By Zack Quaintance — This is the third year that our committee (of one) has done these Best Of rankings, breaking down favorite books into three separate pieces. The final piece (coming this Friday!) will look at the Top 5 Best Comics of 2019, while the second to last (coming on Thursday!) looks at #6 - #15. Today’s, however, is all about our Top Comics of 2019, #16 - #25.

But before we get into those, a quick word about our rankings via these three simple rules:

Don’t see your favorite? Check our other categories: We’ve already written at length about many comics this year in our Contributor Picks, Best Single Issues, and Best New Series lists. So, if you don’t see your favorite comic of 2019, it may be in there. In addition, on Friday we will be posting a Best Original Graphic Novel list to cover releases that hit the market all at once intact, rather than via the direct market periodical fashion. So, check back for that one too!
No webcomics, manga, Kickstarter-released books, or newspaper strips: Our site is a bit deficient covering these (if you are into these things, we’d love to chat about you writing for us!). We’re working to change that. Last year, for example, we set out to do the OGN list, and you’ll soon see how that turned out.
Longevity matters: Finally, each entry here also involves what I consider a key stat — how many issues were published this year. This makes it harder to put debut series or series that had just a few issues come out to wrap things up on our list. They just haven’t been around enough to be a definitive comic of 2019. Ditto for books that ended in April or earlier.

Anyway, on to the list!

Top Comics of 2019, #16 - #25

25. Canto
Writer: David M. Booher
Artist: Drew Zucker
Colorist: Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: IDW
Issues in 2019: 6
Canto was one of my favorite surprises of 2019, so much so that despite being a new book and a miniseries, it found its way onto our main list. Canto is just a delight of a fantasy comic, one that avoid gimmickry or cheap flash in favor of just doing everything right. It’s also a massive accessible comic that you can hand to new readers. If you missed Canto this year, you’d do well to pick up this one in trade.

24. Livewire
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artists: Various
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Issues in 2019: 11
Livewire was a comic with sort of an unenviable job, caught as it was between several different publishing leadership changes with Valiant. This 12-issue series, however, doubled down on character-driven action and did its best to tell an entertaining story independent of whatever tumult was or was not taking place. And it really shone for the entirety of its run this year, delivering us a story that uses personal responsibility and the acceptance metaphor at the heart of the X-Men better than the vast majority of X-Men comics in recent years. Kudos to all of the creators who worked on this book.

23. Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Steve Lieber
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Issues in 2019: 6
I’m generally a skeptic when it comes to funny comics. It’s not that I don’t like them, but I do think humor is one of the hardest things to do well in this medium, especially within monthly deadline books about long-running characters. This comic, however, is hilarious, thanks to just the perfect mix of Matt Fraction’s clever scripting and Steve Lieber’s uncanny knack for visual gags. For an example, see basically any time Superman has cause to look right at the reader. It’s some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever seen.

22. Die
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2019: 9
There is quite a bit to like about this meta fantasy story about a group of now-adult friends returning to the world of an RPG that sucked them in and traumatized them as teenagers (or maybe it’s pre-teens). The creative team of Gillen, Hans, and Cowles wears the literary influence on its sleeve, be it for books you’d expect — Lord of the Rings — as well as for books you maybe don’t — All Quiet On The Western Front is arguably evoked here. Moreover, it’s just as immersive of a comic as one is likely to find, with an acute attention to the details that is rare in monthly direct market stories.

21. Pretty Deadly - Rat
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Artist: Emma Rios
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2019: 4
Pretty Deadly has long been one of the most gorgeous books in all of comics, illustrated with ethereal grandiosity by the team of Emma Rios and Jordie Bellaire. It has scripting to match its haunting aesthetic too, with Kelly Sue DeConnick exploring many facets of the concept of death…which is all a verbose way of saying the title is about as apt as it can get. Adding “Rat” to this latest season, which is essentially about exploitation and hopes and dreams in Hollywood, is a fitting touch as well. Anyway, READ THIS.

20. Gideon Falls
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2019: 10
Next on our list is Gideon Falls, which could be first in a couple of other categories. For me, it would specifically net top honors if I was also doing a list of COMICS MOST LIKELY TO MAKE YOU STOP AND ABSORB ART CONCEPTS, as well as COMICS THAT READ BEST IN TRADE. It’s not that Gideon Falls reads badly in single issues, it’s just that this is a mysterious and high-concept book that presents an entirely different experience when taken all at once in trade. Either way you choose to consume it, this is a fantastic surreal horror comic that is taking the medium to excellent and surprising new places every month.

19. Ironheart
Writer: Eve L. Ewing
Artist: Luciano Vecchio
Layouts: Geoffo
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Issues in 2019: 11
Ironheart, a comic about the recently-created RiRi Williams character now operating free of Iron Man and on her own, was one of the most emotionally satisfying superhero reads all year. And look, I know superhero comics is perhaps an odd place to look for emotional satisfaction, but that’s what’s delivered here. Writer Eve L. Ewing — armed to the teeth with stellar artwork by the team of Luciana Vecchio, Geoffo, and Matt MIlla — serves up a sincere story of a genius teenager trying to do what’s right while grappling with her community, age and family. Ewing also uncannily understands a key ingridient to any good superhero story — a heartrending twist involving our protagonist’s parents. Anyway, the end result is one of the best superhero books of 2019, and a reason to be really excited that Ewing is heading up Marvel’s teen hero event next year.

18. DC Black Label
Writers: Brian Azzarello, Carmen Maria Machado, Daniel Warren Johnson, Denys Cowan, Frank Miller, Jeff Lemire, Joe Hill, Kami Garcia, Mike Carey, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Scott Snyder, Sean Murphy, Stepjan Sejic
Artists: Andrea Sorrentino, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dani, Daniel Warren Johnson, Greg Capullo, John Romita Jr., Lee Bermejo, Leomacs, Mico Suayan, Mike Mayhew, Peter Gross, Rafael Grampa, Riccardo Federici, Sean Murphy
Colorists: Various
Letterers: Various
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label (Obviously)
Issues in 2019: 29
DC Black Label got off to a bit of a rough start with a first issue that sparked a controversy about revealing Batman’s penis. That, however, was 2018. In 2019, the new publishing imprint really came into its own, putting out a wide-range of stand alone superhero stories that felt utterly unafraid to take chances. Now, to be fair, not all of those chances worked. On the whole, though, there was more than enough good stuff done under the Black Label banner to make me really excited to see what DC plans to do with these often prestige-sized continuity-free takes on their long-running stable of characters. Some favorites of mine included Harleen, The Dark Knight Returns Golden Child, The Question The Deaths of Vic Sage, Wonder Woman Dead Earth, and literally everything that came out via Hill House.

17. She Could Fly - Lost Pilot
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Miroslav Mrva
Letterer: Clem Robbins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics - Berger Books
Issues in 2019: 5
This second season of She Could Fly was, unsurprisingly, excellent, building on the mix of surreality, international scientific espionage, and mental health struggles that made the first season such a phenomenal comic as well. It’s sad to see a book this good end, but we can’t wait to pick up this one in trade. She Could Fly - Lost Pilot is a stunning and unique comic that uses the medium in surprising ways to depict struggles with mental illness. Also, extra points for setting the book in Chicago, which is where our committee (of one) is originally from.

16. The Wicked + The Divine
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2019: 5
Although The Wicked + The Divine only put out five new issues this year, they were all deeply informed by the 40-issues that came before them, giving them extra meaning and weight. Wic + Div, which has now ended, was a serious that relied heavily on twists, which given the monthly periodical format is not uncommon. What is perhaps uncommon about this book is just how well it pulled off its many many many twists, using them in a way that rarely felt forced. Instead, the twists and big reveals throughout Wic + Div consistently recontextualized this story in a way that gave it added weight and nuance, and now that it’s over, we’ll sorely miss the high level of craftsmanship with which this was all accomplished. The world of creator-owned comics just won’t be the same without Wic + Div.

Honorable Mentions: Assassin Nation, Ascender, Daredevil, Deathstroke, Fearscape, Friendo, Going to the Chapel, Lois Lane, Martian Manhunter, and Snotgirl.

Check back throughout the week for our Best Comics of 2019, #1 - #15!

Check out our other Best of 2019 lists, including Best Single Issues of 2019, Best Superhero Makeovers, and Best Comics of 2019: Contributor Picks.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.