With the year almost over it is time to decide what the Best Comic Books of 2024 are. To kick things off as big as possible I’m starting out by ranking the ten Best Comic Book Storylines in 2024 that released this year. This was a year filled with a lot of incredible stories being told from ongoings to mini-series. With that in mind, find out what made our Best Comic Book Storylines In 2024 below.
10) FALL OF THE HOUSE OF X & RISE OF THE POWERS OF X
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Gerry Duggan, Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Chris Claremont, Gail Simone, and Jed MacKay; Artists: Lucas Werneck, R.B. Silva, Luca Maresca, Phil Noto, Joshua Cassara, Jerome Opeña, Stefano Caselli, Walter Simonson, and Leinil Francis Yu; Colorists: Brian Valenza and David Curiel; Letterers: Travis Lanham and Clayton Cowles
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Fall of the House of X #1 to Fall of the House of X #5; Rise of the Powers of X #1 to Rise of the Powers of X #5; X-Men: Forever #1 to X-Men Forever #4; X-Men #30 to X-Men #35
The Krakoa Era was bound to end at some point. That end came in the first half of 2024 with Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X. The crossover event lived up to being a culmination of so many things built over the course of this five-year time period. During this period, we saw Orchis, who had former members from S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D., A.I.M., HYDRA and other classic Marvel organizations in their ranks, became a top tier villain organization. That was the case for the majority of Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X as Orchis pushed the X-Men to the corner like never before.
With Orchis positioned as such an unstoppable force it forced all of the X-Men to make decisions that not all their allies agreed with. How those decisions were received was just as intriguing as what was done by Orchis. It certainly emphasized how important Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Shadowcat, Storm, and so many others were important to making the Krakoa Era a special five year time period for the franchise.
9) BATMAN: DARK PRISONS
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Chip Zdarsky; Artist: Jorge Jimenez, Michele Bandini, Miguel Mendonca, and Steve Lieber; Colorist: Tomeu Morey, Alex Sinclair, Eren Angiolini, and Nick Filardi; Letterer: Clayton Cowles
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Batman #145 to Batman #149
While Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez’s run on Batman is still going on the Dark Prisons story arc felt like the culmination of everything he’s been building. Bruce Wayne starting off the story arc locked in prison with Joker certainly made a statement about what Batman of Zur-En-Arrh accomplished up to this point. Combining the “Perfect Batman” with the Justice League killer Failsafe android body further established how Zur-En-Arrh gained complete control of ruling Gotham City. That was emphasized early with a confrontation with Superman. Adding in how there was uncertainty if Zur-En-Arrh was really Bruce fully embracing being Batman 24/7 or something else added to what was going on in the story.
More importantly it brought a spotlight on what has become Bruce’s strength as he started to age. That is the fact he has built up his own family. No matter how often he makes decisions they don’t all agree on at the end of the Batman Family has become a strength for Bruce. Seeing him grow to understand this and it being why he was able to defeat his Batman of Zur-En-Arrh counterpart a great payoff for what Zdarsky and Jimenez spent two years building.
8) AVENGERS: TWILIGHT
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Chip Zdarsky; Artist: Daniel Acuña; Letterer: Cory Petit
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Avengers: Twilight #1 to Avengers: Twilight #6
Avengers: Twilight delivers on when a creative team has freedom to tell whatever story they want with iconic characters in a brand-new universe. Only having to worry about the continuity they develop for this special mini-series Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuña were able to craft a story that blends future reality with the Marvel Universe. The way they explain how one of the crisis events that the Avengers and other Marvel heroes dealt with resulted in a world that turned against them work well. Even more believable was that it was an opportunity for the heroic game to be turned into something that combined corporate and government worlds.
This all set the stage for testing what the Avengers represent in a world that believes they don’t need them or any vigilante heroes. Seeing how the older heroes had to end up leading their own revolution once they found out the truth provided a lot of strong character arcs. This led to this mini-series not just being a great Avengers story but also a memorable chapter in the iconic Captain America vs Red Skull rivalry.
7) GREEN LANTERN: CIVIL CORPS
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johson; Artist: Salvador Larroca and Xermanico; Colorist: Luis Guerrero and Romulo Fajardo Jr.; Letterer: Dave Sharpe
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Green Lantern: Civil Corps Special #1; Green Lantern #16 to Green Lantern #18
To say it has been a chaotic few years for the Green Lantern franchise would be an understatement. That chaos is something the villainous leader Thaaros took full advantage of to consolidate the Emotional Spectrum under the United Planets control. With the Green Lantern: Civil Corps story Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson were able to put an end to this chaotic period in epic fashion.
With how much build up there was leading into it, including the events of Absolute Power, Green Lantern: Civil Corps started at max speed and never let up. There was no moment to rest as Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Jo Mullein, and other rebel Green Lanterns had to battle the United Planet Lantern Corp. The nonstop nature made this entire story come across as a true conclusion for the last few years of Green Lantern storytelling. In the process the unlimited power of the Emotional Spectrum was on full display. When all was said and done, we were able to say goodbye to one era for the Green Lantern franchise and welcome a brand new one to be excited for.
6) ULTIMATE X-MEN: FEARS AND HATES
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer & Artist: Peach Momoko; Script Adaptation: Zack Davisson; Letterer: Travis Lanham
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Ultimate X-Men #1 to Ultimate X-Men #6
Ultimate X-Men is such a unique comic book. Peach Momoko has brought in her background to inject Japanese culture into the launch of the Ultimate X-Men. The result is a series that blends comic books and manga with Japanese horror elements played in. This is shown throughout the introduction story arc that as soon as you start reading it you know this is completely different from other Marvel comic books, including within the new Ultimate Universe.
And with there being so many X-Men titles, especially with the main Marvel Universe counterpart getting a restart in 2024, Momoko’s approach was something fresh for the franchise. Having Armor as the lead X-Men along with a new mutant in Maystorm opened things up to view how discovering your powers for the first time can be something scary and exciting. The friendship these two characters built was a strong one. One made better by how they had to overcome the Ultimate Shadow King as the first Ultimate X-Men villain.
5) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: RETURN TO NEW YORK
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Joelle Jones, Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang, Chris Burnham, and Darick Robertson; Colorists: Ronda Pattison, Marcelo Maiolo, Brian Reber, and Norm Rapmund; Letterer: Shawn Lee
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
From all the story arcs and character dynamics, new and old, developed by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell and others IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has an extensive history. It’s a history that has a large fanbase, which made what Jason Aaron and his all-star artist line-up so interesting. Will they continue what their predecessors did or start something new with a new TMNT volume? The answer was something in between as all the members of the Splinter Clan went their separate ways.
With this status quo Aaron and co. explored where Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and New York City, in that order, are at in the present. In the process they were able to softly reset all the TMNT characters while continuing where all the various character arcs left off at the end of Campbell’s creative run. Focusing on each individual Turtle was a fantastic choice as Aaron was able to dedicate time to his take on Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello individually.
It made the moment when they reunited even more special as they are all in different spots than what may be expected. Add in the incredible artwork by Joelle Jones, Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang, Chris Burnham, and Darick Robertson, “Return To New York” was an excellent new start for the TMNT.
4) MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RAGERS: DARKEST HOUR
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Melissa Flores, Meghan Camarena, Adam Cesare, Ryan Parrott, and Rachel Wagner; Artist: Simona Di Gianfelice, Marco Renna, Moisés Hidalgo, Federico Sabbatini, Hendry Prasetya, Daniel Bayliss, Adam Gorham, and Valeria Favoccia; Colorist: Raul Angulo, Jose Enrique Fernández, Arthur Hesli, Bryan Valenza, Joana Lafuente, Valentina Pinto, and Matt Herms; Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless; Power Rangers Unlimited: Hyperforce; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #110 to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122; Power Rangers Unlimited: The Morphin Masters; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour
The Darkest Hour year long event brought BOOM! Studios Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series to a close. This closed out the eight-year comic book saga that built its own legend within the 30-year history of the Power Rangers franchise. Appropriately so, Melissa Flores, Simona Di Gianfelice, and co’s Darkest Hour event brought together all of the development made around the Morphin Grid’s Multiverse together.
Most importantly, what Darkest Hour will be known for, other than it being epic, is how it elevated Dark Specter to even greater heights as Power Rangers villain. Dark Specter’s legend was always greater than what we saw him physically do in the show. Now that was not the case as Darkest Hour firmly positioned Dark Specter as the endgame boss of the entire Power Rangers franchise. His corruption of the Morphin Grid challenged all of the Power Rangers in a way only Lord Drakkon has done.
How each of the members of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers team stepped up to lead those that in future would carry on their legacy was awesome to see. There were so many moments that makes you mark out as a fan. It was an appropriately epic ending to a memorable eight-year run.
3) ABSOLUTE POWER
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Mark Waid, Nicole Maines, Chip Zdarsky, and Joshua Williamson; Artist: Dan Mora, Skylar Patridge, V Ken Marion, and Gleb Melnikov; Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez and Patricio Delpeche; Letterer: Adriana Maher, and Steve Wands
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Absolute Power: Ground Zero; Absolute Power #1 to Absolute Power #4
Absolute Power is what should always be expected from a big comic book event. Mark Waid and Dan Mora truly deliver an experience of a Crisis-level event without needing the crutch of having that name. They just deliver that level of an event as Amanda Waller and her Dark Trinity completely decimated the hero community in the first issue of Absolute Power. From there we see how the heroes have to step up even when the majority of those remaining are depowered.
Waid and Mora treated this as the culmination of two years of storytelling told during the two-year Dawn of DC direction. All of the major storylines that have been built by key Dawn of DC titles like Titans, Green Arrow, Batman, and Superman were paid off here. Having such payoffs showed what the power of having a connected universe is when we get something like Absolute Power.
Through Absolute Power we saw the heroes live up to what Nightwing said in the second issue “She (Amanda Waller) will never recognize the will and commitment of each and every one of us have to protect the helpless, to fight against injustice and tyranny regardless of the odds.” These words were spoken into existence as the heroes proved that they are more than the superpowers Amanda Waller believe they were about. This in turn led to establishing why having the heroes united is so important to the DC Universe. That was then turned into the foundation for the new Justice League Unlimited.
2) TRANSFORMERS: TRANSPORT TO OBLIVION
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson; Artist: Jorge Corona; Colorist: Mike Spicer; Letterer: Rus Wooton
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Transformers #7 to Transformers #12
There may be no storyline that had greater tension in 2024 than Daniel Warren Johnson’s second Transformers story arc. Joined by the always great Jorge Corona on art, the Transport To Oblivion story arc took what was established in the first arc and drove the series to another level. The Autobots were placed in such a bad spot even before they arrived on Earth. The Decepticons took full advantage of that and they really pushed the Autobots to a spot you were constantly worried about our protagonist.
Most impressive was how Johnson and Corona balanced telling so many different personal stories. From Optimus Prime leadership constantly being tested to Arcee growing through her traumatic there was a lot character development on the Autobot side of things. Then on the Decepticons side we saw Shockwave really establish as a brutal, take-all leader as Megatron is still MIA. Shockwave’s brutal methods makes you completely forget about the iconic Decepticons leadership. It was a portrayal that worked in contrast to where each of the Autobots are.
All of the character development made what took place in Transport To Oblivion be an even bigger deal. Every battle had greater stakes because of these personal connections you had as the reader. The payoffs to the tough decisions that Optimus Prime and others had to make built even greater excitement for the future of this Transformers series and the Energon Universe as a whole.
1) NIGHTWING: FALLEN GRAYSON
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom Taylor; Artist: Bruno Redondo; Inker: Caio Filipe; Colorist: Adriano Lucas; Letterer: Wes Abbott
STORYLINE COMIC BOOK ISSUES
Nightwing #114 to Nightwing #118
Nightwing: Fallen Grayson was the culmination of one of the most memorable creative runs we’ve had from DC Comics. Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, and their other collaborators really created something special. They did that by taking Dick Grayson’s well-known credibility and elevating that to a new level. Taking what they’ve built by having Dick Grayson figure out what happens when someone tries and succeeds in taking that credibility away was a fantastic way to wrap things up.
The tone was set at the very moment you open Nightwing #114. Seeing a tired out Dick Grayson laying down on snow atop a mountain put over what Heartless has done. It gave all the context needed that the flashbacks to what happened to get him to that point be even better. What Heartless did was not just about Nightwing the superhero stepping up but about Dick Grayson the person overcoming these challenges.
Adding in how others in the Batman Family rallied around Nightwing nicely highlighted this era for the Batman franchise. The relationships were such a key factor to Taylor and Redondo’s creative run. And that was highlighted throughout this story arc, particularly Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon’s relationship. This ending solidified Taylor and Redondo’s having one of my favorite creative runs ever.
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