Imagery, story shine in 7 best graphic novels of 2017

• “Batman, Vol. 2: I Am Suicide,” by Tom King, et al. (DC Comics).

King, a CIA agent turned star comics writer, has an uncanny knack for blending visceral action with focused intellect — a dance of brains and brute force that pops off the page like genius choreography.

• “The Best We Could Do,” by Thi Bui (Harry N. Abrams).

Bui, a Vietnam-born Californian, delivers in her debut graphic novel a cinematic epic that poignantly tracks several generations through immigration and emotional dislocation.

• “Boundless,” by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn and Quarterly).

Set along the fault lines of humanity and technology, this short-story collection disorients the senses even as it grounds us in the quirks of 21st-century life — all bundled with virtuosic visuals and slyly brilliant wit.

• “Everything Is Flammable,” by Gabrielle Bell (Uncivilized).

Published shortly before the fall wine-country wildfires began, this Northern California story illuminates how fragile our relationships are and how quickly everything can go up in smoke.

• “Hostage,” by Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly).

Delisle tells the true story of a Doctors Without Borders worker who was kidnapped in 1997. He deftly mines stillness and long stretches of inaction for uncomfortably taut drama. Delisle’s monochromatic palette only heightens the sense of captivity as a brutal mind game of uncertainty.

• “Mighty Thor, Vol. 3: The Asgard/Shi’ar War,” by Jason Aaron, et al. (Marvel).

Aaron’s run on Thor is only getting more rewarding, and the adventures of Jane as Thor — cancer-patient mortal turned race-uniting god — are riveting as we witness the extremes of her leadership, loyalty and sacrifice.

• “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters,” by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics).

This debut graphic novel from a 55-year-old Chicago artist is a revelation: a deeply textured tale of dark histories framed as a girl’s diary and told through riveting art that is an homage to midcentury horror comics and film.