Best Comics of 2021 (So Far): Image Comics
By Zack Quaintance — The Best Comics of 2021 (so far!): Image Comics list is a bit trickier than the Marvel or DC Comics lists. The best books at Image often don’t keep to the same rigid monthly release schedules as those at the more corporate publishers. Instead, they take long hiatuses (see Saga…please please come back soon), and it makes it tougher to pin down what the best books of the year have been so far.
With that in mind, I’ve done my best to highlight books here today that are seeing regular release in 2021, with more issues scheduled for the months to come (as well as a first volume trade in most cases). Image is maybe not in the midst of a gigantic creative boom the way it was six years ago, but it’s still a big name and a premier destination for writers and artists to take their comics with minimal business or editorial oversight.
With that in mind, I hope you enjoy our list of the best comics of 2021 (so far!): Image Comics edition.
Best Comics of 2021 (So Far): Image Comics
1. Ice Cream Man
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Why This Is So Good: Simply put, Ice Cream Man is my favorite monthly comic and it has been for the past two years. I’ve written about it quite a bit, but in brief, this is a book that boldly plays with comics formatting each month as it tells largely stand-alone stories about society’s collective greatest fears, played out in relatable ways. One issue might be a concerned parent reading a story book to their child…and the comic is told through a twisted storybook lens. Another might be about losing yourself in your career…and it’s played out in first person prose excepts that read like behind-the-scenes looks at a late-night talk show. It just goes on from there, but it remains relatable and surprising and relentlessly well-done at every turn.
Easiest Way To Read This: Buy the trades. There are five out now, with number six available for pre-order ahead of its June 23, 2021 release date.
2. The Department of Truth
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Martin Simmonds
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Why This Is So Good: Simply put, The Department of Truth had one of the best debut issues in recent memory, and the series has maintained the high level of excellence from there. The premise of this book supposes that when enough people believe something (no matter how fake or unreal) it becomes truth. This comic is the story of a government agency tasked with mitigating, managing, and monitoring this phenomenon. It’s all so well done, that it will both make you think about society’s current penchant for conspiracy buy-in as well as start to question what might actually be real in our own world today.
Easiest Way To Read This: Get the first volume trade, and then decide from there if you want to jump down into single issues (The Department of Truth #7 hits March 31) or just wait for the second volume trade to hit on October 5, 2021.
3. Monstress
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Why This Is So Good: Monstress is far and away the most immersive and compelling fantasy comic being published today, and it’s not really close. The level of world-building being accomplished by this very complex comic is almost unprecedented. At the same time, it doesn’t skimp on the character moments and relationships that make fantasy epics so compelling. And if all that weren’t enough from a story level, the artwork of Sana Takeda will make you feel like you’re moving at your own pace through the most gorgeous Final Fantasy cut scenes.
Easiest Way To Read This: There are five standard-sized trade paperbacks out now, with Monstress Vol. 6 due to hit on September 21, 2021. So that’s definitely a viable way to go (I have the first five Monstress trades on my own bookshelf). Your other option if you like big books (and cannot lie…sorry), is to go with Monstress Book One, which collects Monstress #1 - #18. Although be warned, no release date has been announced yet for a Monstress Book Two.
4. Haha
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Various
Why This Is So Good: This series is a bit like Ice Cream Man’s younger (and possibly even smarter) sibling. It’s a similarly-constructed anthology series. But instead of using horror genre trappings to unite its existential crisis sensibilities, it uses a clown/circus aesthetic that runs through all its issues. It’s also just a bit riskier, which is really saying a lot because Ice Cream Man is one of the riskiest monthly comics itself. This is also an anthology comic, so you can pick up any issue and have a great standalone experience with a self-contained story, illustrated by a different fantastic artist each month.
Easiest Way To Read This: So far, you have to pick this one up in individual issues, with the first three being currently available and the fourth issue due out April 21. But the good news is that each issue stands entirely alone, so you don’t need to worry about tracking them all down or reading in order, if you don’t want to. You can also pre-order the trade collection.
5. Ultramega
Writer/Artist: James Harren
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Why This Is So Good: Look, I am doing a late-night update to this list in the middle of May because this series is so good. It’s a body horrific subversion of usual kaiju story tropes, and it’s just amazing. It’s the best kind of unpredictable, good in a way that makes me withhold any further details, just noting that I’ve loved every last twist we’ve had in the first two massive issues. The individual issues of this book are a bit more expensive than a typical comic — clocking in at $7.99 — but each issue is also gigantic (like the kaijus that drive its plot) spanning 66 pages for Ultramega #1 and 52 pages for Ultramega #2.
Easiest Way To Read: There are two issues out so far on comiXology, with a third issue slated to hit on May 19, 2021.
6. Decorum
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Mike Huddleston
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Designer: Sasha E. Head
Why This Is So Good: I have joked in the past that my standing review for every new issue of Decorum — Image Comics abstract high concept sci-fi series from visionary creators Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston — is “I have absolutely no idea what’s going on here…12 stars.” And that’s more or less true. I don’t entirely understand what is happening in this comic, but I certainly can’t look away. The visuals in this book are rendered with such a complex wealth of creativity, that you can feel an engaging sense of vibrancy throughout, not unlike a Thomas Pynchon novel. This is more than enough to compensate for all of the (presumably deliberate) lack of clarity.
Easiest Way To Read This: Decorum Vol. 1 is slated to hit on June 16, 2021, collecting all eight issues of the series. That’s probably the easiest way to do it, but if you don’t want to wait for the trade, there are six issues out now, with Decorum #7 due out March 31, 2021.
7. Fire Power by Kirkman and Samnee
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Chris Samnee
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Why This Is So Good: There is perhaps no better action-adventure working in comics today than artist Chris Samnee, and for this book, Samnee is teaming with the writer who created The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman. What results is an intriguing family comedy-style story about kung-fu fighting orders of monks (who can throw fire!) clashing with life in suburban America, and it’s all expertly-rendered through big action set-pieces mixed with interesting plot twists.
Easiest Way To Read This: You definitely want to start with the Fire Power Prelude OGN, which is labeled volume one. From there, you can nab Fire Power Vol. 2, which hit in January and collects issues #1 - #6. From there you can jump to the monthly comics (Fire Power #7 - #9 is out now), or you can pre-order Fire Power Vol. 3, which is slated to hit stores on July 13, 2021.
8. Stillwater by Zdarsky & Pérez
Writer: Chip Zdarksy
Artist: Ramon K. Pérez
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Why This Is So Good: Stillwater is a grounded story (none of the abstractions found in Decorum or Home Sick Pilots will be found here) that runs on a relatively simple linear narrative. It’s about a town where the people are immortal and all the logistical challenges that come along with that. It’s a relatively simple concept, but it’s one that the creators here imbue with a great deal of complexity, imagining the politics, paranoia, and violence in the name of preservation that come along with the idea. Being immortal, of course, sounds wondrous…until actual humans get involved.
Easiest Way To Read This: This is one of the easier books on our list to get into, because every issue to data has been collected via the trade for Stillwater Vol. 1. Interested parties can easily get caught up with that first trade before Stillwater #7 hits on May 19, 2021.
9. Home Sick Pilots
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Caspar Wijngaard
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Designer: Tom Mueller
Why This Is So Good: I’ve never read a comic quite like Home Sick Pilots, in that this book mashes up two disparate interests — teenage punk rock culture with haunted house tropes — in an interesting way that feels both stylish and seamless. Part of this is that Dan Watters is one of the least predictable creators working in comics, and another part of this is that Caspar Wijngaard’s artwork is relentlessly-stylish. Part of it is that I think this book has simply found an accessible magic combination that’s making for really enjoyable comic book storytelling.
Easiest Way To Read This: The first trade — Home Sick Pilots Vol. 1 — is scheduled for release on May 19, 2021, collecting all five of the issues to date. From there, you can wait for the second trade collection or jump into this series on a monthly basis once it returns later this year with a sixth issue, which is due out June 23, 2021.
Best Image Comics Trade Collections for 2021
A Man Among Ye Vol. 1
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Read It Digitally
Adventureman Vol. 1: The End and Everything After
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Read It Digitally
Coffin Bound Vol. 1: Happy Ashes
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Read It Digitally
Coffin Bound Vol. 2: Dear God
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Read It Digitally
Getting It Together TP
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Read It Digitally
That Texas Blood Vol. 1
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Read It Digitally
More Best Comics of 2021 (So Far) Lists
Check out the Best Comics of 2021 (So Far): Marvel Comics
Check out the Best Comics of 2021 (So Far): DC Comics
Check out the Best Indie Comics of 2021 (So Far)
Don’t forget to check out our weekly new comics reviews as well!
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.