Next on our 2010 in Review series, we have the Best Original Graphic Novel category. 2010 was a great year in OGN’s, and there are a lot of top OGN’s not represented here simply because we’re not a heavily OGN reading site. Books like Charles Burns’ “X’ed Out” and Chris Ware’s latest entry to “Acme Novelty Library” did not make the cut, but earn esteem from the site as a whole.
Our top five releases can be found after the jump, and it’s a damn fun list we came up with if I do say so myself.
4 (tie). Koko Be Good by Jen Wang
Why It’s Awesome (David): Sometimes a book comes out of left field and hits you like a freight train, and Jen Wang’s debut graphic novel did that to me this year. With a touching story about a few wayward souls trying to find themselves amidst life in general, fully realized characters who are easy to relate to (even the vivid and energetic Koko), and lush watercolor art from Wang, this is a book that is hard not to fall in love with.
This book was easily one of my favorite original graphic novels of the year for me, and I really cannot wait to see what Wang comes out with next. If it’s anywhere near as good as “Koko Be Good,” we’ll be in for a treat from one of the freshest voices in comics from 2010.
4 (tie). Afrodisiac by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca
Why It’s Awesome (David): What do you get when you combine a deep love for blaxploitation films, classic 70’s Marvel comics, and gangster rap into the comic book medium? The answer is Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca’s “Afrodisiac,” a book that was completely unlike any other comic of 2010 but in the best way humanly possible. This book collected previous material creators Brian Maruca and Jim Rugg (the team from “Street Angel”) had made for the character of Afrodisiac and added a ton more in an effort to give small snippets from the entire fictitious run of the Afrodisiac comic.
At its core, it’s about a pimp named Alan Diesler (aka Afrodisiac) who has the love of the world’s ladies (and some that are from out of this world) but also draws the ire of a bevy of odd villains, including the Devil, Hercules, a super computer, Dracula, and most improbably, Richard Nixon. It all combines to be one of the most entertaining and original books of the year, as well as one of the most inventively illustrated. Maruca and Rugg are two of the best and most underrated creators out there, and this release put the industry on notice.
3. Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann and Janet K. Lee
Why It’s Awesome (Matt): There are few comics that truly capture magic in a unique way. From the unassuming script by Jim McCann that felt classic as much as it was brand new to the astounding artwork by Janet Lee showed us new and exciting ways to explore the visual scope of the medium, Dapper Men took the comic community by storm. In many ways this isn’t event a graphic novel so much as it is a picture book primarily being sold to adults. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it dominating any children’s section at a bookstore, however, because it would fit in perfectly. In our review here at Multiversity, we noted that the book would fit perfectly on your shelf next to copies of Where The Wild Things Are, and this claim is still true today. It’s not just an All Ages story – it’s the kind of story for everyone and anyone. If you somehow skipped on getting a copy of this comic for your home, you assuredly need to go out and find it today. Not only will your comic collection thank you for it, but years down the line the child you read this story to at bedtime will thank you all the same.
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2. Parker: The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke
Why It’s Awesome (Matt): There are several things in the world that when added together will automatically create a fantastic formula. When it comes to comic books, combining the 1940’s with Darwyn Cooke is an absolute grand slam. The second installment in Parker’s Hunter adaptations, this is the type of comic that truly reminds you of an artist’s talent. While we would love to see Darwyn Cooke on a more regular sort of comic, you can’t deny that the wait is always worth it. Featuring an intense and interwoven crime tale, the Outfit is truly Cooke showing off his massive talent with varied art styles and pitch perfect shading that evokes the classic noir era that the book resides in. While so often in this business the trick is to get work out frequently and often, it’s Cooke and the Hunter books that prove that sometimes, great comics are worth the wait. With a third installment down the road, going out and finding a copy of the Outfit would be befitting to any comic book or noir fan. If there was one non-cape and tights OGN out there that you need to own before the ball drops, it’s The Outfit.
1. Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Why It’s Awesome (Mocle): This was easily the single most anticipated OGN that 2010 had to offer. So highly anticipated that I had to weave a web of lies and mystery and commit several moving violations on my way to the store in order to pick it up when I did, and they were 100% worth it. This one wrapped up the Scott Pilgrim epic so well it was almost terrifying. The story we’d been enamored with for years (okay, full disclosure, I didn’t read the first five until January of this year…but I cried during one of them, so thats almost like reading from the beginning) was given the ending it so rightfully deserved, with all major story lines wrapped up in a satisfying way from the mind of Brian Lee O’Malley. He also managed to inject the characters with the wit and personality that made them lovable to begin with, but still managed to have them grow as characters as well as archetypes. On a similar token, his art ALSO grew, and ended up being some of most detailed, fun, intricate and absolutely beautiful work we’ve seen from him since the series began (just TRY reading the Envy performance scene and not being taken aback by how good it looks.) All in all, an amazing graphic novel and an amazing end to one of the best serialized OGN’s ever written.
