Oh boy oh boy oh BOY somehow we made it through 2022! And honestly, thank goodness! It was a hell of a year and I am happy about many things, proud of many things, and really ready to put them all behind me. However, we can’t jump into 2023 right without delivering you a fresh round of comics recommendations… on top of all our awesome year end favorites lists, which you should also read! If you are overwhelmed by all those lists, it’s OK! Take a deep breath in, and let it out. Settle in with good ol’ WWACommendations, in which we sit by a roaring fire (in our minds) and laugh, chat, and gently recommend you some comics. Does this intro feel unhinged? That’s just 2022 gettin’ to me; don’t worry about it.
Masha Zhdanova: Oshi no Ko written by Aka Akasaka (author of my beloved Kaguya-sama: Love is War) and drawn by Mengo Yokoyari (creator of Scum’s Wish, which I have not read but have heard of) just got an anime announcement and I’m so excited! I’ve been reading it on the Mangaplus app. The premise is wild and kind of messed up: a doctor and one of his patients who are fans of this idol singer are reincarnated as her illegitimate twin children, and then she’s murdered by a stalker while their reincarnated selves are very young, so now the twin who used to be a doctor is hellbent on revenge. Because he knows his father and his mother’s murderer are in the entertainment industry, both of the children end up following their idol mother into entertainment. If that sounds confusing don’t worry; it makes more sense in context.
Oshi no Ko shines in how it combines both creator’s strengths: Yokoyari’s gift for depicting interpersonal drama and Akasaka’s incredible sense for contemporary fan culture and observational comedy work together to make a comic that is absolutely impossible to put down. The revenge plot that drives the story is intense, but so is the depiction of all these different aspects of show business the characters get involved with. It’s funny and nuanced and has a lot of heart! I especially loved the arc about a stage play adaptation of a popular manga that the main character acts in. More people should be reading Oshi no Ko!
Carrie McClain: I love when Olivia Stephens works her magic in comics. She has a steady hand when it comes to narratives steeped in the supernatural with complicated characters in stories that get you immediately emotionally invested. I wanted to reread the short supernatural western comic of hers titled Darlin’ that I purchased back in 2021. This version, under twenty pages, follows two guides gifted with a business opportunity. The couple, who are more than meets the eye, are hired to lead a hunting party in this short, genre-blending, atmospheric comic that left me wanting more. The ending left me surprised, in awe and with a good laugh to boot.
Entirely in black and white with the exception of the color red, Stephens’ artwork looks every bit like a timeless piece of cinema of yesteryear. Visually, Darlin’ pulls off an incredibly stunning look that’s not quite old western — it doesn’t feel too dated, like how some art set as period pieces can look. You can read a Twitter version of the comic here in this thread which also includes links to purchase print and digital copies. Currently, Stephens has reached back into that story for a graphic novella expansion, titled Darlin’ & Her Other Names. Seeking to fill the void in my heart that didn’t know it needed more supernatural-horror-romance stories, this newer version follows two loners who join together on a journey of revenge and transformation set in the early 1880’s.
Stephens has been working on the project through aid of her Patreon and I am looking forward to purchasing and reading the first part of the reworked story, sometime next year. If you love your comics with folklore and mythology in mind and also enjoy the horror genre, this may be one you need to read. Intended for mature audiences, it includes some content warnings for violence, gore, animal death, nudity and language so keep that in mind when proceeding.
Paulina Pzystupa: I’ve been devouring Satoru Noda’s Golden Kamuy. However, it makes me alternately very hungry, when I learn a new Ainu recipe, and very uncomfortable that I am hungry, when the graphic shootouts or other creepy things happen. I’d also say that the Shonen Jump Plus is a great way to keep reading great series like Golden Kamuy and I head over there when I’ve got down time. As it’s primarily Shonen (obvi), there are infinite chapters for most things (GK has like 200) and if you’re looking to catch up on things that Naruto-ran past you when you were younger (me looking at Hikaru no go) the subscription is definitely worth it for $2 a month. Also last month I rec’d Akane-Banashi, which you can read in the Shonen Jump + app, but GK is only available to read in-browser once you’ve got a SJ+ subscription.
Alenka Figa: It is the end of the year and y’all, I’m tired. My brain is tired. This year was a lot. You know what’s feeding my tired brain really well right now? Sweet, silly romance.
First, I’m going to piggyback off everyone else and rec even more manga! I just read volume 5 of My Love Mix-Up! written by Wataru Hinekure and illustrated by Aruko. This series is SO CUTE! The premise is purposefully convoluted and lighthearted: Aoki likes Hashimoto, the girl who sits next to him in class. When he borrows her eraser, he’s crushed to see the name “IDA” written on it, which he believes means she’s got a crush on Ida, the guy who sits on his other side. Even more horrifying, Aoki drops the eraser and Ida picks it up, spotting his own name! Hoping to spare the feelings of the girl he likes, Aoki claims it’s his eraser — and now Ida thinks Aoki has a crush on HIM!
I’m sure you can see where this is going — Aoki continues to try and protect Hashimoto, Ida continues to misunderstand, and Aoki catches genuine feelings for tall, handsome and caring Ida. Aoki is sweet, clumsy and beloved by his friends. As the series continues, the friendship between the four main characters (Hashimoto remains important to the story, as does Aoki’s mega extroverted best friend Aida) becomes more and more of a highlight. These four teens wade through all kinds of awkward situations just to be there for each other, and it’s just HEART-WARMING. This is a mild spoiler, but volume 5 addresses homophobia more directly than I’m used to seeing in BL manga. I was really excited to see that aspect added to a story that could already mean a lot to young, questioning teens. Also: the faces Aruko draws are so goofy and expressive.
The other silly romance keeping me afloat in these cold, exhausting final days of 2022 is Maybe Meant to Be by creators honeyskein and damcho, published on Webtoon. Maybe Meant to Be is about Jia Han, an unemployed freelancer in her early 30s who just wants to be aimless and lazy. Unfortunately her parents won’t get off her back about getting married and moving out. On Lunar New Year, Jia stomps out of her parents’ house for a cigarette and runs into her childhood friend, Mincheol Jin. Mincheol has transformed from a scrawny weirdo into a super buff adult weirdo. He’s also single and still under his parents’ thumb, so when Jia jokes that they should enter a marriage of convenience to get away from their parents, Mincheol takes her seriously and bam — just like that, they get married.
You can see where this one is going, too: they’re going to catch feelings. Like, duh, and yes it’s super funny and cute. Here’s the thing I really need to communicate about this webtoon: Jia is a selfish, petty, messy human being and I LOVE her. She’s conflict-averse and desperately wants to float through life, which her talent kind of lets her do, but not enough to let her live luxuriously on her own. Jia is pretty and fashionable — like seriously, the clothing the creators give her is perfectly matched to her personality — and draws people to her naturally, but she really just wants to be left alone. She loves gossip about others and gets intensely smug when people come to her for advice. Honestly, Jia is the kind of character she probably loves to read about, because she’s just so impulsive and messy! I’m a little obsessed, and it helps that honeyskein and damcho are masters of comedic timing. Please come root for these weirdos along with me.
Kathryn Hemmann: I recently had the pleasure of flipping through Kaylee Rowena’s zine Haunts, which collects the American comic artist’s illustrations of haunted houses. I especially appreciate the epilogue, which takes the form of a short essay about houses and hauntings and memory. It’s a fantastic piece of writing, and Rowena acknowledges the influence of a YouTube video called “Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House” by the video game critic Jacob Geller.
This video discusses the trope of the haunted house through the two games mentioned in the title, but it has deeper cultural resonance and doesn’t require any prior knowledge. It’s also my favorite type of video essay: it’s only twenty minutes long, it has subtitles, and it’s not necessary to watch the video footage if you just want to listen to the audio. I’ve been feeling a bit more home-bound since the weather has gotten colder, and the combination of Rowena’s colorful art and Geller’s video essay have helped me appreciate the magic and mystery of walls that continue upright and doors that remain sensibly shut.
If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive down haunted corridors, the horror game Anatomy is very accessible and offers a brilliant combination of disturbing text and eerie lo-fi visuals. It’s perfect for the holiday season, when many people return to their childhood homes only to find that things are ever so slightly… different.
