habibi

As 2011 draws to close, ComicsAlliance has assembled its annual list of the best comics and graphic novels of the year with the help of our editors, writers, and readers. Like any list, it is naturally subjective, but we've packed it chock full of eleven comics that have awed us, excited us, and entertained us over the last 12 months and books that we're passionate about recommending. Read about #

Reading Comics author Douglas Wolk runs down the hottest comics and graphic novels coming out this week. KEY: * '72 flashback % Couples, united and split ^ "High anxiety" % ^ AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #670 Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos' "Spider-Island" continues; it's not often that a big crossover event can best be described with the word "madcap...

Toys: New Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales is about to get the Minimates treatment as revealed by a new character design from Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys. Anime: Two new Pokémon films, Pokémon the Movie: White - Victini and Zekrom and Pokémon the Movie: Black - Victini and Reshiram will run in American theaters for limited engagements. Novelty: Batman'...

Two larger new editions of Craig Thompson's autobiographical graphic novel Blankets came out yesterday from Top Shelf, reprinting the Eisner Award-winning book about Thompson's first love as a young man from a deeply religious family. Thompson newest work, the much-anticipated Islamic-lore-inspired Habibi, hits stores in a few week from Pantheon Books, and to celebrate both works we're holding a

Webcomics: Now up at IGN, both halves of Michael Avon Oeming's Portal 2: Lab Rat comic are pretty dope. Following his awesome Left 4 Dead series, he's starting to cement himself as the best comics-rooted-in-videogame-continuity (his stuff's too good for the simple "tie-in" tag) artist out there...

Upcoming: Craig Thompson's Habibi finally has a firm release date. Final cover artwork isn't set, but $29.95 will score fans 672 black and white pages surrounded by a clothbound hardcover with stamped gold foil come September 20. Movies: My movie Iron Man and yours, Robert Downey Jr...

Creators: "Blankets" creator Craig Thompson has wrapped his initial draft of the 700-page "Habibi." Now to wait for the final product. Heroes: Ron Richards takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Marvel's Heroic Age "Superheroes" sourcebook in which Steve Rogers basically does drugs and sizes up his contemporaries...

Paul Gauguin loved keeping the women in his paintings mysterious, and Craig Thompson has taken a similar approach to "Habibi," his famously anticipated graphic novel follow-up to "Blankets." 2010 is supposed to be the year that he finally wraps his new project for Pantheon Books, though, and the tale inspired by Islamic lore and Arabic calligraphy will have at least one panel d