10 Best Comic Books Of 2018

DC may have taken the cake in 2017, but have Marvel had a better year?

by Ewan Paterson
Marvel Comics/DC Comics/Boom! Studios

2018 has been a fantastic year for comic books. DC, Marvel, Image and countless other publishers have been cranking out dozens of brilliant comics from January through to December - a fact which has not only made collecting each an every title this year a particularly expensive exercise, but ranking the best of the best extremely difficult too.

Yes, the medium hasn't been without its stranger moments this year, but fans have also seen some amazing stories unravel too. DC carried the momentum they had gained in 2017 with blistering continuations to Mister Miracle, Dark Nights: Metal, and countless other titles, while also introducing dozens of brand-new comic books along the way. Particular credit must also be given to Marvel, who've quietly had one of their greatest years in recent memory, while Image, Dark Horse and Boom! have all produced some stellar stories too.

There've been highs and lows of course; the passing of legendary creator Stan Lee - along with Steve Ditko back in June - marked the end of an era for the superhero genre, just as it continues to Marvel readers and audiences alike as the vanguard of popular culture across film, TV, and beyond.

It is in that spirit, however, that we now reflect on some of the amazing work being done today by the writers, pencillers, inkers, colourists and letterers working in the industry. They continue to bring a hefty dose of magic to every page, with a myriad of genres and characters at the helm, and they've all managed to make 2018 feel particularly special as a result.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.