Graphic Novels

PW's annual Graphic Novel critics poll, which I oversee, is out. This One Summer was the winner, which is hard to argue with. There's also a list of books of the year selected by the graphic novel reviewers. It's a small group, but they usually get it right. I thought it would be fun to look up past winners. The very first one isn't online, but it's a pretty strong list overall, and clicking the links will immediately take you back to whatever people were talking about in comics that year:

Only two comics made the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2014 list, the ubiquitous Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by...

As a kid, Dover Books was just about my favorite publisher, bringing out fine reprints of sheet music, fairy tales, art and all sorts...

  Salon's Laura Miller has offered a 10 best Graphic Novels list for 2014, a nice eclectic mix with publisher like SelfMadeHero and Nobrow represented. The list...

The US branch of the international literary organization PEN America is holding an auction of "Firest EDitions/Second Thoughts" tpo help support its mission of...

LISTS! Michael Cavna—who will be full time at Comics Riffs next year, hoorah—has his top ten, most of which I expect to see over...

The post-Guardians partnership between Marvel and Jim Starlin continues with the second original graphic novel in a proposed trilogy about Thanos the purple skinned Mad Titan created by Starlin. THANOS: THE INFINITY RELATIVITY OGN comes out in June. While standalone graphic novels were once rare at Marvel they've gotten into the pool with the Starlin books, and some introductory books aimed at beginning (as in not experts in Marvel continuity) readers. The first book in the trilogy, Thanos: The Infinity Revelation, made the NY Times bestseller list, so it probably did all right.

By Harper Harris John Patrick Green is a Long Island-based comics creator, best known for his collaboration with Dave Roman, Teen Boat. In an announcement...

And as the end of year lists circulate, Spring catalogs are also making 2015 all the closer. SelfMadeHero has announced their Spring 2015 line, some of which has been listed here before. In recent years, SelfMadeHero has distinguished itself for a line of graphic novels both visually stunning and emotionally compelling. This list sounds equally strong.

English artist INJ Culbard has become the resident HP Lovecraft expert at SelfMadeHero with several of his adaptations of Lovecraft (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Shadow Out of Time and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath) turning into bestsellers for the Brit Literary Comics house. Well, it seems his next book is one that greatly influenced Lovecraft—and Stephen King, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Raymond Chandler and True Detective—namely The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. The 1895 short story collection centers around a sinister play called "The King in Yellow" and this title character, as well as Carcosa were used in Season 1 of True Detective, and gave the cult book a new life.

Dark Horse Comics have published the US edition of Mary & Bryan Talbot and Kate Charlesworth's Sally Heathcote, Suffragette, as of a few weeks...

By Kyle Pinion IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel collaboration between journalist/author Cory Doctorow and comics creator Jen Wang, centers on a young gamer named...