The Best Comic Book of 2022: WHAT'S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE?

    Writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Tyler Boss made 4 Kids Walk into a Bank, my favorite comic of 2016, so it's not too much of a surprise that their follow up, What's the Furthest Place From Here?, from Image Comics, is fantastic. I was poised to name it the best comic of 2021, but since only the first two issues came out in 2021, I figured I should wait a bit to see if it continued it's excellence. It did. I should admit that the last two issues released in 2022 (#8 and #9) weren't that great, but I kind of blame the fact that artist Tyler Boss didn't draw them. Boss also didn't draw #7, released in July, but that issue was one of the best comic book issues of the year. The thing that I loved about What's the Furthest Place From Here? is how original it is. I could attempt to describe it...but even a long winded description wouldn't really give it it's just due. I saw one comic book reviewer online mention that it's similar to the 1970's movie The Warriors. In that film, different gangs in NYC fight it out, and each gang has it's own gimmick: one dresses up in Yankees baseball outfits, one gang is all bald and rides in a bus, etc. In What's the Furthest Place From Here? there are various gangs and groups of kids. There are no adults because we're in post-Apocalyptic times. Everything is weird and everything is bonkers. There are rules, and if you break the rules you might end up betraying a weird, spirit-like group of cloaked beings that show up out of nowhere. 

    Usually you read a comic and it's same-old, been-there-done-that. But reading this book is like being shot up with a wild new drug. It's fresh, bizarre, captivating, alive, strange, refreshing, and super engrossing. Rosenberg is having the time of his life showcasing his creativity, and Tyler Boss' art fits the story like a glove. The layout of the book, with short, numbered chapters, also creates a fog-like, futuristic, out-there vibe that make this a bold thing to read and get lost in. Truly original and one of the best books I've read in some time. 

The Best Artists of 2022: MATTEUS LOPES & MATTIAS BERGARA

    I'm a big fan of writer Si Spurrier, but even I didn't agree with his decision to write a book with no words except for a little bit of untranslated, alien dialogue. 

    What saved the book was the gorgeous art by artist Matteus Lopes and colorist Mattias Bergara. My God was this book gorgeous to look at. 

The Best Writer of 2022: ED BRUBAKER

 

    Writer Ed Brubaker put out the same number of books he did in 2021: three issues of the online, pay-what-you-want Friday, and two full-size, Reckless graphic novels. It's kind of sad that he's not writing a monthly title anymore, but considering how great every book he wrote in 2022 was, does it matter? 

    Friday started out as a typical, teenage detective whodunnit, but morphed into a really crazy and disturbing horror, time travel tale. It seems to get better every issue. Both Reckless graphic novels in 2022 have been extremely entertaining and the kind of book you can't put down until you're finished. 

    Brubaker has been one of my favorite writers for years now, and his skill at dialogue and pacing is unsurmountable. Dude's a legend. 

The Best Covers of 2022

 

Best Pages & Panels of 2022

Batman: Beyond the White Knight #2

Clean #4

Batman: Beyond the White Knight #5

Groo: Gods Against Groo #1