It's the last regular review episode of the year, so that means that the Two Guys with PhDs are here to share what they consider to be the best comics of 2015! In this extra-long episode, Andy and Derek discuss their 10 favorite titles of the year. Neither knows what the other has chosen before the recording, giving the episode a sense of freshness, spontaneousness, and surprise. And there are indeed several surprises in this year's picks, including the fact that there is only one title that appears on both guys' lists. Also, noticeably absent from their selections are the titles that have been populating many of the mainstream press' "Best of" lists (e.g., Killing and Dying, The Sculptor, Lumberjanes, and The Sandman: Overture: Deluxe Edition). And each of the guys notes some trends that appear in his list this year. For Andy, it's the prominence of autobiographical comics, and for Derek, it's a an emphasis on realistic novel-like narratives. Before they get to their favorites, though, they go over some year-end statistics regarding the podcast. For example, over the past year the guys have published 139 episodes (as of last week), which is roughly 42% of all of the episodes they've put out since the podcast began in 2012. They have also conducted 39 interviews in 2015, published 8 publisher spotlight episodes, and began two new monthly series (one for manga and another for young adult/children's comics). Needless to say, it's been a productive year for the guys.
But the heart of this week's episode is the Two Guys' discussion of their ten favorite titles of 2015:
Andy's Top 10 of 2015
The Unabridged Graphic Adaptation of iTunes Terms and Conditions - R. Sikoryak (self-published)
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl - Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel Comics)
Drawn Onward - Matt Madden (Retrofit/Big Planet Comics)
Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir - Maggie Thrash (Candlewick Press)
Descender - Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen (Image Comics)
The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984 - Riad Sattouf (Metropolitan Books)
The Story of My Tits - Jennifer Hayden (Top Shelf Productions)
March: Book Two - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)
Trashed - Derf Backderf (Abrams ComicArts)
Drawn & Quarterly: Twenty-five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels - Various Artists (Drawn & Quarterly)
Derek's Top 10 of 2015
Palookaville 22 - Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
Drawn Onward - Matt Madden (Retrofit/Big Planet Comics)
Our Expanding Universe - Alex Robinson (Top Shelf Productions)
Providence - Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows (Avatar Press)
Tim Ginger - Julian Hanshaw (Top Shelf Productions)
The Spirit: A Celebration of 75 Years - Will Eisner (DC Comics)
Invisible Ink: My Mother's Love Affair With A Famous Cartoonist Hardcover - Bill Griffith (Fantagraphics)
Two Brothers - Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse Books)
The Eternaut - Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano Lopez (Fantagraphics)
The Dharma Punks - Ant Sang (Conundrum Press)
The Honorable Mentions…These Titles Almost, but Just Didn’t Quite, Make It onto Each Guy's List
For Andy
Bright-Eyed at Midnight - Leslie Stein (Fantagraphics)
The Multiversity: Deluxe Edition - Grant Morrison, et al. (DC Comics)
Secret Wars - Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, plus various tie-ins (Marvel Comics)
Ruins - Peter Kuper (SelfMadeHero)
Junction True - Ray Fawkes and Vince Locke (Top Shelf Productions)
Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir - Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)
Everything that Michael DeForge created this year
Airboy - James Robinson and Greg Hinkle (Image Comics)
For Derek
The Humans - Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neely (Image Comics)
The Multiversity: Deluxe Edition - Grant Morrison, et al. (DC Comics)
Invisible Republic - Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko (Image Comics)
Ruins - Peter Kuper (SelfMadeHero)
Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir - Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)
First three volumes of the Last Man series (The Stranger, The Royal Cup, and The Chase) - Bastien Vivès, Michaël Sanlaville, and Balak (First Second)
Complete Eightball - Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)
Existential Comics - Corey Mohler (webcomic)
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