By Zack Quaintance — My personal list of the Best Comics of 2021 is late this year, because, look, it’s been a year. But I’ve done this list for 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017, so I’m not going to let a little bit of stress-induced tardiness stop me from doing it again now. So yes, checkout the usual governing rules, and then head down to see my first round of picks. Parts 2 and 3 of this list will be out in the coming days…enjoy!

Oh yeah, and I used the same set of rules for this list that I have for the past few years, which you can find below:

• Learn to love categories: Cramming the best comics of the year into one list is a challenge, so why not make multiple lists? We have our group-sourced Staff Picks, which gives anyone who wrote for the site last year a chance to weigh in. On top of that, check back soon for our Best Graphic Novels of 2021 list, to be completed once I have read a critical mass of last year’s graphic novels (soon, I promise!).

• Monthly periodicals only: This list is also limited to books that came out monthly (or close enough) in the North American comics periodicals market. I say this every year, but we are still searching for someone to regularly write about webcomics, manga, or crowdsourced comics via monthly columns for us, so if you’re interested in any of that, please reach out via an email to zackq@batmansbookcase.com.

• Longevity matters: Finally, choices here considered how many issues were published in 2021. This makes it harder to put debuts or series that wrapped early on our list, barring some exceptions. Basically, I’m looking for comics most closely associated with 2021, so the list feels like a reflection of what comics I was reading this year.

Best Comics of 2021 - #16 to #25 - Zack’s Picks

T-25. I Breathed A Body
Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Andy MacDonald
Colorist: Triona Farrell
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Issues in 2021: 5
A science fiction horror series about social media, big tech, and influencer culture.
The door to the Gelbacut Underland is open. The world is changing, minds are merging and a Fungal God seeks vengeance. Battered and broken, Anne is trapped in the middle of it all. With her head full of voices and nowhere left to go, only one question remains: Will she save herself or the world?
Why It’s Cool: Few comics as fearlessly through interesting ingredients into a narrative blender as this one in 2021. This is a book that involves fungi, tech startup culture, social media values, capitalism, familial relationships, and probably a few other big ideas I’ve forgotten (it was an early year release), and the result is one hell of a trip.
Read This Book: I Breathed a Body TP
Read our interview with writer Zac Thompson!

T-25. Resonant
Writer: David Andry
Writer: David Andry
Artist: Skylar Partridge
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: Vault Comics
Issues in 2021: 4
Paxton continues his struggle to return home, but every step is fraught with new hazards and temptations. Meanwhile, his children must reunite to face a whole new terror. Can Bec, Ty, and Stef come together in time to save their home?
Why It’s Cool: I enjoyed the first volume of Resonant, but it felt to me like the second volume really elevated everything about this book, from the concept to the character explorations to the art. Skylar Patridge coming aboard really brought this all into focus, making this one of my favorite books during the early part of the year. Check it out now; both volumes are available in trade (see below!).
Read This Book: Resonant, Vol. 1, and Resonant, Vol. 2
Read our interview with writer David Andry about the series finale, Resonant #10!

24. The Lot
Writer: Marguerite Bennett
Artist: Renato Guedes
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Publisher: Bad Idea
Issues in 2021: 4
In 1970, legendary filmmaker Oliver Larsen began production on his latest horror masterpiece on the lot of Los Angeles’ famed Cloverleaf Studios. Obsessed with bringing authenticity to the genre, the director insisted on casting real-life occultists to perform a genuine Satanic ritual live on camera – until something went horribly wrong. In the bloody aftermath, the production was shut down, the footage was confiscated, and the soundstage was forever shuttered.
Until today.
Why It’s Cool: The Lot was a favorite surprise of mine this year. This book is a spooky, black-and-white horror-tinged ode to old Hollywood that does incredible things with pacing and atmospherics. If you can find this one (and it shouldn’t be too hard at a Bad Idea destination store, my own LCS has plenty on its shelves) do yourself a favor and pick it up.

23. The Silver Coin
Writers: Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, Jeff Lemire, Michael Walsh, Joshua Williamson, Ram V.
Artist: Michael Walsh, with Gavin Fullerton for one issue
Colorist: Michael Walsh, with Toni Marie Griffin for three issues
Letterer: Michael Walsh
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2021: 7
The story starts with a failing rock band whose fortune changes overnight when they find the mysterious Silver Coin. Next, it helps handle some mean girls at sleep-away camp. Follow the curious token as it changes hands over centuries—from Puritan New England to the scavenged junklands of 2467—and discover how much pain a cursed coin can purchase.
Why It’s Cool: The Silver Coin is a super interesting concept — a comic where every issue is drawn by the same artist but written by a different writer. It’s a horror anthology, and the differing writers approach (one that is rarely seen) works really well to vary the sort of stories being told about the titular silver coin, all of which are chilling albeit in very different ways.
Read This Comic: The Silver Coin, Vol. 1

22. Home
Writer: Julio Anta
Artist: Anna Wieszczyk
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2021: 5
After being separated from his mother at the US border, a young Guatemalan immigrant must learn to harness his emerging superhuman abilities while being hunted by the Federal Government.
Why It’s Cool: Home really did a fantastic job putting a new spin on the well-tread what if real people got superpowers genre. It did so by focusing on real world headlines around immigration and migrant child detention for asylum seekers. The end result is an entertaining book about superpowered heroes that asks poignant questions about who we empower and why.
Read This Comic: Home
Read our interview with writer Julio Anta about debut issue, Home #1!

21. Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters
Writers: Chris and Laura Samnee
Artist: Chris Samnee
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Crank!
Publisher: Oni Press
Issues in 2021: 8
Rainbow has been searching for her sister, Jonna, for a year. The last time she saw Jonna was also the first time she saw one of the monsters that now roam the planet. They're big, ugly, and dangerous creatures, driving humanity to the brink of extinction. Though there isn't much hope for survival out in the wild, Rainbow knows that her sister is out there somewhere—and she'll do anything to find her.
Why It’s Cool: Cartoonist Chris Samnee is one of the best doing it now, just a highly-skilled and massviely-kinetic visual storyteller whose joy for the material comes through in his work. With Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, he delivers an all-ages romp that doesn’t pull punches for young readers, resulting in a book adults will enjoy just as much as younger readers.
Read This Comic: Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Vol. 1
Read our full Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters Trade Collection review!

20. Monstress
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2021: 5
Steampunk meets Kaiju in this original fantasy epic for mature readers, as young Maika risks everything to control her psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, placing her in the center of a devastating war between human and otherworldly forces.
Why It’s Cool: Monstress is an institution on this list, ranking as the only book to make it every single year dating back to 2017. It’s still my absolute favorite fantasy story in all of comics. It’s just a little lower on this year’s list because it only released five issues, all of them early on in the year. With the book slated to return in early 2022, we expect it to finish at its usual spot in the top 10 next year.
Read This Comic: Monstress Book One

19. The Bat-Family
Titles: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman Urban Legends, Arkham City - The World Order, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Nightwing, Batgirls, Robin, Catwoman, Batman - The Imposter, Future State Gotham, Robin and Batman, Batman ‘89, Batman Secret Files One-Shots, Batman Catwoman
Writers: James Tynion IV, Mariko Tamaki, Dan Watters, Stephanie Phillips, Tom Taylor, Ram V., Joshua Williamson, Tom King, and more
Artists: Jorge Jimenez, Dan Mora, Dani, Guillem March, Riley Rossmo, Bruno Redondo, Fernando Blanco, Andrea Sorrentino, Gleb Melnikov, and more
Publisher: DC Comics
Issues in 2021: Phew, so many
It’s Batman, you know Batman.
Why It’s Cool: It sure is an excellent time to be a fan of Batman comics, which currently make up the majority of DC Comics’ publishing line. But look, they’re all so good, it’s hard to complain. Lead by an interesting and somewhat fresh take on Bruce Wayne from writer James Tynion IV and artist Jorge Jimenez, the line has never felt so cohesive. Fear State was a really solid line unifying event, while books like Batman - The Imposter delivered fantastic experimental out-of-continuity takes on the caped crusader. There’s a lot of Batman comics, and most of them in 2021 were real good.
Read These Comics: Batman - The Fear State Saga, pre-order now for April release

18. Beta Ray Bill
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Issues in 2021: 5
The second-most famous wielder of Mjolnir! Beta Ray Bill is tired of life in Thor's shadow - and with Bill's own mighty hammer, Stormbreaker, recently destroyed at the thunder god's hands, Bill finds himself at a crossroads. The Korbinite must strike out in search of his destiny - assuming he can first defeat a Knullified Fin Fang Foom! Bill begins a hunt for Odin in hopes of resurrecting his golden weapon - but Stormbreaker is never coming back. Nonetheless, there is one place where Beta Ray Bill could restore his full powers. The All-Father of Nothing offers the Korbinite a path to immortality - but at a price not even a god can afford! Who will join Bill on a dangerous and deadly cosmic quest?
Why It’s Cool: It’s usually a great thing when the Big 2 give a single creator a chance to write and illustrate a singular auteur-esque story of one of their characters; it’s an even better thing when that creator is Daniel Warren Johnson (see Wonder Woman: Dead Earth for exactly what I’m talking about). Beta Ray Bill is a madcap and moving story, told with grandiosity and verve by Warren Johnson with colors by Mike Spicer. Do. Not. Miss. This.
Read These Comics: Beta Ray Bill - Argent Star

17. Barbalien - Red Planet
Script: Tate Brombal
Story: Jeff Lemire and Tate Brombal
Art: Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Issues in 2021: 3
Mark Markz has found his place on Earth as both a decorated police officer and as the beloved superhero, Barbalien. But in the midst of the AIDS crisis, hatred from all sides makes balancing these identities seem impossible-- especially when a Martian enemy from the past hunts him down to take him back, dead or alive.
Why It’s Cool: Speaking of poignant superhero work, it doesn’t get much better than Barbalien - Red Planet (another book that would be much higher if all of it had come out this year). This book blends the mythos around Martian Manhunter with a story about identity and the AIDs crisis. It’s really good, and artist Gabriel Hernadez Walta is unpredictably excellent, as always.
Read These Comics: Barbalien - Red Planet
Read our interview with Brombal and Walta!

16. Mamo
Writer: Sas Milledge
Artist: Sas Milledge
Publisher: BOOM! Studios - BOOM! Box
Issues in 2021: 5
Can Orla O'Reilly embrace her destiny in order to bridge the divide between humanity and the faerie world? Orla, the youngest in a long line of hedge witches, finds herself pulled back to her hometown after the death of her grandmother -- Mamo. Without Mamo managing magical relationships between the townsfolk and the fae, the seas are impossible to fish, the crops have soured... and Jo Manalo's attic has been taken over by a poltergeist! Now, Orla and Jo will both be pulled into worlds they never wanted to be part of. Can the two girls work together to save the town?
Why It’s Cool: Mamo was absolutely fantastic. It read to me like someone took the charm and smart storytelling from FirstSecond’s graphic novels and distilled it into compelling monthly comics. The core of this story is about magic and borderline romantic friendship, and it’s all played out with a fearless, ethereal aesthetic that perfectly captures its themes. Just a lovely and engrossing book.
Read These Comics: Mamo, pre-order now for April

Honorable Mentions for 2021: Dead Dog’s Bite, Penultiman, Post Americana, Proctor Valley Road, Rorschach, Scouts Honor, Second Coming - Begotten Son, The Swamp Thing, Ultramega, and Wrong Earth - Day and Night

Check back in the next week for parts two and three of this list! And don’t miss our Best Comics of 2021 - Staff Picks list!

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