THE BEST OF 2022 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

 

 

THE BEST COMICS OF 2022:

- Well, 2022 was an awesome year for comics. Okay, I'm clearly biased - I'll admit. Because 2022 was the year that my first ever comic book - HALLOWEEN TEAM - released its first two issues. Finally, after years of thinking about creating my own comic - this year, that dream became a reality. I teamed up with the talented artist Matt Shults, and we worked to create, release, and promote our very own self-published comic book. Easily one of my most exciting moments of 2022 - the release of Halloween Team #1 allowed me to finally transition from comic fan to comic creator. A lot of work went into it (obviously, a *ton* of work on Matt's part - especially given that he's penciling, inking, coloring, and lettering each issue!). But there were so many fun and rewarding moments leading up to and after the release. From giving away free physical copies of our first issue for Free Comic Book Day (at the legendary House of Secrets comic book shop in Burbank), to getting press coverage from top sites like Newsarama and Daily Dead, to doing interviews with outlets like Comic Crusaders, to getting awesome T-shirts made via Design By Humans ... it's been one heck of a ride. And it's not over yet! 2023 will see the long-awaited release of Issues #3 and #4, and hopefully even more cool news about the future of the book. So yeah, we did it - we made a comic book! In a year of so many ups and downs and so much craziness, this was my proudest (and coolest!) accomplishment.

Halloween Team aside, I read a lot of really great comic books in 2022. More than that, this was another year where the craziness of the ongoing pandemic - as well as several months (and counting) of Long COVID-related health issues - meant that my weekly comics haul again took on a special meaning for me. No matter how bleak things got - even if I couldn't get out of bed - I always had new books to look forward to each and every week. Clearly, I'm a huge fan of movies, TV, games, etc. - but there's something about cozy-ing up with a new comic book that is sort of, for me at least, the ultimate pop culture comfort food.

I'll admit, there were some much-hyped comic book events and storylines this past year that sort of landed with a thud. But I still managed to find a lot of exciting new stories in, at times, unexpected places. I also continued my recent practice of finding an older comic to binge-read through (okay, binge might be the wrong word, as I tend to do this at a pretty slow pace). In 2022, I read through DC's classic The Question series from the late 80's, written by the late great Denny O'Neil and with art from the talented Denys Cowan. What an interesting, thought-provoking, and unique series that was. 

As always, one of the things I love about comics is the way that, on one hand, I can always turn to old reliable favorites - creators and characters who I've followed for years ... but, on the other hand, there are always new discoveries to be made. In 2022, some of my favorite comics were from longtime favorite writers like Ed Brubaker and G. Willow Wilson. But then there were series like True Kvlt - a completely original concept from a writer, Scott Bryan Wilson, with whom I had zero previous familiarity. I hope that some people will take a chance on my name and on Halloween Team this year in that same way. 

So without further ado, here are my top comics of the year.
 

DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2022:


1.) Reckless

- Reckless has been near the top of my list in previous years, but in 2022 I can't help but give it the top spot. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are simply the best in the biz, and reading each new Reckless graphic novel (of which we got two this year: The Ghost in You and Follow Me Down) is a complete joy. These books - gritty, hard-boiled pulp-noir adventures - tell top-tier, self contained mystery stories even as each volume dives deeper into the psyche of protagonist Ethan Reckless. "Your trouble is his business, for the right price" states the tagline. That said, this year's first new Reckless book, The Ghost In You, shifts its focus to Ethan's erstwhile partner-in-crime Anna - delivering a unique but no-less-compelling adventure. Then, Follow Me Down returned the spotlight to Ethan, taking his story through the end of the 80's and providing some tantalizing hints about his future. To sum up: the Reckless books are the best comics going today - brilliantly written, fantastically realized via Sean Phillips' art, and just the absolute gold standard for great crime fiction, period. Read them asap.

2.) Superman: Space Age

- Mark Russell has been one of my favorite new comic writers of the last several years, but I think he may have created his magnum opus with the superlative Superman: Space Age. The book follows a version of Superman who emerges as a hero in the 1960's, and proceeds to tell a complex, emotion-filled, and downright inspiring story that seamlessly mixes classic DC Comics lore with real-world history.

3.) The Human Target

-Tom King has been one of the biggest "name" writers in comics in recent years, but 2022 may have been his best year yet, pound for pound, as a writer. His stylized noir take on the DC Universe - The Human Target - might be my favorite thing he's written to date. It follows classic DC adventurer Christopher Chance (aka The Human Target) as he seeks to unravel the mystery surrounding his own impending death (after he consumes a poisoned drink intended for Lex Luthor). Somehow, King makes the bwa-ha-ha Justice League of the 80's into the perfect noir supporting cast (and list of suspects). What a cool series.

4.) Love Everlasting

- And here is Tom King again, with this crazy series for Image that's one part tribute to old romance comics and one part meta, mind-bending mystery with a decidedly Lynch-ian flair. The book follows a woman named Joan as she finds herself flung into all manner of melodramatic romance stories that evoke old comics from the 50's and 60's. But as Joan becomes more self-aware of her status as a romance story protagonist, she realizes she's trapped in some strange, hellish nightmare from which she can't escape. What's really going on here? I have no idea, but I'm eagerly reading each new issue to find out.

5.) The Department of Truth

- While it released a little more sporadically in 2022, The Department of Truth was once again one of the best ongoing comics going. Writer James Tynion just keeps getting deeper and deeper into the book's various mysteries and conspiracies - and I consistently can't wait for each new issue's latest twists and turns. And he continues to tantalizingly mix real-world politics with a far-out premise - one that posits that public belief in ideas is what actually manifests them into reality. In the age of conspiracy theory that we live in, it's a disturbing and fascinating train of thought.

6.) Eight Billion Genies

- I've read a lot of writer Charles Soule's work for DC Comics over the years, but I've been loving his latest original series. The premise is insane - one day, every person on earth suddenly gets their own magic genie that will grant exactly one wish. Somehow, Soule milks this premise for humor, horror, and real human drama - and it all works. Bursting with creativity and constantly going in unexpected directions, this is one of my favorite new comic book discoveries of 2022.

 
7.) Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body

- This gripping miniseries is an action-packed, character driven conspiracy thriller, written by the talented Christopher Cantwell. It presents a fascinating story about a team of misfits, assembled by the US government, to cover up what "really" happened during the JFK assassination. The book's version of what happened is pretty fascinating, but the writing really shines thanks to its memorable characters. Ultimately, the potential fates of these outcasts proves just as compelling as the shocking truth behind the assassination.

8.) Rogues

- Speaking of stories about great characters in a tightly-written thriller, see also Joshua Williamson's crime-caper story Rogues - which presents aging versions of The Flash's classic rogues gallery who've reassembled to pull off one final score. Williamson combines his obvious love for the DC Comics pantheon with a real knack for writing a gripping, heist-movie-esque narrative. The Rogues have long been fan favorites, but this book gives them, perhaps, their most memorable misadventure yet.

9.) Poison Ivy

- After her long run writing Ms. Marvel, I guess I began to associate writer G. Willow Wilson with inspiring stories of true-blue heroism. This year, however, Wilson showed her dark side by penning a series about Batman villain turned antihero Poison Ivy - and I'm glad she did. Her Ivy series is a wickedly awesome character study about a woman filled with righteous anger, hellbent on doing things her way. It's arguably the best-ever story for this long-tenured character.

10.) Gotham City: Year One

- And one more great 2022 series from writer Tom King. What can I say, the guy's been on an absolute roll of late. His new Gotham City: Year One series sees King return to the world of Batman, but in a story set a few generations before Bruce Wayne ever donned the pointy ears. Here, the now aged and extra-grizzled private eye Slam Bradley relates to Bruce how he once helped the Waynes solve the mystery of their kidnapped baby. Slam's story is classic crime-noir fiction, and it's King at the height of his powers. 

 

THE NEXT BEST

 

- Okay, there were a few more comics from 2022 that I just couldn't leave off the list, so ...

 

 

11.) Nightwing

 

- For the second consecutive year, writer Tom Taylor has helped to make Nightwing, arguably, the best and most consistent ongoing book in the DC Comics stable. He's aided greatly by the incredible artwork of Bruno Redondo, which is pure poetry-in-motion.

 

 

12.) Batman (Chip Zdarsky run)

 

- It's still fairly early in the run, but ever since taking over writing duties on the mainline Batman book, writer Chip Zdarsky has been absolutely crushing it. His initial story arc - about a fail-safe anti-Batman android (created, of course, by Batman) determined to kill its creator at any cost - has been an epic instant classic.

 

 

13.) Saga

 

- Saga returned in 2022, only to then begin another long hiatus after a several month run. And that's a shame, because Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staple's humanistic space-opera epic came back as good as ever. I'm eagerly awaiting the book's eventual return, because it's unquestionably one of the best comics of the last ten years.

 

 

14.) True Kvlt

 

- I mentioned above that True Kvlt was one of my favorite new-comic-discoveries of the year. I mean, how can you not sort of love a quirky crime comic about fast food employees gone rogue? The book's obsession with the inner workings of the fast food service industry prove just as fascinating as its crazy Satanic cult storyline. 

15.) Lazarus: Risen

- Okay, Lazarus: Risen only had one new issue in 2022 (granted, it was a huge, oversized issue) - but still, I can't help but include it here because, hey, Lazarus is one of the best comic book series ever - and in 2022 we got closure on a number of key storylines that have been building for years. Writer Greg Rucka is one of the best, and his future saga about a world ruled by warring corporations proves all-the-more-plausible (sadly) with each passing year.

OTHER FAVORITES FROM 2022

- GCPD: The Blue Wall

- Dark Ride

- Stargirl: The Lost Children

- The Nice House on the Lake

- Junkyard Joe

- Batman: Beyond the White Knight

- Batman: The Knight

- Flashpoint Beyond

- I Am Batman

- Detective Comics (Mariko Tamaki run)

- Batman - One Bad Day: Two Face

- The Closet

- The New Champion of Shazam!

- Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty

- The Joker

- Dark Spaces: Wildfire

- Fables

- Firepower

- Batgirls

- Captain Marvel

- Canary

- Superman: Son of Kal-El

 

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Tom King (The Human Target, Love Everlasting, Gotham City: Year One)
2.) Ed Brubaker (Reckless)

3.) Tom Taylor (Nightwing, Superman: Son of Kal-El)
4.) James Tynion IV (The Department of Truth, The Nice House On The Lake)
5.) Mark Russell (Superman: Space Age)
6.) G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy)
7.) Chip Zdarsky (Batman, Batman: Knight)
8.) John Ridley (I Am Batman, GCPD: The Blue Wall)

9.) Joshua Williamson (Rogues, Dark Ride)

10.) Geoff Johns (Flashpoint Beyond, Stargirl: The Lost Children, Junkyard Joe)

 

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Bruno Redondo (Nightwing)
2.) Greg Smallwood (The Human Target)
3.) Sean Phillips (Reckless)

4.) Fiona Staples (Saga)
5.) Jorge Jiménez (Batman)
6.) Elsa Charretier (Love Everlasting)
7.) Phil Hester (Gotham City: Year One)

8.) Leomacs (Rogues)
9.) Sean Murphy (Batman: Beyond the White Knight)

10.) Martin Simmonds (The Department of Truth)

THE BEST OF 2020 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

THE BEST COMICS OF 2020:

- 2020 was a trying year for the comics industry. The pandemic put even more strain on already-challenged comic book stores. Major conventions like WonderCon and Comic-Con were cancelled - as were smaller cons around the country and around the world. And the early months of lockdown saw publishing schedules in disarray, as, for weeks on end, books were delayed or just plain MIA. 

But, man - was I ever thankful for comics this year. As we all struggled to cope with the new normal of the pandemic, logging on to Comixology each week (now on Tuesdays!) was a much-needed and always-exciting ritual and event. Eventually, publishing got back on track, and having that weekly dosage of escapism and storytelling was crucial. This was a year where we needed heroes - we needed inspiration, we needed imagination, and we needed art. And comics provided that in spades - from new takes on classic superheroes to mind-bending sci-fi to gritty crime stories - there was a great diversity of great stories this year. And in the absence of big superhero blockbusters on the big-screen, comics gave us the brightly-colored superhero epics we craved. We got heroes that were just plain fun and badass and awesome (Kelly Thompson's runs on Marvel's Captain Marvel and Black Widow), and heroes that dealt with current-day issues like bigotry and racism head-on (John Ridley's DC Comics magnum opus The Other History of the DC Universe, Gene Luen Yang's Superman Smashes the Klan). We got more riveting work from some of today's best writers - like Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Robert Kirkman, and Jeff Lemire. We even got movie and game tie-in comics - like Blade Runner 2019 and Life Is Strange - that were unexpectedly excellent. 

So like I said last year: read comics. We need them now more than ever. 

Here are some of my favorites from this past year.


DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2020:


1.) Pulp

This year, writer Ed Brubaker - aka arguably the best comics writer working today (or, arguably, the best writer - period ...) decided to eschew weekly comics for standalone graphic novels. The results, predictably, were pretty spectacular. His first, Pulp, was a flat-out masterpiece - an incredibly-crafted story about a former Wild West outlaw turned small-time thief. Now an aging, past-his-prime relic in the late 1930's, the man once known as The Red River Kid must pull one last score, with an unexpected target. Pulp is, as the title suggests, pulp fiction of the highest order. It's a masterclass in pulp-noir writing - with stunning and atmospheric art from Brubaker's frequent collaborator Sean Phillips to boot. This was the comic of the year, and further evidence that Brubaker and Phillips are the best in the game.


2.) Reckless

- And here we have Exhibit B of Brubaker and Phillips' undisputed greatness - their second graphic novel of 2020, Reckless. I mean, look - I wanted this list to be diverse - but when you have a creative team putting out two stone-cold classics in one year, you've got to give them their due. Reckless is classic Brubaker/Phillips - hard-boiled crime-noir storytelling about a broken man in a hard-edged world seeking justice. The difference here vs. Pulp is that Reckless is designed to be the first in a series of stories about the book's star - former FBI agent and former undercover Weather Underground member Ethan Reckless. It's gloriously pulpy - with its 80's LA noir setting, colorful cast of characters, and twisty mystery story. And man is it good. I can't wait for more.


3.) The Other History of the DC Universe

- As 2020 comes to a close, we're only one issue into screenwriter John Ridley's multi-part DC Comics epic - but already, it has the makings of a new classic. Ridley's conceit is that he's mixing real-world and DC Comics history to tell a story about America and about superheroes, from the perspective of characters who are of color, who are LGBTQ, who have often been relegated to the fringes of the DC Universe. The first issue gives us a biographical story of Jefferson Pierce - aka Black Lightning - and takes us through the decades as he comes up as black superhero in a world where such a thing is rare. Ridley pulls no punches here, taking aim at everyone from Ronald Reagan to Superman - and the result is an ultra-compelling, thought-provoking read. Bring on the next chapters.


4.) Black Magick

- After long gaps and delays between issues, in 2020, we finally got a sustained run of writer Greg Rucka and artist Nicola Scott's amazing supernatural series Black Magick. The story of modern-day witch Rowan Black, the comic combines real-feeling characters with a sprawling mythology that spans centuries. And the art by Nicola Scott is incredible - stunning black and white, peppered with the occasional burst of color. While it looks like, sadly, we're headed for another hiatus for the series in 2021 ... I'm so glad we got more of this book this year. 


5.) Superman Smashes The Klan

- Writer Gene Luen Yang gave us a deceptively powerful Superman story for the ages with this one, which concluded its multi-part tale at the beginning of 2020. The story, based on a classic episode of the old Superman radio show, sees Superman take on the KKK in the 1940's. This felt like the Superman we needed in 2020 - even if the book is set decades ago. It's a Superman who stands up for the oppressed, who speaks out, and who attacks hatred and bigotry head-on. 


6.) Black Widow

-  Kelly Thompson continues to be one of my favorite writers. I was a big fan of her work writing Hawkeye, and this year she's been killin' it on two of Marvel's best ongoing books - Captain Marvel and Black Widow. Black Widow got a reboot this year, in theory timed to the ultimately-delayed movie. But who needs a movie when you've got an incredible BW comic coming out every month? What Thompson has done here is brilliant - giving Black Widow a husband, a kid, a regular job, and ... no memory of her life as a super-spy/superhero. The ongoing mystery of what the heck is going on has been a joy to watch unfold, made all the better by Thompson's knack for quippy dialogue and fast-paced action.


7.) Dark Knights - Death Metal: The Secret Origin

- DC's sprawling Dark Knights - Death Metal saga is finally reaching its long-time-coming conclusion in January. The epic story chronicles the final battle between DC's biggest heroes and their evil, mirror-universe counterparts from a sinister "dark multiverse," led by the all-powerful Batman Who Laughs - a nightmarish mash-up of Batman and The Joker. Along the way, there have been numerous side stories and spin-offs - the strongest of which has, easily, been The Secret Origin. Written by Geoff Johns - the DC writer who quickly rose to fame (and an executive position within Warner Bros) over the last two decades - The Secret Origin actually marks one of the only comics written by the once-prolific Johns over the last several months (I'll cut him some slack - he's been writing movie scripts and showrunning the fantastic series Stargirl). But The Secret Origin lets Johns provide a final chapter for one of his most memorable characters - the once-innocent, now-evil villain known as Superboy Prime. In this awesome story, Prime gets one final shot at redemption - and Johns makes the character's final fate both moving and epic.


8.) Lazarus: Risen

- Another year, another spot reserved for Greg Rucka's long-running masterpiece Lazarus on my Top 10 list. Lazarus started out as a monthly comic book - a grimly bleak near-future dystopian tale about a world ruled by ruthless corporations locked in Game of Thrones-style perpetual conflict. A few years ago, the book evolved to become Lazarus: Risen - releasing oversized quarterly issues that feature extra pages of prose stories to compliment the main comic. And man, with each passing year, our own reality seems to inch closer to that of the one in Lazarus. Rucka even writes mini-articles in the back pages that discuss how our real world and his fictional one seem to be converging. But Lazarus remains top-tier comics. A must-read.


9.) Blade Runner 2019

- A comic that hit my radar in 2019 became one of my full-fledged faves in 2020. This new entry in the Blade Runner canon is damn good, giving us an entirely new story in the world of the films - one that gives us a great new lead character in the form of a blade runner (and, eventually, ex-blade runner) named Aahna "Ash" Ashina. Ash is a great new protagonist - a morally-conflicted, hard-boiled badass in the grand Blade Runner tradition. And the comic does a great job of throwing her into the deep end, in a story that mixes the familiar with the new in pretty brilliant fashion If you're a fan of the franchise, this one is essential.


10.) Fire Power

- Robert Kirkman, the maestro behind The Walking Dead, hit it out of the park with the oversized #0 issue of his latest series, Fire Power. That first issue gave us a mini martial arts epic - the story of a young man who travels to a distant mountain monastery, to train with a secretive clan of kung-fu warriors who've mastered the use of fire as a weapon. Awesome, right? Well - twist! (Kirkman is pretty good at those ...) It turns out that was just a prelude - the series then flashed forward decades, and our hero now lives a quiet suburban life with a wife and kids ... until his past comes calling. It's great, page-turning stuff - made even better by the ultra-fluid, cinematic art of Chris Samnee. 


Other Favorites from 2020:

• Rorshach
• The Department of Truth
• Captain Marvel by Kelly Thompson
• Hawkman by Robert Venditti
• The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage
• The Boys: Dear Becky
• Justice League Dark by Ram V
• Batgirl by Cecil Castellucci
• Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy
• Lois Lane
• Batman and the Outsiders
• Basketfull of Heads
• X-Men by Jonathan Hickman
• Sweet Tooth: The Return
• Ascender
• Oblivion Song
• Nightwing by Dan Jurgens
• Teen Titans by Robbie Thompson
• Detective Comics by Peter Tomasi
• Ms. Marvel
• Captain America by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Gideon Falls
• Fantastic Four by Dan Slott
• Doctor Doom
• Life Is Strange

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Ed Brubaker (Pulp, Reckless)
2.) Greg Rucka (Black Magick, Lazarus, Lois Lane)

3.) Kelly Thompson (Black Widow, Captain Marvel)
4.) Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth: The Return, Ascender, Gideon Falls, The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage)
5.) Robert Kirkman (Fire Power, Oblivion Song)
6.) John Ridley (The Other History of the DC Universe)
7.) Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan)
8.) Mike Johnson and Michael Green (Blade Runner 2019)
9.) Peter Tomasi (Detective Comics)
10.) Ram V (Justice League Dark, Catwoman)


ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Sean Phillips (Pulp, Reckless)
2.) Nicola Scott (Black Magick)
3.) Chris Samnee (Fire Power)
4.) Fernando Pasarin (Hawkman)

5.) Russ Braun (The Boys: Dear Becky)
6.) Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth: The Return)
7.) Elena Casagrande (Black Widow)
8.) Jorge Fornés (Rorschach)
9.) Andrea Sorrentino (Gideon Falls)
10.) Carlo Pagulayan (Batman)

THE BEST OF 2017 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

 
THE BEST COMICS OF 2017:

- 2017 was in many ways a great year for comics - although it was also, I think, a year of identity crisis. Thanks to the continued prevalence of superheroes in movies and on TV, more people are getting into comics than ever - and that has, justifiably, led to calls for more diversity in terms of both content and creators. But how the industry has handled its newly-diversified fanbase has exposed a lot of growing pains. Just recently, Marvel cancelled several fan-favorite books featuring female and/or diverse lead characters - and this comes a few months after Marvel execs warned that too much of a focus on diversity had hurt their sales. To me and many other fans, that sounds like an excuse to stick to the tried and true, instead of a real plan for growth and change. Personally, while I enjoyed several books from DC and Marvel this year, I also - especially by year's end - grew weary of the same handful of creator names popping up again and again and again. Creators who have done decent work at best keep getting put on the highest profile DC and Marvel books, while brand new names and faces are rare. It was nice to find those new, promising creators this year where possible. Take Kelly Thompson, who really wowed me with her Hawkeye series at Marvel, that focuses on female Hawkeye Kate Bishop. It's a more than worthy follow-up to Matt Fraction's seminal run. Thompson also did a really fun Captain Phasma miniseries that served as a nice prelude to The Last Jedi. With Hawkeye's unceremonious cancellation, I'm curious to see where Thompson goes next. That said, a lot of stuff I read and really enjoyed in 2017 was admittedly from longtime favorite creators - names like Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and Jeff Lemire. These are guys whose writing I will never tire of - and the emergence over the last several years of Image, Dark Horse, and other publishers who stand aside and let creators do their thing has allowed these amazing writers to put out some career best work in recent years.

Comics also directly addressed the current political climate in 2017. I think there was a lot of unfair criticism of Nick Spencer's run on Captain America, and the spin-off crossover epic Secret Empire. For those unaware, Secret Empire presented a version of Cap from an alternate past that merged with and overwrote the main timeline. This Cap was raised and mentored by evil, Nazi-esque organization Hydra, and ended up taking over the world by force - until eventually being toppled by a heroic resistance (a big theme of 2017!) and the returned-from-cosmic-purgatory real-deal Cap. Secret Empire was a really dark, oftentimes disturbing story - and parts of it didn't quite work. And yet ... I liked it. It was big, bold, and interesting - and yes, its corrupted version of Cap was all too reminiscent of America in 2017: a dark, twisted version of the idealistic place it's supposed to be. Ultimately, the evil Cap was taken down (this is comics, after all) - and so hope remained even in the wake of a very dark moment. That same hope is what continued to power Marvel's best book, Ms. Marvel, in 2017. Kamala Khan has been the hero we needed over the last few years - and in 2017 writer G. Willow Wilson continued to address the issues facing our country with spirit, spunk, humor, and humanity. Marvel: don't even think about cancelling this book.

DC, meanwhile, wisely re-shaped some of its biggest heroes to be more inspirational for our dark times. Superman was perhaps the biggest and best change - going from young, alienated outsider in the now-ditched New 52 continuity, to noble father figure, family man, and elder statesman in the revised Rebirth version of the DC Universe. This was a much-needed change, and the Superman books have continued to be a lot better - and a lot more Superman-like - since the start of Rebirth last year. That said, many DC books seemed to collapse under the weight of a bi-weekly publishing schedule this year - a lot of pretty-good books, from The Flash to Green Arrow - just seemed to run out of steam as the year came to a close. I hope that DC re-thinks the frequency at which they publish their key books - because two issues per month is just too much and inevitably leads to both fan and creator burn-out. Still, DC often seems to find success with left-field content. Their Super-Sons book, which pairs Superman's son Jonathan Kent with Batman's son Damian Wayne, has been a lot of fun. So too has New Super-Man, a book about the superheroes of China. The new Mister Miracle book from Tom King is a trippy delight. DC even published a bunch of DC/Looney Tunes crossovers this year that produced one of the biggest surprises of the year - a Batman/Elmer Fudd story that was legitimately incredible (seriously!).

But as I alluded to above, what's made comics the best they've ever been over the last few years has been the rise of smaller publishers - who are taking chances and giving new and established creators room to do their thing. The amount of interesting, original, imaginative, boundary-pushing comics out there from Image and others is staggering - it's hard to keep up. And you can bet that many of these books are going to end up as tomorrow's next big TV or movie franchises.

 
DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2017:

1.) Kill Or Be Killed

- A lot of stories are easy to sum up: oh, this story, it's about X, Y, and Z - it falls into this genre, and the point of it is ... this. But when it comes to Ed Brubaker's superlative Kill Or Be Killed, well, I'm still not sure how to describe it, where it's all going, or what, exactly to take away from it. I just trust in Brubaker and go along for the ride. What I do know is that this comic contains the best writing of any comic currently being published, and great, atmospheric, moody art from Brubaker's frequent collaborator Sean Phillips. I do know that it's, on the surface, about a seemingly average (maybe a bit mentally unstable) guy, who has visions that compel him to don a red hood and go out into the streets and kill bad people. I do know that the comic presents all kinds of fascinating moral grey areas, some amazingly multilayered characters, and a story that's unpredictable as hell. I know that I can't wait for each new issue. And I'm not sure, but I am starting to sense that this might just be the best thing Brubaker's ever written in his storied career. This book is dark, twisted, and really, really compelling.

2.) Black Hammer

- Black Hammer continued to be amazing in 2017. You might think: haven't we seen enough superhero deconstructions at this point? And we have. But Jeff Lemire makes room for one more with Black Hammer - a brilliant superhero deconstruction that differentiates itself by both 100% embracing all the silly conventions of superhero storytelling, but also pulling back the curtain and adding unexpected layers of complexity to each of its very identifiable superhero archetypes. Black Hammer went on hiatus earlier this year - and I can't wait to see what happens when it resumes. But in the meantime, Lemire's been penning an equally great spin-off called Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil, that fills in some of the world of the series. Lemire has been a favorite writer for several years now, but man, he had an absolutely killer 2017 - and Black Hammer is proof.

3.) Royal City

- And here's Lemire again. Royal City is written *and* drawn by Lemire, and Lemire's evocative, water-color-esque style is perfect for this book - giving the grounded, slice-of-life story an added layer of dreamlike nostalgia. Royal City is the story of a broken family living in a seen-better-days industrial town. The family is haunted - figuratively (and maybe literally!) by the ghost of one of their own - the family's youngest son who died tragically when he was a teenager. The book spans multiple decades and paints a moving portrait of a American life. It's still early, but when all is said and done, this may just be Lemire's masterpiece.

4.) Lazarus / Lazarus X+66

- Greg Rucka's sprawling dystopian epic Lazarus has been one of my favorite books for many years now, but in 2017, it really, disturbingly, felt like the near-future world of this series was reflecting back on our actual reality. In Trump's America, Lazarus' fractured world - ruled by corporations and the elite families that run them (all others are "waste") - seemed less like a far-fetched sci-fi vision and more like an all-too-real possibility. And what propped up Lazarus on my list this year was not just this new relevancy, but also the large amount of related material that came out in 2017. Rucka has put together uber-compelling Source Books that provide all sorts of interesting detail about the world of Lazarus. And he's also penned the "Lazarus X+66" spin-off, a look at various side characters and events in the Lazarus world. X+66 has been a fantastic read. Looking forward to the soon-to-arrive TV series, too.

5.) Paper Girls

- Brian K. Vaughan's charming sci-fi series - about a bunch of 1980's paper girls who get caught up in a time-hopping adventure - is consistently one of the best reads month in and month out. It's amazing, because when you look out there at the pop-culture landscape, Vaughan's trademark style of blending high-concept sci-fi with grounded characters, witty dialogue, and relatable human drama is now *everywhere.* But he really was the innovator, back when his seminal Y: The Last Man was the biggest thing going in comics. Paper Girls is Vaughan at his best - it's got awe and wonder-packed sci-fi on one hand, and great, grounded, impeccably-written characters on the other. It's got nostalgia, it's got social commentary, it's got adventure, it's got amazing art from Cliff Chiang. Read it.

6.) Ms. Marvel

- As I mentioned above, Ms. Marvel is, no question, the crown jewel in Marvel Comics' slate. It's fresh, funny, relevant - and it tackles everything from racism to religion to teenage awkwardness with equal parts humor, empathy, and optimism. Ms. Marvel has actively changed the way I think about certain things, and it's inspired me - made me think that even in these divisive times, we can rally around each other and support people trying to do right and help others. Kamala is a hero for right now and a hero for all of us. What a great, important, and most importantly fun comic book.

7.) Hawkeye

- Matt Fraction's celebrated run on Hawkeye is one of my favorite modern comics - so I was excited to get more adventures of Kate Bishop, presented in a similarly irreverent style. What I didn't expect was how much writer Kelly Thompson would both expand on the great character work that Fraction did with Bishop, but also how much she'd make the book and the character her own. The book is fun, innovative, often hilarious. The art is stylized and stylish. And Kate Bishop continues to be one of the most likable characters in the Marvel stable. Marvel is really missing the mark in cancelling this one.

8.) Saga

- After a bit of a slump last year, Brian K. Vaughan's now long-running Saga rebounded this year with some great story-arcs, and plenty of those big, issue-ending, holy-$&%# moments that Vaughan does so well. The book still occasionally feels like it's treading water, but at this point it's also simply a pleasure to open up a new issue, spend time with these characters, and of course to revel in Fiona Staples' amazingly unique and imaginative art. I'm hoping that Saga really kicks into high gear again in 2018, but there's also no question that 2017 re-affirmed just how great this book can be.

9.) Black Magick

- Another great Greg Rucka book. Black Magic wowed me with its debut last year, but then went on a long hiatus before finally resurfacing in 2017. And man, I'm happy it did. The book combines Rucka's penchant for gritty crime drama with the added element of magic and mysticism, and an intriguing backstory that delves into the history of witchcraft. With a more consistent publishing schedule in 2017, Black Magick affirmed itself as one of the most compelling books out there. And man, the Nicola Scott art is quite simply incredible - stunning black-and-white line work, with the occasional burst of color to emphasize the presence of magic. I can't wait to see where this one goes in 2017.

10.) Batman

- Where does a character go after writer Scott Snyder wrapped up an all-time classic run? Well, DC wisely brought in writer Tom King for what has quickly become another classic run in the making. Paired with a litany of all-star artists, King has kept fans guessing with his unique take on the Dark Knight. We've seen the introduction of new heroes like Gotham Girl, the long-awaited engagement of Batman and Catwoman, and an end-of-year arc that saw a memorable double date turned adventure that paired Batman/Catwoman with Superman/Lois Lane. Batman, with Tom King at the helm, remains DC's best book.

THE NEXT BEST:

11.) Silver Surfer

- The long run of writer Dan Slott and artist Mike Allred came to a close this year, and it will go down as one of my all-time favorite superhero runs in recent years. Slott gave the Surfer a whimsical flair, pairing him with plucky, polka-dot wearing love-interest Dawn Greenwood, and sending the two on all sorts of far-out cosmic adventures. The series was brought to life by the always-incredible, one-of-a-kind art of Mike Allred - whose pencils were a perfect match for the series' trippy, fantastical tone. I will miss this one now that it's over.

12.) Batman: White Knight

- This miniseries is still ongoing, but it's shaping up to be another classic from writer/artist Sean Murphy (who gave us the modern classic Punk Rock Jesus). In this "what-if?" story, a reformed and newly-sane Joker is tasked with bringing down an out-of-control Batman. It's an ingenious role reversal and I can't wait to see how it ends.

13.) Snotgirl

- Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley continues to make Snotgirl into a unique, one-of-a-kind comic that I still can't quite believe I like as much as I do. A satirical, hyper-stylized mystery centered around a vapid, image-conscious fashion blogger and her equally self-absorbed friends? Sounds miserable, right? And yet, O'Malley brilliantly finds the humanity within these seemingly repellent characters, and gives them just enough self-awareness to make us root for them even as we cringe at their terribleness. This one is a total trip, and I can't recommend it enough.

14.) Dark Knights: Metal (Tie-Ins)

- Scott Snyder's DC mega-event Dark Knights: Metal has been a mixed bag so far. It's going for cosmic insanity in the vein of Grant Morrison's acid-trip superhero epics, but for me has been sort of flat and messy. That said, this is the rare big superhero event in which the tie-ins are actually way better than the main story. Really! I've been positively loving the one-shots coming out in parallel to the main event, each detailing the origin story of one of Dark Knights: Metal's twisted, evil Batmen. Hailing from the "dark multiverse," each evil Batman origin story has proven to be a wonderfully dark "what-if?" about a Bruce Wayne who gets turned to the dark side.

15.) Southern Bastards

- Over the last few years, Jason Aaron's Southern Bastards has been at or near the top of my Best of the Year lists. It's one of the best comics of the last decade, bar none. So why further down in 2017? It's really just a matter of the book's publishing schedule, which has been ... sporadic, if I'm being kind. Jason Aaron has become one of the busiest and most in-demand writers in the biz, so it's no big mystery what's up. But man, I hope we get more Bastards in 2018. This dark, southern-noir tale of a town where high school football is everything - and players and coach's will literally kill in the name of victory - is always a must-read when there is new material. And in 2017, things started to get very intriguing as focus shifted to Berta Tubb, estranged daughter of original protagonist Earl - who's come back to Craw County to avenge her dad. More, please!

16.) Darth Vader

- I dropped almost all of Marvel's Star Wars books this year, after a noticeable dip in quality on some of the main titles. However, I picked up their latest Darth Vader series when I saw that it was written by Cullen Bunn - a man who knows how to write great villains. Bunn did a bang up job on DC's much-missed Sinestro book, and he's killing it on Vader. The book tackles an intriguing moment in the Star Wars timeline: Anakin's early days as Vader, just after the events of Episode III. Bunn is giving us the young, ultra-badass, ass-kicking Vader that we got a glimpse of in Rogue One - and I'm digging it.

17.) Superman

- Writer Peter Tomasi is really on a roll at DC. One of the company's go-to writers for many years now, Tomasi has helped re-invigorate Superman by making Superman a husband and a dad. Suddenly, the stakes feel higher for ol' Clark Kent, and the character has new life. Between Tomasi's work on Superman, and Super-book mainstay Dan Jurgens' solid storytelling on Action Comics, this is the most consistently good Superman has been in ages.

18.) Nightwing

- Nightwing is always a fan-favorite for the DC faithful, but his solo books have had their ups and downs over the years. So I give writer Tim Seeley credit for having such a great, sustained run with the character. Since the start of DC Rebirth, Seeley has both paid homage to the past (by bringing Nightwing back to Bludhaven, and bringing back updated versions of a lot of the side characters from Chuck Dixon's classic 90's run) and created a solid foundation for the future (creating a great new character / love interest in Shawn Tsang, aka The Defacer). Here's hoping the momentum continues, even with Seeley now off the book.

19.) Eternal Empire

- Don't be surprised if this one is much higher on the list next year. Eternal Empire is the latest book from one of my favorite creative teams in comics - Jonathan Luna and Sara Vaughn - who brought us my recent pick for Best Comic of the Year, Alex + Ada. This one is their take on Game of Thrones-style high fantasy, and it's really just getting started. It's still sort of in the world-building phase. But this story of two on-the-run former slaves with a magical connection to each other is poised to be one of 2018's best books. Stay tuned.

20.) Invincible

- Man, am I bummed that Robert Kirkman's long-running superhero epic is about to come to an end. As I type this, there's only one more issue left (releasing in January) of Invincible - and it's been bittersweet reading Kirkman's final run of stories on this one, which have helped ensure that the books goes out on a high note. Invincible's been one of my favorites for several years now, and if I'm being honest, Kirkman's unique melding of self-aware humor with high-adventure and fast-paced, high-concept sci-fi has been a notable influence on my own writing. I love the unique tone Kirkman gave this book, and I love that it was a superhero book (really the only one), that let its story evolve organically, free from the constraints of corporate overlords multimedia tie-ins. One of the all-time great superhero comics.

21.) Super-Sons

- Peter Tomasi has another great Super book on his hands with this one. A fun, lighthearted pairing of wide-eyed Jonathan Kent (now Superboy) and know-it-all Damian Wayne (now Robin), Tomasi's book is filled with fun banter and high adventure. Added bonus: a recent issue that focused on a team-up of various Super-Pets. This one doesn't mind getting crazy, and that's why I'm digging it.

22.) Descender

- So yeah, in addition to knocking it out of the park with Black Hammer and Royal City, Jeff Lemire's *also* still writing his sci-fi space epic Descender. How he does it, I don't know. But Descender - the saga of a diminutive robot who may be the key to saving the galaxy - is still a really solid read, with all kinds of Mass Effect-esque intrigue and super cool art from Dustin Nguyen.

23.) New Super-Man

- When you read a lot of comics, you start to see a lot of the same old, same old - especially as far as superhero books go. So it's cool just how different and refreshing Gene Luen Yang's characters, stories, and setting are - and how unique of a hero Keenan Kong really is. The book has let Keenan - aka The Super-Man of China - grow from obnoxious teen to battle-tested hero over the course of the last few years, and it's been a lot of fun to watch.

24.) Captain America

- As I talked about above, I think Nick Spencer's run on Captain America and Secret Empire was a bit unfairly maligned. Let's give Spencer credit - he penned one of the boldest, riskiest, and ambitious superhero stories of recent years. It wasn't just a random gimmick - Spencer really did a deep dive into exploring what made Hydra Cap tick, and did so in a way that held a mirror up to our own political reality. A lot of it worked for me, and I looked forward to each new chapter of the story throughout Spencer's run. Yes, the just-started Mark Waid run is a perhaps welcome return to classic superheroics. But that run wouldn't pop the way it had Nick Spencer not so thoroughly shook things up.

25.) The Walking Dead

- While the TV adaptation has really hit a creative low, Robert Kirkman's comic book continues to produce fun, interesting stories that are, as per usual, true page-turners. If only the show would learn from the book's pacing and storytelling. In any case, 2017 saw the conclusion of the Whisperers storyline, an evolution in the relationship between Rick and Negan, and the heartbreaking death of one of the series' longest-running, most beloved characters in Andrea. While the TV show could barely keep my attention, the comic continued to keep me on the edge of my seat.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

- Mr. Miracle
- Birds of Prey
- Green Lanterns
- Deathstroke
- Detective Comics
- Reborn
- The Flash
- Green Arrow
- The American Way
- War Stories

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

After Death

- What - more Jeff Lemire? Yep. In addition to everything else the guy did, he also collaborated with writer Scott Snyder on the graphic novel After Death - the third and final chapter of which came out in 2017. This one is a must-read. It's a high-concept look at a future where death has been eradicated for a select few. It blends prose pages and comic book pages to masterful effect. It's maybe the best thing Snyder's ever written and some of the best art Lemire's ever produced. It's one you won't soon forget.

Penny Dreadful

- Okay, this one is pretty niche, but if you're like me and loved the recent Showtime series Penny Dreadful - but were left wanting more by its somewhat abrupt ending ... well, this is the comic for you. Penned by some of the show's creative team, the new comic is the final season of Penny Dreadful we never got - a big adventure that picks up right where the series left off, and feels spot-on in terms of nailing the characters and tone of the series. Not to be confused with the not-so-great comic that came out while the show is on the air, this still-ongoing book is actually a must-read for the Dreadful faithful.

Batman / Elmer Fudd

- Yes. Seriously. A Batman / Elmer Fudd comic is one of the best things I read this year. It's by Tom King, so there's that. But it's legitimately amazing. I know, I was skeptical too. Just read it and trust me.

DC Holiday Special 2017

- Oftentimes DC will put out a big Holiday special compendium of short comic stories, and typically they are a mixed bag. But there are sometimes some real gems in these books, and this year's special produced one of the best DC Comics stories of the year - written by (no surprise) Tom King. King penned a World War II set, Hanukkah-themed story about classic DC character Sgt. Rock - and it's amazing. To say too much would be to spoil it, but seek out this story if you like good comics! A new holiday classic from Tom King and DC.

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer, Royal City, Descender)
2.) Ed Brubaker (Kill or Be Killed)
3.) G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel)
4.) Kelly Thompson (Hawkeye, Captain Phasma)
5.) Peter Tomasi (Superman, Super-Sons)
6.) Brian K. Vaughan (Paper Girls, Saga)
7.) Greg Rucka (Lazarus, Black Magick)
8.) Dan Slott (Silver Surfer)
9.) Tom King (Batman, Mr. Miracle, Batman/Elmer Fudd)
10.) Tim Seeley (Nightwing)

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Nicola Scott (Black Magick)
2.) Sean Phillips (Kill Or Be Killed)
3.) Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls)
4.) Jeff Lemire (Royal City)
5.) Mike Allred (Silver Surfer, Bug)
6.) Sean Murphy (Kill Or Be Killed)
7.) Ryan Ottley (Invincible)
8.) Leonardo Romero (Hawkeye)
9.) Fiona Staples (Saga)
10.) Leslie Hung (Snot Girl)

THE BEST OF 2016 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

THE BEST COMICS OF 2016:

- 2016 was another fantastic year for comics as a medium. DC got a huge shot in the arm with their Rebirth relaunch, giving new life to flailing franchises like Superman, Green Lantern, and The Flash. Marvel continued to put out some of the industry's most vital books - most notably the must-read Ms. Marvel. And Image continued to be a veritable factory for great comics, producing so many great new books that it could be hard to keep track. Meanwhile, other publishers like Dark Horse, Valiant, Boom, and Aftershock stepped up with great titles as well. I often found myself overwhelmed with how much good stuff there was to read in any given week. Plus, in the digital age, it's possible to binge-read newly-discovered comics with the touch of a button. This year, I continued to make my way through Garth Ennis' The Boys, among others. 

But let's get to it. The great fun of being a comics fan is being part of such a smart and passionate community of readers. I love hearing what others are reading, and by the same token, it's always fun to tell non-fans about great comics I've read in an effort to get them hooked - whether they're interested in superhero books, or all the other kinds of storytelling that comics do so well. Liked Stranger Things? Then check out Paper Girls asap. A fan of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Then you had better give SP creator Bryan Lee O'Malley's new book Snot Girl a look. Dig superheroes but want a new spin on old favorites? Then hurry up and read Black Hammer - an awesomely unique deconstruction of classic hero archetypes. There's something for everyone below - so get to reading.


DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2016:

1.) Paper Girls

- No surprise here - Paper Girls was nearly my top comics pick in 2015, and that was after only a handful of issues had been released. Now with over a year's worth of stories under its belt, Paper Girls is officially the best comic book going - a twisty, heartfelt, nostalgic sci-fi adventure from one of the best writers alive, Brian K. Vaughan. So what is Paper Girls? To say too much would be to spoil things, so I'll just say that it's an 80's-set series about a group of plucky paper delivery-girls who see their ordinary suburban lives interrupted by some seriously insane sci-fi weirdness. Time travel may or may not be involved. Basically, Paper Girls does Stranger Things one better, because it tells a story through a lense of 80's nostalgia, but what's more, the entire theme of the book is contrasting the relative innocence of being a kid in the 80's to the world-weary existential dread of being an adult in 2016. Brian K Vaughan is tackling some big themes here, but he's also just telling an awesome sci-fi story, with plenty of jaw-dropping cliffhangers, lots of humor, and numerous holy-$%^& moments. The writer of Y: The Last Man and Saga does it again (and, also, the phenomenal art by the great Cliff Chiang doesn't hurt). You must read this one. 

2.) Black Hammer

- Jeff Lemire has been one of my favorite writers for several years now. I became a fan via his seminal series Sweet Tooth, and have followed him through other great books like Trillium, Animal Man, and the still-ongoing (and still great) Descender. Black Hammer is yet another new classic from Lemire. It's his take on superhero deconstruction - think Watchmen - but Lemire gives us a fresh spin on a subgenre that's been done to death, producing a series that's gotten better with each issue. Essentially, this is a series about several classic superhero archetypes who get banished from their superhero universe and are mysteriously stranded on a farm in a much more ordinary, mundane universe. They try to live normal lives, while also trying to figure out what happened to them. But the real brilliance comes as Lemire slowly reveals the backstories of each character, giving each seemingly stock character unexpected layers. Again, I don't want to reveal too much. But this one has been one of 2016's must-read books, and it's just ramping up. Jump onboard now.

3.) Ms. Marvel

- How powerful is Ms. Marvel? So powerful that, I'll admit, this book and this character have changed the way I think about Muslims. Superheroes are a powerful archetype, and reading the monthly adventures of a smart, funny, geeky, progressive Muslim superhero has made me more aware of bigotry towards American Muslims and more aware of a need to recognize our commonalities and embrace our differences. Writer G. Willow Wilson doesn't pretend that Islam is infallible. Kamala Khan stuggles with aspects of her religion just as I do with mine. But that is what's so brilliant about this book - it reinforces the idea that we're all in this together. We all have to reconcile problematic aspects of our inherited culture. But we are all, ultimately, stronger together. Ms. Marvel is a fun, smart, action-packed comic book. But more so than that, it's downright inspiring. And isn't that what superheroes should be?

4.) Kill or Be Killed

- On the other end of the spectrum is the latest grim n' gritty piece of pulp-noir from one of my favorite writers, Ed Brubaker. Earlier this year, Brubaker wrapped up both his old-Hollywood mystery The Fade Out and his spy thriller Velvet. But his newest project is one of his most exciting in a while - a pitch-black supernatural crime series about a guy who makes a Faustian pact with an evil spirit: kill or be killed. Of course, this bargain opens up a Pandora's Box of moral and practical questions - the book is still in relative infancy, so who knows how things will play out. But I can't wait to find out.

5.) Snot Girl

- The first-ever ongoing comic series from the creator of Scott Pilgrim initially seemed like a real head-scratcher. A comic about a self-absorbed fashion blogger? What? And what was with the title? Snot Girl - really?! Well, I am here to say that I have fallen for Snot Girl. You've just got to go with it, and trust in Bryan Lee O'Malley to steer you right. There's a lot more to Snot Girl than meets-the-eye. It's a pulp mystery, a sly social satire, and a relationship drama all rolled into one. 

6.) Superman

- Many of you guys probably know that I'm a pretty hardcore Superman fan. I've been reading Superman comics since I was a kid, so one of the great joys of DC's Rebirth reboot has been the revitalization of the Superman family of books. Post-Rebirth, Superman is now a bit older and more experienced - once again married to Lois Lane, and the father of a young super-powered son named John. A welcome change of pace from the more recent version who was younger and dating Wonder Woman, this feels like the more classic version of Supes that I grew up with, with the added twist of him now being a father to a superhero-in-training. Of course, all that would mean nothing without great creative teams, and the great thing is that all the Superman book are now in good hands. The standout book though has undoubtedly been Superman, penned by the ever-reliable, often great Peter Tomasi. Tomasi has really done great things with the new father-son dynamic - for example, sending Superman and son on a time-travel adventure to a lost island, in a story that paid moving tribute to the late great Darwyn Cooke and his signature story, New Frontier. Tomasi also penned the first-ever meeting between John and Damian Wayne, the son of Batman - and it was an instant-classic origin story for the new generation of Super Sons. If you're at all a Superman fan, check out the current Tomasi run.

7.) Descender

-Like sprawling sci-fi space epics? Then pick up Descender. Another book by Jeff Lemire, the second year of Descender brilliantly fleshed out the book's mythology, giving us new and compelling backstory on several key characters. The book details a far-future in which humans and other alien species travel the universe looking to hunt and destroy any and all remaining robots - who are now thought to be a danger to all life. One kid-like robot, Tim-21, now finds himself on the run from all manner of dangers. Lemire is spinning a truly epic yarn here, and the incredibly evocative art from Dustin Nguyen adds to the book's sci-fi atmosphere.

8.) The Walking Dead

- It's now time for my annual reminder that, while The Walking Dead TV series may be seriously slumping, Robert Kirkman's comic book remains a can't-miss page turner that delivers great serialized storytelling month-in, month out. In fact, one of the main reasons why I can't bring myself to drop the show is because I remain perpetually curious how the show will adapt some of the comics' epic storylines. This year, for example, Rick Grimes and co. found themselves wrapped up in a war with one of The Walking Dead's most intriguing groups of adversaries yet - the Whisperers - a zombie-worshipping cult who take on the appearance of Walkers. Kirkman remains one of the best storytellers in the biz, doling out crazy cliffhangers and twists like nobody's business. It still baffles me why the show struggles so much when the comic often feels so effortlessly readable. In any case, The Walking Dead remains a must-read. 

9.) Southern Bastards

-My pick for the Best Comic of 2015 drops several notches this year, mainly because it's come out so infrequently. Writer Jason Aaron is everywhere these days, penning Dr. Strange and Star Wars for Marvel, plus other perpetually-delayed books like The Goddamned for Image. Here's hoping that Aaron can focus on Southern Bastards in 2017, because it really is his magnum opus - a pulpy, generation-spanning epic about southern justice. When issues did come out this year, there was a compelling shift in focus to Roberta Tubb, daughter of the series' original protagonist - now returned home to avenger her dad. There's been some amazing build-up to Roberta's inevitable confrontation with the series' big bad, Coach Boss. So please, give us a lot more Southern Bastards in 2017.

10.) The Flash

- The Flash, for decades, was consistently among the best books DC Comics put out. Writers like Mark Waid, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and Geoff Johns all contributed to that long run of quality - so it was shame when the book became nearly unreadable in the New 52 era. But, good news: The Flash is back! The rebooted Rebirth version of Flash quickly righted past wrongs, with new writer Joshua Williamson doing great work - making Barry Allen, finally, as compelling in the comics as he is on TV. Williamson has introduced new villains, brought back some classics, and put character first. He's incorporated some elements of the TV show without being slavishly devoted to it. (It's no surprise that Williamson is becoming a go-to writer for DC, now penning their first big post-Rebirth event, JLA vs. Suicide Squad, which is off to a killer start). Also, the art on The Flash by Carmine Di Giandomenico has been awesome - as kinetic and energetic as you could hope for in a Flash comic.

THE NEXT BEST:

11.) Saga

- Saga has become ever-so-slightly stagnant of late, but never count Brian K. Vaughan out. There is a clear long-game at work here, and Saga still managed to deliver its share of huge moments in 2016. This is, still, one of *the* must-read ongoing series of the last few years.

12.) Batman

- Batman was one of the few DC franchises that was doing just fine pre-Rebirth, and in fact, one of the few downsides of the reboot was the end of Scott Snyder's modern-classic run on the title. But luckily, Batman came back strong with writer Tom King at the helm. In several short months, King has done great stuff with the Dark Knight - introducing a new pair of super-powered vigilantes to Gotham, and telling the best Bane story in years. 

13.) Green Arrow

- Green Arrow kept the same writer post-Rebirth as pre-Rebirth, but it still feels like a whole new book. Writer Ben Percy has brought the character back to his most beloved incarnation - the bearded, liberal-minded, hard-luck vigilante who fights for the little guy and romances Black Canary. Classic Green Arrow is back.

14.) Silver Surfer

- One of my favorite books of the last few years, Dan Slott's whimsical take on the Surfer is elevated to pure cosmic awesomeness by the unmatched art of Mike Allred. Anyone who likes quirky, big-hearted sci-fi like Dr. Who needs to read this book. 

15.) Captain America: Steve Rogers

- No comic book moment made mainstream waves in 2016 more so than Captain America's shocking proclamation of "Hail Hydra" in the first issue of Nick Spencer's new take on Cap. But the moment was more than just a gimmick - Spencer has been telling a super-fun, super-compelling long-form Cap epic - and I still can't even begin to predict where it's going.

16.) Doom Patrol

-One of the most compelling stories in comics in 2016 was the start of a new DC Comics imprint - Young Animal - spearheaded by My Chemical Romance frontman (and comic book writer) Gerard Way. Way sought to put a mind-bending, mature-readers spin on some of DC's weirder properties, and he's off to a strong start. The line's flagship book, Doom Patrol, has so far been a highlight - a delightfully trippy return for DC's strangest superhero team.

17.) Faith 

- In 2016, I got aboard the Faith hype train. If you haven't heard, Faith is one of the breakout comics characters of the last year - a plus-sized, geeky superhero who is as much a fan-girl as she is a defender of justice. Written with heart, humor, and humanity by Jody Houser, Faith is a refreshingly unique take on superheroes - and a book that is emblematic of the genre's ever-expanding, increasingly-diverse audience. 

18.) Lazarus

- Another longtime favorite that got moved down a few notches due to infrequent issues in 2016, Lazarus remains one of the best ongoing books there is. A futuristic Game of Thrones that feels increasingly relevant as we enter the Trump age (cough, vomit, gag), Lazarus is still one to watch in 2017 as it turns a major narrative corner, and the longtime build towards protagonist Forever Carlyle realizing her true nature picks up steam. Writer Greg Rucka is one of the best in the biz, so I'm still psyched for this one going into the new year. 

19.) Invincible 

- Robert Kirkman announced this year that his long-running superhero saga will come to an end in 2017. This makes me sad, as Invincible has been a favorite for years now. It's a superhero story not beholden to corporate mandates to keep the status quo in place, which has always allowed Kirkman to go nuts with both plot and tone.

20.) New Super-Man

- One of the surprise standouts of Rebirth, New Super-Man is a humor and heart-filled telling of China's not-quite-Superman - the cocky, too-cool-for-school teen, Kenan Kong. Even better: the bumbling Bat-Man of China. 

21.) Tales From the Darkside

- The story goes that writer Joe Hill (of Locke & Key fame) had developed a new TV version of 80's horror anthology Tales From the Darkside. That reboot eventually got scrapped, but Hill's scripts found a second life in comic book form. So yeah - we comic readers got a new horror anthology from the Locke & Key team. Predictably, it was great.

22.) Wonder Woman

- Greg Rucka has a long history of writing great stories about kickass women, and so it was no surprise that his return to Wonder Woman meant that the character, post-Rebirth, is now enjoying a creative high-point. If Rucka's writing it, I'm there - and in advance of the upcoming movie, Rucka has given the big-screen version a very, very tough act to follow. And, sidenote: the art from both Liam Sharp and Nicola Scott - amazing.

23.) Green Lanterns

- Yet another DC franchise with new life post-Rebirth. Green Lanterns has been a highlight - a return to the epic stories and core mythology of the Geoff Johns era, but with new protagonists Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz - an odd-couple pairing that, under the stewardship of writer Sam Humphries, has produced two of DC's most likable new characters.

24.) Cave Carson Has a Magnetic Eye

- Another success story from Gerard Way's Young Animal imprint at DC, this one hit my geeky buttons, as I'm a total sucker for weird stories about obscure DC characters. This book puts a postmodern spin on DC D-lister Cave Carson, re-imagining him as a down-on-his-luck, past-his-prime family man whose superheroic spelunking cost him his family and his sanity.

25.) Darth Vader 

- I sort of hit peak Star Wars this year. Marvel began putting out so many Star Wars books that it became a bit too much, and the stories began to get stale and repetitive. But the one book that never lost steam was Darth Vader - in part because writer Kieron Gillen didn't just rely on established stories and characters - he created new ones. Notably, Gillen gave us Dr. Aphra - a breakout new character now so popular with fans that she's got her own spin-off book. A morally bankrupt con-artist with evil-droid versions of C3PO and R2D2? Hells yeah. 


SPECIAL MENTIONS:

DC Rebirth #1

- I've mentioned Rebirth a lot, so it's only fair that I give a shout-out to the one-shot special that kicked off the whole shebang. Geoff Johns was largely absent from comic books this year, his attention largely devoted to movies and TV. But Johns did give us DC's single most important issue of the year Rebirth #1 - and it was one hell of a comic book. Rebirth was an expertly-constructed love letter to DC - an acknowledgement that things had strayed off-course, and that crucial elements of the DCU (legacy, for one) were conspicuously absent in the previous era of the New 52. With one fell swoop, Johns planted the seeds for DC's return to greatness - the long-hoped-for return of legacy characters like Wally West, the re-setting of characters like Green Arrow back to their most iconic incarnations, and the restoration of a sense of history to DC Comics. Rebirth was the kind of comic that comic fans love - a lovingly-crafted bridge between present, past, and future.

Locke & Key: Small World

- I've also got to give a quick shout-out to one of 2016's late-arriving treats - a new installment of Locke & Key. Small world was only a quick, one-off return to Joe Hill's series - one of the best of the last decade. But it served as both a reminder of that series' greatness and as a prelude to more Locke & Key stories still to come. 

Dark Knight: A True Batman Story

- Paul Dini has arguably done more to shape Batman in the last thirty year than anyone else. As co-creator of Batman: The Animated Series, he was responsible for perhaps the definitive take on the Dark Knight. But here, in this one-off, autobiographical graphic novel, Dini turns his focus inward and tells us a tale of his own darkest night - when, while working on the show, he was mugged and beaten in a cowardly act of criminality. Dini movingly tells of how he drew on his fantastical stories - on the legend of the Batman - to get him through this tough time. And the result is one of the most powerful works of graphic fiction I've read in a long while.  

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Brian K. Vaughan (Paper Girls, Saga)
2.) Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer, Descender)
3.) Greg Rucka (Wonder Woman, Lazarus)
4.) G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel)
5.) Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible)
6.) Peter Tomasi (Superman)
7.) Joshua Williamson (The Flash, JLA vs. Suicide Squad)
8.) Sam Humphries (Green Lanterns)
9.) Bryan Lee O'Malley (Snot Girl)
10.) Tom King (Batman)

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls) 
2.) Jason Fabok (Justice League, JLA vs. Suicide Squad)
3.) Mark Brooks (Han Solo)
4.) Phil Jiminez (DC Rebirth, Superwoman)
5.) Carmine Di Giandomenico (The Flash)
6.) Liam Sharp (Wonder Woman)
7.) Dustin Nguyen (Descender)
8.) Mike Allred (Silver Surfer)
9.) Nick Derington (Doom Patrol) 
10.) Leslie Hung (Snot Girl)