<p>Comics have been all over the place lately like the always are at the end of the year. As such, pull lists have been either humongous or a scant few. This doesn&#8217;t just apply to me, but to all the customers at the shop I manage and spend so much of my time at. Whether they&#8217;re from Marvel or DC, self-contained &#8220;annuals&#8221; are everywhere, including big name teams or bigger name heroes. Sometimes they fit into continuity and sometimes they don&#8217;t. What they always do, though, is come with a higher price tag – five bucks an issue, as it so happens this year.</p>
<p>Normally, I&#8217;d be all over <em>Amazing Spider-Man</em> and telling you all about it, but right now, one event in particular&#8217;s going on – <em>The Spider-Verse</em>! I like it better than the <em>Clone Saga</em>, but as convoluted as it is. Instead of a pull list, this week is all about looking backwards than forwards. Yes, we&#8217;re looking at the very best comics of 2014. I&#8217;ll tell you this much: Image released some comics you just can&#8217;t miss.</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<h2>1. <em>Rat Queens</em></h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05051839/Rat-Queens-Comics-BagoGames.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-70397 size-full" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05051839/Rat-Queens-Comics-BagoGames.jpg" alt="Rat Queens Comics BagoGames" width="800" height="465" /></a></p>
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<p>I already wrote <a href="https://bagogames.com/rat-queens-comic-for-gamers/">a whole feature</a> about this <em>Rat Queens</em>, so what more is there to say? Lots really, but I&#8217;d rather not spoil my favorite book of the year&#8230;.maybe ever. Its popularity has spawned so much fan art, cosplay, and merchandise that nothing can seem to stop the meteoric rise to fame for this title.</p>
<p>Recently, the book&#8217;s needed a new artist for reasons I&#8217;ll not get into here, but it&#8217;s nothing <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/22804-roc-upchurch-off-rat-queens-after-domestic-violence-arrest.html">a Google search</a> won&#8217;t reveal. Regardless, new artist Stjepan Sejic seems quite up to the task of drawing my favorite quartet of kick-ass femme fatales. If you love high fantasy, or have 3ever played a game of D&;D read this book. If you like strong female leads, or like to laugh, Rat Queens is a book you won&#8217;t regret it. Seriously, we can&#8217;t keep the trades or issues on our shelves at my comic shop.</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<h2>2. <em>The Amazing Spider-man</em></h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05051813/The-Amazing-Spider-man-1-BagoGames.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-70401 size-full" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05051813/The-Amazing-Spider-man-1-BagoGames.jpg" alt="The Amazing Spider-man #1 BagoGames" width="800" height="465" /></a></p>
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<p>Peter Parker has proven to be a favorite of mine since I was very young and the character&#8217;s in good hands with Dan Slott helming the book. He seems to have the same love for Spidey as I do and I trust him to write even more compelling stuff in 2015. The Spider-Verse&#8217;s been good, if not a little convoluted in the most fascinating ways.</p>
<p>Slott does a great job of managing all its break-out characters and plot lines, the least of which are Silk and &#8220;Spider Gwen.&#8221; After the dust settles from the war between Spiders and Inheritors, who will be left standing? Keep reading to find out, but know that <em>The Amazing Spider-man</em>&#8216;s proven to be nothing more than that – amazing, if not definitely Superior to the rest of the Marvel.</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<h2>3. <em>The Autumn Lands: Tooth and Claw</em></h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052122/toothandclaw.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-70343 size-full" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052122/toothandclaw.png" alt="toothandclaw" width="181" height="279" /></a></p>
<p>The <em>Autumn Lands</em> seemed to come out of nowhere when it released, but I decided to give a shot on a whim while paging through Previews Magazine and I&#8217;m quite glad I did, because Kurt Busiek writes one hell of a story. In it, anthropomorphic animals rule the skies and the ground below in this world. Magic is fading and a fabled warrior may be needed to save the world.</p>
<p>Autumn Lands&#8217; art is both beautiful and visceral; not an easy combination to pull off, I&#8217;d imagine. Only two issues in, this book took me by storm. Did I mention it is a full forty-eight pages Did I mention there are no ads? This is how a comic book should be. Take notes, Marvel and DC.</p>
<p>We don&#8217;t need an advertisement every two pages or five buck price tags. The three dollar price tag for all this awesome in paper form is some rather tempting icing on a very tasty cake. It&#8217;s good to see creators doing what they want for a change and this is the kind of thing I long to do someday. Support this book and more great creations will follow.</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<h2>Publisher Of the Year: Avatar [<em>Ferals, God is Dead, and Uber</em>]</h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052049/Avatar-Logo.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-70348 size-full" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052049/Avatar-Logo.jpg" alt="Avatar-Logo" width="291" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>Gory, mature, and impeccably written, an Avatar book is unmistakable. They always provide a nice change of pace from super hero comics, its most recent works included. In <em>Ferals</em>, Werewolves are among us and looking to take over the world. In <em>God is dead</em> and the pagan deities want to carve up our world in a bloody fashion. <em>Uber</em>, meanwhile is about super soldiers in an alternate WWII in which the Nazis developed them first as the world played catch-up in a great &#8220;what-if?&#8221; fashion.</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<h2>Runner-up #1: Image [<em>The Fade Out, Skull-Kickers, Wayward, Squarriors</em>]</h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052034/Image-Comics-Logo.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-70351 size-medium" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052034/Image-Comics-Logo-294x300.jpg" alt="Image-Comics-Logo" width="294" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>I feel that, if anything, Image might&#8217;ve offered the most this year for given people looking for something different. <em>Fadeout</em> is a wonderfully done noir murder mystery in graphic novel form; <em>Skullkickers</em>, a comedy book in the manner of <em>Rat Queens</em> in genre and tone; and Wayward, a high fantasy mercenaries and merging humorous hijinks even without having read issues three nor four. Check it out if you like Manga, this book really feels like a well written westernized Manga.</p>
<p>And let&#8217;s not forget an instant favorite of mine – <em>Squarriors</em>. It really reads like a version of <em>Mouse Guard</em> with a far more mature and violent bent and its art is seriously eye popping. I&#8217;m kicking myself now for missing the Kickstarter.</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<h2>Runners-up #2: <em>Avengers, X-Books, Superman Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, World&#8217;s Finest</em></h2>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052042/marvel-dc.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-70349 size-medium" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05052042/marvel-dc-262x300.jpg" alt="marvel-dc" width="262" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>I could never choose between Marvel or DC&#8217;s slate this year, both so much like a roller coaster for me and others. There were great issues and there were some pretty bad ones too. Avengers had great characterization and amazing dialogue. It suffered from a lot of jumping around in the plot and even in time. The X-men issues were pretty good for the same reasons the Avengers were good, throw in some soap opera themes and you got a recipe for success. Just let Wolverine go away though, please.</p>
<p>Superman Wonder Woman really felt like a book for shippers. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, it really is a super powered soap opera that guys can read without feeling guilty (well, not very guilty). The relationship feels organic, but reading a book based on a couple is like standing under a piano or cartoon anvil waiting for it to drop. It&#8217;s going to happen.</p>
<p>Harley Quinn&#8217;s been funny, but I fear it will suffer from over saturation like Deadpool. As it stands it really reads like Deadpool with some cheesecake for the guys and a little beefcake for the ladies. World&#8217;s Finest only made the cut because it included two of my favorite heroines: Huntress and Power Girl. The book became more about Earth 2 and I lost interest.</p>
<h2>Runner Up #3: Big Dot Ink [Critter, Joan of Arc, Ursa Minor, New Warriors]</h2>
<p>Last but not lease, were the fantastic works by Big Dog Ink. I got to meet the writers and artists at C2E2 this year. Great guys with great talent, if I do say so. If you like catgirl super heroes, angelic ass kickers, and were-bear vampire hunters, (and who doesn&#8217;t?) check these titles out.</p>
<p>One day, all of them sadly came to a halt and Big Dot faded away. The good news is they&#8217;ve been acquired by Aspen as an imprint and they might one day return. Chris Yost&#8217;s <em>New Warriors, </em>a book I feel got axed too soon, may be the biggest casualty of the fallout. My time with the team was all too short. I&#8217;m such a fanboy, aren&#8217;t I?</p>
<p>[divider]</p>
<p><em>I&#8217;m sure I left out someone&#8217;s favorite titles. What were your favorite books this year? Let us know in the comments below!</em></p>
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BagoGames > Articles > Geek Culture > Comic Books > The Best Comics of 2014
The Best Comics of 2014
-
By Nate Munson
- Categories: Comic Books, Geek Culture, Opinion
- Tags: AvatarDC ComicsMarvelRat QueensSpider-Man
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