When I read Ayuyang’s newest graphic novel back in February, I knew right away this would be one of the best things to come out this year. It set the bar so high for all other subsequent releases, never to be dethroned. It has everything—long lost love, night clubs, Filipino immigrants navigating through the Great Depression era while chasing the American dream, community—in a soft dreamy aesthetic. Now, one can only hope for a sequel…

You know how good a book is when your workplace has a dedicated slack channel to discuss theories, debate whether Monica is bullshitting us (she’s such an unreliable narrator) and share interviews. Monica has been celebrated everywhere people write their opinions, and objectively is worthy of all the praise. Clowes already has perfected the art of graphic novels, and Monica is his newest masterclass.

Days ago, I wrote “My new religion is Caroline Cash and everyday I pray at the PeePee PooPoo church”, and she liked my comment which has been my closest parasocial approval with one of today's hottest cartoonists. Me freaking out? Maybe. Anyways, grab your favorite silly number—69, 402, and/or 80085. This is what comics should always be: fun to read.

For anyone who heard me monologuing nonsense about going back to the primordial soup or escapist dreams by becoming a single-celled organism, it is all Fox’s fault. I had to pause my reading so many times in complete awe by the medieval tapestry like-panels, and superb artwork. This one is for the messy girlies, the gays, and the theys.

These last few months, I’ve been working on Tsuge’s graphic novel Oba Electroplating Factory where we meet characters strangely similar to Fujiwara Maki. So it was only fitting for me to read from her point of view with My Picture Diary. More than a journal, it’s a testament of artistic resilience as Fujiwara has been juggling roles—homebody, wife, mother—and yet has found a way to express herself. Ryan Holmberg’s essay helps to contextualize, and is as always an addition I’ll look forward to in any D+Q manga translated by him.

I will be infinitely grateful to Breakdown Press for compiling Kyle’s zines into one graphic novel. Baby’s Inferno is a journey to an infinity circle of rebirth, thorough surreal absurdities of life and unprepared parents. Long live Baby, forever Baby, goodbye Baby.

Between genies and talking donkeys, the real magic is Mohamed’s incredible storytelling. Like any good fantasy, each tale is meant to slowly reconcile the supernatural with its social and political commentary. Don’t be intimidated by the length, I started during the evening and completed my reading late into the night without realizing. An instant classic that everyone should read once in their life.

Métal Hurlant anyone? Forgotten pioneer French science fiction writer is reintroduced with this incredible collection of short stories that should be an automatic addition to your bookshelf. Brock’s introduction and interview are more-than-welcome additions to establish Montellier’s notoriety in comics, and with her thoroughly unsettling vision of dystopian futures it is easy to understand why she ought to be remembered.

If no one knows your name, do you really exist? Take that concept up a notch, add marvelous drawings, and there you have it: one of the best speculative graphic novels of the year. I have read it three times already, and it is still hitting all the marks every single time.

In lieu of splurging for an original ink piece or building a new Magic the Gathering deck based around Valero-O'Connell’s special edition of Thalia, I got the next best thing: Golden Record. Although it deviates a bit from their previous publications, this poetry slash artbook is a sublime gem to collect. It is a constant source of inspiration, and it has accompanied me throughout all my creative endeavors this year.