Up next in 10
We made it. One last episode, one last roundtable, and a whole year of comics to sort through.
2025 was a year that refused to slow down. Comics got bigger, stranger, louder, and more personal all at once—whether that meant bold reinventions like the Absolute line, fearless experimentation in indie and anthology books, or horror titles that pushed dread to uncomfortable new places. It was a year defined by risk-taking: formally, visually, and emotionally. Some books burned bright and vanished. Others evolved in real time, rewarding long-form commitment. And a few swung so wildly they became impossible to forget—for better or worse.
In this final episode of the year, David Brooke is joined by Chris Coplan and Alex Schlesinger to break down the Best Comics of 2025, from standout single issues and series to creators who defined the year, the best art and lettering, horror highlights, big-screen adaptations, and more than a few wild card categories. There are surprises, disagreements, hot takes, and a couple of well-earned victory laps around the medium.
This isn’t about consensus—it’s about perspective. The books that stuck with us, challenged us, annoyed us, thrilled us, and reminded us why comics remain one of the most flexible and expressive art forms around.
Listen to the entire episode of the AIPT Comics podcast on all platforms, or stream it on AIPTcomics.com!
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aipt-comics/id1448147137?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ab2sz1nzOkna9YPvCjRr6
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0:08
Come on. Hello and welcome to the AP Comics
0:14
podcast episode 359. My name is Dave Brook. I'm here with two co-hosts with
0:19
the mostest as Juice says, Alex Slesinger, Chris Copelan. We're
0:24
here to break down the tw the year of 2025. The the greatest year in American
0:31
history. The the greatest comics that was such a lie.
0:38
Anyway, while uh yes, this is our best of episode. 2025 was a year that felt
0:43
impossible to summarize, I'd argue, until you actually sat down and tried to, which we did. I I just did it. I went,
0:52
but then you know what? Even though the world was uh turning, uh comics didn't slow down at all. It didn't get any
0:58
simpler either. Uh and didn't wait for anyone to catch their breath. Uh if if anything, the medium doubled down on
1:04
risk. I mean, we got more crossovers than ever. We've got uh indie creators taking big swings and publishers
1:11
experimenting uh left and right. Um some's books uh burned bright and some vanished all too soon. Uh the best of
1:20
2025 isn't about consensus though. Uh we're not here to tell you, you know,
1:26
this is the only best cuz art is subjective. Uh these are our opinions of
1:32
course and it's about the books creators of momentum that stuck with us, right? I mean we've been talking about comics
1:38
every almost every single week this year. Um which means we have an insight
1:43
that maybe others don't. And this conversation wouldn't exist without the voices alongside me every week on the
1:51
APT comics podcast, Chris Copelan, Alex Lassinger. How you guys doing this week?
1:58
I'm raising the roof. If you can't see, that's how I feel. I'm raising this. This is also going to be on YouTube, so
2:04
you could watch him raise the roof right now if you felt like you're better. This
2:09
just hear me raise the roof. Hey, you guys you guys didn't just help us cover the year. You helped interrogate
2:17
it, argue with it, and celebrate it in real time. Huh? Controversy. Wow.
2:24
Sounds like my relationship with my parents. Hey, you guys have enthusiasm about comics
2:30
like me. You wouldn't be here every week doing this. Uh, but also, we all have critical eyes, right? I mean, we try not
2:35
to be negative on this show, but sometimes it leaks out. I I actively try to be negative
2:42
sometimes. Although to say I try not to be too positive. That's true. We try to be honest.
2:47
So, uh what follows is going to be our snapshot of how 2025 felt from our eyes,
2:54
from our corner of the medium, the highs, the surprises, the misfires, and whatnot. So, let's dig in with our first
3:00
category. Best single issue. This is a tricky one, guys. Uh who wants to go
3:07
first? Shalley guy first since I'm the guy setting this all red. Yes.
3:13
Sort of crisis events. Not everyone thinks this is the best book ever and they may be in this room.
3:20
But I I've never been so called out. Hey, I didn't say anything you did. Uh
3:26
Dennis Camp, Eric Zawatsky, uh crushing it with, you know, adding to the comics
3:32
medium and the way we tell stories. It's razor sharp. Every issue makes you
3:38
empathetic to a different very grounded downto-earth person who happens to have
3:43
to deal with this sci-fi world, the supernatural crap going on around them.
3:49
It's a devastating satire. But this first issue in particular, especially compared to the following six issues
3:55
that have come out already, it's just it's exercised. It gives you a sense of the chaos of this world where anything
4:02
can happen. babies bursting from people's stomachs as they're being born in reverse. Uh barbarians showing up out
4:10
of nowhere at one point and then film crews trying to capitalize on that with
4:16
uh basically free uh special effects because of the sci-fi stuff going around. So, it's a really good first
4:22
issue that set up so much and it just cascaded from there. I think it's going
4:27
to be on a lot of people's best of lists for those reasons, but this first issue I thought was excellent.
4:35
And you guys don't have to argue or agree. Just you just know. Alex, go ahead. I'll I'll make my point
4:40
after you. I I'm just going to say as a first issue, I also loved it. Um I actually
4:46
haven't read every follow-up issue just cuz anthology type things aren't my like
4:53
favorite thing in the world. like I I love like more maybe interconnected plots, but as an initial issue, it was
5:01
very well done. Felt different. Art was gorgeous. So, totally see why you and
5:07
other people would consider this like one of the best of the year. I would definitely say that I I do like
5:12
this first issue. I I have subsequent issues kind of with the follow-ups in terms of like
5:17
I don't know it just feels a little derivative at sometimes like emotionally and thematically, but like I would say
5:23
at least the first couple issues, the first issue for sure is everything that people make it out to be. It is it's a
5:29
really solid start and it like sets the universe and the tone uh really really well.
5:35
Uh Alex, what was your favorite single issue? Yeah, my favorite single issue of the year was Power Fantasy number 13,
5:43
uh, written by Kieran Gillan with art by Casper Windgard. Um, not only do I think
5:49
Casper's art has just like gotten better and better with every issue of this
5:55
series, but this issue number 13 really felt like the culmination of like every
6:01
story line that has been happening since issue number one. I mean, there's like
6:07
at least one twist every issue, but there are like several twists in this issue. So many like major like lore and
6:15
story altering twists that I I don't even want to like specifically talk about them for people who have like not
6:20
even started the power fantasy, but also as someone who just finds the politics
6:27
of nuclear war very interesting. That's obviously the basis of this entire
6:34
series, but there's a a great line that someone says in this issue. Basically,
6:39
they say like the only ethical choice to make with nuclear bombs is to not press
6:45
the button. Um, very like preant important work being done in this comic
6:51
about superpowers and the like proliferation of nuclear uh war
6:57
throughout the world. And this is just a great comic. Yeah, the series has had me from the
7:03
very start. Kieran Gillan, who's been writing superhero comics for so long, is finally getting to do sort of like I
7:09
think he even has said this is his last superhero series. So, every issue feels poignant in in in a way only a guy who's
7:17
been writing superhero comics for so long could. He's also been pretty clear that like this comic is like what in an ideal
7:24
world he would have done with a mortal X-Men. like the sheer level of politique
7:32
and backstabbing, but also like love the character show. So, if you liked Immortal X-Men, this is like Immortal
7:38
X-Men Unleashed without any of the baggage of decades worth of X-Men
7:44
history. Totally. I want to uh reiterate everything that's
7:50
been said, but also that every new issue of the power of power fantasy is my new favorite issue of the entire story
7:57
because they managed to not only do sort of the politicking and everything, but like the world building and the lore and
8:03
the character development, it's always kind of the same kind of intensity on both
8:09
fronts. And I I I don't think any other book does it as well. So, I think that's
8:14
kind of why I love Power Fantasy so much is nothing is ever mitigated in every issue. Everything is kind of like full
8:20
force, full steam ahead. Totally. How about you? What's your favorite single?
8:25
My favorite single issue was The Voice Said Kill number four. Uh, I feel like I've been talking about this book like
8:31
so much this year to the point of like probably being annoying, but I don't care because I just think it's that
8:37
good. Like to me it's it's everything I want in a crime story in 2025. I think
8:44
it's really intimate and personal. It's weird and unsettling. Um it's
8:53
different enough that it it sort of makes you consider like, well, what is a crime story? What does that actually kind of entail? And uh Vanessa Ardo Re's
9:00
art is just amazing. I mean, like, I've never seen somebody draw a swamp so
9:06
effectively and just so like beautiful and terrifying at the same time. And, you know, Scyer, I I think is, you know,
9:13
he understands character in a way I don't think a lot of other uh comic book writers do these days. and he builds
9:21
kind of this really intimate focused kind of uh story about,
9:26
you know, this pregnant woman having to deal with this kind of terrible uh moment in her life and what does that
9:32
say about, you know, parenthood and human survival and, you know, the things
9:37
we do to kind of get by. It's it's just such a brilliant and amazing book and I, you know, I'm going to talk about it
9:43
more and more whenever I can uh because we still have a trade to come out. No, you you can't stop me.
9:50
Look, you could get you could invest in a soap box, bring it to a public area in your town,
9:56
stand on it, and then just be that guy that just scream. Hello, good people of central
10:01
Phoenix. The mayor will show up one day with um with Sci Spurer. He'll be like he has he
10:06
has he wants to say something. He'll be like, "Please get off the box. Please, please. You're scared.
10:12
We've sold all the copies. We can't help it." No, that's a great pick. I love the title, too. What? I think might be the
10:17
best title of the year, even. Absolutely. Like, hands down. Mhm. Uh, moving on to best graphic
10:24
novel. Was would anyone like to go first? Yeah, I can talk about mine. Um,
10:31
my favorite graphic novel. It's like graphic novel/anthology.
10:36
Um, was Young Men in Love New Romance. If you didn't read the original original
10:42
Young Men in Love, it is from um A Wave Blue World, a small indie publisher. Uh
10:48
the first anthology graphic novel came out in 2022 and this followup came out
10:53
um this past year. It is an awesome queer anthology uh of uh yeah men in
11:02
love and it has like every single genre possible. Amazing art creators like Aluing, Luchiano Vetio, Anthony Olivea,
11:11
um Josh Cornion, Josh Trujillo, Daryl Toe, Bradley Clayton, Joe Glass, like
11:18
such an amazing uh lineup of queer creators. So, if you're interested in
11:25
genre expansive anthologies and stories of young men in love, um, highly
11:31
recommend this. Uh, and if you do buy it online, this is just a little plug. You
11:37
do get a free bookmark. And the bookmark is really cute and I use it in like every single book that I'm reading right
11:42
now. So, if you want free [ __ ] it's just really cool. I mean, romance
11:47
comics have kind of fallen off in the last couple years. And you know, having
11:54
a queer one makes it even better, especially in these troubling times. And the fact that it's an anthology is so cool, too.
11:59
Yeah. And this is the second time the anthology was started as a Kickstarter. So, if you're also interested in it, I
12:05
feel like the third volume probably will be, too. And you can get like a bunch of extras and variant covers for the uh uh
12:13
collection if you um want to invest early. So, highly recommend. Very nice. I I hadn't gotten to read the
12:20
new romance, but the first volume I I really liked just because
12:25
of all the kind of genres. I mean, they I feel like they really kind of like give us a good cross sample of kind of
12:31
everything. Totally. Uh and that to me is cool because, you know, I mean, it's it's nice to sort of like the love the romance angle is cool,
12:38
but the fact that it's like romance and genre storytelling to me is is is really the great part.
12:43
Yeah. Mhm. Mhm. Chris, what was your favorite graphic novel? My favorite graphic novel uh was
12:50
Trumpets of Death by uh Simon Bernell Busan. Um, it's like I hadn't really
12:57
heard of it before I read it a few months ago. And it's just this like adorable, very endearing, deeply
13:05
unsettling kind of story about this young boy uh Antoine who gets dropped
13:11
off uh in his grandparents house and his, you know, grandfather's kind of this terrible chromoginly, you
13:19
know, potentially like toxic dude. Um, and so there's that tension there. And
13:25
then when you know they're off hunting for mushrooms, one day Antoine kind of like wanders off and it becomes this
13:32
really intense story about kind of what it is to grow up to to be a
13:37
man. Uh, inter intergenerational conflict and trauma and all that stuff. And it's it's just this like it's such a
13:44
beautiful beautiful book that takes like these vivid kind of psychedelic turns as like you know you see Antoine's journey
13:51
kind of through the woods and what happens to him and the things that he sees and the things that maybe are like possibly hallucinations. We don't really
13:58
know but like the you know kind of mixed with kind of this gritty grounded
14:04
narrative around his grandfather. It's I you know I love that the book kind of really swings for the fences in terms of
14:10
like really exploring kind of that tension between you know young and old
14:16
men of different generations but does it in such like a such a playful whimsical
14:22
kind of way like it just it makes the whole experience like really interesting and like I you know I've gone back and
14:27
read the book a couple times and like I I always find some new scene some new aspect of it that I I really like and I
14:34
I wish I had kind of heard more people talking about it, but you know, it's such a great book. It's just like it it
14:39
wowed me from the the beginning of like it is so intellectually demanding, but it's also
14:45
just just sweet and fun to kind of look through and it, you know, it it uses all those tools really well. And I, you
14:51
know, uh I've read more graphic novels than I did any other year, which is
14:56
saying a lot. And this one, this one definitely stood out like in a major way. The color the use of color is really
15:02
striking. Yeah. Right. All of it. Everything that he that Simon done across did across the book is just it's so great.
15:09
I wonder if less people have picked it up because the title Yeah. The title isn't that great cuz
15:16
they're like not very inviting. No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's cool. I I
15:22
haven't checked it out myself. I I admit and I I should. You definitely should. I think it'll be worth your while.
15:28
Uh my favorite graphic novel was Drone by Jesse Lonn. been a huge fan of his for quite some time. Uh I think this
15:35
actually ended up in our AIP official best of the year as well. Um this is on everyone's best of the year
15:41
list. People like love, which I I did not see coming. I when I picked it
15:47
well not not because it's bad because I just I didn't see anyone else's picks. Um but I'm a huge fan of creation myths and
15:54
creation stories. So even like in a super comic superhero comics when there's like a substory inside the story where there's a creation myth I'm like
16:00
yes and here we have just it's beautifully drawn because if you know Jesse's work uh always playing around
16:08
with layout structure with characters interacting with the gutters and in here you see it multiple times in really
16:14
creative ways and in this uh story it's basically a creation myth of of a god
16:20
made of stars uh laying the seeds of life on a planet and immediately the
16:25
animals start killing each other and then they lay another seed and another seed. Then they add a little uh conflict
16:31
for them to resolve. And so it has it reminded me of like Gilgamesh
16:36
uh going back to when we were all in middle school or high school uh a creation myth where there is a hero and
16:43
there is almost nothing in the world. There's barely any laws and yet people are still doing valiant things and still
16:49
protecting others and fighting for what they believe in. Um, so yeah, the
16:54
mythical quality kind of lingers with you, blending in this a lot of ambitious
17:00
and emotional weight by the end of this tale. So I think anyone could pick this up, too. It it's it's lighter on
17:06
reading. So even younger readers, I think, could pick this up and and find something in it. And yeah, Jesse, one of
17:13
I mean, I've always been a layout guy, you know, with 5,000 reviews under my belt. Like, when a layout is crushing
17:20
it, I'm like, "Okay, yeah, give me this." And Jesse is like leading the charge on that, I think. Nice.
17:26
I will say that like when this book kind of came out, I think it was getting like a decent bit of buzz, and it's nice to
17:32
see that it's kind of like I think people have gathered around it in a really important
17:37
way. we don't see a lot of like single book, single kind of issues being
17:44
championed in a major way. And so when that happens and it's it's for a book that is this I think inventive and
17:49
clever and just really fun, it's it's really kind of heartening to see that. Yeah. Like we we can uplift some really
17:55
amazing stuff. It resonates with people for sure. Yeah.
18:01
Moving on to best writer. Wow. This is a lot of people's favorites when it comes
18:06
to bests at the end of the year. Uh, I will go first. I am going to pick one that no one saw coming.
18:13
No, they did. That's sarcasm. Anyway, Dennis Camp favorite ride of the year. Um, just genre defining with a sort of
18:21
crisis events. Uh, blowing this away with uh absolute Martian Manhunter. Obviously, the artists that he's paired
18:27
with are doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but I mean, it seems as if everything Dennis Camp touches is gold.
18:35
Not to mention their work on ultimates, which, you know, superhero comics typically keep it safe when it comes to
18:42
political elements or ties to actual social justice issues. Yeah. and Dennis is putting it into
18:48
every issue of Ultimates, which you know is leading to the biggest event that we're about to enter next week or
18:54
actually this week when you're listening to this. Um, most of his books are some of the most talked about books of 2026.
19:00
I think Martian Manhunter is up there uh for many and I think it Martian Maner is
19:05
the kind of book that you could give a lapsed comics fan uh and they will go,
19:11
"Holy crap, I need more of this." So, uh, exciting stuff from Dennis. Dennis has been an upandcomer it feels like for
19:17
only about two or three years and I think they're crushing it and they're probably they're they're triple AAA
19:22
writer at this point. Oh yeah, we are undoubtedly in the era of Dennis Camp. I mean just hit after
19:31
hit in a really impressive way. So uh I think this is going to be many people's like number one choice on these types of
19:38
lists for sure. I I did an interview or we did an
19:43
interview recently with Dennis and the insights, the way that they kind of talk
19:49
about uh storytelling and character development I think is indicative of you
19:54
know somebody who really puts a lot of like thought into laying out the story in a really
20:01
specific and novel way but that is also familiar and it's you know I think part of that is you know what people are
20:07
picking up on is somebody who's very much like thinking about how the character and and story kind of work
20:13
hand in hand and you know and then also how you just have cool and interesting kind of visuals and weird moments and
20:18
and all that stuff but always at that core I think is that like that dedication.
20:24
Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. He takes this very serious. It's not a paycheck. Yeah. I mean it is but it isn't. But it is but
20:30
I hope it is. God. What about you Chris? What is your favorite writer? My favorite writer was
20:36
uh Zach Thompson um who I also got the privilege of interviewing earlier this
20:42
year for one of my patented deep dives. Um, the thing I think I like about Zach
20:47
is, I mean, especially in kind of the 2025 output especially, which was centered around Cemetery Kids, Run
20:54
Rabbit, and the second part of Into the Unbeing. You know, this is somebody who like very
21:00
clearly understands, I think, genre storytelling. Um, you know, both of those books are are marketkedly
21:07
different kind of genres, but, you know, you can kind of see some kind of connective material kind of between
21:14
them. Um, but mostly I think they're just great kind of stories about people
21:19
figuring out where do they kind of exist in the world, where do they kind of, you know, stand on different things, how are
21:25
they being kind of influenced by the world, how can they influence the world in in return? Like I I just think that
21:33
as he's doing these really kind of very specific uh genre stories, you know, we're getting some really really amazing
21:40
stories just kind of about what it's like to be alive right now in the world
21:45
and and having to like deal with, you know, this kind of weird uh changing of
21:51
the guard in a lot of way. And how does that affect us and how do we sort of deal with that and how do we make sense of it all? So, I think both of those
21:58
books uh do a really great job of kind of continuing that. And that's on top of,
22:04
you know, 2024 he had Blow Away, which was uh a crime story. Yeah, I love that
22:09
one. The body trade, another crime story, but like weird near future body horror mixed with
22:15
crime. More genre stuff, but you know, always kind of very character driven. And I I you know I think that that's
22:21
he's somebody who is a really really
22:27
human writer. As dumb as that is to say out loud, but he's somebody who like very AI.
22:33
No, he very clearly thinks about kind of like the big human,
22:38
you know, stories that are dressed up in genre. And I just, you know, I I don't think that anybody's kind of working in
22:44
the same tone, tackling the same kind of ideas as as he is. Mhm. Yeah. No, for
22:50
sure. And he's been at it for quite some time now. For years. Yeah. I feel like he's, you know, maybe finally getting some just
22:56
desserts. Totally. How about you, Alex? Um, yeah. I mean, I've, if you listen to
23:05
any podcast episode I've ever been on, Kieran Gillan is going to come up. Um, I think Kieran Gillan is a lot of people's
23:11
favorite comic writers. Um, I don't know. Kieran Gillan is, if you're watching this on YouTube, Dave is just
23:18
like intentionally trying to ruin this podcast. So, if anyone ever messes up, we know
23:25
who to blame. Um, attention seeking [ __ ]
23:31
I'm not an only child. You're an only child. That Wow, that makes so much sense. Um,
23:38
how dare you? I think I love Kieran Gillan, you know? I I love taking a critical eye to
23:44
comics. Even more than that, I really just like reading stuff that is fun.
23:51
Like love critiquing [ __ ] And my main critique of every single thing I read
23:57
was did I [ __ ] enjoy opening this and reading every page? Like and Gillan I
24:04
think has this really beautiful masterful way of like doing elevated
24:09
very intentional writing. Like Gillan does not write things without intention
24:15
behind like every single thing and the impact and waves they might have like 10
24:20
issues down the line. But also it's just like a blast. Power Fantasy and Diloed
24:27
are, you know, two of my like number one comics that have been either continuing or debuted this year. And I just think
24:35
Gillan really like knows what they want and knows what they're looking for out of storytelling and then delivers it
24:42
really impactfully. Um, I think that they're accessible to like a wide range
24:47
of readers. And yet, if you're like interested in diving deeper into
24:52
political minations, into philosophical things, into like real world magic with
24:59
a K, then the comics also like offer the ability to take that deeper lens. And I
25:06
think that's something that some writers can sometimes struggle with. like either they're like esoteric writers or they're
25:12
like average reader writers and I think Gillan similarly to like some you know
25:18
Grant Morrison comics like can do a really successful blend of like highlevel and enjoyable.
25:25
Mhm. Yeah, that's good comparison to Grant. Yeah. Um when Karen was on the show a
25:32
year ago to talk about Power Fantasy before it started, you could just tell how smart he is, too. Totally. Yeah,
25:39
I not to tout my own kind of interview with him, but I I loved during there
25:44
were several parts of when I spoke to him, like I realized like, oh god, this this man knows so much about comics that
25:50
like I will never I will never get it. I will never grasp it, but he never makes you feel stupid
25:56
about it. And so it's nice to kind of read that story. It's like an expression of this like deep and abiding love and
26:02
knowledge that he has. And like I think that he can school you without like, you know,
26:07
making it feel like you're being lectured. And yeah, like to your point, Alex, like nobody does
26:13
big goofy, you know, superhero sugary stuff with just these deep deep
26:19
esoteric things. And like he marries it brilliantly. Not to mention he came from the same
26:25
place we are, which is indie comics reviewers.
26:30
And now look, he's he's he's living the dream in that movie. Moving on to our next category. Best
26:36
artist. Chris, what's your what's your best artist? Who's your best I had to where
26:44
people? I went with Danny. Um just because
26:50
there's two kind of books in 2025. Uh Invisible Man, uh you know the that four
26:55
issue miniseries uh from Image with James Tiny. I I thought was great. I mean, I've I've
27:00
read all of the the kind of Universal Monsters stuff. I think that one kind of
27:05
stands out for being maybe the closest, but also feeling like
27:12
kind of new and and giving you a new understanding of of kind of the Invisible Man lore and stuff. I mean,
27:18
Dracula is definitely up there for me, but I think Invisible Man is, you know, stands out for for just like getting
27:24
this character and and doing new things with it. Um, but I think the biggest one, uh, working with Daniel Krauss on
27:33
Thansia, which I can never say out loud, um, which is this kind of like very weird,
27:40
uh, graphic novel about a girl who like embibes the bodily fluids of dead
27:46
superheroes and like gains hallucinations. And like it's this really really deep and effective kind of
27:53
exploration of kind of the superhero trope and mythology and what value does that still
27:59
have? But mostly I think kind of about addiction and uh you know the escaping
28:06
kind of generational trauma and like it's just it's this really sort of like
28:12
emotionally like cutting story and then Danny's art is just like vivid and scary
28:18
and terrifying and like it's just such an amazing book. And I think both of those to me, both of those projects feel
28:26
like a representation of like why I think Danny does
28:32
manage these like very sort of moody pieces, but that are that are also kind of, you know, very uh narratively rich
28:40
and interesting and like I just, you know, it's I didn't hear enough people kind of
28:46
talking about both books, but I definitely think that they feel like kind of like high water marks for her. And I think maybe people have like some
28:52
association of like, you know, Danny's done a bunch of covers that are great, blah, blah, blah. But these two books in
28:57
particular to me feel like it's such a huge statement. Um, and this year, you
29:02
know, obviously we're talking about 2025 and how great it was. And, you know, I don't think you can talk about this year
29:08
without kind of mentioning these books as as being interesting, but kind of maybe uh unsung to an extent.
29:17
I'm excited for Batoman with Greg. Yes, that's going to be cool.
29:23
Uh, Alex, favorite artist. Yeah, my favorite artist
29:29
was Evan Kaggel. I just have loved the art in New Gods. Um,
29:36
oh, stylistically, it's just like so fun to look at. Um, I feel like I haven't
29:44
really read a lot. I know Evan Kaggel's done a lot of Ram V collaborations, specifically a bunch of Batman stuff um
29:52
at DC and I've not read a lot of those collabs. So, this was my first real exposure to Evan Kaggel reading New
29:59
Gods, which did start um near the end of 2024, but has mainly lived throughout
30:05
this past year. um the bold lines, the expressive faces, uh the like cartoonish
30:11
quality mixed with the like devastating emotion and intense action. Um I think
30:17
the art is just really stunning, especially paired with and I'm forgetting their name. The colorist just
30:25
makes it like so so good. Uh who Oh, Fran Franchesco Sagala does
30:31
like amazing color in the books as well. Um, but yeah, Kaggel, I think has
30:39
created the world that Ramvy was trying to make with the new gods coming to Earth after dark side's death. And I
30:46
think it would have been a very different book without Kaggel's work. And it's been one of my favorite books
30:53
of the year. And I think a lot of that, obviously, Rami is an amazing storyteller, but a lot of that comes
30:58
from uh Kaggel's art. So, yeah, can't can't praise him enough. Yeah, their
31:04
work on uh DawnRunner was like, "How is this guy not doing more? Where did this guy come from?"
31:10
Totally. It might have been one of those cases where a writer found someone on like uh Deviant Art. Is Deviant Art still a
31:15
thing? Do people still use that or is it now like filled with AI? Probably. Probably
31:21
AI important. Uh my favorite artist of the year was Hayden Sherman. Uh got to talk to them
31:28
at Fan Expo Boston a little bit and it was pretty cool. They were talking a little bit about how they're working in a format where the pages are like I
31:35
forget the number. It was like 20 by 30 or something insane. So, they could really get into the detail. Uh I
31:42
mentioned with Dr. I'm a huge fan of layout. Uh Hayden's constantly playing with layout, especially like symmetry on
31:48
the page. You saw it with uh Batman Dark Patterns, that 12 issue series that just
31:53
wrapped up written by Dan Waters. That book gorgeous in so many different ways. interesting visually in so many
32:00
different ways. Um, but then absolute Wonder Woman. So, Hayden's always been doing two books uh a year, I think, for
32:08
at least two or three years. You mentioned earlier, Chris, uh, Into the Unbeing, which they also drew and I
32:13
think wrapped up this year. Yes. So, yeah, three pretty big books.
32:18
Yeah, huge books. I mean, obviously they probably got ahead of the curve on on being at some point, but that's a lot of
32:24
books for a person who's doing all the interiors and covers, so they must work fast, too. But yeah, uh there's a
32:32
dynamic element to the visuals on top of the layouts that is just it just punches you in the face. It kind of reminds me
32:38
of like Ramita Jr. in a sense where there's a really good sense of volume. Obviously, volume comes from the
32:44
colorist a lot of the time, too. But um I think Hayden Hayden just won the Eisner as well uh at Senior Comic- Con
32:51
this year. So I think they're just getting started too. They're they're a
32:56
young artist who's really hit their stride. And you know with Absolute
33:01
Batman and Wonder Woman fighting each other soon in in in Hayden's book, that's going to be quite exciting, too.
33:08
I also think that Hayden doesn't get enough credit for being like really good at scale and like playing around with
33:15
size. Like layout is one thing, but like there are so many moments in Absolute Wonder Woman where like
33:21
you get a sense of like, oh man, the intricacy and the skill and like the the
33:26
planning to like play around with the size of the page and kind of like our place in that moment is is just really
33:35
really amazing. on top of everything else that they do. Well, for sure. For sure. Moving on to best
33:43
series. Chris, what was your what was your best series? My best series uh is one that I didn't
33:51
necessarily get to write a lot about, which is maybe good. Uh it was The Amazing Spider-Man uh by Joe Kelly and
33:59
Hipp and a billion other people who deserve Yeah, thank you. who deserve
34:06
credit. I mean, I think over the last probably 10 to 12 years, I've really
34:11
tried to get into Spider-Man in an earnest way, and it's not always been
34:18
it's not time to be a Spider-Man fan. It's not always been the most accessible uh you know, thing for a number of
34:24
reasons, but I think this book in a lot of ways felt like kind of like a an unofficial restart, maybe a bit of a
34:31
reboot in some ways. And so I think it was inviting to kind of people like me who were like looking for that jumping
34:37
on point, but I think it also, you know, built on thematically, tonally kind of
34:43
what Spider-Man had been trying to do over the last decade or so. Um, and it
34:48
just like it to me is like I think I compared it in a conversation with somebody like it's
34:54
kind of like watching the cartoon from the '9s. like it just felt like everything that I
35:00
I think about I associate with Spider-Man, the adventure, the you know the ideas of how hard it is to grow up,
35:07
how hard it is to kind of balance being a person with, you know, your responsibilities, all these things. And it's just like it just felt like such a
35:14
huge, you know, like kind of sigh of relief in a lot of ways. And it felt
35:19
like such a great time to kind of like get into Spider-Man and not feel like you have to battle all this like context
35:26
and this like weird baggage and stuff and like it just felt like everything that I wanted from a Spider-Man story
35:32
and like just the absolute perfect time to kind of get in on it. And you know there's so so many other things I could
35:39
say about it as well. You know like the art was always amazing. I think uh you
35:45
know layoutwise I think that they approached some some fight scenes and some action in a really kind of novel
35:51
way. Yeah, just absolutely insane. Insane across that entire book and it's you know every issue
35:57
it's I I just I'm so glad that this book kind of came out when it did and I think it, you know, it's it's proof that like you
36:04
can tell a really great Spider-Man story if you just kind of like tell the story and that you don't have to like deal
36:09
with a lot of background noise. Yeah. Yeah. when uh Joe was on this show
36:15
before the series launched and yeah, I immediately was like more excited after talking to him. I thought it would
36:22
be more quippy because they are known for giving Deadpool that quippy comedy.
36:27
But what I didn't realize I needed was a more charming Peter Parker cuz he hasn't
36:32
been charming in like 15 years. Totally. Super approachable. Like he has that boy next door kind of vibe
36:39
now. Definitely. Yeah. which he was sort of missing, especially you see in the more the recent issues in space. But
36:45
yeah, no, I I've been reviewing ASM for a while and it's I I think a lot of
36:50
people are haters because of just how bad or how much they've disliked the book
36:56
for so long. Yeah. You've talked to people and they're like people who are hardcore Spider-Man fans have not been happy.
37:01
Yeah. Have not been happy for years and now like I I think it's they're like I don't know what to do with myself. Like
37:07
this is a good Spider-Man. Yeah, but but with your pick, but also I think on
37:13
Reddit just on Friday, I saw people posting on multiple subreddits, "Hey, Joe Kelly is really good though." And
37:19
then people getting on the bandwagon on this. I think I think it might be that snowball might be getting
37:26
Yeah, people deserve to like come to this book. This is This is the Spider-Man book that we deserved.
37:33
Well, maybe not deserved, but but this is the one we get. The one we get. Thank you. We don't
37:38
really have a lot of option. I mean, we don't have a lot of control over that. Um, my favorite series of the year was
37:44
Absolute Batman by Scott Cider, Nick Draota, and others, including Jock. Um,
37:49
obviously, the first four issues came out in 2024, so but a large number of issues came out this year. The book has
37:55
just, you know, Batman is so overdone. Every month there's someone on Reddit going solicit
38:02
tracker, how many Batman books are there? And it's like hilarious. There's like 25 appearances of Batman every
38:07
month. And yet, Absolute Batman has got people talking about Batman outside of
38:13
comics, like politically even, thanks to of course um Johnson there, uh
38:19
forgetting his first name, Daniel Warren Johnson. Daniel Warren. Yeah, the annual. But I mean, it's not only reinventing
38:26
Batman in interesting ways that people have been talking about for years, like, oh, what if Batman just [ __ ] used his money to save things? Well, now he's
38:32
poor. So, like there, you got what you wanted. Now, let's see what happens. But
38:37
there's like a mythic quality to it. Uh it's relentlessly violent. Uh and it's the reinvention of heroes. You know,
38:43
when this book was announced, no one was like, "Hey, Scott Snyder, he got to start doing horror." You know, he did
38:49
American Vampire for years. Maybe he's going to do a horror thing. And no one said that. But now it's obvious like
38:54
every villain is like the worst nightmare you've ever could imagine. So like it's interesting that it's got a
39:00
horror vibe. Again, it shouldn't be that surprising though with this universe that's, you know, powered by the dark
39:05
seeds evil forces or whatever. Yeah. No. Uh I think I think this one's on a lot
39:11
of people's lists, too, because it's just so striking every month. I'm one of those people who is a Batman
39:16
fan, but is also like a detractor of like there are too many Batman books, but like this one is never on that list.
39:24
Yeah. For everything that you said. But also, I just think that like it's not only kind of like visually
39:32
arresting, but I think that like it very much feels like a reflection of like everything that Scott Snider
39:39
feels about, assumes about kind of Batman and like he's I think he's kind of working it out like why do we care
39:45
about Batman? Uh, you know, what happens if like he's younger? What if he's poor? Like I it's the the charm of this book
39:52
to me is like that this is somebody who's clearly thought a lot about Batman trying to sort of like
39:58
interrogate why we care about this character, what value does it still have
40:03
and uh you know all these things. I think that to me is is what makes the book so so great is like it's you know
40:10
it's very clearly trying to dissect the character while also telling I think a great you know multifacetive story
40:18
that's terrifying and twins.
40:23
Definitely in my top three of the year, too. I do need them to get rid of Selena's bubble helmet, though. That is
40:30
my like single det. I think she stole it from Black Mask. It's Black. I'm like, I [ __ ] hate this.
40:37
Smash it. Uh, similarly, my favorite series was another absolute title. Absolute Wonder
40:44
Woman. You know, Dave, you were just talking about Hayden Sherman. Such
40:49
evocative mythological art being done in this like looks like it could be painted
40:55
on the sign side of like a Grecian vase that was then used in a song in Disney's
41:01
Hercules. Um just like really really gorgeous art. Uh the first three issues
41:07
of this series were in 2024 but the the bulk of it has been this past year. I do
41:12
particularly want to highlight I love Hayden Sherman's art, but Matia de Ulys's issues number six and seven were
41:22
yes so insanely illustrated like yeah they're they're another class
41:29
their work with Thompson on the call I think it was was insane exactly on the call which was a great
41:34
freaky sci-fi uh comic but specifically number six was like my runner up for
41:41
best single issue of the year. Like the scenes with Prometheus
41:47
just like wild like the rendering of the lighting and the shadows. It like just
41:52
looked like stills from a movie every single one or like storyboards that
41:58
would have been used in like you know the Wonder Woman movie of my dreams. Um
42:03
I was just like really impressed with that guest artist spot. Um, but in
42:10
general, I love how all the core aspects of Diana are the
42:16
same, but the origin, in my opinion, is like much more intriguing and uh just
42:23
like engaging than some of Diana's classic origin stories. I'm like really
42:29
excited to see what happens with Manurva and how she turns into Cheetah. You
42:34
know, like Batman's villain besties have transitioned so
42:40
quickly, but Barbara was introduced really early on in Absolute Wonder Woman, but has continued to be an ally.
42:48
And I'm like, even if she ends up being a ally of Wonder Woman's, like I feel
42:53
confident that at some point she's going to be turned into Cheetah because she's like so interested in like Greek
42:59
mythology and stuff in the comics. So, that's just like one tiny little story thread that I'm really excited for. Um,
43:07
yeah, I just look forward to every issue that comes out. And, uh, if that's not best serial material, then I don't know
43:14
what is. You mentioned issue six. I gave three 10 out of 10 this year and one of
43:19
them was Absolute Wonder Woman number five. Uh, and I wrote I reviewed over 500 issues this year. So, like that's
43:26
saying something at least for me. I don't know. Yeah. If you have any value in my scoring, I guess. No, no,
43:32
I don't. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to listen to you, but
43:38
why would you? I I want to pick up just super quickly on what Alex is saying, the idea of like
43:44
the origin feeling very like dedicated to the core of Diana, but also
43:50
doing something interesting. I, you know, I hate to kind of say this out loud, like this to me is the book where I I think I finally kind of understood
43:57
the the the larger appeal of Wonder Woman, like what that kind of
44:02
overarching presence is all about. Like, and I think it's it it's for that very kind of reason of like it's the same
44:08
character. If you give a little spin as they did, I think you can kind of see
44:15
the essence of that character really, really well. And um I I love that they did that. I love that it's it's the same
44:21
character just dressed up a little bit and it makes me feel like this is what kind of the absolute universe does
44:27
really well if if they can nail it. Mhm. For sure. Well, if you like what you're watching,
44:34
be sure to listen to the rest of this episode on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music,
44:40
wherever you get your podcast, because the rest is audio only. Hey,
44:47
Derks off, Jens. See you guys in 2026.