The Best Comics & Graphic Novels of October 2017

America, Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez, by Gabby Rivera, Joe Quinones, and Ramon Villalobos
Captain America’s been a little less of a hero lately, but luckily, Young Avenger alumnus and Ultimates leader America Chavez has her own ongoing solo book to more than make up for it. Novelist Rivera and all-star artists Quinones and Villalobos are on hand as America breaks up with her girlfriend, heads off to college, takes a roadtrip with Kate Bishop, and battles a variety of interdimensional monsters. There’s also a trip back to WWII that does not end without some Nazi-punching.

Royal City, Vol. 1: Next of Kin, by Jeff Lemire
A new book from Jeff Lemire is always welcome. Royal City is a multigenerational family story with touches of the supernatural. It’s about Patrick Pike, who returns to the dying factory town where he grew up, only to be quickly be drawn back into the family drama he once set out to escape. Patrick’s brother drowned decades ago, but something like his ghost is haunting the family and bringing dark secrets to the surface.

Black Panther & the Crew: We Are the Streets, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Yona Harvey, Butch Guice, and Scott Hanna
This one didn’t get much of a shot as an ongoing series, but it’s still a compelling mystery on the streets of Harlem, written by poet Yona Harvey alongside Ta-Nehisi Coates. It also means that the entire story is collected in this volume. Black Panther is joined by Luke Cage, Misty Knight, Storm, and Manifold, brought together by the death of a Harlem activist whose murder has ties to the past and future of the Marvel U.

The Walking Dead: Here’s Negan (Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition), by Robert Kikman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, and Dave Stewart
Serialized in Image+ magazine but never before collected, Here’s Negan provides the backstory of the longtime antagonist to Rick and the gang. Hint: even as a high school coach, he was never all that nice a guy. The B&N edition includes a reprint of Negan’s first appearance from Walking Dead #100 with an exclusive cover.

I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 3: Good Girl, by Skottie Young
Gert still hates Fairyland, no question, and 40 years in a child’s body still has her on edge. It occurs to her, though, that her murderous rampages might be the very thing keeping her trapped. She can only see one way forward: seek redemption, make up for all of her bad deeds. Not because she means it, but because it might get her home.

Ladycastle, by Delilah S. Dawson, Ashley A. Woods, and Rebecca Farrow
Sadly, King Mancastle and all but one of his knights have all been killed by a dragon. Fortunately, the ladies are on hand to protect the castle from the oncoming stable of monsters. The kingdom is now being lead by Merinor, new king, formerly the blacksmith’s wife. The women-folk will have to learn quickly if they’re to save the castle. This delightful series scratches the same itch as Rat Queens, and comes to us from an all-female creative team to boot, including celebrated SFF novelist Delilah S. Dawson (who has also written for Adventure Time comics)

Batman/The Flash: The Button Deluxe Edition, by Tom King, Joshua Williamson, Jason Fabok, and Howard Porter
Since Rebirth, DC’s been hinting that something big is in the works, and it probably involves The Watchmen. A yellow button, and the appearance of that iconic smiley face button in the main DC universe (on the wall of the Batcave, no less) were the first clues. Continuing that mystery, while also serving as the first chapter in the forthcoming Doomsday Clock,  this book has Batman teaming up with the Flash in order to solve the puzzle that’s leading toward the invasion of the Watchmen.

Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel, by Kieron Gillen, Jason Aaron, Salvador Larroca, Andrea Broccardo
The latest Marvel SW volume is a crossover between the main monthly book and Doctor Aphra that involves Luke reluctantly teaming up with the infamous archaeologist (sort of an Indiana Jones with evil-ish leanings) to infiltrate a mysterious gathering at the heart of the brilliantly named Screaming Citadel. Han and Leia are close behind, but might be too late to save Luke from the Citadel’s queen.

Star Wars: Poe Dameron, Vol. 3: Legends Lost, by Charles Soule, Angel Unzueta, Phil Noto, and Arif Prianto
Under the command of General Leia, Poe’s elite Black Squadron edges ever closer to the events of The Force Awakens. This latest volume sees the team mourning the loss of a comrade, but the mixed loyalties of Imperial Agent Terex have made him a star of this book almost as much as Poe. While Black Squadron holds him at bay, he faces a major setback in his power struggle with Captain Phasma.

Mis(h)adra, by Iasmin Omar Ata
Inspired by the author’s own experiences, Mis(h)adra is the story of Isaac, an Arab-American college student who finds himself increasingly isolated because of his seizure disorder. His medications are only sporadically effective, and his family is in denial about his condition, making life as a student next to impossible in this powerful, emotional book.

Kill Them All, by Kyle Starks and Luigi Anderson
Starks and co. don’t really beat around the bush with this one: the tribute to ’90s action movies stars a betrayed murderess and a hard-drinking ex-cop who battle through 15 flights of a building filled with criminals, murderers, and…accountants?  The only way for the pair to get what they want? You guessed it—kill them all.

Baking With Kafka, by Tom Gauld
Guardian cartoonist Gauld tends to bring a light touch to highbrow material with his acclaimed cartoons. This collection brings together the best of his work, with its distinct style, concise pace, and British humor. Gauld does a lot of material about books and writers, making his work particularly appealing to readers.

Overwatch: Anthology, Vol. 1, by Matt Burns, Roberts Brooks, Andrew Robinson, Micky Neilson, and James Waugh
Overwatch has become something of a pop culture phenomenon over the past year or so, and this graphic novel anthology expands upon the characters and universe introduced in the Blizzard game. The book, collecting 12 stories, gets personal by digging into the backstories of some of the game’s heroes.

Rat Queens, Vol. 4: High Fantasies, by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Owen Gieni, and Ryan Ferrier
The Queens are back in Palisade after a bit of a break, with the aid of new artist Owen Gieni. They’re also joined by a new Rat Queen, Braga, and find themselves fighting to escape a deadly maze beneath a mountain. It’s a new era, but the Queens are still as tough (and drunk) as ever before.

Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77, by Jeff Parker, Marc Andreyko, David Hahn, and Karl Kesel
It’s the team-up that we’ve all been waiting for (at least, it’s the one I’ve been waiting for): Lynda Carter from the late ’70s Wonder Woman TV series and Adam West from the classic ’66 Batman show. The novel spans several decades, joining the two up first in the ’60s, then 11 years later, when a retired Batman is called back into action. Their common foe? Ra’s al Ghul and his League of Shadows, on the hunt for the secrets of immortality with which to control the world.

Low, Book One, by Rick Remender, Greg Tocchini, and Dave McCaig
If you haven’t yet read this sci-fi-fi epic, this new deluxe collection is a good way to get started. It collects the first 15 chapters of the dystopian epic about a future humankind that’s trapped underwater and at risk of dying out. With no real prospects, our worst instincts have taken over, but one family, through the woman who leads it, manages to retain a spark of hope for the future in the face of utter devastation. It’s a dark book, no question, but it’s also a timely guide for finding meaning when everything seems bleak.

Monograph by Chris Ware, with Ira Glass, Francoise Mouly, and Art Spiegelman
Chris Ware is one of our most gifted, and sometimes most challenging cartoonists, pulling off new tricks with the form using a sometimes old-timey aesthetic and incredibly colorful, elaborate images. The bright colors are generally used to underscore themes and stories about isolation and torment, so there’s a lot going on in his work. Bigger than his typical books, this one charts his development chronologically alongside asides and commentary from Ware himself.

The Best American Comics 2017, by Ben Katchor and Bill Kartalopoulos
The Best American series has a unique hook: there’s not a single editor from year-to-year, nor are the selections from some faceless committee. Each annual volume has an editor who is her- or himself a talent in the field, meaning their choices for what to include are always interesting and more idiosyncratic than you’d expect from an anthology with a name like The Best American… This year’s volume is edited by award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Katchor.

The Girl From The Other Side: Siuil A Run, Vol. 3, by Nagabe
The world is split between the Inside and the Outside, with no contact permitted between the two realms. Shiva, a young girl living in a deserted village, shares a unique bond with a demonic entity called “Teacher,” but that bond will be tested and the secret behind the division of the realms is tested when Shiva goes on a quest to seek out her grandmother.

Riverdale, Vol. 1, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Alitha Martinez, and Joe Eisma
After 75-plus years, Archie and the gang are hot properties once again thanks to a variety of very successful experiments on the printed page—and a wonderfully strange and popular show on The CW. This book, set in the world of the series, fills in the details of the stories that propelled the first season forward: Archie’s dangerous summer romance, Betty’s fateful trip to LA, and Veronica’s life before coming back to Riverdale.

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files Omnibus, Vol. 2, by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Joseph Cooper, and Carlos Gomez
This massive collection gathers together three graphic adventures of Chicago wizard and private investigator Harry Dresden: “Ghoul Goblin,” “War Cry,” and “Down Town.” Though each can be read without a lot of background, the stories are all 100 percent officially a part of Butcher’s ongoing continuity—making them essential reading for Dresden Files fans.

Generations, by Flavia Bondi
Finally, writer artist Bondi crafts a small epic with the story of Matteo, a young man returning to his tiny, provincial home town after three years in the bustling city of Milan.  With no money and no job, he’s had no choice but to rejoin his family, including the conservative father who rejected Matteo when he came out as gay. Moving in with his extended family, he encounters hard truths about his family and himself.
What’s on your pull list?