On Episode 203 of the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg and comic book retailer Paul Eaton discussed their top comics of the year for 2024. This episode was filmed live in the comic shop, but understand not everyone can listen or watch.
For your convenience we have compiled the list in written format. This list includes 10 selections from Justin and 10 from Paul with a few crossovers.
Honorable mentions: The Midnight Shadows; The Deviant; The Road; The Displaced; and Blood Hunt.
10. The Writer // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Josh Gad, Max Berkowitz, Ben Berkowitz
Artist: Ariel Olivetti
Publisher: Dark Horse
Josh Gad and the Berkowitz Brothers team up with legendary artist Ariel Olivetti for a thrilling graphic novel of Jewish folklore and magic. The Writer plunges readers into the captivating world of Stan Siegel, a renowned comic book writer, whose life spirals into a terrifying adventure beyond the confines of reality. Alongside his mother Liz and daughter Izzy, Stan faces an onslaught of Nazis, demons, and mythical creatures drawn from Jewish folklore. As they navigate a landscape steeped in occult mysteries, their quest for answers reveals hidden identities and ignites a high-stakes race against an emerging terror.
10. Immortal Thor // Paul Eaton
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Martin Coccolo
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The All-Father sought answers to new troubles in memories of old. To refresh those memories, he consulted his Skald of Realms, to tell a tale of when young Thor and young Loki journeyed out beyond Asgard on a quest that would determine the fate of all the Realms! Yet the teller was the Skald, in their aspect as Thor’s enemy. And thus, the tale could twist upon itself – and if Thor faltered, it could make a new end! The Son of Odin faced three of his greatest foes in battle – with the fog of magic closing around him. Yet even if he won, he lost – for Thor fought not for his life, but for his death! Plus: the dawn of the Roxxon Age of Comixx, starring Chad Hammer – secret identity of the Roxxin’ Thor!
9. Into the Unbeing // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Publisher: Dark Horse
A group of climate scientists working in a remote base camp on the Australian outback discover an impossible landform. Led by botanist Hildur Johansson, the team sets out to conduct a routine exploratory mission to map the terrain, record their observations, and try to understand this anomalous landscape. They arrive expecting the unexpected, and the Unbeing delivers. The expedition discovers a massive, entirely novel, giant holobiont that threatens to upend everything they understand about the natural world.
Propelled by hubris and the intoxicating charm of forbidden knowledge, the research team descends into a hostile alien environment allowed to thrive without human interference. The beautiful yet unforgiving landscape hosts strange flora, gorgeous fauna and dangerous predators lurking in the darkness. As the team pushes deeper, can they survive long enough to find what they’re looking for?
9. Kill All Immortals // Paul Eaton
Writer: Zack Kaplan
Artist: Fico Ossio
Publisher: Dark Horse
Succession meets John Wick… with immortal Vikings. A thousand years ago, Viking explorer Erik the Red and his four adult children discovered a mysterious source of immortality. Now, in our modern world, they are an enigmatic billionaire family with a powerful banking empire. But when Erik’s only daughter, Frey Asvald, seeks to finally be free from her family’s influence, she must be prepared to reveal their supernatural secrets and confront her well-trained siblings in a deadly and epic struggle for power.
8. House of the Unholy // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
An FBI agent from the cult crime beat and a woman with a past linked to the Satanic Panic are drawn into a terrifying hunt for an insane killer hiding in the shadows of the underworld. Can you ever escape your past, or are all your bad decisions just more ghosts to haunt you, wherever you go? Houses of the Unholy is a riveting horror thrill ride from bestselling creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the award-winning team behind Criminal, Reckless, Night Fever, and Where the Body Was.
8. The Energon Universe // Paul Eaton
Writer: Various
Artist: Various
Publisher: Image Comics / Skybound
Featuring comic series G.I. Joe, Cobra Commander, Destro, Duke, Scarlett and Void Rivals.
7. The Pedestrian // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Joey Esposito
Artist: Sean Von Gorman
Publisher: Magma Comix
Behold, The Pedestrian! A strange visitor speedwalks into Summer City and silently changes the lives of its residents. But not all is quiet in this sleepy, small town-an ancient conflict linked to the secret history of street signs is brewing! DON’T WALK… RUN! In The Pedestrian, justice always has the right of way!
7. Ultimate Spider-Man // Paul Eaton
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The most surprising Spider-Man story of the 21st century, as the new Ultimate Spider-Man meets the Ultimates!
After their intense battle with the Kingpin, Green Goblin and Spider-Man both know they aren’t as ready to reshape the world as they hoped. Harry and Peter get to work, while Ben and Jonah search for “the truth” – and problems for their resistance arise when the Ultimates return! But they’re not the only team in town: The Kingpin has gathered six sinister super villains to deal with his masked-vigilante problem. And that isn’t the only challenge Spider-Man will face! Meanwhile, Green Goblin joins forces with…Doc Ock?! And with Tony Stark back, Peter must also explore his new suit’s limitations.
6. This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Julio Anta
Artist: Jacoby Salcedo
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer Julio Anta and artist Jacoby Salcedo, the dynamic team behind the young adult graphic novel Frontera, take readers on a gripping and inspiring journey filled with high stakes and heart as Jaime embraces his new calling as Blue Beetle! Jaime Reyes is an ordinary high school student in El Paso, Texas, with a deep love for his family, culture, and home, and loves nothing more than his neighborhood’s spontaneous gatherings that go late into the night. But lately, he’s begun to realize that he and his border community are being used as pawns in an increasingly toxic immigration debate.
The last few months have seen armed troops deployed along the U.S. and Mexico border, manufactured crackdowns at official border crossings, and a mounting resentment among a group of disaffected and reactionary youth. Jaime’s problems get even more complicated when he finds an odd bug-like artifact while stargazing. He starts feeling a little different–like there’s another voice in his head pushing him toward his most base instincts. And to make matters worse, he’s been having surreal dreams that show him that the true threat El Paso faces isn’t illegal aliens but actual aliens known as the Reach. In fact, according to his dreams, Jaime is meant to pave the way for the Reach’s impending invasion!
6. Feral // Paul Eaton
Writer: Tony Fleecs
Artist: Trish Forstner
Publisher: Image Comics
Meet Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches, and Patch: three indoor cats lost in the not-so-great outdoors during a nightmarish rabies outbreak. Without their humans to protect them, the cats must find their way home without getting eaten by the zombie-like horde of beasts on their tails. Don’t get scratched. Don’t get bit. Don’t become… feral.
5. Feral // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Tony Fleecs
Artist: Trish Forstner
Publisher: Image Comics
Meet Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches, and Patch: three indoor cats lost in the not-so-great outdoors during a nightmarish rabies outbreak. Without their humans to protect them, the cats must find their way home without getting eaten by the zombie-like horde of beasts on their tails. Don’t get scratched. Don’t get bit. Don’t become… feral.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles // Paul Eaton
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Joelle Jones
Publisher: IDW Publishing
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have all left New York to pursue their own interests, but there are forces gathering that will pull them back together-whether the bad guys like it or not. First up: Raphael! But why is everyone’s favorite brawler in prison?! When a surprise attack behind bars puts Raph’s position in jeopardy, he needs to figure out how to get out of jail and warn his brothers that trouble is coming.
4. Minor Threats: Barfly // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Ryan Browne
Publisher: Dark Horse
Spinning out of the world of the hit Minor Threats superhero series by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn comes a new tale of costumed underdogs-featuring a low-level henchman without a leader to serve.
The Lower Lair bar is home to all sorts of supervillains, lowlifes, and scumbags… but only one of them has to puke digestive fluids onto his food to eat. $#!%eater, the humanoid mutant fly is a loser, a lifelong minion who lives to serve his criminal master. But what happens to a henchman when he no longer has anyone left to hench for? Comic book legends Kyle Starks and Ryan Browne present the heartwarming, feel good, coming-of-age story about an insect monster-man searching for his identity amongst the criminal underworld of Twilight City.
4. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees // Paul Eaton
Writer: Patrick Horvath
Artist: Patrick Horvath
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Don’t. Murder. The locals. This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm decor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie… the last thing you want is to disturb the peace. So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise-and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.
3. Kill All Immortals // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Zack Kaplan
Artist: Fico Ossio
Publisher: Dark Horse
Succession meets John Wick… with immortal Vikings. A thousand years ago, Viking explorer Erik the Red and his four adult children discovered a mysterious source of immortality. Now, in our modern world, they are an enigmatic billionaire family with a powerful banking empire. But when Erik’s only daughter, Frey Asvald, seeks to finally be free from her family’s influence, she must be prepared to reveal their supernatural secrets and confront her well-trained siblings in a deadly and epic struggle for power.
3. I Hate Fairyland // Paul Eaton
Writer: Skottie Young
Artist: Brett Bean
Publisher: Image Comics
The Fairyland adventures continue in the seventh volume of the wildly hilarious and bestselling series! Gert wanders around Fairyland sticking her axe where it doesn’t belong on adventure after bloody adventure! Gert deals with Cloudia being in the real world instead of her, gets involved with the Billy Goats Gruff, has a movie made of her life in Fairyland, and has to transform into more of a monster than she already is to deal with an old problem!
2. Transformers // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson
Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Publisher: Image Comics / Skybound
The Transformers Join The Energon Universe!? Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies-the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
2. Something is Killing the Children // Paul Eaton
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Werther Dell’Edera
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
This “Year Zero” character-defining arc of the hit horror adventure series that has sold over 3 million copies worldwide follows Erica during her years before Archer’s Peak to various remote towns in the American countryside, killing monsters before they kill unsuspecting children.
1. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees // Justin Soderberg
Writer: Patrick Horvath
Artist: Patrick Horvath
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Don’t. Murder. The locals. This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm decor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie… the last thing you want is to disturb the peace. So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise-and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.
1. Transformers // Paul Eaton
Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson
Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Publisher: Image Comics / Skybound
The Transformers Join The Energon Universe!? Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies-the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
