Comics of the Year Part 2--2021 in Review

Now for Part 2!

I now present the rest of my comics of the year from 2021! Again, in no specific order here they are...

The Other History of the DC Universe

Probably the best thing published by DC in years, "The Other History of the DC Universe," is an out-of-continuity take on various characters who are parts of underrepresented groups. John Ridley writes and Giuseppe Camuncoli provides some stellar art in this raw, deep, and emotional anthology of sorts with each character getting an issue.

Moon Knight

There have been some runs on Moon Knight I loved and runs that made me shake my head in disappointment. After reading the issues of, "Moon Knight," that we've gotten this year from Jed Mackay and Alessandro Cappuccio, I am happy to say this is the best damn Moon Knight material I've read since the Charlie Huston & David Finch stuff that got me into the character in the first place. From the debut issue to now, Mackay takes everything in Moon Knight's confusing continuity and lets it all count, acknowledging just how messy a character Moonie can be. He lets this somewhat convoluted background bring us superb stories about a man struggling to come to terms with his personal life, religious views, and how he can help others when he can barely help himself. Plus, there's a dab of humor too so that everything avoids being a bit too dreary. I hope Mackay and Cappuccio get to write Moon Knight for a long time.

Jinx Freeze

When I reviewed, "Jinx Freeze," I put in the title how it was the weirdest comic I'd read in a while. It still is probably the strangest thing I read in 2021, and that's a good thing. Lord Hurk gives us the story of a town dealing with a heist, but it is so much more than that. An assortment of odd characters in seemingly unrelated vignettes begin to tell one epic story, and Hurk illustrates it all in an astonishing grotesqueness that results in this being one of the most striking comics I read this year.

Dead Dog's Bite

Tyler Boss did everything for this surreal little comic. He wrote it, drew it, lettered it, colored it, Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he was at the printing press stapling the thing together. Now, someone can do everything for a comic and it still could suck, but Tyler Boss is a damn fine creator. "Dead Dog's Bite," was impressing me before it even finished and upon the conclusion of this four-issue series, I knew it was a real treat. A little dark, quite funny, and with a mystery that actually pays off at the end in a satisfying manner, this is an example of how a labor of love can be a masterpiece.

"Dead Dog's Bite," Has Been a Great Comic

"Dead Dog's Bite," is a comic published by Dark Horse about a strange small town where a girl named Mac Guffin (note the clever name) has gone missing for a while. Her best friend, Josephine/"Joe," Bradley refuses to give up trying to figure out what happened and she'll have to put up with a very odd and quirky town in the hopes of figuring out what's going on. The book hasn't been getting a ton of buzz and I don't know why because it is amazing It's halfway done as it is going to be a four-issue mini-series and while there hasn't been a lot of talk, I did enjoy this article by Tom Murphy where he expresses how much he likes the series too.

"Dead Dog's Bite," is by Tyler Boss. Literally, it is entirely by him. He wrote it, drew it, colored it, lettered it, everything. He did so much for this comic I wouldn't be surprised if he was at the printing press overseeing as it was manufactured and the pages were stapled together. The mixture of humor, off-kilter tone, and the strange mystery of what happened to Mac makes for a damn fine read. I can't wait for issue #3 to come out this Wednesday and it'll probably be one of the first comics I read in my stack once I grab a copy. Read this book, now!

5 out of 5 stars.