The Ten Best Graphic Novels I Read In 2021
I’m not usually a fan of listicles, but I understand that they’re an easy way to make recommendations and reviews in a digestible way. So, I figured why not give one a shot using the ten best graphic novels that I read this year.
Being new to comics, I was eagerly devouring anything that struck my fancy and went on a bit of a zig-zag path through genres, decades, and creative teams. I felt like I had to catch up so I could participate in any discussions, which means I may have overdone it as I read 105 graphic novels and trades this year.
In no particular order, here were some of my favorites:
The Walking Dead Compendium #4 by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard
These collections fell into my lap at the perfect time. The pandemic was making me have lots of feelings and I eventually got COVID in December 2020. Watching an ensemble cast go through similar feelings, albeit in a more supernatural fashion, was cathartic. The Walking Dead is an emotional rollercoaster, something I hadn’t yet experienced in a comic. I chose the fourth compendium in particular because it has the most emotional arcs out of all of them, and it was the first instance where a graphic novel made me cry. Unfortunately, I can’t discuss why I cried without spoiling the entire series, so my word will have to be taken at face value. If you’re a fan of the show, definitely give the books a read as they diverge in a number of ways that make them both excellent.
Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms Classics Vol. 3 by Jeff Grubbs & Rag Morales
I briefly played Pathfinder in college but was never a big fan of Dungeons & Dragons. I bought this along with many other D&D and Dragonlance books through HumbleBundle and was blown away by the quality of these stories. The third volume of Forgotten Realms Classics was by far my favorite, though truthfully, I loved most of them. This volume sees the party battling with the god Enoreth who has possessed their elven cleric, Vartan Hai Sylvar. What makes this story special is the identity crisis Vartan has to go through. As a cleric, his magic derives from his belief in Enoreth and he is oft to point out the sins of the rest of his party. When Enoreth takes over his body, he realizes that Enoreth may not be the avatar of goodness that he once worshipped. It’s heartbreaking to witness and the end of this volume made me audibly gasp.
Cognetic by James Tynion IV & Eryk Donovan
Horror comics are a bit of an uphill battle in comics. They can’t rely on jump scares, or auditory cues to build tension, so pacing and concept are crucial. Cognetic successfully did all of these things and left me feeling truly uncomfortable. The story follows five extraterrestrial beings who take over human bodies creating a sort of hive mind. Once the humans have been taken, they’re essentially dead and cannot be removed from the hive. One of the beings decides to give it all up and hosts one body permanently to live a human life, but it is all taken away. There are some gripping emotional moments throughout this graphic novel and it reminded me how life can end in an instant.
Be Gay, Do Comics by The Nib
Comics have been getting better about having representation of different sexualities and gender identities, but they still tend to be written by cishet men. Be Gay, Do Comics features only queer writers and artists and focuses on their experiences. This collection has everything from stories about crucial events in queer history worldwide to personal memoirs and fiction. At times it’s really heavy and other times hilarious. The amount of talent that The Nib gathered for this collection is astounding. As a cishet man, it was eye-opening as I learned history that was previously blind to me, and read the many personal stories of queer and transgender individuals backed by some incredible art.
Batman: The Black Mirror
This book was one of those times where the art makes and outshines the writing. Jock and Francesco Francavilla do some stunning things to make this book dark and impactful. I love how Francavilla focuses on coloring his art in almost entirely reds and blues as it reflects the metaphors and themes of the story perfectly. It was also an instance where I cared more about the supporting characters than Batman, which is why I think this book stood out. The story is incredibly creepy and personal, dividing time between Batman tackling a string of seemingly unrelated crimes, and James Gordon dealing with the return of his mentally ill son, James Jr. I don’t want to discuss it too much as I think it’s more enjoyable to go into this story blind and experience the emotional dread personally.
Hadrian’s Wall by Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel
I needed something similar to the Barbarella comics that were released this year, and this was recommended by a colleague of mine at Comic Book Yeti. I knew it was a murder mystery set in space, but I was not prepared for how character-focused and emotional was this book. Hadrian’s Wall stunningly seamlessly blends noir and sci-fi tropes and the art is beautiful and fantastically dramatic. The main character, pill-addict Simon Moore, is hired to investigate a murder on the titular ship as a quick pick me up, but decides he can’t let it remain unsolved. On top of his addiction, his ex-wife is also on board and happens to be married to the victim. He’s a classic sarcastic, damaged noir detective but thrown into a gloomy future and the amount of growth he goes through makes this a satisfying read.
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
My October was partially dedicated to reading as much by the master of horror Manga as I could grab. I started first with his short stories before diving into this monstrous tome, which served as an excellent warm-up for Uzumaki. This book made it so tense and unsettling that there were multiple nights I had to take a break to calm my nerves. Everything inside starts small and slowly builds before exploding into something incredibly disturbing. This book is thoughtfully written and will leave the reader pondering their very existence and the meaning of something being scary. I recommend approaching Junji Ito as I did so you don’t jump in unprepared especially if one is sensitive to horror and graphic imagery, but this is essential reading for any horror fan.
Grimm Tales From The Cave by Mad Cave Studios
Being a lover of Grimm’s Fairy Tales adaptations, this hit many beats for me. This collection takes those beloved stories and gives a modern makeover with a horror twist. I have a more in-depth review on Comic Book Yeti, so I won’t say much beyond this being a great collection of lesser-known Grimm’s Tales with superb writing and a wide variety of art.
Loki: Agent Of Asgard by Al Ewing & Lee Garbett
The Loki show plus this graphic novel made the character one of my favorite Marvel properties. As I did with WandaVision, I tried to read as many of the comics that inspired the show out of curiosity. I had heard that this is where Lady Loki was featured most prominently and naturally and it was the Loki story often recommended first. Al Ewing was already one of my favorite authors, so I had an idea that this would be a thought-provoking, creative take on the character, but I didn’t expect to feel sorry for him. The basic premise of this collection is that Loki, having been reincarnated back in 2011’s Journey into Mystery, is trying to erase his past sins through doing work for the All-Mother of Asgard. What’s truly going on is that Loki desperately wants to be accepted as a good person, but everyone stills think of him as devious and untruthful. Again, I don’t want to explain too much as this book is incredible and there’s a lot of surprisingly emotional bits, but this book cemented Loki as a character I want to write about in the future.
Go Go Power Rangers Vol. 1 by Ryan Parrot & Dan Mora
Like many, I reintroduced myself to shows I watched as a kid hoping to distract from the depressing pandemic. My daughter enjoyed watching the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with me, but I had some cognitive dissonance as the show didn’t hit the same as in my youth. Most times, the happy nostalgia helps me overlook some of the bad parts of my childhood tv, but I couldn’t get over how formulaic and boring was this Power Rangers show. Thankfully, I gave the comics of this franchise a chance because they reinvigorated my love. This series tackles everything I thought was an issue in the show: that the characters never seem tired or have issues in class due to missing school, that they never seem in conflict with each other, or that rangering never seems to affect their family. Ryan Parrot, and Kyle Higgins in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics, dig deep into what these kids would realistically have to sacrifice and adapt to be superheroes. They took Power Rangers and made it less about the alien fights and more about the kids. I have much more I could say, and that I like to say in a future article, but I can’t recommend Go Go Power Rangers enough.
