Phew. We made it, 2021 is coming to a close, and as per usual, we here at Comics Bookcase are celebrating by polling everyone who wrote for the site over the past 12 months about what they most enjoyed. The result is the Best Comics of 2021 - Comics Bookcase Staff Picks list, which you can find below. In the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out more lists of 2021’s highlights, so make sure to check back for those.

This, I should also note, is our biggest year-end list yet, featuring a massive 50 titles. So onward…you can find our full list of staff picks below in alphabetical order — enjoy!

Best Comics of 2021 - Comics Bookcase Staff Picks

The Advanced Player of Tutorial Tower
Original Story: Bangguseok Gimssi
Art: Omagam
Adaptation: Juyeong Hwang
Publisher: Webtoon
Read It Here: The Advanced Player of Tutorial Tower
I tend not to go for Shonen manga. It often comes across as repetitive and dull with the same basic structure repeated again and again of some big bad shows up and slapping the hero silly, the hero training for the next fight, and then being able to defeat the big bad just in time for the next big bad to come. All stretched out to a couple hundred chapters. Occasionally, there are bits of levity and silliness, but comics where the main draw is the hero fights really good don’t appeal to me. And yet, I can’t help but love The Advanced Player of Tutorial Tower, whose premise is essentially that. Or, rather, it’s a comic about someone who was trapped in a never ending training arc for a decade only to come out with a mission to protect the earth.
And it’s the one most hilarious comic I’ve read all year with the main character refusing to take anything that’s happening seriously. He goes to fight giant demons and evil corporations in crocs, slacks, and armed with nothing other than a toy hammer. It’s an absolute laugh riot that brings out the untapped comedic potential of a genre built by Akira Toriyama to an expert degree. And the actual fight scenes are some of the most spectacular ones I’ve seen in web comics, each approached with a mix of clinical precision and raw energy.
But at its heart it’s the story about trying to escape from systems. Be they of capitalism, civilization, or video games. It’s about the consequences of being trapped in such systems, the ways our pain can corrupt other people’s pain and twist it into something monstrous. I can’t help but love this book. (Sean Dillon)

Asadora!
Writer/Artist: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: Shogakukan
Englisher Publisher: Viz Media
Read It Here: Asadora!
Of course the new Naoki Urasawa comic is on a best of list, he’s one of the best comic creators on the planet. Asadora! is every bit as good as can be expected. Perfectly balancing large and small scales, the series starts with a typhoon ravaging a young Japanese girl’s town, but quickly engulfs a sprawling cast of characters, from a young woman who wants to be a star, to an old man who has to extort a journalist, and a group ensuring the safety of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It’s this balance that makes Asadora! such a charming book, one that’s easy to read and follow, even while the grander plot builds. (Keigen Rea)

Barbalien: Red Planet
Writer: Tate Brombal
Story: Jeff Lemire and Tete Brombal
Artist: Gabriel Hernández Walta
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Read It Here: Barbalien - Red Planet
Check out our interview with the creators!
It’s hard to pitch a book like Red Planet without simply repeating what everyone else has said. Suffice it to say, in a decade like the 2020s where we seem to be extremely interested in stories about people with AIDS, Barbalien stands out as a fantastic debut for writer Tate Brombal, a showcase for Gabriel Hernández Walta’s talent, and a fantastic story about justice, the police, and what it means to assimilate into a society that hates you. Highly recommended. (Sean Dillon)

Barbaric
Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Vault Comics
Buy It Here: Barbaric
Read our Barbaric interview with writer Michael Moreci!
I gave out a total of four perfect 10 scores to new comics this year, and this book was one of them. And trust me folks, I read a lot of new comics. This book is probably best described as a deconstruction of sword and sorcery comics tropes, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a creative project that operates with a gleeful abandon, and you can feel how much fun everyone involved is having on basically every page. This is also a timely serious, at least to me, wherein the protagonist is doing what he has to do, doing it well, and grumbling the whole way. I for one definitely relate. (Zack Quaintance)

Batman: Reptilian
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Liam Sharp
Letters: Rob Steen
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Batman - Reptilian
2021 was a big year for the Bat-Family, but of all the titles, Batman: Reptilian brings a bizarre darkness we haven't seen to the bat. With Sharp's dynamic and twisted paintings, Ennis' cynical writing warps Batman into a genuinely scary beast patrolling the streets of Gotham. A story filled with unusually dark and brooding twists and turns, even for a Batman title, Reptilian is a "must have" for any fan of the Dark Knight. (T.W. Worn)

Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Beta Ray Bill - Argent Star
We were all told we were special when we were kids, but Beta Ray Bill was told he was special special. He was chosen. And he sacrificed everything to the fulfillment of that vocation - his home, his youth, his beauty, his lifetime, two hammers - and what does he have to show for it? A permanent residency in Thor Odinson’s massive shadow? There are only so many times a person can be told that their “beauty is on the inside,” and their predestined greatness is still just beyond the next horizon before they cry ‘horse shit.’ Bill’s glory has been sacrificed on the altar of Thor’s fragile masculinity so many times that he feels entirely estranged from it. Daniel Warren Johnson’s Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star is a quest for Beta Ray Bill to recognize himself again.
Daniel Warren Johnson’s Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star is a deeply intimate look at Beta Ray Bill’s tenuous and painful relationship with worthiness. It’s like Johnson’s ink flows directly from a raw nerve - his pages are electric with emotionality. His evocative, frenetic art style and his bottomless capacity for empathy make this run a definitive chapter in Beta Ray Bill’s stymied legacy. (Lisa Gullickson)

Blacksad 6: They All Fall Down
Writer: Juan Díaz Canales
Artist: Juanjo Guarnido
Translators: Diana Schutz & Brandon Kander
Letterer: Cromatik, Ltd.
Publisher: Europe Comics (originally published in French by Darguard)
Buy It Here: Blacksad 6 - They All Fall Down
New Blacksad is something special. Even when split into two for North American markets, this new volume is well worth your time and money. Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido prove themselves masters of the form once more in a thrilling mystery rife with political corruption, shady assassins, theatre, the roots of decent journalism, and everyone's favourite feline detective. All across a backdrop of attempting to enrich and rebuild areas of New York City. There's an incredible depth to the characters and backstory, both new and old, that just pulls you in as the strands of the mystery thicken, yielding a complex and enthralling yarn. All beautifully tied up in Guarnido's truly amazing artwork.
The only downside is that you'll be so wrapped up in the story, when the rather shocking final page comes (with a big surprise for longtime readers), we're left with one hell of a cliffhanger that won't be continued until volume 7 comes. I think in 2023. That said, however, you're going to want to go back and pore over the story and artwork searching for more clues and marvelling at the details. (d. emerson eddy)

The Blue Flame
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Adam Gorham
Colorist: Kurt Michael Russell
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Vault Comics
Buy It Here: The Blue Flame
Read our interview with the Blue Flame creative team!
The Blue Flame was another comic that netted a perfect 10 score from me in 2021 with its debut issue, and the book has somehow gotten even better throughout its run. This story takes a pair of not-quite-distinct plotlines — one in deep space, the other in Wisconsin — and melds them together in a blurry way that raises questions about our relationships with reality, trauma, fiction, and the intersections of all three. It’s a truly special comic, and it’s one I think about constantly, even between issues. (Zack Quaintance)

Bubble
Writers: Jordan Morris and Sarah Morgan
Artist: Tony Cliff
Colors: Natalie Reiss
Publisher: First Second, 2021
Buy It Here: Bubble
Finally! Bubble! A narrative that accurately portrays what it feels like to be a millennial! I think we’re doing pretty well, considering that when we were handed the keys to adulthood, we discovered that everyone who had driven before was only putting gas in it. The tires are bald, the brake pads non-existent, all the stickers are expired. Everyone has just been shouting at us, “what’s wrong with you? Drive! Just drive!” It took our much spunkier kid-siblings to get us to finally admit “this shit is broken.”
In Bubble, Morgan also lives in a dystopian present but, y’know, a fictional one. Her CEO, mother-ish figure landed her a mind-numbing corporate office job. Still, she gets more of a buzz from her side-hustle, slaying imps for the app Huntr (uber, but for spilling monster guts). That, and watching Frasier. It takes staring down a few multi-headed hivemind human/imp hybrids with her Scooby gang for Morgan to discover she is genuinely happiest being her authentic self. Writers Jordan Morris and Sarah Morgan clearly had a blast extrapolating this corporately-endowed bubble-world from the actual mess we’re living in, and artist Tony Cliff elevates their biting satire with a clean, snappy style. This comic is hilarious, but it’s not insincere. I left this book loving these characters and earnestly looking into getting myself a party bus. (Lisa Gullickson)

Catwoman - Lonely City
Everything: Cliff Chiang
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label
Buy It Here: Catwoman - Lonely City
One of only two Big 2 comics to score a perfect 10 from me this year, this comic hit me like a truck…in a good way, obviously. In a year where (as noted above) the Batman comics were very strong, this stood out to me as the best of the bunch. It’s a singular vision being put forth by Cliff Chiang, the superstar artist from hit comics like Paper Girls and the New 52 Wonder Woman. In this book, Chiang delivers a vision for what is essentially The Dark Knight Returns, but with Catwoman, translating it all through a 2021 lens and imbuing it with layer upon layer of charm and intricate graphic sequential storytelling. It’s really a triumph of a comic, one that you can feel will be read for years to come. (Zack Quaintance)

Chartwell Manor
Writer/Artist: Glenn Head
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Buy It Here: Chartwell Manor
An intensely personal and at times disturbing graphic memoir, Chartwell Manor has lingered with me throughout the year after its publication back in May. In this book, Glenn Head reflects on a chapter from his childhood in which he attended a boarding school where abuse was taken place. Head uses his impressive alternative cartooning chops to engagingly convey his memories of what happened, as well as how that period created tremors throughout the rest of his life, as well as the lives of those who attended the school alongside him. This book throughout feels like a masterpiece, and if you can stomach the nature of what happened here, it’s a must-read book. (Zack Quaintance)

Compass
Writers: Robert Mackenzie & David Walker
Artist: Justin Greenwood
Colorist: Daniela Miwa
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Compass, Vol. 1 - Cauldron of Eternal Life
I largely bought this for Justin Greenwood's artwork. I've loved his work, probably since Stumptown, and followed it through The Fuse, Crone, and The Last Siege among others. He has an angular style that reminds me of artists like Steve Rolston and Phil Hester, blending shape and darkness that flows incredibly across pages, with a detail and grittiness that I feel works very well for action-packed historical dramas. Seriously, just look at the pacing in The Last Siege and be blown away. Greenwood brings all of that to Compass and more.
Because overall, the story being told here is as engrossing as Greenwood's artwork. I expected to be intrigued by adventure story of a Caliphate scholar looking for the secret of eternal life in medieval Wales, but I didn't expect it to be quite as compelling as it turned out. Robert Mackenzie, David Walker, Greenwood, Daniela Miwa, and Simon Bowland give an amazing amount of depth and research to this tale, dropping us into an unexpected and often unexplored aspect to world history, blending clashing religions, the juxtaposition of the Golden Horde and a burgeoning Christian Wales, and two scholars, in Shahidah and Ling, working at odds to one another to solve ancient mysteries. This is a great adventure in its own right and I hope only the beginning of more tales of these characters. (d. emerson eddy)

Crisis Zone
Writer/Artist: Simon Hanselmann
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Buy It Here: Crisis Zone
Read our Crisis Zone roundtable!
Multiple Daddy Burger Award-winning cartoonist Simon Hanselmann started to chronicle the COVID-19 crisis on Instagram, as the world began to enter lockdown in 2020. Already planning to turn it into a graphic novel for publication, as Hanselmann was posting daily on Instagram to amuse the masses, he was also creating additional panels on the side, which he would sometimes share in his Instagram stories. (I caught a few. Did you, shit kitten?) The creative discipline to take on a project like that is so Hanselmann, but it’s really awe-inspiring, so along with the creator’s willingness to address important political issues head on and have a full cast of queer characters, Crisis Zone may be the best comic of 2021. Also included in the graphic novel is the “Director’s Commentary,” which offers a look into Hanselmann’s creative process that reader’s cannot get elsewhere… making this edition so worth it. (Rebecca Kaplan)

“Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?”
Writer: Harold Schecter and Eric Powell
Artist: Eric Powell
Publisher: Albatross Funny Books
Buy It Here: “Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?”
You may not know the name Ed Gein, but the zeitgeist has haunted you with his gruesome legacy. The iconic horror films Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre all contain sparks from the trash-fire that was Edward Theodore Gein’s abominable imagination. What Eddie Gein has done is so vile and incendiary that the inferno refuses to burn out.
Eric Powell, the writer/artist who created the supernatural comedy The Goon has collaborated with researcher and author of Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho, Harold Schecter, to give you a true-crime comic that will bring you so close to the facts of Ed Gein’s repulsive existence you will not be able to get the stink off. Their speculation reconnects what our collective psyche has tried so desperately to sever. Ed Gein wasn’t a demon or a monster. He was a man who was a child. Perhaps out of reverence to the immensity of the human tragedy surrounding Ed Gein’s blight of an existence, Powell’s art is the most painstakingly detailed of his career. He presents the clinical and the fantastical with the same scrupulous specificity; it is a masterpiece. (Lisa Gullickson)

Djeliya
Writer/Artist: Juni Ba
Publisher: TKO Studios
Buy It Here: Djeliya
When I set down Djeliya, I felt exhilarated - that intoxicating rush of reading something entirely new and so good. I became a Juni Ba insta-fan, on board with whatever he did next. Ba was born and raised in Senegal, but his television was dominated by programming from elsewhere. He grew up watching Franklin, Dexter’s Laboratory, Dragonball Z, and Xena Warrior Princess. The result is a very different perspective on a shared, pop-culture landscape.
Djeliya is inspired by West African folklore, but it reads like a super compelling action-adventure video game where defeating each boss brings your hero closer to unlocking an enormous fantastical world. The great wizard Soumaoro has undermined the power structure of the surrounding kingdoms. With their society in chaos, Awa feels like the last Djeli who takes their traditional role as “royal storyteller” seriously, which is a challenge considering her Prince Mansour is pathetic. Other Djeli, like DJ Eli, have taken their gift for storytelling to serve their own egos and build their social media followings, but Awa knows better. She believes that her job as a storyteller is to build up her prince, but on her quest to see the wizard, she grasps how truly powerful her story can be. (Lisa Gullickson)

Eternals
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Esad Ribic
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Eternals, Vol. 1
Stasis is the enemy. Change is the way. Kieron Gillen’s written about a lot of that over his career, but it manifests beautifully in perhaps his most energized and riveting take on a WFH property. It’s a sprawling, gargantuan canvas with as many Big Ideas as the man can chuck at you, brought to life with spectacular grandeur by the one and only Esad Ribic. It’s a hell of a thing. And to watch it just build and build has been fascinating. Gillen’s return to Marvel and Corporate superhero comics marks a very different phase for the writer, and it’s evident in how much you can see he’s brought back from the works he’s done since he first left.
If you want to read one superhero book and only one from either of the Big Two to get a whole universe and sprawling mythology, and you enjoy issues loaded with dense detail and ideas, this is the one for you. (Ritesh Babu)

Everyone is Tulip
Writer: David Baker
Artist: Nicole Goux
Letterer: Ellie Hall
Publisher: Dark Horse
Buy it Here: Everyone is Tulip
Everyone admits social media, excessive online activity, and digital personas are bad for us. That doesn’t necessarily change how we behave with respect to platforms. In fact, the only thing it seems to change is how we behave in the real world. Everyone is Tulip is a book that has clawed at the back of my mind all year when I try to use Twitter to mindlessly scroll on my phone. It’s difficult to overstate just how troubling to our sense of identity the internet, and internet fame in particular, can be but Baker and Goux have boiled down the issue to an incredibly smooth book filled with heart, tragedy and some massive existential questions. This is the kind of graphic novel that is equal parts Jacques Ellul and Shōjo manga. How many books can say that? (Steve Baxi)

Far Sector
Writer: N.K. Jemisin
Artist: Jamal Campbell
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Far Sector
Far Sector appeared on last year’s list too, and it appears again this year for good reason. Writer N.K. Jemisin’s saga in the Green Lantern universe is one of the most ambitious DC storylines to ever feature a traditionally marginalized character. Science fiction has always been a wellspring that helped us understand how we live now, and Far Sector is a brilliant intersection of exceptional storytelling, identity, and noir. N.K. Jemisin and artist Jamal Campbell weave a special brand of twisty magic that is not to be missed. (Ariel Baska)

Friday
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Marcos Martin
Colorist: Muntsa Vicente
Publisher: Panel Syndicate
Buy It Here: Friday Book One
Growing up, I had a small love of girl detective stories. I regularly watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, checked out Harriet the Spy multiple times from my local library, and read one or two Nancy Drew stories. Friday feels like a refinement of that tradition with some of the best drawings Marcos Martin has done yet and a killer script from Ed Brubaker that expresses the feeling of yearning for a childhood that ended poorly and had its own share of horrors. Some not seen until it was over. (Sean Dillon)

The Good Asian
Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Artist: Alexandre Tefenkgi
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Jeff Powell
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy it Here: The Good Asian
If there’s one thing comic fans should be able to agree on, it’s that The Good Asian is one of the best crime books on the stands. Pichetshote weaves history, melodrama, and action in complete harmony. The art team of Tefenkgi and Loughridge have an attention to detail that rewards re-reads but also avoids any of the shortcuts noirs are known for. Every element of this mystery is laid out on the page, and the book treats the reader like an active participant rather than a passive observer. And while this is a technical marvel, with strong thematic elements and timely political commentary… it’s also just a lot of fun! I might have more of a preference for noir detective fiction then most, but there is truly something here for everyone and no one should have to kick themselves for missing the boat on what is one of the most exciting comics of the year with the potential to be an all-time classic. (Steve Baxi)

Graveneye
Writer: Sloane Leong
Artist, Colorist, Letterer: Anna Bowles
Publisher: TKO Studios
Buy It Here: Graveneye
I’ve been a fan of TKO’s output for years now and this year they released a few standout titles, including the remarkable Graveneye by indie superstar Sloane Leong and newcomer Anna Bowles. This is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while, as Leong’s been teasing it online for a long time. To say it lived up to my excitement would be selling it short. Presented in black, white, and red, Graveneye is a confessional and a love letter, laying bare the allure and horror of human desire. While it might miss these best of 2021 lists because it came out late this year, this is not a book you should let pass you by. (Harry Kassen)

Hellboy & The BPRD: The Secret of Chesbro House
Writers: Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden
Artist: Shawn McManus
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins
Publisher: Dark Horse
Buy It Here: Hellboy and the BPRD - The Secret of Chesbro House
Since the end of the main narrative (for now) in BPRD: The Devil You Know, we've been getting a bevy of historical tales around the Hellboy universe enriching different aspects while telling some wonderful, compelling stories. Just this year alone we've had some Young Hellboy, the adaptation of The Bones of Giants into comics form, a new Sarah Jewell mystery, The Silver Lantern Club, a hint of what might come next from Mike Mignola himself in Sir Edward Grey: Acheron, and a special treat in the two issue series Hellboy and the BPRD: The Secret of Chesbro House by Mignola, Christopher Golden, Shawn McManus, Dave Stewart, and Clem Robins.
Even if you've never read any Hellboy in your life, this is a fun and accessible haunted house with a twist tale. The story plays with the conventions of an ancient family curse, occult shenanigans, creepy caretakers, and things that should not be, all wrapped up in a wink and the wry humour that comes with many a Hellboy adventure. What truly puts it over the top is absolutely stunning artwork from Shawn McManus. McManus' exaggerated cartooning style is a perfect fit for Hellboy, working wonders with the weird and wild supernatural elements, the details of the house itself, and a bit of whimsy to keep everything from getting too dark. (d. emerson eddy)

Hellions
Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Stephen Segovia
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Hellions
I’ve been incredibly critical of the X-Men line of comics this year for different reasons, but most of them are because this year was a holding pattern for a post-Hickman Krakoa. It hurt the line as a whole, and almost every book in specific, albeit, in different ways.
This is not true of Hellions.
Hellions is a book that knew what it was, it did what it wanted to do, and ended at its ending. Because of that, it was able to play with all the toys it could, use all the fun things that other books were establishing, break all the characters it could, and then leave them broken at the end.
This series was able to celebrate the failures of Krakoa in the best ways, and proved itself to not just be a great X-Men book, but one of the best superhero books of 2021. (Keigen Rea)

Home
Writer: Julio Anta
Artist: Anna Wieszczyk
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy It Here: Home
I really enjoyed this comic, which does an amazing job of blending real world events with a fantastical story about the manifestation of superpowers. It also feels like a different sort of take on the real world superpowers idea, one that seeks to use old tropes to empower those within this country who are most vulnerable. It’s really well done, and I think just slightly under the radar this year. If you missed this one, it gets my full recommendation. (Zack Quaintance)

Immortal Hulk
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Corey Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Immortal Hulk
Once again the Immortal Hulk earns its place on the “Best of” list. This year turned out to be the last one for this book, as Al Ewing and Joe Bennet brought their landmark run to its conclusion. Our story this year truly put our heroes through the wringer. With Banner trapped in the Leader’s clutches, Hulk and Joe Fixit are put on the run and have to rally what few friends they have if they have any hope of surviving the threats of the U-foes, the One Below All, and even the Avengers.
Each issue this year continued to bring the layered storytelling and consistently horrifying visuals we’ve come to expect from this series. From groundbreaking revelations to climactic battles, this book packed in all the action and high concepts that have made this run so special for 50 issues and a number of tie-ins. Especially in the final issues, the series tied in all it’s mythological and religious themes in a fantastic Job-ian crescendo. It remained my most anticipated release monthly and pulled off an ending that I wasn’t sure was possible. If you’ve somehow not checked out this title yet, now is the perfect time to binge this seminal series, with the story having run its course. (Ben Morin)

In
Writer/Artist: Wil McPhail
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Buy It Here: In - A Graphic Novel by Will McPhail
Read our interview with Wil McPhail!
Before reading this year’s fantastic graphic novel In, I was unfamiliar with Wil McPhail, yet I’d seen dozens of instances of his work. McPhail has long drawn single panel cartoons for The New Yorker, working in very clever bursts of singular ideas. In his debut graphic novel, marking his first published foray into graphic sequential storytelling, and it is a very poignant and immersive read. McPhail’s wit and cartooning prowess are on full display here, showing the same wry sense of humor he displays in his New Yorker work, yet it’s all tied together by a very moving character-driven storyline about isolation, vulnerability, and coupling. It’s a great and surprising book, and (hint hint) likely to feature prominently in our full list of the best original graphic novels of the year. (Zack Quaintance)

Iron Man
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: CAFU
Color Artist: Frank D’Armata
Covers: Alex Ross
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Buy It Here: Iron Man, Vol. 1
In 2021, one Marvel book truly stole my time and also my attention from the others. Every single time a new issue would hit the shelves, I would say to myself, “Okay, Iron Man is not a favorite hero of mine, I’ll just keep buying until I lose interest in the narrative.” And ya know what? That day just never came.
Iron Man has been far and away one of my favorite comics of the year. There is so much real, human drama and energy thrown into these pages. Tony Stark is seen with a vulnerability that’s incredibly open and relatable. We find Tony in such an isolationist state at every turn, even when he’s in a crowded room. Writer Christopher Cantwell seems to have put so much of his own pain and sadness into this story. I found myself at multiple points feeling wildly empathetic to this even to the point of almost tearing up, and I just can’t stop reading.
A particular note of enjoyment I have reading this series is the cast of characters. Patsy Walker aka “Hellcat”, Absorbing Man, and Korvac to name a few are heavily reminiscent of the early Silver Age Iron Man stories, while still maintaining fresh and vivid in modern comics. Alex Ross’ timeless style on every cover also very much helps to seal this vibe.
If you read one Marvel book from 2021, it truly should be Iron Man. (Larry Jorash)

Jujutsu Kaisen
Writer/Artist: Gege Akutami
Publisher: Shueisha
English Publisher: Viz Media
Buy It Here: Jujutsu Kaisen
In the world of manga, Jujutsu Kaisen is at peak popularity, and not just because everyone is eager for the new movie, releasing in Japan this Christmas. This dark battle manga is set in a world where the teachers and the demons are genuinely terrifying, and it satisfies me so deeply that I don’t really mind that it isn’t covering new ground. Gege Akutami’s world is so exceptionally fleshed out that the feeling I’m left with from Jujutsu Kaisen is fear and awe — exactly what I want from my mangaka. (Ariel Baska)

Look Back
Writer/Artist: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Shonen Jump
Read It Here: Look Back
Look Back is a story about a friendship and all of the different feelings it conjures. Dedication, betrayal, loyalty, regret, longing, pride, disappointment, and more are all captured within this simple story about two young ladies who dream of creating manga. The execution is nearly perfect, with its use of double page spreads being my favorite use of them across anything I read this year. It’s a book of big, powerful emotions told in big, powerful images, and that stayed with me this year. (Keigen Rea)

Made In Korea
Writer: Jeremy Holt
Artist: George Schall
Letterer: Adam Wollet
Publisher: Image Comics
Read It Here: Made In Korea
Made in Korea is my favorite comic of 2021, full stop, and it’s because of the way the creative team clearly structured everything about it around life, and what it means to be alive. The story itself explored life through discussing ideas of autonomy, parenthood, personhood, and gender, in a way that felt mature but still entertaining. The real magic, though, was in the art, by series artist George Schall, who breathed life into every panel, from the library pictured above, to empty school halls. The collaborative magic on display is the perfect synthesis of creators with each other and the content, and it made for a truly beautiful story. (Keigen Rea)

Mamo
Writer: Sas Milledge
Artist: Sas Milledge
Publisher: BOOM! Studios - BOOM! Box
Read It Here: Mamo
The magic of Mamo is my favorite kind of magic. The kind where you do work, you get your hands dirty, you exert your energy and effort into something to make something new, an almost blue-collar kind of magic. The series uses this idea to tell a story about collaboration and community betterment, about the power of solitary people, but the greater strength of group action, and the power of selflessness. It's a story that resonated because of my 2021, and no doubt will continue to do so going into the next year. (Keigen Rea)

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
Writer: Ram V.
Artist: Felipe Andrade
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Read It Here: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
When Death takes a less than voluntary holiday, she’s out of a job and out of a place in the Afterlife. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr from Ram V, Filipe Andrade and AndWorld Design is nothing short of my favorite story of the year. The inventor of immortality is born and Death is informed her services are no longer needed. She’s petulant and undeterred by her newly minted unemployment, instead ready to give this inventor a piece of her mind. At first, she’s more than determined to stop the inventor of immortality, who is the cause for her sacking, but repeated deaths put a stopper on her plans. She’s mortal now, and it seems as if luck isn’t on her side. But maybe she’ll discover there’s more to life than death. (Deidre Freitas)

The Nice House on The Lake
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Alvaro Martinez Bueno
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label
Read It Here: The Nice House on the Lake
The Nice House on The Lake is the other Big 2 comic that earned a perfect 10 score from Comics Bookcase this year, and part of the reason is that it’s captured the concerns and zeitgeist present in 2021 better than any other book, conveying it all in a really polished and assured way. This book shines with a fluid artistic style and a twisted story, one that I wouldn’t dare give away, not even a little bit. Álvaro Martinez Bueno’s art and Jordie Bellaire’s colors have also left me with images that still chill me to my core. A must-read for any fan of horror. Kudos to all involved with this book. (Ariel Baska)

No. 5
Writer/Artist: Taiyō Matsumoto
Publisher: Shogakukan
English Publisher: Viz Media
Read It Here: No. 5
This is not a book I was looking forward to. It’s not from a creator I follow, and frankly I didn’t know anything about it. But when the owner of my local comic shop called me over to show it to me, I was captivated. I didn’t buy it then, because that was his copy and I didn’t want to take it from him, but months later, still thinking about it, I asked him to order me a copy. When I started it, I was confused too. The art was gorgeous, but I wasn’t able to settle into the story. By the time I got to the end, however, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite books of the year. With two volumes out so far, Taiyo Matsumoto’s No. 5 is a book to look for, with gorgeous art and a strikingly melancholy story of family, betrayal, and new beginnings. (Harry Kassen)

Nubia - Real One
Writer: L.L. McKinney
Artist: Robyn Smith
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Publisher: DC Comics
Read It Here: Nubia - Real One
Under no uncertain terms has it been Nubia’s year. Between a return to Wonder Woman comics, a new solo series and a much bigger role to play in the DC universe, I can’t help but think it all started with Nubia: Real One. Nubia has always stuck out, always had to hide parts of who she was so she and her mothers could live a peaceful life. But the world isn’t always a kind place, least of all a world like ours. She has to make hard choices, but she’s been raised by her mothers to know that the easy choice isn’t always the right one. Nubia: Real One reminds us of what a place like the United States is for anyone who isn’t rich and white. It does discuss heavy topics, because teens, just like teenage Nubia, have been given heavy loads to carry. But we can be better, and we can do better together. (Deidre Freitas)

Reckless / Friend of the Devil / Destroy All Monsters
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy it Here: Reckless
I don’t mean to be hyperbolic, but I can’t think of a series that has made me happier than Reckless. Brubaker and Phillips have already cemented their place in history as one of the best creative duos in comics. And yet, instead of taking that as a hint to ride off into the sunset, they take it as a challenge to outdo themselves with every book. It's hard not to say the best Brubaker/Phillips book is whatever the newest one is. And indeed, Reckless is probably my favorite work by them. Everything about this series speaks to me: a noir detective story, in the style of pulp adventure novels, with a cast of colorful characters and shades of fatalism that give Raymond Chandler a run for his money. Reckless is a joy to read and once you start to break down the storytelling craft, you realize just how precise and practiced this pair has become. Since being published, I don’t think a single day has gone by where I haven’t thought “I really feel like re-reading Reckless right now.” (Steve Baxi)

Reptil
Writer: Terry Blas
Penciler: Enid Balám
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Carlos Lopez
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Read It Here: Reptil
In a four issue miniseries, Marvel Comics reintroduced Humberto Lopez, aka Reptil, and introduced his totally awesome cousins, Eva and Julian. Representation matters. Readers are hungry for it. So I am excited that Blas added more Mexican-American characters to the Marvel Handbook, and a proud gay Mexican boy like Julian… even better! I devoured this comic every week it came out, and I loved every Los Angeles moment. As a Californian, the sense of place is one of the best things about this run. By that I mean more than the Cabazon dinosaur’s cameo or the Fashion District, but LA’s unique liveliness and color that the Reptil team captures on the page. (Rebecca Kaplan)

Rorschach
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Jorge Fornés
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Buy It Here: Rorschach
Publishing a sequel to Watchmen will always be met with skepticism. Publishing a sequel to Watchmen centering on one of comics’ most controversial characters, Rorschach, after a controversial presidential election, and about the roots of totalitarian ideology goes beyond skepticism. Rorschach requires a leap of faith in one’s artistic vision as well as trust from the audience to see this through to the end. If you open yourself to that possibility, this 12-issue maxiseries is among the most rewarding reading experiences you could ask for. The style Fornés and Stewart inject into this book is alone worth the price of admission. But Tom King’s thorough meditation on what it means for one to become susceptible to tyrannical thought rivals anything published under the Watchmen banner, including Moore and Gibbons’ original work. Rorschach is the kind of book you go to because you want a challenge, and every debate over its meaning will always say more about you than the text itself. In the end, what could possibly be more appropriate than a comic called Rorschach that functions as a Rorschach test? (Steve Baxi)

Savage Avengers
Writer: Gerry Dugan
Artist: Patch Zircher
Colorist: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Read It Here: Savage Avengers
Writing about this two years in a row is some bullshit. In theory Savage Avengers is a comic that exists as an extension of a brand accruement. It should be an awful thing, the worst kind of IP mixing just because they can. Instead what Gerry Duggan and Patch Zircher have been able to create is one of the most gleefully sincere love letter to the parts of comics we often attempt to pretend don’t exist anymore.
Savage Avengers leans into the silliest and metalest sides of comics without letting it overwhelm. Multiple times while reading this I gasped at the audacity of an image. Now forever more when I think of 2021 comics I will think of Zircher’s damningly cool image of Conan in Doctor Doom’s armor.
While there may be smarter comics this year, more formally experimental comics this year, no single comic was as much metal fun as Savage Avengers. In a year where we clawed ourselves out of a miserable pandemic, I couldn’t ask for more. (Jacob Cordas)

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of The Secret Garden
Writer: Ivy Noelle Weir
Artist: Amber Padilla
Designer: Ching N. Chan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Read It Here: The Secret Garden on 81st Street - A Modern Retelling of The Secret Garden
Although Secret Garden can be found in the “young adult” (YA) section, it’s a must read for everyone. Celebrating the source material’s 110th anniversary, the graphic novel is an adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I have a lot of trouble with severe anxiety and pain. Weir has talked about her panic disorder in interviews, and it is clear she is writing from experience. I have been in therapy a long time and read a lot of books about anxiety, and Secret Garden did such an amazing job explaining the experience of living with panic disorder, and what treatment and recovery is like, that I have recommended it to all of my therapists… And the best thing about that, they all took my recommendation this time, which is very, very rare. (Rebecca Kaplan)

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud
Writer/Artist: Kuniko Tsurita
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
Read It Here: The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud
A rather unique anthology about isolation, injustice, and the world in the post-bomb age. Its style invokes the works of Go Nagai and Osamu Tezuka to an almost starteling degree. But its rawness is what really sticks out. The innocent are put to death by unseen forces, the cruel are allowed to prosper, and the bomb looms over everything. A fantastic work that I wish was talked about more. (Sean Dillon)

Soul Plumber (DC Horror)
Writer: Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, Ben Kissel
Artist: John McCrea
Letterer: Becca Carey
Publisher: DC Comics
Right off the bat, Soul Plumber oozes 90's Vertigo blasphemy in the best possible way. A story about faith, humanity, and inter-dimensional beings, Soul Plumber scratches an itch many other anti-gospel stories just can't scratch. Written by the hosts of the podcast Last Podcast On The Left, it brings the same level of humor and "Gold Star" violence from the boys many have come to love. And while it is filled with nods and Easter eggs to the podcast, the story is so well written it stands next to the likes of The Sandman, Hellblazer, and Preacher. I would encourage anyone looking for an as-close-to a nostalgia trip to pick up the first three issues. (T.W. Worn)

Spider-Man: The Spider’s Shadow
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Pasqual Ferry
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Read It Here: Spider-Man - The Spider’s Shadow
Spider-Man as a figure of horror is a surprisingly untapped aspect of the character. In this regard, Spider’s Shadow is a delight. An effective horror story about letting one’s own guilt, anxiety, and anger control them in monstrous ways. Beautifully drawn by Pasqual Ferry, Spider’s Shadow is simply a showstopper that combines the superhero with the horrific in fantastic ways. (Sean Dillon)

Strange Adventures
Writer: Tom King
Artists: Mitch Gerads and Evan Shaner
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Read It Here: Strange Adventures
It’s a comic with Mitch Gerads and Evan “Doc” Shaner on art about how pulp science fiction exists to justify cruelty and evil and the heroic figures of such fictions, even if the threats they went up against are as bad as such stories claim, should be looked at with contempt and scorn. What else need be said? (Sean Dillon)

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Mat Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Read It Here: Supergirl - Woman of Tomorrow
When I first heard about this series, I was a little perplexed. I’m a huge fan of Tom King and Bilquis Evely, but the idea of them collaborating, let alone on a Supergirl comic, had never crossed my mind. That being said, I knew I couldn’t miss this book, so I added it to my pull list. When I picked it up, I was very impressed with it, and it just got better every month. Joined by Matheus Lopes on colors and Clayton Cowles on letters, King and Evely have crafted a pulp fantasy odyssey well worth a read that keeps me excited month after month. (Harry Kassen)

Superman and the Authority
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics
Read It Here: Superman and the Authority
Grant Morrison’s final farewell party at DC comics! So much of Morrison’s work in recent years at the publisher has been about endings, about old things needing to fade and vanish, for new things to prosper, the desperate need and desire for change. And this fits perfectly with that, bringing things to a lovely close. But it’s not a final line that concludes with a period. It’s one that concludes with an ellipsis. It’s a ‘to be continued’ where the future is unwritten, where the baton has finally been passed, and anything is possible. It’s a beautiful final coda to Morrison’s entire body of work at DC, and one that’s loaded with joy over change and evolution. A relentless burst of ideas and energy, it’s as fun and funny as you’d want, and is as fitting a conclusion as Morrison’s ever going to get.
Also: Sexy Daddy Superman. (Ritesh Babu)

The Swamp Thing
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Mike Perkins
Colorist: Mike Spicer, June Chung
Letter: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: DC Comics
Read It Here: The Swamp Thing, Vol. 1
I’ve never been a big Swamp Thing fan. But he was always around in things I loved, like Justice League Dark or whatever else John Constantine was getting up to, but The Swamp Thing revitalizes the character. Ram V is a stellar writer, and I wish I had found his writing sooner, but I know my year wouldn’t have been the same without it. He brings Swamp Thing back to the literal roots of the land, and it’s spectacular.
Levi Kamei is the newest avatar of The Green, after visiting his homeland in India. We see his connections to the ancestral lands of his people, and we learn why he has so many regrets tied to the land and his family. In ten issues, you learn everything you need to know about the newest incarnation of Swamp Thing. Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what this team does in the new year with the story being extended to an extra six issues. (Deidre Freitas)

Ultramega
Writer/Artist: James Harren
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Read It Here: Ultramega
Perhaps my favorite limited series from Image this year was Ultramega. Helmed by writer/artist James Harren and colored by Dave Stewart, this series brought giant heroes battling even more massive Kaijus all within dense oversized issues. It follows individuals that are imbued with the power to combat a cosmic plague turning ordinary citizens into monstrous kaijus. Each issue packed in enough content to rival almost 3 standard issues and explored a fully developed and visceral world. For me, everything here fired on all cylinders as the story and art worked in unison to create a one of a kind experience. (Ben Morin)

Witch Hat Atelier
Writer/Artist: Kamone Shirahama
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Read It Here: Witch Hat Atelier
I’m a sucker for a good magical school story. As a child I read as many as I could from Harry Potter to Charlie Bone. I devoured every one I could find and still do as an adult. Hell, I have watched Little Witch Academia far too many times. So when I say Witch Hat Atelier is the best magical school story I may have ever read, it hopefully comes with some weight.
Part of it is the writing. All of the characters are so well created they immediately resonate. The latest volumes, which only have raised the ante from what we’ve come to expect from this series, makes this even clearer. More importantly though is Kamone Shirahama’s art. Her use of symmetry and circles makes this world and its magic actually feel as magical as the story is.
Witch hat Atelier is charming, delightful and heartfelt while never letting a single panel be anything less than lucious. (Jacob Cordas)

Yummy!: A History of Desserts
Writer/Artist: Victoria Grace Elliott
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Read It Here: Yummy! A History of Desserts
Victoria Grace Elliot’s “Yummy!: A History of Desserts” was not going unread by me. I’m an avid baker with an insatiable sweet tooth who loves comics. I was not not going to read the comic book with the bright blue cover and an adorable green-haired sprite in front of an enormous ice-cream sundae promising me an illustrated encyclopedia of that which I crave. Yummy! could have delivered me just that, and I would have liked it. It wouldn’t necessarily be worthy of this list, but I would have been satisfied. Yummy! is worthy of this list.
Yummy!: A History of Desserts is so much more than a tour through patisserie’s past guided by some whimsical, three-inch sprites. It is a sugar-coated primer on engaging with the narrative of shared cultural history. We may be ogling bright, delicious pictures of fluffy cakes and crumbly cookies, but we learn that some stories are factual while others are apocryphal. While we are drooling over doughnuts, we are reminded that all history is incomplete, and we always have more to learn. Now that I’ve tasted what Victoria Grace Elliot has to offer, I want more. I’ve met her “food sprites,” now I want to meet her sports sprites, music sprites, or dance sprites! I’m sure she has more magic up her sleeve. (Lisa Gullickson)

Keep an eye on the site in the coming weeks for more Best of 2021 content!