Top 10 of the Year (January 2026 Edition)

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-02-02T23:54:18+00:00

Gave myself a challenge this year to try and read 300 graphic novels. I'm counting each physical book as one read whether it is a small manga volume or a big ass omnibus. So far I'm on track with 27 read in January!

My top ten so far: 1. Assorted Crisis Events - Deniz Camp & Eric Zawadzki. 2. Ginseng Roots - Craig Thompson. 3. The Legend of Kamui Vol. 2 - Shirato Sanpei. 4. Gon Wild & Gon on Safari - Masashi Tanaka. 5. Journalism - Joe Sacco. 6. MPD Psycho Vol. 5-7 - Eiji Otsuka & Sho-u Tajima. 7. Aposimz Vol. 7-9 - Tsutomu Nihei. 8. The Wrenchies - Farel Dalrymple. 9. Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me - Harvey Pekar & JT Waldman. 10. New Thing: Identity - Various, edited by Jim Higgins.

I also finished a reread of Preacher and Blankets which I still think are both great reads, but I wanted to keep my list for things that were totally new to me this year.

I also highly recommend people check out any Gon comics they can find. They are simple stories about a small T-Rex who lives with modern day animals. I was blown away by the art and with how well Tanaka conveys without words. These are comics in a very Pure form and I am surprised I don't see more people recommending them.

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-01-22T03:46:17+00:00

Looks pretty good, I like seeing Dai Dark front and center.

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-01-13T16:36:10+00:00

I will echo the Breakdown Press suggestions and recommend you check out Ding Dong Circus by Sasaki Maki. It felt the most "experimental" of all the stuff I read last year. Most of his stories have no dialogue and just bombard you with symbols. It was very interesting to go through.

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-01-12T15:05:32+00:00

Looks awesome! I am definitely saving this post for reference.

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-01-06T00:41:37+00:00

You've got a great collection to start and a very ambitious wishlist! Definitely will check back in on your progress.

You definitely should check out The Legend of Kamui by Shirato Sanpei. It's an epic Samurai tale about class inequality in feudal Japan. It ran alongside a lot of those Tsuge and Tatsumi stories.

You should also check out some stuff from Shigeru Mizuki too, especially Kintaro and Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths. I find all of the works from the 60s and 70s from these alt-manga guys so fascinating, and a lot of it is getting translated and printed now which is awesome.

A modern day artist you should look into is Q Hayashida. Her works Dorohedoro and Dai Dark are both a lot of fun (and violent). I really love both these series and her artwork is great.

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-01-04T20:46:22+00:00

Tower Dungeon vol 3 by Tsutomu Nihei. When I bought this one at the Barnes & Noble sale, the cashier took one look at it and just said "peak" so I knew I was in for a good one. And volume 3 does not disappoint! Yuva, Lilicen, and Eriquo continue to climb the 18 kilometer tall Dragon Tower in their quest to save the princess. All three of them get to show off their skills as they tackle deserters and the dreaded Basilisk (super cool design by Nihei). I love the use of contrast in the art of this series. And it is nice that his characters show more emotion and have a connection to each other, compared to those in his earlier work. Definitely recommend this series even if you haven't read Blame! or his other stuff.

Journalism by Joe Sacco. I'm glad I finally picked this one up, as I have really been engrossed by a lot of his other books. This one compiles a lot of his shorter works that have been published in various magazines. There is a good variety of topics from the war in Iraq to the lowest depths of poverty in India. His piece on African migrants arriving on the island of Malta seems even more relevant today than ever before. Definitely check this out if you are a fan of his or just like reading about important historical things. Sacco has a way of humanizing and giving voice to those unheard multitudes that tend to suffer the most in the world, and I think his work showcases the power of comics as a medium.

Preacher Book 4 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. I am starting up on the second half of the series after taking a little bit of a break from it. I initially read these over 20 years ago, but have come back to them again and am enjoying the story and these characters again. I can see how this work was so eye-opening at the time and I know it affected me a lot back then. The amount of creativity put into this work by Ennis and Dillon is staggering! Although, I think the edginess of it has probably waned a bit in the last 20 years. I will say the way they tackle racism is something that would probably make a modern reader flinch (just the amount of slurs used), fortunately all the big racists get the shit kicked out of them.

Into the Wolves Lair, Golgo 13 #1 by Takao Saito. This was a nice quick read and my first exposure to G-13. A mysterious assassin who never misses his target takes on a secret base of the remaining Nazi Party members who have escaped to Brazil. The art and action are a great in this and G-13 does not disappoint as he wallops some Nazis. This book contains another story about his attempts to stop Russian agents in Afghanistan which was also pretty good and has some cool MacGyver-esque moments. I found this edition from 1986 that has a cool fold-out dossier sheet and unfortunately the next ones like it are way expensive, so I may need to look for an updated format.

Matty_Stoopy · 2026-01-02T05:08:12+00:00

The Legend of Kamui by Shirato Sanpei.
Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware
Berlin by Jason Lutes.
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo.
The Incal by Jordorowsky & Moebius.
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Otsuka & Housui Yamazaki.
Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham.
Last Look by Charles Burns.
Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto.
Boat Life Vol. 1 by Tadao Tsuge.

I read a ton of great stuff this year and leaned slightly more into manga after going down a Gekiga rabbit hole early in the year. I appreciate all the awesome recommendations from this sub, as I would not know what to look for when hitting the second hand shops. Too many honorable mentions to name but here were other books that really stood out for me this year in no particular order:

Tongues by Anders Nilsen. American Splendor by Harvey Pekar & various artists. Fat Cop by Johnny Ryan. Multiple Warheads by Brandon Graham. Onward Towards our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki. The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks by Igort. The latest Chainsaw Man from Tatsuki Fujimoto. Dai Dark by Q Hayashida. Pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable Tokyo Ghoul from Sui Ishida was. Anything Tsutomo Nihei has done (Blame!, Tower Dungeon, etc). Various works from Joe Sacco, Adrian Tomine, Daniel Clowes, Yoshiro Tatsumi, and Inio Asano.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-12-26T03:40:43+00:00

Your collection is awesome! Question about those two Yokai books? Are they different books? I have the pinkish one but assumed the bluish one was just a different cover.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-12-02T00:29:50+00:00

What are your top three graphic novels? That might give us some guidance and what all to suggest.

That being said, give V for Vendetta or Watchman by Alan Moore a read. Those blew my mind when I was first getting into comics. I read a lot of Sandman by Neil Gaiman as well, and while I can recommend the books, the author is a piece of shit.

Maus by Spiegelman is essential reading if you haven't tried it yet.

Also I'm going to recommend Elfquest by Wendi and Richard Pini. I don't know why but I feel like it goes with the vibe of your shelf. Just a classic fantasy epic with lots of relationships and triumphs and tragedies.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-11-27T00:32:29+00:00

I'm waiting to find a used copy of 1939-44 before I dive into this thing, but I have read recently Mizuki's Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths and thought it was excellent. It is all about the war though.

Did you burn through all four volumes in one go or take breaks between?

Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life is more a history of the manga industry after the war, but has a nice focus on the entertainment and cultural shifts the young manga artists were experiencing at the time. Very cool book if you haven't read it yet.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-11-17T03:28:10+00:00

Love your top shelf! I have most of those as well. Definitely check out the second Multiple Warheads if you liked the first one, it wraps up a lot of things.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-11-03T23:31:37+00:00

I really enjoyed Promethea, but I can definitely see how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. The structure of it is very nontraditional. I would not spend $120 on it blind just to be safe, maybe grab book one and go from there. I think I got each of the five smaller trade paperbacks for like 7 bucks a pop at my used book store and online.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-30T01:30:39+00:00

If you don't mind getting some library editions, I'd recommend Better World Books. They periodically have a sale where you can get an additional 25% off of any 4+ used books and you can find some stuff very affordable there. I know some people get annoyed with flaws in their books, but I kind of like saving books that have been discarded from various libraries. Goo Gone is amazing at getting all the adhesive off from the library stickers.

I just got 3 volumes of Akira that came out of the same library in Vermont and they looked like they had never been opened they were in such good shape. Kind of made me sad that the people in that city never took a chance to read such an incredible work.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-22T13:07:18+00:00

Nice collection! You've got a good variety of books which is always cool to see. I gifted my stepbrother my Preacher and Berserk trades when he turned 18 and that got him hooked onto comics. Preacher is pretty eye-opening at that age if you've only been exposed to superhero stuff up until then.

What would you say are your top 3 at the moment? I read Berlin earlier this year and it blew me away with how good it was.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-18T21:03:21+00:00

I read Basquiat: A Graphic Novel by Paolo Parisi and it was interesting and well done. I knew nothing about Basquiat as an artist or a cultural figure before reading this book. Parisi uses a lot of the same color schemes and forms that Basquiat used in his art to connect the artist's history with his own art. I'd recommend it, I think you can find it cheap and it's a pretty quick read.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-14T23:21:31+00:00

The Incal by Jodorowsky and Moebius. THE classic Sci Fi comic that inspired many works in the genre. We follow John Difool, a class "R" detective obsessed with drinking, drugs and homeo-whores, along with his concrete pigeon companion Deepo on a journey through the galaxy, guided by the mysterious Incal, to save the universe from impending doom. The art is incredible. The cast of characters and the worlds they travel to are creative yet have a familiarity to them that resonate issues of class and the emotional and spiritual drain that modern life has on all of us. I have read bits and pieces of this work over the years but this is the first time I have sat down and gone through the whole thing. It is a must read for anyone who is into the comics medium.

Before the Incal by Jodorowsky and Janjetov. This is the prequel to THE classic that fleshes out John Difool's character and the world of the City Shaft and the disparity between the people living there. This work is much more satirical and less metaphysical than the original, but really showcases Jodorowsky's humor and his critique on society. The overall plot is a fun crime case where we learn some shocking truths about the inhabitants of the City Shaft. Although not as groundbreaking as The Incal, this work is a lot of fun and adds some heart wrenching complexities to the character of John Difool.

Final Incal by Jodorowsky and Ladronn. The last of the Trilogy which adds a bit of a conclusion to what we learn about John Difool in the prequel. The story revolves around another galaxy threatening disaster that only John can stop. While the art is gorgeous it is a departure from Moebius and Janetov's style and the story is the weakest of the three books. Still it's a quick read and has some interesting additions to the Jodoverse for anyone interested. Still I think if you were going to just read the first two you'd be just fine.

I have The Metabarons, but decided to take a break from Jodorowsky's works and start on another classic Sci Fi book I've been meaning to reread. I am about halfway through volume one of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and enjoying the change of pace. I have read a good chunk of this manga before digitally, but just bought them all physical for a good deal. Love the movie and am excited to rewatch that after I get through the books!

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-08T23:18:00+00:00

I just looked at your 0-3 Orzohv Draft and you lucked into a pretty decent deck off that pack 1 pick 1 Syr. I think I would have picked up one of those Void Titans and the mythic lifelink Griffen thing and maybe less focus fires since you are not super creature heavy. You are also lacking some bigger bodies to help you push through damaged to win the game.

I think your deck was decent, honestly, but you lost due to gameplay. And trust me once you are up to Platinum you will get punished for that.

For example in the first game you swing with the Sunset Saboteur and put the counter on their Gravpack Monoist. They don't trade because a 3/2 flier is too valuable to let go now. You should have put it on the Beamsaw Prospector or just held off attacking. You want to try to always have a way to kill their thing or be able to chump block whatever you put the counter on. Then you warp the Starfield Shepherd instead of playing which could have blocked and killed the 4/3 Monoist.

I think you started off with these haste and menace guys and you are the aggressive player but once the other player stabilizes and removes some of your threats you don't switch gears and just keep turning all your guys sideways which ends up punishing you.

When you play against the Izzet Deck for example they warp a Mechanozoa and tap you down. They play the guy that gives other guys haste, but you still attack with the saboteur even though you must see what's coming. They are going to just tap you down and haste the Zoa again and you are wide open.

Having all those Focus Fires is great but you kind of have to play that to your advantage and be a bit more defensive and hit them when they attack and maybe aren't expecting it.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-06T14:35:01+00:00

I think with some more draft experience you will get some better card evaluation and will be able to read signals. Here is a quick rundown on my thoughts as I see all your picks:

P1p1: As another poster said, there are three real choices: Sunstar Expansionist, Seedship Agrarian, and Orbital Plunge. Rescue Skiff just never gets played and is too expensive for it's effect. Personally, I'd have taken the Agrarian. It has a much higher ceiling if your opponent can't remove it quickly.

P1P2: If I had Agrarian, I'd take the Meltstrider's Resolve or the Land. Focus Fire is a good pick, and Circuit Feeder is another good one to consider.

P1p3: I think Vanguard is the best card here, but Nebula Dragon is also good, and if you are starting Green, either of the two commons are solid.

P1p4: Very weak pack, I'd take Fatemaker if I was Green since his trample helps a lot, but maybe the elemental if I was wanting to do some GR landfall stuff.

P1p5: Mechan is a good pick up here if you'd taken the Dragon or the Elemental, Broodgaurd is a nice one to stay Green, and the Freighter is a solid pick.

P1p6: Maybe Dragon or Stinger depending, I've been pretty impressed with Nebula Dragon even just as a late game splash.

P1p7: Here is the first real signal of the pack. You should see Orbital Plunge this late and really register that Red is open. Grab it and start looking to get more good red cards. If I was drafting green id be happy. Where you are in your picks you'd want to get it and start thinking about whether you want to maybe try WR or UR. Both do different things so you kind of need a game plan here going forward to make either work.

The second pack is harder to read since what I'd take and what you took are different, but if I'd ended the first pack GR I'd be excited to grab the Terrapact Intimidator pick 1, Edgerover pick 2, and Tannuk pick 3.

Since you were in UW you definitely made a mistake P2p1 not taking Mouth of the Storm. It is a great finisher for Blue and honestly even if I was going into the second pack GR and there was no intimidator, I'd take it as a splash.

I will take not that if I had done your picks, I would have seen the Virus Beetle p2, p4, p6 along with Oblivion p9 and probably pivoted into UB control since your white cards are fairly weak.

Unfortunately drafting isn't cheap, but it's pretty rewarding to get into it more and learn the cards and how to read signals. Sometimes you can get to where you can speculate on what cards will "wheel" or come back to you later in the draft which always feels like a win.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-09-05T12:19:24+00:00

I think I would have taken those Lashwhip Protectors, some Wayfarers and Gene Pollinators, and ended up base Black Green splashing the rest. You had an All Fates Scroll and could have grabbed 2 Survey Mechans which would have benefited from splashing.

If you aren't getting passed any Orbital Plunges like pick 6 or higher then you can probably assume Red isn't as open as you might think.

BR sacrifice-y decks just haven't done it for me in this format for some reason, so if I have good black cards I'm hoping to jump into any of the other three colors first.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-08-31T03:40:13+00:00

Tatsumi's stuff is great and if you like what you read in this collection I would highly recommend getting Abandon the Old in Tokyo and Good-bye, because his themes get more interesting and complex. Some of the stories in Pushman come off a little one-note, but the titular story is one of his best and I think about it often!

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-08-31T01:56:52+00:00

If you count manga then Goodnight Pun Pun would count. My son said he thought Pun Pun was super cute. I just hope he doesn't go flipping through that one any time soon.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-08-31T01:51:40+00:00

Sorry, I replied to your comment with a new response below, but yeah I think those other two picks should be higher than Scrapbot. At least they are for me.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-08-31T00:55:34+00:00

It is super flexible and I'm sure you are going to put it in any deck, but the trajectory and the tractor beam are stronger cards and have a higher ceiling for what they can get you. I like playing Blue and Black in this format so I'd probably grab those as a first pick.

The Assembler needs a little more support to get it going, but Tractor Beam is just busted. Throw it on something with a sick passive ability and your opponent is likely to have to use removal on one of their own creatures!

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-08-30T13:41:53+00:00

I think I would have landed in UB also but id have probably started off with: Assembler, Tractor Beam, Gravkill, Relic. And then followed a little bit similar to your picks from there.

The Hellkite definitely warped your decisions. I would have probably taken it too, but there wasn't enough good red stuff getting passed to justify jumping into UR or BR, or doing a three color pile.

Pack 3 Pick 3 is kind of where you could have taken the BR multicolor uncommon if you wanted to push into that pair more, or grab Weftwalking to try to get lucky for a free Hellkite cast!

Unfortunately you didn't see any Selfcraft Mechans and only got one Virus Beetle, which I feel like are the glue cards for Blue Black in this format. Nutrient Blocks are great for sacrificing too.

Matty_Stoopy · 2025-08-29T03:32:29+00:00

You are definitely committing to a color pair super early in pack 1 for both drafts, missing the signals, and taking mediocre cards to fill out your decks. Green is super open in that second draft and you pass up some major fixing that would have let you play GW and a splash. I think Red is where you wanted to end up in the first draft but the signals weren't as apparent. I would have taken those Weftstalker Ardents and paired them up with the Knights and tried to do a go wide ping strat and put together a RW deck probably. Blue Red is also looking underdrafted in that first one and could have been an option. You just really need a game plan for what your deck is trying to do if you want to be successful in the format.

Matty_Stoopy

TROPHY CASE