As a big time webcomics enthusiast, I was personally delighted to see indie darling Matchmaker show up in this year’s Eisner noms alongside heavy hitters like Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus. Matchmaker follows a group of early-twenties queer friends as they attempt to find love, survive the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and finally beat Elden Ring. Fans of heartfelt slice-of-life comics like Azumanaga Daioh will want to pick this one up, especially if you need a crash course in zoomer humor; technically, the comic’s final chapter is specifically nominated, but publisher Silver Sprocket has collected the entire comic (plus new strips and art by Marshall) in its print edition.
Also published by Silver Sprocket, Cash’s Ignatz Award-winning limited series PeePeePooPoo — referencing everyone’s favorite human waste-themed internet meme — riffs on aesthetics from previous generations of underground cartoonists like Daniel Clowes, Charles Burns, and R. Crumb. The result is akin to a one-woman version of Harvey Pekar’s iconic anthology series American Splendorwith Cash serving as her own rotating cast of artists as she slips between genres and styles. For the discerning fan, Silver Sprocket also sells accompanying sets of sticker sheets; our readers may vibe with the “Clean Your Bong” set.
Wroten (who has also created original art for Them) released their over 450-page magnum opus last year to critical acclaimexploring what it means to create art in an ever-more-isolating digital consumer culture. This is familiar ground for readers of Wroten’s past work like Cannonballbut their penchant for esotericism and dream narratives is on full display in Eden IIwhich pits two creators of an immersive online game against one another as the barriers between fiction and reality break down. Those who like their comics big, weird, and thoughtful should have plenty to chew on in this nominee for Best Graphic Album.
A Boy Named Rose by Gaëlle Geniller (transl. by Fabrice Sapolsky)
Originally published in French as The Garden, ParisGeniller’s historic romance centers on the eponymous Rose, a genderfluid 19-year-old who longs to join his mother and found family onstage as a cabaret dancer. As Rose meets and falls in love with a man who patronizes Les Jardin, Geniller presents a loving look at queer romance and gender identity during a time period in Europe when society was prepared to discuss neither.
For those ultra-nerds who go beyond reading comics into academic theory about comics (e.g. myself), Halsall and Warren’s anthology — which is already confirmed as the winner for Best Academic/Scholarly Work — features essays by numerous scholars and critics ruminating on the medium and its queer possibilities. In addition to wide-ranging historical research and contemporary criticism, the tome also reproduces art by influential LGBTQ+ creators going back to the 1960s, including Alison Bechdel, iconic creator of Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For; Jennifer Camper, an underground lesbian cartoonist known for her work in series like Gay Comix and Real Girl; and Howard Cruse, author of the landmark civil rights comic Stuck Rubber Babywho died in 2019.
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