- 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.
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:
WRITERS OF THE YEAR:
1.) Ed Brubaker (Pulp, Reckless)
2.) Greg Rucka (Black Magick, Lazarus, Lois Lane)
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)
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)
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)
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