Comics You May Have Missed in 2014

by Stephanie Noell, Senior Editor

 

Comics You May Have Missed in 2014

stephanienoellI love lists. Whether it’s in Mental Floss Magazine, the Lambda Literary Awards, or grocery lists, I enjoy reading them. While many choose to write end-of-year lists on the best comics out there, I thought it might be prudent to create a list of comics you may have missed. Many of the comics I follow are female written/drawn/focused, but they cover a wide-range of genres (and, for those who enjoy digital comics, many of these reasonably-priced titles are featured on Comixology’s Best of 2014 page). Some of my favorites I’ve read in the last year are:

Adult

The Wicked + The Divine is a title created by one of the best duos in comics today: Kieron Gillen (writer) and Jamie McKelvie (artist). The story Gillen and McKelvie weave focuses on a teenage girl who is a superfan of the “The Pantheon” (a group of gods who have been reincarnated in the form of superpowered humans–the reincarnation happens every 90 years). If you are an appreciator of everything glam as well as celebrity worship, then you would probably enjoy Wic+Div.

All Ages

If you are on the Internet and frequent sites like Tumblr, then you are likely familiar with the super fun Cartoon Network show Adventure Time. If you enjoy it or are looking for some fun all-ages comics, then just know that all of the Adventure Time graphic novels from KaBOOM! Studios (BOOM! Studios’ all ages imprint) are really good. The graphic novels at this point include two titles from 2013 (Playing With Fire and Pixel Princesses, both written by Danielle Corsetto and drawn by Zack Sterling) and two from 2014 (Seeing Red and Bitter Sweets, both written by Kate Leth and drawn by Zack Sterling). KaBOOM! is very skilled a securing popular indie comics writers and artists for its major licenses and it is a model that is working very well for them.

Super-Heroes

The new Ms. Marvel was created by writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona is a MUST READ. It features a teenage girl named Kamala Khan who is very relatable for anyone was an awkward teen. This title is perfect for all ages and was one of the most popular comics of 2014

Horror

Pretty Deadly is a comic created by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Emma Ríos. It is a Western/horror comic with loads of magical realism and a female lead, so it’s definitely a title with a little something for everyone. This series is technically a miniseries, but keep your fingers crossed for DeConnick and Ríos to continue these stories later!

Fantasy

Last, but certainly not least: Rat Queens! Rat Queens (created by writer Kurtis J Wiebe) is the all-female adventuring group comic that we didn’t know we needed! Since it is a story about a rough-and-tumble group of adventurers, this is definitely an adult title, an absolutely hilarious adult title. The ladies of the Rat Queens are diverse and definitely put the “party” in “adventuring party”.

Honorable Mention

Honorable mention goes to the epic ODY-C by writer Matt Fraction and artist Christian Ward. Imagine a genderbent version of Greek myths and make it super mind-bendy: you’ve got ODY-C. This series is only one issue in, but it has already set the bar SUPER high for itself. Fraction and Ward have accomplished more world-building and drama in one issue than most series could hope to accomplish in a single year. Definitely worth checking out and the second issue comes out this Wednesday, so it is the perfect time to hop on!