Some of My Favorite Comics of the Year--2024 in Review

A Great Year for Comics

In 2024 I read an assortment of comic-books and graphic novels. As always, some were better than others. A handful stuck out in my mind as being especially fantastic. I wanted to spotlight those here as we look back at the year. In no particular order...

"Sunday," by Olivier Schrauwen

In my review of, "Sunday," I discuss how this thick book features a lot of nothing happening while so much also occurs. I know that sounds a bit strange, but, "Sunday," is a book you need to read if you enjoy quirky little yarns and fantastic artwork. Another masterpiece of a book by Schrauwen.

"Ultimate Spider-Man," by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto

Everyone and their mother has been raving about this comic, myself included. It features a grown-up Peter Parker who is married to Mary Jane and has some kids discovering whilst an adult how he was meant to become a hero when younger--and then doing so! The Ultimate Universe books have been pretty great but this Spidey-centric one is something special.

"The Power Fantasy," by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard

The first issue of, "The Power Fantasy," presents an alternative World where a handful of people contain the power of hundreds of Nuclear bombs--they can never come into conflict or we'll all die. That doesn't mean the series has lacked fascinating action or intrigue, however. Gillen and Wijingaard are creating a stupendous ongoing series and I can't wait to see where it goes.

"Plastic Man No More!" by by Christopher Cantwell, Alex Lins, and additional art by Jacob Edgar

This four-issue mini-series just wrapped and expertly mixed body horror and humor into a wild blend. I loved the first issue and it stayed strong the whole way through. As a DC Black Label book, it did not have to hold back on any gruesome visuals either. A thoughtful treatise on life and death with some wild artwork, I loved this book.

"Plastic Man No More!" #1 Mixes Humor and Horror to Stellar Results

Back in June, I wrote about being excited about a newly announced Black Label mini-series titled, "Plastic Man No More!" Having read the first issue, it was as delightfully twisted as I hoped it would be. Plastic Man is often treated as a joker by the Justice League, to the point that once he is hit by a mysterious death ray and seems to be breaking apart it still seems of little worry to his fellow heroes. Writer Christopher Cantwell excels at balancing the seeming humor of our hero with some very dreary and gruesome scenes of his body quite literally falling apart. Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar both supply art, for the, "Happy," and, "Serious," moments, creating a great (intentional) tonal clash.

The first issue of "Plastic Man No More," is fantastic. It has jokes, it has pathos, and all the art is superb. This has the makings to become quite the wild little mini-series as it continues. I especially am curious about one little excerpt hinting at the body-part-goo Plastic Man is losing seeming to have its own volition--quite creepy. If you're into weirder-styled superhero comics, definitely check out this comic!

5 out of 5 Stars.

DC to Publish a Mature Readers Plastic Man Story With Ample Body Horror? Yes, Please!

"Plastic Man No More!" is a new DC mini-series that will be a part of their Black Label (kind of like a new Vertigo). It, "...mixes hard-boiled noir with intense body horror," as over four issues Plastic Man finds himself, "Dying," in the sense his plastic form begins degrading. The talented Christopher Cantwell is writing it with Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar providing artwork. Plastic Man tends to be a bit of a humorous character who has a weird edge to him, so leaning into the stranger stuff should be really fun with a great creative team involved. Plus, as this is the Black Label no punches will need to be pulled with how gruesome Plastic Man's depolymerization could get! The first issue hits stands this early September and should be quite a wild read.

"Moon Knight: Black, White, & Blood," Was a Decent Little Mini-Series

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I am a huge fan of, "Moon Knight." The current series has been fantastic and after some other characters received the, "Black, White, & Blood," treatment, Moon Knight finally get it too. As for what, "Black, White, & Blood actually is," Wolverine, Deadpool, and Elektra all got their own mini-series where the gimmick is how everything is just black-and-white or red before my man Moon Knight. As this is an anthology series there generally are three stories per issue and the quality can vary widely--which is precisely what happened with this series.

Every issue at least looked good as Moon Knight lends himself well to black-and-white with splashes of red when he's being particularly violent. Only two stories really stuck out to me from everything, however. In the first issue, Jonathan Hickman and Chris Bachalo have a bonkers story about a Moon Knight in the future that is so full of crazy ideas and artwork that it really grabs one's attention. In the fourth and final issue, Christopher Cantwell and Alex Lins give us a tale about a surreal and weird, "Game," Moon Knight seems to play many nights.

Those two stories are great, but nothing else sticks out to me as especially great or awful. I think the issue is some of the tales are busier only taking advantage of the unique color scheme to the degree the story suffers, or have the opposite problem where a decent enough story is told but the specifically black, white, and red artwork feels like an afterthought. I don't mean to sound overly harsh on this anthology comic as it was enjoyable enough, but it just goes to show how hard it is to have an anthology title because when you combine a bunch of shorter stories, some are bound to be solid and others are mostly forgettable.

"Moon Knight: Black, White, & Blood," gave us an enjoyable four issues of stories even if most of them failed to really astound. There are two strong tales at least and the whole thing looked quite beautiful. Worth reading if you're a die-hard Moon Knight fan or enjoy seeing artists play with the form thanks to the unique color scheme, but not at all absolutely required reading. I'd rate this overall mini-series...

3.5 out of 5 stars.