2024 was a stacked year for comic book releases, new universes seemed to pop up every week, indie releases only seemed to get better and better, some of comics’ biggest and best names have put out career defining work and we’ve seen record breaking numbers for every major publisher out there. All in all, 2024 has been an incredible year, but off all that amazing work, what was the absolute best? The crème de la crème. The cream of the crop. The books that border on being perfect? Let’s discuss my top 5 books of 2024.

Of course, with any list like this I need to preface it with this: This is my list of books, formed by my own reading habits and my own preferences. While I try to express exactly what it is that makes these books as good as they are, I am aware that I cannot make everyone happy with this list. I haven’t read everything that came out this year, far from it, my head would explode if i were to do that. But I do genuinely love all of these books, and I hope that, if you haven’t already, you manage to pick one or two up and see what you think for yourself.

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees

Patrick Horvath’s “Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees” is without a doubt the most versatile book on this list. On the outside you may look at this book the way you do your average children’s picture book, colorful animal characters included, but inside you’ll find contents akin to the best seasons of Dexter. An engaging murder-mystery that utilizes the medium in such a creative way it hasn’t really left my brain since reading it months ago.

I can’t really put into words how effective Horvath’s book is besides just explaining to you how it stuck with me. Truth be told, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about the book after finishing the trade a few months ago. Yes, I enjoyed myself a ton and the gorgeous interiors did blow me away but was this a book I considered among the best I’d read? No… right? Well since then I’ve read dozens of other trades yet none stuck with me the way “Beneath The Trees” did. It’s haunting imagery stuck with me more so than any epic – big two – splash page. The Juxtaposition of art and writing never came to the heights it did here. No book seemed to generate the sorrow and dolefulness of this one. Simply put; no book was like “Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees”.

If you like a solid murder mystery, pick up “Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees”. If you like stunning art, pick up “Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees”. If you like both? What are you still doing reading this???  Pick up “Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees”!!!

Avengers Twilight

There aren’t a lot of Superhero tropes I like more than a good alternate universe story, especially an alternate future story; What are my faves up to after a few more decades pass? How are they faring in a dark dystopian future or a past infused by swords and sorcery? Who doesn’t wanna know the answers to such burning questions? Yet, it seemed the best ones are a thing of the past – until last year that was. Chip Zdarsky brought back the genre in a big way . Paired up with Daniel Acuña, Zdarsky is able to create an exciting look at the Marvel universe in 30 years. 

In a medium that often doesn’t allow any real growth or progression for its characters or world, these rare gems are the only thing satiating the craving I sometimes cannot seem to ignore. And when the characterization is as good as it is in “Avengers: Twilight”, it’s easy to see how this shoots up to being one of my favorites of the year. 

Seriously, the characters in this book are written perfectly; what otherwise would be quite the basic and cliched story becomes something more because we’re introduced to these exciting new versions of characters we’ve loved for so long. I don’t think a single character featured in this story acts in a way that doesn’t feel like a very logical progression of what we know them as in the present day MU and the newer versions of heroes we know and love are all well-rounded additions to the mythos.

Zdarsky’s top-tier writing paired with Acuña’s stunning interiors (The best interiors published by Marvel this year without a doubt) make this a must have.

The Moon Is Following Us

Daniel Warren Johnson and Riley Rossmo are two of comics most engaging and unique artistic talents, both delivering stunning and fluid interiors every time they jump on a book. So when these two artistic titans decide to make a book together, You are damn right I’m gonna be enjoying the hell out of it. And “The Moon Is Following Us” manages to deliver on all my wildest fantasies. The two artists worked together to create a stunning story about parenthood that has somehow managed to surprise me with its quality every issue even while expectations are at an all time high. 

While some books that share a team of artists on interiors can feel frustrating and annoying as the story bounces between art-styles, “The Moon Is Following Us” uses its creative team to its fullest capabilities. I wouldn’t want to spoil just why or how these two managed to create this story so perfectly as a duo, but once that page hits, once you realise what DWJ and Rossmo are doing, you’ll immediately be hooked. 

We are only about half-way done with the story so far, with issue 6 of 10 releasing next month, so there is still a slim chance both Rossmo and DWJ manage to mess things up as they make their way to the finish line but knowing how consistently both creatives manage to deliver, I won’t be too scared of that happening. Instead I implore you to put this book on your reading list and engulf yourself into this world every month when new issues are released.

Boy Wonder

I’ve never been a huge Robin fan. Sure, I’ve liked a lot of Robin (adjacent) comics, I’ll always champion his place in the Batman mythos and respect the fact that he is integral to Bruce Wayne’s development as a character, but I’ve never been ecstatic to pick up a Robin book (no matter who might be under that domino mask). That was until this year, when creative juggernaut Juni Ba decided to take a crack at the character in his stunning and beautiful “Boy Wonder” book.

“Boy Wonder” follows Damian Wayne as he sets on an adventure that pairs him up with almost all the mainline Robins of the past. Juni Ba’s take on each Robin is distinct and fresh yet still a familiar version that maintains the core of what each Robin represents. He’s able to create such perfect renditions of these beloved characters that most of them have quickly shot up to the top of my list of iterations, with Jason Todd being the main highlight. Ba’s Jason is so perfectly heart-wrenching yet brutal that it’s hard not to crave an entire Red Hood book by Juni.

Ba’s writing of these characters is so perfect that it almost makes you forget to mention his stellar art-work. His work is dynamic, colorful, fluid and wholly original; there is not a single book that has come out this year that looks even close to Boy Wonder. Ba is a singular talent who’s style feels like a breath of the freshest air in this modern day landscape of hyper-realistic superhero comics. There is a story book quality to Ba’s art that pairs very nicely with the way he tells this story that makes the entire thing feel like a perfect Gotham Fairy Tale.

The collected edition of “Boy Wonder” releases next month so don’t forget to pick up your copy and let this beautiful book wash over you. 

Ultimates

Anyone who’s been following me for a while knows this was an inevitability. “Ultimates” has been at the top of my reading list every month since its announcement and has increasingly blown my expectations out of the water with each passing issue. Written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by Juan Frigeri (as well as Phil Noto taking over art duties for the much-talked-about fourth issue) Ultimates cements itself as the best superhero book of the year, maybe potentially even the best superhero book of the decade – if I may be so bold. 

While the new Ultimate universe has been incredible, no book manages to pack the punch that Ultimates does (which is saying a lot given just how excellent every Ultimate title has been thus far) mainly because it really earns that “Ultimate Universe” title. Ultimates is an Ultimate Universe book, it knows what that Ultimate moniker means and has meant in decades prior and uses that to create something familiar yet wholly different from it’s 2000’s counterparts. Ultimates feels like a perfect blend of that vibrant world-building so prevalent in Bendis’ early issues of Ultimate Spider-Man and the timely, politically charged real-world commentary of the original Ultimates Run, two books that ended up defining what the Ultimate moniker would come to mean in the present day. 

Ultimates is action packed, heartfelt, thought provoking, topical, scathing, gruesome in the best ways and absolutely stunning to look at and the book of 2024. Please, do yourself a favor and pick up each new issue as it releases in 2025, I’m sure Camp and co, have so much more in store for us as the Ultimate Universe begins to unravel this summer, and you just don’t wanna miss out on that now do you???

What were your favorite releases of 2024? Tell me in the comments and let me know which books you’re excited for this year. We’ll be looking at those upcoming titles in the next Ghost Writes post.

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