Folks are always asking me “how’d you get so strong?” and “with a game like that, why didn’t you go pro?” and mostly, “how/why do you read so many comics?” While part of the answer to all of these is “baby, I woke up like this,” I’ll also admit that putting three wild young boys to bed every night affords me some reading time on the nights they need me to sit with them for longer. Lately, though, reading comics in the dark has been replaced by watching the NBA playoffs in the dark (I’m a Bulls fan, but at this point in the playoffs, I think I’m just here for Ant-Man – a sentence no one has ever said before!). This reduction of comics time has given me a strong appreciation of all the great trades and graphic novels on this list, and probably a quicker trigger finger when I need to bail on a new work that just isn’t clicking for me.
I always worry that keeping up with the best of comics month by month can feel a bit like speed dating, and that my rule of giving everything a 50-page minimum may not be enough, especially for more patient works. At the same time, if a work can’t grab my attention via plot, style, or craft within 50 pages… that ain’t all on me! This is all a long-winded way of saying I’m endlessly amazed by how many quite good comics I can’t fit onto my picks, and that if you ask nicely, I’ve got a pretty robust honorable mentions list for comics in 2025!
You can find the full 2025 list of all my favorite comics this year. I’m up to 40 for the year! Don’t hesitate to let me know any of your favorites I may have missed via dave@comicbookherald.com!
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