Comicon’s Best Comic Series Of 2023
by Erik Amaya
Welcome to Comicon.com’s Best of the Year Awards, gathering the best comics and comics talent of the strange year that was 2021. This year we will be awarding in the following categories: Best Original Graphic Novels, Best Comic Series, Best Single Comic Issues, Best Writers, Best Artists, Best Cover Artists, Best Colorists, Best Letterers, Best Digital/Webcomics, and Most Progressive Comics.
Contributors to Comicon’s Best of the Year Awards this year include: Rachel Bellwoar, Richard Bruton, Scott Redmond, Tito James, Tom Smithyman, and Tony Thornley.
The following are Comicon’s 5 Best Comic Series of 2023.
5. W0rldtr33, published by Image Comics; written by James Tynion IV, drawn by Fernando Blanco, colored by Jordie Bellaire and lettered by Aditya Bidikar
Tynion channels his Something is Killing the Children mojo once again in this ongoing series that explores the dark underbelly of the internet. Videos from the so-called Undernet are so shocking that they either drive you mad or you are paralyzed to the point where you watch someone kill you. Oh, and there’s a naked woman named PH34R running around, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. Blanco illustrates the series in a terrifying manner. It’s no wonder why every one of the first five issues has been rushed back to print.
— Tom Smithyman
4. Black Cloak, published by Image Comics; written by Kelly Thompson, drawn and colored by Meredith McClaren, and lettered by Becca Carey
— Rachel Bellwoar
3. Rare Flavours, published by BOOM! Studios; written by Ram V, drawn and colored by Filipe Andrade, and lettered by Andworld Design
Food is amazing. Comic books are amazing. Put the two together, and what do you get? Truly one of the best comics being created today. High praise, but that’s what this creative team has earned with their past and current work. Who else but Ram V and Filipe Andrade could bring us a compelling story about a demon trying to get a filmmaker to create a documentary about the wonder of Indian cuisine? No one else. A deliciously compelling series from start to finish of every issue, with engaging characters and transcendent artwork. If you haven’t picked this series up yet, do yourself a favor and grab a serving or two, or three even. It’s beyond worth it.
— Scott Redmond
2. The Enfield Gang Massacre, published by Image Comics; written by Chris Condon, drawn, colored, and lettered by Jacob Phillips
You don’t have to be a fan of Westerns to love this series that shows the truth behind a gang’s demise. Sharing some DNA with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, this spinoff of the equally great That Texas Blood has a gripping and ultimately tragic plot. Expertly written by Condon and illustrated in classic pulp style by Phillips, The Enfield Gang Massacre is a must-read. (And it’s even printed on newsprint!)
— Tom Smithyman
1. Star Trek, published by IDW; written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly, drawn and colored by various, and lettered by Clayton Cowles
Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of every era smashed into one epic crew for all time. Every Star Trek fan likely dreamt of crossing over the various shows, and here comes a comic that does that. Everything that makes up Trek is radiating from these pages, filling in the cracks of the shows and movie canon. Big bold action, wild sci-fi concepts, alien beings that are like gods, and so much more. Can’t forget the heart, which is key to Trek. Brought to vivid life by a bevy of amazing artists, coordinated by an editor with vision, and guided by a Hivemind duo. A unique blend of brand new ideas wrapped up in the bevy of unanswered questions born of a franchise pushing sixty years. A true gift to Star Trek fans.
— Scott Redmond
Honorable Mention: 2000 AD, published by Rebellion Developments; written, drawn, colored and lettered by various
Comicon is one of the few places where 2000 AD and its associated sister monthly, The Judge Dredd Megazine, get full coverage — every week, every month. And there’s a damn good reason for that: it’s simply THE best anthology title out there and has been since it began in 1977.
This year, in addition to plenty of continuing brilliance in Judge Dredd, the final end to the saga of Judge Hershey, more dazzling sci-fi journeying in The Out, and many other great continuing series, we saw some incredible completely new series. Whether it was the fantasy sci-fi mystery of Azimuth, the psychedelic space jazz weirdness of Void Runners, the cutting-edge politics of immigration seen through a sci-fi lens in The Devil’s Haircut, or looking at the zero-hour delivery culture in a world where monsters are just another minority in Portals and Black Goo, 2000 AD just kept on delivering the thrill power week in and week out!
— Richard Bruton
