My Favorite Comic Books of the First Half of 2023
While comic book stories have certainly taken their lumps at the box office this year (unless you’re Across the Spider-Verse, of course), the books themselves have had numerous high points.
Since we’re now into July, it seemed like a fitting time to look back at comic books from the first half of 2023, and write up some recommendations on my favorites of the year so far. Like last year’s first-half list, these aren’t “ranked” and are instead just a collection of my favorite individual comic book issues of 2023 so far across a variety of publishers.
Have picks of your own? Share your selections in the replies.
(warning: spoilers ahead)
DC: Batman: One Bad Day — Clayface #1 (Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly/Xermanico)
I enjoyed the entire “One Bad Day” collection, but the Clayface issue really took the cake as a pinnacle of what this sort of one-off project can yield, especially in very capable hands (as is the case here, in this surprising success).
Xermanico, Lanzing and Kelly quickly plant you in their version of Hollywood, in parts populated by the writers’ own experiences in the industry, as Basil Karlo (Clayface) tries to put villainy behind him. Of course, that sounds easier in theory than it is in practice. The resulting story is a fascinating dive into the insecurities that are just as important to Clayface’s persona as the clay is. I’d read an ongoing set in this world, without question.
Marvel: Fantastic Four #7 (Ryan North/Iban Coello)
The new Fantastic Four series starts part-mystery box and part-”mystery of the week,” and even with the mystery box coming to a close rather quickly, North and Coello have kept the weekly investigation elements intact. As a result, the Fantastic Four get to exist in a bit of a bubble that examines the family dynamics that have always defined the team best.
Of course, there was a key cast member missing before #7 (which also serves as legacy #700) — Doctor Doom. His arrival is appropriately over-the-top and also quintessentially Doom, as are his efforts to try to accomplish what Reed Richards couldn’t. The oversized issue has a lot of story in it, but it never feels too long. Instead, you just want more of a time-hopping, desperate Doom.
BOOM! Studios: Something Is Killing the Children #28 (James Tynion IV/Werther Dell’Edera)
The slow burn of SIKTC issues had a major payoff in #25, and another big one in #28, making the wait more than worthwhile. In #28, Erica comes face to face with Cutter, who functions quite effectively as a foil — showing readers the razor-thin line between Erica’s apparent morality around death versus Cutter’s more ruthless approach.
Cutter’s preference to “play with her food” instead of simply ending Erica creates more psychological dread for the story and ramps up the stakes even further as this town seems poised to be torn apart much like Erica’s previous stop in Wisconsin.
Image: Deep Cuts #1 (Kyle Higgins & Joe Clark/Danilo Beyruth)
I didn’t know how I was going to feel about Deep Cuts, a jazz anthology series, but have been a fan of Higgins’s previous work around Power Rangers and Radiant Black. Here, he hits some different notes (pun intended) however, elevated further by Beyruth’s pencils and Igor Monti’s colors — both of which effectively transport readers to early 1900s New Orleans and the struggles that came with it.
Protagonist Charlie Stewart is immediately recognizable and relatable, and the story plays with his and the reader’s emotions as Charlie teeters on the brink of success and failure until the very end. It takes talent to build a completely new world and characters to care about in one book, but the team delivers quite well on that here.
Marvel: Immortal X-Men #10 (Kieron Gillen/Lucas Werneck)
Admittedly, the ideas around Sins of Sinister — which this issue sets up — are more exciting than much of its execution. But that doesn’t take away from Immortal X-Men #10’s success showcasing the depravity of Mister Sinister and how much of the Quiet Council’s initial purpose has been completely rotted out at this point.
Gillen drops hints of what’s to come throughout but you don’t really see what’s coming ’til the very end — which brings its own wave of uncertainty and doom about what’s next. Where Immortal X-Men’s succeeded so well overall is how deeply it understands the Quiet Council members, their fears and their faults. This issue puts them all on display without pulling any punches.
DC: Human Target #11 (Tom King/Greg Smallwood)
Yes, I’m a sucker for a Tom King story, but Human Target’s first few and last few were all excellent reads, and I’m focusing on #11 here. In a series where the big question is “who kills Christopher Chance?” we get the most obvious answer, Ice. But it’s not that simple, as readers of the series know just how much Ice has grown to care about Chance over the course of these preceding days.
The result is a showcase for Smallwood’s art and colors, exhibiting deep and complex emotions for both characters as they near the end of this 12-issue run. After everything that’s happened, it’s Chance who’s cold as ice about his impending fate, while Ice melts under the weight of what’s about to happen.
Image: No/One #1 (Brian Buccellato & Kyle Higgins/Geraldo Borges)
When solicits first appeared around No/One, it sounded like an interesting extension of the Massive-verse (especially with the multimedia accompaniments), but ultimately not my style. Yet, #1 hooked me just like other Higgins stories have, playing up a a world of copycat killers and mystery that maybe even give off some Dark Knight vibes?
Even if parallels between this Pittsburgh and Batman’s Gotham (both are main characters in true crime stories) exist, they don’t overwhelm or lean in too hard. And the first issue is more focused on planting the seeds of mystery and world-building than the importance (or lack thereof?) of the vigilantism.
***
This is far from everything that’s come out this year, and is really just a fraction of the excellent series and individual issues I’ve read (and haven’t yet). So keep in mind this is brief on purpose. I’ve also noted some honorable mentions below, but obviously always open to more recommendations, too.
- Marvel: The Avengers #1 (Jed Mackay/C.F. Villa)
- DC: Superman: Space Age #3 (Mark Russell/Michael Allred)
- Skybound: Dark Ride #4 (Joshua Williamson/Andrei Bressan)
- Ablaze: Children of the Black Sun #1 (Dario Sicchio/Letizia Cadonici)
