2024 was honestly a rather quiet year for Marvel. It seemed like the end of several eras; Fall of X saw the end of the Krakoa era of X-Men. The year started with Gang War in the Spider-Man books but by the end of 2024, Zeb Wells completed his run on Amazing Spider-Man. And of course, Tom Brevoort’s lengthy tenure running the Avengers books closed so he could take over the X-Men books. In hindsight, Marvel looks to be a publisher in a period of transition. Sometimes that’s a period when the most interesting things can happen.
There’s legitimate criticisms that can be made about Marvel this year. Some creative choices certainly felt underwhelming. And given their most direct competitor’s many diverse publishing initiatives, Marvel’s can seem less exciting compared to the Distinguished Competition right now. However, the best Marvel books this year reminded us why we love Marvel comics. And as you can see from the list that follows, Marvel had some exciting books. Contributors D. Morris, Tim Rooney, and Jordan Jennings assembled a list of Marvel Comics that excited them throughout last year.
Aliens vs. Avengers
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Esad Ribic
Colorist: Ive Svorcina
Letter: VC’s Cory Petit
Only two issues of this comic have come out so far but those two issues by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic are two of the best books Marvel released this year. This is a book full of surprises.So far it’s of a piece with Hickman’s work on Avengers and Secret Wars, only with xenomorphs. The writer introduces expected elements from the extensive world of Aliens, along with some unexpected ones, into the Marvel universe. The art by Ribic and Ive Svorcina captures the high concept science fiction Hickman’s writing along with the atmospheric horror familiar to the horror franchise. Ribic nails the claustrophobia of both contained spaces and relentless swarms of H.R. Giger’s famous monster in his action sequences. This is the kind of thrilling high concept book you want to read on a monthly basis. One truly has to admire this comic for its purity. – D. Morris
Blood Hunt
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Garcia
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
When was the last time you fist pumped or audibly said “oh crap!” during an event comic? During this summer’s crossover Blood Hunt, Jed MacKay and Pepe Larraz seemed hellbent on creating moments to make readers do both. Every issue had one that either made you gasp (the endings to issues 1 and 2) or had you cheering (the return of a certain character ready to kill every vampire was particularly thrilling). MacKay really showcased how his knowledge of Marvel esoterica could craft compelling stories and did so on a large scale while simultaneously giving character moments that mattered. At the same time, Larraz and colorist Marte Garcia visually told a story that thrilled on every page. Larraz showed off his ability to draw multiple characters on a page and never make it look cluttered in both dramatic and action sequences. And the conclusion might be one of the all time cliffhangers in Marvel comics. This year’s upcoming One World Under Doom has a lot to live up to. In a time where Marvel seemingly has an event every quarter, Blood Hunt is the Marvel event that reminds readers why big stories with multiple heroes can be immensely fun and narratively satisfying. – D. Morris
DOOM!
Writers: Sanford Greene and Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Sanford Greene
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
I could write a book of praise for Sanford Greene and Jonathan Hickman’s epic oneshot. This alternate future tale sees Dr. Doom as the last living thing in a dying universe. Galactus, the World Eater has given into his insatiable hunger and seeks to end the universe and bring about a new reality. The comic is epic in scope and deeply personal in focus. In it, Doom represents the best and worst of humanity: the horrible pride that leads to destruction but also the indomitable spirit of the human will. The comic asks a simple question: when everything is gone and there is nothing left to fight for, why fight at all? Because we must. Because to endure is to be human. While Hickman helped Greene write and shape the story structure, the real storytelling work here is Sanford Greene and it is a tour de force. The sense of scale is stunning, the overpowering threat of Galactus seems insurmountable. It’s beautifully drawn and beautifully told. Rachelle Rosenberg’s colors uses subtle changes in hue to cast a sense of distance, while letterer Joe Caramagna lets loose to fit with Greene’s rough lines. Doom is one of Marvel’s best books of the year but it is also among the best single issues of any comic to come out in 2024. – Tim Rooney
Exceptional X-Men
Writer: Eve Ewing
Artist: Carmen Carnero
Colorist: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
We had some debate on which X-book to put on the Beat’s list this year. It’s no secret that the X-line, as a whole, is in flux with changes in editorial and direction. Yet, there is one standout title from the field and that is Exceptional X-men. Despite being the most recent of the X-MEN team books to have launched and being priced in a way that even Marvel considers it to be a tier-below the Flagship titles, Exceptional X-Men has delivered where the other titles have struggled. Writer Eve Ewing has an eye for dialog and characterization. The series is less focused on some mystery box event or shadowy cabals, and instead focuses on the next generation of mutants coming of age in an era where fear and hatred is at an all-time high. One would have to be oblivious to not see the parallels between these teens and the current, real-world challenges facing marginalized groups, namely members of the trans community. These kids are just trying to live their lives focusing on soccer games, theatre auditions, and just being a teen. There has been more time afforded to developing these new mutants versus what has been in the pages of X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. This could be due to the fact Exceptional X-Men is less focused on crossovers and moving the whole line and instead can focus on the teens. Whatever the reason, it pays dividends for this series. Artist Carmen Carnero consistently delivers a book full of emotion and action and when paired with colorist Nolan Woodard’s vibrant colors, you get one of the most visually distinct books in the X-men line. Exceptional X-Men may not have the biggest X-men in the book, but it has the most heart. Everyone should be checking this series out. – Jordan Jennings
Fantastic Four
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Carlos Gómez, Ivan Fiorelli
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov, Brian Reber
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
For the first year and a half of the title’s run, I enjoyed writer Ryan North’s zany take on Marvel’s first family and its one or two issue plots. The self contained stories combined with larger ongoing threads to create satisfying, easy to follow reads. North’s scripts are undeniably funny and he treats the team as a family of adventurers, dedicated to using their powers to do as much good for as many people as possible. The book has amped up the emotion and heart following the return of the team’s children in year 2. Since then, North began to more deeply explore the emotional lives of the Four and their extended families. Few books balance humor, action, and heart so well while also taking time to teach readers a little about science. The last several issues in particular pack a wallop of unexpected heartbreak as Johnny Storm falls into a doomed romance with an alien and Reed races to the end of the universe. Carlos Gómez joining for the primary art duties has breathed fresh life into the stories with an exuberant energy and expressiveness. This is a series that delivers everything you could want in superhero comics and more. – Tim Rooney
Incredible Hulk
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klein and Daniel Earls
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letter: VC’s Cory Petit
Marvel went all in on horror this year with the big event (and fellow Marvel Book of the year) Blood Hunt centering on vampires and starting new ongoings for Blade and Werewolf by Night. But honestly, the gold standard for Marvel superhero horror right now remains Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, and Daniel Earls’ current run on Incredible Hulk. This book evokes the vibe of Bronze Age horror comics in a book that invigorates with every issue. This year Kennedy Johnson had the Hulk and his current companion Charlie tackle ghostly serial killers and a cult of werewolves. Klein and Earls may trade off every other arc but the two are perfectly paired. Their visual styles complimented each other rather than distracted due to their differences, aided as well by the gloomy color palette of Matthew Wilson. They up the ante with each arc in terms of visual grotesquerie from the monsters our heroes encounter to the horrifying transformations into the Hulk. As much as the current series might be rooted in some gnarly horror, but the center of it remains the classic internal struggle of man versus monster. Banner might be losing that struggle (and now Charlie might be as well) but it’s fascinating to watch him do so every month. – D. Morris
Sabertooth War
Writers: Benjamin Percy and Victor Lavelle
Artists: Geoff Shaw and Corey Smith & Oren Junior
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
This year’s “Fall of X” event across the various X-Men titles brought an end to the Krakoa era, and for the most part the sprawling finale felt like a rush to the finish line as the company prepared to reboot and take things to a more classic and familiar direction. Outside all of that was Ben Percy’s Wolverine title, which while wearing the Fall of X banner largely operated unrelated to the crossovers. Instead, Percy teamed up with writer Victor LaValle, who penned a couple surprisingly cerebral Sabretooth series in the last few years. Billed as the “most violent Wolverine story ever,” it certainly lives up to that hype. But like all of Percy’s work with Wolverine, it is about far more than just the violence. The blood and guts are a tool to illustrate the dehumanizing cost of violence. LaValle and Percy use Sabretooth to explore the cost of Krakoa’s original sin, while plumbing the checkered shared history between hero and villain to explore how their similarities brought them to much different places. It’s full of gory action by artists Geoff Shaw and Cory Smith and plenty of melodrama and emotion. These 50 issues have been some of the best comics Wolverine has ever had (it was one of my picks for best of the year last year) and “Sabretooth War” sent it out on a high note. – Tim Rooney
Scarlet Witch
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Lorenzo Tammetta, Jacopo Camagni, Russell Dauterman
Colorist: Frank Williams
Letterer: Ariana Maher
You’d be forgiven for missing Steve Orlando’s run on the Scarlet Witch, given it is on its third relaunch in two years, with a name change (to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, also out in 2024) in the middle. Despite Marvel’s best effort to derail this title and the difficulty following the story across multiple volumes, Orlando’s work with Wanda Maximoff has been steadily entertaining. Orlando pairs the fantastic and the human in classic Marvel fashion. Perhaps the highest compliment I can give this series is that it has made me care about Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, two characters I have always found to be the least interesting in the entire Marvel stable. Orlando is full of grand operatic ideas and leverages continuity in creative ways. Lorenzo Tammetta is the primary artistic collaborator, and his expressive characters and fluid sense of motion gives Wanda and her powers an almost balletic grace. Frank Williams’s colors are lush and full of the red highlights, while Ariana Maher proves in every issue why she’s one of the field’s best letterers. The whole thing is packaged with stunning covers by Russell Dauterman. If you’re in need of stories about complex characters trying to make the world a better place, this book delivers, as Wanda battles manifestations of her own inner demons on a cosmic scale. – Tim Rooney
Ultimate Spider-Man
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artists: Marco Checchetto and David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
While Ultimate Spider-Man launched late in 2023, 2024 was the year of Ultimate Spider-Man. When it was announced, Jonathan Hickman was going to provide the latest take on Ultimate Spider-Man, I was unsure what to expect. Hickman had a rare miss with GODS and past attempts to revitalize the Ultimate line were mixed, to say the least. I was wrong. Ultimate Spider-Man has consistently been the best book Marvel has been publishing each month. This is done in no small part to having found an interesting story beat. Not only is Peter Parker married with two children, but he was given the choice to take the power that was denied to him. It flips the central conceit of a younger Parker racked with guilt over not stopping his uncle’s killers to that of a man who finds himself wanting something more out of life and fixing a wrong in the universe. Hickman’s choice to leave Uncle Ben alive and turn J Jonah Jameson into an open ally is inspired. Ben and Jameson work well off each other and provide a strong B-plot to the book. Regular artists Marco Checchetto delivers the goods each month with just beautiful pages full of sweeping action and hefty emotion. Guest artist David Messina provides an equally steady hand to keep the direction of the series with equally strong art. Much like how the first issue ended 2023 with this attention-grabbing end page, issue 12 ends 2024 with what may be the most chilling and exciting page from Marvel this year. If you can only pick up one Marvel comic a month, this is the one you should be buying. –JJ
The Ultimates
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Juan Frigeri and Phil Noto
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letter: VC’s Travis Lanham
Just like the original incarnation, Ultimate Spider-Man may have kick started this new Ultimate line, but The Ultimates once again is the standard bearer. Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri find new ways every month to reinvent classic Marvel characters from She-Hulk to Hawkeye in exciting ways in Ultimate Marvel tradition. Issue #4, featuring art from Phil Noto, which reinvents this version of Doom is in contention (coincidentally with another Doctor Doom book) for best single issue from Marvel this year. Like its predecessor though, Ultimates is very much about the politics of its time. This iteration though is a very leftist take on the idea of a superheroes. If you’re of a certain political bent, it would be really hard not to relate to this comic. A small group of people in opposition to massive oligarchs reframing their fight for freedom as terrorist acts. Maybe this isn’t escapist fare but it feels very motivating in a time where heroes should inspire rather than be critiqued. And honestly, one couldn’t ask for more out of a superhero book. – D. Morris
Agree with our picks? Did we leave your favorite series off? Sound off in the comments and let us know! And for more Marvel Rundown coverage from the past year, check out our full archives.
Where is Miracleman; The Dark Age?
I have to disagree with Rooney re Scarlet Witch. Orlando has used the Last Door as a plot crutch throughout the series; he’s done no character-driven stories. his stories have gaping plot holes, with the latest issue, #7, featuring a broken premise. He’s strained to fit Quicksilver into the plots. The artwork has been good.
Also about Scarlet Witch:
“Despite Marvel’s best effort to derail this title…”
They give books new #1s because they’re easier jumping on points for new readers and have increased sales. If anything, having the multiple restarts is “Marvel’s best effort to” keep the title going.
Strong list of titles overall. Theres a consensus that Marvel is a bit of a creative funk that the Ultimate titles are shaking up and I don’t necessarily disagree with that. Artistically I’d say DC has been beating their ass for years now, idk if Marvel doesn’t pay artists as much or what but it’s not close. However they have been some good comics around the margins.
My number one book I would add is Avengers Twilight. This is one of rare Marvel comics where they have an A+ creative team (Zdarsky and Acuna) the time and creative freedom to do a 180+ page series that’s accessible, timely and engaging to read. It starts out like Marvels Dark Knight Returns, but it ends up being their Kingdom Come, beautifully showing why superheroes are still relevant and inspiring decades later in a world inching closer to fascism and the truth is manipulated. It’s a great Captain America comic, a great Avengers, just a great Marvel comic period. It’s the kind of evergreen book you’re gonna be able to give to anyone with an interest in the genre.
I’d also add Namor, the eight issue series from Jason Aaron, Paul Davidson and Alex Lins. Despite his popularity and many appearances, we don’t have too many Namor solo titles, but this is shaping up to be a definitive modern Namor comic. Aaron is using a structure similar to his recent Punisher series with one artist drawing the present day events and another drawing flashbacks that inform the current situation. This is really working, as you get to read this spectacular adventure across the seven seas as Namor reluctantly tries to stop World War Sea breaking out across all the underwater races, but we also get a lot of depth about his own background and the corrupt history of Atlantis. There’s a feeling of reckoning with years of micro and macro aggressions with Namor, born of two worlds, at the center of it, and trying to find a new path forward not shackled to the violent past. It’s been a great read.
Hard to believe it’s already been a year since Miracleman: The Silver Age finally came to a conclusion. Just hoping Neil and Mark haven’t given up on the book. Definitely looking forward to the Dark Age.
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