2024 was a big year for both mainstream comics and for indie comics as well. From the outside looking in it might look like the comic book industry is dying but if you’re actually interested in comic books last year was a huge year for comic books. Both Marvel and DC created whole new universes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers both have had very successful relaunches and so many incredible indie books came out last year. I am personally very excited for this year of comics and I am going to put the books I am most excited for and I hope that this will encourage you to read them.
- Battle Beast by Robert Kirkman Ryan Ottley and Annalisa Leon
For fans of the Invincible TV show this is a great opportunity to read something new that takes place in the same universe. It has been almost 7 years since Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley ended their highly acclaimed Invincible comic and while they have returned to the comic in the television medium they have not in it’s original medium. Battle Beast is one of the best characters from their run and it is one we only got glimpses of and I am so excited to see what they are going to do when they enter this world again.
- Batman Hush 2 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee
Personally I have a lot of hope for this book even though I am very worried it is going to disappoint me. The original Batman Hush story came out over 20 years ago and is one of the modern classic Batman stories. It is super fun and also one of my personal favorites. So to see that the original team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee are coming back to write a sequel gets me very excited. Jeph Loeb also very recently started doing a sequel to his acclaimed Batman comics from the 90s and 2000s The Long Halloween and Dark Victory and that comic has been great so far. My concern is that it seems like this comic may just be retreading the same ground as the original from the 2000s and I think that if it was any other creative team I would be more concerned. But most things these two touch are gold and I think that they have the ability to make another masterpiece.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Jason Aaron
This book started last year and it has been such a great read. It is a great starting point if you want to pick up the first five issues and it has been such a blast. The book starts with all of the turtles split up and each issue so far has depicted what each of the turtles have been doing on their own. Aaron has been accompanied by a different artist for each of the setup issues so far and the latest issues showed what Cassie Jones has been up to. But with issue #6 the turtles will all be back together in New York and personally I can’t wait to see what Aaron is going to do with these characters. Please read the first five issues of this run because it has been truly great.
- Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta
By putting Absolute Batman here I am basically putting the whole absolute universe itself. This thing has just been incredible and it is a great starting point for anyone who wants to get into DC comics. In this universe everything is just a little bit different and the best of those changes is Batman. In this universe Bruce Wayne is not rich, his mom is not dead, all of his mortal enemies are now his friends, and Alfred Pennyworth is a highly trained assassin. If I had to say one word to describe this book it would be awesome. Scott Snyder truly knows how to write Batman no matter what universe and the art in this book is truly some of the best on the page right now. I didn’t know I needed Batman carrying around a battle axe until I read this book. Every character here is interesting and I can not wait to read the next issue. Please, I am begging you to read this book.
- Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman and Mark Checheto
Again like Absolute Batman I want to represent the entire Ultimate Universe right here because it has been so awesome and there are just so many more books on the way. This is the best jumping on point Marvel has had since Jonathan Hickman relaunched the X-Men 6 years ago. All of these books are so good. Personally I would recommend Ultimates along with this but I have heard that Ultimate X-Men is also pretty great. Anyway now let’s talk about why Ultimate Spider-Man is so awesome. This book starts with a great hook. Peter Parker is in his 30s married with kids and never became Spider-Man. It is a book about someone who is suddenly told that something he was supposed to be, never happened and what would happen if he finally got it. And for the past 12 issues of this book it has been nothing short of amazing. We are now entering the second year of the book and things have truly gotten crazy. I don’t want to spoil the book but please read the first 12 issues because the last issue of the book ended on one of the most insane reveals I have ever read in a book and I am so incredibly excited to see what happens next.
If you want to get any of these books you can stop into your local comic book shop which for most people would be Dr. Volts located at 136 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 and Black Cat Comics located at 2261 Highland Dr., Salt Lake City, UT 84106.
