Inconsistency. For every perfect issue ( Ramadan ), there’s a meandering arc ( The Kindly Ones ). The art rotates too much. A single “best comic” must be a unified object. Sandman is a brilliant, messy cathedral. Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo) The case for: The double-page spreads. The bike slide. The psychic meltdown of Neo-Tokyo. Otomo drew motion like no one before or since.
That’s it. No explosion. No confession. Just a cup and a tremor. It’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in any medium. Fucking possible comic best means making sadness feel physical. The first time, you read for plot: a pathetic man meets his grandfather and father, fails to connect, and returns to his empty apartment. fucking possible comic best
Watchmen is smarter. Maus is more important. Sandman is more magical. But Jimmy Corrigan is the truth. And the truth, however miserable, is always the fucking best. Inconsistency
Because its greatness is partly extrinsic. It’s a vital historical document. But would Maus be as revered if the Holocaust wasn’t its subject? The craft is undeniable, but the “fuck” factor is one of horror, not revelatory joy. It’s essential. It’s not the best. Sandman #1-75 (Neil Gaiman & various artists) The case for: The Sound of Her Wings . The Cereal Convention. “Sometimes you wake up.” Gaiman turned horror into myth and myth into therapy. It’s the most literary comic ever. A single “best comic” must be a unified object
The third time, you realize Jimmy Corrigan is actually a comedy. A bleak, cringe-comedy about a man so passive he makes Charlie Brown look like Tony Robbins. Ware hides jokes in the margins. A sign that says “FREE ADVICE (worth every penny).” A child’s drawing labeled “My Dad” that’s just an empty square.
You stare at the page. You say aloud:
It’s cold. Brilliant, yes. Surgical, absolutely. But emotional? The scene where Rorschach is arrested? Great. Heartbreaking? Not really. Watchmen is a masterpiece of intellect, but the “fucking possible best” needs a pulse. Maus (Art Spiegelman) The case for: It won the Pulitzer Prize. It made Nazis into cats and Jews into mice without reducing the horror. It broke the rule that comics couldn’t be “serious literature.”