctive in their concerns and attitudes, as demonstrated when they first meet and squabble. Plotwise, the book is dense, with plenty happening. The reader is involved in events at just the right level — they’re not spelled out simply, but everything’s there if paying attention.

They’re well-selected for visuals, too, like a car wash and a food fight and family dinner, all choices that allow for lots of character movement and varying angles. It’s also great to see the classic mean girl showdown resulting in Grace standing up for herself instead of running away in embarrassment.

I love the images of Grace swinging at the magic pinata that spurs the story. I can see her moving, and the montage effect captures the wild nature of blindfolded batting. That almost makes up for not understanding exactly how all this happens, with the other versions of herself, but that’s not really the point of the story, either. It’s a Maguffin — accept it in order to get to the point. Which is that being open and honest with others about how you feel is always much better off in the long run.

One thing Minx gets very right is their usage of cultures and backgrounds beyond the white Midwesterner. It’s neat seeing Grace and her Korean family and friends presented so naturally. Paul O’Brien also enjoyed the book. Hamm has been interviewed and shares eight art tips. There’s an online preview if you click through the publisher’s promo site.

Re-Gifters
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The art is by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel. With Carey, the three previously worked together on My Faith in Frankie, and their whimsical-yet-grounded approach also fits well here. The story’s packed with events and characterization, making the time spent on it feel worthwhile and fulfilling, and their quirky style makes the book distinctive while keeping it easy to read. The book’s inhabitants radiate their emotions, drawing the reader in, especially when help comes from unexpected places.

The short chapters focus on key ideas and incidents. Get in, be amusing, get out and move on. Often, as the quickest way to get to the point, Dixie narrates to the reader. Her best friend Avril calls her “spiky”, and so she is, making her much more interesting than the typical generic teen protagonist. Dixie feels things deeply, has a temper, and acts out when she can’t help it; she’s a realistic girl, and a likable one. (Avril is pretty cool, too, especially when she quotes Dorothy Parker on LA: “thirty-two suburbs in search of a city.”)

The cultures Dixie navigates likely won’t be familiar to many readers, between her Korean family interested in maintaining their traditions while being successful in America; the expectations of the martial art she practices; and the urban LA neighborhood she lives in. That’s a bonus, that the settings are unusual. It helps the reader feel informed as well as entertained. What’s the point of experiencing key events in a life just like yours? Someone different but relatable is much more of a stretch for both reader and creator.

The best part of the story is the way Dixie’s biggest reward comes after she finds and becomes comfortable with herself and her strength. Romantic success isn’t shown as fulfilling in itself, but a reward that comes after you know what you want and can do. That’s a refreshing take on teen crushes and a healthier message than many other stories aimed at and featuring that age group.

But the book isn’t some kind of disguised medicine, a moral lesson learned, or travelogue to say “why can’t we all get along?” It’s quite funny and deeply entertaining. Dixie puts the emotions she can’t express into her martial art, as well as enjoying beating people up. (She’s quite good at it.) She’s a tough girl with a family who loves her and drives her crazy (especially the younger twin brothers), learning what matters to her.

There’s a Minx website. Compared to the other titles released so far (The Plain Janes and Clubbing), Re-Gifters is clearly the stand-out of the line. Mike Carey has been interviewed at CBR.

I thought the premise — London goth gets sent to stay with her grandparents in the country; she sees it as punishment, we know it’s a chance for her to grow up and learn core values — had potential. Goodness knows it’s well-worn and -loved in a certain kind of teen novel. But both the plotting and the art are mediocre.

Clubbing
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Artist Josh Howard is apparently only capable of drawing one teen girl. The lead here, Lottie, looks just like the girl from his previous book, Dead@17. Both are designed to be suitable for posing, but when it comes to sequential art, Howard’s work is static, with no sense of movement or flow. He’s thus best suited for postcards, not comics, or some other format that consists of pinups on a small scale, especially if they require closeups of large, round heads.

As for the story… it goes through several phases, as though the writer was thinking “hang on, that’s not working, let’s try this”. First is the cool socialite introduction: Lottie lives in London, goes to hot clubs, buys the latest, hippest fashions. Much of this is told, not shown (see above for why). From her first page, she’s full of herself, describing herself in first-person narration as looking “like a silent movie star wearing dissolution lip gloss”. Watson seems to have the idea that introducing something — a place, a brand name — to those perhaps unfamiliar with it is equivalent to doing something interesting, a problem that extends to the country travelogue that makes up the next section of the book.

Lottie is sent to her grandparents, misses her internet, and wanders around narrating. Perhaps if I was younger and less familiar with both human nature and England I’d be more intrigued by this. However, although the book makes a big deal out of its foreignness, to the extent of including a translation lexicon of British phrases, I found it all comprehensible. Perhaps I’ve seen enough Britcoms where none of this is unusual or exotic to me. The book seems to be counting on fascination-based-on-unfamiliarity to carry over the rough patches where characters wander in and out with a distinct lack of three dimensions. That’s especially a problem when it comes to the young love portion.

I think Lottie’s self-centeredness is supposed to be charming, or at least have potential, but I found her boring. (If you like this sort of thing, you can find it free on livejournal any time.) And then there’s the ending, in which things take a definite, non-foreshadowed turn into the kind of plot that fueled tons of Scooby Doo cartoons, only here, the monster is real. With more charm, it could have been Buffy-like, but it falls short.

David Welsh, in his review of this title, sees similar problems but is kinder about them. I’m probably being too harsh, just because I had such high hopes given the writer (a favorite), the setting (I’m an Anglophile, too), and the fish-out-of-water premise. Instead of being influenced by her surroundings, at the end, Lottie is the same character. It’s as though she brought her urban goth fantasies with her and forced them on a place they’re not suited to.

(If you want more detail about how the ending goes wrong, read Paul O’Brien’s review.)

The pattern so far with new publishing imprint Minx (although with only three releases, trying to see a pattern isn’t really valid) appears to be that of the Star Trek movies: look for the even-numbered ones. The Plain Janes was ok, Re-Gifters (review coming) was great, this was disappointing. Based on this, I do have hope for the next one in the series, Good as Lily.

¹Caveats: I couldn’t make it through Samurai Jam, but I knew that was historical, early work. His Buffy the Vampire Slayer writing wasn’t great, but it was ok, and I haven’t yet read Paris.