By Zack Quaintance — On the heels of one of its strongest 12-month periods in many years, DC Comics has continued that momentum in 2022. In fact, today’s list of the Best Comics of 2022 — DC Comics has that good problem of there being too many excellent series worthy of inclusion. We, however, have done our best to break it down to eight uniformly excellent books that speak to the broader quality of the publisher’s line. You can find those selections below, and as we noted in the Best Comics of 2022 — Marvel Comics list, don’t forget to check this page every month for an updated ranking.

Enjoy!

Best Comics of 2022: DC Comics

1. Catwoman: Lonely City
Writer/Artist: Cliff Chiang
Why It’s Cool: There’s an irony in Catwoman: Lonely City being at the top of our Best Comics of 2022 - DC Comics list, because of this writing in late March, the series hasn’t released a new issue this year. But the next issue is coming? Catwoman: Lonely City #3 is due out April 19, and series editor Chris Conroy has said it’s the best issue yet. That’s saying a lot, a whole lot, given the Catwoman: Lonely City #1 was one of less than five single issue comics that I gave a perfect 10 score to last year. It was, without exaggeration, the best single issue experience I’ve had with a DC comic in a really long time.
A singular and detailed vision from cartoonist Cliff Chiang, the book reads like a 2022 Dark Knight Returns, just focused on Catwoman. She’s older, piecing together a broken Gotham City where Batman has been dead for years. She’s mixing it up with new, diverse characters as well as aged Batman rogues who are still kicking around. And it’s all taking place in a Gotham that Chiang has said is heavily influenced by real world New York City, from its changing culture to its municipal politics. On top of all the visionary artwork and character-driven attention to detail, this series also has charm to spare. It’s a deeply heartfelt and at times funny book, one that entertains in unique and special ways on every page.
Pre-Order The Hardcover: Catwoman - Lonely City HC
Read The First Issue Digitally: Catwoman - Lonely City #1

2. The Nice House on the Lake
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Álvaro Martínez Bueno
Most Recent Trade: Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1
Why It’s Cool: The Nice House on the Lake #1 was one of the other five comics last year that I gave a perfect 10 out of 10 too. It really is a perfect debut issue, one that is imaginative, chilling, stylish, and as assured as a new comic gets. In the other six issues that have so far come out, the book has progressed and evolved, become perhaps one of the best pieces of pandemic fiction, a perfect horror/sci-fi reflection of how it feels to live through a chaotic world in relative comfort, guilty and powerless to some extent to do anything about what’s happening.
The other quality that lands The Nice House on the Lake at our number two spot is the stunning artwork by Álvaro Martínez Bueno, colored to eerie perfection by Jordie Bellaire. This is a DC comic, published through the Black Label imprint, but there’s no predictable superhero visuals to this book. The work Bueno is doing here feels imaginative and wholly new, with surprises often coming after any page turn. It feels in the best way like Vertigo Comics at its height, just in terms of competency, smarts, and risk-taking. This book is another must-read.

3. Action Comics
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Primary Artists: Daniel Sampere, Miguel Mendonca, and Riccardo Federici
Most Recent Trade: Superman - Action Comics, Vol. 1 - Warworld Rising
Why It’s Cool: I like this run so much that it inspired me to write a piece called It’s Time to Talk About Action Comics because it Whips Ass. And it absolutely does. It’s a story in which Superman gets lost in space with an updated, 2022 version of The Authority. Operating outside the nascent — and currently underpowered — United Planets’ perview, Superman has decided to take on the most-recent, very powerful Mongul and his warworld. What has ensued is a deep space gladiator epic (a bit like World War Hulk, but also not at all like World War Hulk), where Superman is working to liberate a full planet of oppressed people with his powers dampened. At the same time, members of his splintered team are working in the shadows to foment a revolution.
Simply put, these are high-action, giant sci-fi concept, complex comics. They’re armed with fantastic, grandiose artists, a writer who is nailing every story beat, and a sense of momentum I haven’t felt from an individual Superman comic in many years. If you’re looking for an engaging more traditional superhero comic than the first two on this list, this is the one.
Other Relevant Trades: Future State - Superman; Superman & The Authority; Superman - The One Who Fell; and Superman - Action Comics, Vol. 1 - Warworld Rising

4. Human Target
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Greg Smallwood
Most Recent Trade: Human Target, Vol. 1
Why It’s Cool: I am a sucker for any comic that takes tropes from other genres and affixes them to superhero characters. DC Comics has done this really well in recent years, with stories like DCeased, which is what if zombie apocalypse but with DC characters, as well as with Dark Knights of Steel, which is what if twisty political fantasy epic but with DC characters. Human Target, however, is my favorite of them all, and it’s what if old Hollywood noir but with DC characters, specifically the characters from the classic run of Justice League International.
What makes this comic truly special is the pop-art sequential storytelling being done by Greg Smallwood, which has just been stunning. Combine that with Tom King’s clear common of punchy, old-time dialogue complete with over-the-top exaggerated hard-boiled characterization, and you get an excellent comic that reads unlike any other book from DC. There’s some grumbling out there about the relationship this comic has to the source material, but this is essentially an Elseworld story, where taking liberties with the characters is part of the point.

5. One Star Squadron
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Steve Lieber
Why It’s Cool: This is another book that sort of fits into what I was writing about above, the type of out-of-continuity superhero comics that use these well-known characters in the service of exploring other types of story. In this case, it’s superheroes meets Glengarry Glen Ross, and, if I’m being honest, the superheroes aren’t all that well-known. No, this is a book about the deepest of deep DC Universe bench characters, who are now working for a new app-based company where users can pay to rent hero’s time, doing so for everything from temporary security gigs to making appearances at children’s birthday parties.
The real villain of this story is, of course, corporate greed, which turns even people who use extraordinary powers to combat evil into faceless pieces of a machine, susceptible at any time to the machinations of a few suited folks in a boardroom. Armed with writer Mark Russell’s signature satiric wit and the clever-but-heartfelt cartooning of Steve Lieber, One-Star Squadron rounds out the top five of our best comics of 2022 — DC Comics list.
Read The First Issue: One-Star Squadron #1 Digital

6. Arkham City: The Order of the World
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Dani
Why It’s Cool: Like the majority of the in-continuity Batman comics right now, Arkham City - The Order of the World depicts an interesting corner of Gotham City that we don’t get to often see in the main title. It’s a story that features Azrael, some familiar old villains, and one absolutely chilling new villain that I hope we get to see again, sooner rather than later. This is perhaps the Batman comic right now that has the most experimental concepts, armed as it is as well with a chic almost-abstract indie comics aesthetic. Writer Dan Watters and artist Dani are a hell of a team — as see in the hit indie comic series, Coffin Bound — and it’s been a real treat to see them taking their talents to Gotham. This is a six-issue miniseries that recently concluded, with a trade collection presumably on the way at some point later this year.
Read The First Issue: Arkham City - The Order of the World #1 Digital

7. The Swamp Thing
Writer: Ram V.
Primary Artist: Mike Perkins
Most Recent Trade: The Swamp Thing, Vol. 1 — Becoming
Why It’s Cool: Excuse this absolutely awful bit of punning, but this new run of The Swamp Thing has made for fertile ground for some of the best superhero comics at DC. Very sorry about that, but it’s true. This is an updated take on the character, one that uses Mike Perkins gritty cartooning and Ram V’s knack for poetic scripting to give this series a poignant sensibility that feels apart from anything else coming from DC Comics. In that way, it’s a book I’d recommend to readers who are new to the character but have enjoyed Ram V’s work around mythology and colonialism in his indie breakout titles — These Savage Shores and The Many Deaths of Laila Star, chief among them — as well as to readers who enjoy a good story about Swamp Thing.
Read The First Issue: The Swamp Thing #1 Digital
Read our full review of the first trade!

8. Batman/Superman — World’s Finest
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Why It’s Cool: The art on this book is absolutely beautiful, looking as bright and iconic as these characters can. Dan Mora, with colors by Tamra Bonvillain, is just doing absolutely stunning work. Making things even better, is that Mark Waid (Kingdom Come) is back at DC Comics, doing his first proper run on a title in I don’t know how long, and it feels like he’s been saving this story for years. It’s fast and clever and it seems determined to span some of the most fun corners of the DC Universe, from obscure Superman villians to steady cameo appearances by the Doom Patrol. This is perhaps the best book right now for fans of traditional DC superhero comics, and it’s just getting started.
Read The First Issue: Batman/Superman — World’s Finest #1 Digital
Read our review of the first issue!

9. Monkey Prince
Writer: Gene Luen Yang 楊謹倫
Artist: Bernard Chang 張伯納
Why It’s Cool: Writer Gene Luen Yang, teamed here with artist Bernard Chang, is doing perhaps his most personal work yet for DC Comics, having created a new superhero for the publisher that springs from the same mythology that informed/appeared in Yang’s breakout graphic novel, American Born Chinese, one of the true must-read comics of the past 20 years. This series is about a teen superhero coming to terms with a power set and a power source unlike anything we’ve really seen in Big 2 superhero comics. On top of that, Yang and Chang also infuse the entire story with a sense of fun and a hilarious, attitude-heavy sense of humor. There’s so much that makes this a fun, colorful read, a different kind of superhero comic that’s perfect for readers of all ages.
Read The First Issue: Monkey Prince #1 Digital
Read our review of the first issue!

10. The Joker
Writer: James Tynion IV
Primary Artist: Guillem March
Most Recent Trade: The Joker, Vol. 1 Hardcover
Why It’s Cool: A series about The Joker is not necessarily something I’d be into, and yet this still one of my favorite Batman-adjacent comics, landing it a spot on my Best Comics of 2022 DC Comics list. While The Joker obviously takes the title and the focus of the book’s marketing, this series is really about Commissioner Jim Gordon, who has quite a bit of history with the titular villain. This series grew directly from the biggest event to happen in the Batman comics in some time, wherein someone gassed the villains at Arkham Asylum, and the crime was blamed on The Joker. This book sees Jim Gordon on a globetrotting hunt for The Joker, financed by a shady group of wealthy Gothamies who are fed up with The Joker’s chaos and murder. The result is a complex and interesting character-driven series that makes the most of Batman continuity, past and present.
Read The First Issue: The Joker #1 Digital

Honorable Mentions: Batman Killing Time, Batman — The Knight, Dark Knights of Steel, DC Vs. Vampires, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Robin, Task Force Z, and Wonder Woman.

Best DC Comics Trades and Graphic Novels 2022

This section is dedicated to recent DC Comics trade collections and graphic novels newly available in 2022. I highly recommend this entire list, almost all of which can be picked up by new or lapsed readers and enjoyed on its own merits. Each entry below goes back to the start of its given run, although some are ongoing and many are self-contained and a few others are forthcoming. At any rate, so far these are the best DC Comics trade collections of 2022 (so far)…enjoy!

Absolute Fourth World by Jack Kirby, Vol. 2: Physical

Absolute Multiversity: Physical

All-Star Superman: The Deluxe Edition: Physical

Batman: The Imposter: Physical / Digital

The Flintstones: Deluxe Edition: Physical

Gotham Central Omnibus: Physical

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1: Physical / Digital

Represent!: Physical / Digital

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: Physical

Superman ‘78: Physical

Superman and the Authority: Physical / Digital

Superman Red and Blue: Collected: Physical / Digital

Check out the Best Comics of 2022 (So Far): Marvel Comics list!

Read more great graphic novel and comics reviews!

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.