Superheroes dominated the comic industry for decades, and while DC and Marvel remain the two biggest comic publishers in the world, reader interests have shifted. Creators are branching off to tell their own kinds of stories beyond heroes and villains in capes. Fans need only look past DC and Marvel to comic publishers such as Image and BOOM! Studios.
Fans of the Walking Dead TV series should check out the comic it was based on. DC’s Vertigo imprint may publish Sandman, but it’s closer to mythology than superheroes. Comics like Black Science, Saga and Descender are all sci-fi epics. Comic books are so much more than superheroes and superpowers; these comics prove that good sequential stories exist in any genre.
They are:
- Saga
- Something is Killing the Children
- Descender
- East of West
- The Wicked + The Divine
- Black Science
- Criminal
- Once & Future
- Sandman (vol. 2)
- The Walking Dead
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-Learned about Saga
-went into it blind
-just got caught up only to find out that we get like 6 issues a year and there’s still like 40 issues to go 🥲Welcome to Sagaville.
Most of my collection is non superhero stuff. Sandman I agree belongs on this list, the work stands. Stardust too, such a good story. Love the Lucifer comics as much, and pretty much everything Mike Carey did in the non-superhero realm.
East of West was one of the best drawn series ever. So many of those pages could be blown up and made into posters.
Monstress is ongoing and really good.
RIP my ability to appreciate Sandman as a comic 🫠
Yes, that seemed a “bold” pick.
Interesting to see Black Science on the list. I always felt like this one flew under the radar and wasn’t talked about much.
I actually read it as individual issues as it was coming out. I liked it quite a bit, but had serious mixed feelings by the end. To be fair I have not revisited it since it ended, so I wonder how I’d see things on a reread.
“Of all time” but the bulk are from the last 20 years (apart from Sandman, TWD is the oldest and started 22 years ago), most the last decade.
Yeah, there are older ones for sure, I remember Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, that series was good and go further back all the R Crumb stuff.
It is entirely possible that there has been a renaissance in this area though. There do seem to be many more lately, and the art is often better.
No Lone Wolf and Cub? That series was absolutely superb.
I read Descender recently and I absolutely loved the artwork.
How is the story? The artwork already had me close to buying yet, but never heard anyone about it before, so I held off for now.
I really enjoyed the story. I checked it out digitally through my library and read it on my iPad.
