Screen Rant's Best Comics of 2022

2022 has been a great year for comics from all different publishers, as our year-end list highlights our favorite medium releases.

2022 is proving to be another stellar year for comics, with a host of publishers, from the big two to smaller indies and everything in between, churning out some great stories that comic book fans must read . So, as another year begins, we've put together a list of the best comics of 2022, highlighting some of our favorite reads from the past year.

Picking the best comics of the year was challenging because it was a banner year for media stories. Books that just missed out on this year's honorable mention list include Christian Ward, Patrick Reynolds and Heather Moore's Bloodstained Teeth, Fantastic Four: Alex Ross's Full Circle, Dave Howlett's Maker, Spurrier's Step by Step, Matthias Bergara and Mattheus Lopes, Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti's Legacy of Violence, Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez's Defenders Beyond, Zoe Thorogood's Alone at the Center of the Earth, Juni Ba's Monkey Meat, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo's Nightwing and Not All Robots by Mark Russell and Mike Deodato Jr. However, a few comic books stand out. Here are our best comic books of 2022.

Iron Man - Christopher Cantwell, Cafu, Angel Unzueta - Marvel Comics

Christopher Cantwell's Iron Man wraps up the year with artists Cafu and Angel Winzuta, putting together a stellar performance that takes Tony Stark to some unexpectedly dark places. Iron Man's transformative journey has seen him become a god, deal with having ultimate power in the Marvel Universe, lose his fortune, and make a major shift in doing the right thing and trying to find redemption. Marvel Comics' story, a brilliant look at Stark, his struggle, and his heroism, will be remembered as one of the best stories in the character's saga.

Human Target - Tom King and Greg Smallwood - DC Comics

Tom King continues his career trend of revisiting forgotten and rarely used characters from the DC Universe, crafting a thrilling story starring Christopher Chance's Human Target as he attempts to solve his own murder. King's writing eschews some of the great crime comics, like Davin Cook's Parker series Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' numerous collaborations - despite the superhero twist. The book features a unique cast of characters including Ice, Fire and Guy Gardner who play key roles in the mystery as each issue features the heroes of the Justice League International. The real star of the book, however, is some of Smallwood's career-best artwork, which is stunning, sleek, and sexy.

Ducks: Two Years In The Oil Sands - Kate Beaton - Drawn & Quarterly

Kate Beaton for her role in Huck! A drifter, but in her latest, "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands," she reminds readers why she's one of the best creators in comics. This deeply personal, autobiographical tale of her authentic experiences working in Alberta's oil sands explores economic struggles, trauma, harassment in male-dominated fields, the colonization of Aboriginal lands, and many other important topics. I can't recommend this story more.

A.X.E: Judgment Day - Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti - Marvel Comics

After his excellent Eternals series with Esad Ribic, Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti created one of the funniest manga events of the year. A.X.E.: Judgment Day follows the heroes of the Marvel Universe facing judgment from the awakened Celestials in a sprawling, sprawling story that allows for major and personal characters to emerge. The grandeur of the story is never overwhelmed, deftly rewriting the history of the X-Men and the Eternals as it perfectly balances the three superteams and their struggles. The event doesn't feel forced into the universe like past events (like Civil War II), and ends on purpose. The story also reimagines and reintroduces Uranus, one of the year's best villains.

Clementine: Book One Tillie Walden - Skybound Comics

Tilly Walden was one of them One of the best teen writers and artists in the business, she has rightfully received many accolades and accolades for her work on Spinning and On A Sunbeam. In Clementine: Book One, Varden took on the difficult task of taking an established character in the "Walking Dead" universe and reinventing it a bit for a whole new audience. Clementine's leap from video games to her own story is a harrowing, poignant adventure that's a perfect marriage of character and creator. Readers eagerly await more chapters in the YA graphic novel series.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest - Mark Waid and Dan Mora - DC Comics

Mark Waid and Dan Mora strike gold in DC Comics' latest World's Best Book, because Superman and Batman's adventures -- from fighting the demon Nezha to Iron Man getting a new sidekick and changing DC history -- are always exciting Read about the many twists, character moments, and cameos that show how much the creative team cares about the characters and the DC Universe. As the year's best Superman and Batman books, the colorful retro series shows that not all stories starring heroes need to be dark and gloomy.

She-Hulk - Rainbow Rowell, Roge Antonio, Takeshi Miyazawa, Rico Renzi, and Jen Bartel - Marvel Comics

She-Hulk is in an odd place entering the year as a character, as she The timing of Jason Aaron's Avengers shows that Marvel Comics isn't sure where the character is headed: should they embrace her past as a lawyer or make her just another full-fledged Hulk? The answer turns out to be the former, as Jennifer Walters returns to her roots in the low-stakes series after her adventures as a lawyer to embark on a new romance with Jack of Hearts and battle new villains trying to steal her powers , which leads to one of the most interesting reads of 2022. It's great to see Jen having fun again, as this comic proves to be a much-needed creative reset for the hero.

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star - Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor - DC Comics

DC Comics offers some incredible offerings from their young adult graphic novels, but Galaxy: The Prettiest Star offers something completely unique in the universe. The comic follows a brand new and original character, Galaxy, an alien princess hiding on Earth, on a journey of self-discovery in a world that isn't hers. An unapologetic queer story starring a trans hero is refreshing and showcases a new hero with staying power. Axelrod's storytelling and Taylor's vibrant art make a wonderful pairing. Let's hope this story isn't the last we see Galaxy starring in her own story.

Moon Knight - Jed MacKay, Alessandro Cappuccio, Federico Sabbatini - Marvel Comics

Jed McKay As it turns out, he's more than just a rising star in the comics world, with his stellar work on Doctor Strange, Enchanted, and Moon Knight among the best comics published in 2022. However, the latter manga, with Alessandro Cappuccio, stands out from the rest for its dark storytelling, great character moments, intense combat, and a strong focus on Moon Knight. The continued excellence in the exploration of lore and history makes it one of the best runs the hero has ever had - and that says something pretty important, almost all of the characters that have gone through the last two decades have been top-notch .

Aquaman: Andromeda - Ram V and Christian Ward - DC Comics

Aquaman: Andromeda is exactly the type of series that DC's Black Label should continue to make. The three-issue comic recasts the hero as a dark and mysterious figure in a story that feels like an old-school sci-fi movie in the same vein as Ridley Scott's Alien. Ram V tells a gripping mystery story that wisely keeps Aquaman a little out of the mystery. Christian Ward's artwork is breathtaking as the depths of the ocean in the DC universe have never been more thrilling and thrilling. Aquaman: Andromeda shines with its storytelling and hits home running.

Sentient (Deluxe Hardcover) - Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta - TKO Studios

It might be cheating to add a book to this list that was technically published in 2019, but with a new hardcover edition, TKO Studios' Sentient deserves further recognition. Sentient tells a gripping survival story about a group of kids who are stranded on a ship floating in space after their parents die. We won't get into spoilers, but we highly recommend you go ahead, because The Sentient is one of the best sci-fi comics ever written. For those who missed it, the oversized deluxe hardcover is the best way to read this chilling graphic novel.