2024 was truly an excellent year for the comic book industry, whether you prefer epic superhero titles from the Big Two, groundbreaking new stories from smaller publishers, or massive graphic novels you can really sink your teeth into. There was definitely something for everyone this year.
There’s not any particular theme to this year’s crop of nominees for Best Comic Book Series or Graphic Novel of 2024. There are certainly superhero books to be found here, with a couple of titles in particular rising above the pack in this always crowded genre. But there were also two original graphic novels that truly amazed us this year, both of which adapted existing works in exciting new ways. These winners represent the comics that stuck with us long after reading, and they definitely belong in your reading pile, too.
Honorable Mentions
It was very tough to narrow down this year’s comic book and graphic novel lineup to just a handful of choices, and there are two books that didn’t quite make the cut but absolutely deserve a mention. One is Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Manu Larcenet’s haunting adaptation of the best-selling novel. McCarthy’s work may be infamously difficult to adapt to film, but given the right artist, it can clearly thrive in comic book form. The other is Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard’s The Power Fantasy. In a year that saw the end of the X-Men’s Krakoan era, The Power Fantasy feels like the spiritual sequel to that storyline in the best way possible.
Runner-Up: Death Strikes - The Emperor of Atlantis
There’s a particularly fascinating back-story to this release from Dark Horse’s Berger Books imprint. It’s based on Der Kaiser von Atlantis, a suppressed WWII-era opera by Peter Kien and Viktor Ullmann, who were both prisoners at the Terezín concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Neither Kien nor Ullmann lived to see their creation performed on stage, which makes this adaptation by Dave Maass and Patrick Lay all the more tragic and vital.
Death Strikes tells the story of a fictional Atlantis locked in perpetual war by its buffoonish Emperor. Disillusioned, Death goes on strike, meaning no one in this endless war can die anymore. That leaves the Spirit of Life with no choice but to inspire others to live and love again.
Death Strikes is a story both hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure. In light of its tragic back-story, the book is a critical reminder of the power of art to uplift and inspire in our darkest moments.
Runner-Up: Somna
Whatever your opinion on DSTLRY’s slightly unusual digital publishing strategy, there’s no denying the publisher has cultivated a truly killer lineup of creators over the past few years. Where else can you read a series written and illustrated by superstars Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay?
Somna will immediately appeal to fans of Robert Eggers’ The Witch, as it’s a story that combines elements of supernatural horror, erotica, and real-world history in a puritanical early American setting. It focuses on a woman named Ingrid, who struggles to find happiness in her repressive marriage even as she experiences nightmares of a terrifying but alluring visitor.
Were we to give out an award for the most visually impressive comic of 2024, Somna would be the series to beat. The book balances Cloonan and Lotay’s respective styles beautifully, drawing stark contrast between Ingrid’s bleak waking life and her sensual nightly hallucinations. It’s little wonder the series won the Eisner for Best New Series of 2024.
Runner-Up: Transformers
The Transformers franchise has always had a pretty solid pedigree in the comic book arena, dating back to the original Marvel comics from the 1980s. However, nothing could have prepared us for just how excellent Skybound’s Transformers would be.
Transformers reboots the franchise as part of Skybound’s ongoing Energon Universe, which unites Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals. But it does so in a way that hearkens back to the classic G1 comics and the beloved animated series. It presents a classic tale of Autobots warring against Decepticons, but with enough depth to become far more than mere nostalgia play.
Transformers makes the most of the incredibly talented Daniel Warren Johnson, who renders some of the most dynamic action scenes and emotionally evocative character moments on the stands right now. This is the best the franchise has been in a long time, regardless of medium.
Winner: The Ultimates
There’s an argument to be made for including each of Marvel’s current Ultimate comics on this list. The new line really is the best thing Marvel published in 2024, putting fresh spins on old favorites like Spider-Man and Black Panther.
That said, no series has done more to realize the wide-open potential of this new universe than Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s The Ultimates. In this series, the clock is ticking down until the return of The Maker (the evil Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe). With two years until doomsday arrives, a teenage Tony Stark and a very different version of Doctor Doom set about assembling a team of heroes capable of resisting The Maker’s Council and freeing the world from their powerful grip.
No current superhero series speaks to the state of the world in 2024 quite like The Ultimates. It’s a story about resistance in an age of disinformation and autocracy. It reinvents some of Marvel’s most iconic heroes in often radical ways. It’s an incredibly exciting read, month after month. And that’s what makes The Ultimates IGN’s pick for the best comic book series of 2024.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
