2023 Comics Year in Review

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Doc

2023 was the year that I really got back into comics, big time. I had been buying books and reading a few here and there, but I was having piles of comics at my house that I was not getting to and some that were still in the bag I bought them in at Comic World. And Todd is always hording those bags.

Anyway, with the beginning of the Comic Catch-Up post, I started working through those piles of books, getting them bagged and boarded. Once the piles were basically done, I switched the post to EYG Comic Cavalcade and here we are.

I have also expanded my collecting of books from just Marvel to Marvel, Image, Boom! Studios… and even DC (a little). I have a very wide swath of comics I get in a month.

So I have given out some of the year awards for EYG Year in Review for the world of comics.

Best Marvel Series: Daredevil. Daredevil was consistently one of the most enjoyable books each month. Chip Zdarsky created an amazing tale for Matt Murdock and Saladin Ahmed has continued the thrilling arc for the character in his new series. Runners-Up: Moon Knight, Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, She-Hulk.

Best Independent Series: No/One. This was a tough choice. I loved a lot of independent books this year, and I bought a bunch of them. However, I guess No/One got a bit of a push when I found the podcast that is tied to it. I have truly enjoyed this book so far. Runners-Up: Something is Killing the Children, Something Epic, Void Rivals, Killadelphia, The Great British Bump Off.

Best DC Series: Knight Terrors. This is a bit of a cheat, but this summer storyline lead me to buy the entire run of books, including all the crossovers. I liked more of this than not, with the main limited series being some great stuff with Batman and Deadman involved. Runners-Up: Peacemaker: Tries Hard, Superman: Lost.

Best New Character: Spider-Boy. Dan Slott’s latest creation in the world of Spider-Man is the young Spider-Boy who remembers being Spider-Man’s sidekick. Problem is that he is the only person who remembers that happening. Spider-Boy has been fun so far. Runners-up: No/One, Danny Dillon, Hunter’s Moon, Hallows’ Eve, Red Goblin

Best Writer: James Tynion IV. Tynion has been one of the best and most prolific writers on the independent scene all year. With Something Killing the Children being awesome every month, there was also Blue Book, Universal Monsters: Dracula, The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos, W0rldT33, The Department of Truth, The Deviant etc. It has gotten to a point that when I see James Tynion IV on a comic, I want to buy it. Runners-Up: Jeff Lemire, Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, Szymon Kudranski, Jed MacKay, Saladin Ahmed

Best Artist: Szymon Kudranski. His work on Something Epic was absolutely astounding. His art of those issues stuck with me and made me think of him for this book. It is so realistic that it looks photographic and I find it absolutely beautiful. Runners-Up: Lee Bermejo, John Romita Jr., Elena Casagrande, Werther Dell’Edera, Martin Simmonds.

Best Graphic Novel: Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes. A creative book featuring the iconic detective. Runners-Up: Parasocial, Killadelphia trade paperback.

Best Issue #1: Something Epic #1. This book inspired me to head out and actually search down as many of the variant covers that I could find. It was such a great issue I felt excited after reading it. Runners-Up: Hellcat #1, Predator versus Wolverine #1, The Deviant #1.

Best Surprise: Predator vs. Wolverine #1. I could not believe that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. While the next couple issues were okay at best, this first issue really shocked me with how much I enjoyed it. Runners-Up: Killadelphia, Void Rivals, Transformers

Most Underappreciated: Hellcat. I loved this limited series. I know it did not have the best following, but Patsy Walker had an exciting and enjoyable mystery to solve involving her ex-husband Damian Hellstrom. Runners-Up: Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Peacemaker: Tries Hard

Best One Shot: Hellfire Gala #1. Big things happened in this book and I was really enjoying it. The Orchis storyline kicked into high gear and the X-Men have yet to recover. Runners-Up: Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel #1, The Original X-Men #1, Howard the Duck #1.

Best Older Series I Started this Year: Gideon Falls. I absolutely loved this series and it was a big reason why I dove into the independent scene as much as I did. Jeff Lemire created a classic with this 28-issue masterpiece. Runners-Up: Omega the Unknown, Planetary, Ice Cream Man, Howard the Duck, That Texas Blood