This has been a relatively odd year in comics, with a massive distribution stoppage shuddering the monthly comics industry for a few weeks in the middle of the year. A lot of folks ended up talking gloom and doom, but comics were still made, still sold, and still read. And good comics to! In fact, we’ve gotten all our regular staff writers and contributors together this month to assemble a list of 40 (40!) picks for the Best Comics of 2020.

Listed below in alphabetical order…enjoy!

Best Comics of 2020 - Staff/Contributor Picks

A Map to the Sun
Writer/Artist: Sloane Leong
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: First Second
You will most likely find Sloane Leong’s tale of friendship, basketball, and identity in the YA section of your local bookstore, but don’t let marketing dictate your reading choices. The writing is smart and savvy, and the artwork demonstrates Leong’s keen eye for narrative composition. Stream of consciousness imagery leaps from the page, bathed in pinks and purples. The colors sing in this book, but are always muted enough to draw the eye where it belongs. Additionally the use of an evocative neon glow (like nothing I’ve ever seen before) adds layers to both the setting and the mood of the work. And okay, yes, I do admit that the setting for this story is a high school girl’s basketball team, but this group of girls that have been hailed by critics as diverse are relatable and recognizable characters that anyone can and should embrace. Too often writers are moored on the rocks of trying to make teenagers sound like mini-adults, or worse, landing somewhere in the uncanny valley that vacillates between infantilism and profundity. Leong captures both the language of early loss and the playful and painful codes of female rites of passage. Leong has created an immersive work of writing and illustration, and Bidikar’s lettering only draws you down deeper, but I promise, it’s well-worth the dive. (Ariel Baska)

Billionaire Island
Writer: Mark Russel
Artist: Steve Pugh
Colorist: Chris Chuckry
Letterer: Rob Steen
Publisher: Ahoy Comics
Buy It Here: Billionaire Island
Full disclosure: Billionaire Island did use writing from a review as a pull quote for their trade. While I am flattered by this, it didn’t factor into my selection of it for these purposes.
We are living in a horrifying world of economic despair whereas American’s die from a disaster while at the same time Jeff Bezo’s just became a centibillionaire. I live in Arizona, one of the worst places in the world for COVID-19, and struggle to fathom that degree of economic disparity. It’s unimaginably cruel to live in this kind of world. Thankfully Mark Russel and Steve Pugh are able to stare into that dark void and extract the best satire of the year from it. Set in a near-future just around the corner (reminiscent of the framing device at the start of A Scanner Darkly - “Seven Years From Right Now”), Billionaire Island takes the ugliest corner of our Randian world and transforms them into a bitter satire. It’s equal parts political treatise and laugh-out-loud comedy. No comic made me laugh as much this year as Billionaire Island. No comic made me ready to lead a communist revolution this year as Billionaire Island. With humor comics increasingly coming back in the last few years, no one comic better proves their necessity in these times than Billionaire Island. (Jacob Cordas)

Bitter Root
Writer: David F. Walker and Chuck Brown
Artist: Sanford Greene
Colorist: Rico Renzi, Sofie Dodgson, and Sanford Greene
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Bitter Root
I am starting off the list by breaking my own rules, since I did review the first trade paperback of Bitter Root here, but my admiration for this series and its creators has only continued to grow. I could give you the litany of reasons why it has become my go-to gift for friends and family this year, or I could just tell you that Walker, Brown & Greene have created an explosive and powerfully rich family story, that just so happens to be about a demon-killing, potion-brewing, trigger-happy family, the Sangeryes. It’s an action-heavy yet reflective celebration of the Black experience in America, that travels across history, from the Tulsa Massacre to the Harlem Renaissance, and even slips through portals to other worlds and other futures. Few books I’ve ever read maintain their momentum anywhere near the level of this series as the creators continue to explore multiple storylines and timelines. As the family confronts demons in a high fantasy story of past, present, and future, the creators prove they can take their readers anywhere, and root them in time-honored traditions and strange new realities. (Ariel Baska)

Black Stars Above
Writer: Lonnie Nadler
Artist: Jenna Cha
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Vault Comics – Nightfall
Buy It Here: Black Stars Above
Vault Comics is easily one of my favorite publishers currently and over the past few years. They haven't published anything that I haven't at the very least liked and more often publish series that I absolutely love. Every so often, though, they manage to publish something transcendental that completely elevates the medium. Previously, that was These Savage Shores. This year, it was Black Stars Above by Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. This book is an innovative, intelligent, engrossing, enthralling, and disturbing Lovecraftian Canadiana historical horror masterpiece. At its simplest, Black Stars Above is the story of a young woman trying to deliver a package to a northern town in the dying days of the Fur Trade in Canada. Beyond that, it's a harrowing journey into the depths of wilderness, madness, and the human psyche. What's truly incredible is that Nadler, Cha, Simpson, and Otsmane-Elhaou come together in such a way that everything—the epistolary narrative, the creature designs, the feel of the woods and the rustic cabins, the varied and shifting lettering, the layouts, the mixes of blues, whites, and black—elevates the story, the craft, and the experience to something transcendental. It takes the reader on a journey to parallel the young woman that is simply beautiful. This is a book that I think pretty much everyone needs to read, if just to see what the comics medium can do. (d. emerson eddy)

Blue in Green
Writer: Ram V.
Artist: Anand RK
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Blue in Green
Coming from Ram V, Anand RK, and Aditya Bidikar, the team that delivered the standout Grafity’s Wall, another book I loved this year, Blue in Green combines my greatest love, comics, with another favorite medium/genre: jazz. This appears in the content, a gripping and frightening story about family, ambition, and what it means to be a person as well as an artist, but even more impressive is how the team works jazz into the craft of the book. Presented as a graphic novel in a unique improvised form that has the team trading fours throughout, the team creates an experience that is both spontaneous and seamless.
For fans of horror, jazz, or comics, this is a must read. (Harry Kassen)

Chasin’ The Bird: Charlie Parker in California
Writer/Artist: Dave Chisholm
Colorist: Peter Markowski
Publisher: Z2 Comics
I could write an essay about this comic. From the moment writer/artist Dave Chisholm announced it, I was excited. Chisholm’s knowledge and love of jazz are present from the moment you open the book. The story documents jazz legend Charlie Parker’s time in California. The story is told through the multiple people’s point of view during different times in Charlie’s life. If you look Charlie Parker up, you might come away with two things. That he was a good saxophone player and he was a heroin addict. But, this book delivers a much more nuanced look at Parker’s life and his contribution to not just jazz, but music as a whole. Parker studied everything but especially loved classical music. Chasin’ the Bird showed the musical genius of Parker in a way some might have never seen before. Every time we switch perspectives in this story, Chisholm switches art styles. It’s a bold storytelling choice, but you can’t be anything other than bold when writing a story about Bird. The whole experience feels like an improvised jazz set, the way the art changes, but it all comes together in the end. Parker was a special soul. And the book does an outstanding job of showing us the ‘how’ of that. He was a man with a lot of pain in his heart, but a lot of love as well.
Chisholm also captures certain cultural aspects beautifully in this book. Jazz can’t be discussed without discussing Black people. The two cultures mix often and the struggles of black Americans were a huge part in the development of jazz as a genre in the early 20th century. Chisholm, a white man, handles those conversations and elements with class in this comic. In an industry dominated with white men who show no regard for the culture or history they are discussing, Chisholm’s respect of Charlie Parker and black culture is wonderful and refreshing. (Toren Chenault)

Coffin Bound
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: DaNi
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Coffin Bound
If you read this feature last year, you’ll remember that I called out the first arc of Coffin Bound as a 2019 favorite and said I was looking forward to what the second arc might bring. Well that second arc hit in 2020 and boy was I not prepared for it. The team brought their all to this one, with a second story that hit harder and pushed further than the first. Watters cranked up his prose and plotting, DaNi and Brad Simpson turned in four issues worth of all time great pages, and Aditya Bidikar poured atmosphere and emotion into every balloon. You’d be hard pressed to find a more tightly constructed, immersive, thought provoking comic that came out in this or any other year. This series, and especially this arc, has been a rare delight that I’m reluctant to let go. (Harry Kassen)

Come Home, Indio
Writer/Artist: Jim Terry
Publisher: From Street Noise Books
Like great Autobiographical Memoirs before it (like Maus, Persepolis or Fun Home), Come Home, Indio uses the genre’s self-representation to explore issues of identity and understanding through an intimate personal lens. Jim Terry wrestles with his ancestral inheritance – both his mixed-race (half-Native American, half-Caucasian) heritage and his parents’ alcoholism – and how such events inevitably shape his life. This Graphic Memoir stretches from Terry’s conception to the present day, and remains moving and insightful in every aspect. Terry draws upon the anguished expressionism of Will Eisner, detailing his dove-tail into alcoholism and miserable self-isolation, recounting his past head-space without excusing it. Come Home, Indio provides a raw and clear-eyed perspective of Terry’s life. Alcohol had provided him a temporary escape from his turbulent existence, an ability to float outside and distract himself from his upsetting past, even as it sucked Terry deeper into a vortex of regrets. But through Come Home, Indio, Terry provides the route to rehabilitation and reconnection. (Bruno Savill de Jong)

Department of Truth
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Martin Simmonds
Colorist: Martin Simmonds
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: The Department of Truth
The series may only be half-over, but that doesn’t matter. It earns this spot. Every page teems with expressionist menace from Simmonds’ extraordinary painted panels. Bidikar letters with urgency, performing a sleight of hand so subtle you can hardly notice him reshaping this world in the margins. Then Tynion’s narrative cuts so close to the bone that I feel every issue as if it were an arc unto itself.
I’d rather not divulge the highly classified secrets at the heart of this book. But then, I suppose it is my job to pique your interest, so I think I’ll leave you with the tagline question - what if every conspiracy theory you ever heard of was actually true? It’s a world of secrets and lies, where rabid belief is a dangerously supernatural power. Articulated in the story of one lone agent’s quest to find the truth, the mysteries of the Department of Truth connect American politics to string theory to Buddhism to childhood nightmares to the pit of your stomach in the fades to blackness, the dead eyes, the barely perceptible edges... This book horrifies but defies you to ever look away - which makes it every bit the perfect analog to the world we live in right now. (Ariel Baska)

Die
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Chrissy Williams
Designer: Rian Hughes
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Die
The ending of issue ten set Die up for a big arc, but I had no idea it would end up being my favorite series of the year. Every character had a moment to shine, the art continued to be beautiful and polished, and there were more big moments here than in any other place I’ve read this year.
The series is reportedly ending with issue twenty, so now’s the time to savor this beauty while I still have it.
(Kiegen Rea)

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith
Writers: Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Artist: Fernando Heinz Furukawa
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Buy It Here: Dragon Age - Blue Wraith
In this new chapter from BioWare's dark fantasy universe, a team of Inquisition agents attempt to recruit the deadly elven warrior Fenris in order to stop a devasting weapon from falling into the wrong hands. A canonical continuation of stories begun in the multiple game of the year award-winning Dragon Age: Inquisition! Collects issues #1–#3 of the series.
One of my absolute favorite series, and this arc was mmm delicious. It's so cool how it mixes characters from the game with new ocs and creates mini stories within the short runs that all interweave. Plus the art is gorgeous. Sachin Teng probably does my favorite covers in comics.
(Kirin Xin)

Dragon Hoops
Writer/Artist: Gene Luen Yang
Publisher: First Second
Dragon Hoops hit right at the onset of the pandemic, which really sparked what would become one of the most harrowing years in modern times. And it was in some ways certain timing. Not for promotion of the book, obviously, but for my own mental state. See, Dragon Hoops is a story about stepping into life, about not hiding from challenges, and about not getting fearful or discourage, the last lesson there obviously being the one that I held on to hardest during the onset of the pandemic. All these many months later (and many many graphic novels later), I’m actually sitting here thinking that Dragon Hoops has aged well as the year has continued. It’s an incredibly well-told story, but it’s also a smart and inclusive one, with an underlying message around persevering. And while we can’t literally step onto too many courts right now, the lessons in this book are timeless, and they’ll be waiting for us all when this whole thing has ended.
Oh hey, and if you’re interested, you can read my full review of Dragon Hoops from March, too. It’s 435 pages that make us feel better about uncertainty while also providing an immersive and refreshing story of growth and acceptance. (Zack Quaintance)

Eight Lane Runaways
Writer/Artist: Henry McCausland
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Buy It Here: Eight Lane Runaways
The debut Graphic Novel from Henry McCausland is a delightful series of absurdist hijinks, featuring a convivial track-team including blackberry-powered men, ones aided by sentient cloaks, and self-made merit badges. McCausland’s gentle linework steps backwards to show aerial views of the meticulously random work that the running-track paves through. Eight Lane Runaways is filled with surreal humour and bizarre detours, but it never feels like a distraction but part of a grander (if righteously trivial) plan. The comic combines the feeling of Where’s Wally? and nonsense poetry, crafting an experimental rhythm that feels comforting and gentle. To go into specific detail would spoil the improvisational feeling of this whimsical world. The charming Eight Lane Runaways goes at its own leisurely pace, personifying the saying that it’s all about the journey, not the destination. (Bruno Savill de Jong)

Falcon and Winter Soldier
Writer: Derek Landy
Artist: Federico Vincentini
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Falcon and Winter Soldier
A tale of two Caps! An office of dead government agents. A gifted new killer. Two ex-Captain Americas. When a dramatic attempt on the life of Bucky Barnes reunites him with Sam Wilson, the old friends are plunged headlong into a race to uncover the new leader of Hydra before a mass-casualty event announces the terror group’s resurgence to the world! The clock is ticking — but who is the Natural, and how did he beat Sam and Bucky so easily? It’s a bullet-riddled, window-smashing, table-breaking brawl for it all, and the Hydra Supreme is about to ascend!
I'm really liking this run so far. Not anything earth shattering, but I think it's a clever look at the characters and their dynamic. Plus we get to see Buck hold a tiny Cap teacup so. Instant hit. (Kirin Xin)

Far Sector
Writer: N.K. Jemisin
Artist: Jamal Campbell
Colorist: Jamal Campbell
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Far Sector
N.K. Jemisin is an author who’s really spoken to me this year. First with her sci-fi exploration of the boroughs of New York City, The City We Became, then with deep dives into The Broken Earth Trilogy and The Inheritance Trilogy, and now with Far Sector, her debut work in comics. In all of these, her writing is on another level. She both writes fluid action but she’s always functioning on a highly conceptual level, brimming with ideas that translate perfectly to comics as she partners with Jamal Campbell. This part of the Green Lantern extended universe at least nominally discusses the experiences of Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, a Green Lantern trying to solve a murder. The story takes you to unexpectedly surreal and abstract places, and Jamal Campbell’s artwork really sets off the multi-layered ethical questions at the heart of the book. This may just be the trade I’m most excited about for 2021, when everything is done and collected. (Ariel Baska)

Heartbeat
Writer/Artist: Maria Llovet
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Buy It Here: Heartbeat
I’ve tried to write about Heartbeat on numerous occasions. It’s too good a comic not to write about it. But the struggle I always ran into is how do I properly compliment it? Every panel of the comic is gorgeously conceived. Maria Llovet is a brilliant artist doing extraordinary work on Faithless right now but here she summons sinister sexuality, an eroticism for those desperate to be dead. Somehow her art is able to capture the feeling of a mental hospital romance, like a summer camp fling for the suicidal.
However, that is only half of her job here. Llovet writes every word you read here. This is her unfiltered with language that captures the best parts of poetry. There are hints of Baudelliare’s self-hate mixed with Barberrie’s textural qualities. Each word is sparingly selected providing worlds upon worlds of nuance. It’s the iceberg principle for characters who are barely holding on to their own souls.
This all comes together to create the best comic of the year. Heartbeat is a personal, small scale story that packs an unholy amount of weight. The imagery and language flow freely together creating a world that belongs more in a nightmare than on some floppies. It’s elegant, excellent and all-around erotic. It entices the reader with the horror of the everyday horror experience. It’s really fucking good.
And even with everything I’ve written so far, I still don’t feel I’ve complimented Heartbeat properly. (Jacob Cordas)

John Constantine: Hellblazer
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Aaron Campbell
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: John Constantine - Hellblazer
I’ve been missing Lucifer and Hellblazer has neatly filled the void, even making me have art-inspired breakdowns just like its Sandman Universe counterpart. Ayy, it’s Spurrier. It’s Campbell (and Bergara). It’s Bellaire. It’s Bidikar. Just the absolute greatest hits group of creators working in their respective areas, so how was our favorite shithead magician going to be anything other than stellar in their hands? A blistering takedown of the Brexit-era UK, a collection of delightfully dark fantasy-horror tales (my favorite is that damn mermaid), and a wonderful addition to the John Constantine canon. Just *chef kiss*.
(Allison Senecal)

Hellions
Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Stephen Segovia
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Hellions
Last year, my standout X-title was Excalibur (and that’s still going strong), but this year, Hellions is the one that deserves every ounce of everyone’s attention. It’s been kinda a perfect pandemic book - bleakly funny, at turns cathartically violent and sad, but with that little spine of Krakoan hope. Maybe things will get better for the ne’er do well mutants that make up the team. I’m certainly not biased because one of my favorites (Havok) is finally getting a good emotional shake in it. Segovia is an artist who really levelled up for me here (Curiel is a help), and Carnero did a great job on her X of Swords fill-in issues, so just a treat across the board. Also has the most compelling text-heavy data pages of the whole line. Folks keep comping it to Suicide Squad but it almost feels more like that other misfit classic, Thunderbolts. (Allison Sencal)

Hotell
Writer: John Lees
Artist: Dalibor Talajić
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: AWA Studios – Upshot
Buy It Here: Hotell
Amid the pandemic, we had one relatively successful launch of a new publisher in AWA Studios. They've got decades worth of experience on the business side with people like Axel Alonso and Bill Jemas, backed up with some solid creative talent as well. I've been enjoying most of what they've been releasing, following a kind of eclectic mix of types of books being published, reminding me a bit of AfterShock in that approach. There's probably something for just about everyone in the AWA – Upshot line, but I also highly recommend American Ronin, Year Zero, Grendel Kentucky, and Bad Mother. My favourite of their books being a kind of horror anthology, Hotell, by John Lees, Dalibor Talajić, Lee Loughridge, and Sal Cipriano.
What really grabbed me about Hotell is its story structure. Each issue essentially tells its own succinct and compelling story, drawing from all sorts of different kinds of horror tales, but they're interconnected by a greater horror, an eclipse, and the hotel/motel itself. It's interesting how the characters and narratives overlap, with portions from the different perspectives appearing as the overall story plays out. It's a very nice way to present multiple disparate tales and one greater story. As more unfolds, it makes you want to go back and reread the previous chapters to see how it fully pieces together. Due the different types of horror stories being told through the four issues of the series, there's a nice range to Talajić's artwork, deftly weaving through weird, supernatural creature horror to more visceral physical terror.
I'm also very impressed by Sal Cipriano's work lettering across AWA's titles. He's not working on all of them, but certainly most of them, and it's nice to see how he changes style and form to fit each individual book. The lettering gives each title its own distinct feel and voice, here in Hotell with some interesting shifts when the unnatural occurs. (d. emerson eddy)

Ice Cream Man
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Ice Cream Man
A comic that, in theory, could go on forever. But this year, Ice Cream Man seemed to pump out some of its best stories since it debuted in 2018. The horror anthology tackled a lot of different themes this year, continuing with their “there’s a flavor for everyone” theme in each story. Issue 17 kicked their year off with a parody of All-Star Superman reminding us that our heroes aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Issue 18 was an emotional tale about a man dealing with Alzheimer’s. And issue 19, my personal favorite, wrapped up existentialism and identity all in a step-by-step “how to be a ghost” tutorial.
This team works insanely well together. W. Maxwell Prince’s eerie and poignant words match Martín Morazzo’s detailed pencils on every page. And colorist Chris O’Halloran ties it all together. Horror never looked prettier. There’s an excitement I feel reading this comic, a wide-ranging excitement at that. From the technical aspects, to the easter eggs that reference pop culture and other comics, and the anticipation of the subject matter of each issue, Ice Cream Man is a comic event.
It also should be noted that when COVID-19 hit everyone hard early this year, this creative team put out Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix Special. A collection of shorts to help get people through the rough days of the pandemic. And 50% of the sales went to struggling comic shops around the country. A class act by everyone involved in putting this together. (Toren Chenault)

The Immortal Hulk
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Inker: Ruy José
Letterer: VC Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Immortal Hulk
The Immortal Hulk remains the one of, if not the very best on-going series. Writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett are currently serializing a modern classic in every sense of the word. This year took Hulk from fighting mega corporations to various monstrosities of every shape and size, alongside probing the deeply psychological struggle that lies at the heart of the entire narrative.The main aspect of the series that continues to work so well is the writing. Ewing exercises deep respect for the rich history and mythology behind his characters issue by issue. This becomes exemplified in his updating of long forgotten villains and plot points, which he then weaves seamlessly together. Paired with this is the visceral horror found throughout the series that without fail makes one grimace in fear. Bennett’s renderings of bodily mutations and truly terrifying imagery lends itself perfectly to the series’ story and underlying themes. It’s a series that will ponder the suffering of Job on one page and on the next disturb with the gruesome disemboweling of the latest gamma-monstrosity.
Never has a comic series so profoundly hit me as a reader. Ewing’s interweaving of literary metaphor, religious imagery, and high concept philosophy continues to lend the book its own consistently unique voice. This series continually gives me new concepts and philosophical implications to chew on long after I’ve put down the latest issue. It’s a series that one can actively engage with on multiple levels, something that is rare in a monthly title. With a consistently compelling narrative and outstanding artistic talent, The Immortal Hulk continues to be my most anticipated book every month alongside being the one of the best on-going series this year. (Ben Morin)

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The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott
Writer/Artist: Zoe Thorogood
Publisher: Avery Hill Publishing
Buy It Here: The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott
Sometimes you experience art that makes you yodel in unmoored appreciation, and that’s pretty much everything I’ve seen from Zoe Thorogood so far. There’s an increasingly packed slate of excellent OGNs releasing every season now, so it’s easy to miss some things but The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott should be up there with easy faves like Laura Dean.
The limited color palette is a feast, as are all the perfect little details lurking on every page. Thorogood’s faces are some of my favorites now, and hey - we haven’t got to the story yet. It’s pretty damn great, supremely big-hearted, and resonated for me on a personal level, so bonus points.
(Allison Senecal)

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Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics
Writer/Artist: Tom Scioli
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
I have read a strong majority of the books about the life of Jack Kirby, perhaps the most prolific and original comics creator who has ever lived, or certainly who has ever moved within mainstream American comics industry spaces. But until this year, I hadn’t really seen his life detailed via comics, the medium he dedicated his life to. Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics by Tom Scioli changes that, delivering an autobiography via comics that hangs up there with the best attempts to chronicle the life of perhaps the single most influential force in American comics history, arguably. The book is entertaining on its own merits, taking an anectodatal and character-driven approach to the subject matter while at the same time deploying a cartoony style that morphs throughout to heighten ideas within the narrative. The research on this one is also impecable, and I was especially taken by the amount of material about the first half of Kirby’s life that felt wholly new, at least to me. It’s not a perfect book (biographies are inherently tricky business), but I enjoyed it quite a bit, landing it among my top picks for 2020. (Zack Quaintance)

Kill A Man
Writers: Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Steve Orlando
Artist: Al Morgan
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Buy It Here: Kill A Man
The latest in Aftershock’s line of original graphic novels, the team of Steve Orlando, Philip Kennedy Johnson, Al Morgan, and Jim Campbell brings us Kill a Man. While it came out late enough in the year to maybe get passed over in a lot of best of 2020 conversations, I’m very happy to be able to include it on this list. It starts with the killer pitch of “What if you lose everything and the only person who can help you get it back killed your dad in front of you?” and just keeps getting better.
Grappling with themes of legacy and closure, anger and vengeance, Kill a Man ultimately attempts to answer the question of what it means to find an identity and fight for it.
(Harry Kassen)

Lonely Receiver
Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Jen Hickman
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Buy It Here: Lonely Receiver
Die may be my favorite comic this year, but Lonely Receiver is almost definitely the one that I think is the best. One of the most unique concepts across all of media, and one of the best writer+artist pairings in comics makes this a must read for at least two reasons. It isn’t just a strong concept though, the series continues to examine and develop its core ideas with each issue, in beautiful form. I can’t wait to have this as a trade to shove in people’s hands.
Horror comics have been reaching new heights the last few years, and Lonely Receiver belongs right no top of the pile, even along the great horror we’ve gotten across all media in the last few years. Truly one of my favorite stories in recent memory.
(Keigen Rea)

The Magic Fish
Writer/Artist: Trung Le Nguyen
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Real life isn't a fairytale. But Tién still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tién, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay? A beautifully illustrated story by Trung Le Nguyen that follows a boy as he tries to navigate life through fairytales, an instant classic that shows us how we are all connected. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.
This one made me cry in a GOOD way. It was a real home run, especially as Trungles' first graphic novel. Plus the art is just so gorgeous.
Read our full review here!
(Kirin Xin)

Plunge
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: DC Comics / Black Label – Hill House
Buy It Here: Plunge
We've kind of been spoiled for an abundance of riches of horror stories in recent years. Not sure if its just happenstance or if its somehow the way that we're dealing with the collective trauma of the past few years, but it's yielded a great variety and depth to the field in virtually every medium. I hadn't intended to pick all horror series for my year end favorites, but here we are, with a representative from DC's excellent Hill House imprint. All of the series from the imprint were great, all of them. Each giving a very unique, different perspective on horror, each one very much worth your money and time, and I was hard pressed to pick only one. In the end, it came down to Plunge from Joe Hill, Stuart Immonen, Dave Stewart, and Deron Bennett.
Plunge is kind of deceptive in nature, fitting the series' antagonists. It presents itself initially as what you'd probably consider cinematic creature horror along the lines of The Abyss, Underwater, or Leviathan. But it becomes a lot more than that. Joe Hill is incredibly adept at writing all kinds of horror, exploring every aspect of it in his novels, short stories, comics, and teleplays, and it shines through in this series as we go from creatures to body horror to science fiction to Lovecraftian terror and back again, all with an incredible drive and humor.
All with the stunning return of Stuart Immonen to comics art. The art is just a joy. Immonen and Dave Stewart do an amazing job at conveying the fear and terror, the uneasiness of the creatures, and the thing that should not be, throughout the series. (d. emerson eddy)

Pulp
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Pulp
An outlaw’s last ride. Critically acclaimed creative duo Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips team up with colorist Jacob Phillips to create another masterpiece. Max Winter is a former wild west outlaw, now struggling pulp writer living in New York. It is 1939, right at the breakout of World War II in Europe. After getting mugged and suffering a heart attack, he is soon brought into a conspiracy by a former Pinkerton agent to flush out Nazi sympathizers. Throughout the book, Brubaker expertly uses flashbacks to hammer home the themes of both personal nostalgia and regret. The art is perfectly rendered by father/son team of Sean and Jacob Phillips. Sean’s linework is expertly meticulous, from his layouts, to the body language and emotions he gives his characters. While Jacob adds fantastic hues, mainly sticking to sharp oranges and tans to make it feel more vintage. The flashbacks are my favorite, using a splotchy technique that helps differentiate it from the more solid coloring of the present story. Pulp is one of this teams’ best works, and that is saying something from a team as consistent as them. (Taylor Pechter)

Redfork
Writer: Alex Paknadel
Artist: Nil Vendrell
Colorist: Giulia Brusco
Letterer: Ryan Ferrier
Editor: Sebastian Girner
Publisher: TKO Studios
Buy It Here: Redfork
TKO Studios’ third wave of books came with a strong push into horror, and leading the charge was Redfork, writer Alex Paknadel’s horror debut. Accompanying him were artist Nil Vendrell, TKO veteran Giulia Brusco, and sometime writer Ryan Ferrier on letters. With a story touching on addiction, legacy, environmentalism, and economic shifts, this team creates a book that follows in the tradition of the original British Invasion, telling a deeply American story that could only have been told by an outsider. Available in TKO’s usual variety of formats, the whole story is out right now, and is well worth a read soon, if not before the end of the year. (Harry Kassen)

Savage Avengers
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Main Artist: Patch Zircher
Guest Artists: Butch Guice, John Romita, Greg Smallwood, Adam Gorham
Colorist: Javier Tartaglia
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Savage Avengers
Savage Avengers should suck. I’m not going to mince words about it because I don’t think the creators would either. Savage Avengers is the kind of stupid idea that a corporation that recently acquired an IP it’s been trying to get their hands back on for years would pitch. Why not take the new IP and mix it with one of our most popular comic lines?
Instead, by escaping the eye of Crom and every possible misstep, Savage Avengers turned into the best comic Marvel is currently publishing. The main creative team with the assist of some truly amazing guest artists have been able to conjure the feeling I got the first time my father played Dio for me. It’s ridiculous, melodramatic and a blast the whole way through.
I don’t know how this happened. I can’t explain the magic that happens when you put together such a crazy group of heroes. This is the team imagined by someone who misses THACO. It’s gloomy and glorious. I never knew I needed Conan, Wolverine, Punisher, Elektra, Doctor Voodoo, Helstrom, Doctor Strange and Venom all in one comic but now I can’t imagine living without it.
I wrote in an earlier review that “B-list teams make for A-list stories.” Savage Avengers is the comic that proves that rule. (Jacob Cordas)

Scarenthood
Writer/Artist: Nick Roche
Colorist: Chris O'Halloran
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Publisher: IDW Comics
Buy It Here: Scarenthood
My choice for this year is easily Scarenthood by Nick Roche (Doctor Who, Transformers.) A phenomenal piece of folk horror focused around an urban legend in an Irish town. The story Nick gives us is a beautiful tale on how the loss of a loved one can bring unimaginable stress and horror to the surface. For such a turbulent year, this series gave a much needed sense of catharsis in reminding me that community is one of the most important things we can have. I am thankful to have such a masterwork given to us. Roche's art is elevated by Chris O'Halloran (Immortal Hulk, Ice Cream Man,) allowing the moods to seep into the subconscious. The powerhouse duo not only deserve our admiration, they deserve a personal "thank you" for helping me face my own traumas. If you want a good scare, a beautiful story about loss, or just something off the beaten of hero comics and into something else, Scarenthood is something I would recommend again and again to all kinds of readers. (T.W. Worn)

Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Tonci Zonjic
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Buy It Here: Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy
I’m the biggest Black Hammer fan I know. You ask me what my favorite title is in this universe and it changes by the day. But, Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy is up there. Boy is it up there. Everything anyone loves about a Black Hammer comic is present here. The mythology of Spiral City and its heroes are well established. But, we haven’t gotten a story about what happened while the heroes were gone on the farm. (Not counting Sherlock Frankenstein because that focus was on Lucy finding them.) And not only do we get a new hero in this comic. We get one of the most brutal and twisted people Jeff Lemire has ever written.
What makes this comic stand out though, as is the same with all these Black Hammer titles, is the art. In Sherlock Frankenstein, it’s David Rubin’s popping colors and bold layouts that make us remember Lucy’s journey. In Black Hammer 45, it’s Matt and Sharlene Kindt’s pencils and watercolors that make it feel like this story actually takes place during WWII. In Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy, Tonci Zonjic flexes every artistic muscle they have.
Zonjic’s art is unique and mixes a lot of different techniques to make this gritty superhero crime comic come to life. Some pages look like you’re reading a manga, some look like you’re reading a detective comic from the 80’s. Some pages are more modern with bold color. But each page stands out, using black and white extremely well in each page to build a Spiral City we haven’t seen before. And the best thing about this comic? You don’t need any prior knowledge of the universe to read it. If you’re looking for a noir style story with a Batman and Punisher mix, all with a child at the center of the story, this is for you. (Toren Chenault)

Stillwater
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Ramon K. Perez
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Jon Moisan
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Stillwater
Stillwater’s first issue is one of the best issue ones I’ve read. It balances exposition, action, and mystery deliciously well, and is gorgeous while doing it. The following issues have been slowly burning toward some answers, but doing so in a way that feels additive and meaningful rather than a waste of time.
I love the spooky Gilmore Girls fused with Lost vibe I get from this book, and I hope it’s with us for as long as the creative team wants to make it.
(Keigen Rea)

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Steve Lieber
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen
The very concept of "Jimmy Olsen" has always been tantalizingly elusive. An ordinary cub reporter, the star of a hundred outrageous gimmick covers and the backwards engineered stories generated by those covers, Kirby's two-fisted action hero, Superman's best friend. Over time, all these contradictory takes on the character have overlapped to create a blurry impression of a character, singular and strange, even if he's rarely-if-ever been seen on the page. A man born to live in a comic book.
Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber took that impression, that imagined Jimmy, and created a Unified Jimmy Olson. They ran wild with him for twelve glorious madcap issues, stuffed with jokes and heart and love letters to a specific type of bygone comics.
The book also featured the Great Olsen/Batman Prank War which is even greater than it sounds.
(Isaac Kelley)

Superman Smashes the Klan
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Artist: Gurihiru
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Superman Smashes the Klan
Superman Smashes the Klan is just such an excellent intersection of ideas, including writer Gene Luen Yang’s personal experience as a Chinese-American growing up in Northern California (his backmatter essays really enhance the comics work), the actual history of the Superman radio program taking on the Klan many decades ago, and good old fashioned superheroics, which really emphasize Superman’s status as an immigrant to our very planet. All of these elements come together to make something so much more powerful than they are on their own. It’s really impressive work — a page-turner that has great meaning and speaks to the issues of our times. There’s nobody I wouldn’t recommend this comic to.
(Zack Quaintance)

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem
Writer: Shaun Simon
Gerard Way
Artist: Leonardo Romero
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Buy It Here: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - National Anthem
Years ago, the Killjoys fought against the tyrannical megacorporation Better Living Industries, costing them their lives, save for one, the mysterious Girl. Today, the followers of the original Killjoys languish in the Desert while BLI systematically strips citizens of their individuality. As the fight for freedom fades, it's left to the Girl to take up the mantle and bring down the fearsome BLI!
Killjoys comix is what 2020 needed. The art style is so unique and gives my brain a hit of that good serotonin. (Kirin Xin)

Under-Earth
Writer/Artist: Chris Googe
Publisher: IDW Publishing - Top Shelf
Buy It Here: Under-Earth
The underworld prison colony of Under-Earth is inescapable. Populated by convicts that the surface-world have dumped into it, Under-Earth is a bleak and rigged world where inhabitants regularly have to choose between somewhere to sleep and something to eat. Many other Graphic Novels would either create a cathartic tale of escaping this hellhole, or lean into the edgy nihilism of being trapped there. Instead, Under-Earth threads the needle between the two, observing how people try to survive in these conditions with their humanity intact. Indeed, the comic positions that while selfishness might be most practical, the human condition for connection and empathy ultimately (for some at least) wins out.
Despite the ostensibly blocky and flat aesthetic, Under-Earth is an incredibly human book, filled with exciting set-pieces and genuine tension. But it also features the real tenderness of wiping away the blood from someone else’s face. Under-Earth shows that the light at the end of the tunnel (or in this case, on the ceiling) might be a false hope, but that the real wonder of humanity (no matter how unfair it seems) is our ability to make a home in even the worst conditions. (Bruno Savill de Jong)

Vampire the masquerade winters teeth.jpg

Vampire The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth
Writers: Blake Howard, Tini Howard, Tim Seeley
Artists: Nathan Gooden, Devmalya Pramanik
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Andworld
Publisher: Vault Comics
Buy It Here: Vampire the Masquerade Winter’s Teeth
Vampire The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth is a gothic horror fairy tale set in a rich world of men, monsters, and malevolent mayhem around every corner. A world previously-established in a tabletop roleplaying game is now shown to a new audience through the viewpoints of two women, one a stoic badass and the other a naive young girl going through the hormonal changes of vampirism. The book is an incredible work of art in the realm of comics, one of the best showcases of the medium that infuses genres oft-unseen on the paneled page. The book treats the audience to a wondrous expression of colors, high-tension action, intrigue, heart, and a whole lotta blood. If you’re looking for a book that’ll sink its fangs into you and refuse to let go, this is exactly what you need to be reading. (Gabe Gonzalez)

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooten
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Wonder Woman - Dead Earth
The new hope for a destroyed world. Writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson with his frequent colorist collaborator Mike Spicer (Extremity, Murder Falcon) craft a story of Wonder Woman, as she wakes up after the world has been blown up by an unknown force. Combining his pension for crazy, dynamic action and hard-hitting character moments, Johnson creates one of the most defining Wonder Woman stories of this generation. Combined with the textured coloring of Spicer and the dynamic lettering of Rus Wooten, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth comes together as one of the defining Black Label books and a must read for any Wonder Woman fan. (Taylor Pechter)

The X-Men Line
Head of X: Jonathan Hickman
Design: Tom Muller
Writers: Gerry Duggan, Leah Williams, Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Ed Brisson, Zeb Wells, Benjamin Percy
Artists: Matteo Lolli, Stefano Caselli, Edgar Delgado, David Baldeon, Marcus To, R. B. Silva, Rod Reis, Phil Noto, Viktor Bogdanovic, Pepe Laraza, Marte Gracia, too many others to list
Publisher: Marvel Comics
There are nine different monthly titles (and counting) about the mutants who live in the Mutant Nation of Krakoa. Collectively these comics are known as the "X-Books" for vestigial reasons. There is not a bad book in the bunch, and while the individual titles can largely be read as standalones, the larger story that forms when you read them all is like nothing anyone in comics has ever pulled off before. A year-and-a-half in, and things are only gaining steam.
Taken as a whole, this is an epic story of politics, swashbuckling adventure, magic, grungy violence, and occasionally, superheroics. It spans worlds, centuries, universes, and alternate timelines. It is also frequently very funny. It is best read week-to-week and is maybe the best argument remaining for the increasingly dubious value of the comic book as a periodical pamphlet. (Isaac Kelley)

Like this list? Check out staff writer Ariel Baska’s picks for her favorite comics of 2020!

Also, contributing reviewer T.W. Worn picks his favorite non-comics stuff from 2020!