Best of Lists

I read two Marvel and DC volumes this month (Ultimates Vol. 3 and Absolute Superman Vol. 2) that won’t make the list of recommendations below (they’re both very readable with some strong moments, just not among my favorites), but they did inspire some larger thoughts on Ultimate 2niverse vs Absolute Universe. First off, it’s a wild time to be alive when the go-to thinly-veiled real world inspiration for Superman and Avengers comics is fighting the rise of authoritarianism in America. The metaphors are not subtle, my friends! Ultimates was a little ahead of the curve on how deliberately Camp was able to finetune Hickman’s premise into commentary on guerilla resistance with the deck stacked against you, but it does now seem to be the stock-in-trade of any relevant superhero work (see also: The superior Absolute Batman Annual #1 for the best example on either side of the ball). And it’s interesting to find Ultimates – seemingly built for this moment – losing significant steam, as Absolute Superman wields the fears of the zeitgeist for its own narrative growth.

Big picture, the dueling trendlines (Ultimates on the downswing, Absolute Superman rising) illustrates the overall impression of the lines. Absolute is built for a longer haul, whereas the Ultimate 2niverse was always built for an 18 month adrenaline shot (it’s quite literally in the premise of the Maker locked in his lil’ sci-fi dome for 18 months!). I aggressively disliked the first volume of Absolute Superman (admittedly, a lot of this was driven by comparisons to Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman), but the second volume’s showdown with Ra’s Al Ghul trying to Big Daddy supes (and Rafa Sandavol’s continued evolution into a talent worthy of the Absolute format) has me fully on board with the series. It’s still lower rung, but that means there are 5 of 6 Absolute titles what I am truly excited to read (of all the Absolute titles, Absolute Flash is certainly the 6th of them!). That’s a wonderfully strong position as these books hit one of the most dangerous moments in any superhero titles life (their 20s!).

Meanwhile over on the 2niverse, Ultimate Endgame is in the midst of a semi-controversial conclusion, and the flagship Ultimates suggests the timing is right. Camp is simply doing more compelling work now for the competition, whether its Absolute Martian Manhunter or the freshly relaunched Vertigo work with Stipan Morian. I’m still very interested in reading new Ultimates collections as they release (I’ll save my Hickman/Checchetto Ultimate Spider-Man conclusion thoughts for the trade write-up!), but not quite to the degree of anything in Absolute, and far less than I was when the first volume of Ultimates had me thinking the book was among the best in *all of current comics*. And then when you consider the rest of the line, Ultimate X-Men remains a fascinating Peach Momoko project with borderline zero shared DNA with the universe, Ultimate Wolverine is steady but unremarkable, and I’ll forget Ultimate Black Panther by the time I finish writing this… where was I?

It’s been cool to see competing universes at DC and Marvel really gunning for some “best in superhero comics” heights. But who won? Right now, it feels Absolutely clear (bazinga!).

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To see the full year’s list, check out the best comics of 2026 (updated monthly!). [Read more…] about My Favorite Graphic Novels of March 2026

Welcome back to the first 2026 edition of Dave’s Faves! I took a month off for 1) A new baby (a girl!) and 2) to play Silksong, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime and watch the Traitors with my wife. Turns out this is a great way to detox from comics before the bug returns, and as you’ll see from this list, I’ve caught it bad again.

In an effort to catch up from a month off, I’m sharing graphic novels I read in January and February, plus my favorites from the 2025 Shortbox Comics Fair (which I also finally caught up on). Will 2026 have as many great graphic novels as 2025? Read on to find out!

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To see the full year’s list, check out the best comics of 2026 (updated monthly!). [Read more…] about My Favorite Graphic Novels of January & February 2026

Comic Book Herald’s 50 favorite comics of 2025 are etched in stone and you can see all of them right here. I’m happy with the list – the last two years have been my most careful, studied series of recommendations – but I know from putting together my picks for the best graphic novels of the 2020s (so far) that a handful of books I haven’t even read yet will inevitably creep towards “Oh, that really should have been on the best of the year list!” status.

Here’s an early attempt at getting out in front of some of those, with my 2025 picks for honorable mentions, and comics I simply did not get around to writing about and recommending. In some cases this could mean it’s because they don’t quite measure up to my faves, but in a lot of cases, it probably says more about the headspace I was in when I read them! I’ll try to focus on what I remember liking in the write-ups here, as obviously there was *something* that didn’t click for me for the work to be in the honorable (and how honorable they are!) mentions.

You can find the (near) full 2025 list of all my favorite comics this year on Bookshop. The annual list is right around 100 for the year! 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 December 2025

It’s the final month before best of the year lists are finalized! Whereas other lowly comics critics suddenly have to organize their favorites, I’ve been been preparing all year! Take that you fools!

This month’s selections include a few fine graphic novels that will make their way onto the big list, as well as a few great reads that arguably didn’t even come out this year (I have my reasons!). If I play my cards right, this will mark the monthly finale of my favorites this year, as I plan to spend all of December 2025 finishing 20th Century Boys, starting Vagabond, and banging my head against the wall while playing Silksong.

In addition to this month’s favorite reads, you can also check out Comic Book Herald’s official best comics of 2025.

You can find the (near) full 2025 list of all my favorite comics this year on Bookshop. The annual list is right around 100 for the year! 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 November 2025

Last month’s picks for my favorite comics unsurprisingly generated some pushback from readers who felt I’d gotten too political (leading with the inclusion of a work called Gaza in My Phone will do that – I am not so naive as to pretend it wouldn’t). These comments ranged from inarticulate gaseous shouts of wokeness (easy to ignore) to more thoughtful concerns that these types of thoughts were not why people read comics, or at least my thoughts on comics (less so). While I know that well less than 10% of the thousands of words I write every month are really espousing any kind of socio-political beliefs, I did at least want to respond to why I approach these writings the way I do.

I understand the desire for art as an escape. Like many people, I use it that way a lot of times too. Some days, when the kids are asleep, I just want to watch the Cubs or play Elden Ring or read Superman (on occasion, I even try two of the three at the same time, in a game I call ‘Elden Swing’). I don’t want to be challenged, I don’t want to look the world’s depravity in the eyes, I just want to *be somewhere else* for a little while. That’s ok. We should all be so lucky.

But I do also think it’s a vital part of humanity to recognize that privilege, to be thankful for it, and to remain consistently curious enough to explore the ways that privilege is not granted the world over. Some art is meant only to entertain, and some art is more focused on education, or awareness, or sharing a personal experience. Comics, in all their glory, cover this wide array of focuses and that’s reflected in what I choose to read and celebrate here on Comic Book Herald.

Now, I do have to make an effort to get myself in the headspace to learn, or to be emotionally wrecked. It’s weird to apply to the leisure activity of reading, but it takes real effort sometimes. A few books on the below list are an example – “Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide” is clearly some serious, emotional history – as was my experience this past month reading Rosalie Lightning, Tom Hart’s devastating graphic novel about the loss of their two year old daughter. Most days, most moments, I look at those books and think that’s too hard right now. That’s not what I need right now. It takes resolve – for me at least – to make myself vulnerable enough to openly weep at Hart’s impossible grief.

This is not a mandate, or a sermon telling you when and how to experience challenging art. It’s only my appraisal that those hard reads make me a more caring, more well-rounded comics fan. I see the world with more empathy, I care for my family more deeply, I want to right wrongs more passionately. Art did that. Comics did that. Because I made time and made space to let them.

Comic Book Herald will always be full of the fullest awareness of what I find in comics, from the silliest fiction to the most striking hard truths. And I will write in such a way that meets these comics where they’re at – it would be irresponsible and even more cowardly than I already am to pretend the artform is perpetually a mere distraction, particularly when the subject matters are glaringly serious. I don’t expect every reader to perfectly mirror where I’m coming from in a chorus of agreement; I simply hope you remain open to reading some of these excellent works and finding what it is they inspire in you.

In addition to this month’s favorite reads, you can also check out Comic Book Herald’s official best comics of 2025 so far.

You can find the (near) full 2025 list of all my favorite comics this year on Bookshop. I’m up over 85 for the year! 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 October 2025