Nobody here at Hush Comics loves sports metrics more than I do. A die-hard NBA fan, I frequently rank players, teams and track stats every night to see who I should be picking up on the waiver wire (a term I know, but still do not understand at all) in our fantasy basketball league. It’s not really to be the best, but largely because I love the processes behind it; I love spreadsheets and systemic processes in how I arrive at these decisions. I even made a House of Quality together in order to break down which qualities I value in comic book series. This was all inspired by the creation of our Best of 2014 Comic Books collection of articles (which you should check out! A lot of hard work from our team went into those articles), when I realized that we had not been keeping track of which books were the best throughout the year.
Below is a list of what I consider the Top 20 comic books of the previous month. The opinions of these rankings is solely mine, although it is influenced by the weekly review grades that our team doles out. I’m no expert on the ins and outs of the comic book industry, and I admittedly can’t read every book out there, but as long as I have this awesome platform to force my opinion on readers, why not use it? As always, we LOVE sparking conversations about the things we love, or even the things we don’t, so commentary is encouraged!
| Rank | Book Title | Publisher | Issues In | Previous | Movement |
| 1 | Batman | DC | 38 | – | – |
| There just isn’t a better book out there, and starting off Joker’s 75th birthday with Endgame is a great way to ensure the top spot. | |||||
| 2 | Sex Criminals | Image | 10 | – | – |
| Unabashed sexuality and humor make this the most honest book on the shelves. And the freezing time with orgasms thing is great, too. | |||||
| 3 | Unbeatable Squirrel Girl | Marvel | 1 | – | – |
| Plenty of silly to go around, Squirrel Girl isn’t just a great new book, but has potential to bridge gaps between comic book readers of all creeds. | |||||
| 4 | The Walking Dead | Image | 136 | – | – |
| Carl is both a lover AND a fighter, as new dangers loom on the horizon (as always). Kudos for making this small world into a bigger, scarier place. | |||||
| 5 | Batman and Robin | DC | 38 | – | – |
| Damian is back from the dead – with superpowers; he may be bulletproof, but he is not immune to the human condition as he deals with his own mortality. Beautifully done. | |||||
| 6 | Deadly Class | Image | 10 | – | – |
| Sure, there’s the teenage angst of the 80’s, the murder, drug trips and the love triangles. But really, “That was no fart” is why this book is so high on the list. | |||||
| 7 | Justice League | DC | 38 | – | – |
| How could Lex Luthor create more havoc as a good guy than as a villain… In any case, a zombie Batman JL vs. Supes and WW? Get the popcorn. | |||||
| 8 | TMNT | IDW | 42 | – | – |
| Mutanimals attack! There is so much going on in TMNT right now, but the mounting war with Hob and Splinter interests me most. | |||||
| 9 | Superior Iron Man | Marvel | 4 | – | – |
| Ever think to yourself, “self, Tony Stark sure straddles the line between good guy a-hole and bad guy a-hole.” Well, self, you’re right, and this book is why. | |||||
| 10 | Mortal Kombat | DC | 4 | – | – |
| I’ve been waiting for a legitimate MK comic book for years. This is just as bloody and fun as the game, and will get me over til its April release. | |||||
| 11 | SHIELD | Marvel | 2 | – | – |
| It’s like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but worth the time investment. We still get the strategic genius of Agent Coulson, now with superheroes! | |||||
| 12 | Star Wars | Marvel | 1 | – | – |
| Who would I be if this on the list? In what was the most anticipated book this month, I’m already more into this run than I ever was with Dark Horse’s. | |||||
| 13 | Multiversity | DC | ? | – | – |
| Seemlessly poking fun at the Multiverse while creating a cohesive story, Grant Morrison does what Grant Morrison wants. Good for us. | |||||
| 14 | Detective Comics | DC | 38 | – | – |
| I would never have guessed that Anarky would be the next great Batman villain. This book puts the “detective” back in Detective Comics. | |||||
| 15 | Birthright | Image | 4 | – | – |
| What child doesn’t wish they could go on a Jumanji-style demon-slaying adventure with their family? A really lame one, that’s for sure. | |||||
| 16 | Superman | DC | 38 | – | – |
| A new creative team introduced a new character, and really revived a series which has since been oerwhemingly underwhelming. | |||||
| 17 | Shutter | Image | 8 | – | – |
| Shutter has been suffering recently from the necessary lull of storytelling, but it’s so unique and gorgeous that I won’t dare remove it from the Top 20. | |||||
| 18 | Nailbiter | Image | 9 | – | – |
| Each issue has increasingly given me the heeby-jeebies. In a good way. I am not a horror comic fan but I am most definitely a fan of this book. | |||||
| 19 | Moon Knight | Marvel | 11 | – | – |
| Shuffle around the creative team, take away his armor, Mark Spector is still one BAMF. Moon Knight is my new underground favorite at Marvel. | |||||
| 20 | Tooth and Claw | Image | 3 | – | – |
| Making the list solely on the principle of curiosity, Tooth & Claw is a fantastical book of magic, anthropomorphic animals, and other ill s***. | |||||
Notably absent:
Saga: “What have you done for me lately” is the name of the game here. Expect Saga to knock one of these series off its high horse when the series returns from its three-month hiatus this week.
Wonder Woman: Barely missed the cut. Great panels and intriguing characters keep me coming back each month.
Spider-Verse: Another Marvel “event” has worn out its welcome and left me pining for the end. I’m done buying six books to understand one story.
Powers: Brian Michael Bendis’ soon-to-be streaming series is a whole new world (to me), but I think I need to learn more before I can really dive in.
Shaft: I expected this to read more like the comic book embodiment of Public Enemy, but it’s got more bark than bite at this point.
Injustice: Gods Among Us: I love this book, even more so since Brian Buccaletto took over, but there is just too much emphasis on “The Dark” recently for my taste.
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