My favorites…

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

“When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. ”

This one has made my Best Of list for as long as I’ve been making these Best Of lists.  Wildly inventive SF peopled with some truly wonderful characters.

Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire

“Once they were heroes, but the age of heroes has long since passed. Banished from existence by a multiversal crisis, the old champions of Spiral City–Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Madame Dragonfly, and Barbalien–now lead simple lives in an idyllic, timeless farming village from which there is no escape! But as they employ all of their super abilities to free themselves from this strange purgatory, a mysterious stranger works to bring them back into action for one last adventure!”

I’m a big fan of Jeff Lemire’s work (Sweet Tooth, Descender, Plutonia) but this book, about a group of bizarre former superheroes trapped in a small town community, is now my favorite.

Vision by Tom King and Michael Walsh

“The Vision wants to be human, and what’s more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning, to the laboratory where Ultron created him and molded him into a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny and imagined that he could be more -that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition (or is that obsession?) the unrelenting need to be ordinary.

Behold the Visions! They’re the family next door, and they have the power to kill us all. What could possibly go wrong? Artificial hearts will be broken, bodies will not stay buried, the truth will not remain hidden, and the Vision will never be the same.”

As someone who explores the humanity at the heart of an Android, I am in awe of King’s examination of this very conceit. Sure, it may seem to be about superheroes and supervillains and superpowers but, really, it’s about family.

Kingin (Civil War II) by Matthew Rosenberg and Ricardo Lopez Ortiz

“An Inhuman with the ability to predict the future has helped the heroes of the Marvel Universe clamp down on crime before it can even happen. While this thwarts most criminals, one man has found a way to keep doing what he does best. Wilson Fisk has managed to stay one step ahead of the good guys and his crime enterprise is BOOMING. But what’s his secret?! It’s a gritty, street-level view of CIVIL WAR II starring the Kingpin in a world without crime!”

I loved Matthew Rosenberg’s work for Black Mask Studios (We Can Never Go Home, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank) and, not surprisingly, loved his take on one of Marvel’s biggest bads.  They say that everyone is the hero of their own story, and it’s fascinating to see this old adage play out with the Kingpin of crime.

Kill Or Be Killed by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

“The bestselling team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (The Fade Out, Criminal, Fatale) return with Kill or Be Killed, Volume One, the twisted story of a young man forced to kill bad people, and how he struggles to keep his secret from destroying his life.

Both a thriller and a deconstruction of vigilantism, Kill or Be Killed is unlike anything Brubaker and Phillips have ever done.”

A dark, occasionally shocking, thoroughly absorbing read.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack

“Sabrina’s father, Edward Spellman, is back from the dead, inhabiting the body of the newly resurrected Harvey Kinkle! Sabrina, believing the love of her high school life is back, arranges for a romantic rendezvous — but neither Hilda nor Zelda want that reunion to take place and are willing to start a witch-war to keep them apart! Meanwhile, the diabolical Madam Satan reveals her true plans for the Spellman family… You dare not miss the last page of this masterpiece of the macabre!”

This one outcreeps and outclasses its predecessor, Afterlife With Archie, another surprisingly great horror title.

The Omega Men by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda

“Broadcast across the universe, the Omega Men reveal a beaten and restrained Kyle Rayner. They make their intentions clear as they kill the former White Lantern. Now the universe is on watch and the hunt for the Omega Men begins. The line between good and evil is blurred in this part of the galaxy, and you do not know who to trust. Please Omega.”

Layers upon layers in this grand DC conspiracy.  I went in cold and came away a fan.

The Fix by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber

“THE FIX is a story of the crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run Los Angeles—and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels.”

Wild, hilarious, and more than a little offside.