The Best and Worst Comic Books for 2013

From Brian K. Vaughan’s epic space story Saga to Jonathan Hickman’s apocalyptic spaghetti western East of West, there were some great comic books in 2013…

By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer

When 2013 comes to an end, the comic book industry will celebrate one of its best years in ages in terms of story telling, artwork and creativity so choosing the best of the best and even the worst wasn’t an easy task.

Some ongoing series really took things up a notch while some debuting books caught on and stole the show by the time the year was over. It was definitely a golden age for comic books this year from the major publishers all the way to the independents — there was definitely something for everyone.

So as we kick off our Nerdcore Movement comic book awards for 2013 please enjoy the list, feel free to argue with us if you don’t like the choices, and if you have some books you think we missed please leave them in the comments below!

Best Comic Book of 2013: Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

Chances are if you’re reading this list of the best comics of the year, then you’re probably used to seeing Brian K. Vaughan’s space epic soap opera Saga near or at the top of every one of them. This is a case where reviewers definitely got it right.

This book is the best thing to happen to comics since Vaughan finished up Y: The Last Man and Robert Kirkman killed everyone and brought them back to life in The Walking Dead. Saga is the story of two star crossed lovers — Marko and Alana — who are from opposites side of an intergalactic war between two planets. The pair even manage to have a child together, something neither species thought possible until this birth. Sure you’ve heard some of this story before. It’s equal parts Romeo and Juliet and Battlestar: Galactica but the way Vaughan weaves his story is just masterful and when you combine it with the beautiful artwork of Fiona Staples this book is just flawless.

Saga really could be the Star Wars for 2013 with a whole lot more cursing, sex, brothels, Lying Cats and much more. Think of it as a very, very adult Star Wars. Saga brings so many different elements together in one book it’s amazing how you never get lost in the grand scope of what Vaughan is crafting page after page. He just has a way of writing combined with Staples art that forces you to look at each panel and hope the final page never comes.

I won’t bore you with long, drawn out diatribes about why you should check out this book because there’s no selling Saga. The fact that this title seems to be one of the few books that critics across the world can agree upon as pretty great should settle any questions you might have about picking this up and giving it a read.

Honorable Mention: The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

I read a lot of online websites and blogs similar to ours just to get a sense of what is out there and also because I love to read great writing, but one shocker that still hasn’t settled in with me this year is how so many people have ignored Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead for any kind of award or even acknowledgment for the best of 2013.

Is it because The Walking Dead won best of the year so many times that it’s now somehow disqualified? Is it because The Walking Dead became a TV show and this is backlack? Or is it because The Walking Dead is now like that band you loved in high school that now sells millions of albums and plays huge stadiums instead of that dingy, dive bar where you discovered them before they made it big?

Whatever the reason may be the fact that The Walking Dead isn’t still getting kudos for being one of the best ongoing comics confounds me. Kirkman may have problems perfectly relating his zombie kill fest to TV (the show is alright but not off the charts) but he has no issue with making the comic book one of the best, year in and year out.

The latest conflict pitting Rick and his survivors against a maniacal psychopath named Negan amped up this year with a still ongoing arc called ‘All Out War’. Negan makes The Governor look like Mother Theresa in comparison to some of the sociopathic and twisted things he’s managed to do over the course of his appearances. When you add in a budding relationship between Rick and Andrea and the continued evolution of Carl from boy to man, The Walking Dead is still one of the best books of the year and unless something crazy happens it will be back on the list in 2014 as well.

Honorable Mention: East of West by Jonathan Hickman

In my opinion, Jonathan Hickman has become one of the best writers in comics over the last few years. While guys like Brian K. Vaughan were off doing television with shows like ‘Lost’, Hickman came in like a hurricane, sweeping up major title after major title while also producing some of the best independent comics out there today. His work on The New Avengers made me a fan of that super team for the first time in history (and I’ve been reading comics for over 25 years) and his tale of the Marvel Illuminati almost forced me to pick that book as the mention in this category, but alas I decided to go with East of West instead.

Hickman loves a huge, sprawling, worldwide affecting story and East of West is exactly that, all packaged in one apocalyptic showdown between the four horsemen where Death is our last hope to stay alive on Earth. The story combines elements of old spaghetti westerns, Clint Eastwood reincarnated as Death and myths running deeper than the greatest Greek tragedy. Think of it as something you might see Quentin Tarantino produce if he ever got involved in the comic book industry. East of West is a great book to discover and definitely a top choice for 2013.

Other notable books worth checking out from 2013:

The New Avengers by Jonathan Hickman
Hawkeye by Matt Fraction
Revival by Tim Seeley
Lazarus by Greg Rucka
X-Men titles by Brian Michael Bendis

Worst Comic Book of 2013: Kick Ass 3

Writer Mark Millar managed to pull off one of the best and funniest comic book to movie combos with his original series for Kick-Ass. The sequel in the comic book was a also an interesting read although the movie fell way short of living up to its predecessor. Here’s hoping Kick-Ass 3 never even comes close to making it to film.

The third (and according to Miller final run) for Kick-Ass is a discombobulated mess of a story if you can call it a story at all. Essentially, Millar has worn out every good idea he’s had for Kick-Ass already so this book is just a tired run of the same tropes he’s already driven into the ground with the first two books of the series.

This series was never meant to mimic Shakespeare in scale or gravitas, but this one falls short of even a good Beavis and Butthead joke. Kick Ass 3 is by far the most forgettable of Millar’s entire run as a writer, and hopefully this one gets buried and forgotten right along with a third and final movie to finish the trilogy.

Honorable Mention: Morning Glories

This is a tough one to dole out but it was only two years ago (while writing for another website) that I named Morning Glories the best comic book of the year. Since that time, writer Nick Spencer and spun this story into a confusing tale of time travel and mistaken identity that unfortunately isn’t nearly as compelling a read as it once was when the story started. Sometimes I feel like comic book writers try too hard to create an intricate and interwoven series just for the sake of making it complicated. Well, mission accomplished on this one because what was once my choice for the next comic book series to get snapped up and put on television has instead become a poor man’s ‘Lost’. Sure that show got tough to follow at times and there were a few ‘huh?’ moments but ultimately the series always paid off. Morning Glories was once the most promising series this side of The Walking Dead.

Now I’m not so sure it can ever recover and get back on track as one of the best books out there.

Other notable titles that took a nosedive this year:

Every Green Lantern book after Geoff Johns abandoned ship
Superior Spider-Man by Dan Slott
Forever Evil by Geoff Johns