YALSA's "Great Graphic Novels" for 2012

See YALSA's list of exemplary graphic novels here. And since they made finding their top ten a little difficult (what is it with folks this year? Is it suddenly not hip, or is that not hipster [librarians were the original svelte, black-glasses-wearing, know-it-all hotties, afterall], to make top ten lists?), here's a link to it too.

Among the top ten, there's an interesting mix of genres. Even the capes got a nod or two.

*The Comics Journal* Recaps 2011: "A Year of Comic Ambition"

TCJ has come up with a cleaver way to avoid posting a "best of" list. ;)

AV Club Chimes in with Best of 2011 List

Not quite a top ten list, rather several lists covering different categories. 'Tis the season!

"Comics Worth Reading" Blog Offers Best of 2011

Johanna Draper Carson and friends offer up what they feel are the year's best graphic novels here.

NPR offers Six Graphic Novels that will "Draw you In"

Click here for an article on 2011's salient graphic novels, according to National Public Radio's Dan Kois.

SLJ Publishes Best GN's for 2011 (Kids)

Click here to see School Library Journal's list.

Like a Brick to The Head!

The 2011 Ignatz Award winners have been announced. As we all know, winners receive notification of their honor the same way Ignatz shows his "affection" for Krazy Kat. (Kidding, of course).

*Maus* on TIME's Top 100 Autobiographies

TIME is releasing "top 100" lists for a variety of nonfiction genres. Someone with more patience than me will have to find a way to easily access the top hundred for each category besides looking at them one at a time, but my guess is more graphic novels (or graphica, for those of you who just must distinguish graphic fiction from graphic nonfiction) are in the lists. I'll try to keep you posted as other people do this work. ;)

*The Atlantic* Offers Up Top 10 List of Nonfiction GN's

That's right, I refused to call it graphic nonfiction. Whatchyagonnadooabouditt? ;)

Anyway, there are some neat titles on this list, some reportage and some history and some science. Teachers will note that suggests multi-curricular appeal!

39 Graphic Novels for Kids!

Folks at School Library Journal remind that tykes like comics just as much as Spiegelman scholars with this list.

Inaugural Lynd Ward Prize for "Best Graphic Novel" Goes to....

Duncan the Wonder Dog, by Adam Hines. As the Beat reports:

"Named for the seminal woodcut artist who created some early American graphic novels, the prize is sponsored by the Penn State University Libraries and presented to the 'best graphic novel, fiction or non-fiction, published in the previous calendar year by a living U.S. citizen or resident.'”

Congrats to Adam! Looks like I gotta put another book on my must-read list!

Best Web Comics of 2010, According to Derik A Badman..

..and linked from Dylan Horracks, so you know there's some quality thinking going on! I don't give web comics near enough attention, but I hope to remedy that a bit in my New and Multimodal Literacies course this semester, and in future courses too..

The Ultimate "Best Of 2010" List of Links...

..synthesized by Tom Spurgeon, of course! The man's a machine!!!

2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Graphic Novel Reporter has covered the ALA's recent lists of suggested GN's for adolescents. Here's their link to the overall list, and here's their link to what ALA considers the top ten from the past year.

Tigra and Pym Discuss Parenting in *Avengers Academy* #7

I gotta say, I think Incredible Hulks and Avengers Academy are the best two superhero comics series on the market.

Kirkus Reviews Offers Best GN's for Teens 2010 List

El Paso's own Cinco Puntos Press has a title on the list too!: Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea and Christopher Cardinale. (Thanks to CP for giving me a review copy at NCTE. I'll offer my own review very soon).

"Canada Reads" Names Graphic Novel one of Ten Best Canadian-Published Books of the Decade

Yay for Essex County!

Publisher's Weekly Best Comics List

I agree with Tom Spurgeon on Comics Reporter that this list seems a little specious.

The Comics Equivalent of Wal-Mart Hanging Up Christmas Stuff Post-Halloween...

...is the posting of "Best Of" lists. Click the title for Amazon's best GN's of 2010 and their list of best-sellers. Equivalent.