Creating a compelling comic series is tough enough in its own right. Being able to keep that magic going over an extended period of time can be a downright Sysiphean task. Order numbers can fall off. People might just start waiting for the trades, which can hurt single-issue sales and put the entire project in jeopardy. Creators might come and go, or get busy with other projects. It’s a constant challenge to keep a series fresh and keep readers hooked. Here are our picks for our favorite titles that, not only overcome all those potential pitfalls, but they make it look easy.
Best Ongoing Series
This is tough choice, but I’m going to have to pick Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ superb Saga from Image Comics. Saga will likely be on every critic’s “Best of the Year” list, and for good reason: It’s just that damn good. Now in its second year of publication, Saga is still just as strong and compelling as ever.
BKV’s imaginative writing, organic dialogue, and pacing always leave readers clamoring for the next installment. Fiona Staples’ elegant art is absolutely beautiful and unlike anything else out there (and she handles every aspect of it, including covers, backgrounds, colours, and some lettering).
Saga has made people who had never previously picked up a comic book into fans of the medium. This is just an incredible title which seamlessly blends a love story, with science fiction and elements of fantasy, into one perfect creation that touches the heart and inspires the imagination. But you already know that, because everyone reads this masterpiece faithfully. Saga is everything I love about comics and more.
Honorable Mentions: Hawkeye, BPRD, Hellboy in Hell.
My friend, David Gillette, picked a series that I need to catch up on for sure.
Like the movie Highlander, there can be only one. Having said that, I agonized over this between Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga, Matt Kindt‘s Mind MGMT, and Joshua Dysart‘s Harbinger. Each respective creative is doing the finest work of their career while making me gladly show up with money in hand at my LCS each Wednesday. With my back pushed up against the wall, it’s Harbinger by a nose because it feels like the most dynamic of the three. I never know what I’m going to get each month with the way Dysart works his madness, and I like that. I’ve yet to be disappointed. In fact, each issue has been a white knuckle ride with the perfect blend of action, social commentary, and meditation. This is how a superhero comic book is done.
Honorable mention: Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples and Mind MGMT by Matt Kindt.
Comics, and Stuff, and Things 