10 Best Comic Books of the Decade
Try and imagine that it’s 2010 again. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was still in its infancy, and The first Avengers film was still two years away from being released. Essentially, comic books were still just comic books, and hadn’t quite ventured into the public consciousness just yet. The ten years following have seen a boom in the industry, thanks to the popularity of both film and television, and an increased diversity of both readers and creators. Comics are everywhere now, from every publisher, and in every medium. You can find a comic for you anywhere, whether it’s a small webcomic or a popular superhero, there’s something for everyone now! We’ve asked some of our favorite writers, filmmakers, podcasters, artists, and more to share some of their most beloved comics from this decade, and we encourage you to check some of these fantastic stories out. Even if you’ve never read a comic before, there’s always time to start now!
Paper Girls
Shamefully, this is very nearly the only comic of the 2010s that I’ve even read, so I’m sort of forced to choose it! Been too busy catching up on 80s superhero nonsense. Anyway, Paper Girls … while the story hooked me instantly, ultimately it was the artwork that kept me loyal. Loved Cliff Chiang’s completely unique rendering: stylized yet realistic, and with a wonderful sketchy quality. Then Matt Wilson’s gorgeous color palette, dominated by pinks, purples, and teals, really sealed the deal. The story? Ultimately it didn’t really come together for me … but the journey was worth it! Great characters, relationships, concepts, and dialog with fun 80s nostalgia and time travel hijinks!
Jacob Hunt is an Illustrator/graphic designer/cartoonist/rock-and-roller at tracermetula.com and @juncobath on Instagram.
Deadpool
When I first read the witty, snarky R-rated banter of Wade Wilson, I was hooked. He says the things we wish we could say. I love that. Deadpool is flawed, but knows he's flawed. He doesn't hide who he is. I bought Deadpool Assassin this past year and loved every page of it. The movies add layers to his character, bringing to life his humanity, and made me empathize with his character even more. Deadpool (2016) was basically an R-rated rom-com set in the Marvel universe. And you can't help but fall in love with this foul-mouthed mercenary with a katana blade and incurable cancer by the time the credits roll. Deadpool is the hero we didn't know we needed.
Violet Conner is a screenwriter based out of Phoenix, Arizona. When she's not spending time on Instagram or Twitter, she's parenting her two children and watching movies. Writing with themes of empathy and humanity that reach the emotional core is a huge passion for her. Essentially, the human equivalent of a Hallmark card.
Here
The graphic novel Here by Richard McGuire is really fascinating because it's a non-linear story that takes place in one location over the course of history and the future. The art style is incredible and the concept is unparalleled. It focuses on one corner of a room from the beginning of time to the end and shows off many different time periods. While the story is very contained and small it also feels huge and epic.
Adam Petrey is an atlanta filmmaker with three short films under his belt that also moonlights as a freelance video editor.
SAGA
This is my first decade reading comics actually, so I have to say that my favorite is the one that started it all: SAGA. I was always intimidated by comics. They seemed to require a muscle and set of visual skills that I just didn't have. But Fiona Staples’ art makes it not only easy to read but a delight. I love her imaginative creatures and how she brings them to life with facial expressions—and not just the main characters but everyone from little Ghus to Prince Robot (who doesn't even have a face). And I am now a complete disciple of Brian K. Vaughn (PAPER GIRLS is a close second favorite). It’s a wonderful, gross, beautiful, scary world, and I'm in love.
Kerry Carlock and husband/filmmaking partner Nick Lund-Ulrich are currently working on their second feature RED KNIGHTS FOREVER while their first one, ARMSTRONG, can be seen on Amazon Prime.
Mister Miracle
I love Kirby's Fourth World and in particular Scott and Barda. It's an amazing glimpse into a mind operating at peak creativity. So that makes what Tom King and Mitch Gerads did even more impressive. They took the unfettered imagination of Kirby and distilled it down into a touching story about a family dealing with their issues. I read Mister Miracle with my wife and filmmaking partner Kerry Carlock, and seeing her fall in love with these characters is what comic books are all about.
Nick Lund-Ulrich and wife/filmmaking partner Kerry Carlock are currently working on their second feature RED KNIGHTS FOREVER while their first one, ARMSTRONG, can be seen on Amazon Prime.
The Fade Out
Narrowing this down to just one book was rough. There are so many published this year that have a valid claim to this title, but I decided to talk about one that might be flying under the radar of a lot of “Best of Decade” lists, and one that will interest readers of this site. The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is a comic about the last days of the old Studio System and the cover-up of the murder of a starlet. It’s a classic Film Noir about two writers trying to uncover the mystery the studio they work for is trying to hide from the public. The subject is nothing new—it’s well known how corrupt the only studio system actually was back in the day—but the story is riveting and the art is the best Sean Phillips has ever done. Even going so far as to replicate iconic Hollywood buildings and landmarks in his artwork. And if you buy it in single issues, which you can via online, it’ll also come with essays in the back about the era (unsure if they’re in the full trade). This book makes the “Best of Decade” because it’s something you don’t often see in comics these days, a period piece that doesn’t have some fantastical element to it. The Fade Out is just a story about a couple of men over their heads in a conspiracy that may or may not end well for them.
Daniel L. Emmons is a comedian and screenwriter from Los Angeles, you can catch him on the horror-comedy based sketch team Nightchurch on facebook or youtube.
SAGA
I love comics. Let's just start with that. I spent a large amount of my childhood reading comic books and fueling my imagination with the vast world of superheroes and such. That said, the 2010s were all about realizing that the medium is SO much more than just people in tights punching each other. I began college in 2010, and quickly found the work of writer Brian K. Vaughn to be some of the most interesting and relatable genre stories I'd ever come across, including film and novels. I was hooked from the moment I first opened Vaughn and artist Pia Guerra's now-legendary Y: The Last Man, which was published from 2002 to 2008. In 2012, he and creator Fiona Staples began work on what can only be described as an epic space opera that tackles everything from star crossed lovers to having to find a babysitter (And finding one in a teenage ghost. This story is wild). This comic, of course, is Saga, Vaughn's magnum opus that has reached 54 issues as of this year, and is only halfway finished. From the incredible plot, world building, and relatable characters, to the mind bending art and colors by Staples, Saga is easily my favorite comic of this decade. Just knowing that there will be another 54 issues of this story makes me giddy with excitement, and I can't wait to see where they take it next. I expect it'll make me laugh, cry, and feel just about every other emotion along the way.
Colby McHugh is a writer who loves pop culture in all of its many mediums, who also would like to write comics one day. Any artists interested in talking ideas or just shooting the shit can email him at showandtellwords@gmail.com
The Flintstones
It may seem odd to choose an adaptation of a beloved sixties cartoon as the best comic of the decade, but considering said decade began with President Barack Obama and ended with President Donald Trump, perhaps it’s only appropriate. Forget whatever preconceived notions you may have—Mark Russell and Steven Pugh’s The Flintstones is a seminal work of graphic literature, a satire so thoroughly and compellingly realized it feels less like a fantasized version of our past and more like a stark premonition of things to come. Bitterly ironic and achingly human, Russell and Pugh’s interpretation of the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon extends far beyond a simple spoof of The Honeymooners, taking the familiar premise and characters and coloring in the lines of their world with the absurd details of our own. From Bedrock’s denizens being devoured by consumerism to the perils of a society coming up for air after a lengthy war, to the existential crisis of being a living vacuum cleaner kept in a closet for most of your natural life, The Flintstones casts its wide-reaching net of satirical humanism with a sharp-eyed focus and a biting wit. Oddly enough, this series of prehistoric hijinks acts as a perfect time capsule of what life was like in the 2010s.
Nathan Cabaniss is based out of Lawrenceville, GA, where he lives a life consisting primarily of danger, intrigue and Netflix. His fiction has appeared in various publications, in both English and in French. 2016 saw the publication of his first collection of short stories, Mares in the Night, and his short novel The Mummy’s Hand At the Center of the Universe was released in 2018.
Totally Awesome Hulk
This decade has been all about diversity and self-expression, so it’s easy to say that The Totally Awesome Hulk created by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa is my favorite comic book of the decade. Amadeus Cho is the Totally Awesome Hulk, but his first appearance in Marvel comics was way back in 2005, making him one of the first Korean American comic book characters I’d ever seen. So when he got his first stand alone series in 2015, I was stoked! In The Totally Awesome Hulk, we get to see what the Hulk is like when he shares a body with an overconfident, teenage genius. Unlike Bruce Banner’s Hulk, Cho basks in the glory of his powers and uses them, somewhat recklessly, to stop monsters that are terrorizing the earth; so he’s kind of like your friendly neighborhood … Hulk.
Sonya May is a video editor and aspiring screenwriter living in the greater Atlanta area.
Chew
While the first issue of Chew by John Layman (words) and Rob Guillory (art) was released in 2009, the bulk of the 60-issue series was released in the 2010’s and it is by far the most imaginative, fun, and original piece of entertainment I’ve enjoyed in ANY MEDIUM over the past decade. Chew tells the story of Tony Chu, a detective who has the ability to take on the memories of anything he eats. So in order to solve murders… well, you can see where this is going. And yet somehow the set-up of this series is the least weird thing about it. My favorite comics are the ones that work best as comics, not as storyboards for a movie or TV show. That means truly taking advantage of the medium and its unique storytelling abilities. And while there have been rumblings of a Chew TV show, there’s no way another medium could come close to capturing the pure insanity and zaniness on display in these pages. I highly recommend you consume this series with the same zeal that Tony Chu might consume… well, you can see where this is going.
Hudson Phillips is a writer, producer and founder of MirrorBoxFilms.com
