THE BEST COMIC BOOKS OF 2024
It was a magical year for comic books. Well, maybe not magical. It was a prestigious year for comic books. Well, maybe not exactly prestigious. It was literally a year of the Prestige, as in the oversized Prestige releases; they were everywhere you looked. Since the "Prestige" in magic is the actual trick then it was most definitely a magical year for comics, as in now you see them - now you don’t.
These oversized editions truly began in earnest a couple years ago with DC’s Black Label. Despite the sticker shock they were absolutely worth it, books like ‘Wonder Woman:Historia’, ‘Lonely City’ and ‘Harleen’ were all triumphant releases; each one reminded you how amazing comic books could be. These books felt like something special, like they had to make it big to live up to how good it was - at least it felt that way. Whereas it seemed as if DC cut back on the oversized black label comics this year one new publisher decided to go balls to the wall with them: DSTLRY - or as I like to call them Dusty Larry. Dusty Larry doubled down on fancy shmancy comics deciding to only release oversized editions, promising to hire only the best in the biz for the ballsiest books on the shmaltziest racks. It was an interesting strategy and from what I can tell it’s paid off.
According to sales numbers Dusty Larry just broke into the Top 10 in revenue generators for comic book shops in October, coming in at 9 after only one year on the scene. Now granted, Larry be selling dem books for 9 bones so it’s easier for them to pile up the dillies but it’s still impressive. I mean, they’re not gonna catch the Big Poo (Marvisney & DC) but do they really need to?
As I’ve mentioned before in previous posts, these prestige comics are a sweet little trap and a genius marketing approach for comic book geeks especially since most stories only go 3 issues, maybe 4. All Dusty Larry, or anybody for that matter, has to do is rope you in with flashy art, pull-tastic writers and a dynamic premise for you to plunk down your cashish on one of their oversized hubba hubba books. Unless it’s God Awful, which some are, you’ll be back for the second issue. Now, the second issue could very well suck, but - there’s only one issue left! Clearly it’s gonna end with a bang. I mean, it would be silly to just buy 2 and not complete the story with the 3rd. So you buy it. Whether it sucks or not doesn’t matter. You bought all 3 issues for about $30. Dusty Larry takes your dingy money to his murky safety deposit box and says thanks.
Now comic geeks are wont to froth at the mouth at shiny magic tricks with shiny nekkid boobs and butts but eventually they wise up. I would think that it’s going to get to the point consumers will realize ‘Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t just grab all of Dusty Larry’s offerings? Maybe I should wait until one of their premises seems extraordinary.’ That’s what I’ve already begun doing. I mean, it’s like Steak & Lobster. If you have Steak & Lobster every day it gets boring so I’m not sure if Dusty Larry is sustainable. I think they need to diversify and get on the normal sized comic wagon and maybe even do a 6 or 12 Maxi issue series every now and then.
That said, I’m shocked that Marvisney hasn’t joined in the Prestige-Palooza. I mean, Marvisney has all but turned to shit. Save for maybe one or two titles their books are unreadable. I can’t imagine someone hasn’t at least suggested putting out more adult themed prestige editions to create a new audience (and probably been dipped in a cauldron of hot wax). I assume Satan isn’t interested in bringing joy to comic book geeks. I think if they do, and writers are allowed to cook (as the kids would say) it could revitalize the entire Marvel Universe and maybe even bring fresh ideas to possible cinematic experiences. I suppose that’s like expecting every girl I match with on dating apps to respond to my messages…it ain’t happening!
In other news, I think Image had a down year. Seems like they used to put out nothing but hits and were the darling of indie comics. That’s definitely not the case anymore especially with a Blah year from Saga. Overall with the majority of the Big Poo dropping Poop-a-rific comics it was challenging to sift through and find the gems but there were out there. In a world where we are over saturated with content it’s becoming more and more challenging to actually find the good stuff. Seems like you just have to trust your gut, assume you’ll pick up some junk, and just plow through those solicits to feed your passion for sequential art goodness.
Lastly, my tale of the tape this year was pretty much unchanged as far as my pull was concerned. I grabbed 146 comics, down only 3 from 149 last year, but I spent 10% more this year which probably went to Dusty Larry’s Musty Safe. That’s still the lowest number in the 14 years that I started keeping track. So yeah, I didn’t grab a lot, but these tasty morsels below made the year worth it.
This list, like Spinal Tap's Amps, goes to 11, not 10, 11! Presto Pull-Oh!
11. the Bat-man, first knight
- The only dedicated Bats Book to make my list this year was actually a Prestige version as well. It’s like DC read my mind: Do a Year One/Old School 1939 Batman story where he’s figuring it all out set in gritty Gotham with Dames, Broads and Cement Mixers. Then DC saw all the middle fingers and WTFs in my mind when it came to their offerings and swiftly departed. Dan Jurgens had an engaging enough story, nothing spectacular, but it moved well and didn’t settle for cliches as it wrapped itself up. The star of this book was definitely Mike Perkin’s art which perfectly captured the look and feel of 30s Gotham. You really were swept away when you opened these pages whereas most of the other Bat Books just got swept under a rug. Gone too soon but at least First Knight was a Holy Moly Good Night.
10. wonder woman
- This series would be a lot higher in the rankings if not for that gut wrenchingly bad cross over event that hijacked this title for 3 issues. I don’t even remember the name of it, I’ve shaved it out of my mind like Liberal women have shaved their heads post Election. Those issues notwithstanding, Tom King and Daniel Sampere have put on a clinic on how to write and draw a compelling visually yowza Dubz series. Their first issue back after the cross over event, Ish #14, may be the most emotionally heartfelt issue of the year; gave me all the feels and a whimper. There’s a lot of love going into this title right now and it shows. King is probably the Writer of the Year in my book. Between this, Love Everlasting and another title below, he’s undefeated. I would also like to shout out the “Absolute Wonder Woman” series by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. They’re creatively kicking ass and the pages are gorgeous but the whole ‘Dubs was raised by Circe in Hell’ premise doesn’t really sit well with me. Put these two on anything and I’m there.
9. Doom
- Maybe Hickman should do a one shot for every Marvisney series so whatever creative team comes on after can just follow his blueprint. Or maybe Hickman should just clone himself a few times so he can write every Marvisney series. Or maybe Hickman should hang out with some billionaires who fund him to buy and separate Marvel from Disney so we have great Marvel comics again. Doom in an epic cosmic battle with Galactus? Nuff said. Pure escapist fun with that classic Marvel feel. It’s like we’ve been drinking a shitty coca cola formula for the past 5 years or so with Marvisney comics. Just go back to the original formula and take out whatever poison you’ve put in our favorite books. This one shot was the shit.
8. falling in love on the path to hell - A Cowboy and a feisty Samurai Babe from the 1800s die and meet on a Zombie Island which acts as a sort of purgatory for their souls. Rather than falling in line with an asshole Indian Dude who acts as the self appointed head of the army that has to kill zombies every day, they rebel together. In their joint act of rebellion they slowly fall for each other while they plan their escape from the island. If someone pitched this idea to me I’d have a blank look on my face for several seconds and then I’d go ‘Lemme see the pages’. Well, the pages took a few issues to get warmed up but the fire has been stoked and this series is officially bananas enough to be great. Image has had a lot of misses the past year or two but this is a bullseye. I hope it gets the long form treatment and gives itself 25 issues or more to tell this tale. Also, this book ranks as having the 2nd sexiest sex scenes of the year in their most recent issue. As the kids would say, that shit was fire. There's an Indian Food joke here that's too easy and you're not getting it.
7. A vicious circle - This isn’t technically a ‘Best of 2024’ since this limited 3 issue series debuted in 2022. Yet they’ve basically put out one of these a year and each is so unbelievably beautiful, if they released one of these a year for the next 10 years each year it’d be on every one of my “Best Of’ lists. Lee Bermejo gave a master class on sequential art. Like, seriously, get this dude one of those ‘Masterclass’ videos: The attention to details, the various artistic styles, the paneling - holy fuckamoley. This reminds me of Wonder Woman ‘Historia’ from a few years ago where the art was just mind boggling. Not to be outdone, Mattson Tomlin’s dropped a riveting story of time travelers connected to the hip through their own deaths in various time periods and the women whose love haunts them throughout the millennia. Just a glorious work by these two. I feel like the ending was really good, but not great. I think there was more meat on the bone that was left due to the whole ‘3 Issue Prestige Mandate’ that seems to be afflicting the industry. Given how the creators put so much of themselves into these three issues I think they get a pass on the abrupt ending and should be lauded for their heroic work on a series that will stay with you long after it hits your bags and boards.
6. Conan the barbarian - There's no better time to be a Conan fan than right now thanks to Titan Comics. Last year's 'Comic of the Year' kept the pedal to the chain mail metal and churned out a whole bunch of Cimmerian Goodness from the thrilling retelling of the Frost Giant's Daughter to retro yet new 'Savage Sword of Conan' books that took you back to being a horny teenager in your attic inspecting black and white boobs on a maiden who carried tankards of ale on a tray while the whispy silk around her hips barely covered anything. I wish Robert De La Torre would be chained to his chair so he does nothing else in his career but the art for Conan. Having artists jump in between arcs is fine but admittedly they can't compare to his pencils. Also, Titan's crossover event "Battle of the Black Stone" that brought together of all of Robert E. Howard's famous characters was bit of a miss;
it felt a bit contrived. Still, the main title has yet to disappoint so by Crom, get yourself one to celebrate an Indie Publisher doing a mainstream hero the right way.
5. the boy wonder - The only reason I even grabbed this book to begin with was because of Juni Ba's work on an issue of the wonderful 'Deep Cuts' anthology series from last year; his particular issue was the best of the bunch. I had no interest in reading another Robin Origin Story and the first couple of issues confirmed my suspicions regarding the material. Yet something happened midway through, Juni took this story, which seemed to be way too tame for a Black Label imprint, and elevated it to something that transcended the medium. I'm not even sure how he did it but his commitment to diving into the psyche of these heroes and mining for emotional gold really touched me in a way I wasn't expecting. I don't think you can just reduce this to a 'Bat Family' book. I think it's really a book about family and how messy it gets whether you're wearing jeans or capes. Juni Ba: A Star is Born.
4. ultimate spider-man - I get nervous every time I get set to read one of these issues. Why? Well, it’s been so unbelievably uhh-mayyzing and fun to have a great Spidey comic on my lap again that I’m worried Marvisney is going to find someway to fuck it up and ruin it, like they do with everything that’s good in the world. It’s like dating a beautiful woman in LA who checks ever single box you can think of. It’s LA. You always wonder "Is this the night she tells me she performs as a ventriloquist wearing a crotchless spandex onesie in Fetish Dungeons and still bangs Michael Bay on the side?" Well, so far Hickman has kept the Jackals at bay. Every issue has pretty much been a blast: Simple, Heroic, Action Packed. I'd go so far as to say this is the best Spidey book in over 30 years. I'm not a huge fan of 'Alt Universes' but clearly they needed to get far away from whatever current Universe the main Marvisney books are in to create this web slinging masterpiece. That’s two by Hicksy on this list. I’m almost ready to forgive him for not finishing the ‘Black Monday Murders’ and the ‘Dying and the Dead’…almost.
3. spectregraph - I’m not a huge fan of the Horror genre. I’m not a huge fan of James Tynion the 5th or 16th (stop cloning this dude it's diluting his work) or whatever comes after his name. I am an enormous Christian Ward fan so when I saw his name on this Dusty Larry book I had to pick it up figuring the art alone would be worth the price of admission. Well, turns out all James Tynion the XXV needed is Christian Ward by his side to put out one of the most riveting and enjoyable books of the year. Dusty Larry probably realized how fucking good it was and gave them an extra ish (four) to wrap things up rather than the standard three. I seriously hope that the best team-up that comic books had this year, (the single Mom vanilla blonde Real Estate Agent and the 20 something self absorbed red headed Goth), get their own series or a Streaming Show or get turned into a Cabaret Revue; they fucking ruled the roost. Maybe all Tynion MCMX needed was a shorter format to reign him in so he could deliver a concise and brilliant story on the quest for immortality in a creepy beach side Malibu home. I fucking loved this comic.
2. helen of wyndhorn - I’m out of superlatives when it comes to describing how magnificent this series has been. I feel like I've been trumpeting and extolling the brilliance of this comic every month and if I wasn't, I should have been. This series may not be for everyone but maybe it should be. Maybe everyone should read this comic to witness the absolutely gorgeous panels that Bilquis Evely delivered. Maybe everyone should read this fantastic fantasy penned by Tom King who is fast becoming a virtuoso at writing stories that capture your imagination. Maybe if we show up to Comic Cons holding books like this in front of our chests to the editors and publishers who show up they'll get the fucking point. This comic reminded me a lot of 'The Unwritten', one of the greatest comics in the history of the medium. When someone asks me what non-superhero comic they should read I almost always tell them Saga and the Unwritten. 'The Unwritten' had over 70 issues to tell their tale. I feel like had Helen of Wyndhorn had that many I'd be sticking it right up there next to Saga. As it stands it only had 6 but what a magical 6 they were. In a year of 'Prestige' this comic left the card tricks on the table and within a normal sized book gave us a spellbinding tale for the ages.
1. SOMNA - The true measure of Great Art, regardless of the medium, is that which stays with you long after the experience. No, soul crushing dates in LA that have you googling for trips to Mars do not qualify as great art since they stay with you long after the experience, but comic books like Somna does. Without question, the Crown Jewel of all of Dusty Larry’s oversized magic books was this one.They were smart enough to release this early on in their schedule because after reading this one you wondered ‘Wait, are all of Dusty Larry’s books going to be the best comics ever?’.
Again, I’m not a fan of the Horror genre, but this went far beyond any hack and slash effort, this was pure genius. The juxtaposition of two distinct visual styles was done in a way that I’ve never seen before, notwithstanding the fact that both were bonkers unbelievably beautiful. I’ve never seen a Writer/Artist Duo both write and create art for a book the way that Lotay and Cloonan did. The two of them together are the Prestige, it’s pure fucking magic. Yes, one could argue that the story of hunting down women for patriarchal superstitions in the time of the Salem Witch trials has been done to death, yet Somna killed it. It can’t be done anymore. They literally put this time period to an end with this book. As for the Sex? I mean, I didn’t have naughty sizzling inter-dimensional Demon Sex getting me all hot and bothered on my 2024 Bingo Card, now I know better. I will follow Lotay & Cloonan wherever they go, especially since there's no more Diddy parties. I could see Diddy getting baby oil dreams after reading these issues. I hope it’s soon, whatever they're working on. I’ve been longing for their work. Let’s give them a 50 Issue Prestige Run so they can show the world how it’s done. Somna, one for the ages and Numero Uno in 2024.
That’s it! What a wacky year. What a wacky time for entertainment. I think it’s safe to say that all mediums are going through a transitory period. All mediums are on shaky ground, wondering where to pivot next and how consumers of their content will choose to engage their work.
I have to say it’s kinda rough out there for comic books. I mean, yes, as I’ve shown, there were some spectacular books this year. Yet as I look at my pull list, it’s pretty slim. I’ve got a bunch of hero books, a Lemire book, a bunch on hiatus and a bunch of facsimiles. Rifling through January solicits I don’t see much that has me chomping at the bit. As often as I rag on the Big Poo (DC & Marvisney) deep down I want them to be great again. It’s like sports, when the iconic franchises of a sport are doing well the whole sport is doing well. Hopefully we will see a course correction in the new year. If not, we’ll be left to scrounging and digging for gems like the ones above to remind us how much we love comic books. Great Art and Great Stories will always remind us that things will get better. This year also showed us that Inter-Dimensional Demon Sex with a hot Salem Babe with bouncy bazoobas can help you forget about all those crappy comics you wish you never pulled.
Here's to a Prosperous Prestigious 2025 - Issac
