Top Comics of 2018, #1 - #5

By Zack Quaintance —  A difficult thing about a strong year for comics (like this one) is doing a retrospective Best Of list. Now, to be sure, no one mandates websites do rankings. That would be a clear violation of civil liberties. There is, however, a part of the pop culture blogger brain that goes wild for it, whispering all year long...where does this one rank...and if you don’t satisfy that beast—well, bad things happen.

So, here we our with ours, freshly formulated for 2018 by our committee of one. Before we dive into the third and final and (let’s face it) best part, which features in descending order selections #5 to #1 (Top Comics of 2018, #16 - #25 and Top Comics #6 - #15 are also up now, btw), let’s rehash our ground rules:

• No trades or OGNs: Building out our OGN coverage is a priority for 2019. We’re just not there yet. So, while I absolutely loved work like Tillie Walden’s On a Sunbeam, Box Brown’s Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, and Ryan Lindsay and Eric Zawadzki’s Eternal, you won’t find them here. Ideally, next year’s we’ll have an entire post dedicated to OGNs.

• No webcomics, manga, or newspaper strips: Again, our site is a bit deficient covering these (if you are into these things, we’d love to chat about you writing for us!). I should, of course, mention that in 2018 someone under the pen name Olivia James took over the long-running Nancy strip and did amazing things with it (Sluggo is lit), but, again, you won’t find it on our list.

• Longevity matters: New this year, you will find what I consider a key stat—how many issues were published this year. Late debut series like Die, Electric Warriors, and Bitter Root have tons of promise. They just haven’t been around enough to be a definitive comic of 2018. Ditto for comics that ended in April or earlier.

There you have it: guiding principles of our Top Comics of 2018. Now, without further adieu, let’s finish this bad hombre!

Top Comics of 2018

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The Immortal Hulk by Alex Ross.

5. Immortal Hulk
Writer: Al Ewing
Artists: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Issues in 2018: 10

The first of the Big 2 titles to make my Top 5 Comics of 2018 is the Al Ewing and Joe Bennett-driven Immortal Hulk, a startlingly-blunt take on a long-time hero that reads more like a creator-owned book than a shared universe corporate story. We’re late in the superhero trajectory, with comics having constructed, deconstructed, and exported the concept to other mediums plenty. Our best modern stories are those that get closest to capturing a character’s core, and rarely has a title done this as well as Immortal Hulk.

At the same time, this book has found a darker place that was always there, taking existing elements and extrapolating them so thoroughly they feel novel. It’s found ground not possible for the sensibilities of the 1960s, Hulk’s heyday. Both artwork and audience have evolved, becoming more sophisticated and thereby allowing Ewing, Bennett, and others to push Hulk further into monster territory while at the same time making Banner the emotional blank slate he was perhaps always meant to be. In this book, Banner is backgrounded, standing in for humanity at large as darker base impulses drag him places no one wants to go (ahem, hell). The Hulk is not the hero—that honor goes to anyone who can live a contented and peaceful life.

On the surface, this comic has also benefited from consistent artwork from Bennett who has needed few guest replacements, plus early chapters that provide satisfying narratives independent of what came before or will come after. This is a bit of a lost art, but still very much welcome, and it’s something that Immortal Hulk did expertly.

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This gem by Ryan Sook and Brad Anderson from Action Comics #1006 is quite possibly the comic book page of the year.

4. Action Comics / Man of Steel / Superman
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, Ryan Sook, Ivan Reis, w/Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Jay Fabok, Kevin Maguire, & Adam Hughes
Inkers: Wade Von Grawbadger, Joe Prado, & Oclair Albert
Colorists: Alejandro Sanchez, Nathan Fairbairn, Brad Anderson
Letterers: Josh Reed
Issues in 2018: 5 / 6 / 6

In 2017, Brian Michael Bendis—a leading voice at Marvel Comics for almost 20 years—announced a jump to the distinguished competition, leaving fans with questions that ranged from whether Bendis could thrive there to which titles he would take over. Some suggested this would spark a creative rejuvenation for Bendis, a chance to recapture energy from bygone days. Here’s the thing, though: Bendis had quietly been doing some of his best work at Marvel. Following the stumble that was Civil War II, his Infamous Iron Man, Jessica Jones, and Defenders titles were all excellent.

This is my way of saying I predicted Bendis at DC would be successful. He’s generally praised most for early work on Daredevil, as well as for creating Jessica Jones and Miles Morales (who’s having a moment with new film Into the Spider-Verse). What gets lost is that Bendis is likely the most prolific comic writer of a generation, consistently producing three to five monthly titles and rarely (if ever) suffering delays. As I’ve written, part of what I love about comics is the deadline-driven schedules force creators to just do the damn work, to put forth ideas without belaboring them as one must in film or prose writing. When it comes to embracing child-like excitement, love of comics history, and just doing the damn thing—Bendis is the best.

Still, even I didn’t predict what he’s doing with DC’s Superman titles. Flanked by the best artists to work on the character in decades, Bendis is telling a story that breaks this hero and his mythos down to its core before (seemingly) building it back up with slight tweaks for 2018. His Action Comics, Superman, and Man of Steel miniseries have all felt both classic and progressive as he revels in iconic stature while viscerally having a blast using the DC Universe that’s been off limits for so long. The end result is that both Action and Superman continue to rise, as satisfying as they are epic.

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From Monstress #18. Artwork by Sana Takeda.

3. Monstress
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2018: 6

This was the year of Monstress, with Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s expansive creator-owned fantasy hitting big at the Eisner’s and (presumably) finding a much larger audience. For fans of the book from the start, it was incredibly rewarding to see this story get its due. Liu’s world-building is phenomenal, drawing loosely from traditions while first and foremost exploring original elements. Takeda’s artwork, meanwhile, is second to no artist keeping as regular a release schedule (save for possibly the great Fiona Staples), with an intricate manga-influenced look that makes every panel of Monstress feel like the product of months of design work.

This year saw Monstress play out its third arc, a grandiose story heavy with confidence. The world-building continues, but it’s not as noticeable as it was in earlier arcs (both of which were also phenomenal, btw). The real focus of the story now is the journey of the main character. Given this is a fantasy comic (the fantasy comic of the decade), we wouldn’t have it any other way.

What started as a revenge story in 2015, has grown into a powerful young woman reckoning with a range of life: her relationship with her history, with her mother, with the mysterious power inside her, with the most responsible way to use it, and with the repercussions for noble actions that grew out of a simple desire to escape oppression and survive.

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Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Quantum Age, Doctor Star, and Chtu-Louise.

2. Black Hammer
Black Hammer: Age of Doom / Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows /  Quantum Age: From the World of Black Hammer / Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Dean Ormston, Rich Tommaso, Max Fiumara, Wilfredo Torres, Emi Lenox
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Todd Klein
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Issues in 2018: 7 / 4 / 5 / 1

This past year also saw the establishing of a new superhero universe: Black Hammer. Technically, this homage-heavy universe was created back in 2016 with the advent of Black Hammer #1 from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston. That issue was the start of a specific story. The wider universe grew later, doing so with an adjacent miniseries that broadened the plot in 2016 (Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil from Lemire and artist extraordinaire David Rubin).

In 2018, however, we got an even broader expansion. This past year, the Black Hammer universe continued with its main title, while adding two more miniseries and a one-shot. Add to that all kinds of rumors about what’s coming in 2019—from Lemire himself writing/drawing a 12-issue series, to a crossover between Black Hammer and DC Comics—and all signs point to this universe being here to stay. I had a chance to interview Jeff Lemire at San Diego Comic Con, and he agreed, saying as much.

I point this out as a way to note Black Hammer is so well-done that it has found a strong foothold in a market over-saturated by superhero concepts since basically 1970 (if not sooner). This is Lemire in all his brilliant Lemire-ness, following his deepest ideas and tragic lonesome sensibilities. He’s created a tone that allows him to write a few pages of funny before lapsing into full-blown meditations on the nature of generational comic book stories. Shared superhero universes function best with a strong guiding voice or perspective (see Marvel in the ‘60s). Black Hammer is doing just that, and I for one feel lucky to experience it in real time.

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Saga #50 (cover by Fiona Staples) finds the family in happier times.

1. Saga
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Letterer: Fonografiks
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2018: 6

I’ve written about this often, but it’s easy to take long-running creator-owned comics for granted, forgetting what a rare thing it is to have talented writers and artists string together wholly original stories with only their keyboards and pencils. For many of us, our lifetimes have been marked with a mainstream comic selection dictated by corporations and distributors, plus whatever experimental work was on the fringes. In recent years, this has changed, and, leading that change, has been Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ familial sci-fi epic, Saga.

This year, however, was one in which we were all but forced to stop taking Saga for granted. The first reason for this was Saga’s latest story arc (which ran in issues #49 - #54, and wrapped up in July) was obscenely consequential. I don’t want to give anything away, but $@#% goes down and it’s bad, so bad I wrote about why it hurts, partially to make sense of why I was so devastated. It’s a testament to this story that it can hit such intense emotional beats so far into its run.

Second, the book announced it would be going on a year-long (minimum) hiatus. Obviously, you can’t take something for granted once it leaves you. Kind of bummer (we’re compensating with a year-long Saga re-read), made all the more bumming (is that a word? ah well) by how good the comic got before the announcement. There really is, quite simply, nothing else like Saga, not in terms of the scope of the story, the artful thematic explorations undertaken within, or the industry-best action and design graphics generated a whopping six times a year (or more!) by the massive talent that is Fiona Staples.

This site is dedicated to discussing comic books in thoughtful and analytical ways as the medium enjoys a new golden age. To us, Saga remains the leader of an ongoing renaissance, and a big part of the reason we think it’s so important to volunteer time to cover the artform. It is an absolute honor to give the book and its devastating 2018 story (kind of fitting, in sooooo many ways) our Top Comic of 2018 honor.

Check out Best Comics of 2018, #16 - #25 and Best Comics of 2018, #6 - #15! And check back later in the week for more year-end lists, including our Best Single Issues and our Top Creators of 2018!

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

Monstress #18 by Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda, & Rus Wooton

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Monstress #18 is the crashing finale to this Eisner-nominated comic's third arc.

By Zack Quaintance — I’ve been reading Monstress issue-to-issue from its start, enthralled by writer Marjorie Liu’s depth of vision as well as the unparalleled artwork produced by Sana Takeda, as lush as it is detailed. The book blends anime stylizations, fantasy novel trappings, and hints of Eastern mythology, creating a unique reading experience. It also seamlessly alternates from subtle issues that explore its world and strengthen the bonds between characters, to issues that serve as high stakes crescendos.

Monstress #18 is decidedly of the latter category, ranking as the most consequential action-heavy issue since the series’ searing debut, which was a statement about the marginalized striking back against abuse. Reading this issue, it struck me that our protagonist Maika’s being part of an oppressed group is an idea that has faded a bit in favor of her own personal hero’s journey, of her growing into an almost mythical savoir from a powerful line.

It’s a transition that has given her more agency than she had at the start. Maika was threatened in early issues by horsemen and soldiers. By comparison, she has now become the living world’s lone defender against a threat that could end it. Maika’s development feels patient, too, a reward to long-time readers that makes her heroism in this issue all the more impactful.

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And this is just the first panel.

In the end, we are left with a sense that the threats and bad actors in our story are not quite what they seem, and while this could feel unwieldy—if every development is OMG SO HUGE AND WOW!, no developments are OMG SO HUGE AND WOW!—Liu simultaneously uses her supporting cast to remind us of the relatable stakes for our protagonist. It’s a wise choice, one that ultimately makes this one of my favorite issues of Monstress this arc.   

I’m tempted to call Monstress under-appreciated, although I’m not sure that’s right, as I often see it prominently displayed on end caps in independent bookstores alongside the likes of Saga, Ms. Marvel, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther. This comic has its readership, to be sure, and it is, perhaps, better-suited for trade, so dense is its plotting. I do, however, think there’s quite a bit to like for monthly readers who haven’t tried the book, all of whom are missing out on—at minimum—some of the industry’s best artwork.

Lastly, it should be noted that there will soon be three Monstress trades available, and that there’s never been a better time for new readers to give it a shot.

Overall: The finale of Monstress’ third arc does not disappoint, continuing to illuminate this world’s mythology. This issue is action-heavy, yet it takes time to seed its next arc with a more relatable crisis. Simply put, Liu and Takeda continue to build something truly special. 8.5/10

SPECIAL NOTE: For more thoughts about Monstress, see Top Comics of January 2018.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

Top New Image Comics of 2018

Image Comics has established itself as the most prolific publisher of creator-owned comics.

By Zack Quaintance — The last two years or so have felt relatively quiet at Image Comics... relatively. The company has released many wonderful oddities and gems, as always, but there hadn’t (arguably) been as many books that do things like sell movie rights before issue one (Descender), land creators TV deals (Bitch Planet, Deadly Class, Sex Criminals, etc.), or land their trades in hip indie bookstores (Monstress, Saga, Southern Bastards, Wic + Div).

That, however, changed in 2018, with Image Comics launching more hits last year than they have in possibly any other 12 month period. It’s been truly impressive, so much so that we felt obligated to update our top new Image Comics of 2018, including a bit about why we like each book as well as its odds for longevity. While it remains to be seen which (if any) will crest two dozen issues and land on end caps at Powell’s Books or The Strand, these comics are still all well worth a look today via our top new Image Comics of 2018.

Let’s do this!

Special Note: This page has been updated from an earlier piece—Top New Image Comics of 2018 (So Far)—to include comics released in the latter half of the year.

Top New Image Comics of 2018

Three issues in, Steve Orlando and Garry Brown are doing career best work on the haunting father-son story, Crude.

Crude by Steve Orlando & Garry Brown
Crude was one of my favorite books from Image in 2018, but it unfortunately has now ended. Steve Orlando is one of my favorite writers and like his superhero work, Crude’s plotting was complex and layered, rewarding readers who kept up while shrugging at those who didn’t. What set it apart from Orlando’s other writing is that behind the violence and severe badassery was a heart-rending father-son tale. Artist Garry Brown (Babyteeth, Black Road) did fantastic work, using truly haunting imagery to depict egret and anger plaguing our protagonist.
Odds to Run for Years: Zero. This one has, sadly, ended, but is now available in trade.

Bitter Root
Writers: David F. Walker and Chuck Brown
Artist: Sanford Greene
Colorist: Rico Renzi and Sanford Greene
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Although this list is alphabetical, I’m happy to be starting with Bitter Root, which I’ve been waiting for since writer David F. Walker and Sanford Greene prematurely-ended their excellent run on Marvel Comics’ Power Man and Iron Fist. This book seems to have grown from the ashes. It’s a monster-hunting book set during the Harlem Renaissance that involves questions of race. It’s smart, well-done, and brought to life with phenomenal art. I love it and hope it runs for a very long time.
Odds to Run for Years: 95 percent.

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Crowded also succeeds via the all-important badass attitude factor.

Crowded
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Ro Stein
Inker: Ted Brandt
Colorist: Triona Farrell
Letterer: Cardinal Rae
As I wrote in our Top Comics of 2018 full list, Crowded has emerged from a number of challengers to rank as one of the best near-future horror stories in comics. The book accomplished this by extrapolating a startlingly-realistic idea (crowdfunded assassination bounty hunting apps) with as taught of a buddy-drama/chase thriller narrative as we’ve seen in any medium. This is a white knuckles story, both in terms of what’s happening on the page and what it has to say about the direction of society.
Odds to Run for Years: 90 percent.

Die
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Die joins a number of recent stories in different mediums aimed at capitalizing on nostalgia for role-playing games like D&D. Where it stands apart, however, is with the tone of its sensibilities, which are dark, dark, dark. I suspect that ultimately the real villain of this modern fantasy story is time, and what a scary idea that is. Also, Stephanie Hans art is worth the price of this one alone. Although it’s only two issues old, Die is an easy choice for our Top New Image Comics of 2018.
Odds to Run for Years: 100 percent.

Gideon Falls seems like a lock to become a long-running book.

Gideon Falls
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Steve Wands
As I wrote in my review of Gideon Falls #1, it feels like Jeff Lemire has spent his career dancing around the horror genre, dipping a toe in or dangling a foot, without jumping all the way in. Well, that stopped with Gideon Falls, and the result is one of the top new Image comics of 2018. While doing promo for the book, Lemire—who teams with long-time collaborator Andrea Sorrentino, one of comics’ grittiest artists—said he re-worked these characters from early sketches he did before he was published. It also, however, feels like while re-working these characters, Lemire was watching Twin Peaks, as the book’s first ar is clearly an homage to that show. Now in its second arc, however, Gideon Falls has grown into its own unsettling thing.
Odds to Run for Years: 100 percent.

Ice Cream Man
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Ice Cream Man is a unique book within our list. While the others involve continuous serialized narratives, this comic is a horror anthology series, tied together by cameo appearances from the titular awful ice cream man. It’s a smart commentary on our everyday lives, and the concepts of each issue vary wildly. One may deploy three separate narratives with little dialogue, while the next might be a straightforward horror story with a clear protagonist. The variety just one small part of why this book lands on our Top New Image Comics of 2018.
Odds to Run for Years: 75 percent.

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Infinite Dark by Ryan Cady and Andre Mutti is a smart, psychological mystery story.

Infinite Dark
Writer: Ryan Cady
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: K. Michael Russell
Letterer: A Larger World Studios’ Troy Peteri
Infinite Dark is an incredibly smart and immersive comic set in the bleakest possible time I can think of: after the heat death of the universe. It features a sparsely-populated cosmic arc in which a forlorn head of security must investigate a rare murder mystery on the vessel. Steeped in deep and thoughtful psychology, this is special sort of comic doing impressive (if unpleasant) things with its tone. Check out our interview with Infinite Dark writer, Ryan Cady.
Odds to Run for Years: 80 percent.

Middlewest
Writer: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Like Infinite Dark, the next entry on our Top New Image Comics of 2018 list is also a forlorn one. Middlewest from Skottie Young and Jorge Corona is set among the windswept plains of inner-America, re-imagined here in a way that emphasizes the inherent magic of a lonely region. Corona’s imaginative work and Young’s emotional writing have brought to life a striking and heartfelt, character-driven tale.
Odds to Run for Years: 75 percent.

Oblivion Song might be Robert Kirkman's best work yet.

Oblivion Song by Robert Kirkman & Lorenzo De Felici
Robert Kirkman’s most famous work, The Walking Dead, was adapted into a television mega hit, giving him the fan base and cachet to basically guarantee prolonged runs for new titles. Oblivion Song is no exception, and as I understand it, Kirkman and artist Lorenzo De Felici completed 12 issues before even announcing this book’s existence. And Oblivion Song lives up to that level of swagger. Launched the same day as Gideon Falls, this book is arguably Kirkman’s best (although I have a soft spot for Invincible). Everything about it is deeper and more nuanced than The Walking Dead or Outcast, yet still accessible. Simply put, this book is build for a long haul.
Odds to Reach #20: 100 percent, in fact, I think they’re probably already done with it.

Self / Made
Writer: Mat Groom
Artist: Eduardo Ferigato
Colorist: Marcelo Costa
Letterer: A Larger World Studios’ Troy Peteri
One of the biggest surprises on our Top New Image Comics of 2018 list is Self / Made, which debuted with a creative team I was entirely unfamiliar with. It also debuted, however, with a rock solid first issue that ends in an intriguing twist. This may be cheating a bit since the second issue came out in 2019, but the follow up to the debut builds on this book’s concept even further, raising questions about the very nature of our existence and the role of creators and gods. This book is smart, stylish, and intriguing as all get out. I highly recommend it.
Odds to Run for Years: 80 percent.

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Skyward is one of the Top New Image Comics of 2018.

Skyward
Writer: Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Letterer: Simon Bowland
As I’ve been telling any comic fan that will listen, Skyward has done basically everything well throughout its earliest issues. This is a polished book, one that confidently knows exactly where it’s going, taking slow but effective steps to get there. As I’ve written in Skyward reviews, this book’s greatest strength has been the careful pace at which its creators disperse information. Too many #1 issues fall into a trap of dumping tons of exposition too soon. Skyward—which has a fantastic concept involving the world losing a dangerous amount of gravity—gives just enough info to stay oriented without feeling clunky. It’s all very impressive.
Odds to Run for Years: 80 percent.

Read more about Image Comics on our comic book Reviews Page.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.