Amy & Jordan By Mark Beyer
Perhaps the ultimate urban nightmare comic, "Amy & Jordan" first appeared as a strip of the same name in a few alternative weekly papers during the late '80s and early '90s. This collection of the almost lost series reveals Mark Beyer to have been not only an extremely funny cartoonist, but one of the most progressive as well. Full of the existential despair associated with urban living, Amy and Jordan are a couple who endure rats, aliens, bugs and neighbors like a woman who is just a head on a platter. Aside from creating some of the darkest humor for any comic strip, Beyer also reinvigorated the form with some of the most outrageous layouts ever to fit in a single column. One strip puts all the panels into the feathers of a bird. The innovation and humor of "Amy & Jordan" make this the lost treasure of the year.