Best Comics of 2024 (So Far)
ComicBook's staff shares our favorite ongoings, graphic novels, and more!
Barda (DC)
Jack Kirby's Fourth World remains one of the most profound and bizarre things to come out of the past near-century of superhero comics. An ambitious and kinetic sci-fi world that doubles as a fable for fascism and injustice, there have been countless attempts (and not as many successes) to carry the torch in the decades since. Enter Ngozi Ukazu's Barda, one of the newest of DC's young adult graphic novels, which perfectly captures what the New Gods can mean in our modern moment. After building a following with her delightful hockey romance webcomic Check, Please, Ukazu lends her adorable but complex creativity to the coming-of-age story of a young Big Barda, and her star-crossed love story with Scott Free. Few stories I've read or watched this year have stayed with me quite like Barda has, and I have a feeling this book will become a bonafide classic. Luckily, we're already getting a sequel. -- Jenna Anderson
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW)
Patrick Horvath's series does the impossible, blending the sensibilities of Richard Scarry's Busytown with the grisly horror elements of Dexter. On paper it sounds like peanut butter and sardines, but in execution it's a deviously clever concoction that has given us one of the most unique and inventive stories of the past year. Horvath, who writes and draws the series, has crafted a world that is fully realized, with both pockets that it thrives in feeling hospitable towards narrative. The "friendly animals that wear clothes and work jobs" side of the series is charming and sweet; while the serial killer element is thrilling, dark, and twisted. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is like a magic trick, and I don't want to know how it works. -- Spencer Perry
Birds of Prey (DC)
Every comic fan has that one character or one corner of canon that makes their heart sing. The kind of story premise that, through both the foundational issues and the issues better left forgotten, still evokes a unique sense of excitement and pride. For me, that has always been DC's Birds of Prey, and the recent ongoing run has felt like a physical manifestation of how I see the team in my head. Less than a year into its run, Kelly Thompson's scripts continue to spin a lovely yarn of team dynamics and bizarre threats, which harken back to the team's original days as a globetrotting outfit. The title's array of artists continue to draw swoon-worthy interpretations of the book's heroines, with Jordie Bellaire's color work delivering a timeless and rich visual language throughout. Birds of Prey crackles with electricity in an ever-growing number of ways, and here's hoping the series' journey has only just begun. -- Jenna Anderson
Blow Away (BOOM! Studios)
A compelling mystery that is not only rich and interesting on its own merit, but one made more intriguing by the environment in which it is set and the layers of the character central to it, Blow Away has easily been the most compelling comic I've read thus far in 2024. Just three issues in (to date) and not only is it a possible murder mystery, but a story of culture clash, one's past (potentially) coming back to haunt them, and the mysteries of self as well. Layer it with art that fully captures the desolate arctic environment and you have a story that feels like a prestige television thriller — just one you can savor page by page. -- Nicole Drum
Enfield Gang Massacre (Image)
The last issue of The Enfield Gang Massacre was released just days into 2024 and, y'know what? That's good enough for me to list it as one of the best series of the year (so far). Criminally underrated during last year's comics awards season, Condon and Phillips combined for one of the best western stories ever told in the medium. Though a spinoff of That Texas Blood, no knowledge of the series is needed for this darn-tootin' good time. -- Adam Barnhardt
Feral (Image)
After the success of Stray Dogs, expectations were high for the team's new series Feral, and despite the steep expectations, the series had no issues clearing the bar. Tony Fleecs, Trish Forster, Tone Rodriguez, and Brad Simpson picked up right where they left off, hitting fans with an emotional and tension riddled story that follows a family of cats through a rabies epidemic. The artwork's vintage animation aesthetic consistently stuns, as do the myriad of heart wrenching moments and brutal twists along the way. It's not just the circumstances that are challenging however, as the relationships and history between the characters add even more intricacies and richness to the story at play. Feral had a tough act to follow, but followed one hit with another one, and it deserves all the praise. -- Matthew Aguilar
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America (DC)
Spurrier and Campbell are producing the best Hellblazer comics of the 21st century in this sequel to John Constantine: Hellblazer, delivering incisive political critiques and deranged concepts in a viscerally modern style. Their second collaboration on the character shifts Constantine's focus from Britain's shambling post-Brexit experience to the American landscape in a roadtrip across the country. Each issue reveals new settings, terrors, and mythology that connect the United States' present moment with its own history (and that of many DC figures) without ever becoming didactic. Instead, it emphasizes the humanity of deeply flawed characters, whether it's the reliable bastard Constantine himself or barely-glimpsed ghosts on the southern border. Campbell's vision of the horrors haunting America linger just on the fringes of reality, inspiring greater fear in the ambiguity as the horrors they represent require no supernatural elements. By emphasizing their own perspective and style, Spurrier and Campbell have recaptured the electric spirit that made Hellblazer one of DC Comics' best series of the late 20th century; there's no nostalgia required, though. -- Chase Magnett
The Last Mermaid (Image)
It's always challenging for a new series to break through the sheer amount of competition present on store shelves, especially when it's tied to an original IP. That makes what The Last Mermaid has accomplished even more impressive, as writer and artist Derek Kirk Kim has crafted a truly dazzling world that feels wholly unique amongst anything else in comics. At times the dialogue is as sparse as the dystopian landscape that surrounds the book's main hero, and yet there's never any loss of immersion or investment. The storytelling, visuals, and pacing have been exceptional from the very first page, and the mysteries of this world and our lead only become more captivating as her journey moves forward. Put simply, The Last Mermaid is hands down one of the best books of the year, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. -- Matthew Aguilar
Local Man (Image)
The "Image Era" of the 1990s remains one of the most beloved, yet polarizing, chapters in American mainstream comics. Regardless of how you feel about the time's exaggerated proportions and radical gimmicks, there is something for you to love within Image's Local Man. Now in its second year, Tim Seeley and Tony Fleec's story of a washed-up superhero's second act continues to surprise, while being both reverential and honest about the good and bad of the '90s glory days. While there have been many pastiches and parodies of superhero trends, none have taken shape in such a wacky-yet-heart-wrenching way quite like Local Man, and our current comics moment is better for it. -- Jenna Anderson
Mary Tyler Moorehawk (Top Shelf)
Dave Baker's Mary Tyler Moorehawk is the kind of art that demands you pay attention to it. The story, on the surface, follows two tracks: a comic book starring a young adventurer in the Jonny Quest vein and her eccentric friends and foes; and the story of a man obsessed with the TV show based on that comic. Mary Tyler Moorehawk is much more than the sum of those parts, though; it's a love letter to, and dissection of, comic books, television, popular culture, fandom, and nostalgia. The worlds of both the Mary Tyler Moorehawk comic and The Physicalist -- a magazine for collectors, published in an era where owning things is almost completely outlawed -- are so fully fleshed out, that it almost feels like either one could be excised and still leave the reader with a compelling reading experience. It's blending them, and using them to comment on one another, that makes the book a masterpiece. The book leaves you with a million unanswered questions about one-off characters seen in a single panel, or footnotes of a 50-word story funny enough to be its own stand-alone tale. A clever blend of comics, prose, and photos, Mary Tyler Moorehawk is smart, creative, fun, and like nothing else you'll read this year. -- Russ Burlingame
The One Hand and The Six Fingers (Image)
What Ram V, Laurence Campbell, Dan Watters, Sumit Kumar, and company have done with the intertwined The One Hand and The Six Fingers series is the most ambitious and impressive experiment I've seen in mainstream monthly comics this year. Reading the debut issue of The One Hand, one might come away thinking that this is a murder mystery. After all, it is a pitch-perfect piece of noir. But then that reader – if they were wise – would pick up The Six Fingers #1, which goes beyond revealing who the murderer is, telling the second half of the story from his perspective. But this isn't a play on Rashomon. There are no conflicting narratives. The events are never in question, and the protagonists of the two series are apart far more often than they're together. What The One Hand and The Six Fingers build to is the revelation that both characters, both series, are investigating the same mystery, looking for the answers to questions about their very existence and the world they live in. The One Hand and The Six Fingers do not tell the story of a killer and the dogged police detective hunting him down. It's a pursuit of purpose and a question of whether it's worth having one, and the struggle for answers will leave readers gasping. -- Jamie Lovett
Rare Flavours (BOOM! Studios)
Ram V. and Filipe Andrade craft transcendent comics. Rare Flavours, their first work to follow the superb The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, offers readers a tale of food, Indian mythology, and culture that makes the wondrous seem approachable and the simple seem extraordinary. The story centers on Mo, an aspiring filmmaker ready to give up, and Rubin, an ancient rakshasa seeking to share his love for cooking (and perhaps eat a few cooks). Each issue centers upon a new dish along their travelog exploring the ingredients, history, preparation, and meaning embedded in each one. In turn, these dishes expose who both Mo and Rubin are, while drawing readers in to consider their own connection with a fundamentally life-giving artform as old as any in human history. Andrade's lines and colors work wonders in transforming simple plates into splendid sights and lending terrifying myths a thread of humanity. There's a universal sense of beauty to both the presentation and themes filling Rare Flavours that is bound to fill readers' hearts before they seek to fill their stomachs. -- Chase Magnett
Resurrection of Magneto (Marvel)
There are few more compelling, complex, and conflicted character in the Marvel Universe than Magneto. It seemed he'd be on the shelf for a while after his dramatic sacrifice during the Judgment Day event, but with a line-wide reset looming, Al Ewing and Luciano Vecchio took on the task of bringing the master of magnetism back from the dead in Resurrection of Magneto. While resurrection stories are common in modern superhero comics, they often amount of little more than a return to action. Said hero was on the injured list for a while, but not they're back in fighting form. Resurrection of Magneto is much more than that. It is a true rebirth, offering a look at Magneto's entire history without shying away from its ties to horrific real-world events or the character's fictional history of terrible deeds often done with noble intentions. In illuminating these aspects of Magneto's character alongside the causes he has rightly championed and the lives he has sometimes saved, Ewing and Vecchio managed to keep the complexities that Magneto as enthralling as he is while letting the character evolve in a meaningful way, finally realizing that it is not enough to fight against the oppression of one group when you have the power to fight for the rights of all groups. Magneto has never been brighter. -- Jamie Lovett
Spectregraph (DSTLRY)
The fact that James Tynion IV's Spectregraph only has two issues to its name as of the writing of this recommendation should be all the proof that you need that this horror comic has the goods. Ghosts and the supernatural on their own are always a nice spooky addition to any horror story, but Spectregraph has far more than the great beyond to make it well worthy of a recommend. The "clicking tock" element of the series is one that makes you so uncomfortable that the sense of dread simply cannot be denied. I found myself wincing from the opening pages and it's an uneasiness that stays with you as you turn each page. Christian Ward's art is perfect here, displaying darkness in a way that engulfs the panels and has you jumping at fictional corners throughout. Wherever Spectregraph goes with its story, it easily is already one of 2024's best. -- Evan Valentine
Superman (DC)
Superman hit the ground running with a stellar relaunch in 2023, and no one would be surprised to see a slight dip in quality as the series entered a new year. Thankfully that couldn't be further from the case, as Joshua Williamson, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Ariana Maher jumped to the Wild West for a Marilyn Moonlight adventure and then spun right back into a thrilling battle with Pharm and Graft that shifted right into the epic events of "House of Brainiac". At every step of the way the relationships and conflicts between the cast were paid off and evolved as the macro level events continued to spiral, rewarding longtime fans but never leaving the who might be willing to jump on in the dust. "House of Brainiac" only furthered this idea, shaking up the status quo in huge ways but still finding time along the way to pay off the work and investment Williamson has made in the cast since the very first issue. Superman hasn't been this good in ages, and I can only hope this era doesn't end anytime soon. -- Matthew Aguilar
Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel)
I feel exceedingly lucky to have received not one, but two volumes of Ultimate Spider-Man that align with my own state of life. Whereas the original emphasized the adolescent experience at the turn of the century, this one radically reimagines Peter Parker's life approaching middle age with all of its mundane trappings when he receives great power. While so many of the characters and concepts are familiar, the mythology is constructed to consider adult responsibilities. The result is a smashing success. Peter's struggles at work and with his family are essential, addressing universal themes of maturity much like Ditko, Romita, and Lee addressed them for adolescence so long ago. Questions, anxieties, and existential dread tied into uncertain futures dominated by men hidden in smoke-filled rooms serve to provide an outlet for very terrifying realities. Meanwhile, all of the thrills of great Spidey comics are maintained with soap operatic networks of characters and absolutely stunning action sequences drawn by Marco Checchetto. It could be a purely visceral delight, but when combined with its updated perspective transcends to contemplate the realities of power and responsibility for those raised with Spider-Man's story in 2024. -- Chase Magnett
Universal Monsters: Creature From the Black Lagoon Lives! (Image)
Dan Watters and Ram V are slowly establishing themselves as some of the best horror writers in the industry, and their attachment to Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! instantly made it a must-read series. When you add in art from Matthew Roberts that is both moody and atmospheric, it's the perfect touch for a classic licensed character such as the Creature. Between this and Dracula, this round of Skybound Universal Monsters titles ain't your momma's licensed comics. -- Adam Barnhardt
Wesley Dodds: The Sandman (DC)
It's easy to become jaded and bored with superhero comics. There are many, and too few do enough to distinguish themselves from the crowd. But occasionally, a superhero comic will remind us that the genre is – or can be, at least – good. How do you stand out in the crowded superhero field? One way is by getting an incomparable artist like Riley Rossmo aboard, who has long gone under-celebrated, is one way. His artwork in Wesley Dodds: The Sandman, with its fluid lines and Will Eisner-like touches, will leave a lasting impression. Another is to offer a hero stronger in his convictions than his fighting abilities. Robert Venditti wrote a superhero story that sidesteps the gross "might makes right" philosophy that often underpins such stories and avoids the hollow "we don't kill our enemies, lest we become as bad as them" mantra entirely. Wesley Dodds is a pacifist. He's not perfect in his practice but suffers viscerally in pursuit of that ideal. Told against the ominous backdrop of a country on the precipice of war, Wesley Dodds: The Sandman proved to be a surprising delight from start to finish. -- Jamie Lovett
W0rldtr33 (Image)
When it comes to horror in comics, the current master might just be James Tynion IV. WorldTR33 is a gripping thriller by Tynion and artist Fernando Blanco that takes elements from Stephen King's IT and Sandra Bullock's The Net to get under the skin of our current internet-addicted generation. Compelling characters, extremely high stakes, and skin-crawling creatures help to push the "Undernet's" story to the next level month after month. There is no other book on the market today quite like WorldTR33 and if you're a horror fan, this is a series that demands your attention by introducing slick new concepts and modern day horror perfect for our generation. -- Evan Valentine
