Victor Kerlow's Best Comics Of 2013

As is our annual tradition, we invited a number of our friends who are also cartoonists, comics publishers and editors to tell us what their favorite comics of 2013 were. We'll be publishing them all over the next few weeks.

Victor Kerlow is a contributor to Future Shock (Birdcage Bottom Books) and this year, Koyama Press published his terrific Everything Takes Forever. Visit his website.




1. Batman (ongoing) by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (DC Comics)
This is the only title I read from The New 52 and while I don't read it every month, Greg Capullo drawing Batman is awesome. When I was a kid I liked Spawn a lot, shit I even bought all three issues of The Creech and am psyched to see Greg Capullo drawing the drizzle knizzle himself (Dark Knight).

2. Midwestern Cuban Comics by Odin Cabal
I met this guy at TCAF this year and was psyched on his drawings. Like the Real Deal or Inner City Romance comics that everyone should love so much. The stories are what I imagine the Hernandez guys make comics about, but I've never read any comics by them, so who knows. There is a little birdie character in issue 1 named Pito who cracks me up and looks like these toys I used to collect in Kinder eggs when I was a tiny boy in Mexico City.

3. A33 by Josh Burggraf
I am a big fan of Josh's colors and really liked these quiet, loudly colored comics in an abstract world. I wish I had taken the time and had the capabilities to make something like this.

4. FF (ongoing) by Mike Allred and Matt Fraction (Marvel)
In case it wasn't clear, from the first two selections, I care for stories much less than I do impressive visuals in comics. Mike Allred makes a weird version of Fantastic Four and it is consistently fun, though not as enjoyable as his X-Force run.

5. Future Shock #3 - #6 by Josh Burggraf / various (Astro Plus Press)
This is my favorite small press anthology out right now; lots of wildly colored, fun sci fi-ish weirdo type comics that are easy to read and fun to look at again and again. There are a few confusing comics in them but for the most part they are just a pleasure to go through and soak up.


6. Blacksad: Silent Hell by Juanjo Guarnido and Juan Diaz Canales (Dark Horse)
I just reread this like last week and it's so mind-boggling to look at the beautiful watercolors in here that it doesn't matter if the story is a yeah-I-get-it noir crime mystery. Actually this might have come out last year... I don't remember...

7. Fran by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)
More great quiet comics. Following all of Jim Woodring's lines around the page can make you dizzy, but fuck it, those drawings are so good.

8. Jupiter's Legacy #1-3 by Frank Quietly and Mark Millar  (Image Comics)
Even though the story was more than a little boring and Frank Quietly stopped drawing after like 3 issues, just like Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin, I can't not love whatever Frank Quietly draws.

9. EVERYTHING TAKES FOREVER by Victor Kerlow
Of course if I made it, I am a big fan of it. Lots of funny and sad-but-funny comics in there, especially the 22 page Little Guy. So yeah, I'm gonna say I like it a lot, but fuck that, check it out and decide for yourself.

Whelp there ya go, hope it's fun to read and you pick up something you haven't yet.

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