I’ve been tracking and ranking all my favorite (and least favorite!) comic books for well over a decade publicly on Comic Book Herald on the world’s most regularly updated best comics of all time guide. While the behind-the-scenes spreadsheet is approaching 1,500 ranked works, I publish the top 500 as my recommended favorites (and think they’re all quite good!). I’ve largely avoided breaking that list out into categories, but I get enough requests for just the superhero side of the coin, so ya know what, fine, we’ll break this puppy out into a best superhero comics guide!
Much like the government’s definition of pornography, I know superhero comics when I see them. Obviously, anything from Marvel and DC are easy pickings, but the selections below won’t be limited to the Big 2 superhero universes. There may well be some here that you think don’t qualify as “superhero” in the traditional “capes and superpowers” sense. That’s fair! I also won’t be changing anything! The decision’s been made! Stop pushing!
The best superhero comics guide is broken into four categories:
- The 10 best superhero comics of all time
- The 10 best indie superhero comics
- My 10 favorite superhero graphic novels and runs of the decade
- My 10 favorite superhero comics right now
If one of your favorites is missing, I’d recommend checking my best comics of all time list to see if it’s there, just slightly further down the list. It probably is. If it’s a Big 2 book, there’s a statistical certainty I’ve already read it, and if I liked it, it’s just outside the top 10 comics I’ve listed here (unless it’s one of the brand new ones!). That said, if you really think there’s a contender that belongs that I may not have read, I would love to hear about it so I can read it! Comics! They’re great!
Finally, if you want to dig deeper into some superhero comic book universes, here are some of the most popular guides on CBH:
Popular Superhero Universes
Energon Universe (Transformers & GI Joe)
My 10 Favorite Superhero Comics of All Time!
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Frank Miller, Klaus Janson
Miller’s Daredevil is a run so utterly foundational to the character that it’s frankly impossible to discuss ol’ hornhead today without acknowledging Miller’s impact. What’s often overlooked amidst the gritty noir and martial arts mastery that Miller infused into Hell’s Kitchen is the surprising sense of humor and character work present from the earliest issues. Seriously, the likes of Turk Barrett temporarily taking over as Stilt-Man, or Foggy Nelson’s absolutely iconic, albeit brief, turn as “Guts” provide a much-needed levity amidst the groundwork of everything we know about Elektra, Kingpin and Stick. And look, if you get me the right drinks, I might just admit that I actually like Miller’s Daredevil work more than his highly lauded Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. Don’t tell anyone I said that.
What’s especially impressive about Miller’s tenure with the Man Without Fear is that his original run, alongside Klaus Janson, is already considered gold-standard work, defining Matt Murdock for a generation and elevating Daredevil into the top tier of Marvel heroes. But he didn’t stop there. Miller then returns, years later, with artist David Mazzucchelli for the utterly breathtaking “Born Again,” a story that remains one of the most critically acclaimed comic book arcs of all time. And still, he wasn’t done, later collaborating with John Romita Jr. on the seminal origin story “The Man Without Fear.” It’s an unparalleled hat trick that solidified Miller’s legacy not just as a Daredevil writer, but the Daredevil writer for many.
Publisher: DC
Creators: Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant
This twelve-issue masterpiece doesn’t waste time with gritty deconstruction or cynicism. Instead, it boldly embraces the purest, most aspirational ideals of the Man of Steel, delivering a Superman for the ages. There’s a good reason James Gunn was hurling copies of All-Star Superman at anyone who would listen in the run-up to his own take on the hero; there are few better ways to get modern audiences excited about the boundless potential of Superman than Morrison and Quitely’s work here. It’s a love letter to the character, and an incredibly effective entry point.
Facing his impending death from overexposure to the sun, Superman embarks on a series of final, profound acts of heroism – from curing cancer to saving a suicidal girl to dealing with anything and everything Lex Luthor is scheming in the background. Each issue is a self-contained gem, yet they all weave together to form a cohesive tapestry of hope, wonder, and humanity.
8) Miracleman
Publisher: Eclipse
Creators: Alan Moore, Garry Leach
One of the earliest and finest examples of superhero subversions, as Alan Moore worked his way to Watchmen’s defining treatise on the genre. Miracleman’s influence on superhero comics is among the most far reaching of all time, shaping everything from Astro City to Infinite Crisis to Ultimate Spider-Man. Its influence is only overshadowed by three decades of legal copyright issues that kept the work largely out of print!
Starting life as Marvelman in the UK’s Warrior magazine, the forgotten Golden Age character was violently reanimated by the unparalleled vision of writer Alan Moore. Alongside artists Garry Leach and, crucially, John Totleben, Moore dragged childish superhero comics into a horrifyingly realistic and mature new era. What if superheroes were real? What if their powers weren’t just fantastic, but terrifying? Moore explored themes of unchecked power, broken identities, and the terrifying implications of god-like beings on Earth, culminating in the shocking destruction of the showdown between Miracleman and Kid Miracleman.
7) Hawkeye
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Matt Fraction, David Aja, Annie Wu, Matt Hollingsworth
There’s one piece of Hawkeye that is more transcendent than any other: David Aja and Matt Hollingsworth’s storytelling and visual acuity. Simply put, it looks like nothing Marvel Comics published at the time, before or since really. This is one of my favorite things about Hawkeye because despite the way I’m celebrating its differences, Fraction/Aja and team still aren’t running from the superhero landscape of the Marvel Universe that Clint and Kate call home. Hawkeye isn’t embarrassed to be a superhero comic, it just isn’t the focus.
The idiosyncratic nature of the style, the fact that it looks quite unlike anything in Marvel Comics of the time, and the way this was embraced by readers leaves one of the most influential legacies of any artist on any Marvel Comics of the entire millennium. For my money, Fraction and the team capture Clint perfectly, surrounded by gorgeous, brilliant, strong women, and stepping in it every time he opens his mouth. Essentially, Fraction and Annie Wu find appropriate time for Kate Bishop, the legacy Hawkeye who takes over the mantle – who simply claims it as her own and is proven right to do so! – and is just as essential to the book’s success as any character. All told, Hawkeye is one of the most influential superhero comics of the 2000’s.
Publisher: DC
Creators: Tom King, Mitch Gerads
Tom King and Mitch Gerads crafted an instantly iconic story about parenthood, New Gods, and the uncertainty of existence. Mister Miracle features gorgeous romance between Scott Free and Big Barda, captures all the highs and lows of new parenthood, and showcases Darkseid’s casual enjoyment of veggie trays. Literally what else are we looking for here? Comics like this just don’t come around every year, but when they do it’s a welcome reminder why I dive into shared superhero universes so frequently. There’s drivel, and there’s muddled trash, but Highfather’s Beard, when the medium is crafted like Mister Miracle it’s the greatest show on earth.
King and Gerads strip away the typical superhero bravado to give us Scott Free, the universe’s greatest escape artist, in a raw and vulnerable state, contemplating the ultimate escape. King’s signature nine-panel grid is used to brilliant, claustrophobic effect, mirroring Scott’s internal struggles and the constant, inescapable war between New Genesis and Apokolips. Gerads’ art hits here like unearthing a lost VHS of your new favorite movie. This duo’s done great work together, and Mister Miracle is the best of it.
5) Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol
Publisher: DC / Vertigo
Creators: Grant Morrison, Richard Case, Scott Hanna, Doug Braithwaite
Grant Morrison, Richard Case, and John Workman reshaped the Doom Patrol’s Silver Age superhero world, pushing the central concept to its absolute limits, and taking it to realms it had never been. A spiritual successor to Steve Gerber’s Defenders, in a Claremont X-world, Morrison’s vision was a hurricane of neverending big ideas, influenced by everything from Dadaism to experimental European filmmaking. By the time it was over, one thing was clear: This was the defining run, now and forever. As the concept’s creator Arnold Drake put it, this is the one run that understood the concept and fulfilled its intentions best, even better than its own creator. It’s a foundational text for the kind of transgressive, intelligent, and deeply weird storytelling that would later define much of the Vertigo imprint.
Publisher: DC
Creators: Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley
Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, with Klaus Janson on inks and Lynn Varley on colors, is formally ambitious, employing its iconic 16-panel grids not to slow things down, but to create an incredibly propulsive, almost suffocating narrative energy. It often gets lumped in with Watchmen as a “superhero deconstruction,” but frankly, that misses the point entirely. This is a book that revels in being a superhero action comic – we’re talking an older, grizzled Batman snarling like a wolf, fighting mutant gang members in mudbaths, and getting a glorious, classic-looking save from a new Robin, Carrie Kelly. It perfectly captures that primal, almost celebratory joy this aged Bruce Wayne finds in once again suiting up and pounding on the criminal element.
Nothing makes me appreciate TDKR more than the parade of imitations it spawned – Spider-Man: Reign, Avengers: Twilight, Marvel: Ruins, and even Miller’s own The Dark Knight Strikes Again – and how incredibly hard they make the original look by comparison. The scope of this miniseries is just phenomenal, scaling up with each issue, taking us from Bruce Wayne’s internal struggle and his return to the Bat, through Batman and Robin saving Gotham, to the final, brutal confrontation with the Joker, and then, most thrillingly, the ultimate showdown between Batman and Superman. It masterfully allows for all the scale a Batman comic can offer, from intimate conversations with Commissioner Gordon to the broader implications of the Justice League’s involvement in world affairs. Its impact is undeniable, making it essential reading for anyone who loves the medium.
3) Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and John Romita
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Stanly the Manly, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Artie Simek
Web-slinging out of the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man is the comic book all other superhero comics aspire to be. Steve Ditko and Stan Lee created an icon, and the first 100 or so issues (the first 38 issues Ditko plotted and drew before John Romita took over artistic duties) are shockingly fun and captivating all these years later.
These are the comics that reminded me I love comics, and there’s never a bad time, age, or era to enjoy the original Amazing Spider-Man. For the record, the John Romita years are just as impressive (with iconic Green Goblin stories really taking off with Romita on the pen), and I’d encourage you to keep going strong with AMS for as long as it feels right.
2) Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and Secret Wars
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Jonathan Hickman, Jerome Opena, Mike Deodato, Esad Ribic, Leinil Francis Yu
Whereas Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers in many ways required an impending Secret Wars to justify the long game and the meandering, New Avengers was building the road to the end from day one. The concept is simple but endlessly compelling: What do the smartest, most powerful men in the Marvel Universe do when they have to destroy to survive? It’s a dark, deadly serious Illuminati title, and as such is the single most relevant read in modern Marvel.
Likewise, you won’t see me rave more passionately about any single Marvel event in the history of the publisher. I read every single Secret Wars tie-in, and somehow I didn’t burn out on the story once. Sure, I didn’t go outside for 9 months, but what good is the sun anyway? So yeah, I love Secret Wars. I love it dangerous amounts. I love it to the point that this write-up is getting weird. It’s great!
1) Watchmen
Publisher: DC
Creators: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, John Higgins
Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins’ classic masterpiece. Often mischaracterized as deconstructionist, ‘realistic’, or ‘cynical’, Watchmen is so, so much more. It’s a trailblazer for how superhero stories could be told, what was actually possible with them, and how they could be utilized to pose and explore powerful questions. Watchmen is a guidebook on how to use formalism to enhance your story, and to tell stories in fresh new ways, whether it be through prose backmatter, the 9-panel grid, or cutting across genres, and coloring.
Watchmen is the superhero graphic novel so influential it inspired an entire Comic Book Herald series considering how the work changed the industry and genre. Because there’s a before Watchmen (no, not that one) and there’s an after Watchmen, and that, my friends, is the sign of the greatest superhero graphic novel of all time.
Remember, if you’re looking for the full list of my favorite comics (superhero and otherwise!), check out Comic Book Herald’s best comics of all time!
My 10 Favorite Indie Superhero Comics!
10) Zot!
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Creators: Scott McCloud
What’s to love? Masterfully crafted by Scott McCloud – the same genius who gave us Understanding Comics – and groundbreakingly infused with manga aesthetics at a time when that was far less common in Western comics.
9) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Publisher: Mirage
Creators: Peter Laird, Kevin Eastman
What’s to love? The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Eastman and Laird is a lightning bolt of raw, independent creativity, an unexpected ninja action-comedy that took the world by storm and proved that even parody could become a phenomenon if the cartoonists are committed.
8) Atomic Robo
Publisher: IDW
Creators: Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
What’s to love? Atomic Robo is pure pulp adventure starring the eponymous robot and his nemesis Dr. Dinosaur, a perfectly executed blend of science and humor that never takes itself too seriously.
7) Invincible
Publisher: Image
Creators: Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley
What’s to love? What if Peter Parker’s dad was Superman, and his comic didn’t have to keep up the illusion of change for eternity?
6) Astro City
Publisher: Image
Creators: Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross, Steve Buccellato
What’s to love? Busiek’s love of superhero comics shines through with every new issue, with a keen eye for a “boots on the ground” perspective of what it would be like to be a normal person in a world of Marvels. If you want to see an expert Marvel and DC aficionado put their spin on a similar verse, with slightly more realism and consideration for humanity, don’t look farther than Astro City.
5) Black Hammer
Publisher: Dark Horse
Creators: Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston
What’s to love? In the same spirit as Astro City, Lemire and Ormston mash-up everything they’ve ever loved about superhero comics and put their own supernatural, mysterious and character-focused flair on the pastiche.
4) Grendel
Publisher: Dark Horse
Creators: Matt Wagner
What’s to love? You could make a strong case that Grendel is more appropriately categorized as crime, but honestly, there’s enough in master cartoonist Matt Wagner’s bag here to feel fine about sneaking a rec onto a best indie superhero comics list. If it weren’t for Hellboy, this would be the coolest comic on this whole list.
Publisher: Checker Book Publishing Group
Creators: Alan Moore, Joe Bennett, Rick Veitch
What’s to love? Alan Moore writes the best Superman comic of the 90s, but with analogs from the 90s Image Comics scene!
2) Hellboy
Publisher: Dark Horse
Creators: Mike Mignola
What’s to love? Horror, humor and horns combine in Mike Mignola’s all-time great creation, a supernatural universe that makes comics perfection look almost effortless (hint: it’s not actually!).
Publisher: Magnetic Press
Creators: Pascal Jousselin
What’s to love? Not the Invincible superhero comic you were expecting at number one, huh? A perfectly joyous exploration of the comics medium, with a superhero who can use the very format and structure of comics as his superpower!
The Best Superhero Graphic Novels & Runs of the Decade (2020 to Present!)
— #10) Doom
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Sanford Green, Hickman
What I Love: Greene’s virtuosic visualizations give the rarest of joys across modern Marvel Comics: an artist fully empowered to explore their own style with the full use of these toys we’ve built such adoration for over decades. It is joyful, it is so rich and living with detail you could pour over these pages for a full childhood, and by DOOM, it’s why I can’t quit Marvel Comics.
— #9) AvA: Aliens vs Avengers
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic
What I Love: In the parlance of the local youths I play hoops with, Aliens vs. Avengers is in its bag. In one of the stranger miracles of comics this year, these four issues feel like a proper sendoff to Hickman’s Marvel Universe works, a Marvel Universe: The End spurred on by those wiggly lil’ Xenomorphs.
— #8) The Eternals
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Kieron Gillen, Esad Ribic
What I Love: Gillen and Ribic don’t just put a new spin on things; they do so in a way that contextualizes and synthesizes all of the previous versions, creating a kind of grand unified theory of the Eternals. Along the way, they also tell a densely-plotted, gorgeously-illustrated, rip-roaring tale filled with moments of fist-pumping excitement and tragic heartbreak alike. The end result is the best possible entry point into the Eternals for a new reader.
— #7) Ram V’s Detective Comics
Publisher: DC
Creators: Ram V, Various
What I Love: I didn’t know you could make a long run like this any more. In its totality, Detective Comics reveals a truly remarkable case for the long-form ongoing comic book, and the value of empowering a wide variety of creative voices to fulfill their visions.
— #6) Green Lantern: Far Sector
Publisher: DC
Creators: NK Jemesin, Jamal Campbell
What I Love: N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s excellent addition to the long history of DC’s Green Lantern mythos. The story of Jo Mullein instantly refreshed what Green Lantern could mean in the DCU.
— #5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Turtles Reborn)
Publisher: IDW
Creators: Sophie Campbell
What I Love: The Turtles help establish “mutant town,” and the community focus means the questions, considerations, and explorations are succinct and engaging. Plus, whether it’s Campbell on art or not, Turtles comics simply look fantastic, with Ronda Pattison’s colors ensuring vibrancy and tonal consistency no matter who’s drawing.
— #4) Fantastic Four by Ryan North
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Ryan North
What I Love: North’s approach to the first family has been Planetary by way of the Magic School Bus, mashing heaping doses of imaginative science into one-off adventures that tap into the full gamut of genre. The end result is a run not only unique among contemporary superhero comics, but wholly unique in the 60+ year history of the Fantastic Four.
— #3) Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
Publisher: DC
Creators: Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer
What I Love: Diana wakes up in a post-apocalypse, as drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. Say less!
— #2) Catwoman: Lonely City
Publisher: DC
Creators: Cliff Chiang
What I Love: My favorite DC Black Label graphic novel is Cliff Chiang’s vision of a future for Selina Kyle and Gotham City, inevitably seen as a response to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns but with a flavor all its own.
— #1) Immortal Hulk
Publisher: Marvel
Creators: Al Ewing, Various
What I Love: Immortal Hulk will go down as a constant presence on “Best of Marvel Comics” lists for years to come, and with the exception of “Planet Hulk,” it’s honestly hard to even consider other contenders for Marvel’s best Hulk work. 50 glorious issues transforming the possibilities we consider for one of the most iconic characters in pop culture.
The Best Superhero Comics Right Now (2026)!
And finally, my picks for 10 favorite superhero comics in comic book stores at this very moment!
The Rules:
- Even if single issues or manga chapters have concluded, I’ll keep the work listed until the collections have hit shelves. If a run ends, it moves off this list and onto my picks for favorite comics of all time!
- My definition of superhero is not confined to Marvel and DC!
- I’m very unlikely to include a work here until it has at least one collected edition out in the wild. As always, exceptions will follow, as this is my kingdom, and rules are for cowards!
- Enjoy the comics!
— #10) Captain America
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Creators: Chip Zdarsky, Valerio Schiti
What I Love: Zdarsky’s Doctor Doom-centric commentary does directly align with a “ripped from the headlines” feel of America’s current intervention in Iran. The geo-political intrigue isn’t first of its kind, but Latveria does offer an interesting metaphor for American interventionism.
— #9) Absolute Green Lantern
Publisher: DC
Creators: Al Ewing, Jahnoy Lindsay
What I Love: While initially on the fence, Ewing and Lindsay are fully firing another Absolute Universe winner as they get more and more cosmic with Green Lantern.
— #8) Poison Ivy
Publisher: DC
Creators: G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara
What I Love: It’s well worth a moment to celebrate Poison Ivy, not only one of the longest running ongoing runs of the last three years, but given the character’s supplemental Batvillain origins, one of the most unlikely.
↓ #7) Kaiju No. 8
Publisher: Viz Media
Creators: Naoya Matsumoto
What I Love: The hardest I’ve fallen for a Viz Shonen Jump title since Chainsaw Man. In a lot of ways, Naoya Matsumoto’s monster-hunting action-adventure is the Blockbuster Movie cousin to Chainsaw Man, full of demonic Kaiju designs and incredible kinetic violence, but with the strangeness of Fujimoto sanded down for consumption.
↑ #6) Absolute Martian Manhunter
Publisher: DC
Creators: Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez
What I Love: The thing about Javier Rodriguez comics is they are GORGEOUS with an absolute gift for evocative colors and unpredictable layouts. Rodriguez is Camp’s first perfect superhero comic collaborator, the kind of top-shelf talent completely unafraid to get weird at the altar of Morrison. Absolute Martian Manhunter is the most Vertigo-esque of the Absolute titles (complimentary), and a necessary entry willing to push what the universe is capable of.
↓ #5) The Power Fantasy
Publisher: Image
Creators: Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wjingaard
What I Love: This book is HIGHLY ambitious, eminently critiquable, and I did not want to put it down! From creators Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wijngaard, and Clayton Cowles, this is Gillen’s attempted apotheosis on superheroes, after over 15 years in the trenches, and fresh off best-in-franchise work on Marvel’s Eternals and saved-the-franchise-from-heat-death work on Immortal X-Men.
— #4) Absolute Wonder Woman
Publisher: DC
Creators: Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman
What I Love: A contender for best book in the Absolute Universe behind Hayden Sherman’s incredible design and layouts. Diana comes soaring out of hell, with all the best gear from Elden Ring soaring on the wings of a skeleton horse, ready to fight similarly engorged monsters threatening humankind.
↑ #3) Chainsaw Man
Publisher: Viz Media
Creators: Tatsuki Fujimoto
What I Love: While I love Tatsuki Fujimoto’s furiously sketched chainsaw devils, and Denji’s offbeat juvenile humor, it’s Chainsaw Man’s fearless plotting and pacing that has kept me happily committed. There’s just a complete and utter fearlessness and confidence than I find intoxicating. Pump it into the veins of editorial branches across every major publisher!
↓ #2) Fantastic Four
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Creators: Ryan North, Humberto Ramos
What I Love: A real genuine contender for second best Fantastic Four run of all time. North continues to work miracles.
↑ #1) Absolute Batman
Publisher: DC
Creators: Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin
What I Love: I definitively declare my allegiance to Absolute Batman as my favorite Absolute DC comic. We have creators giving their all to just-fresh-enough spins on the ol’ super friends, with the editorial conviction to ensure the best artists working in superhero comics (Nick Dragotta and Hayden Sherman take all the bows) get to do *their* thing.
For my monthly favorite comics, check out the Comic Book Herald newsletter!
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