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My Favorite Graphic Novels of December 2024

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After committing harder to tracking the year’s best comics than any other year of Comic Book Herald, I’m mostly spending this month using any free time on everything but comics before I dive back in headfirst in the New Year. I’ve particularly enjoyed Marvel Rivals (what’s up Jeff the Land Shark’s big moment!) and finally cracking The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Plus, I started reading Adrian Tchaikovsky’s One Day All of This Will Be Yours on a whim, and it’s a good time. Despite my best efforts, I did also read some very good comics, and those are highlighted below, along with my 2024 comics awards!

Don’t hesitate to let me know any of your favorites I may have missed via dave@comicbookherald.com!

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The Best Comics of 2024

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Listen, I appreciate that you’re taking the time to read this intro, but every second you waste here is a second you could have spent reading one of the many great new comic books in 2024. So, again, thank you for considering that I might be able to write something here worth reading, but in the name of Jack Kirby, let’s get moving to the best comics this year!

The list rules: I’m keeping the picks to my favorite 50 completed graphic novels and trades released in 2024. This means favorites I’ve been reading entirely in single issue (Juni Ba’s The Boy Wonder or The Ultimates) are absent (but will definitely be on next year’s list!). Likewise, I ruled out including any compendiums (what’s up Sex Criminals: The Cumplete Collection) or favorite reads that came out late in 2023 (sorry Mobilis and Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey!). As always, the list is also limited to works that have been written or translated into English, and somehow found their way into my hands.

This approach is most difficult for long-running ongoing comics, or even newer ongoings like Ultimate Spider-Man, where I’m ranking and considering the first collected volume (Ultimate Spider-Man #1 to #6), but have read the first 11 issues of the series in single issues. It’s impossible not to let feelings about the run as a whole trickle into my evaluation of a particular collection – this is especially true of a work like Monstress which has been a favorite since 2015! – so I do grant a bonus for how hard it is to *stay* great for longer periods of time. Nonetheless, longtime readers will note a distinct absence of Ice Cream Man on this year’s selections, and although that’s been my favorite ongoing comic book for years, the 2024 collection of issues #37 to #40 is not among my favorite issues in the run (listen, I still love the comic – this year’s just that damn good!). Hopefully that makes everything clear as mud, but the important thing to remember is if the book ain’t been collected in 2024, it doesn’t matter one single solitary darn how much I enjoyed the single issues!

I’ve actually recommended over 100 new collected comics to CBH Patrons throughout 2024, and narrowing this list to *only* 50 was a painful challenge. I wish I hadn’t done it to myself!

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Otherwise, without further ado, check out the best comics of 2024, listed from my 50th favorite to my absolute favorite below! [Read more…] about The Best Comics of 2024

My Favorite Graphic Novels of November 2024

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I think we can all agree it would be fair and decent of the world to stop releasing so many fantastic comics until I’ve had the chance to finalize my favorites of the year. This month I catch-up on some of the best manga of the year, dive into the Shortbox comics fair, read all of Ryan North’s work on Fantastic Four, and check out the latest instant classic from Judge Dredd!

Don’t hesitate to let me know any of your favorites I may have missed via dave@comicbookherald.com!

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My Favorite Graphic Novels of October 2024

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We’re officially approaching “time to finalize those best of the year lists” season, yet the good comics keep coming! This month, I give two of the best superhero books their due, before formally announcing my indie small press era.

Don’t hesitate to let me know any of your favorites I may have missed via dave@comicbookherald.com!

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My Favorite Graphic Novels of September 2024

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This month’s journey through the best comics of 2024 was especially fun because we’re deep enough into the year that I got to perform my annual ritual of organizing and bingeing all the floppies sitting in my to-read longboxes. My office floor is literally covered with Kaya, What’s the Furthest Place From Here, Usagi Yojimbo, Ice Cream Man, Robin: the Boy Wonder, and more (some of which you’ll see below!). While I’m often critical of the pre-order system and month-to-month experience of reading direct market comics, I do LOVE powering through physical mag after physical mag once enough have accumulated to properly enjoy a full story.

Don’t hesitate to let me know any of your favorites I may have missed via dave@comicbookherald.com!

To get these picks sent directly to your mailbox every month, sign up here for free. [Read more…] about My Favorite Graphic Novels of September 2024