Last month we figured that with our marathon Thought Bubble Month coverage we had probably spotlighted enough debut books in November to make a Staff Picks post redundant. But we’re back today with this end-of-year round-up for December! Before the pandemic BF’s Staff Picks feature had run for many years, with members of the team giving a weekly overview of recommended new releases. Now, retooled and reimagined to fit the site’s current ethos, it has returned as a monthly series designed to spotlight a few key releases that appeal to us. This is not, then, intended as a comprehensive, exhaustive or extensive round-up but rather to point you in the direction of some top projects that caught the eyes of BF contributors. Please also remember these aren’t intended as reviews and full coverage of the comics/books below may follow in due course!
Comic of the Month
War on Gaza (Fantagraphics Books)
With no end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza in sight it is crucial that we continue to highlight projects that exist to provide insights on the horrors of the world around us in 2024. Over the last year Joe Sacco – the renowned journalist and cartoonist – has been providing comic strips and illustrative commentary for The Comics Journal on the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian peope by Israel.
With his ever keen and incisive eye on events it’s some of Sacco’s finest work and now it’s being collected in a new print volume from Fantagraphics Books. This isn’t easy reading, and it may not be the kind of material that you want to be experiencing in the lead-up to the holiday season, which only makes it all the more important that you do. We live in a dark and bleak timeline. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the moral obscenities that surround us. Essential reading.
– Andy Oliver
Belly Full of Heart (Silver Sprocket)
Described as “A comic book ode to ooey-gooey homosexual lovers of the past, present, and future”, Belly Full of Heart from Silver Sprocket is a delightful romance comic to cosy up with as the weather gets colder. Created by the whimsical Madeline Mouse, Belly Full of Heart is full to the brim with heartwarming, pastel vignettes about the small, overlooked moments of connection between yourself and your partner that make up true intimacy, whether this be giving them the last strawberry, feeling forever young by their side or simply sitting in comfortable silence. Delightfully sickly sweet and heartening.
– Lydia Turner
2000 AD Annual 2025 (Rebellion)
It’s back! After an absence of nearly two and a half decades the much-missed hardcover 2000 AD Annual returns this year, reminding those of us of a certain vintage of a much-missed tradition of UK comics annuals being a fixture of the Christmas holiday.
Not just a treat for nostalgists though – this collection of self-contained new work, classic material and even a bit of illustrated prose also acts as an introductory entry point for those wanting to acquaint themselves with the worlds of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic for the first time. Cover above by Jake Lynch.
– Andy Oliver
Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering (DSTLRY)
Wonderfully wintery, and perfect for the festive season, Through the Boughs from DSTLRY Media is a 64-page one-shot anthology of frozen tales. With ten incredible wordsmiths and artists chosen for the project, including Over the Garden Wall’s Patrick McHale and Spectregaph’s James Tynion IV, the diverse collection focuses on venturing through endless drifts of snow, and what the reader will find at the end of it, whether this be something delightful or something a bit more mischievous. Shrouded in mystery, this icy fantasy collection is sure to be full of creativity and charm with such imaginative writers and artists at the helm. Cover by Jenn Ely.
– Lydia Turner
Lebanon is Burning and Other Despatches (Graphic Mundi)
When it comes to socially relevant work publisher Graphic Mundi have become one of the foremost publishing ventures in comics with a back catalogue of powerful and vitally important material. Added to that output this month is Lebanon is Burning and Other Dispatches, written by Yazan Al-Saadi and illustrated by Tracy Chahwan, Ganzeer, Ghadi Ghosen, Omar Khouri, Sirène Moukheiber, Hicham Rahma, and Enas Satir.
Depicting the political and social unrest and protest in the Middle East in the 2010s this graphic journalism collection features the work of artists from the regions it covers. Important testimony and coverage in comics form.
– Andy Oliver
Shiver SuspenStories #1 (Oni Press)
One of the gems of periodical publishing of 2024 has been Oni Press’s revival of the EC Comics line. If you want some Broken Frontier commentary on that we can direct you to our review of Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 here over the summer.
There are a number of Christmassy horror anthology comics competing for your attention this year but Oni’s one-shot Shiver SuspenStories is coming off the back of a very strong run of Epitaphs issues. Expect some ghoulishly grisly festive-themed shorts with a shock twist or two. Cover above by Darick Robertson.
– Andy Oliver
