It’s that time of year! The Multiversity Year in Review is here, and from now until Thursday, December 22, we will be talking about favorites in a variety of categories. Let us know what we missed in the comments!
3. Island
(Kyle Welch) “Island” is one of 2016’s best anthologies because it represents the full spectrum of the comic medium. Much like the other greats in the genre, like “Dark Horse Presents” and “2000 AD” (the other winners), “Island” collects multiple chapters of stories over several issues from various independent creators. “Island” is an anthology that can say it spawned three of the year’s better trade releases in ‘ID’, ‘Ancestor’, and ‘Habitat’. Those stories alone for me put “Island” in the pantheon of great anthology works.
“Island” also showcases one page pinups, short stories, deconstructed comics, prose, and anything else that the medium has to offer. “Island” is not an anthology that presents the best of comics, it presents the best of what comics can be and, in many cases, should be. The best anthologies provide readers with a glimpse into new creators and stories. “Island” gives readers a glimpse into new worlds, ideas, and experiences.
2. 2000 AD
(Chris Thompson) Few companies have managed to do the anthology format well – let alone sustain it over four decades of thrill-packed material – yet that is precisely what “2000AD” have achieved since 1977. Their weekly ‘prog’ has launched a hundred properties, and even more careers – exposing the best of British creators to an international audience of eager recipients. They dare to go where others wouldn’t, honing and refining a brand of satire that is uniquely British, yet universally relatable. Where else could you find strips like ‘Judge Dredd,’ ‘Rogue Trooper,’ ‘Nemesis The Warlock,’ ‘Strontium Dog’ or ‘Mazeworld?’ It’d be easy to rest on their laurels, and just become a home for classic reprint material – there’s so much Dredd to go around – yet week-on-week their editor Tharg (in his current guise as Matt Smith) presents a fresh array of the new and different and strange.
They may not all land, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying – and, as they approach their 40th anniversary, they’re still at it. I may not get every issue these days, but I make a habit of picking up “2000AD” regularly, especially when I visit a new store. If nothing else, I want to say how glad I am that this book exists, and I’m invested in its survival. Not only that, but they host an excellent podcast which provides context on an historical and week-to-week basis for fans old and new. If you’ve fallen out of love with “2000AD,” or simply let it slip by, I’d encourage you to come back and look again … there’s always something new.
(Drew Bradley) If variety is the spice of life, then “Dark Horse Presents” is the saltiest comic in the industry. From issue to issue, there’s a wide range of creators, genres, and formats. This year skewed a little heavy on longer stories told serially and lighter on one-shots and strips, but it’s hard to find fault with that when the quality remains as high as it has. Dark Horse continues to use “DHP” as a way to introduce some less commercial ideas before launching them as separate products, and it’s worked to persuade me to buy some things I would otherwise pass over.
Whenever the conversation about “what every comic reader should have in their collection” comes up, my stock answer is always “an anthology.” Telling short stories in a comic format requires different skills than longform serials or OGNs, and they also make a different impression on a reader. If you aren’t currently reading an anthology, you’re missing out on some truly unique stories. If you give the next issue of “DHP” a chance, you probably won’t enjoy 100% of the content, but you will certainly find something in there to justify the purchase.
Continued belowEditors’ Notes
Brian: I wish that anthologies were more in vogue in comics nowadays, although we are starting to see a slight uptick in the number of US companies with regular anthologies. I’m not sure if it is the price point, or the difficulty in, sometimes, finding a jumping on point that scares people away, but there is something really satisfying about grabbing a book that has such a mix of talent and subject matter in it. If anyone out there is totally unfamiliar with modern comic anthologies, I think our top 3 would be a great place to start.
Mike: This is a favorite category of mine, and sort of feel like we could have done a top five for it easily. I remember the staff not really vining with this one last year, but this time around really turned out with a litany of nominations. And for those wondering, if we had done five instead of three we’d have included “Weekly Shonen Jump” and “Wimmen’s Comix.”
Matt: I don’t think there’s an easier way to find new cartoonists, creators, etcetera than a well put together anthology. It’s a pity that we have so few monthly anthologies, but some publishers regularly release some great book-length anthologies (Iron Circus, Northwest).
