Here are my comic book awards for 2023.
Best Same Old Same Old of the Year
(These are the comics I buy year in and year out. They are always good.)
Ice Cream Man – 34-37
Only four issues of this in 2023 but they were as s good as ever. Each issue tells a done in one horror story and it is always imaginative.
Love and Rockets (Volume 4) – 13-14/Psychodrama Illustrated- 6
The Hernandez Bothers’ stuff. If you don’t know about this by now where have you been since the 1980s?
Monstress – 42-48
A lot of the story in this series came together this year. We’re forty eight issues deep in it now and this year we got a lot of answers to what was going on in the back story. Mythological stuff to us readers became real and present.
Palookaville – 24
Rather than a comic book this series by the one named cartoonist Seth now comes out as a small hardcover book. He is one of my all time favorites and I always love to see that a new issue is coming out. This was another good one as he continues to do a comic about working at a summer job.
Parker Girls – 4-10
Though this individual Terry Moore series wrapped up I put it on this part of the list because I always buy his work no matter what series he’s got going. Though I just read that he no longer wants to put out his stuff in single issues. I find that disappointing but understandable.
Radiant Black – 21-27 (25-27 have two versions)
I continue to enjoy the superhero adventures of Radiant Black. This year they are doing a gimmick where the two characters who share the Radiant Black super powers have to choose only one of them to be the hero. Thus we get two issues a month each with only one of the main characters as Radiant Black. I think they’ve pulled it off well. There is only one more two issue month and then we’ll get to see which one becomes Radiant Black permanently.
Savage Dragon – 263-267
Only five issues of the Dragon this year but they are all good. Erik Larsen does his best to keep the series interesting for himself and his readers. He does a nice job of it and I always look forward to a new issue.
Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow – 1-3, Space Usagi: Tokai Hunter – One Shot, Space Usage: Death and Honor – 1
This is the list of Usagi stuff that came out this year. I’ve been buying the book since about 1986 and it never disappoints. Stan Sakai is one of the comic book masters.
Honerable Mentions
(They didn’t quite make it into any category but I liked them a lot just the same.)
Damn Them All – 4-11
Charlie Adlard is killing it on the art for this book.
Dark Ride – 4-9
Brought to us by the “Birthright” team this is a horror comic about running a horror based theme park. But there is real horror behind the scenes. A good series.
Forged – 2-6
A magazine size sci-fi comic about a military team in the future. Good stuff . I especially like the art. Lots of intrigue and action.
Grim – 7-15
The story of a grim reaper (there are many) whose afterlife is upset by finding out that she has to take over from death. This one has been good with some nice art.
In Hell We Fight – 1-5
A new series with great name! It’s a fun series about a bunch of characters who are trapped in hell. So they have to fight. Of course hell is bad but in this comic it’s the kind of bad you can still have an adventure in.
Love Everlasting – 6-10
I really like art by Elsa Charretier in this comic. It blows me away every issue. It’s the story of a woman who is trapped in a romance comic. For the first six issues or so there were two or three stories an issue and at the end of one she would show up in the next. She’s aware she is trapped in a story. For the last few issues she has been trapped in a single story and has lived out her whole life in 1963. It’s good stuff.
Miss Meow – 6-8
This one is a cheesecake super hero comic. I bought the first issues on a whim and ended up liking it a lot more than I ever would have guessed. It’s a solid superhero book where the super people all work for competing corporations and are pop culture stars. It’s really well done. I think it has ended but I’m not 100% sure.
No/One – 1-7
This one is a mystery, crime drama, journalism drama set in the Massiveverse which is the Radiant Black universe. I think there is even a tie-in podcast but I’ve never listened to it. That seems too much like homework to me. I’m liking the series.
Rogue Sun – 10-17
Another superhero Massiveverse series that’s a solid B for me. The current plot has a bad guy taking over Rogue Sun’s body. I’m not a fan of body takeover stories so I’ve not been liking this comic as much as usual but there was a nice twist at the end of last issue. I look forward to the next issue.
Saga – 61-66
This comic has always been a solid B for me and it still is. I never loved it as much as a lot of Saga fans but a whole bunch of them have peeled off from the book and I haven’t. I still enjoy it after 66 issues.
Sickness – 1-3
This is one I get in the mail. On a whim I subscribed to it on Uncivilized Books website. They were a little slow getting me the second issue but they had things cleared up by the third issue. It’s got a weird and creepy story about people being driven crazy by a sickness. It’s by the same team that brought us “Black Stars Above” and it’s equally as strange.
Spawn – 337-348
I only started buying Spawn around issue 305 because it was the last of the $3 comics. I figured I should support it and I have. Since Rory McConville took over writing from Todd McFarlane the book has gotten better. A big Spawn war in hell is going on. It’s fun.
What’s the Furthest Place From Here? – 10-16
This one got a little off track for me with its issues in the beginning of the year but now I’m liking it again. It’s a strange comic that takes place in a world without adults. It’s got nice art too.
Best Mini Series
Don’t Spit In The Wind – 1-4
The art in this one caught my eye and I ended up getting the whole series. It’s a strange sci-fi-ish tale of Earth being a garbage dumb and the people sent to clean it up run into some crazy natives. And flamingos. The flamingos just stand there keeping an eye on things.
Dwellings – 1-3
A trio of big thick comics by Jay Stephens. All three have a few stories in them that are drawn like children’s comics but are wild and adult. Good stuff.
Giant Kokju – 1-3
This one is drawn by my old Marvel friend Scott Koblish and his work in it is really good. He puts a lot into these pages. The story is about giant monsters going on sexed-up rampages in cities. Good weird fun!
The Great Gatsby – 7
Since I’ve been into the book “The Great Gatsby” for the last few years I thought I’d note that this adaptation came to an end this year. It was well done and you can get it in the collected edition now. I overpaid for the collected edition hardcover on Kickstarter but you can get the cheaper regular collected edition.
Hey Kids! Comics! Volume 3 – 1-6
The third volume of Howard Chaykin’s history of the comic book industry (with the names changed) ends and I liked it just like I liked the first two volumes. If you like comic book history then check this one out.
Junkyard Joe – 4-6
The second comic in the Geoff Johns and Gary Frank universe was a good one. I liked it even more than “Geiger” that the two did together. Frank’s artwork was the nicest I’ve seen him do. There was a lot more expressiveness in his art than I’ve seen him do before.
Savage Strength of Star Storm – 1-6
I’m still not sure if this comic was the work of an amateur or a slick professional aiming for an amateur vibe. Either way it had a charm and enthusiasm to it that I liked. It’s a massive and sprawling superhero and alien invasion story.
Best Ending of a Series
Ginseng Roots – 12 (of 12)
I only discover this book with issue 10 but I enjoyed the last issue a whole bunch. There won’t be a collected edition for a couple of years but I’ll get that for sure when it comes out.
Time Before Time – 19-29
This was an excellent series and they stuck the landing. I found the last few issues to be quite emotional and was sad to see it go. Probably the best ending to a series since “Birthright.”
Best New Series to Me
World Tree 1-6 (Various Printings)
I picked up the first four issues of this series all at once from my LCS. It’s a cyberpunk story that has some interesting visuals. I look forward to when it resumes with new issues. Hey! It just did. I got issue six this week!
Godzilla: War For Humanity – 3
I picked this one up because of the Jake Smith art and was not disappointed. I didn’t even realize that it was a third issues and not a first issue but now I want to track those down too.
Best Start to a Series
(We’re not deep into the series just yet)
Deviant, The – 1-2
A Christmas noir story. So far I really dug the first two issues.
Edenwood – 1-3
A comic written and drawn by Tony S. Daniels. It’s a fantasy story that’s fun and dramatic. I’ve seen Daniel’s art before but I’ve never seen him write anything. He does a good job here.
Local Man – 1-7, Local Man: Gold (One Shot)
This story of a superhero with a ruined reputation who has to move back to his home town is well done. I like the art a lot and the storytelling is excellent
Ministry of Compliance, The – 1
Only one issues of this so far but I liked it plus I liked the spy to sci-fi twist in it. I’ll buy more.
Petrol Head – 1-2
Tow good issues about a robot in the future who races cars. Or at least he used to. It’s got an odd premise but it’s well done. Once again the art in it grabs me
Best One Shots
Bill Dogma and Jane Legit – (One Shot Magazine Size from Kickstarter)
Though I haven’t seen him in person in about 20 years I went to college with Dean and have always liked his work. This is almost romance comic featuring his two long running characters. It’s fun and poetic.
Dean Haspiel’s Covid Cop – (One Shot from Kickstarter)
This is another cool and fun comic by Dean. I always recommend his stuff. The title gives a good sense of what it’a about. A cop story that grew out of the pandemic.
Chilling Adventures: Fear the Funhouse Toybox of Terror – 1 (One Shot)
This one comic is a stand in for the whole Archie Horror line. I bought about eight of them this year and they’re all pretty good.
Wonderland Annual: Out of Time – One Shot
I’ve never purchased any Zenescope comics before until I decided to give this one a try. I enjoyed it. There were a few stories in it with characters based on old fairy tales and I enjoyed them.
Best Comics I Bought Just for Their Covers
(Sometimes I don’t care about the interiors and just buy a comic book because I like its cover)
Fantastic Four – 7-8 Scott Koblish Variant
I bought this one for the Koblish connecting covers with a hundred figures on them. A whole bunch of characters from Fantastic Four history. I love covers like this.
Femforce – 200
I had no idea Femforce was still around so when I saw this issue at my LCS I decided to buy it. It had a cool cover too.
Something is Killing the Children: Pen and Ink – 1 (One Shot)
This cover is printed on metallic paper. I really liked the way the black and white drawing looked on the metallic paper so I bought it.
Best Series I Worked On
(I did the production on more Bad Idea comics this year.)
The Destroyer – 1 (One Shot)
I think this may be the best of them. It came out in December and I really liked it. It’s kind of a tie-in with Oppenheimer.
The Ends – 1-3 (of 3)
Old WW2 guys against a bunch of gang members in the early 1980s by David Lapham. I always like Lapham’s work.
Escape From Wyoming – 3 (of 3)
A fun ending to an aliens using our planet to house their secret prison story.
The Finder – 1 (One Shot)
A guy is good at finding stuff. Or was that the TV Show? I can’t remember. But I remember it looking pretty.
Inebrio Horsefeathers – 1 (One Shot)
A good Tony Millionaire comic.
They’re All Terrible – 2 (of 2)
This one was a lot of fun. A barbarian army goes on the warpath to get treasure. Mayhem ensues.
By the way I got 30 Facsimile Editions this year. That seems like a lot!