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The Best Comics of 2020

Covid-19 may have stopped the movies in 2020, but it didn’t stop comic books. Sure, things were delayed for a bit when comic book distributors pumped the brakes in getting product from the warehouse to your local comic book shop, but that was short-lived, though it felt like an eternity when it occurred. Nevertheless, here we are in December and there were a number of fantastic titles the filled the hands of readers everywhere this year. Though most of us cannot wait to escape 2020, let us take our annual trip down comic book memory lane and see who topped the charts in each category.

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Best Mini-Series – Plunge (DC)

This was the absolute toughest of the group to come to a conclusion on, and while Stephanie Phillips’ Artemis & the Assassin made a very strong case, it ended up being the six-issue series Plunge from writer Joe Hill. Hill penned a gradually creepy tale that was in the same vein as H.P. Lovecraft in a number of ways. A lost vessel from the 1980’s is located once again, this time with its emergency beacon emitting a distress call, yet the crew is nowhere in sight. The gigantic conclusion was befitting of the building crescendo that Plunge established in issue #1.

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Best New Series – Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (Marvel)

While this is not the first time Dr. Chelli Aphra has had her own series, it is potentially the best one yet. While the original series that kicked off in late 2016 started off solid, it eventually meandered into the land of story limbo where it lost its way. Enter Alyssa Wong, writer of this new series who has masterfully guided Aphra through six issues thus far. Wong has taken Doctor Aphra back to the character’s roots, those of which highlight a daring yet selfish archaeologist who often finds herself on the wrong side of the tracks, but is okay with her unruly predicaments in spite of this. As one podcaster recently said of Wong’s work on this series, “She just gets it. She understands Aphra.” Truer words have not been spoken!

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Best One-Shot or Single Issue – Artemis & the Assassin #1 (Aftershock)

Truth be told, one-shots were virtually non-existent this year. On top of that, there was nothing I came across that deserved this mantle. With that being said, the winner here goes to a single issue, issue #1 of Artemis & the Assassin. If it sounds familiar, it’s because you just read my mention two paragraphs above. Brought to readers from the magnificent mind behind titles like Butcher of Paris and Red Atlantis, Stephanie Phillips delivers a book that absolutely excels in establishing a solid foundation from the get-go.

As for the book’s characters, Phillips borrowed real life figure Virginia Hall, who served as a spy for the Allies during World War II. An assassin from the future is soon sent back in time to take out Phillips and the chaos ensues from there. The way the stage is set in this premier issue is an in-your-face, tension-builder that excels at kicking off the five-issue series.

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Best Graphic Novel – Batman: Three Jokers (DC)

Geoff Johns has a knack for penning engaging stories. One of his most notable works is single-handedly reviving the Aquaman franchise with 2011’s New 52. Johns breathed life into the Atlantean king, giving his story the grit and determination that it needed. The DC Comics CCO draws from the creative well once more in his latest work, Batman: Three Jokers.

The story draws from the name in a literal sense as Batman teams up with Batgirl and the Red Hood to take on the trio clown princes of crime. Torment, strife and coming to terms with your past are things that highlight this tale, often making Batgirl and Red Hood the stars of the book as the sadistic events from A Death in the Family and The Killing Joke are revisited here. At the very least, Three Jokers is riveting with its constant air of unpredictability.

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Best Ongoing Series – Gideon Falls (Image)

After a two year run, the darkly entertaining imagination of Jeff Lemire has brought Gideon Falls to a close. The horror comic book series made last year’s list as the best ongoing series for 2019, and despite the difficulty to keep readers drawn to a story issue after issue, Lemire managed to do so yet again in 2020. While it will be a bit odd without the opportunity to look forward to next month’s issue of this series, all good things must come to an end, and with closure a story is complete.

While the black barn will no longer haunt or taunt the citizens of Gideon Falls, there are 27 horror-filled issues of the series to occupy your reading time (issue #27 is due out this week). As a number of outlets have described Gideon Falls, none were better than Comixology’s dialogue accompanying the first issue, “Rural mystery and urban horror collide in this character-driven meditation on obsession, mental illness, and faith.”