Do you think about alternate universes a lot? Yeah, me too. I especially love post-apocalyptic sci-fi Western worlds. I like space and robots, and I also like cowboys and livin’ off the land. Put them together and you’ve got a perfect world.

So I was delighted to read Kazu Kibuishi’s, Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, a Young Adult graphic novel about a tough as heck cowboy lady in the robot-filled old West.

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Okay, I’m not saying I support hierarchies, or that all art needs to be graded and ranked, but I LOVE top ten lists. So here’s my totally biased and completely personal list of the best comics of 2008.

10. Omega the Unknown
9. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For
8. Runaways: Dead End Kids
7. Janes in Love
6. The War At Ellsmere
5. RASL
4. Skim
3. All Star Superman
2. Swallow Me Whole
1. Emiko Superstar

Details after the jump.

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For a gal with all the powers of Superman, Supergirl has had a pretty rough go of it. In the sixties Superman sent her to live in a crappy orphanage and only got her out when he needed a pawn in some plan (usually to make Lois jealous). Her origin story is confusing: She’s Superman’s cousin? She was sent to earth to kill him? She was built by Lex Luthor? In the past few years, she’s often been drawn less as a teenage girl, and more as a creepy male fantasy. Oh yeah, and she totally died.

But things are looking up for Supergirl lately, in the main DC universe and otherwise. She has her own new, all ages-friendly series, Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in 8th Grade.

Issue one was adorable, fun, and surprisingly, a little complex.

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It’s cold as heck out, and the dreaded holiday season is here, so I’ve been dealing with it by curling up with some old favourites. I just reread Demo, a collection of twelve monthly comics written by Brian Wood and drawn by Becky Cloonan. It’s an awesome collection of angsty teenage stories, with Buffy or X-men-style metaphors where fantastic elements represent intense emotion.

Brian Wood is generally loved by the ladies for his focus on female characters (Local, The New York Four) and his cool blend of politics and realistic characters in an alternate future, sci-fi-ish setting (DMZ). Becky Cloonan perfectly renders young folks in styles ranging manga-y to stark black and white. Her punk-pirate book, East Coast Rising, is fun as heck.

Each of the twelve issues collected in Demo are individual stories, linked together loosely with the theme of angry youth, and hidden power.

(Beware, there are some swears after the jump.)

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Rutu Modan is a magnificent Isreali graphic novelist whose book, Exit Wounds, was one of my favourites last year. Modan’s new book, Jamilti, is a collection of her older short stories, published by Drawn and Quarterly.

Jamilti has a gothic feel, with Alice Munro-style haunting and grotesque stories about human relationships. Modan’s comics remind me of folk tales, or urban legends—stories that you’d read in a tabloid, or would be told to you by a co-worker who swears it’s true. Modan’s art style of deceptively simple line drawings with warm colours, evokes folk art. And the images are like words—off-putting, but darkly funny.

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Hey Shameless folks!

I’m back from tour with my band, and bringing you lots more female-focused comic-y goodness.

Faith Erin Hicks, the Halifax-based graphic novelist who made Zombies Calling, has a new book out this week.

The War At Ellsmere is the story of a brainy girl, Jun, who ends up at a prestigious private school on scholarship. She is immediately singled out by the snottiest girls in school, and what ensues is the kind of epic battle that can only take place in a high school. It’s everything I’ve come to expect from Hicks; snappy dialogue, realistic and relate-able female characters, and a healthy dose of fantasy.

Hicks will be at the Halifax book launch for The War At Ellsmere, this Saturday, December 6th from 6 to 8pm, at Strange Adventures.

For you Toronto folks, she’ll be at The Beguiling on December 17th from 5 to 7pm.

Drop by and chat with Faith. Get your book signed, ask for advice on how to make graphic novels, or just come bask in her awesomeness.

For more on The War At Ellsmere, check out this great interview Hicks did for the Living Between Wednesdays blog. You can read about her influences, why boarding schools make great settings, and why it’s nice to see girls fighting over something besides a boy.

Image from Drawn: In the Studio with Jillian Tamaki (Jillian Tamaki)

According to today’s Globe and Mail, Skim, one of my favorite comics of the year is up for Governor General’s award. Exciting and wonderful as that is, there is a problem in that the book’s text-author Mariko Tamaki was nominated in the text category, but not the book’s other author and illustrator Jillian Tamaki.

The independent comics community has rallied in support of the Tamakis, writing an open letter to the Governor General, which explains that text, image and authorship are not so easily separated in the world of comics, and asking for the inclusion of Jillian as illustrator on the Tamaki ticket. Names in support of the Tamaki’s include Art Speigelman, Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, Julie Doucet, Michel Rabagliati and Adrian Tomine.

Of course the GG’s office, not being very quick on its feet, has said it is too late in the process to change the nomination. So, I would humbly suggest that the Governor General’s awards committee take the time to read and enjoy: Understanding Comics, a book that bills itself as “a comic book about comics”. In it, author Scott McCloud lays out the framework and method that makes comics work as they do, and why comics are not the same as a book with illustrations.

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I’m headed off on tour with my band for a couple of months, so this column will go on hiatus for a wee bit. But I’ll be back in the late fall with more comics!

In the meantime, I wanted to mention some options for how to get your hands on comics. There are tonnes of amazing comics out there, but buying them new can be really expensive. Here are some more affordable options.

Comic Shops
Your local shop is probably the most obvious place to find comics, but it can also be the priciest. However, most comic shops have dollar bins, or quarter bins, where you can find awesome old comics that are a little the worse for the wear to sell at full price. Also, comic shops across North America take part in Free Comic Book Day, the first Saturday in May. In Halifax, our shop does it up right and we turn the day into a mini comicon, with artists doing sketches and interviews with creators. And we give away thousands of free comics.

Public Libraries
Most have a great selection of comics, and often get new comics in the week they come in. Halifax Public Libraries have everything from Manga to Superhero stuff to arty indie comics. Check your local library for comics – sometimes all graphic novels will get cataloged improperly and be in the kids or young adult section. If you don’t see a lot of comics at you library, demand them! Most libraries have a system where you can request books, and they’ll purchase them.

Batgirl was a librarian by day. I bet she could recommend some great comics.

Zine Libraries
The Anchor Archive in Halifax has lots of indie comics and self made comic zines. I’ve never been to the zine library in Toronto, but I hear it’s equally well stocked. Zine libraries rule because you get to read comics that you probably wouldn’t find anywhere else.

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There’s been a lot of talk about teenage pregnancy in the news and in films, lately. But what’s often left out is how marginalized teenage mothers are, and how institutions often discriminate against these women, rather than support them.

Katherine Arnoldi’s graphic novel, The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom, beautifully tells the story of her struggle as a young mother. Arnoldi got pregnant at 17, and with little support from her family, she worked long hours at a factory, waitressed, and generally busted her ass at low paying jobs to provide her daughter and herself with their basic needs.

Arnoldi talks about the conflict that comes from being being a mom, who loves her daughter and wants the best for her, and a teenager, who wants the opportunity to travel and get an education. She feels her whole life is ahead of her, while constantly being told that she’s given up any chance at a future.

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