THE BEST OF 2018 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

THE BEST COMICS OF 2018:

- I read a lot of comics in 2018 - some of them pretty good, some of them really good, and some of them decidedly not-that-good. But sometimes, even not-so-good comics can be just what the doctor ordered. As I get older and (somewhat) wiser, I realize the value of comfort-food pop-culture. At the same time, I even more so understand the value of broadening one's horizons and continuing to seek out cool new stuff. Because while there is something to be said for the warm blanket that is checking in with old-favorites, there is something even more to be said for the rush of reading something brand new and realizing that you've hit upon something special. This is part of what makes the comics medium in general so unique - it's a breeding ground for new voices and new stories. So going into 2019, I urge you to do two things. One is to read comics if you're not already. If you like good stories, then read comics. If you like new stories, then read comics. If you appreciate amazing artwork, read comics. Second thing is to not just read comics, but seek out new ones. Figure out who your favorite writers are - track down their back-catalog (it's easy now, especially with digital stores like Comixology), and check out their new material too. Pick up something random, and see if you like it. Even in comics - where the new and interesting is celebrated more often than not, it's easy to be a part of the hive-mind. I fall into the trap too sometimes. But it's easier to discover and to do deep dives than ever before. So fall into it and tell your friends (or just shout at the internet!) about what you're into.

Case in point: for several years now, I've been a big fan of the Luna Brothers. They should be more well known than they are - they're ridiculously talented. The first thing I read by them was their series Girls, and then Alex + Ada (not technically Luna Brothers, but Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn) - which flat-out blew me away. This year, I decided to fill in the gaps in my Luna Brothers reading, and kept a watchful eye for Comixology discounts on their back-catalog. This led me to read what, I think, will end up as one of my favorite comic series ever - THE SWORD. As someone who loves serialized storytelling, I was somewhat in awe of the way each issue of The Sword ended with a cliffhanger so compelling that I literally *had* to keep reading. I definitely took copious amounts of mental notes from it that I then tried to apply to my own writing. But man, am I glad I finally read this one.

Anyways, there are TONS of great comics being published every month - and as with Peak TV it's almost impossible to keep up. So I'm sure there are tons of great books missing from my Best of 2018 list. But it's fun to share the books that I loved reading this year - hopefully I turn at least a few people on to some new favorite writers, artists, and comic book series. So let's get to it ...

WAIT! Before I get to the list, I have to acknowledge the titanic losses that the comics world - and indeed, the entire pop-culture universe - experienced in 2018. In June, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko passed away. Ditko was a true one-of-a-kind. His art on Spider-Man was legendary - his sense of dynamism and design unmatched, and even today ... the original Spider-Man costume is as iconic and as cool as ever. Ditko also created enduring characters like The Question. His influence will be felt in comics and pop-culture forever.

Then, late in the year, the entire world mourned the passing of the one and only Stan Lee. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about Stan "The Man" - along with Jack Kirby, he was the architect of the Marvel Universe. And most certainly, he was its voice. Stan Lee became as much of a pop-culture character as the fictional ones he helped create. He was larger than life, and yet he was everyone's jovial, ever-enthusiastic grandfather. He was a champion of social causes, a creator of progressive characters, a one-of-a-kind writer, and in his later years, a king of Marvel movie cameos. I have fond memories of sitting down in front of the TV on Saturday mornings, watching Marvel cartoons introduced by Stan Lee. Nothing could get a kid more excited for some superhero action than Stan's alliterative, exclamation point-punctuated intros. How could one not be a True Believer? Later, I was lucky enough to see Stan speak several times at various Comic-Con events - as recently as last year, when he shared the stage with The Rock at LA Comic-Con. Every time he'd enter a room - even if that room was already filled with huge celebrities - the audience would light up. Stan lived and breathed comic books, and he made comics a cool club that welcomed any and all. His college campus lectures gave his Marvel comics a cult following among adults, and his Merry Marvel Marching Society made kids pledge their loyalty to "Make Mine Marvel!" Stan Lee was an ambassador for comic books and superheroes - but more so than that, for the morals and social justice causes that his heroes fought to uphold. In the 60's and 70's, Stan took to his Soapbox to talk to his readers about the evils of racism, bigotry, and inequality. Still, Stan knew that nobody was perfect - his heroes were flawed. Spider-Man and other Stan Lee characters faced everyday problems and anxieties, which quickly separated them from the "distinguished competition." And Stan Lee, too, was flawed in his own ways. But so are we all, and so are our heroes. And for me, and for many, Stan Lee was indeed a real-life superhero. A man who, even in his nineties, was never lacking in enthusiasm and goodwill. And even behind those trademark tinted glasses, there was always a palpable twinkle in his eye. Stan Lee meant so much to so many of us - and the world is a sadder and emptier and slightly less super place without him. But even as I despair about a world without Stan Lee, I can hear his distinctive voice urging me - urging us all - to carry on and continue to dream, imagine, and to fight the good fight. And so we must soldier on. We raise our fists, we yell "Excelsior!", and we work to honor the vision of Stan Lee as best we can. As the Man would say: 'nuff said!


DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2018:


1.) Paper Girls

Once again ... when I think about the best book going today, Paper Girls is the first thing that comes to mind. As Brian K. Vaughan's story about a group of time-lost girls rocketed towards its upcoming endgame - becoming increasingly epic, crazy, and emotionally charged - it also managed to hit a creative high-water mark. The book's narrative momentum led to several vintage Brian K. Vaughan holy-$%&# cliffhangers. At the same time - even as the story's gotten bigger and crazier and more of the book's enigmatic time-travel mythology has been revealed, it's warmth and humor and wit and spot-on characterization of its scrappy protagonists has never been more apparent. Late this year, Vaughan announced that Paper Girls' ending was nigh - it's sad to know that this new classic will soon be drawing to a close, but man, I can't wait to see how it ends. Finally: I've said this before but will say it again ... if you're thinking of trying out a comic book: try Paper Girls. If you like Stranger Things: you'll love Paper Girls. This is the best comic book going, so you've got to read it - trust me!


2.) Kill Or Be Killed

- My #1 comic of 2017 moves down a notch ... not because it wasn't as great as ever in 2018, but because, sadly, it ended in June. But what a series this was. I mean, I've been a huge fan writer Ed Brubaker for ... wow, it's been a couple of decades now. Nobody writes noir or crime books like he does. And Kill Or Be Killed, well, it might just be the best thing he's ever written. It's a dark but thoughtful story about a vigilante plagued by visions of a demon who urges him to find bad people and kill them. And as the series went on, the twists and turns piled up and things got very, very interesting. But through it all, we were kept guessing by the book's not-quite-reliable narrator - brilliantly given voice by Brubaker. If you like hard-boiled crime fiction, pick this one up asap.


3.) Black Hammer (and various spin-offs)

- For a few years now, writer Jeff Lemire has been working wonders with his ever-expanding Black Hammer universe. I think some were skeptical of this one at first - it was yet another superhero deconstruction that showed unexpected sides of various superhero and villain archetypes. But I trusted Lemire to deliver - he's written some of the best comics of the last decade. And deliver he did. Black Hammer is a unique, surprising, brilliantly-written take on superheroes and comic books and it's very distinctly Lemire. What's interesting is that the original Black Hammer book actually ended in 2017, closing the first chapter of the story. In 2018, Lemire started a new chapter with Black Hammer: Age of Doom - focusing on the daughter of the titular character entering the strange world that her father's friends have been banished to. We also got The Quantum Age - a look at a far-flung future inspired by the original series' characters, Doctor Star - a riff on James Robinson's classic Starman series, and Cthu-Louise - a darkly funny look at the daughter of a notorious Lovecraftian supervillain.


4.) Saga

- After some fits and starts, Brian K. Vaughan's superlative Saga was back in full force in 2018. Running monthly from February through July, Saga picked up the pace this year, before going out on a shocking cliffhanger prior to the book's year-long hiatus. For those not in the know, Saga is Vaughan's most ambitious and long-running story since Y: The Last Man - since launching in 2012, it's told us an epic sci-fi story of forbidden love in outer space. But what's so brilliant about Vaughan's work is that he never gets too caught up in sci-fi minutiae - he focuses on characters first, and even amidst a backdrop of cosmic war and far-out alien planets, everything feels real and grounded and very much derived from the world we live in. Pair that with the always-amazing artwork of Fiona Staples, and you've got a book that is legendary in its own time. And: you've got a book that has legions of fans counting down until next summer when Saga finally returns. It went out on a jaw-dropping twist that will change the story forever - so you can bet that Saga's return will be one of 2019's can't-miss comic book events.


5.) Captain America - by Mark Waid

- Coming off of Nick Spencer's controversial run on Captain America last year, which chronicled an alt-universe evil Cap who was raised by Hydra and took over the Marvel Universe - fans, I think, were ready for some more traditional tales of classic Cap heroism. Now I actually was a big fan of Spencer's run. But man, old hand Mark Waid came onboard for a short-term run and just absolutely killed it. Things started off solidly, with a few stories about a Cap - traumatized after coming to terms with the whole Hydra thing - traveling across the country and restoring his good name. But then, things took a crazy turn leading up to the landmark Cap #700, with Cap finding himself - again! - frozen in ice, and waking up in a dystopian near-future where Marvel's heroes had been vanquished. This then led to another story-arc about another future - hundreds of years later - in which an ancestor of Steve Rogers has to find a way to vanquish his world's authoritarian regime. It's all just great, clean, classic storytelling from Waid - one of the best straight-up runs on a mainstream superhero books in years.


6.) Royal City

- Even as he was deconstructing superhero universes with Black Hammer, Jeff Lemire was also putting out a very personal project with Royal City. No capes, no monsters ... okay, some ghosts ... maybe. But mostly, this was a moving story about a bunch of adult siblings returning to their rundown factory town after their father's health takes a turn for the worse, and uncovering and coming to terms with various long-hidden family secrets. This was quite simply a great story about families, about home towns, about old ghosts. It was tragic and heartfelt and brilliantly drawn by Lemire - whose dreamlike art style was a perfect fit for this story.


7.) Lazarus

- Lazarus has been one of my favorite comics for several years now - with the only real knock against it being its sporadic publishing schedule. That said, writer Greg Rucka delivered some great stories in the Lazarus universe this year. What is Lazarus, you ask? Imagine Game of Thrones-style warring kingdoms, except in a near-future dystopia where governments have fallen and corporations rule all. The corporations are ruled by families. Those who directly serve the families live comfortably. All others are "waste." Oh - and each family has a "Lazarus" - their symbolic military leader, crafted via genetic engineering and cloning tech, designed to be a human war machine. Anyways, in 2018 Rucka gave us a fantastic story about Jonah Carlyle - presumed-dead member of the all-powerful Carlyle family - who finds himself near death in faraway enemy territory. Jonah creates a new identity for himself, falls in love, and begins a road that could lead him towards direct opposition of his own family.


8.) Hawkeye - by Kelly Thompson

- In 2018, writer Kelly Thompson wrapped up her brilliant run writing the Kate Bishop version of Marvel's Hawkeye. When Thompson first began on the book, it was coming off of Matt Fraction's classic run on Hawkeye, during which he helped make Kate into a beloved character - more so even than the original Clint Barton version. But Thompson did great things with Kate, too. Her take on Hawkeye was funny, witty, action-packed, and just plain cool. It was modern and fresh but also evoked old film noir and made great use of its LA setting. Kate Bishop, as written by Thompson, was flawed but incredibly likable. She was the dorky girl-next-door who could also slay with a bow and arrow. When Marvel announced the book's cancellation, I was genuinely bummed out. But if nothing else, it made Thompson a writer I'll now follow through thick and thin. But man, I hope that, someday, she gets to write more Hawkeye.


9.) Skyward

- This was my favorite new comic of 2018 - a high-concept sci-fi adventure from Lucifer TV series showrunner Joe Henderson. It's about a near-future where physics have gone haywire and gravity has all but disappeared. People float, fly, and soar. There are new dangers, new evolutions of tech and surprising side effects on mother nature. Amidst this backdrop, one girl discovers the conspiracy to keep things as they are and prevent the restoration of gravity - and is on the run from those who want to keep her knowledge hidden. This is all gorgeously rendered by one of my favorite artists, Lee Garbett - who brings both a sense of humanity to the characters and a sense of awe and wonder to the sci-fi setting. Highly recommend.


10.) Mister Miracle

- DC Comics' best book of 2018 was undoubtedly Tom King and Mitch Gerads' Mr. Miracle. They took the classic Jack Kirby New Gods character and made him and wife Big Barda a regular, relatable couple faced with problems both mundane and cosmic. They told a story about marriage and parenthood and relationships and responsibility, but also about crazy Fourth World gods and going into battle against the evil forces of Darkseid. They did this all with humor and heart and more than a bit of trippiness thrown in for good measure. Gerads' art humanized Kirby's cosmic characters and King's writing made them more than just colorful space gods. This was one hell of a series.


THE NEXT BEST:


11.) Ms. Marvel

- G. Willow Wilson's groundbreaking run on Ms. Marvel - now confirmed as coming to an end in 2019 - continued to be one of the best things in comics this year. Wilson writes Kamala Khan with such warmth, humor, and heart that it's no wonder that this relatively new hero has become arguably the most beloved in the modern Marvel pantheon.


12.) Silencer

- This one was a real sleeper from DC Comics. Imagine the DC Universe version of John Wick, except this time you've got a former assassin for Talia Al Ghoul's secret Leviathan organization - forced back into action when she's hunted by her former employers. Writer Dan Abnett (truly one of DC's MVP's this year) has made this a consistently fun book month in, month out.


13.) Batman - by Tom King

- Aside from Mr. Miracle, Tom King was also busy writing the continuing adventures of The Dark Knight. Now, I'll be honest - King can be a hit-and-miss writer for me, and there are times where he's lost me during his run on Batman. A story-arc this year involving Booster Gold and alternate realities, for example, really fell flat for me (and this coming from a die-hard Booster fan). And yet ... just when I become frustrated with King's take, he does something that really wows me. Case in point: a phenomenal story-arc from late this year in which Bruce Wayne has jury duty, and has to help decide the guilt of Mr. Freeze in a crime that he may actually not have committed. King's take on Batman can at times be frustrating - but man, when he hits a home run, he really is the best in the biz.


14.) Snotgirl

- Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley's oddly endearing comic Snotgirl continued to surprise me in 2018. O'Malley somehow takes characters that should be completely unlikable - a clique of self-absorbed, self-loathing twenty-something fashion bloggers - and makes them into characters who, well, maybe you don't *like* them per se, but you do find yourself becoming absorbed into their strange and vapid world. It helps that our main protagonist - green-hairedm runny-nosed Lottie - finds herself wrapped up in a surreal murder mystery. And it helps that Lottie - full of insecurities - is rendered with funny and self-effacing nuance by O'Malley. Snotgirl is definitely not quite like anything I've read before. but it's fascinating and funny and uniquely O'Malley. Check it out.


15.) Mera: Queen of Atlantis

- For the last couple of years, writer Dan Abnett has been doing a bang-up job with DC's Aquaman. He's taken a character who's had precious few memorable stories in his long history, and really crafted a long-term epic that nicely set the stage for the character's high-profile big-screen debut. Picking up on some of the world-building that Geoff Johns had done previously, Abnett has been telling a pretty kick-ass story about an Aquaman who's been removed from the throne of Atlantis and forced into anonymous exile. But I think the high point of Abnett's run was actually his spin-off Mera miniseries, detailing the warrior from Xebel's quest to restore peace to Atlantis in her husband's absence. This was just great stuff - and awesomely illustrated by Lan Medina to boot. Abnett gave us twists, turns, betrayals - and he made Mera truly badass in a way that not even the recent movie could match.


16.) Descender

- Okay, so Jeff Lemire killed it this year with Black Hammer, and with Royal City. And somehow, he also found time to wrap up his epic space-saga Descender (evocatively drawn by Dustin Nguyen) in grand fashion. Descender - the story of a future world in which humans and robots wage war following a mysterious invasion - was a somewhat Spielbergian take on a Mass Effect-like sci-fi setting ... focusing its story on a child-like robot named Tim 21 and his quest to figure out the mystery at the center of the human/robot conflict. Lemire really went for broke with the ending - which, in a surprise twist, set the stage for an upcoming sequel series titled Ascender. Bring it on.


17.) Gideon Falls

- But wait, there's more! Lemire did one other really cool comic in 2018 - this one brand new! - that I feel obligated to mention. Gideon Falls is his take on Twin Peaks-esque existential horror. It's about a group of seemingly unconnected people who have nightmarish visions of a mysterious Black Barn - and about how these people gradually come together to understand the nature of the Barn and the evil it portends. Moodily rendered by Andrea Sorrentino, Gideon Falls was another new favorite in 2018 - and yet another feather in the cap for one of the best writers working today.


18.) Batman: White Knight

- Sean Murphy is one of those unique voices in comics whose work I'm always curious about. He's a writer/artist who always brings a dark, punk-rock, rule-breaking tone to his comics - matched by art that's at once retro and cutting-edge cool. Anyways, his take on Batman, "White Knight," kicked off in 2017 and reached its thrilling conclusion in 2018. This was one hell of a Batman story - it told of an off-the-rails and hardened Bruce Wayne, suddenly confronted with a reformed, cured Joker who usurps Batman as Gotham's most beloved hero. It's a great read, and one of the best Batman stories of the last few years.


19.) The Walking Dead

- I may have officially dropped the TV series a while back, but I still look forward to each new issue of The Walking Dead comic. Why? Because Robert Kirkman still knows how to craft a page-turner. And while the nature of the comic occasionally forces him to slow the pacing a bit in order to set the stage for the next big conflict, you can always count on Kirkman to ratchet up the intensity at just the right moment. Case in point: the current story arc, which sees Rick and company visit the seemingly utopian community called The Commonwealth. At first, Kirkman takes his time - giving us some interesting commentary on the hidden cost of forming a society with a comfortable upper and middle class. But after some slow-build, Kirkman finally blows things up and sets the stage for another of his trademark, ultra-intense epic. Bonus: Carl is still alive in the comics.


20.) Oblivion Song

- This is a new comic that launched from Robert Kirkman in 2018, and I've been really digging it. It's about a world in which a reality-bending science experiment went wrong, opening up a portal to a Lovecraftian universe and trapping large segments of the populace within. Now, years later, a man tasked with rescuing survivors still trapped in the monster dimension has to come to grips with the full scale of what happened and his role in it. It's compelling stuff, and Kirkman has me very curious where it's all going.


21.) Penny Dreadful

- So I was a huge fan of the too-short-lived Showtime series Penny Dreadful - but like many, I was thrown by it's abrupt ending following its third season. Surely, there was more story to tell and numerous dangling plot threads still to resolve. Well, the recent Penny Dreadful comic - a continuation of the series from some of its writers - helped give some much-needed closure to the events of the series. If you were at all a fan of the show, you 100% owe it to yourself to check out this comic - a de facto Season 4 that, thanks to it being a comic, gets to go to some pretty crazy and epic places with no TV budgets to limit its scope. Just beware: there were some earlier, not-very-good Penny Dreadful comics - don't bother with those. Seek out the most recent, 12-issue series and enjoy!


22.) Jimmy's Bastards

- From Garth Ennis, the man who brought you Preacher and The Boys, comes Jimmy's Bastards - and if you liked those series, you will very much also like this one. It's Ennis taking the piss out of James Bond - that's the short version. But if you like Ennis, you know that behind his over-the-top humor and ultraviolence usually lies some astute commentary on politics and pop-culture - and that is definitely the case here. The book's also got fantastic art by Russ Braun, whose work I loved on comics like Jack of Fables. His cartoonish, expressive art is a perfect match for the story Ennis is telling. This one is a quick, addictive read and any fans of Ennis should immediately check it out.


23.) Eternal Empire

- I wrote above about my love for all things Luna Brothers, and Eternal Empire (which kicked off in 2017 and wrapped up in 2018) was the latest from the Alex + Ada team of Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn. Truth be told, I don't know if this one 100% matched the quality of their previous work. Still Luna and Vaughn's latest was a really interesting take on the epic fantasy genre - telling the story of two long-lost siblings blessed with mysterious powers, destined to help overthrow their kingdom's tyrannical queen. And as per usual, they give us big, high-concepts made palatable thanks to grounded characters. Well worth a read. And of course, that Jonathan Luna art is always striking with its elegant simplicity.


24.) Darth Vader

- I didn't really read most of Marvel's Star Wars line of comics in 2018, but I carved out time for Darth Vader. Why? Because following a great run on the title from Cullen Bunn, writer Charles Soule carried the torch and delivered great story after great story - skillfully filling in gaps from the films, drawing new connections between the original trilogy and the prequels, and just giving us some really badass Darth Vader stories in the process. Soule is a reliably great writer, and he worked his magic again with Vader, seemingly channeling the full powers of the dark side to give us a truly notable run. Sadly, the recent issue #25 served as the series' grand finale. But if you missed it and are in any way a Star Wars nerd, definitely track these issues down.


25.) Sex Criminals

- This one was right on the line between being included here and being relegated to my "Great Comics With Too Few Issues In 2018" category below. But writer Matt Fraction and artist Chip Zdarsky's surreal sex-comedy-caper series churned out just enough new issues this year to make the cut. And the fact is, Fraction is so good that, when this book does come out, it's always a must-read. And I know, the name is a bit daunting, perhaps. But trust me, Sex Criminals is so great. It's a funny, weird, endearing. Give it a shot.


HONORABLE MENTIONS

- Justice League Dark
- Mystik U
- Deathstroke - by Christopher Priest
- The Flash - by Joshua Williamson
- Aquaman - by Dan Abnett
- Hit-Girl
- New Super-Man
- Suicide Squad - by Rob Williams
- The Magic Order
- Deathbed
- Detective Comics by Bryan Hill


GREAT COMICS WITH TOO FEW NEW ISSUES IN 2018:

- Southern Bastards
- Black Magick


ONES TO WATCH IN 2019:

American Carnage

- Writer Bryan Hill's dark crime thriller - about a light-skinned black man who's gone undercover in a white supremacist organization - just kicked off late in 2018. But it's off to a fantastic start, and I'm telling anyone who will listen to get onboard with it now. This one is going to be one of 2019's best, no question.

The Fantastic Four - by Dan Slott

- This is another one that's just revving up, but I can already tell that Slott is going to bring the same sort of whimsy and wonder and adventure that he's brought to other Marvel books (like his sorely missed Silver Surfer) to Marvel's first family. He's started things off with a bang - returning the FF to the Marvel Universe proper and finally giving us the wedding of Ben "The Thing" Grimm and Alicia Masters. I still felt like it was too early to include this in my official Best Of list above ... but it's likely a sure thing for 2019.

Doomsday Clock

- And then there's Doomsday Clock. Geoff John's ambitious maxiseries is both a pseudo-sequel to Watchmen, a massive DC Comics continuity-reshaping crisis event, and a dark, ominous commentary on current political and social issues. It's A LOT. And honestly, halfway though, I still have no idea what to make of it. There've been some really great standalone issues, and some that felt like feet-dragging. But it still feels impossible to tell what the endgame of all this will be. But because so much of the final judgement of this series will rest on its conclusion, I'm holding off on assessing it until I can see the forest for the trees. To be continued ...

Shazam! - by Geoff Johns

- Meanwhile, Geoff Johns just kicked off a new Shazam! series - his first regular DC ongoing in quite some time. This is the kind of things that Johns excels at, and his previous Shazam stories (backups in the pages of his Justice League run) were really great - so I've no doubt that this will be at minimum really good and at best amazing. Or maybe I should say "marvelous." No doubt, Johns and all of DC are motivated to do right by Captain Marvel (not the Brie Larson one) prior to the Shazam! movie's release in the Spring.


Wonder Woman - by G. Willow Wilson

- Lastly, it will be interesting to keep an eye on Wonder Woman. G. Willow Wilson - who's put Ms. Marvel on the map over the last several years - is now the writer of DC's flagship Wonder Woman book. So far, it's hard to exactly gauge where Wilson is going with the character - but I have faith that, if nothing else, it will be a unique and different sort of WW than we've seen before at DC. We'll see if Wilson can bring the sort of fun and sense of, well, wonder, that she brought to Ms. Marvel to the iconic Amazonian hero.


WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Brian K. Vaughan (Paper Girls, Saga)
2.) Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer, Royal City, Descender, Gideon Falls)
3.) Tom King (Mister Miracle, Batman)
4.) Mark Waid (Captain America)
5.) Ed Brubaker (Kill Or Be Killed)
6.) Dan Abnett (Mera, Aquaman, Silencer)
7.) G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman)
8.) Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible, Oblivion Song)
9.) Kelly Thompson (Hawkeye)
10.) Joe Henderson (Skyward)

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle)
2.) Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls)
3.) Sean Phillips (Kill Or Be Killed)4
4.) Lee Garbett (Skyward)
5.) Fiona Staples (Saga)
6.) Leslie Hung (Snotgirl)
7.) Lan Medina (Mera: Queen of Atlantis)8
8.) Gary Frank (Doomsday Clock)
9.) Sean Murphy (Batman: White Knight)
10.) Ricardo Federici (Aquaman)