Now that my Comic World News column has ended, my annual Top 10 list needs a new home, so what better place than here. I don’t read everything that comes out, so it’s not only possible, it’s likely that there are books I’ve missed that could easily be here but aren’t. It’s okay. Trust me. This is only my opinion; take it for what it’s worth.

10. Skyscrapers of the Midwest (AdHouse Books). Anthropomorphized critters, robots, and other oddities living in a Kafkaesque version of the American heartland, seen through stories ripe with black humor, bitter irony and existential atmosphere. Reminiscent of Matt Groening’s Life in Hell, Gary Larsen’s The Far Side, and the “American Scream” story line of Shade the Changing Man. Josh Cotter is either demented or a genius… or both.

9. Fun Home (Houghton Mifflin). Author recounts her childhood living with a closeted homosexual father and his many idiosyncrasies. After many years as creator of one of the all-time great gay cartoons, Dykes to Watch Out For, Allison Bechdel blows up big time with this intimate and intricate graphic novel which attempts to come to terms with the circumstances which led to her father’s untimely death and how it, and he, helped shape her life. Beautifully illustrated and written with a deeply introspective approach.

8. DMZ (DC/Vertigo). In a future war-torn New York City, a novice reporter is thrown into the heart of the conflict to document not only the fighting, but how the civilians continue to live their lives in the shadow of death and destruction. Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli reimagine Manhattan in the context of Iraq in order to bring us the kinds of hard truths about war that the current administration has blinded itself to.

7. Pride of Baghdad (DC/Vertigo). A quartet of lions in Baghdad’s zoo escape during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and search for a place they can call their own. Inspired by a true story, Brian K. Vaughan and Nico Henrichon’s graphic novel postulates on the concept of freedom, and the conflicting attitudes and worldviews taken by all of the animal characters (not just the lions) make for a profound and thought-provoking allegory.

6. Can’t Get No (DC/Vertigo). A businessman’s abrupt series of changes in his fortune culminates in the events of September 11, which prompt him to journey across America searching for a renewed sense of purpose. Perhaps the most challenging comic I’ve ever read, Rick Veitch tells the story of the businessman exclusively with images, accompanying them with a stream-of-consciousness poetic narrative that seems to reflect the plot at times, depending on your interpretation. It’s a worthy effort towards pushing the boundaries of what comics can be; a book that demands your attention by its very nature and forces you to think carefully about what you see and read.

5. The Ticking (Top Shelf). A deformed father attempts to make a better life for his deformed son, but has skeletons in his closet that it’s up to the son to expose. Renee French expands her body of David Lynch-like fever-dream worlds with her best comics work to date, one that, for all its macabre imagery, maintains a certain level of innocence and gentility that marks her protagonists as distinctly human as the rest of us.

4. American Born Chinese (First Second). A single plot constructed from three unlikely strands: an interpretation of the ancient Chinese folk tale of the Monkey King, the world’s worst Chinese stereotype in a fish-out-of-water sitcom, and a coming-of-age story about a Chinese-American boy’s attempt to fit into American society. The way Gene Yang ties these subplots together is remarkable, and the result is a poignant, funny and moving tale that counts as literature no matter what anyone says!

3. Stagger Lee (Image). An account combining fact and fiction of the notorious late-19th century gunslinger immortalized in song, accompanied with a history of his numerous musical incarnations. Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix not only present a fascinating true-crime story in the tradition of Road to Perdition and Torso, but also explore the genesis of blues music through the Stagger Lee songs. Expertly written and powerfully illustrated, it satisfies on multiple levels and appeals to a wide range of readers.

2. The Walking Dead (Image). The ongoing tale of a band of human survivors in a world overrun with zombies. As ever, Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn’s horror series continues to emphasize that it’s not the zombies that are the scary part – it’s the humans, and the things they do in the name of survival. This year in particular we saw the main characters go through some truly shocking and unexpected changes, and it’s not likely to let up anytime soon. Let’s hope not.

1. Lost Girls (Top Shelf). Grown-up fairytale storybook heroines Alice Liddell, Dorothy Gale, and Wendy Darling and the secrets behind their respective adventures in Wonderland, Oz and Neverland, which were of a more sexual nature. It took almost twenty years, but Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s comics triptych was well worth the wait. A unashamed work of pornography by the creators’ own admission, it dares to deal directly with sexual experimentation and sexual liberation in a time where more people than ever are afraid to discuss sex. Lushly illustrated and beautifully packaged, it’s one more triumph for the greatest comics writer of all time.