Portland writer and critic Douglas Wolk examines “a dozen of 2007’s most notable comics and graphic novels” for Salon.

It’s an excellent list, and it causes—in me at least—that crappy, crappy feeling where you realize that no matter how much you read, you’re never going to be able to get to everything good. That said, Wolk’s list is as good of a place as any to start adding books to your “to read” stack. (Also, to be filed under the “should be on that list but isn’t” category: Black Dossier, and possibly Shortcomings.)

One thing about one of the books on the list: Local film critic and cartoonist Mike Russell recommended Brian Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim books to me a month or so ago, which I embarrassingly, had not read, despite hearing over and over how great they were. Anyway, I finally read them last week—pretty much marathon-style, even making a panicked rush to Cosmic Monkey Comics to pick up more volumes when I exhausted the ones I had—and they are fantastic. Chronicling the misadventures of a 23-year-old slacker, O’Malley’s books mash-up rock music, kung fu, manga, videogames, and laugh-out-loud dialogue to create some of the most clever and heartwarming stuff I’ve ever read. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

Something else I highly recommended: That this Christmas, somebody out there gives me that Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus. Just saying.