Ongoing Comics:
Last year I read about 400 comics, and back during the pandemic, I read between 250-300. This year I read a little over 350, so more than the pandemic, but it was definitely a weaker year for comics.
In some ways. Last year was particularly good, I had trouble cutting down to a Top 10 ongoing and miniseries, and pretty easily got to Top 10 new series. This year my miniseries was over-flowing, but my ongoing couldn't get past 7, and four of those ended this year.
Best Ongoing Series:
This year Savage Avengers closed out with a great finale, and it was #2 on my ongoing series last year. Immortal Hulk also ended last year.
Last year nine of the ten of my top 10 were on last year's list. This year, six of them were from last year's new series and the other one was on last year's top 10.
1. Nightwing (#88-99, Annual #1) (Last year #1 Best New)
Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo continue to deliver the best comic book on the stands, month-in and month-out. Progressive, funny, sweet, and action-packed, this year sees further development of the long-delayed and finally consummated Nightwing and Batgirl romance, the culmination of the Blockbuster plot in a very satisfying way, and then in an annual at the end of the year, the secret origin of Heartless, the next big bad who's been a part since the first issue of the run.
2. Superman Son of Kal-El (#6-18) (Last year #2 Best New)
As much as I love Nighwing, Superman Son of Kal-El is close to taking that #1 spot every month. Jon Kent as the queer young activist Superman is a thing I didn't know I needed, and this year's story, pitting him against Lex Luthor and Henry Bendix, is a great acceleration of what started in the first volume, and wraps up with this one. The return of Kal-El is also great, and seeing how Superman deals with his gay son is note perfect, but I have to admit I'm sad to see Jon returned to the secondary position that he'll be in with Kal back.
3. Moon Knight (#7-18, Annual #1) (Last year #8 Best New)
Jed McKay's Moon Knight has risen month by month to the top of my reading list. The inclusion of Tigra, his West Coast Avengers pal, as an inside man for T'Challa, was a nice touch. The Structure, a sort of pyramid scheme/mafia vampire group, makes for a great set of bad guys. And the annual, which brought in Werewolf By Night in an interesting and new way, was a great way to finish off the year.
4. Newburn (#3-7)
Chip Zdarsky's story of a fixer for the mafia who's an ex-cop continues to be great.
5. The Joker (#11-15) (Last year #3 Best New)
The first two thirds of this series were good, but I was slowly losing some interest, and while it wrapped up solidly enough, I didn't love the finale as much as I loved the opening. That said, it's a solid finale to a series that was really more about Jim Gordon than the Joker. I just would have liked a stronger ending for Gordon's story, it all boiled down to Court of Owls/Bane/Joker more than I wanted at the end.
6. Amazing Spider-Man (#84-93, #88.Bey, #92.Bey)
This was #6 on last year's top 10 too. Most of the second half of the Spider-Man Beyond story was great, with especially great stuff featuring the Daughters of the Dragon and Monica Rambeau. It almost tanked because of the weird decision to turn Ben into a villain at the end, but on balance it was the best Spider-Man has been since Slott left.
7. Robin (#11-17) (Last year #7 Best New)
This was #7 on last year's best new series, and the last third of this series giving Damian a new costume and a new standalone status quo was a solid read, leading nicely into Batman vs. Robin.
Best New Series:
1. Eight Billion Genies (#1-6)
Everyone on Earth gets a genie with one wish. Things go poorly. An amazing high concept with a really fun, wacky, apocalyptic interpretation courtesy of Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. I'm a little wary because their last collaboration, Curse Words, didn't quite come together at the end, but so far, this is great.
2. Public Domain (#1-5)
Chip Zdarsky writes and draws this story that's about superheroes, their creators, and the companies that own them, and it feels like the kind of inside baseball that's working out stories from his time as a creator. It's also got fascinating characters and Zdarsky's trademark weird sense of humor, and is so far a great ride.
3. Dark Ride (#1-3)
Speaking of great rides, this one from the team of Birthright posits a Disneyworld style park based on a man with more of a horror bent, and then goes a step further that his success came from a deal with devils. It's sort of about the legacy of Walt Disney if he was a secret satanist with magic powers, as viewed through the lens of his two screwed-up kids, and it's another great premise well-executed so far.
4. Strange (#1-9)
Jed MacKay is one of my favorite writers at Marvel right now, and his take on Clea as the new Sorceror Supreme is as good as his take on Moon Knight and Black Cat. Mixing in the departed Stephen Strange, a conspiracy-minded magic bad guy, and a new magic-inflected version of SHIELD makes for more worldbuilding fun alongside the usual great character work, dialogue, and moments I've come to expect.
5. She-Hulk (#1-9)
It is weird how much of this book is about resurrected D-lister Jack of Hearts. But after taking time to read it in a trade-sized chunk, I realized I really liked Rainbow Rowell's take on Jen, even if it's quite different from what we got in the TV series or in the comics up to this point. It's not up to the level of Soule's or Slott's run yet, but it's a solid offering for a favorite character of mine, and the artwork, by Roge Antonio, is fantastic.
6. Hell to Pay (#1-2)
Image launched a few books this year with great premises, and Hell to Pay is the last one on this list, with Charles Soule on the helm. Where Eight Billion genies has the weirder art of Ryan Browne, this has a more traditional style from Will Sliney. It's about a couple working for a magical illuminati, and has in its DNA a bit of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Thin Man, and the first three issues are a great trip.
7. Fantastic Four (#1-2)
Two issues in and Ryan North and Iban Coello's Fantastic Four compares easily to the kind of thing Busiek and Anderson were doing on Astro City, which is honestly about the tone I'd want for a perfect FF book. I'm a little wary of the dark secret at the heart of the book, and starting the ultimate team book by having everyone separated, but the first two show a real knack for two of the important romantic relationships in the book, not to mention humanistic science-fiction superheroics, and it's got me more interested in the FF than I have been in years.
8. Punisher (#1-8) (and Punisher War Journal)
OK, confession time, even with his very problematic nature, I've always been a Punisher fan. He's been co-opted by the military, the police, and right-wing douchebags for so long, and that probably had something to do with Jason Aaron and Marvel deciding to re-invent him as a sword-wielding badass leading the Hand, the evil ninjas from Daredevil. I don't know how sustainable it is long term, but it's been a fun action-adventure ride, and the painted style artwork from Jesus Saiz is exceptional.
9. Rogue Sun (#1-6)
Another entry in the Massive-Verse, this one is supernatural, about a son getting his estranged father's powers, set in New Orleans, and I think it is my favorite of the bunch. It's got gorgeous art from Abel. It is also very likely to wind up on my "reading in trade" because it seems that once these books get more than a half a dozen issues in I lose the thread, but I always enjoy it in larger chunks.
10. Spider-Man (#1-3)
I'm not sure where this is going to land next year. I will either like it a lot, as the finale of the Spider-Verse saga Dan Slott began, and returned to finish with Mark Bagley on art, or I'm going to be really annoyed with it. There are some choices made that I'm not crazy about, and it's less fun than the original Spider-Verse, but Slott has a handle on Peter and some of these other characters more than anyone who has followed him, and he thinks big, and Bagley, while sometimes a little plain, is an expert storyteller.
11. Poison Ivy (#1-7)
G. Willow Wilson's tale of a more villainous Ivy, estranged from Harley Quinn and deciding whether or not to commit genocide against the human race, is really compelling, and helped considerably by Marcio Takara's stunning artwork. It's not *quite* a Vertigo style riff, it's pretty comfortably inside the superhero/anti-hero mold, but the moment-to-moment writing of Ivy is really good and the body horror/plant horror stuff is really well done. I don't know if the second story arc will keep my attention, but so far it has it.
Miniseries:
1. Dark Knights of Steel #3-8, Tales From Three Kingdoms) (Last year best new #5)
Tom Taylor's DC Elseworlds taking the characters and turning it into a fantasy epic with more than a little Game of Thrones really kicked into high gear this year. I'm not yet ready to say it's as good as DCeased overall, or better than his high points like Nightwing and Son of Kal-El, but it's damn good.
2. Devil's Reign (#3-6, Omega)
Chip Zdarsky and Marco Chechetto did something impressive by giving me a line-wide crossover that had a really satisfying ending and never dropped the ball. The backdrop of a Mayoral race between Kingpin and Cage, the use of the Purple Children, the mix of legal maneuvering and superhero action? It was Civil War on a smaller scale, and ten times better than that comic ever was, and it also gave us a new Daredevil status quo that I love. I just wish I enjoyed the Thunderbolts follow-up a little more, because the re-invention of that team was really good.
3. Iron Cat (#1-5)
Black Cat was #3 ongoing last year, and it's nice to see Jed MacKay getting what I call the "Agents of Atlas" treatment where a creatively amazing but commercially disappointing property keeps getting more chances than it probably should. Because this miniseries, introducing an old partner now rival of Felicia, and teaming her up with Iron Man? It was a ton of fun, and I'm glad that all of it is being collected into an omnibus in 2023.
4. Star Trek Discovery Adventures in the 32nd Century (#1-4)
Licensed comics are notoriously spotty, but this series of one-shots focusing on a singular member of the crew of The Discovery was universally good. The reason it's so high on the list, though, is issue #1, entirely from the point of view of Grudge, Booker's cat. Just a delight all the way through.
5. Catwoman Lonely City (#1-4)
I am on record as thinking that artists-turned-writers often disappoint. I understand the transition, customer response is often writer-focused, you can turn in a lot more scripts than you can finished art, and creative control is absolutely a thing. But I'm always sad when a great artist becomes a good or mediocre writer, often reducing their artistic output to covers only or less. So it is especially good when one of the best artists in the industry (Cliff Chiang) also turns out to be a damn good writer, turning in a Dark Knight Returns for Catwoman, with a bit more of an Elmore Leonard touch than Frank Miller. I'm a sucker for the "one last heist" story, and this is a brilliant example of it with stunning art.
6. Daredevil Woman Without Fear (#1-3)
Elektra taking over for Daredevil gave us a really cool looking new costume and an interesting take on a character that I've enjoyed only sporadically. Her frustration with Matt's methods, combined with her weird sense of honor that forces her to stick to them, is a lot of fun. This establishing mini lead nicely into the new Daredevil run.
7. Dark Ages (#4-6) (Last year best new #4)
Tom Taylor can do no wrong for me at DC, but his Marvel track record is not too bad. All-New Wolverine remains a favorite, X-Men Red was cut tragically short. And Dark Ages is another alternate universe Tom Taylor story, the kind of thing he does best. Turning an apocalyptic event into something kind of hopeful, but also serving up plenty of danger, this is likely to get lost in the hype around DCeased, Dark Knights of Steel, and Nightwing, but it's a really good read.
8. The Variants (#1-5)
Gail Simone takes the multiverse approach to Jessica Jones, along with artist Phil Noto, and the result is a twisty noir mystery with superhero overtones, basically the kind of thing Jessica is perfect for. I admit I wanted more, but it's a solid done-in-one story. If Gail and Noto were to wind up doing more Jessica Jones in the future, though, I certainly wouldn't be sad about it.
9. Spider-Punk (#1-5)
One of the best characters to come out of Spider-Verse, the anti-fascist Hobie Brown Spider-Punk gets a posse here with Kamala Khan, Riri Williams, and Karl Morgenthau, and faces off against President Norman Osborn. Overtly political and clever, Cody Ziglar really nails the character here, and Justin Mason's character designs and punk rock art work really well. I wouldn't be sad to see more of these characters from this creative team either.
10. Batman vs. Robin (#1-4)
We're just over half way through Mark Waid's story, and it is weirdly supernatural, but I can't deny it's working. Pitting Damian against his father works, and bringing back Alfred (even though it was a tease, boo) gave some nice emotional heft to a lot of it. Also it's got art by Mahmud Asrar, so it looks great.
11. Rogues (#1-4)
See above for my thoughts on "one last heist" stories, add in Flash's Rogues Gallery (arguably the best one in comics, up there with Batman and Spider-Man), and mix in stunning artwork from Leomacs, and you get this gem of a story from Joshua Williamson. There are some weird choices here (Bronze Tiger was never a Rogue), but the characters are spot on, the heist plot suitably DC superhero-y, and the whole thing unfolds beautifully.
12. Secret Invasion (#1-2)
The first Secret Invasion was a mess, and I only half-read it. But the concept is sound, and Ryan North seems to be re-inventing the story, taking a cue from the international espionage of the upcoming Disney+ series. His take on Maria Hill as a smart, savvy CIA operative trying to stop a shapeshifting invasion is really good, and though I wish artist Frncesco Mobili was better at coherent and exciting action sequences, the first two issues have me interested to see where it goes.
13. Joe Hill's Rain (#1-5)
If I have a grudge against artists-turned-writers, I have an even bigger grudge against licensed books that use the author's name but are written by someone else. So it's surprising that Chris Ryall's adaptation of Joe Hill's horror short story was so effective for me. I'll admit that it sort of petered out by the end, but I don't know how else you would have ended it. It's a melancholy and engaging read.
14. Radiant Red (#1-5)
Another miniseries in the Massive-Verse, this one focusing on the more criminal Radiant Red. All of these read better collected, but the miniseries format serves it well, and this was a fun read.
15. Parker Girls (#1-3)
I forget how much I love Terry Moore's artwork, and most of what I remember about Strangers in Paradise was that it ran too long. But it turns out that a return to the call girl assassin ring Parker Girls was exactly what I wanted, and I'm enjoying this a lot. So much so it got me to read some of Moore's back catalog that I'd miss.
16. Nice House on the Lake #7-12) (Last year #6 best new)
I confess that James Tynion is starting to fall into the "great opener, poor ending" category as this one sort of whimpered out for me by the end, and reveals itself not to be a complete story, which is kind of disappointing. That said, the art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno is stunning, and I suspect when read all in one (or as the two volumes it will be by the end of the year) I'll enjoy it more.
17. The Closet (#1-3)
See above re: Tynion's endings. This has some amazing moment-to-moment writing, a really creepy premise, and needed at least one more issue to really land. But it's still a solid horror outing.
18. Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (including Justice League Road to Dark Crisis) (#1-7)
To be honest, like most crossovers, I thought this dissolved into nonsense by the end. But the first half really worked for me, and even if the ending was cosmic editorial gobbledygook, those moments carried it through for me.
19. Rogues Gallery (#1-4)
A story about a home invasion by disgruntled fanboys, this one was a pretty dark little crime tale. Yes, I picked it up in part because it's the name of my store.
Best Returning Series:
I did add a "returning series" for stuff that came back like Saga, or had a new volume like Daredevil and DCeased.
1. DCeased War of the Undead Gods (#1-4)
So glad to see the return of Tom Taylor's DC zombie series. This is the finale of the trilogy (yes, there were three series in volume 1), and Taylor is going big, with zombie Darkseid with a yellow lantern ring being only the tip of the iceberg. It's great, and I can't wait for the finale in 2023.
2. Daredevil (#1-6)
This was my #1 for last year, along with the first two issues of Devil's Reign. It remains a super good run, and the idea of Daredevil and Elektra as a team running the opposite number of the Hand is a really interesting new take on the characters, and is right in line with what Zdarsky has been doing. It's also taking advantage of the new Punisher status quo in interesting ways.
3. Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2 (#1-3)
I didn't expect a second series for this but it is a goddamned delight. Full of fun puns, outrageous ideas, and as great as the first one.
4. Saga (#55-60)
There was a loooong wait for this to come back, but it came back strong. I'm still not sure about the decision to kill off a major character for shock value, but it's working so far. I'm not as in love with it as I was when it went on hiatus, but it's still great.
5. Alien (#1-2)
This one I'm not sure about, I tend to lose interest in them, but the first two issues, focusing on an android kill squad on a suicide mission to an alien-infested planet, is really interesting.
Best One-Shots:
This format had a good year. It's rare to get this close to a top 10.
1. Mary Jane & Black Cat Beyond
So much fun. There's a miniseries coming tying into Dark Web, and it's honestly the thing I'm most looking forward to in that crossover. It's Jed McKay, which is worth noting as he's written maybe the best Black Cat ever.
2. Astro City That Was Then
With big new collections *finally* available, we get this nice little one-shot that reintroduces the world and its concepts for new readers as well as a solid story for those who have missed getting new Astro City.
3. Devil's Reign Moon Knight
Most of the Devil's Reign tie-ins and mini-series lost my interest, but this one-shot, putting Moon Knight into prison, where his crazy and brutality is sort of an asset, made for a good read.
4. Amazing Fantasy #1000
This anthology of Spider-Man stories had some real gems in it, from Dan Slott, Neil Gaiman, and Kurt Busiek, and really nice art, with Michael Cho a real standout.
5. Reckoning War Trial of the Watcher
I didn't really read Reckoning War, but this one-shot, which is basically "What If the Watcher Hadn't Interfered with Galactus?" is a really good read and one of the best What Ifs produced in quite some time.
6. Timeless 2022
Last year the Timeless special, also written by Jed MacKay, felt more like an ad for upcoming Marvel books, even though I enjoyed it. This year it had sprinkles of visual teases for next year, but it also had a really good story pitting Kang against a foe that challenged him, without punking him out or making him any less the powerful conqueror and time-traveler that he should be. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that MacKay is the next writer for Avengers, which promises to pick up on what was established here.
7. Blade Vampire Nation
This is a weird one, as Mark Russell gives us a political thriller/assassination story set in Dracula's new Russian nation with Blade as the sheriff. It's a spinoff of Aaron's Avengers, which I don't really like, but if there were more stories in this setting by this creative team, I'd totally read them.
8. Dungeons & Dragons 2022 Annual
What a fun anthology one-shot this was, all tied into the Wild Beyond the Witchlight setting from Dungeons & Dragons.
9. Star Wars Visions
Picking up on one of the best stories from the Star Wars Visions series, this was a solid one-off.
10. The Phalanx
I did not think I had any interest in a riff on Youngblood and the like, but Jonathan Luna has a history of doing fun stuff with weird concepts and this one-off was no different.
Good Series I'm Waiting on Trades for:
I added a category for "good series I stopped reading" because there are some books that just need bigger chunks to read in, and so I've switched to trade collections on some series.
1. I Hate This Place
2. Radiant Black
3. Crossover (Last year #7 ongoing)
4. DC vs. Vampires
5. Little Monsters
6. Twig
7. Star Trek
8. Bone Orchard Mythos Ten Thousand Black Feathers
9. Skybound Presents
10. Sins of the Black Flamingo
11. New Masters
12. Star Trek The Mirror War (Last year #9 best new)
13. Stillwater (Last year #8 ongoing)
14. Department of Truth (Last year #10 ongoing)
