As 2017 draws to a close it’s time to reflect on a year filled with great entertainment and recall what stood out and what will stay with us. This year everyone on the ComicBook.com team came together to nominate our favorite creators and creations in the worlds of comics, television, movies, and anime, then voted on five finalists in every category. The results are in and they reflect some outstanding talent and a truly great year for pop culture.
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While many of our comics awards focus on ongoing series or mini-series, this one emphasizes the distinct publications released each year often referred to as graphic novels or OGNs. Rather than focusing on serialized storytelling or maintaining readers on a monthly basis, they provide a single distinct story that’s often the vision of a lone creator. These graphic novels highlight the greatest artistic achievements within the medium and what boundaries readers can expect to be pushed in the future. It is a category filled with truly great achievements, and that’s as true as ever in 2017.
And the winner of Best Graphic Novel is…
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, created by Emil Ferris!
Emil Ferris has summoned a story so unique and expansive that it could only have been told in the medium of comics. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters tells the coming of age tale of a young girl in Chicago’s south side where her neighbor is murdered under mysterious circumstances. What truly makes this graphic novel stand out is how Ferris chooses to present it—utilizing notebook pages and ballpoint pens to provide the perspective of how someone else sees the world. In doing so the story becomes about far more than the plot, but a meditation on art, fandom, and how we are shaped and changed by adolescence. This is a comic unlike any comic or anything you have read before, and we could not recommend it more highly.
This was one of the most difficult categories to select nominees for, much less choose just one to vote upon. While My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is a standout release that is being recognized across the board, others like Spinning, a very personal memoir of growing up in a figure skating community, and Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero, a surreal take on fame and storytelling, made big marks on the comics world as well. Checking out any of the comics on this list of nominees is highly recommended.
Be sure to come back and check out the rest of the winners as they are announced throughout the week, then share your own favorite picks from 2017 in the comments.
List of Nominees:
- My Favorite Thing Is Monsters [WINNER]
- Fantasy Sports 3: The Green King
- Spinning
- Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero
- Boundless
