The Best Comic Books and Graphic Novels of 2024
- Avery Paul
- Dec 2, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Dec 31, 2024
Unless you associate with a particular fandom, you may not venture into the local nerd utopia and buy a few new comic books and graphic novels. If that's you, this year was severe cheating because 2024 was vital for the style of topics, headers, illustrations, and stories that align with your natural or digital bookshelves.
Based on sales, fandom hoopla, and personal opinion, these are the most fascinating comic books of 2024, in no preference or order. Ready? To your battle stations and neighborhood comics shop.
Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis
Where are the Dark Horse Comics fans? This is your opportunity to scream in jubilation. Yet, when you hear the original sourcing material, you may be confused--a 1943 German opera about the Holocaust. Two men meet in 'Terezin,' a "model concentration camp" outside Prague. And Death--like a literally embodied spirit named Death--walks among the Czechoslovakian Jews.
This dystopian setting is a multiverse parallel where Atlantis still exists and never sank to the ocean floor. Because of the hysteria of genocide, global war, and the idea of tyranny becoming a seed in Emperor Overall's hand, people begin to accept anarchy. Inevitably, it's everyone versus anyone, and no one dies. Death is quitting his gig, so can "Life" conquer all? (Again, a Biblical allegory.)
Panels in the comic feed each other instead of a story, weaving each square together. It's a unique experience for any comic book or graphic novel aficionado.
Transformers Vol. 1: Robots in Disguise
It is more than meets the eye here as Optimus Prime and the boys do more than join the Robert Kirkman Energon Universe (again). This latest edition of Autobots versus Decepticons could rally enough strength to earn another richly deserved Eisner nomination.
In a bleak world of legacyquels, reboots, and lazy comprehensions of yesteryear, "Transformers Vol. 1: Robots in Disguise" shows how you can really go home again and regain the same mystique. If you don't know much about Optimus Prime and Megatron, or if you have begged for the Michael Bay explosion porn to stop, this insert will make you jump for joy.
The IDW-labeled product is a fresh revelation into these changeling robots of destruction. Although Johnson and Spicer teeter on leaning too hard on the original subject matter that made "Transformers" so beloved, this is a fascinating display of how someone can always find a new way to tell the same story. You know? Like in church every Sunday?
Zodiac
If you're a fan of horoscopes, the serial killer from the 1970s, or premium men's clothing line, forget what you know. "Zodiac" is a graphic memoir of Ai Weiwei, the notable Chinese artist and documentarian who experienced his father's exile from his home country.
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Weiwei lost the patriarch of his family. As the bio goes, all he had to comfort himself during those tumultuous times were "government-approved comic books." The pictures and words not included in the propaganda interested a young storyteller more than what he saw on the page. That was the inception of his fascination with this story.
Based loosely on the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac, Weiwei explores the space of a blank canvas, something he is an illustrious pro at doing. In fact, the man is considered an icon of the fight, an inspiration to being a dissident. The images from Weiwei's muscle memory and Costantini's ink make you stop flipping pages and start opening your mind.
It's a fascinating read.
John Constantine: Hellblazer
The timing of this comic couldn't be better. As the rumor mill is spinning off its spokes about Keanu Reeves resurrecting the role of Constantine in film, we get another story in print. DC Black Label went hot in January 2024 when "Hellblazer" returned to bookshelves everywhere. This time, the devil's worst friend is wanted for murder--and it involves Dream from "The Sandman."
Paging Neil Gaiman: Please pick up the white courtesy phone. If Spurrier and Gaiman united in storytelling for this new comic series, nerds would squeal as if they were front row with all the Swifties in America. What's interesting in this evolved storyline is not all monsters are the fictitious, grueling demonic seeds we attach to that word.
We meet Swamp Thing, John Constantine, supernatural demons, racial injustice, and all in the family-friendly town of New Orleans. This is a tried-and-true recipe for all Gothic tales of human mythos. Why stop now? Comic book readers flock to stories like these, but who knows? Maybe God shows up in this one to spruce things up.
The Ribbon Queen
Garth Ennis is no stranger to the graphic-novel-gone-movie world. Since 1989, he's cranked out titles like "Preacher," "Hitman," "Crossed," and "The Boys." Each title is a seminal experience, and "The Ribbon Queen" is no different. Furthermore, there is more veritas to an Ennis story than just the guise of violence.
Christian comic readers should appreciate the depth of Ennis' storytelling because the socially aware plots and characters provide depth not seen in many comics. I know, I know. "His stories are violent, like 'Zombie Apocalypse'. Church folk would hate that." True, they would. But there are a few violent acts in the Bible, too. The point is, what does war teach us? How does conflict shape us?
Even if Ennis doesn't seek to center on a theme like that, the tales are there if we dig enough. That makes it worth reading alone. The story of this shunned and disgraced copy, Amy, opens a TV series that would become so bingeable. There is inner turmoil, bureaucracy, people pining for the attention of elders, fighting for survival, and visitation from a dead person.
"The Ribbon Queen" is everything an excellent graphic novel needs. It's so worth the investment.
The Singularity
What is a good list of any year's best comic books and graphic novels without a true science-fiction mindbender like "Singularity?" And yes, it's that Bear McCreary! It's not enough that his imagination has given us the sounds of "God of War," "Outlander," or "The Rings of Power." No, he's creating near-150-page graphic novels that rock!
When God imbues someone with faith and power, He does the job. McCreary delves into reincarnation and a world where that is welcomed and anticipated. The question behind it all in the comic is, "Why?" It's "Groundhog Day" or "Edge of Tomorrow" with a severe bent to dogma. Blue Eyes is our star in the novel, and his plight is like that of like-minded stories.
What you love is lost. What you fear has come. And what you don't understand plagues you. Immortality is not a gift because it means that the same sin you can't escape beguiles you over and over and over again. What McCreary sets out to do in this absolute-can't-miss book is decipher the reason for the quest instead of the outcome.
Avengers: Twilight
Yes, Captain America is back in "Avengers: Twilight." This is the storytelling Avengers fans knew Marvel Comics could create in the new century. The iconic comic publisher laid claim to 2024 (more on that later), but this story is unexpectedly deep in premeditated thought and conflict. As we read about the present days of vile corruption, we dream of a more vigorous day in the Avengers' future while they fight to save humanity one more time.
Remember "The Infinity Saga?" The brooding storyline and near-combustion of the character's internal journey gave us masterclass moments of the nerd Halycon Days. If you miss that experience, pick up a copy of "Avengers: Twilight." Chip Zdarsky takes a seemingly banal storyline and molds it into the clay of the Eisner Awards.
Heroes and villains are not wasted from cover to cover, not one page. We learn what makes good and evil; those ideals align with any faith-based vantage point. That connection makes this story feel plausible, and the characters appear tangible. It's a superior dive into a new generation of potential global domination into darkness.
Hexagon Bridge
Another blossoming indie label, Image Comics, steps up in 2024 with Richard Blake's writing and drawing of "Hexagon Bridge." Look at the cover. Tell me that could not become a Christopher Nolan movie! The story, and even the design of the pamphlet comic, is a glance at the comics of yesteryear. That is probably why this project is so endearing to comic fans.
This five-issue miniseries is a magnificent collection of foretelling thoughts and recalls of old mystery comics (i.e., Detective Comics). The design may hearken to the past, but the story is about the future. In one scene, we are guided two millennia ahead to a bridge on Earth that opens, well, elsewhere.
Conversations with people and an AI creation named Staden implore comic book readers to stay with the journey. It doesn't disappoint, and while you won't need to fasten your seatbelt with the slower progress of the story, pack a lunch. You will be there for a while as you maneuver through the minimalist pages but inside the complex characters.
Godfell
Obviously, this is going to strike the imagination of The Nerd Elect. "God is Dead!" practically screams and shrills off the cover. It's not a figurative configuration of words that has humanity wondering why religion is losing its steam. No, this is a literal event--God, in a mystical place called Kerethim, falls out of the heavens and plummets to Earth. (Think "ZSJL" opening credits with Superman but at a decibel so loud it can't be quantified.)
These groups of darkness flock to the 'thud' for proof and claim body parts that may still be intact from the divine corpse. (It's a comic, roll with it.) Through the ensuing calamity, we meet the story's heroine, Zanzi Vuiline. This champion is hell-bent (pun intended) to seek revenge for her God. And with one travel companion in tow, we get six riveting issues of how a world without God's grace would exist.
It's part spiritual, part psychological, and all visceral. This fantasy is a tale that will fascinate some and educate all.
Immortal Thor
Just when you think we are done with the Avengers, here come "Twilight" and "The Immortal Thor." It's exhilarating to see Marvel hasn't lost its smoke when it comes to the original nerd writ. Although Ramos sits shotgun for the overview, each episode of "Immortal Thor" is inked by a different artist. Impressive talents like Luciano Vecchio, Jan Bazaldua, David Baldeon, and Martin Coccolo are on full display.
Candidly, it's a slow burn. It's not the usual crash of emotion and awe-striking power we are accustomed to seeing from the Keeper of Mjolnir. That is probably what makes this flight one of Thor's most impressive. (Consider the antithesis of "Thor: Love and Thunder." Woof!) And the Hulk in these stories? Man, we all missed this Hulk!
Although Thor is an Avenger, he is an acquired taste. If you know someone who has never "tasted" Asgard, this is the entry point you have been waiting to share. The parallels between what divine power can be and what human error becomes are fascinating on these pages.
Final Cut
In a word? "Stirring." Charles Burns is typically known to severe comic book fans and graphic novel readers. Notwithstanding, his storytelling is a chef's kiss for nerds anywhere because he takes the simplest of concepts and takes into the nether regions of where you thought you'd be by the end of the book.
In the case of "Final Cut," Burns takes four people and a remote cabin and plans to remake "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." What could go wrong? Brian is the leader of the pack and an amateur filmmaker who wants to write a hopeful love affair between himself and the disinterested (or oblivious) Laurie. His hopes for a future become the demand for a present.
This is no tale of pubescent obsession. It becomes a somber reminder of how some people can create their own world inside their dark desires. We all have a dark or sinful nature. And only light can rescue us all. Brian stays in a dimly lit space, and you begin to obsess over his failed journey of self-actualization.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN
Imagine a world where Bruce Wayne is just some guy named Bruce--no money, no legacy, no money. Just a passion to rid Gotham of evil. That's it. And that is the premise of a stripped-down version of "Absolute Batman."
The concept of Snyder avant-garde vision of the Caped Crusader is the only thing that is stripped down. Everything else is amped up to the hilt, beginning with the logo-stretched inkblot gone awry bat on his chest. That's about the only negative thing about this novel approach to Batman. It's visceral and savage. The approach to this particular slant of Batman is a forceful gloved fist to your face. If Bob Kane and Bill Finger were emo twenty-somethings, they would be so down with this convention of a streetside sentinel.
Dragotta's work is emblematic of Frank Miller, which follows Snyder's ethos of this new Batman. It's vintage DC with prime characterization taking center stage, but the modern washes in with the shadows of story overpowering the light of reality. Forget what you know about the parents murdered outside the opera hall leaving somber Bruce to his riches and revenge. This is the pragmatic version--what if Batman was just a guy who wanted to make change?
He does so much worth reading. Get this in your collection. (We'll talk about that bat that needs Ozempic later.)
Did we miss any stories? Let us know, and we can amend this list and reasons quickly.
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