Indie comics have undergone a small revolution over the past decade - titles like Saga, Lore Olympus, and The Walking Dead are loved by fans across the globe. Part of this is a response to superhero comics taking over mainstream popular culture. Even as Marvel and DC properties remain household names, indie comics are receiving similar treatment. But they also are something special all on their own.
Fans of indie comics are probably familiar with Monstress, Nocterra, Decorum, and Something Is Killing The Children. But 2021 brought plenty of amazing indie comics that fans may have missed.
10 Eat The Rich: Smart Horror That Takes A Bite At Real-World Evils
Eat The Rich by Sarah Gailey and Pius Bak is a comic for the modern era. It opens with Joey, a young woman who met her rich boyfriend, Astor, at law school and is going to meet his family for the first time to spend the summer with them. She is already feeling out of her depth. Her first night there, she uncovers a terrible secret when she witnesses a heinous crime.
This smart brooding horror story really gets under the skin. Eat The Rich is unafraid to examine how the rich prey upon the less fortunate. Gailey's writing and Bak's art blend together perfectly to evoke an emotional and intense story that fans won't want to put down.
9 Djinn Hunter: All-Ages Fantasy With An Anime Aesthetic
This fantasy tale by Jay Sandlin and Fabrizio Cosentino follows Zara, a Magehound, who is released from prison by the very same Djinn Council who jailed her for centuries. After reinstating her powers, they order her to hunt down the same Elder Djinn who was convinced the Council to lock her up. The Elder Djinn has since betrayed the Council, and killed every other living Magehound.
This beautifully illustrated fantasy adventure is set in a world that combines elements of Arabian and Japanese folklore. Cosentino's art invigorates the anime-esque battles, infusing them with incredible magic and dynamic action.
8 Stray Dogs: Imagine Lady And The Tramp Meets Silence Of The Lambs
Written by Tony Fleecs and by Trish Forstner, Stray Dogs is one of a kind. It is one of the most exciting new comics of 2021, and easily one of the most original. This intense brooding mystery follows an amnesiac dog named Sophie. Sophie ends up in a new home without her human, and she is determined to find out what happened.
Image Comics has described it as Lady And the Tramp meets Silence Of The Lambs. If fans like dogs, or a good mystery, Stray Dogs is the perfect comic.
7 Barbaric: Hilarious Dark Fantasy Inspired By Conan The Barbarian
Michael Moreci and Nathan Gooden's Barbaric is the rare book that perfectly balances blood-stained, medieval carnage with smart, laugh-out-loud comedy.
The protagonist, Owen the Barbarian, wants to murder people. However, witches placed a curse on him, forcing him to do good deeds. Armed with a sentient blood-thirsty ax (that gets drunk on the blood it drinks), he undertakes adventures to kill evildoers (and any witches that happen to cross his path).
6 Alice In Leatherland: A Fairytale Romance With Dating Apps
Disney popularized stories of fairytale romances, and the trope has become classic. At once heartfelt and humorous, Alice In Leatherland is a fairytale updated for the age of dating apps. Alice In Leatherland is queer-centered, positive representation of non-conventional sexual practises, and polyamory.
Written by Iolanda Zanfardino and drawn by Elisa Ramboli, the story follows young artist Alice who illustrates children's books. When she catches her girlfriend cheating, Alice drops everything and moves to San Francisco. Alice In Leatherland is funny, emotional, and relevant in ways fans will love.
5 The Many Deaths Of Laila Starr: Modern Fantasy With Vedic Influences
The Many Deaths Of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade opens amid the chaos of the modern world as several events converge. A new human savior is about to be born, a young woman falls to her death, and the living embodiment of Death is fired from her job.
Death is reborn in Mumbai as a mortal woman named Laila Starr, the same woman who met her mortality after her great fall. Given a new life, Death grapples with mundane affairs and cosmic forces. This is a powerful work of magical realism that is imbued with a profound depth of humanity, and a sense of wonderment and sorrow. These themes easily make it one of the best titles of 2021.
4 Radiant Black: Superhero Drama For Broke Millennials
Superhero comics are everywhere. It takes a special comic to break the mold and defy the usual narrative conventions popularized by Marvel and DC. Radian Black is such a comic.
Written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Marcelo Costa, Radian Black follows Nathan Burnett. Nathan is thirty years old, and has failed to make it in the modern economy. Despite working multiple jobs, his low income and huge debts force him to move back home and live with his parents. He stumbles upon a cosmic anomaly that grants him access to incredible powers. But he is not the only one to gain access to them, and there are other forces out there to cause harm.
3 The Good Asian: Noir Detective Story Exploring U.S. Racism Against Chinese Communities
Hard-boiled detective stories have fallen out of fashion. But every so often, one comes along that pushes the genre in new ways. The Good Asian by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi follows the Chinese-American detective, Edison Hark. Edison is tracking a murderer in 1930s Chinatown, despite being steeped in departmental bigotry and battling his own self-loathing.
This crime noir takes a sharp look at US policy toward Chinese immigrants and early 20th century Chinese-American communities. The Good Asian deals with the harsh realities of police brutality, class divides, and systemic racism while delivering an intense story of bloodshed and family loss.
2 The Autumnal: Folk Horror About A Single Mother Moving To The Rural Suburbs
The Autumnal is an atmospheric eerie work of folk horror, which slowly creeps into your veins and sinks its hooks into your bones. Written by Daniel Kraus and drawn by Chris Shehan, The Autumnal follows Kat Somerville, a single mother who moves back to her small home town after her mother dies.
The scenic town has a close-knit community and enjoys magnificent autumn foliage. It soon becomes clear that the townsfolk are hiding a secret - one tied to the past that Kat fled from as a child and that now might threaten her own daughter's life.
1 Happy Hour: A Dystopian Future Where Unhappiness Is Outlawed
Dystopian futures are commonplace among sci-fi stories, but the genre is at its best when it speculates on the nature of society. Happy Hour is set in a near-future United States where being unhappy is a crime. This is enacted to combat the unhappiness causing high suicide rates, addiction, and other social ills. When someone experiences a loss, they are expected to keep smiling.
Those who don't comply are sent to reeducation camps to reconditioning. When Jerry Stephens is in a car accident, his injuries undo the surgical conditioning that made him happy. He meets Kim, who is also miserable, and the two go on the run together, trying to flee from the authoritarian Joy Police. The Joy Police are determined to torture them until they are happy again.