Last year around this time, I accepted the task of naming some of the best comics of the year. It was a daunting task then and it is just as difficult now. Mainly because the same problem applies. There was so much great content out there to consider. And just like last year, catching, let alone reading everything that is available for public consumption continues to be almost impossible.
This year, like last, I mainly focused on the indie titles. But what I realized this year, was that while I previewed and reviewed a large number of titles, I also read quite a few that I didn’t. Most Indie, but some not. With that in mind, this year, while I am still focusing on many of the titles that I DID review, I will also throw in some I read but didn’t have the opportunity to write about. A good book is a good book, whether I wrote about them or not.
So, with that in mind, I give you, MY best of 2022. These are not ranked in any order and (like last year) are just a small sample of the books that were available throughout the year. Starting with the limited series books.
Series
Mad Cave Studios ‘Nottingham Vol. 2: A King’s Ransom’ by David Hazan, Shane Connery Volk, Luca Romano and Justin Birch
This was the follow-up to the highly acclaimed Vol.1 of the series which made our last year’s best of list. Considering the pressure in following up on their premier efforts, writer Hazan and artist Shane Connery Volk didn’t disappoint. Following up with an intense and even more gritty adaptation continuation of the Robin Hood tale. Introducing new and exciting characters (Aya, the Hashashin ) while adding even more intrigue on both fronts, with King Richard and Maid Marian. As impossible of a task as it seemed, the five-issue series of Nottingham, Vol. 2 improved in both theme and art and was pretty much a no-brainer for one of the best of 2022.
Ahoy Comics ‘G.I.L.T.’ by Alisa Kwitney and Alain Mauricet
When I had the pleasure of talking to talented writer Alisa Kwitney back in April, she had described her new Ahoy Comic series G.I.L.T (The Guild of Independent Lady Temporalists) as being like “The Golden Girls meets Sex and the City—by way of the Twilight Zone.” She was not wrong. Alisa filled the 5-issue series with spicy, intelligent dialogue, coming from intriguing and relatable characters. Not to mention all the quirks and paradoxes that time travel can and did impose. Especially when you don’t follow the rules. When mixed with prodigious artistic talent that IS Alain Mauricet, G.I.L.T. played all the right “time” cards to be included in our best of 2022.
Source Point Press ‘Corollary’ by Adam Rose, Robert Ahmad, Gabby Metzler and DC Hopkins
One of the things that I love about this job is when a creative team has the courage to promote and push their work out to make something happen. That is what writer Adam Rose did when he reached out to us give his new Source Point Press Series Corollary a try. A series that explores a sci-fi world where EVERYONE comes in pairs. The only problem with that is when one of the set dies, it is expected that the surviving twin also expires. Think of Logan’s Run except instead of turning 30 years old being the cut-off point, it is the demise of your biological twin. Neither sounds particularly appealing.
The creative team behind Corollary ran with the idea. Exploring the events when a pair of adventure seeking twins attempted to beat the system when one of them was killed. All the while hiring their services to free their parents from incarceration. Along the way, Rose mixed in homages to other science fiction tropes while using the watercolor imagery of artist Robert Ahmad to great effect. Courage paid off in this case with a fun series and a best of 2022 inclusion.
Image Comics ‘Beware the Eye of Odin’ by Doug Wagner, Tim Odland, Michelle Madsen, and Ed Dukeshire
This was one of the series that I read voraciously but somehow only actually reviewed the first issue. A “Pox on Me for a Clumsy Lout.” (You can never go wrong quoting Jimmy Stewart from Its a Wonderful Life.) Regardless, the four-book series was a delightful look at the legend of Odin’s Eye and a young warrior’s quest to return it from whence it came. (No, not Odin but Mimir, King of the Frost Giants).
Along the way he teams with the one-armed warrior Stigr who yearns to prove his warrior’s worth and the whimsical Kadlin who believes herself to be a Valkyrie. Together in this four-issue series, they risk Trolls, Frost Giants and other mystical creatures to return the eye, and perhaps to overcome curses and earn a future in Valhalla. But more importantly, they earned a place amongst the best of 2022.
Ahoy Comics ‘My Bad’ Vol. 1 by Mark Russell, Bryce Ingman, Peter Krause, Kelly Fitzpatrick and Rob Steen
This one actually started at the end of 2021, but it ended in 2022. However, it was too good to let a little thing like timing mess up its inclusion. Writers’ Mark Russell and Bryce Ingman pulled out all their comic stops in this brilliant homage to the silver age of comics. Colorful neurotic heroes and even more colorful villains battle it out for truth, justice, popularity and better parking spaces. Even spoofs of the iconic comic ads are included, leaving no comic trope unturned. Mixed with the ever-talented artwork of Peter Krause, My Bad was anything but and put a firm head lock on their comic baddies as one of 2022’s best.
Mad Cave Comics ‘Show’s End: The Second Coming‘ by Anthony Cleveland, Jeferson Sadzinski, Fabi Marquez and Justin Birch
With this follow-up to Cleveland and Sadzinski’s tour deforce Show’s End, Vol. 1, the creators and Mad Cave had set a high bar for their continuation of the series. Fortunately, Show’s End: The Second Coming proved the creative team were up for the challenge. Bringing Loralye and her family into another narrative full of twists and turns, character reveals, and demonic mayhem.
Just like in the first volume, with this five-issue series, Cleveland takes the reader through tragic moments, and surprising revelations, all brought to life with Sadzinski’s bloody mad skills and colorist Fabi Marquez’s perfectly mood setting pallet. With the door opened for another volume, Show’s End: The Second Coming has set another obstacle of greatness for its sequel to surpass. It made our list of the best of 2022.
Titan Comics/ Hard Case Crime ‘Gun Honey: Blood for Blood’ by Charles Adai, Ang Hor Kheng, Asifur Rahman, and David Leach
This was one of those titles that I read but didn’t get a chance to write about. It was the follow-up to Titan Comic’s successful first volume of Gun Honey. In this 4-issue series, Blood for Blood continued with the tale of Joanna Tan. Procurer of firearms for anyone who needs them and who can afford her price. Of course, you can’t be involved in the gun trade without making some enemies along the way.
Fortunately for Joanna, she is as deadly and skilled using her weapons (and her fists and feet) as she is obtaining them. All of those skills will come to the forefront, when she is framed for several murders. People who were related to highly influential and shady people, now out for revenge. With that in mind, Gun Honey: Blood for Blood is filled with enough action, escapes and scantily attired females to make any Bond fan feel right at home. A guilty pleasure for me and one of the best of 2022.
Special Mentions
Last year, I had a category for one of the miscellaneous things I encountered over the year. So, before we get to single issues, we will continue that trend once again with:
Best Bang for the Buck from Kickstarter
Mercury Comics ‘Atomika, God is Red’ Omnibus by Sal Abbinanti
If there is one thing that Sal Abbinanti has proven, it is that he knows how to give fans who support his Kickstarter campaigns a huge bargain for their contributions. He did so last year for his title The Hostage and met that challenge once again with his Atomika, God is Red Omnibus. Just as with his Hostage package, Sal included a beautifully bound book along with a stitched in ribbon bookmark, printed bookmarks, stickers, and even a hand painted post card. Once again, reigning supreme in this category for the 2nd straight year.
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Single Issues
Humanoids Chronophage by Tim Seeley, Ilias Kyriazis and Crank!
Tim Seeley and Ilias Kyriazis’s Chronophage does an intelligent deep dive into time, what makes up a person’s life and the horrors of what happens when moments are stolen. All the while making the reader think about how moments, both good and bad, make up the sum of a life. Not to mention what happens to others when those moments are missing. It’s like a mix of It’s a Wonderful Life but replaces Clarence with a time sucking sexual predator. Add in the skilled efforts of Ilias Kyriazis’s horrific visions and sexually energetic panels and you have a book that entices and horrifies at the same time. Which is a combination that is hard to beat and made it “time” for Chronophage to make our list of the best of 2022.
Iron Circus Comics Real Hero Shit by Kendra Wells
I was introduced to this title when I had the opportunity to interview creator Kendra Wells back in September 2021. Just Kendra’s picture alone showed me a whimsical spirit. But when I received their book Real Hero Shit in February of 2022, it combined that spirit with a deft understanding of character, adventure and humor that drew me in almost immediately. Especially the love hate relationship between the self-centered prince Eugene and the short in stature but tall in attitude Ani. The oil and water mix that was destined to become a relationship…and a fun one at that. With art that reflected an animated feel, and smart and spicy dialogue, Real Hero Shit saved the day and earned a spot in our best of 2022.
Maverick’s World Class by Jay Sandlin, Patrick Mulholland, Rebecca Nalty, and Justin Birch
When the Maverick YA Imprint was introduced by Mad Cave, their tag line for their books was “Anyone can find themselves within the pages.” World Class by Jay Sandlin and Patrick Mulholland is a prime example of that creedo. It tells the story of young high school soccer phenom Adrian “The Columbian Cannon” Molina. Though his skill on the soccer field, he soon has an opportunity to move away from his family and advance his soccer career. But it comes at the expense of leaving friends and family behind.
Soon, he is faced with problems that he had never dealt with before. Bullies at school and on the soccer team as well as the prospect of making new friends. Not to mention the pressure of living up to the hype that his talent brings. World Class explores all these challenges with an honest and relatable approach and exceptional artwork by Patrick Mulholland. In the end, World Class scores with a place on our best of 2022.
White Cat Entertainment Long Ago & Far Away by Chris Mancini, Fernando Pinto, and Troy Peteri
This was another title that was introduced to me when I had the opportunity to talk to talented writer/creator Chris Mancini. What I found was a whimsical look at group of nerdy kids whose love of comics had them working at a local comic book shop. Throughout the day, they would listen to their friend Jason regale them with tale of how he journeyed to and saved the Magical Kingdom of Elvenwood. Not that THEY believed him.
Come to find out, Jason was telling the truth. Soon he and his friends would find themselves once again asked to save the Kingdom against the evil Witch Queen Nexis. Along the way, and through the adventure that followed, Mancini would touch upon thoughts of Alan Moore, Jack Kirby, Agents of Shield and a treasure trove of homages any geek would appreciate. The understanding Mancini has of the comic geek culture along with the whimsical art of Fernando Pinto made Long Ago & Far Away, a tale worthy of the best of 2022. Whether you believe it or not.
Graphic Universe (an imprint for Lerner Books) – ‘Unretouchable’ by Sofia Szamosi
This honest and relatable title discusses the subjects of self-esteem, body image, and what all goes into it. Creator Sofia Szamosi explores those topics and more with her title character, Olive. Olive is a typical teen-age girl, obsessed with social media and the “beautiful people,” while wondering why SHE isn’t one of them. Even though her friends tell her otherwise.
After graduating high school, Olive’s mother gets her an internship at a fashion magazine. Olive soon learns all about photo-retouching and how everything you see (or think you see) in the magazines isn’t necessarily real. Through it all she learns a great deal about the business world and more importantly, that how you see yourself is just as important or maybe even MORE important than how others see you. A valuable lesson well told and the image of one of 2022’s best.
So Many More
There were so many more I could have included. But that could have put me well into 2023. But rest assured there were so many great series and titles out there that are indeed worthy of inclusion. However, as for now, these are my selections. Your choice and mileage may vary. As always, we encourage you to make a case for some of your favorites. There are NO wrong answers. Just opinions. We look forward to another strong year of comics with GVN following it as best as we can every step of the way. Happy New Year!
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.