10 Best Comic Books Of The Decade

4. Mister Miracle - Tom King & Mitch Gerads

DC Comics/Nick Derington

Tom King and Mitch Gerads took everyone by surprise with the release of 2016's Mister Miracle, a comic that reappraised the legacy of Jack Kirby's Fourth World by applying an introspective take to the eponymous escape artist, and the horrors an unending cosmic conflict would presumably inflict on those who couldn't flee its influence.

King and Gerads' grasp on Kirby's signature Fourth World iconography is a highlight, but where Mister Miracle really shines through is in its more personal moments between Scott Free and Big Barda. Their romance is so genuine, while Scott's troubles with depression are relayed unflinchingly. The end result provides readers with an authentic reimagining of one of Kirby's most iconic creations, and that one packs a hefty emotional wallop when it needs to.

There are moments where the book threatens to stall, but it all comes together in the end. Scott and Barda are just so believable as a couple, and while 'last day to live' stories are nothing new, the fact that their romance is so endearing makes the issue where King and Gerads implement that trope almost heart wrenching to sit through.

Issue five, the entry where this story takes place, may just be one of the best I've ever read. It's a beautiful story that effortlessly captures one of comics' most enduring romances, and exemplifies what made King and Gerads' series such a runaway hit when it released in 2017.

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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.