Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyIt’s a new year and as I look forward to the newest year in comics from some of my favorite publishers, I am taking a look back on the previous year and revealing my top 20 comics from 2024.
#20 Heartpiercer
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Rich Douek
Art by Gavin Smith
Betrayed and left for dead by her lord, a warrior named Atala awakens with revenge on her mind and a new power that will help her hunt down the nightmare beasts released to ravage the world as she fights her way to the one who killed her.
Filled with fantastic action and adventure, Douek crafts a fantastic revenge story that does some great world building and a compelling character that has a dense and engaging redemption arc. Smith delivers some classic and beautifully detailed art throughout the series and I cannot wait to revisit this world again.
#19 Uncanny Valley
BOOM! Studios
Written by Tony Fleecs
Art by Dave Wachter
Oliver is not your average 12-year-old. He has some strange abilities that will make his life more difficult when his estranged grandfather arrives to rescue him and Oliver realizes that his grandpa is a cartoon character and more animated characters are hunting him down to take him back to their world for a dark and unknown purpose.
Fleecs creates a great story in this series. A story that combines great elements of mystery and suspense as Oliver and his grandfather are on the run from some dangerous entities from a world Oliver could only imagine. Wachter creates some fantastic art in the series that brilliantly blends visual styles into something interesting and compelling.
#18 Pine and Merrimac
BOOM! Studios
Written by Kyle Starks
Art by Fran Galan
A husband and wife team of private detectives finds themselves in the middle of a conspiracy when a simple missing person’s case brings the duo face to face with a powerful and influential cult.
Filled with great banter and dialogue between the two main characters, Starks crafts a fun, thrilling story with great depth of character and a mystery that drew me in with each issue. Galan’s character designs are amazing as well and the plot sets up an interesting world and circumstances that I would like to see explored some more.
#17 Aint No Grave
Image Comics
Written by Skottie Young
Art by Jorge Corona
An infamous gunslinger in the west discovers that her time is running out. With a doting husband and young daughter counting on her, Ryder leaves her quiet existence to strap on her guns one last time to challenge death itself by rising into a city on the edge of the world.
Young and Corona have consistently impressed me with series like Middlewest and The Me You Love in the Dark and this miniseries was no different. Instantly impressive in both scope and emotion, Young crafts a great series of characters, especially Ryder who consistently has impressive agency throughout the series. The story has some great philosophical moments as well with Ryder dealing with the reality of who she was and how powerless she really is. Corona’s art is beautifully detailed and visually stunning, especially as Ryder begins her journey in a dark, parallel world.
#16 Gargoyles Quest
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by Greg Weisman
Art by Pasquale Qualano
Demona works behind the scenes to find new keys of power while also implanting a traitor amongst the clan. As Goliath and the others work to find a way to live among humans, Demona prepares for her biggest plan. One that will give her dominion over all human life in the city.
As a fan of the original animated series, I appreciate Weisman coming back to expand upon and continue the story of these characters. This series has all of the things I love about the world of Gargoyles including magic, intrigue, betrayal and a long simmering conspiracy that will have unknown and possibly dangerous repercussions for the characters going forward. I also really enjoy Qualano’s art and how it captures action in an almost anime style.
#15 Falling in Love on the Path to Hell
Image Comics
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Garry Brown
A recently murdered old west gunslinger and female samurai from opposite sides of the world wake up on the shores of a mysterious island where they face hordes of undead forces and an evil warlord seeking more power. As the two try to navigate their new surroundings, they find themselves discovering each other.
Duggan delivers a great world filled with interesting characters and a slow burn love story that I appreciate. The action is great and all of the characters have personality and are interesting enough to engage me as a reader and make me want to know more about them both good and bad. Brown’s art is brilliantly detailed and beautifully done. I find myself going over panels over and over to find new and compelling things within them.
#14 The Tin Can Society
Image Comics
Written by Peter Warren
Art by Francesco Mobili
Tech mogul Johnny Moore splits his time between pioneering aids for people with disabilities and donning a mechanized suit to fight crime in the city. When he is found dead and his suit stolen, his childhood friends gather again to discover who murdered their friend, who is targeting them and if one of them is complicit.
Warren is crafting a beautifully rich and engaging mystery in this series. I find myself immersed in the drama and the conflict with the characters. I love seeing both the mystery in the present as well as the evolution of this friend group in the past. There is a wonderful buildup of tension and the reveals are brilliantly done. Mobili delivers some beautifully atmospheric art and I love the visual contrast between the past and present stories.
#13 The Power Fantasy
Image Comics
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Caspar Wijngaard
Six of the most powerful people on Earth find fragile peace with each other because any potential conflict could threaten the entire planet. Filled with political and personal intrigue, all of the characters have interesting and often tragic stories as they clash both physically and philosophically.
Gillen crafts a story that is consistently intriguing and surprising with characters that are evolving and changing along with the story. This is an ongoing story that is brilliantly building to an event that I am excited to witness. Wijngaard delivers beautiful art that has a wonderful, ethereal quality to it that reflects the fantastic elements of the characters and their powers.
#12 Prodigy: Slaves of Mars
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Stefano Landini
Edison Crane is the smartest man in the world, but all of his intellect and resources are put to the test when a new enemy takes away everything he has forcing him to seek out his brother when they discover their estranged father is embroiled in a mystery on the red planet.
Millar continues to craft a fantastic story for this character. A story that is brilliantly cinematic across multiple storylines. I love seeing this character struggle in this series and Millar puts him through the ringer on multiple levels. Landini delivers fantastic art throughout the series. The character designs are great and every issue feels like a movie playing out on the page.
#11 The Last Mermaid
Image Comics
Written by Derek Kirk Kim
Art by Derek Kirk Kim
In a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by beasts and seemingly endless desert, a lone mermaid and her friend travel the wastes in a mechanized suit of armor looking for water to sustain her as well as a fabled ocean oasis.
Derek Kirk Kim both writes and illustrates a fantastic story in this series. I consistently love the character and how she engages with the world and each issue builds on the momentum of the previous one to craft a compelling world you want to explore along with lore that is complicated and engaging. Derek Kirk Kim’s art is beautifully detailed and there is always something to catch the eye and capture the imagination.
#10 Feral
Image Comics
Written by Tony Fleecs
Art by Trish Forstner
Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches and Patch are indoor cats who suddenly find themselves in the woods outside of their home when a viral outbreak turns the local animals into zombie-like creatures out to kill everything in their path. As the cats look for a means of escape and survival, they also find themselves dealing with their own secrets.
As a huge fan of Fleecs previous series Stray Dogs, Feral is a perfect example of taking a seemingly innocent premise and turning it into a nightmare scenario or fear and paranoia. I absolutely love the relentless energy of this series and these characters find little to no rest wherever they are and are navigating a world they’ve been sheltered from their entire lives. There are some truly scary and compelling moments throughout this series and it is perfectly bookended by Forstner’s beautifully detailed animation style art work.
#9 Scarlet Witch
Marvel Comics
Written by Steve Orlando
Art by Various
In the aftermath of the Krakoa era and her own personal journey, Wanda moves to a small town to open a magic shop and start a new life. At the same time, her store is outfitted with the Last Door which brings both strangers and familiar faces to the store searching for help from the Scarlet Witch. Help she offers even when it puts her life at risk.
Orlando brings back everything that is great and complex about the character of Wanda Maximoff in this series and I appreciate the confident yet flawed nature of the character. There is great action throughout the series and I love seeing Wanda overcome things designed to come after her personally.
#8 Uncanny X-Men
Marvel Comics
Written by Gail Simone
Art by David Marquez
In the aftermath of the Krakoa era, the X-Men have split into different teams. Rogue leads a new team with Gambit and Wolverine and they find themselves taking in some young mutants that are on the run from a new threat named Sarah Gaunt who has a dark connection to Charles Xavier’s past as well as having their former home taken over by anti-mutant forces who are using it as a mutant prison.
Gail Simone continues to be one of my favorite writers and this series features everything I love about her writing including her grasp of how unique and interesting each of these characters can be both alone and together. Simone crafts great moments of humor with intense action and thrills brought to beautiful life by Marquez’s stylish and detailed art. This is the book that brought me back to Marvel’s mutants.
#7 Space Ghost
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by David Pepose
Art by Jonathan Lau
Twins Jan and Jace find their lives in jeopardy when their father is killed for his experiment. The kids find themselves rescued and ultimately recruited by the mysterious Space Ghost who is hunting evil throughout the galaxy while dealing with the personal tragedy that changed his life forever.
David Pepose has a hard road to tread by bringing back an established character into a new series and this series does that impressively as it builds on both the world of the story and the character conflicts. The story walks a fine line between some of the campier versions of the character and the trap of making things unnecessarily gritty. There is a wonderful balance between the two extremes and that is what makes this series work so well. Lau’s visuals are stunning and showcase the great adventure story Pepose is creating in this series.
#6 Ultimate Spider-Man
Marvel Comics
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Marco Checchetto
In a world crafted by a variant of Reed Richards called the Maker, many of its heroes never gained their powers. After the Maker is defeated, young Tony Stark and Doom attempt to reseed the world with the heroes it should have had. One of those heroes is married father of two Peter Parker who becomes a new Spider-Man for a new and different world.
Hickman crafts a story that takes the reader back to the essence of who Peter Parker and Spider-Man should be. Even with Peter seemingly living an ideal life with his wife Mary Jane and their two children, responsibility and tragedy still touch his life and Hickman has crafted a fantastic way of showcasing that journey while also touching on the bigger threats in the Ultimate universe. Checchetto’s art is truly gorgeous in both action and character design and impresses me with every issue.
#5 Count Crowley: Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter
Dark Horse Comics
Written by David Dastmalchian
Art by Lukas Ketner
Jerri Bartman is an abrasive, addictive small town reporter who finds her life falling apart because of her addictions and is forced to take on the role of horror host for her brother’s small town TV station. To make matters worse, the monsters she introduces to audiences on the show have real world counterparts and Jerri finds herself becoming a reluctant monster hunter as dark forces gather around her.
As a fan of creature feature shows from my past like Svengoolie and Elvira, Dastmalchian’s Jerri Bartman touches something fun within me. There is a fantastic mix of humor, horror and heart throughout the series and Jerri’s struggles with her addiction are handled in a manner that is respectful rather than exploitative. Ketner’s art is amazing and takes me back to the style of the original horror comics like Vault of Horror and others.
#4 Absolute Batman
DC Comics
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Nick Dragotta
In a radically different Gotham City, Alfred Pennyworth returns to investigate a new and violent group as well as the new vigilante stalking the night, Batman. At the same time, Bruce Wayne continues to deal with the tragedy of his past while working as an engineer. When an attack on the courthouse prompts the Batman to appear, both the dark and brutal Dark Knight and the international spy find themselves in a cat and mouse game throughout the night.
I admittedly was not on board with the Absolute concept when I first heard about it, but I am absolutely willing to admit that I was wrong. Scott Snyder has done something interesting and different with both the characters and the lore of Batman. He has included elements that radically change the character’s motivations as well as the world itself. Dragotta delivers beautifully dark and detailed art that perfectly captures the gritty new reality of this world.
#3 The Moon is Following Us
Image Comics
Written by Daniel Warren Johnson
Art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Riley Rossmo
Sam and Duncan are parents devoted to their daughter Penny. When Penny falls into a coma that defies medical intervention, the desperate parents discover that Penny’s mind is trapped in an evil force called the Cascade. Sam and Duncan find someone to help them traverse this strange land populated by the magical beings Penny loved in her dreams and will stop at nothing to get their little girl back.
Daniel Warren Johnson creates a beautifully poignant and engaging story in this series. The characters are deeply flawed and you can feel the tension between them as they do whatever it takes to rescue their child. The emotional tension between Sam is Duncan is great and shows how human these people are. Both Warren Johnson and Rossmo deliver awesome visuals throughout the series and the visual style of the world of this series is unique and impressive.
#2 Helen of Wyndhorn
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Tom King
Art by Bilquis Evely
After a personal loss, young Helen is taken by her new governess to the home of her rich and often missing grandfather. After discovering how rich and powerful her grandfather is, she also discovers that he splits his time between the real world and a magical fantasy world filled with danger and adventure. Adventure that Helen desperately wants to be a part of.
King and Evely impressed with their collaboration on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow so I was excited to see what this new series would bring. King crafts a story with a beautiful mixture of high fantasy and family drama. The world of the story is reminiscent of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and having many of the tales be serialized by a character in the story reinforces that. I love Evely’s art in this series and how richly beautiful and detailed every page and panel is.
#1 The Hunger and the Dusk
IDW Publishing
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Chris Wildgoose
Mysterious incursions from a dangerous foe call for a tenuous alliance between warring factions of humans and orcs as both societies attempt to discover who this foe is and what they want. The orc healer Tara joins a company called the Last Men Standing to travel deep into the wilds to hunt their mutual enemy the Vangol, but their journey includes some interesting complications.
G. Willow Wilson’s epic fantasy series has everything that I love about the genre including great characters, tension, interpersonal conflict and budding romance. All of the characters are complex and complicated in ways that keep me invested in not only the bigger story, but also their personal journeys. Chris Wildgoose delivers amazing art throughout the series and I am in awe of the visual spectacle being created in this world.
What are your favorite comics of 2024? Let me know in the comments.
