Here’s what I thought were the best graphic novels of 2012, in order, based on what affected, entertained, and enlightened me. For more information on any of the following titles, the links take you to my reviews. This may be the first time in years that I’ve managed to review all of the titles I’m recommending before this list was due! Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney Drama by Raina Telgemeier Friends With Boys by Faith Erin […]

THRILLED to hear that Faith Erin Hicks’ Superhero Girl will be republished by Dark Horse. It’s due out in February as a $16.99 hardcover. And now, in color! Hicks is one of my very favorite creators for her clear-eyed take on young people, both visually and in terms of the stories she tells with them. See Friends With Boys for the latest example, although I’m also very fond of The War at Ellsmere.

Faith Erin Hicks continues her glimpses into the life of a freelancer by telling you how to pitch a graphic novel to a publisher. Or how she did it, anyway. As she says, They’re tough to do, because you’re trying to convey a lot through the shortest and most succinct language possible, and you’re also trying to do it in a way that is 1) enthusiastic (“you really want to buy this comic, publisher!”) and 2) clear eyed and cool […]

Tom Spurgeon posted today this thought-provoking quote: there’s a bunch of stuff out there right now on creative teams fighting and/or dissolving. It’s not something I care to link to, but you can find it pretty easily if you look around. The thing that I wanted to note is that this kind of public griping always seems to happen when comics is in a real emotionally stressful period; I think the mini-era we’re in qualifies, for sure. I think we’re […]