Starbat's Favorite (Superhero) Comics

Okay, I know I said these were my favorite comics (superhero comics only right now), but there are just so many. So although this is longer list than usual, I want you to know that I cut a lot of works already (RIP Martian Manhunter). So these are some of my favorites, but by no means is it comprehensive.

DC

Batman: Under the Red Hood (Judd Winnick)

Okay, we might as well start off with a bang here. This book was one of the very first comics I read, and it was the reason that I continued being interested in comics (even though some of the other comics I read around that time were less than stellar). If you're looking for an entry point into the Batman mythos, this is an excellent story. The Long Halloween has more of the noir style, The Killing Joke explores the Batman/Joker dynamic better, but Under the Red Hood is a glorious combination of action, mystery, and gut-wrenching trauma that haunts the core of the Batman character.





Batwoman (J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman)

Interesting storylines, gorgeous art, what else could you ask for in a series? This is one of the few ongoing series included on this list. In general, I prefer more self-contained comics where there is one main story instead of a serial of short stories. It's just easier for me to get into. However, the launch of Batwoman in her own series by  J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blakman is a great way to capture this particular character. You get the origin story (with flashbacks done in a fabulously dream-like retro colors and art), and a ton of great little plots and fights in the later issues. Batwoman carries the series as an intense, driven woman with a military background who decides to break into the Bat Business, even though Batman and Co. aren't exactly welcoming. Unfortunately, Williams and Blackman left the project before the Rebirth series, but I have high hopes for Kate Kane's continued adventures.

Marvel

Vision: Little Worse Than A Man and Vision: Little Better Than A Beast (Tom King)

This was actually an impulse buy for me. I've never read any other Vision comics, and I don't know much about the character, but the beauty of this comics is that it's...not isolated exactly, but very accessible. It helps to have some background on the history of Vision, but what you really need to know is worked into the story. And although there is action, most of this story is more like a suburban thriller novel. You watch breathlessly as a dysfunctional family tries and fails to integrate into society, spiraling seamlessly from school drama to murder and blackmail, all tied together with Shakespeare (not physically, there's no time-traveling here, thank god)!



The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Ryan North and Erica Henderson)

A lot has been said about the delightfully quirky version of Squirrel Girl authored by Ryan North. Admittedly, she's always been a wacky character for the Marvel Universe, but Ryan North did a great job making her weird and relatable at the same time. Especially considering her propensity for defeating her foes peacefully, while not shunning violence altogether, which is a tricky line to tread. So far, my favorite moment is still when Doreen (our fantastic Squirrel Girl) tries to fight crime while wearing a suit made of interlinked squirrels (a suit which goes on to fight crime independently of Doreen).




Squadron Supreme (the 1985 12-part miniseries about the Utopia Program) (Mark Gruenwald)

Squadron Supreme is one of the only older (hah, okay, older than 10 years) titles on this list. I'm not a huge fan of the old-school format, but this one is amazing. The story stars the Squadron, a minor Marvel team known mostly for being a weird rip-off of the Justice League. But this particular story, Squadron Supreme, is a mostly self-contained long-form story exploring a point at which catastrophe has several damaged our world, leading the Squadron to assume control of the world. They control economic redistribution to resupply damaged areas, take over governments to provide other humanitarian aid, and eventually become ambitious enough start curing the diseases that have traditionally plagued humanity. But they also create a program to "fix" criminals through brain recalibration and they can be ruthless when challenged. It's a truly wonderful story about the nature of "the greater good" and the intersection of good intentions and human fallibility.



Image

The Authority 1 and 2 (Warren Ellis followed by Mark Millar)

The Authority is one of my all-time favorite superhero teams. Who really needs Superman and Batman when you can have Apollo and Midnighter instead? And really, that's very much what the Authority is, an R-rated version of the Justice League, where the heroes kill people (frequently and gorily, be warned), the visuals are stunningly trippy, and the Superman/Batman characters are in a relationship. Although there are many comic runs where some or all of these characters are together, The Authority is my favorite iteration (with Orlando's Midnighter series in 2015 being a close second).




Astro City: Local Heroes (Kurt Busiek)

Yeah, technically this was published by Homage Comics, but it was Image property first, and honestly I do not understand the publication history of this series. Either way, it's a great comic. Astro City in general is a fun series that acts as a microcosm of superherodom, focusing on the stories within a single place, rather than following a single character's journey or trawling through 8 million issues of lore. I've found that Local Heroes is a particularly interesting comic because it focuses largely on the points of view of random citizens and their brushes with the super side of the city. It's fun, and the conversations and themes can easily be imagined in other comic settings.






Shout Out for Art!

Jae Lee 

Although J. H. Williams III's work on Batwoman has some of my favorite comic art, and the Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse has some of the best synthesis of comic art and modern animation style, one of my absolute favorite comic book artists remains Jae Lee, particularly his work on DC's New 52 Batman/Superman. Although the story is so-so, the art is a fantastical combination of spiky, Edward Gorey-esque blackwork, and dreamy, sweeping, colorful scapes.