The BOOM! Studios series, penned by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Michael Dialynas, concluded this year with issue #36. It’s technically another ensemble series, but it deserves its own spot on the list due to its sheer number of queer characters and how excellently they are portrayed. Many of its characters (such as Isaac, Ben and Sanami) are among my favorite representations in the history of the comic medium. I can’t say much about the series’ events over the last year without treading heavily into spoiler territory, but just trust me on this one. The Woods is an all-time great, and now that it’s finished you can read it without having to wait for monthly updates.

6. My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness

For the sake of manga releases on this list, I’m counting works that were first translated into English last year, even if their original Japanese releases predated 2017. Kabi Nagata’s autobiographical tale was originally published in Japanese in 2016 before being re-released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment in 2017. My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness chronicles a decade of Nagata’s life in which she struggled with eating disorders, a lack of understanding of her sexuality and sex in general, creative difficulties, and an inability to love herself. As the volume progresses, Nagata gains more of a sense of clarity regarding her life. She doesn’t claim to have everything figured out by the end of it, which only makes the memoir more relatable–it’s a tale of moving forward through life, even when one doesn’t have the exact words to describe their feelings or even their self. For a queer narrative that focuses less on revelations to the outside world and more on the inner process of self-realization, check this manga out.

5. Jughead

Jughead gets major props for being not only one of the year’s most delightful titles, but also the only solo series I’m aware of with an asexual lead–not just this year, but ever. Writer Ryan North and artist Derek Charm’s time on the series was fantastic, treating Jughead’s sexuality with respect and imbuing Riverdale with a sense of infectious fun that is sadly missing from its televised incarnation. Magical mishaps and high school hijinks provided great comedic material, and Charm’s artwork was simply perfect for the title. Jughead is one of the now-finished series that I’ll most miss in 2018.

4. Nothing Lasts Forever

As emotionally earnest as it is funny, Sina Grace’s memoir Nothing Lasts Forever (published by Image) is likely my favorite original graphic novel of 2017. From creative self-doubt to sickness to grieving after the death of a loved one, Nothing Lasts Forever never flinches while confronting the sheer oppressive exhaustion of life’s most difficult periods. The pencilling, which often feels akin to drawings in a diary, helps reinforce the novel’s bare-bones sense of intimacy. Grace accomplishes the difficult task of creating work that feels relatively unfiltered while still being polished enough for all the jokes and emotional beats to land with full effect. There are a number of fantastic comedic moments throughout, such as Grace’s sharing the Image Comics headquarters’ elevator with Savage Dragon, but it’s the novel’s raw authenticity of feeling that earns it such a high spot on this list.

3. Batwoman

With Rebirth, Kate Kane finally got her own solo series again, and it was well worth the wait. Primarily written by Marguerite Bennett (alongside James Tynion IV for some issues) and featuring numerous artists (including Steve Epting, Stephanie Hans, Renago Arlem and Fernando Blanco), 2017’s Batwoman stories breathed fresh life into the character by grounding her current missions in memories and emotional scars from her past, as well as pitting her against foes she had never previously encountered. The series’s fifth issue, a one-off chronicling Kate’s love life with Safiyah on the island of Coryana, was one of the best single issues of the entire year. In the following arc, Kate went up against Scarecrow, leading to surreal battle scenes that were reminiscent of the New 52 Batwoman title in all the best ways. Here’s hoping this series keeps going deep into 2018 and beyond.

2. My Brother’s Husband

It’s not often that I read something and think that it’s virtually perfect. But, as I wrote in my review of its first volume, My Brother’s Husband is nearly flawless. Gengoroh Tagame’s serialized manga, which debuted back in 2014, made its English debut last year, courtesy of Pantheon Books. The series follows a makeshift family of three: Yaichi (a single father), Kana (his daughter), and Mike (the husband of Yaichi’s dead brother, Ryoji). Expertly written and drawn, My Brother’s Husband is all about people coming together in the face of grief and discrimination, confronting their own prejudices, and doing their best not to pass hatred or unhappiness down to younger generations. Comics don’t get any better than this one when it comes to displaying what homophobia and societal bigotry look like on a fundamental, day-to-day level. I found this series to be one of those rare cases where I actually had trouble putting it down.

1. Iceman