Tillie Walden, whose Spinning was number six on our Best of 2017 list, proves yet again that she is a tour de force. A sci-fi Odyssey like none other, On a Sunbeam is the tale of two star-crossed lovers separated by circumstances. In a universe subtly devoid of men, an all-female crew risk their lives for love and closure.

Each day the Internet becomes more deeply ingrained in our lives. It facilitates our banking, our learning, our shopping. But there\‘s a dark side to the World Wide Web, a side riddled with conspiracy theories, slander, and vitriol. Nick Drnaso brilliantly shines a light on the sinister underbelly of the web in his story of a missing woman and the malice that her loved ones are subjected to by Internet trolls.

What would happen if The Joker reformed? Sean Murphy\‘s exploration of this very question results in perhaps one of the best Batman stories in years. After a viral, violent encounter with Batman subjects Gotham\‘s deadliest villain to medication that supposedly cures him, the tables turn, and the Caped Crusader finds himself in The Joker\‘s former shoes as Gotham\‘s most wanted.

Erin Nation\‘s collection of short stories about his gender transition is one of the funniest, most endearing, most relatable books of the year. Collecting Gumballs #1-4 and including new content, it is a touching read as much about gender identity as it is about growing up and finding yourself, no matter who you are.

Newly translated from South Korean, Ancco weaves a poignant, albeit at times disturbing story about a troubled adolescent girl. Jinjuu\‘s lack of respect for authority-her teachers, her father-earns her more than her fair share of beatings. She responds as teenagers across the world do every day, by drinking, smoking, and running away from home. Bad Friends is rich with atmosphere, universal and impressive.

Horror comics are rare on our list, but Infidel is a no brainer on this one. While America proclaims itself a cultural melting pot, for many of its citizens, xenophobia can be more terrifying than any ghost. In this page-turner from Pornsak Pichetshote and José Villarrubia, both haunt an American Muslim woman living in a New York City apartment building that had been the site of a terrorist bombing.

An ongoing web-comic, this print edition of Aminder Dhaliwal\‘s series about a world devoid of men is hands-down spectacular. The setup is quick and simple-due to reasons nobody really knows, humankind stops producing males. After the last man has died off, what\‘s left is a world populated solely by women. What does that world look like? It\‘s funny, introspective, hopeful, reminiscent, and so much more.

Two years ago, Box Brown\‘s Tetris was among our top three favorite graphic novels of the year. His Andre the Giant biography (2014) was similarly fantastic, so it\‘s no surprise that his latest effort-this one about comedian, wrestler, TV star, and all-around talented performer, Andy Kaufman-is equally stellar. Funny, well-researched, and almost too easy to devour in a single read, Is This Guy for Real is a great insight into one of the most unique talents of recent generations.

Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 1 collects the first two volumes of Jeff Lemire\‘s masterful, Eisner Award-winning, Golden Age superhero throwback. After a climactic final battle with an arch foe, a team of superheroes find themselves trapped on a farm in a middle-of-nowhere rural community. How and why they\‘re stuck there remains a mystery to them, but they try to cope with their new realities as best they can. Frankly, we could recommend that literally everything Jeff Lemire produces belongs on our best of the year lists, but this library edition is an amazing way to get introduced to his world of Black Hammer.

Nate Powell\‘s on an impressive run. Having collaborated on John Lewis\‘s March Trilogy, (the final installment of which was also on our Best of 2016 list), the author/illustrator returns with a brand new original graphic novel. Come Again is a haunting tale rife with secrets, family histories, and the malleability (and fleeting nature) of memory, which lasts long after the final panel.

All Summer Long (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Animus (First Second), Dull Margaret (Fantagraphics), Girl Town (Top Shelf), Parallel Lives (Fantagraphics), Red Winter (Drawn and Quarterly), and The Three Rooms in Valerie\‘s Head (Top Shelf).