Best of 2020 - Comics

 Ongoing Comics:

So my total comics read has been going down about 100 comics a year, and that definitely happened this year as well. Of course, that's partly because nobody was publishing comics for a couple months in there. But I read somewhere between 250 and 300 comics this year in single issue form.

Last year I did a Top 10 ongoing comics and Top 14 miniseries. This year there's a little bit more to offer, so I've got a Top 8 ongoing comics, Top 8 new series, and Top 7 miniseries, so it was about the same quality, but with a lot more new comics I liked. And lots of one-shots and good first issues where the series either didn't quite catch my attention or all of it hasn't come out yet so I can't fairly judge.

Last year there was only one book that was also around in 2018, this year five of my top 8 were on last year's list. One of them, Die, only fell off because I moved to reading it in trades. One of them, Criminal, wasn't published in 2020, because Brubaker and Phillips put out two full graphic novels instead.

1. Daredevil #15-25, Annual #1 (Last year #1)
This was the top spot on my list last year, and if anything, it got even better this year. Chip Zdarsky and Julian Tedesco finished up the storyline of Kingpin, Daredevil, and Cole North having to work together against the Koch Brothers, er, Stromwyns as they tear apart Hell's Kitchen with some super-powered mercenaries. They then ventured into territory similar to what Bendis and Brubaker did, with Daredevil questioning his methods, facing the legal system, and even winding up in prison. Their take on Elektra is also great, with a pretty notable status quo change for the end of the year, leading into 2021. I also enjoyed the introduction of Mike Murdock, explored in the annual. 

2. Black Cat #8-12, Vol. 2 #1 (Last year #3)
This was top three last year, and it moved up in part because part two, Criminal, wasn't out in 2020. But the finale of Jed McKay's Black Cat was a lot of fun, pitting Black Cat up against Wolverine and then Tony Stark. I'm glad they're getting another go-round with a tangential King in Black tie-in in 2021.

3. Immortal Hulk #29-41, Great Power #1, The Threshing Place #1, Immortal She-Hulk #1 (Last Year: #4)
Al Ewing continued to impress on Immortal Hulk, and three years into a run is pretty good. Joe Bennett was great on art, and there were some good guest turns as well. I was less into the one-shots by other writers, even though I'm usually a big fan of Jeff Lemire and Tom Taylor. They were good but not on the same level. But this year's stories, bringing in Xemnu and having him basically mind control to take over as the Hulk, and then reintroducing the Leader in a scary new form tied into the Green Door.

4. Suicide Squad #2-11

The first issue of this came out last year and I was kind of underwhelmed. I love Tom Taylor's work and I have a huge fondness for Suicide Squad because of Ostrander, but this was a weird take. And as it went on, it kind of remained weird, but there was something in every issue that I liked, as Taylor is one of the best moment-to-moment writers in the business. There was also something in just about every issue that made me mad, from the use of Ted Kord (which turned out to have an underlying explanation) to the death of Deadshot (which, either because of cancellation or because it was the original plan, was not undone). Ultimately I think that I wish it was just a Revolutionaries book from Taylor and artist Bruce Redondo, but I don't think that would have sold. Of course, neither did Suicide Squad.

5. Savage Avengers #0, 9-16 (Last Year #8)
I was surprised enough that this worked for a year, but in its second year, Gerry Duggan and Patrick Zircher really embraced the weirdness of Conan in the Marvel Universe, with any number of great out-of-context panels. But it's also a really good story, pitting Doctor Strange up against Conan's old foe Kulan Gath, calling back to the two-part X-Men story where he rewrote all of Manhattan, which was reprinted in #0 this year. Also, the additions to the team, from Black Widow and Elektra to Juggernaut and Black Knight, are all really good. I haven't had an Avengers book from Marvel I could enjoy in a while, so it's nice that this one, weird and niche as it is, is so good.

6. Star Wars #2-9

The relaunch of Star Wars in the post-Empire Strikes Back era has provided a boost that the series needed, just like it got when Marvel and Jason Aaron first relaunched it a couple years ago. Love seeing Lando transform from reluctant scoundrel to Rebel, love seeing the Lando/Lobot friendship that Charles Soule introduced getting more play, and I'm enjoying the new protege of Moff Tarkin as a villain. Also the further exploration of Luke's journey as a Jedi, complete with some nod to Rebels-era Inquisitors, and the flip side of Darth Vader exploring the background of his son.

7. Amazing Spider-Man #49-55, #50-54.LR, Sins Rising #1, Sins of Norman Osborn #1

I didn't plug into Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man, but the Sins Rising storyline, and the new villain Kindred, grabbed my interest enough to start reading. It's still not up to the levels of my favorite Spencer (Sam Wilson Cap & The Fix, the latter of which I'm still salty about not finishing) but there's some interesting stuff in there. 

8. Lazarus Risen #4-5 (Last Year #7)
There were only two issues of Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's dystopian future, but the new format is really good, and I continue to enjoy their disturbingly prescient look at a world where the 1% has become more like the .001% and gained even more power.

Best New Series:

1. Department of Truth #1-4

James Tynion has been impressing with his work at Boom, but his first new Image series really grabbed my attention. It's an interesting take on conspiracy theories, and the first three issues have covered flat Earth, JFK, Sandy Hook, Satanic panic, and a lot of other interesting conspiracies in a new and interesting way, with the inclusion of an X-Files/Men in Black style agency dealing with it. I'm curious to see where the story goes from here.

2. Crossover #1-2

Donny Cates has made a big splash over at Marvel, but he first came to my attention when he and Geoff Shaw did God Country for Image, and they returned to Image for Crossover, a very promising new series that's full of meta references to comic books and comic strips, and also seems to have a lot to say about comics as formative influence, which is an idea very near and dear to my heart. It's too early to know exactly where it's going, but as with Department of Truth, it's starting off strong and I can't wait to see where it goes.

3. Thor #1-10

I am not the world's biggest Thor fan, but what Donny Cates and Nic Klein have been doing, bringing a sort of cosmic, space-faring, heavy metal-tinged take to the god of thunder, now ascended to the throne of Asgard, has been really great. Starting off with tying him to Galactus and having him throwdown with Beta Ray Bill and Sif was one thing, but the follow-ups have been equally interesting and strange, and I'm curious to see how it ties into his King in Black story.

4. Chu #1-5

John Layman returns for a "Better Call Saul" to Chew's "Breaking Bad," focused on Tony's criminal sister Saffron. It's a great first story arc that builds as it goes on, and I look forward to the second one in 2021. It's a shame to miss Rob Guillory (who has been doing good stuff on Farmhand, and I really need to catch up on that) but Dan Boultwood is a really good artist for the book.

5. Seven Secrets #1-5

Tom Taylor is one of my favorite writers in comics, and his creator-owned book for Boom!, along with Walter Balamonte, is really promising so far. It's an action-adventure comic with almost more of a pulp than superhero bent, built around an interesting family relationship and a secret society.

6. Stillwater #1-5

Chip Zdarsky has impressed in the last year with Spider-Man Life Story and Daredevil, and I love his new Image series with art by Ramon Perez, which recalls a bit of Revival in its concept but has a completely different execution and set of themes.

7. Getting It Together #1-2

Sina Grace, Omar Spahi, and Jenny D. Fine are creating a book that we've been pitching as "Friends if it was modern, LGBT+ friendly, and a little more sexy" and I've been enjoying it quite a bit so far.

8. Fire Power #1-6

Robert Kirkman teamed with Chris Samneee, one of the best artists in the business, for an original graphic novel that would have been the hit of Free Comic Book Day if it had happened this year. The story is made up of familiar tropes, from the hardened old master who secretly loves modern convenience to the outsider who is the chosen one, to the chosen one who turns his back on his destiny, but it's all executed really well, and drawn beautifully.

9. Iron Man #1-4

Honestly, this one is rounding out the Top 10, but I don't know that it will make it onto the list next year. Christopher Cantwell has gotten praise for his work on Doom, but I haven't been as wild about his writing for comics in general, and this is notable mostly for being a back to basics approach for Tony Stark and a good use of Hellcat, notable since Tony has not been treated kindly by writers who I would have thought were excellent picks like Dan Slott or Kieron Gillen, or writers who I wouldn't have thought were excellent picks like Bendis. And the painterly style artwork of Cafu is very noteworthy.

Miniseries:

1. DCeased Dead Planet #1-5, Unkillables #1-3

Last year, Tom Taylor's DCeased ranked just below Chip Zdarsky and Jed McKay's Spider-Man Life Story and Man Without Fear. The follow-ups have been pretty great as well. The direct sequel Dead Planet is enjoyable, but Unkillables, a side story featuring Red Hood, Deathstroke, Cassandra Cain and other anti-heroes and villains, was in ways even better than the first DCeased. 

2. Marvels Snapshots: Captain America, Civil War, Fantastic Four, Sub-Mariner, X-Men, Avengers

The celebration of Marvels has mostly been a miss. Two issues of Marvel, which are mostly forgettable, and Marvels X, with more of the Earth X book I wasn't a big fan of in the first place. But Marvel Snapshots captures what I really loved about Marvels, which is Kurt Busiek's street level view of the Marvel Universe. Busiek seems to be sort of the showrunner or originator, but most of the heavy lifting is done by different writers on each issue. It's basically Astro City for the Marvel Universe, and with the exception of Howard Chaykin's issue (just not a Chaykin fan, sadly), they've all been good to great reads.

3. Marvel Zombies Resurrection #1-4

Like DCeased, I didn't think I'd really want to see a zombie story in the Marvel Universe, especially since the Kirkman-penned dark comedy sort of ran out of gas for me. But this re-invention of it as a more serious post-apocalyptic road trip by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Leonard Kirk is a good read.

4. Shang-Chi #1-4

It's a shame this is a miniseries, because Gene Luen Yang has done for Shang-Chi what I suspect the MCU will do for him next year. He's given him a backstory freed from Fu Manchu, built up an interesting supporting cast, and given him a space to be the cool martial arts guy in the Marvel Universe. It's very different from the excellent work Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy did, but it's a really strong reinvention.

5. Warhammer 40K Marneus Calgar #1-3

Kieron Gillen is a fan of the Warhammer universe, and he's turning in an interesting story of the training of Space Marines, with a really good twist in the second issue. Jacen Burrows is a good artist for the series too, even if I kind of wish cover artist James Stokoe was also doing interiors.

6. Cyberpunk 2077 Trauma Team #1-4

I'm a huge fan of the Cyberpunk universe, and I'm excited that the videogame is going to mean more spinoff merchandise like this limited series. 

7. Batman Three Jokers #1-3

To be honest? I expected to hate this. But it's undeniably well-crafted by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok does the best art of his career. It feels unnecessary and like riding Alan Moore's coat-tails, but that's honestly still better than 95% of DC's output.

First Issues:
In general, this is a list of single issues that started off strong but led to series that fell off for me, or single issues where I can't judge enough of the series yet. Last year there were 29, this year there are 25. There's no Klaus one-shot this year, which makes me sad. 

Taskmaster #1

Force Works 2020 #1

Kaiju Score #1

I Walk With Monsters #1

MODOK Head Games #1

King in Black #1

Web of Venom Wraith #1

Big Girls #1

Barbalien Red Planet #1

Colonel Weird Cosmagog #1

Overwatch: Tracer - London Calling #1

Transformers Back to the Future #1

Web of Venom Empyre's End #1

That Texas Blood #1

The Union #1

Dead Body Road Bad Blood #1

Miskatonic #1

Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons #1

Juggernaut #1

Scumbag #1

TMNT The Last Ronin #1

The Orville Launch Day #1

Transformers vs. Terminator #1

Vampire the Masquerade #1

We Live #1

We Only Find Them When They're Dead #1