1. MONICA by Daniel Clowes (published by Fantagraphics):
MONICA is a mystery story in more ways than one. The title character, Monica, is an amateur detective of sorts, obsessed with the hazy memories of the mother who abandoned her when she was only a small child back in the late 1960s or early 1970s. If this is indeed a detective story, as one could reasonably argue, it's unlike any mystery ever before created. Monica's quest to locate her AWOL birth mom takes the form of a kaleidoscopic epic that spans several decades and many different genres of storytelling. Her search leads Monica into the middle of a strange New Age cult that's hiding from the outside world in a small, dead, abandoned mining town called Boondale, California. Monica's time inside this pseudo-mystic religious group, spent listening to the proclamations of its leader, is the unexpected culmination of her desperate search for an identity and a meaningful purpose in life.
During a time when the average person seems even more susceptible to accepting the wildest and most unverified claims of unhinged, authoritarian demagogues presenting themselves as proletarian soothsayers tantamount to unimpeachable deities, Clowes' masterful graphic novel seems to be using Monica's harrowing descent into madness as a mirror reflection of the rapid psychic disintegration of the United States itself.
As GUARDIAN book reviewer Rachel Cooke wrote in October of this year, "With its conspiracy theories, crank cults and hints of an impending apocalypse, [MONICA] seems to belong to the era of global warming and Donald Trump as much as it does to the past."
Part EYES WIDE SHUT mindfuck, part BREAKING BAD psychodrama, part hallucinatory film noir, part Black Lizard pulp crime novel, NIGHT FEVER is relentless thriller about a middle-aged literary editor confronted with his unrealized hopes and dreams during a European business trip gone sideways. This spellbinding examination of an average man locked in a violent confrontation with his own Jungian shadow is nearly impossible to put down.
3. BOY MAXIMORTAL #4 by Rick Veitch (published by Sun Comics):
In 2015, religion professor Jeffrey J. Kripal published a worthwhile book entitled MUTANTS & MYSTICS, the main thesis of which was that superhero comics had, for many decades, served as a vital conduit for examining paradigm-busting aspects of paranormal disciplines and experiments in alternate consciousness expansion ignored by mainstream science. Though several bestselling comic book writers such as Grant Morrison and James Tynion IV seem--judging by their output--well aware that modern superhero comic books have the potential to serve this occult function for society, in the early 1980s the only comic book creator actually tackling this subject matter in his work head-on was Rick Veitch.
Since the 1985 publication of his breakthrough superhero epic THE ONE, Veitch has been dissecting the archetypal function of postmodern superheroes in the context of an ever-expanding universe he calls THE KING HELL HEROICA, which consists of at least five volumes (six if you include THE ONE as a thematic prologue): THE MAXIMORTAL, BOY MAXIMORTAL, TRUE-MAN THE MAXIMORTAL, BRAT PACK, and DEATH OF THE MAXIMORTAL. Two of these volumes (TRUE-MAN THE MAXIMORTAL and DEATH OF THE MAXIMORTAL) remain unfinished. This past April, Veitch completed VOLUME 2 with the release of BOY MAXIMORTAL #4. Perhaps more than any other volume in THE KING HELL HEROICA, BOY MAXIMORTAL succeeds in delivering a dark, revisionist superhero saga that functions seamlessly both as mass entertainment as well as a penetrating metaphysical treatise on the significance of Jungian archetypes in world politics, the creative imagination, and the spiritual evolution of the human race itself. This is one of the very few superhero comics being published today worthy of your time and attention.
4. BLUE BOOK VOL. 1: 1961 by James Tynion IV and Michael Avon Oeming (published by Dark Horse Books):
5. I AM STAN by Tom Scioli (published by Ten Speed Graphic):
Unlike the recent Disney+ documentary, STAN LEE (directed by David Gelb), Tom Scioli's graphic novel biography about the life and times of the "legendary" Stan Lee is far from an unquestioning, noncritical advertisement for its subject. In the end, I AM STAN is a Greek tragedy about the downside of pursuing fame without having bothered to build achievements worthy of such worldwide accolades. As David Fear wrote in his June 16, 2023 ROLLING STONE film review of Gelb's documentary:
"If nothing else, Stan Lee — David Gelb’s doc on the mastermind behind the Marvel empire — serves to remind you that out of all the well-known heroes and villains he’d [allegedly] dreamed up, his greatest creation remains 'Stan Lee': the face (and mouth) of a publishing company, the ambassador for an art form, the hep-talking huckster who sold fans on the notion that they weren’t customers but part of a community. It wasn’t just that Stanley Martin Lieber changed his name, over what he claimed was an embarrassment over being a writer of comics; it was that his nom de plume gave him his own super alter-ego, a pop-art celebrity blessed with endless pull quotes and the power to locate a hot microphone anywhere within 10 miles. That’s the Lee you get in this near-hagiography: a peek at the man, a whole lotta the myth, and almost none of the messiness."
In Scioli's latest graphic novel, we're privy to far more of that messiness than in any previous attempt to document Lee's haphazard rise to Hollywood stardom. It helps that this convoluted messiness is offset by sympathetic moments in which Lee is portrayed as neither hero nor villain but as a human being--a particularly strategic, canny human being who grew up during the Great Depression and inherited an entire generation's impulse for survival that seemed to be motivated primarily by fear of poverty and/or failure. Fear can make a human being commit shameful acts, of course, such as appropriating credit for the accomplishments of others. When it comes to the question of which artistic talent was most responsible for the creative success and longevity of the Marvel Universe, it seems obvious--based on all available evidence--where the truth lies; however, to his credit as an innovator who aspires to be an insightful writer and not just a propagandist with a pet theory to shove down the reader's throat, Scioli is careful not to accuse Lee of misdeeds about which no one can ever prove definitively. In I AM STAN, Scioli presents a ROSHOMON-like perspective on truth that serves as only one part of an elegant diptych, the other half of which is represented by Scioli's previous graphic novel, JACK KIRBY: THE EPIC LIFE OF THE KING OF COMICS. If the latter book was, at its heart, a war story about a soldier's ultimate triumph in the face of overwhelming lifelong adversity, I AM STAN is in the end a horror story about the ravages of cause and effect, karmic justice, and the petard that hoists most poetically... all wrapped up in a colorful package that showcases Scioli's impressive evolution as a unique cartoonist capable of portraying key emotive moments in his subjects, all of whom come across on the page as breathing, feeling, living human beings who always seem to be in motion even during the quiet moments that occur between the many dramatic triumphs and tragedies.
6. THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ by Will Franz and Sam Glanzman with Wayne Vansant (published by Dark Horse Books):
Not only does 2023 mark the first time this groundbreaking anti-war series has been published in its entirety, but this collection includes a brand new twenty-page final chapter, earning THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ a special place on this list. THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ has long been considered one of the best American war comics ever published, alongside such iconic series as Harvey Kurtzman's TWO-FISTED TALES and FRONTLINE COMBAT, Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert's SGT. ROCK, Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert's ENEMY ACE, and Archie Goodwin's BLAZING COMBAT. The first chapter of THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ debuted in Charlton's FIGHTIN' ARMY in 1967 and continued until 1970. The series was the product of a rather unlikely collaboration. The writer, Will Franz, was only sixteen years old when the first chapter was published while the artist, Sam Glanzman, was a forty-three-year-old combat veteran of World War II. Together, this odd team produced some of the most brutal war stories published in the comic book medium, all while working under the restrictions of a mainstream comic book company that adhered to the censorious rules and regulations of the Comics Code Authority. Fortunately, Charlton was notorious for paying no attention whatsoever to what their artists were doing, a laissez faire attitude that resulted in the occasional transgressive masterpiece (such as Steve Ditko's MYSTERIOUS SUSPENSE featuring the Objectivist vigilante THE QUESTION) and THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ, the title character of which is an American soldier falsely accused of murdering his commanding officer during World War II. Schultz avoids an imminent execution by abandoning his infantry and disguising himself as a German. Throughout the series, Schultz is seen fighting alongside Nazis while desperately trying to figure out how to clear his name and return to his old life. His loyalties grow more and more conflicted as he inevitably forms bonds with his compatriots in the German army, forcing him to question the purpose of war itself. As a result, THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ is quite possibly the most existential war comic ever created.
Writing such morally complex stories during the height of the Vietnam War was not the best career move. The series ended without warning after four years, possibly as the result of government interference. According to Will Franz: "I couldn't get published anymore. I'm not sure what really happened. In 1969, a fan of mine (who was the son of someone famous) registered for the draft, and he registered as a conscientious objector. He put my name down as an influencing factor.... Shortly after that, I got a call from the [Charlton] editor's secretary, saying they were dropping the titles, and that I should send in whatever I had done on the series, and they'd pay me.... I was told a lot of Charlton sales were on military bases. They were staples on Army bases. I, and my stories, were dropped in 1969, out of the blue. Things were heating up in Vietnam. This was after [the] Tet [Offensive, circa 1968] and the real draft was started.... I was blacklisted at Charlton because a guy had put my name and stories down as one of the reasons he registered as a conscientious objector. I found out other people were throwing my name around. Someone in the Army apparently said that my stuff... was too blood and guts. It was going to make soldiers not want to 'kill the gooks.' The Army can't have that!" Though Franz did write a few more uncredited short stories for Charlton, his comic book writing career petered out soon after THE LONELY WAR OF CAPT. WILLY SCHULTZ was cancelled. It took well over fifty years for Willy Schultz's story to be completed. Alas, Sam Glanzman passed away in 2017, which meant a new artist had to step in to illustrate the final chapter. Wayne Vansant, a Vietnam vet whose work includes realistic war comics such as Marvel's THE 'NAM and well-regarded independent titles such as KATUSHA, does a yeoman's job of picking up where Glanzman left off, putting Willy Schultz's lonely war to rest at long last.
7. RED ROOM: CRYPTO KILLAZ! by Ed Piskor (published by Fantagraphics):
Humor has always been an essential component to splatterpunk. From the top of the literary strata (e.g., the dark elegance of Clive Barker's BOOKS OF BLOOD or the Boschian onslaught of historical violence depicted in Edward Lee's THE TELEVISION), all the way down to the pulp madness of Rex Miller's SLOB or Guy N. Smith's CRABS ON THE RAMPAGE, one finds gallows humor interwoven with the very DNA of violent horror. Ed Piskor's RED ROOM series takes this marriage of humor and horror to new heights. RED ROOM: CRYPTO KILLAZ!, the third and final volume of the series, is the apex of splatterpunk as social satire. What might at first appear to be an exploitative horror story about "murder for fun and profit on the dark web" (the comic's official tagline) ends up being a multilayered examination of the marriage between dehumanization and technological evolution, fragmentation and capitalism, reality distortion and identity displacement. The bloody story spans generations, establishing unexpected connections throughout the decades, linking the dawn of cinema to the Jack the Ripper murders, Charles Foster Kane to snuff films, Quentin Tarantino to Quantico, crypto coins to human sacrifice. As media theorist Marshall McLuhan (who was somewhat of a satirist himself) wrote in 1970, "When identity disappears with technological innovation, violence is the natural recourse.” If McLuhan were writing UNDERSTANDING MEDIA in the twenty-first century, he would no doubt devote a whole chapter to Ed Piskor and RED ROOM.
8. HEY KIDS! COMICS! VOL. 3: THE SCHLOCK OF THE NEW by Howard Chaykin (published by Image):
HEY KIDS! COMICS!, chronicling the turbulent evolution of the comic book industry, is a raw examination of the men and women who toiled in the trenches for decades to produce what many reasonable people considered to be little more than throwaway junk entertainment for children (disturbed children at that). The storyline begins in the 1940s and follows the progress--or lack of progress, depending on your point of view--of a sprawling cast of freaks, conmen, hacks, and the occasional artistic genius all the way into the Hollywoodization era of the comic book industry in the twenty-first century. One might say that Chaykin's vision of his chosen industry is "cynical" when it would be far more accurate to describe it as thoroughly unsentimental and realistic. This three-volume graphic novel would make the perfect template for a historically accurate television series along the lines of MAD MEN or THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL. A shrewd television producer should initiate such a project posthaste.
9. BOOTLEG SPIDER-MAN #2 by Mahdi Khene (published by Zuperhero Comics):
Over the years I've read several interviews with comic book professionals (e.g., Neal Adams, J.M. DeMatteis, and Grant Morrison) who commented that when they were first exposed to the work of foundational Marvel artists such as Jack Kirby and/or Steve Ditko as young readers, their initial reaction was one of genuine fear. The beings depicted in Kirby and Ditko's artwork did not look at all like the cookie cutter people depicted in mainstream DC comics such as SUPERMAN. There was something ugly and disturbing about them. Certainly one of Ditko's main talents was depicting worlds in which such unsettling emotions as fear and anxiety seem to be given human form. What was Peter Parker in those early SPIDER-MAN comics if not a walking/crawling panic attack? He seemed uncomfortable in his own flesh, as if he wanted to burst out of his skin and flee the four-color world in which he was trapped. Of course, all of that changed when Ditko left the book. From my point of view (and the point of view of many other Ditko admirers), what Marvel calls "Spider-Man" hasn't looked or felt like SPIDER-MAN since 1966.
A little over a year ago, an artist I'd never heard of produced a bizarre (and completely unauthorized) parody called BOOTLEG SPIDER-MAN. Ironically, I suspect this parody instills in the reader a similar sense of anxiety and unease that might very well approximate the psychic distortion once experienced by an unsuspecting ten-year-old upon picking up a random Ditko comic back in the 1960s. When BOOTLEG SPIDER-MAN opens, the title character has been unemployed for months (ever since the recent death of his Aunt May), his girlfriend Mary Jane is a DAILY BUGLE reporter who weighs about eight hundred pounds and appears to care more about stuffing her gullet with milkshakes than Peter's personal safety, and he's cursed with the face of an actual arachnid, transforming Peter's usual domestic problems into something akin to body horror. For some reason Spider-Man carries a gun around with him, and whenever he blows open the skull of a master criminal, he exhibits a visible erection in his Underoos. This madness continues in the latest installment, BOOTLEG SPIDER-MAN 2, in which Our Hero butts heads with Bootleg Batman, Bootleg Joker, and Bootleg Harley Quinn, all with bloody results. Strangely, Mahdi Khene's sardonic explanation as to what links Bootleg Batman to Bootleg Joker (and vice-versa) seems even more authentic than the psychological realism that informs Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's classic Batman graphic novel, THE KILLING JOKE.
10. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES by Koren Shadmi (published by Life Drawn/Humanoids):
In ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES, Koren Shadmi has produced a well-researched graphic novel biography about five unlikely young artists hailing from disparate areas of the globe (Wales, Germany, and New York) who come together in Manhattan to form a band destined to blow the lid off the placid toilet of 1960s pop music. Shadmi's straight-forward, documentary style contrasts beautifully with the experimental whirlwind that was the Velvet Underground's unforgettable music, bringing narrative order to the unrestrained chaos of the subject matter. The Velvets' personal lives, particularly after they hooked up with Andy Warhol in 1965, was no less chaotic than the constant melodrama swirling around the famous pop artist's Midtown Manhattan Factory; Shadmi portrays this burgeoning chaos with an attention to detail and quiet character moments, bringing sensitivity to what might otherwise be yet another series of tabloid-style, salacious incidents involving sex, drugs, and unmedicated personality disorders in conflict with each other. Wisely, Shadmi narrows his focus of the Velvets' explosive career down to an intimate story about an improbable friendship (between Lou Reed and John Cale) and how the charged product of that contentious association changed rock 'n roll forever.
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