In honor of our special commemorative Pictures of the Year issue (on newsstands today!), we’ve asked a few staffers around the office to grab a copy and choose their favorite photograph. Here’s senior writer Nick Summers on the above GOP line-up shot:

You have to love this: the GOP nomination fight as trashy reality TV show. Each character is better than the next—Google-challenged Santorum, pumpkin-faced Newt, crazy-eyes Bachmann, plasticky frontrunner Mitt, ornery six-gun Perry, the irrepressible Ron Paul, searching for Uzbeki-beki-beki-beki-stan Cain, and even the normal-seeming Huntsman as foil.

Related: Do you have a particular favorite photo of the year? If so, send it our way, to nwktumblr@gmail.com, or post and tag w/ ‘PicsOfTheYear’ so we can find it to reblog. Let’s see what you’ve got, tumblr!

From the mag: 

In southern Tripoli’s Yarmuk neighborhood, discarded mementos litter the ransacked living quarters of Gaddafi’s son Khamis, commander of the notorious 32nd Brigade.

Photo by Alex Majoli / Magnum for Newsweek

We’ve posted some of photographer Chris Buck’s outtakes from his Newsweek cover shoot of Michele Bachmann, presented for your viewing pleasure.

markcoatney:

Today in things I love: These color photographs taken in Russia more than 100 years ago, are amazing.