Best Comics – 2024

My habit of buying one comic a week was more or less maintained through the year. Some of the standout ones that I encountered:

1. Hakim’s Odyssey:
   This French trilogy tracking the life story of Hakim – a Syrian-French immigrant driven out from Damascus during the 2015 civil war was THE comic of the year for me. When Assad fell last month, I couldnt help but think of Hakim, whose story and experiences will be similiar for millions.

2. Killer:
The comic which was adapted into the Netflix movie is eons better than the movie. The art and the action made it a rivetting read

3. Jiro Tanuguchi’s works:
I read three of Tanuguchis manga. The one chronicling the memories of his father was moving and intricately drawn.

4. Terra Australis:
The story of the convict ships that populated Australia. History in graphic form. One panel – where the convicts encounter a passing slave galley and listen to the haunting folk songs of the slaves gave me goosebumps

5. The World Without End:
This French comic outsold Asterix in France last year. A great, fun introduction to Climate Change and Energy consumption. Their pro-nuclear stance made them pass with flying colours.

6. Okinawa:
The story of the US invasion into Okinawa which was the major amphibious assault on Japan by the Allies. The ferocity of the Japs which the Allies encountered was one of the reasons for Hiroshima. (The Purple Hearts that the US ordered and produced have still be inexhausted)

Last Year’s Picks: | 2023 |