AS an addendum to Graphic Content's choice of the best graphic novels of 2020, we asked a few comics professionals to name their favourites of the year.
Edward Ross published his graphic history of gaming, Gameish, his follow-up to Filmish, this year. His own choice of graphic novel of the year is set in an old Brighton cinema:
Breakwater, Katriona Chapman, Avery Hill, £12.99
I've not been affected by a graphic novel like this for a while. Breakwater follows Chris, a cinema usher, who befriends Dan, a charming new member of staff. Stunningly illustrated in charcoal black and white, it's a haunting, contemplative graphic novel that brilliantly captures the strange ebbs and flows of working in a cinema, and the ennui of a life put on hold. Chapman does so much with such a pared-down setting and script. The images do much of the talking, capturing the beautiful isolation of empty streets and abandoned spaces to reflect the loneliness of people struggling for connection. It's a book with a lot to say, and it says it with the artistry of a creator at the top of their game.
Gameish by Edward Ross is published by Particular Books, £20.
Glasgow-based cartoonists Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers, aka Metaphrog, praise the way cartoonists tackle real-life situations in their choices:
Paying the Land by Joe Sacco, Jonathan Cape, £20
An outstanding and important book about indigenous North America, focusing on the Dene people of Canada's Northwest Territories. The journalism is as meticulous as the artwork and Sacco manages to remain an objective observer giving the Dene people a voice.
When Stars Are Scattered, Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, Faber & Faber, £9.99
A lovely graphic novel, set in a Kenyan refugee camp. Another true story wonderfully told in comic form. You really feel for the characters and the enormity of their situation.
Bluebeard by Metaphrog is published by Papercutz, priced £17.99
Publisher Avery Hill gave us some of the best graphic novels of 2020, including Breakwater. Here, Avery Hill's co-publisher Ricky Miller chooses his top two of 2020.
Glass Town, Isabel Greenberg, Jonathan Cape, £18.99
Another towering achievement from Isabel Greenberg, who now has a back catalogue of books comparable with anyone from the last 10 years.
Shame Pudding, Danny Noble, Street Noise Books, £12.99
Hilarious and genuinely moving work from the funniest creator of comics in the UK.
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