Marilyn's Top Five Single Issue Comics of 2016

Finishing up our lists of our favorite single issue comics of 2016, Marilyn is sharing her favorites today. You can see Meredith's list here, and John's list here.

Lazarus #23 – July 2016 (found in Lazarus: Book Five)

One of the things I love about Lazarus is the fight scenes. I’m not a huge fan of blood and guts, but I can look past that for a well-staged fight. And while Lazarus has had many fantastic fights, the battle in issue #23 featuring the Lazarus Sonya blew me away. 

Kill or Be Killed #1 – August 2016 (found in Kill or Be Killed: Volume One)

I will gladly pick up anything by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. They are such an incredible team, and after The Fade Out ended I needed more. Enter, Kill or Be Killed. The premise; Dylan, a young man unhappy with his life, attempts suicide. He survives and is visited by Death who informs Dylan that he must kill someone for every month he wishes to continue living, so he begins hunting down the worst of society. 

Ms. Marvel #12 – October 2016 (found in Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2)

For those of you who are unaware, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel is my favorite super hero. One of the things that stood out to me when the comic first came out was Kamala’s family. And as Kamala has become more present in the Marvel Universe, we’ve seen less of her family. I had enjoyed the little flashbacks to her family coming to America, but in issue #12 Kamala goes overseas to visit her family still in Pakistan. 

Giant Days #17 – August 2016 (found in Giant Days, Vol. 4)

While Giant Days has never been as extreme or action packed as some of the other titles I read, it has become a bit of a comfort read for me. I’ve watched these characters grow through their time at university and develop meaningful friendships outside of their core group of friends, which has helped to enrich the story. Ester and Ed working together has been one of the highlights of the series, and my heart goes out to poor Daisy for having to act as Den Mother to the group. 

Saga #38 – September 2016 (found in Saga: Volume Seven)

Look man, just when I thought Saga couldn’t do something to surprise me, of course they did. It happened in September and I’m still not over it. 

Honorable Mention
Please, please, pick up Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. While no single issue made it into my top five, the series as a whole has been one of my favorite reads over the past two years. Lunella Lafayette aka Moon Girl has awakened as an Inhuman and is trying to become a superhero on her own terms while controlling, and occasionally switching places with her trusty pet, Devil Dinosaur. The ending of issue #6, where Lunella goes into her Inhuman cocoon and Devil Dinosaur sadly guards her almost made me cry. Just read it, and then have your kids read it, because they will love it too. Devil Dinosaur fights a Lego Dinosaur, what more do you need?

And that's it for our single-issue recaps of 2016, but I'm sure we'll still be talking comics throughout 2017.

~Marilyn