Y'know what your average critic's end-of-year list lacks? Novelty.
Which I mean, duh. Of course. The idea is to winnow the many things we've discussed with readers over the course of the year and say, here's the best of the best. It is meant to be a reflection, a rumination, on what has come — and been written about — before. Year IN REVIEW, after all.
But you know what? Screw that.
The medium of comics is too broad, and there are too many good books I haven't gotten a chance to single out, to spend precious year-end pixels figuring out new ways to say "This book I reviewed back in April? 'Member that book? Yep, still good."
(Oh, okay, FINE. Of all the comics/graphic novels/graphic memoirs/whatever we're calling them this week I or others have reviewed on NPR over the past year, I do have particular favorites. These include many books that are turning up on a lot of year-end lists (Building Stories, Sailor Twain, The Underwater Welder, Drama, Saga, The Hypo, Marbles, Are You My Mother) and some that aren't but should (God and Science: The Return of the Ti-Girls, Wonder Woman, Crackle of the Frost, Little White Duck, Gloriana).)
Go back and read what I and other folks here at NPR have said about those books. Know that it's all still true, and if you're looking for a gift, or just a good book to curl up with as the 21st century leaves its tween years behind, those are all great choices.
But here's a list of my favorite books of 2012 that I love but have not yet had a chance to hector you into reading.
First up: Ongoing comics series. Next time: Graphic novels.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
