We Need More Science: Our 10 Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels of the Year

The Multiversity demonstrates the potential and variety inherent in the superhero genre while, on another, it argues against the inherent reductiveness of other media strip-mining the comic book medium for intellectual property and the source of the next summer blockbuster. Passionate, intelligent, and heartfelt, it'll make you want to believe that a man could fly. (Expand gallery to full screen to find out why we loved each book.) DC Comics

The Multiversity

Why We Loved it: Grant Morrison's latest superhero epic is amazingly ambitious, with each issue being the “first” issue of a fictional series set on a different earth from what came before, with the overall story switching tone, aesthetic and lead characters every month. On one level, The Multiversity demonstrates the potential and variety inherent in the superhero genre while, on another, it argues against the inherent reductiveness of other media strip-mining the comic book medium for intellectual property and the source of the next summer blockbuster. Passionate, intelligent, and heartfelt, it'll make you want to believe that a man could fly. —Graeme McMillan

DC Comics

With Transformers vs. G.I. Joe, Tom Scioli and John Barber have created something that feels as limitless as playing with toys as children—except that, in this case, the children were Hunter S. Thompson and Philip K. Dick.

IDW Publishing

Transformers vs G.I. Joe

Why We Loved it: Arguably the most unexpected book of the year, there is simply no excuse for Transformers vs. G.I. Joe to be as good as it is on a monthly basis. Borrowing aesthetics and narrative tricks from a number of sources (including, but not limited to, Underground Comix of the 1960s and ‘70s, the latter-era of iconic creator Jack Kirby and the look of videogames from the 1980s), Tom Scioli and John Barber have created something that feels as limitless as playing with toys as children—except that, in this case, the children were Hunter S. Thompson and Philip K. Dick. —Graeme McMillan

IDW Publishing

Although Ms. Marvel had long been the alter ego of Air Force pilot Carol Danvers, this reboot casts a very different young woman as the Marvel superhero: a 16-year-old Muslim Pakistani-American girl named Kamala Kahn.

Marvel Comics

Ms. Marvel

Why We Loved It: Although Ms. Marvel had long been the alter ego of Air Force pilot Carol Danvers, this reboot casts a very different young woman as the Marvel superhero: a 16-year-old Muslim Pakistani-American girl named Kamala Kahn. With a hero whose shape-shifting powers also function as a metaphor for her fluid, second-generation identity issues, this series written by G. Willow Wilson ended up being the one of the smartest, most accessible new Marvel comics in ages, and further proof that heroes can—and should—look like anyone. —Laura Hudson

Marvel Comics

Noelle Stevenson is a treasure. And so was Nimona, her webcomic about the sidekick of a sort-of-supervillainous mad scientist in an offbeat fantasy world where the good guys may not be quite as noble as they seem. Sadly, Nimona ended in September, but the archives are still online and the book will be collected in an upcoming print edition next May.

HarperCollins

Nimona

Why We Loved It: Noelle Stevenson is a treasure. And so was Nimona, her webcomic about the sidekick of a sort-of-supervillainous mad scientist in an offbeat fantasy world where the good guys may not be quite as noble as they seem. Sadly, Nimona ended in September, but the archives are still online and the book will be collected in an upcoming print edition next May. For more of Stephenson’s work, check out her art in The Lumberjanes, another top-notch 2014 comic about girls at a summer camp fighting monsters. —Laura Hudson

HarperCollins

Sex Criminals is a strangely joyful, funny look at sex, shame, depression, growing up, and falling in love, and how meeting the right person can make it all stop … but not forever. With the Sex Police hot on their trail, the honeymoon might finally be over for Susie and Jon, but the real adventure is just starting.

Image Comics

Sex Criminals

Why We Loved It: The high concept behind Sex Criminals is relatively simple: two people learn they have the same sexual superpower—they stop time when they climax—and fall in love and decide to rob banks. It's a strangely joyful, funny look at sex, shame, depression, growing up, and falling in love, and how meeting the right person can make it all stop … but not forever. With the Sex Police hot on their trail, the honeymoon might finally be over for Susie and Jon, but the real adventure is just starting. —Laura Hudson

Image Comics

Against all odds, the revival of a science fiction hero from the 1930s turned out to be one of the most essential releases of the year, thanks in part to writer Jeff Parker’s whimsical sense of humor, and also Evan Shaner and Jordie Bellaire’s beautiful artwork.

Dynamite

Flash Gordon

Why We Loved it: Against all odds, the revival of a science fiction hero from the 1930s turned out to be one of the most essential releases of the year, thanks in part to writer Jeff Parker’s whimsical sense of humor, and also Evan Shaner and Jordie Bellaire’s beautiful artwork. Flash Gordon was fun, plain and simple—a comic that brought a sense of wonder and excitement back to what could have come off as some tired old tropes in less capable hands, and it entertained in a way that felt effortless. —Graeme McMillan

Dynamite

"This is not actually a book about how to be happy," begins How to Be Happy by cartoonist Eleanor Davis. That's debatable, although this series of gorgeously illustrated short stories has other focuses as well: retelling the story of Adam and Eve on a modern commune, a familiar but futuristic tale of family, and a vignette about a peculiar self-help seminar where emotionally constipated people can finally learn how to cry. Fantagraphics Books

How to Be Happy

Why We Loved It: "This is not actually a book about how to be happy," begins this book by cartoonist Eleanor Davis. That's debatable, although this series of gorgeously illustrated short stories has other focuses as well: retelling the story of Adam and Eve on a modern commune, a familiar but futuristic tale of family, and a vignette about a peculiar self-help seminar where emotionally constipated people can finally learn how to cry. Through all of it, there is an odd sense of yearning for something that has been lost, an uncertainty that is its own kind of answer. "Write a story, a story about yourself… now, believe it," writes Davis. "Now write another story, same subject, a better story ... now believe that. Just keep writing, you have plenty of time." —Laura Hudson

Fantagraphics Books

Ales Kot’s metaphysical thriller continues to be one of the most underrated series out there. Told in a non-linear fashion, and with different artists illustrating each issue, Zero is slowly taking apart both the spy genre and the comic medium with great care, before re-assembling them into something new.

Image Comics

Zero

Why We Loved it: More than a year into its run, and Ales Kot’s metaphysical thriller continues to be one of the most underrated series out there. Told in a non-linear fashion, and with different artists illustrating each issue, Zero is slowly taking apart both the spy genre and the comic medium with great care, before re-assembling them into something new, strange and frequently beautiful. Check out #9 (above), with art by Tonci Zonjic, for maybe the best sampler of what to expect from the series; you won’t regret it. —Graeme McMillan

Image Comics

A dense, disturbing graphic novel that was simultaneously a post-apocalyptic YA dystopian fantasy and a metaphorical exploration of what it means to lose your innocence as you grow older, The Wrenchies is definitely not an easy read. But it is worth it.

Macmillan

The Wrenchies

Why We Loved it: A dense, disturbing graphic novel that was simultaneously a post-apocalyptic YA dystopian fantasy and a metaphorical exploration of what it means to lose your innocence as you grow older, The Wrenchies was definitely not an easy read. Creator Farel Dalrymple managed to create a world that felt utterly encompassing, even as it fills you with dread. To borrow a phrase, it’s a heartbreaking work of staggering genius—and something that will make you immediately search out Dalrymple’s entire back catalog. —Graeme McMillan

Macmillan

Over the last several years, the webcomics world has learned to regard cartoonist Emily Carroll as a modern master of horror, but now she's hitting bookstores with her first print collection, Through the Woods.

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Through the Woods

Why We Loved It:

Over the last several years, the webcomics world has learned to regard cartoonist Emily Carroll as a modern master of horror, but now she's hitting bookstores with her first print collection,

Through the Woods

. If you'd like a taste of her world—or just never want to sleep again—check out "

His Face All Red

," "

Out of Skin

" and her new holiday-themed horror tale, "

All Along the Wall

—Laura Hudson

Margaret K. McElderry Books

DC Comics

IDW Publishing

Marvel Comics

HarperCollins

Image Comics

Dynamite

Fantagraphics Books

Image Comics

Macmillan

Through the Woods

Why We Loved It:

Over the last several years, the webcomics world has learned to regard cartoonist Emily Carroll as a modern master of horror, but now she's hitting bookstores with her first print collection,

Through the Woods

. If you'd like a taste of her world—or just never want to sleep again—check out "

His Face All Red

," "

Out of Skin

" and her new holiday-themed horror tale, "

All Along the Wall

—Laura Hudson

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Reboots of vintage characters, two toy lines sharing the same page, an entirely new Ms. Marvel on the scene—2014 was a pretty eclectic year in the world of comics and graphic novels. It had a whole new multiverse from Grant Morrison and a pair of Sex Criminals, too. Peruse the gallery above to see our 10 favorite books of 2014.

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