Updated All-Time Top Rated Comics

Here is my updated list of all of the comics I've rated a 9 or above. Only one book (White Bird, with a 9), was added in 2022/2023.


9/10

All In The Family Part Two: Angel
Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse
Amulet Book Seven: Firelight
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You
Boxers
Dog Man And Cat Kid
Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
The Flutter Collection
Ghosts
Guts
Life With Archie #16
Lumberjanes Volume 3: A Terrible Plan
Lumberjanes Volume 4: Out of Time
Lumberjanes Volume 5: Band Together
Machiavelli
Rival Angels Season 3 Volume 2
Saga Compendium 1
Small Town Type #1
Understanding Comics
Warriors: Graystripe's Adventure
We Won't Be Erased
White Bird
With the Light Volume 2

9.5/10

Amelia Rules: When the Past is a Present
The Arrival
Castle Waiting Volume 1
I Kill Giants
A Monster Calls
The Prince and the Dressmaker
Vietnamerica: A Family's Journey

10/10

Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic In One Volume

Looking forward to reading more great books in 2024!

2022/2023 Comic Review Recap

As mentioned in the previous post, 2022 (especially) and 2023 were pretty unproductive for this blog. I'm back settled in the US and have just reorganized the Random Stack of Unread Comics, and I've also got lots of graphic novels and manga on the to-read shelf, so expect more in 2024. My most recent review was actually for a comic I read in 2023, so 2024 reviews will start soon.

My total number of comics read in 2022 was a miserable 3. I did a bit better in 2023, but only a bit, with a total of 18.

Highest-rated comics in 2022/2023:

Hellboy: The Wild Hunt (8.5)
Keep the Home Fries Burning: A For Better or For Worse Collection (8.5)
The Sands of Time: Accidental Time Machine (8.5)
White Bird (9)

Lowest-rated comics in 2022/2023:

Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So-Happily Ever After (5)
Snow Drop Volume 2 (5)
Star Wars: Allegiance (4)

2022/2023 Recap: My Top 5 Books (Prose or Comics) Read

Due to internet connectivity issues in China, lockdowns, and being generally busy with plans to move home, I only added a couple of entries to this blog in 2022. There were a few more in 2023, but I never did recaps for 2022, so I am combining them here, starting with my overall top books from each year. No comics or graphic novels made the list in 2022 or 2023, mostly because I was concentrating on reading prose.

My top 5 books read in 2022:

5. The Chicken Sisters by K.J. Dell'Antonia

4. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

3. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

2. Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

My Top 5 Books Read In 2023:

5. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

4. A Game of Fox and Squirrels by Jenn Reese

3. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

2. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

1. Beloved by Toni Morrison

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1

Look! A (relatively) new comic! Bought at Bob's Hobbies & Collectibles, Springfield MA USA.

Title: Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong
Issue: 1
Date: 2023
Publisher: DC Comics / Legendary Comics
Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artist: Christian Duce
Colorist: Luis Guerrero
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
Editor: Ben Abernathy, Robert Napton

There is a lot more focus on the DC characters than the Monsterverse in this mostly-setup introduction to this epic crossover. That being said, the setup for the crossover, featuring a series of mishaps in a plot by the Legion of Doom (remember Challenge of the Superfriends?), and the Toyman in particular, as they attempt a raid on Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

Clark, meanwhile, is in the midst of getting his act together to propose to Lois (she knows he's Superman, but they aren't yet married in this version of whatever continuity we're in here), only to have the moment (of course) interrupted by the arrival of Godzilla in Metropolis. Pretty much all of the expected mayhem is saved for next issue, but the interactions between Clark and the rest of the Justice League are really good, and the interplay between the Legion of Doom is at least entertaining.

Good setup. The action was a bit on the generic side, but business should pick up (as Jim Ross would say) once the Monsterverse Titans get fully involved.

Rating: 6/10

Owly: The Way Home

Bought at a book fair at my school in Shanghai, China, in March of 2022.

Title: Owly: The Way Home
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: September, 2020
Writer: Andy Runton
Artist: Andy Runton

Two stories about Owly, a lonely owl who wants to make some friends. The first story describes how Owly meets Wormy and how they travel together to try to find Wormy's home and family, having some adventures along the way.

The second story details Owly and Wormy's friendship with Tiny and Angel, a pair of hummingbirds. Once again, there are a few adventures, but this time it's the hummingbirds who must embark on a journey as winter approaches.

This has more words than previous Owly stories I've read (I review one here), but keeps most of Owly's dialogue to symbols and pictures like in previous books.

This was a cute exploration of friendship and loyalty framed around a fun series of adventures.

Rating: 7/10

Detective Comics: The Complete Covers Volume 2

 

Bought at Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China, in December of 2021.

Title: Detective Comics: The Complete Covers
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Insight Editions
Date: 2019

Pocket-sized artbook, featuring a selection of Detective Comics covers from issues 301 to 600. This starts things off firmly in the Silver Age and it's over-the-top brightly colored goofiness, and brings up up to the Batman of the modern era. Along the way, we see the introduction of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, some redesigns of the Batman's costumes and milestone events like Batman: Year Two, and Blind Justice.

Unlike volume 3 (reviewed here), a lot of this material was unfamiliar to me. There were some really fun covers here, a few surprises in terms of crossovers (the Batman crosses paths with several of the Flash's adversaries). There is also a fair amount of silly Silver Age absurdities (Batman and Robin held captive in an alien zoo!) including a "Holy tombstone!" from Robin (who previous to the Batman TV show was more likely to go with "Great Scott!" as his exclamation of choice.

Like the rest of this series, the quality of the illustrations suffer a bit from the limitations of the book's size, but this is still a fun collection that delivers a lot of nostalgia in a small package.

Rating: 7/10

Soul To Seoul Volume 1

From the boxes of books I had in storage.

Title: Soul To Seoul
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2005
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Kim Jea Eun (English adaptation by Ellen Choi)
Artist: Kim Jea Eun
Letterer: Eva Han
Editor: Julie Taylor

This was a mix of romance, family drama, and crime drama about Korean teens living in New York City. There was a lot going on here in terms of character interactions, and the first volume just scratches the surface of all of the potential drama.

At the center of it all are rapper Spike and wannabe-gangster Kai. Kai meets Sunil, a young woman recently arrived from Korea, and Kai is willing to give up his playboy ways to date her. Meanwhile Kai's cousin arrives to disrupt the dynamics of his already complex and tension-filled family life.

When Spike gets arrested, Kai takes his first step down a dark path for the sake of bailing his friend out of jail.

This felt a bit choppy as it jumped between different plot threads and conflicts. The writer clearly had a lot to introduce in the first volume and was determined to get everything in. Some of it, possibly the character JJ's backstory, might have better been saved for a future volume. Still, the story set up a lot of intriguing elements, and ended on a strong note.

Rating: 6/10

Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So-Happily Ever After

I got this at a Little Free Library in Ludlow MA USA, and will be "releasing" it at another Little Free Library somewhere in New England.

Title: Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So-Happily Ever After
Date: 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Writer: Rachel Renee Russell
Artist: Rachel Renee Russell

This is (clearly intentionally) similar in format to Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which I've read quite a few of because my son enjoyed them. The narration is prose with frequent illustrations.

The main character, Nikki, is considerably more likeable than the Wimpy Kid protagonist, but is also a bit on the bland side. It feels like the author is trying so hard to make Nikki relatable that she's afraid to give Nikki much in the way of distinctive traits, quirks, and flaws.

This story was an homage/parody of The Wizard of Oz, with elements of other fairy tales sprinkled in, as Nikki gets knocked out playing dodgeball in the midst of a bad day at school, and dreams up (is transported to) a fairytale adventure.

She meets fairytale versions of people she knows in her own world, has some adventures (the supporting cast could use a bit more diversity), makes some friends and some enemies, gets in trouble, and gets rescued by her friends.

She also resolves a bit of conflict with her younger sister, in a scene that is genuinely tender.

There's nothing awful here, but nothing all that distinctive either.

Rating: 5/10

Snow Drop Volume 2

From the unread manga shelf.

Title: Snow Drop
Issue: Volume 2
Date: 2004
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Choi Kyung-ah (English adaptation by Sarah Dyer)
Artist: Choi Kyung-ah
Letterer: Christina R. Siri
Editor: Bryce P. Coleman

Romance begins to grow between high school student So-Na, and young model Hae-Gi. But just as things are beginning to get interesting at a party, So-Na's old rival Sun-Mi arrives on the scene.

Aside from the introduction of Sun-Mi, the plot in this volume was in something of a holding pattern. The Hae-Gi/So-Na relationship is making tiny bits of progress, but mostly these involve Hae-Gi ignoring basic consent, and So-Na continuing to try to manipulate things.

I did like the way that hints are slowly being given about some sort of connection in the past with So-Na's mother, the author of the book that gave Hae-Gi his name. There are definitely some layers of backstory that will be interesting to uncover, but this volume felt a bit transitional.

Rating: 5/10

Snow Drop Volume 1

One of many, many, unread books that I unpacked from my storage unit.

Title: Snow Drop
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2004
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Choi Kyung-ah (English adaptation by Sarah Dyer)
Artist: Choi Kyung-ah
Letterer: James Dashiell
Editor: Julie Taylor, Bryce P. Coleman

Rich-kid high school drama with a lot of tragic backstory and a fair number of plot twists. So-Na dropped out of junior high school to run the Snow Drop plant nursery. The nursery is her safe space, where she can mourn the loss of her mother. But when her father pressures her to return to school and finish her diploma, she is stuck in the same classroom with her rich and obnoxious childhood friend, Ha-Da.

Enter pretty boy (and actual professional model) Hae-Gi, who was named after a character in a novel written by So-Na's mother. He and So-Na immediately hit it off in all of the completely wrong ways, and we're off and running. The introduction of Hae-Gi's crossdressing younger brother provides a nice injection of chaos toward the end of this volume.

This was a fast-paced romance fueled by a lot of teenage angst. It suffered from some of the usual issues of "these problems would not be problems of people would just talk to each other", but that is to be expected in this type of plot. So-Na seemed particularly inconsistent, and hopefully this will be smoothed out as the series moves on. Right now, she's likeable only in certain moments.

Rating: 5.5/10