The Next Ten Favorites of 2018

Last week, I published my list of the 10 Favorite Books I Happened to Read in 2018.

That list started by compiling all the books I liked from the year, then whittling away at them until only ten remained.

There were some very close calls on the list. If I made the list from scratch today, I might make different decisions. 

With that in mind, here are the Runners-Up. These are the books that just missed, most of which I could easily justify putting on the Top 10 list, if I only had a little bit more room.

The Old Geezers

This is the one I regret not fitting onto the list. I nearly went to a Top 11 just for this series. A fifth volume just came out that I haven’t read yet, but the first four are all winners. The series gets better as it goes.

These are the tales of three cantankerous old friends, and one of their daughters. One of the old men is a particularly action-oriented political protestor who gets caught up in crazy schemes to spread his word. But there are also themes of growing up and losing friends, family, and your community’s respect. They’re all about finding a new community, plotting out new sieges, and wreaking general havoc and mischief in their small town and beyond.

It’s a very funny (written by Wilfrid Lupano) and very well drawn (by Paul Cauuet) series. What more could you ask for?

Bearskin

It’s “The Godfather” of comics.

Not quite, but there is an old mobster and his young assistant. The old man winds up pouring out his life story, from abusive childhood to the rise in crime family management. There’s even a young romance that goes terribly awry.

This is a complete story in one book, and it gripped me right away. I couldn’t look away, and kept turning the pages to see what happens next. It starts a little crazy with a boy and his pet bear, but stick with it. It’s worth it.

(I haven’t done a full review of it yet, so there’s nothing to click here.  And I just learned tonight that there’s a second book on its way!)

Dad v2: “Family Secrets”

Naturally, as a father, this one is right up my alley. Thankfully, I don’t have four daughters, but I can understand the struggle. It is, as the kids today say, real.

“Dad” is the story of an under-employed thespian who somehow managed to retain custody of all four daughters he had by four different women. (We meet those women as the story moves along.)

The kids range in age from baby to teenager, so you can see all the conflicts that would naturally occur in that pressure cooker of a situation. Dad gets laughed for interfering with his daughter’s love life, his misadventures in taking care of his youngest daughter, and his tough relationships with his exes.

The gags are good and mix things up well between visual and verbal.

But it’s Nob’s art that rally wows me. It’s super cute, with an amazing color scheme unlike anything else I’m reading these days.

“Corso Maltese In Siberia”

I read my first Corto Maltese book this year. I liked it quite a bit.  I just don’t feel like I have a good handle on the character or the series based on that one book yet, so I left it off the list.

I plan on reading more Corto in 2019, so hopefully we can return to this later in the year…

The Mermaid Project

The first cycle of “The Mermaid Project” saw digital print in 2018. That includes five volumes.  A spin-off series (or maybe a sequel?) is in the works now, with the first book published in French already, I think.

This is another one of those series where I read more books than I reviewed. I did like the book in the end, but it wasn’t quite strong enough to take a Top 10 position. The art is great.  I compare it to a younger Art Adams.  The action and storytelling are always compelling, as well, in a future where the ocean levels have risen, whites are a minority in Paris, horses are in higher demand than cars, and people are being turned into dolphins.

Wait, what?  Yeah, you’ll have to read it…

Alone

This is a popcorn comic for me. I like the mystery and the action. I do want some more answers, though. We’re starting to get them in later volumes. I’ve read all eight volumes available in English. A ninth is out in France, but hasn’t been translated yet. Cinebook has been very good for the series.

There are a couple volumes from this series I could nominate. I really liked volume 8, which I’ve yet to review. I have an angle on it, so I hope to review it soon, too.

Spirou and Fantasio v13: “Z is for Zorglub”

This is the best of Franquin’s Spirou stories that I’ve read so far. It’s a great blend of the time period and the action, the art and the characters. Zorglub is compelling. Marsupilami is great to have around. The storytelling from Franquin is top notch. The relationship between Zorglub and Dr. Champignac is great fun. The now-retro futuristic vibe is charming.

I just like it, all around.  The follow-up book just hit digital (and print!) shelves last month, and I look forward to reading it soon, too.

Manu Larcenet’s Microcosm

Manu Larcent hit the Top Ten list last year with “Blast” and “Back to Basics.” A few months back, a publisher released a bunch of single volume books Larcenet did of varying styles. “Microcosm” is my favorite of the bunch.

It’s an experimental humor book, centering its humor on characters made with paint splatters. I appreciate the inventiveness and the challenge Larcenet gave himself here.

The other books that came out that day are also worth a read, by the way.  They’re more serious, and I hope to review one or two of them someday, too. 

Milo’s World v1

This got the series off to a great start. It’s a beautiful fantasy book, complete with a rich forested village and a parallel fantasy world. It’s colorful, it’s moody, and the story is compelling.

The second volume, though, lost me. It dragged on, was nowhere near as pretty visually, and didn’t do much to spark my excitement. 

There are more books in the series, but I haven’t read them yet. Hopefully, they’ll be more like the first book than the second.

Gomer Goof v3

This is where the series turned around for me. My frustrations with the first book, especially, but also parts of the second, started to fade away. 

I’m in the Gomer Goof Zone now. I like this series, and I can even go back to the first two books and find things funnier. 

I’m still not sure whether it’s because I’ve gotten used to the character, I understand him better, or that Franquin’s jokes got better.  I don’t care. I just know I really like the series, at last.

(I haven’t written a review for volume 3 yet, but I did review the first two.  See below.)

Runners Up to the Runners Up

Too many books, not enough list left.  So, quick rapid fire round:

Karma City is a well-drawn sci-fi story that only gets through about half the story before ending. I don’t know that the second half ever happened, but the first half is very satisfying.

Human Stock Exchange is a near-future take on what happens when people sell themselves on a stock exchange and their every move needs to be board approved to keep their growth rising. It’s a three part series that I liked a bunch.

Louca is a younger readers story of a boy who takes up soccer with the help of a ghost. It’s good for the younger crowd, and has a back story that’s unfurling as the series goes. I like the art a lot for this kind of story.

Lydie is a one volume book with a complete story from Zidrou and Jordi Lafebre. It’s hard to explain, even after it ends. It’s about a young woman who loses her child at birth, so the whole town goes along with her pretend baby.  It’s a beautiful book, though, so it’s worth a read.

And that wraps things up for 2018.  There are other good books that I recommended over the course of the year, but these are the best of the best.  I have to place a limit on this somewhere, or we’d be here for the next two months.

In looking back on these books, I also realize I have a lot of reviews I could be writing.  I need to catch up with my own reading!

If you give any of these books a try, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Onwards with 2019 now!