My Favorite Comics of 2025

Y’know… if your goal was to permanently damage American democracy, to irrevocably sabotage the American economy, to completely undermine the health, prosperity, and security of the American people, and to forever tarnish whatever legacy this country may have left, then you couldn't have asked for a better, more effective tool than white America's beloved syphilitic godhead, that dementia-addled, pedophiliac old fuck, Donald J. Trump, and his rancid and vile council of worm-tongued Christian Nationalist viziers, lumbering trolls, garishly-painted harridans, and blood-crazed white supremacists.

So, yeah…. as I’m sure you’re all aware, 2025 was a very dark year in the ongoing and protracted death of the Great American Experiment, and so far, 2026 has been worse. But hey, at least Comics have somehow managed to survive.

Despite the fact that Donald Trump–that spoiled overgrown idiot-child, that bastion of entitled mediocrity, that draft dodging serial rapist, and loathsome king of the pedophiles, that perennial loser who has been protected from a lifetime of failures only due to having won the genetic lottery of being born rich and white—continues, amongst other things, to try to destroy our relationship with Canada (where most of American comics are printed) and all for no other reason than stupidity, obstinance, and rabid greed… somehow, comics are still shipping.

Despite the fact that this shit has unfortunately occurred concurrently with the sudden (but honestly inevitable) collapse of Diamond Comic Distributors, the once largest American comic book distributor across North America and the globe, comics have somehow managed to keep making it to retailers.

Despite all of that shit—or perhaps because of it—every Wednesday, people head out to their local comic shop for a fresh batch of four color fisticuffs, derring-do delights, a bit of community, and some much-needed escapism during these dark times. Because dark times they are indeed...

But there are still reasons for hope.

Because, while the push has been strong to realize the ugly racist dream of the overwhelming majority of white Americans–those irredeemable bigots who voted Trump three times, and the complicit cowards who look the other way—they have still found themselves repeatedly stymied by a stalwart and determined resistance on the ground. It turns out... We have friends everywhere.

Here in Minneapolis, for example, in one of the finest traditions of these silly little cape and cowl comic books, in our hour of need, a true Resistance formed. It was nothing but regular people, but they were more than willing to stand up. Not just for themselves either, but for their neighbors, their communities, and those who couldn’t stand up for themselves. When the whistles sounded, when their city needed them, they dropped everything and rushed out to face the fascists, no matter the odds, no matter the consequences, some even giving their lives, just to push back, to do what's right, to show the world that, when the monsters in the Halls of Power and their jackbooted sturmabteilung order them to move, they will plant themselves like a tree beside the river of truth, look those fascist fucks in the eye, and say: No, you move.

And in the other "finest tradition" of these silly little cape and cowl comic books, much like some of its greatest heroes, these real life heroes showed the world that punching Nazis in their ugly fucking faces, literally and figuratively, is always the right thing to do.

Always.

Because that's exactly what Trump, his crooked administration, every mother fucker who voted for him, every mother fucker who looked the other way in favor of their own comfort and convince, and every bandwagon scumbag who joined in as a way to push their own petty little bigotries and entitled demands, are... Nazis. Anyone who tells you differently is a Nazi collaborator. And one thing comics have always known, is that Nazis are the bad guys.

Always.

But yeah... 2025 was still a tough year. 2026 has been worse, and it looks like we have yet to see the bottom too. And that is tough. It sucks. It's the constant noise. It's the relentless and almost cartoonish evil. And we're stuck here in the middle of it. You can’t avoid it, and it's exhausting. But while it’s okay to be tired, it's okay to be sad, it's okay to pause and recharge, it’s not okay to give up, it’s not okay to turn away, it’s not okay to ignore it. They knock you down, you get up. Because most all, it’s not okay to quit or to give up hope. You stand, and fight. But that said, yeah... it‘s okay to be tired.

So, why not take a little self-care break, huh?

Maybe make some space in your life for a little escapism? Or perhaps to find some good heroic inspiration? At the very least, take a moment to relax and enjoy a good read or two. It doesn't have to be superheroes, y'know, that's just what I happen to like. There's all kinds of comics out there, something for everyone. You can find your closest shop using tools like this.

Go on. It’ll be good for you.

And if you generally don't know comics or where to start, good news! You just so happen to be in the right place, my friends. Because it’s that time once again, time for something I do every year, it's a little later than usual, sure, but that‘s okay, because it’s finally time for…

My Favorite Comics of 2025!

(in no particular order).

We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us

By Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini

13-year-old Annalise lives alone on an isolated island with her super-scientist father, and only her father's robots to keep her company. But after he is murdered by the world’s greatest spy, Annalise finds herself suddenly thrust into a world she doesn't understand, a world of assassins, secret super villain societies, and strange technology, a world that her father was hiding from, a world where he was known as... The Vitruvian. Now, with only her robot bodyguard for a companion, Annalise is faced with a choice, escape and try to live a normal life for the first time ever, or find the ones responsible for her father's death, and take her revenge.

The title should clue you in as to what she decides.

We're Taking Everyone Down With Us is a six issue series (with a sequel on the way) that tells a pretty classic coming-of-age story, just one that is set in a darker world, a generation after the 70s era James Bond/Johnny Quest/Danger Diabolik mod fashion spy world, where the clothes and the tech now seem a little less bright and a lot more lived-in. It's a sort of modernized take on the pulp sci-fi adventures and espionage stories of the Silver Age, about a young girl trying to deal with the realization that the world as she knew it was a lie, and all while on the run with a robot from a super-spy assassin and coterie of evil villains. It's a story about the terrible legacy and the wrecked world handed to the new generation by the old.

Paired with fantastic art, We're Taking Everyone Down With Us is a fun story reminiscent of things like The Venture Brothers and Rick and Morty, but through a worn out Hanna Barbara lens, and a skewed sense of humor, featuring a slowly revealed story, piece by piece, very much en media res, all in pace with our hero’s discoveries, and all while teasing us with larger questions. Who is V.E.I.L.? Who is Lord Mortus and the rest of La Coterie De Sept? Most especially, who is Tsarina Plague? And for that matter, who really was The Vitruvian?

I'm looking forward to learning more.

Absolute Martian Manhunter

By Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez

Absolute comics is an umbrella title at DC Comics that a line of comic books are published under. It features classic DC heroes in an alternate world where "evil" holds more cards than "good" does, which was created through the usual comic book shenanigans of the cosmic God-villain Darkseid. This means that, despite the obvious superhero elements, it's actually a world much closer to our own than the "mainstream" world of DC comics is. This Absolute world is a place where all of the classic heroes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.) were born without their classic advantages. Here, they are the outlaws, instead of the system.

Martian Manhunter is one of those heroes.

In the mainstream DC universe, John Jones or J'onn J'onzz, is a Martian refugee, the last of his kind, a Green Martian who was accidentally teleported to Earth and now lives among the humans. He’s telepath and a shapeshifter. He can fly, and can become invisible and intangible. He basically has all the powers of Superman and more, but he’s not quite as powerful, and he's more of a detective too, than he is a brawler. He’s also vulnerable to fire. One of the “Big Seven," a charter member of the Justice League, he’s been a mainstay of DC Comics for 70 some years, This is pretty impressive in the fickle fan world of Marvel/DC comics, as more characters vanish into limbo then don’t. And it’s especially impressive because he’s the least well-known character of the Big Seven, outside of the comic book nerd crowd, and within that crowd, he’s the least popular, basically because he’s super weird. In the Absolute comics version, he's presented much differently…

Except for the weird part.

After nearly dying in an explosion, FBI Agent John Jones begins to experience sights and sounds he can’t explain, memories of past lives, the thoughts of others, things possibly not of this world, all intertwined in his mind. He begins to suspect that he might be crazy, mostly because he thinks there's something living inside his mind. It turns out to be an alien consciousness that calls itself the Martian. John is barely able to handle the Martian’s nearly incomprehensible perceptions, as he’s bombarded by a cacophonous kaleidoscope of mental imagery, and he struggles to maintain his life, especially with his failing marriage. A series of little mysteries, involving the mind-controlled masses, evil White Martians, and even the city itself, John and the Martian must find a way to coexist, while wrestling with the violent manifestations of humanity’s darkest emotions, and all as he begins to brush up against the question of who Darkseid is, and what exactly the Absolute Universe is.

It’s a trippy book, a visual delight, an absolute riot of art and colors, and at the same time, it’s surprisingly well-written too, tense and emotional and fun. It’s a good comic, and there isn't much else like it on the shelves right now.

The Ultimates (2024)

By Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri

Like The Absolute Line for DC Comics, the Ultimate line is an alternative world from Marvel Comics’ mainstream continuity, and I love the whole idea behind it. While the creation of the Absolute Universe is your basic comic book hand-waving gobbledygook, the Ultimate line is much more clear. So, back in the early 2000s, Marvel created the first Ultimate Universe. The idea was to modernize characters, while freeing them of the decades of story continuity baggage that comes with the main universe, making these books a perfect “jumping on” point for new readers. It was very successful, and the echoes of it are readily apparent in the films of the MCU, especially in the original run of the Ultimates, which were the Ultimate Universe’s version of the Avengers.

And then it was destroyed.

Don’t worry, it’s fine. Big comic books universes like DC and Marvel do this on occasion. It’s like spring cleaning. You shut everything down, throw a bunch of shit out, reorganize the shelves, and you start the day anew with a clean slate. In this case, Marvel had a big story that threaded through both the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, culminating in a big crossover known as Secret Wars (which is what the next couple of Avengers movies are based on). It was the pinnacle of big crossover comic book storytelling, maybe the best ever. Fantastic stuff. The result was all the existing universes of the multiverse were destroyed and the main universe started over. The only characters that survived the original Ultimate Universe and moved over to the main one was Miles Morales (Spider-man) and an evil version of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four known as The Maker. Miles easily found a home in the mainstream Marvel Universe, but The Maker did not, mostly because he is so dangerous, that in order to even use him, creators had to nerf him. It wasn’t until 2023 that they finally figured out what to do with him.

The second Ultimate Universe started when the Maker realized that he is far too outmatched in the mainstream Marvel Universe by the already established system of superheroes for him to accomplish any of his goals, so… he left.

This means a bunch of comic book science where he builds a machine that can teleport him to another world, one that was a lot like the Marvel universe, but long before the rise of the heroes. He then set about systematically ensuring that the heroes never received their powers, or if they Did, that they worked for him. Now, this new Ultimate Universe is ruled by the Maker and his council. And for decades, this is how it was. But then Howard Stark, father of Tony Stark, rebelled, trapping the Maker with him inside an inescapable prison known as “The City.” There was just one hitch, it was only going to hold him for two years. So, the new Ultimates is the story of a young Tony Stark, known as Iron Lad, as he tries to build a resistance out of the heroes he can find, all to save the world before The City reopens. For two years, it's been a ticking clock story. Each issue covers one month, each issue a tale of a growing anti-fascist, anti-corporate resistance, a network gods, superheroes, and common citizens working in open opposition to an oppressive regime. And each issue drawing inexorably closer and closer to The City opening back up.

Now, that time is finally here.

It’s a big top-down adventure about rebellion and resistance, one that refuses to present itself in traditional ways, giving you a story that is something strange and new and exciting and unexpected, not to mention timely, all while the core of the characters is all very familiar.

BUG WARS

By Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar

Slade Slaymaker, his mom, and his older brother moved away years ago, after his entomologist father was eaten alive in their basement by a horde of insects. Now they’re moving back. That’s when Slade discovers an amulet in his father’s office. When he touches it, he finds himself shrunken down, lost in the strange and violent tiny kingdoms hidden in his overgrown backyard. Worse, it's a world on the brink of war, after his older brother massacred millions while mowing the backyard, and only Slade can stop them from taking their revenge.

This first mini-series is called "Book One: Lost in the Yard." It's a kind of Gulliver's Travels meets Honey I Shrunk The Kids thing, with some A Bug's Life meets Game of Thrones thrown in, but much gorier and with a lot more nudity. It's your basic stranger in a stranger land kind of fantasy adventure about a boy who discovers he is king, just one that takes place in the backyard—a backyard with an unusually large and eclectic population of dangerous insects from all around the world. In typical fantasy story fashion, Slade, along with his loyal rhinoceros beetle, Pac, is forced to tour the yard, avoiding the woods at the yard's edge where the squirrels rule, mingling with the barbarians of the Beetle Clans, the Ant Legions of the Ant Imperium, the vicious wasp-riding Wor Wraiders, the death-worshipping Maggot Monks, the pampered Lords of the Honeyed Thicket, the strange Spyder Wytches of Wyrdweb, and the Roach Knights, an ancient order that protects the house. Along the way, he picks up companions as he tries to find a way home again.

Bug Wars has that same feeling as one of those endless adventure novel series you would devour as a kid, as it takes place in an expansive world filled with unknowns and long-simmering feuds, and all kinds of yet-to-be-revealed mysteries. It’s just a fun time, a rowdy and weird and violent fantasy set in a strangely alien world that is literally just outside our own window, and I’m looking forward to more.

FML

By Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez

Set in Portland, Oregon during the End of the American Empire, FML (which the kids will know means “Fuck My Life”) is the story of a "normal" American family just trying to get by.

A surreal, possibly semi-autobiographical tale of DeConnick's life, set in our familiar post 9/11, Trumper and COVID-swamped world of wild fires, n95s, school shooter drills, Elon Musk, helicopter parenting, true crime, and the emboldened rise of racist white America, all with echoes of the tragic and unsolved mystery of the murder of Mia Zapata, FML is about aging punks and their strange children, but it’s mostly about Riley, a teen boy obsessed with sketching, his friends, and their burgeoning Heavy Metal band, who wakes up one day to find he is literally a hairy and horny monster. It’s also about his former Riot Grrrl mother, Patty, once a person with a name and interests and activities of her own, working on her true crime novel, but most of her time is spent being a parent. It’s a story about trying to balance family and life, and how that gets harder as wounds old and new open up, all in a world that sometimes seems like it’s out to get you, and all told with a mishmash of art styles, bold colors, and tones that blend comedy and drama with the weird and mundane. It’s a wholesome, touching, fun and funny look at a modern family in a shitty world.

In a nutshell, it’s a unique little book that looks great, and has a lot of stuff going on, some of it strange, some exaggerated, but most of it is actually pretty relatable. Plus, it’s really funny. FML is totally worth checking out.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2024)

By Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto

Due to the Maker’s sinister interference, teenage Peter was never bitten by a radioactive spider, so he never gained his superpowers. Years later, he leads a normal, happy life, married to Mary Jane and the proud father of two, Richard and May, but then Iron Lad appears with an offer to reclaim the destiny he lost, putting Peter back on the path that he was always meant to walk…

Fun and funny, but overall a much more somber character piece, Ultimate Spider-man is about a man in his mid-30s who feels like he should be doing more with his life, who then finds out that his destiny was stolen from him, on the same day he is offered a second chance to be who he was meant to be. Alternate versions of Peter Parker are pretty common, but I really like the somewhat new angle on Peter here, one where he choses to become a hero, instead of having it shoved upon him as the result of an accident and a mistake. Here, he is driven by dissatisfaction, instead of guilt, and yet despite this, still ends up in kind of the same place. It’s an evocatively done take on the character, and since it takes place in The Maker’s world, it's much darker too. And it’s not just Peter either. This comic does the typical alt-universe story thing where all of the familiar characters are used in new ways, but they’re all established in clear and clever ways. Some end up in places even more interesting than in the regular universe. Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn for example, and Ben Parker and J. Jonah Jameson too. But best of all, the story avoids relying on cheap shock reveals. No one here has a surprise eye patch or anything. Instead, it's a new world that still holds true to the core of these familiar characters, but also manages to take them all to surprising new places. Plus, it looks great.

At its heart, this is just a great Spider-man story, well-told, with a clear understanding of the classic elements, updated perfectly for the new status quo. It’s too bad it’s coming to a close, because it’s been my favorite Spider-man book, hands down. Once the MCU is done, and they decide to reboot stuff and start over, this is the version of Spider-man that Marvel should try to bring to life next.

Ultramega

By James Harren

A cosmic plague has spread across the universe, turning everyday people into monstrous and violent kaiju. Only the Ultramega—three individuals gifted with incredible power—stand against this madness. But they fight in a seemingly never-ending war, one that levels cities and leave untold horror in its wake. Is this a war the Ultramega can even win?

Very obviously inspired by a mix of Japanese tokusatsu heroes and kaijus like Ultraman and Godzilla, and a host of others, while also pulling heavily from such genre classics like that creepy old uber-bigot Lovecraft and Dune (Parts One and Two, and beyond), and all with a Cronenberg sensibility. This allows for ton of craziness, and for even more blood. Oceans of it, honestly. It’s ridiculously violent, but as it’s very cartoonish, probably due to the fact that it’s happening to giant monsters and warriors, it doesn’t feel graphic. That said, there’s definitely oceans of blood, sometimes literally.

This is a cool-looking and very strange comic for anyone who is even passingly familiar with its obvious influences. It’s got great action, it’s wildly imaginative, and it’s full of big silly ideas. At the same time, it‘s a surprising book, never doing what you expect, and all while it is just crammed full of weird twists and strange reveals, subverting expectations at every opportunity. Yes, the script is sometimes a little bit… opaque, and sometimes there’s maybe too much going on each panel, due to the kinetic action, strange designs, and the often very crowded street fights, so yes, it's fair to say that the book definitely drops you into the deep-end of its narrative and expects you to keep up. But… if you just roll with it for a little bit, it all makes sense eventually, so relax. Besides, even if it doesn’t always quite make sense, it's still a lot of fun.

Absolute Batman

By Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta

Like Absolute Martian Manhunter, Absolute Batman is an alternate universe version of DC Comic’s most famous hero.

And while, yes, the origin of the Absolute universe was definitely the clunkiest technobabble bullshit ever, much like the Krakoa era of the X-Men, the Absolute titles have some of the most interesting and most fun variations of these characters in literal decades, especially Batman. Honestly, right now, at least when it comes to superhero shenanigans, Absolute Batman might be one of the best comics on the shelves... after Absolute Wonder Woman, of course. But because this version of Batman is an absolutely massively-proportioned brute, you wouldn’t be blamed for assuming that this book was going to lean into the typical ultra-violence of an alternate Batman, where the only actual difference from the mainstream universe is the level of brutality permitted by editorial, but it's not that at all. This is a young Batman learning his craft, learning what it means to be hero, a man who seemingly has planned for everything, only for him to discover how far out of his depth he truly is. Really, it’s the best of the character. The Bat-God archetype meeting the angry and fallible Dark Knight. In fact, from the very first issue, I’ve found myself not just curious as to what comes next in this twisted but strangely familiar world, but actually looking forward to finding out.

Plus, he has the best version of the Batmobile ever (It’s a dump truck).

Absolute Batman is an attempt to re-contextualize a well-trod character for the present day. Always a well-known super cop, whose vigilante status was usually only about doing the things that cops would do, if only they weren’t shackled by such "unreasonable" chains as “the Law” or “human rights,” instead, in Absolute Batman, Batman is against the system. This is especially meaningful when the system in question is really only different from our own in superficial comic book nonsense ways, including some truly terrifying versions of Batman’s villains. For example, instead of being a weird joke, the product of the ridiculous excess of the 90s, here Bane is a true monster, a real threat, and it was actually exciting to watch Batman overcome him. And the few glimpses we’ve had so faer of the Absolute Joker promises an even better villain to come.

I can’t wait.

Exquisite Corpses

By James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh and a host of various guest writers and artists

Every five years on Halloween, the thirteen wealthiest families in America play a game: For one night, they each choose a killer and unleash them on a small town with the objective of killing everyone, including each other, the last killer standing wins. The winning family gets to run the country for the next five years. But for the unfortunate citizens of Oak Valley, Maine, the site of this year’s game, the goal is much simpler… survive the night.

Invented by the Surrealist Andre Breton in the early twentieth century, an Exquisite Corpse is a “progressive story” parlour game where the traditional first sentence is: The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine. This is how the game got its name. Once the first sentence is written down—presumably while the absinthe flows like a mighty river—the players then take each turns writing down the next sentence on a passed-around piece of paper, one that has been carefully folded to hide everything but the most recently added sentence. At the end, the whole thing is read aloud, and oh, what a frivolous and ribald time is had by all. The Exquisite Corpses comic was created by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh, with the idea being that each new issue is written and drawn by different writers and artists, although they’re presumably aware of the previous issue, so… almost like an exquisite corpse story.

So, the thirteen families in this story all hail from, and represent, the original Thirteen Colonies of America: Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island, New York, Georgia, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, who was the winner of the last game. As a result, they are this game’s host, so they do not field a killer. The other families are each represented in turn by a cast of colorful killers known as the Lone Gunman, Leopold Strong, the Recluse, the Fox Mask Killer, Pretty Boy, Lady Carolina, The Congregation, Rascal Randy, Lady Blaze, Slater, Nurse Pete, and G4M3R_KlD and his drone, Calvin. Then the Gamesmaster, utilizing the Groundskeeper and his crew, isolate the game’s chosen killing field, Oak Valley, Maine. Then they close off the town. They buy off the officials, they block all of the roads in and out of town, and they kill all communications with the outside world. They set up surveillance all over town, and hide the killers’ preferred weapons and gear in different spots. Once everything is ready, they unleash their killers, using the Groundskeeper and his crew to slowly tighten the perimeter in order to keep events moving, and all the while, the families watch from an undisclosed location, making bets and enjoying the food and drink. As the night progresses, most of the people of Oak Valley are unaware of anything unusual happening, due to it being Halloween, except for a few, but eventually they all realize too late that they’re caught in a deadly trap.

A 13 issue limited series, Exquisite Corpses is a great little self-contained horror book, with an easily understandable premise and clear stakes, that is still set in an expansive world that could allow for more stories. The cast of victims are fleshed out and relatable, and the killers are all perfectly outlandish, nothing but a group of weird slasher movie villains causing mayhem. And all the while, it’s an excellent metaphor for the way the billionaire white supremacist oligarchs of our own world all vie for power, blissfully unconcerned for the people they destroy in the process. The result is a tense and bloody character-driven story of action and horror.

Plus (even though I’m always a little loathe to say something like this), Exquisite Corpses would make for a great TV show.

Absolute Wonder Woman

By Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman

Without the island paradise, without the support of the sisterhood that shaped her, without her mission of peace…what’s left is the Absolute Wonder Woman!

As I mentioned, the Absolute line has some really great comics. And that’s especially true with Wonder Woman. Traditionally, of the big three names at DC comics—Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—its fair to say that the latter has always kind of stood in the shadow of the two former, and was more known for her plane and her accessories than she was for her adventures and villains. In the Absolute Universe, that's no longer true, as Absolute Wonder Woman is hands down the best superhero comic being published right now, firmly entrenched in a world of magic and myth and monsters.

Leaning heavily on inspiration from Wonder Woman: Historia – The Amazons (written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and artists Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott, which told the origin of the Amazons, from their creation by the goddesses of Mt. Olympus, to Queen Hippolyta's rise, and the war with the gods, culminating in the creation of Wonder Woman), Absolute Wonder Woman is the story of Diana of the Wild Isle, Princess of Hell, daughter of Circe, and the last of the Amazons. In this world, Zeus, King of the Gods, to punish the Amazons for some unknown offense, takes baby Diana and gives her to the witch Circe (who is imprisoned in Hell), to raise the child. He decrees that Diana is to be denied her heritage as an Amazon, forbidden by divine edict from even speaking the word, and to live in Hell. But while growing up on the Wild Isle of Hell hardens Diana, it also strengthening her empathy, forging a warrior of compassion, even in a much darker world. Armed with the massive Athena Blade, and her three lassoes, some dark magic taught to her by her stand-in mother, the Sorceress Circe, she is once again sent to Earth to save it, this astride the reanimated, fire-breathing skeleton of the legendary Pegasus. Only now, instead of being an ambassador of peace, she is a warrior of redemption.

Much like all of the Absolute line, this book is a radical reinvention of this well-known hero, and yet this “all new, all different” Wonder Woman still feels very much the same in all the ways that matter… under worse conditions, sure, but somehow more fitting ones too.

This is just a good comic.

The Power Fantasy

By Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard

In a world where there are many people born with superpowers, known as Atomics, there are only six people on the planet who are “superpowered.” Because in this world, being superpowered means that you possess a destructive capacity similar to that of the nuclear arsenal of the United States of America. The survival of the planet depends on these six people never coming into open conflict.

In this alternate history, as of 1999, there are six such people… Etienne Lux, a nearly omnipresent telepath with a global reach. Raymond 'Heavy' Harris, who can manipulate gravity with a thought. Morishita Masumi (aka "Deconstructa") whose mental health issues could unleash a destructive kaiju. Jacky Magus, the magician, and his MLM-style cult of anti-fascist punk rock magicians. Finally, there‘s Eliza Hellbound, a literal demon, and Santa Valentina, a literal angel. The existence of the Atomics is a threat to all of humanity. These six people especially, as each one is basically an earth-bound god. But they’re also very human too, with quirks and failings and emotional baggage resulting from a life of conflict and mass-death, as their clashes have had terrible consequences. In the past, they’ve faced alien hive-minds, strange fairy-like entities, and super-powered government agents, and as a result, billions are dead, and the entire continent of Europe is gone. This makes the Atomics feared and hated, and also coveted by the world governments.

The story is basically the Cold War with superpowers, about the price of power, and the responsibility of those with powers/abilities/resources beyond the reach of most of humanity have to the rest of the world, all while the powerful debate the ethics of taking over the world, and the world spins beneath their feet. It’s an epic story, one that feels like the only ending possible is going to be a bad one, and I‘m looking forward to seeing it.

Assorted Crisis Events

By Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki

A sci-fi anthology series about people living in a world where time itself is breaking down, and daily existence is often disrupted by a sudden temporal crisis.

In the tradition of The Twilight Zone, each issue of Assorted Crisis Events is a different story, the kind of tales where cavemen, knights, dinosaurs, and cyborgs can suddenly interrupt a person’s daily commute, each connected by the presence of the series mascot, a ragged and wild-eyed time-traveler, often dumpster diving in the background somewhere.

The first issue is about a waitress trying to get her clock fixed, only to find an uncaring film crew taking over her block in an effort to film the next blockbuster movie, all while reality and fiction blurs when a rift in time open up on the set. The second is about refugees from an alternate universe where earth is ruined, and the residents of the nearly-identical universe that tries to take the refuges in. The third is about a young girl named Anna reliving a 60 second time loop over and over as her parents have a violent argument, never aging, but mentally growing older. The fourth issue is about man whose life is passing him by, as he ages 60 years in just 6 days. The fifth is about a wife struggling to maintain her sanity while caring for her husband who is unstuck in time, waking up each day as a different age.

This is how it goes, each issue telling stories of real life and real issues through a strange sci-fi lens. It’s often unsettling, but also funny, as well as full of existential dread. Assorted Crisis Events is an excellent example of comic book art, and does a really great job of highlighting a lot of the social ills currently plaguing our society.

Love it.

Absolute Evil

By Al Ewing and Giuseppe Camuncoli

The emergence of superheroes has upset the order of things in the Absolute Universe, and now the people who run things are looking for justice.

Beginning in 1951, during the “golden age” of superheroes, as Carter Hall aka Hawkman approaches the House of Un-American Activities Committee in private. But unlike in the “real” world, where he and the members of the Justice Society of America quit, rather than be unmasked by HUAC, in the Absolute World, the hero known as Hawkman agreed to not only name “communist conspirators, but to aid the McCarthy-ites in dealing with them. From there, Hawkman and this league of villains, Ra’s al Ghul, Veronica Cale, Elenore Thawne, Hector Hammond, and the mysterious “Joker” cement their total control of the planet. Only now, they’re growing concerned, as heroes—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter, have suddenly begun to appear around the planet. So they meet to discuss plans…

Admittedly, this is all Absolute Universe set up, introducing the main villains for the main titles, all while being a little bit of cross-promotion and a tease of future storylines, but for a What if/Elseworlds nerd like me, it's pure gold. I love seeing glimpses of the history of an alternate world, especially the short ignoble ends of some of the heroes, which we definitely get here. I also like seeing the formation of a formal opposition to our heroes, as the coordinated efforts of the villains usually means that the heroes will need to begin to coordinate their own efforts, leading to a more cohesive wider shared-universe, which longtime readers will attest to, I am definitely a fan of that. Plus, here’s another comic that is also a very nice metaphor for our own current political situation, where real world billionaire oligarghs and white supremacists are currently attempting to steal everything that isn’t nailed down, all with the end goal of enslaving us permanently. And I really love that this “Absolute Justice League” is only really interested in maintaining the status quo, and clearly sees themselves as the heroes of this world. This isn’t a new approach at all, but the approach feels unique, and I’m really interested in seeing what effect this gathering of “heroes” has on the other titles in the Absolute universe.

Absolute Batman Annual

By Meredith McClaren, Daniel Warren Johnson and James Harren

This Annual issue features three stories about the Absolute Batman, each one in turn answering questions like… How did Bruce first acquire his batmobile? What was it like for Black Mask’s thugs when Batman first hit the scene? And finally, a few surprisingly heartwarming and hopeful facts about bats.

Annual issues are extra-large comics that, as the title suggests, come out once a year. They’re usually an opportunity to tell a few extra tales that don’t necessarily fit in with, or affect the main storyline. Sometimes they’re smaller tales that focus on a more minor character, or sometimes, as is the case here, it’s an opportunity for other creators to try their hand at the main character. The main story in this comic is by writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson (who made my favorite comic last year, the trans-dimensional pro-wrestling adventure, Do A Powerbomb), and the two backup stories are by writer and artist James Harren, and writer and artist Meredith McClaren. 

Daniel Warren Johnson’s story is an exploration of extremism that takes place early on in Bruce’s mission to become the Batman, when he arrives in a small town to buy weapons and ammo, and encounters some white supremacists menacing an encampment of POC immigrant day laborers and their families. So then Batman beats the absolute shit out of a bunch of cops and proud boys, so yeah… obviously, it’s pretty great. This is all while telling a story of fathers and sons, and how some people really do deserve a good asskicking, compassion or empathy doesn’t mean that you’re weak. So all around, a pretty satisfying reading experience.

Then, in the next story, James Harren (who writes Ultramega) tells a story that takes place when Batman was fighting the Black Mask early on in the series. Here, in another story about fathers and sons, mistakes made, and the things left unsaid, some of Black Mask’s goons encounter a very brutal and scary Batman while trying to rob a house. And again, it’s a story of righteous justice and compassio.

Finally, there’s a two-page tale by Meredith McClaren. It’s a fun lesson on bats, told through Batman sightings by regular people who live in Gotham City, with the ultimate point being a story of solidarity and community, as Batman’s efforts lead to others adopting his symbol, inspired by his fight and his compassion.

So, there’s a linking theme…

Annuals are usually a waste of time and money, a pointless one-shot that costs more than regular issues, yet delivers less, and is by creative teams that aren’t as good as the regular one. But that is definitely not the case here. Absolute Batman Annual #1 is a good read. All three creators are incredibly talented, so each story is unique and innovative, both narratively and artistically, while still consistent with the book’s regular tone, and it actually adds to the development of the character and the ongoing story too.

All in all, this is fantastic comic.

And that’s 2025 in comics. For me, at least.

Admittedly, this was a pretty typical pile this year. There’s obviously a pattern to the type of shit I pick up from the ol’ Comic Book Shop... I like Jonathan Hickman. I like Matthew Rosenberg. I like Deniz Camp. I like Kieron Gillen. I like James Harren. I like Kelly Sue DeConnick. I like James Tynion. And I like Daniel Warren Johnson. I’m pretty much always going to gravitate towards their work. So, yeah… that’s basically what I did.

And this year, they definitely delivered.

But all that having been said, you should know, there‘s whole universes out there in comics. Like I said, these are just the kinds of comics I prefer, so there’s all sorts of stories out there. Something for everyone. So give yourself a break, find your closest store, and go exploring.

Until next time...