This may come as a surprise to you all since comics are like 90% of this blog lately, but I've only been reading comics since I married Katrina - three years ago. So I don't have a lot to go one for this one. There's so many comics out there that I haven't read and I don't even remember all the ones I have read. So this might seem like my favorite comics of the last few years but hey what are you gonna do?
10. Mech Cadet Yu
Greg Pak is one of the greats and this is by far one of his greatest. Every year, cadets train to pilot mysterious robots from outer space who show up out of nowhere to aid Earth in a bug invasion. One year, a seemingly broken robot bonds with the son of a janitor. One of the most wholesome stories I've ever read about a boy who just would not give up on saving everyone. If Cartoon Network isn't looking at this then I don't know what they're doing. Click here to order the first volume.
9. The Superior Spider-Man
I don't hate the classic pantheon of major superheroes, it's just that all of their best stories were told before any of us were born. There've been good stories the past few decades, but a lot of them are ca-razy. I love Spider-Man, but it's so damn hard to keep up with everything he's been through. This arc, where Otto Octavius has taken over Peter's body, is some of the most fun - and comprehensible - stories the webslinger has been through in a long time. Click here to order the first volume.
8. Paper Girls
From the creator of Y: The Last Man - my favorite comic of all time - Paper Girls is a time travel story about four girls who barely know each other coming of age together. It's fun, it's weird, it's gay, it's smart, there's representation everywhere, and it pretty much the last time travel story we ever need. Click here to order the first volume.
7. I Hate Fairyland
I like portal fantasy stories, but I feel like they're so old school we haven't had a good one in in over a hundred years. Fairyland is great because it doesn't just parody the classic adventures of Dorothy and Alice. Fairyland goes R-Rated Invader Zim all over the portal fantasy genre's ass. Gertrude is one of my favorite characters of the past decade. Click here to order the first volume.
6. The Wicked + The Divine
I don't want to say another damn thing about this. Go read it, it's great. Click here to order the first volume.
5. Super-Sons
Damian Wayne is Robin, the son of Batman. Jonathan Kent is Superboy, the son of Superman. Together they're the Super-Sons, the best thing about DC Comics these days. I love Damian and without a Batman & Robin or even a Robin series, it's either this or Teen Titans. And this is better than Teen Titans. The two have better chemistry than any duo I've ever seen and all of their weird adventures are fabulously wonderful. Click here to order the first volume.
4. Ms. Marvel
Before reading this series, I'd only ever seen offputting fanart of Kamala Khan's unique shape-shifting powers. Katrina was the one who picked up the first volume and hot damn am I had they did. This is one of the best Big 2 superhero stories I have ever read. It's a nice, small story that doesn't get bogged down in all the bonkers nonsense of the rest of the Marvel Universe - it barely ever leaves Jersey City. Click here to order the first volume.
3. Power Rangers
I don't believe anyone could've expected the level of quality we got out of these comics when they were first announced. Kyle Higgins expanded the mythology and lore of a goofy children's show, Ryan Parrott turned the one-dimensional characters into emotional human beings, and in 2018 they came together to create a crossover anniversary event that brought us the greatest Power Rangers story ever told. Click here to order the first volume.
2. RuinWorld
This one has a slow start but after the first issue it picks up at one hundred times the pace. The series hasn't continued after the first volume either, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up in quality. Every page is so dense with creative worldbuilding that spins a story pulled straight out of classic fantasy gaming - but with cute animals! Click here to order the full limited series.
1. Astra Lost in Space
Oh my heart! I never thought I could love a series this much. The characters and the adventure reminded me so much of Digimon... except in space. And without Digimon. Each arc focuses on one or two characters and they're all perfectly written. The survival adventure stuff is great. All of the twists were legitimately shocking and left me with more questions. This series only ran for a year but all good stories know when it's time to end. Click here to order the first volume.
What was your favorite comic of the year? Let me know in the comments down below.
