Best of 2024
Between everyone working at Big Planet Comics, we had so many favorites this year! So you should be sure to find something amazing to read from among all these great comics! We divided our lists by graphic novels and comic books.
As always, let us know if you want recommendations or if you think of a great one that we missed!
Best Graphic Novels of 2024
All of these graphic novels are 20% off throughout December at all of our stores. Stop by and try something new!
All Princesses Die Before Dawn – Quentin Zuttion
A French slice of life comic that takes place on the day of Princess Diana’s death. Beautiful art and heartfelt writing make this a must read for fans of stories about complex personal relationships.
Ash’s Cabin – Jen Wang
Ash has always felt alone, with no one else doing anything about the climate crisis. Their grandfather had spoken of building a cabin off the grid, and Ash runs away to try to find it and themself at the same time.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees – Patrick Horvath
All the characters are cute animals, but upstanding citizen Sam is a serial killer! Her one rule: don’t murder a local in her small town. But then someone is killed and she might be the number one suspect!
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store 1 – Tsuchika Nishimura
New employee Akino works at a department store where all the customers are talking animals! She must learn to deal with all the different and idiosyncratic requests of the Hokkyoku’s strange clients.
Den 4: Dreams and Alarums – Richard Corben
Our musclebound hero Den has lost his soulmate Kath and fallen into a hazy lethargy. Now out of shape and only dreaming of the epic fantasy action of his past, he hears that Kath might still be alive! Den must face what is the truth or only an illusion in this epic quest.
Detective Beans & The Case of the Missing Hat – Li Chen
Missing a hat? Missing a bird? Detective Beans is on the case! A great book for young readers looking for a fun mystery with a lead you want to root for through every twist and turn.
The Deviant 1 – James Tynion IV & Joshua Hixson
A troubled young gay man interviews the man who was convicted of murdering young men 50 years ago. But he still proclaims his innocence, and then the Santa murders might be starting again…
Fatcop – Johnny Ryan
Fatcop is a murder mystery story engined by pure id. Its intellectual reach goes well beyond outrageousness and toward the agony of modern America and its desire for self-destruction. Always a step ahead of the reader, it’s impossible to pigeonhole.
Final Cut – Charles Burns
Charles Burns is back with a new horror-adjacent masterpiece! Brian is a detached aspiring filmmaker who goes into the woods with his friends, including his reluctant muse, to finally make a movie. As his interest in her goes unreciprocated, he withdraws into creating a fantasy where she is his damsel in distress and savior at the same time.
Haru 1: Spring – Joe Latham
A harrowing adventure of young Haru and Yama as they go on an adventure after discovering a cursed artifact. Great for young readers looking to read about friendship, courage, and self-discovery.
Her Frankenstein – Norikazu Kawashima
A coming of age story, I guess? A psychosexual thriller, maybe?? It’s one of a kind and hard to describe but if you like weird horror and weird manga, this is the book for you.
Hobtown Mystery Stories 1: The Case Of the Missing Men – Kris Bertin & Alexander Forbes
Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys meet David Lynch. Something bizarre lies beneath the surface of Hobtown – secret societies, murder, and a grotesque wee creature barely scratches the surface. Follow the members of Hobtown’s Junior Detective Club as they attempt to unravel the truth.
Houses Of The Unholy – Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
A woman with a past in the cultist Satanic panic of the 1980s is caught up with an FBI investigator on the track of a crazed killer that might be connected to the hysteria from her past. Can you ever escape the trauma of your childhood?
The Hunger and the Dusk 1 – G. Willow Wilson & Chris Wildgoose
The ancient enmity between humans and orcs is tested when another group invades their lands. The cousin of the orc warlord is sent to work as a healer with the humans. What will develop with the orcs and humans working and fighting in such close proximity?
My Name Is Shingo 1 – Kazuo Umezz
Childhood friendship. A killer robot. Surprisingly touching while also being absolutely unhinged, My Name is Shingo might be Umezz’s best.
Nights 1 – Wyatt Kennedy & Luigi Formisano
Taking place in an alt 90s/00s US where supernatural creatures are just a part of life, Nights follows Vince and the found family he creates in the Spanish territory of Florida, while he navigates his relationship with his crush, the vampire Grey, who may or may not bring about the apocalypse. Clever dialogue, loveable characters, anime inspired action, intriguing mysteries, and a heaping helping of pop culture references.
Ocultos – Laura Pérez
Ocultos is a collection of short stories focused on moments where the occult brushes up against everyday life. Simultaneously uncanny and introspective, each story in this collection feels a bit like seeing a vague shape in the corner of your eye, but when you turn around, there’s nothing there.
Plain Jane and the Mermaid – Vera Brosgol
Everyone says Jane is plain, so she plans to propose to a handsome prince, until he’s kidnapped by mermaids! A dark fairy tale of discovering what you really want and what people are truly like.
Rune 1 : The Tale of a Thousand Faces – Carlos Sánchez
An all-ages sci-fi/fantasy book that follows Chiri and Dai who accidentally open up a portal to a new realm. Despite being drawn in pastel colors and a cutesy art style, the monsters and villains of this book are to be feared!
Search and Destroy 1 – Atsushi Kaneko & Osamu Tezuka
An action-packed cyberpunk reimagining of the classic Osamu Tezuka manga Dororo. Hyakku’s body has been stolen from her; literally disassembled into parts, by robots called Creatures that each have a piece in their possession. She won’t stop til she has every last piece back – as well as bloody vengeance.
Sketchy 1 – Makihirochi
A random group of young women all start to find connections with each other as they begin to take up skateboarding! Can they learn to skate? Will this lead to a new direction in their lives?
Smoking Behind The Supermarket With You 1 – Jinushi
A sweet comedy of errors as an exhausted businessman doesn’t realize the woman he shares a smoke with behind the supermarket is the same person as the upbeat checkout clerk that always cheers him up! How will their relationship develop?
Somna – Becky Cloonan & Tula Lotay
Ingrid is unhappily married to the chief witch hunter of a village in the 1600s, but she is tormented by sensual dreams of a dark figure. When someone in the village is murdered, who will her husband hunt down? And is Ingrid’s soul in danger of damnation?
Sunday – Olivier Schrauwen
Thibault Schrauwen despises ‘wasted days’; days filled with procrastination, aimlessness and boredom in which he fails to do anything edifying. This is an account of one exemplarily lame day, a faithful Sunday in early autumn of 2017.
Tender – Beth Hetland
Carolanne is desperate for perfection – the perfect boyfriend, the perfect wedding, the perfect family. Social media shows everyone around her living the life she wants, and we see the lengths she will go to achieve it get darker and darker, as she herself spirals into madness. A standout among the body horror genre, Tender takes a uniquely feminine and grotesque perspective.
Transformers 1: Robots in Disguise – Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer
The Transformers are reborn for our age, with a story that pays homage to the original, but creates something new. Their war begins again on Earth, as the humans plan a military response. Johnson’s love of professional wrestling shows in the epic robot action scenes!
We Called Them Giants – Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans
At the end of the world, nearly everyone vanishes and the few remaining survivors soon discover that titanic figures have appeared. What do they want? How will the humans make their way in this new world filled with giants?
Best New Comic Series of 2024
So many great new comics came out this year! This list was even harder to pare down, so we have 59 of our favorites for you to look over. Some of these also have collected books available if you want to read a bunch of the story all at once, just ask when you come in!
Absolute Batman – Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta
Absolute Superman – Jason Aaron & Rafa Sandoval
Absolute Wonder Woman – Kelly Thompson & Hayden Sherman
Aliens vs Avengers – Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribić
Avengers Twilight – Chip Zdarsky & Daniel Acuña
Batgirl – Tate Brombal & Takeshi Miyazawa
Batman: Dark Age – Mark Russell & Michael Allred
Batman Dylan Dog – Roberto Recchioni & Gigi Cavenago & Werther Dell’Edera
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age – Andy Diggle & Leandro Fernández
Batman & Robin: Year One – Mark Waid & Chris Samnee
Blow Away – Zac Thompson & Nicola Izzo
The Boy Wonder – Juni Ba
Cemetery Kids Don’t Die – Zac Thompson & Daniel Irizarri
Come Find Me: An Autumnal Offering – Becky Cloonan & HamletMachine & Céline Loup & Molly Mendoza & Vanesa Del Rey & E. M. Carroll
Dawnrunner – Ram V. & Evan Cagle
Detective Comics – Tom Taylor & Mikel Janin
Doom – Sanford Greene & Jonathan Hickman
Duck and Cover – Scott Snyder & Rafael Albuquerque
Exceptional X-Men – Eve L. Ewing & Carmen Carnero
The Exorcism At 1600 Penn – Hannah Rose May & Vanesa Del Rey
Feral – Tony Fleecs & Trish Forstner
Get Fury – Garth Ennis & Goran Parlov & Jacen Burrows
Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre – Tom Scioli
Grommets – Rick Remender & Brian Posehn & Brett Parson & Moreno Dinisio
Helen Of Wyndhorn – Tom King & Bilquis Evely
I Heart Skull-Crusher! – Josie Campbell & Alessio Zonno
Jenny Sparks – Tom King & Jeff Spokes
The Last Mermaid – Derek Kirk Kim
Lilith – Corin Howell
Man’s Best – Pornsak Pichetshote & Jesse Lonergan
Minor Arcana – Jeff Lemire
Mugshots – Jordan Thomas & Chris Matthews
My Body Unspooling – Leo Fox
Mystique – Declan Shalvey
Napalm Lullaby – Rick Remender & Bengal
The Nice House By The Sea – James Tynion IV & Álvaro Martínez Bueno
NYX – Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing & Francesco Mortarino
One For Sorrow – Jamie McKelvie
One Hand/The Six Fingers – Ram V. & Laurence Campbell & Dan Watters & Sumit Kumar
Paranoid Gardens – Gerard Way & Shaun Simon & Chris Weston
Peepee Poopoo – Caroline Cash
The Power Fantasy – Kieron Gillen & Caspar Wijngaard
Red Before Black – Stephanie Phillips & Goran Sudžuka
Redcoat – Geoff Johns & Bryan Hitch
Rook Exodus – Geoff Johns & Jason Fabok
Spectregraph – James Tynion IV & Christian Ward
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jason Aaron & Joëlle Jones & Chris Burnham & Cliff Chiang & Rafael Albuquerque
The Tin Can Society – Peter Warren & Francesco Mobili
Toxic Summer – Derek Charm
Ultimate Spider-Man – Jonathan Hickman & Marco Checchetto
The Ultimates – Deniz Camp & Juan Frigeri
Uncanny Valley – Tony Fleecs & Dave Wachter
The Uncanny X-Men – Gail Simone & David Marquez
Universal Monsters Frankenstein – Michael Walsh & Toni Marie Griffin
White Boat – Scott Snyder & Francesco Francavilla
Wolverine: Revenge – Jonathan Hickman & Greg Capullo
X-Factor – Mark Russell & Bob Quinn
Zatanna: Bring Down the House – Mariko Tamaki & Javier Rodriguez
Zorro: Man of the Dead – Sean Gordon Murphy