It’s hard to believe that 2024 has passed and another year of DC Comics is in the books. From starting off with the wildness of the “Beast World” crossover to the earth-shattering creation of the Absolute Universe, 2024 was chock-full of amazing moments.
But even among all the great storylines, some single issues are just so great they can’t help but stand out from the pack. Whether they were a one-off special or the beginning or even end of another story, the following ten issues are the ones that truly went above and beyond and made DC Comics’ year.
10
Batgirl #1 Brought Cassandra Cain Back Into the Spotlight
Created by: Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa
Cassandra Cain fans finally got what they’ve been craving thanks to a brand-new series from Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. The creative team wastes absolutely no time with their debut issue and gives readers everything they could want in a Batgirl book. Batgirl reunites with her mother, Lady Shiva, only for the two to be attacked by a deadly group of assassins, leading to one of the greatest fight scenes in 2024.
Brombal perfectly captures Cass in this issue, conveying her tough exterior and her inner emotional intelligence (while keeping her the same badass fighter that fans love). Miyazawa also brings his A-game to this book with his designs and his fight sequences. Everything is so fluid and dynamic, it almost feels cinematic. Batgirl #1 is an amazing start that’s sure to please new and old Cassandra Cain fans.
9
Ape-Ril Special Was More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys
Created by: Joshua Hale Fialkov, Gene Luen Yang, John Layman, Bernard Chang, Phil Hester, and Karl Mostert
If there’s ever a time to showcase simian shenanigans, it’s around April Fool’s Day. And DC did just that with Ape-Ril Special, a hilarious anthology that celebrated the DC Universe’s finest monkey and monkey-like heroes and villains. Taking advantage of Gorilla Grodd’s absence, Monsieur Mallah forms an all-ape crew of villains (known as the Legion of D(oo-oo-ah-ah)m. And the only people (or monkeys, rather) that could stop him was the Jungle League of America.
The special contains three stories, which range from hilarious (and filled with plenty of monkey puns) to surprisingly insightful (which isn’t hard thanks to featuring everyone’s favorite primate private eye, Detective Chimp. This book was just a fun one-off, and anyone can tell every creative team involved here was having the time of their life throwing a monkey wrench in the usual DC works.
8
Plastic Man No More! #1 Was This Year’s Greatest Tragicomedy
Created by: Christopher Cantwell, Alex Lins, and Jacob Edgar
It wasn’t all smiles for the DC Universe’s second bananas in 2024 and Christopher Cantwell, Alex Lins, and Jacob Edgar pooled their talents to create a hell of an emotional start with Plastic Man No More! #1. After a fight with Solaris, Plas discovers that his body is breaking down, and he has no way of stopping it. Worse, he just can’t seem to get the Justice League to take him seriously, even as his life, and the life of his son Luke, hangs in the balance.
Aside from expertly balancing comedy and drama, this book does a lot of really cool things. Several scenes swap out Lins’ art for Edgar’s during Plastic Man’s scenes with the Justice League to highlight the suffering Plastic Man goes through as the team’s resident clown. It’s a funny, if not harrowing, beginning to a truly great story.
7
Absolute Power #2 Featured a Fight That Pushed Every Hero to Their Limit
Created by: Mark Waid and Dan Mora
Nothing was more consequential to the DC Universe this year than Absolute Power, and the event’s second issue by Mark Waid and Dan Mora hit the heroes where it hurt. This issue follows up on Waller’s initial mass de-powering of Earth’s metahumans, and those who haven’t been captured have retreated to the Fortress of Solitude. Unfortunately, this brief respite comes to a sudden end when the heroes are attacked by Amanda Waller’s A-Team: The Brainiac Queen and a brainwashed Jon Kent.
Waid really ups the stakes here in the massive fight, and despite having little to no powers on their side, the heroes come up with some truly creative ways of fighting their foes. And that’s to say nothing of Mora here, who makes this Absolute Power #2 a pleasure to read from start to finish.
6
Batman #150 Showed What Makes the Dark Knight a Real Hero
Created by: Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jiménez, Denys Cowan, and Mike Hawthorne
Sometimes the best Batman stories are the ones that discuss the real positives Bruce brings to the world around him. Batman #150 featured the story “Be Better” by Chip Zdarsky, Denys Cowan and Jiménez, which saw a former henchman trying to profit off of Batman’s secret identity. However, during his adventure, he reunites with his son, who was on a path much like his father, until Batman gave him a chance to do better, inspiring the henchman to abandon his quest for money and let the Dark Knight be.
Zdarsky’s time on Batman was full of grand moments and fight sequences, but this story’s examination of Batman and his belief that people can become better with opportunity was a real peek of the run. Cowan and Jiménez also work together wonderfully in crafting this incredibly human story.
5
Wonder Woman #14 Was a Poignant Tale of Losing and Gaining Loved Ones
Created by: Tom King and Daniel Sampere
When DC All In began, Tom King and Daniel Sampere took a bold turn in their Wonder Woman series in several respects. America’s secret king, the Sovereign, summons Steve Trevor to his quarters, where he shoots and kills the soldier, plummeting Diana into a deep mourning period. She distances herself to communicate with Trevor in the underworld, who inspires Wonder Woman to live on and keep him alive in spirit. Diana does exactly that and uses pieces of their souls to give life to their daughter, Trinity.
King and Sampere’s work here is nothing short of powerful. King excellently captures feelings of love and grief as he explores the fallout of Steve’s death. And Sampere’s amazing art takes the issue’s most important moments, such as Wonder Woman and Steve’s last kiss, to another level.
4
Green Lantern: War Journal #12 Was a Proper, Tearjerking Sendoff
Created by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos
2024 saw the end of John Stewart’s latest series, and it did not disappoint. Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos go out as strongly as they began with their final issue of Green Lantern: War Journal, which saw John defeat his new powerful cosmic enemies, the Star Shroud and the Radiant Dead. Unfortunately, everything comes to a head when Green Lantern is forced to say goodbye to his ailing mother in a scene that’s sure to make even the hardened reader cry.
Johnson and Montos absolutely knock the final issue out of the park. Not only does it resolve this chapter of Stewart’s life neatly, it’s simply a gorgeous book from start to finish. While it’s a shame the series had to end at all, anyone who reads Green Lantern: War Journal’s conclusion is not going to be unhappy.
3
New Gods #1 Kicked off A Beautiful Cosmic Epic
Created by: Ram V and Evan Cagle
New Gods #1 by Ram V and Evan Cagle is the first series to start Jack Kirby’s iconic creations in decades and the duo delivers a series worthy of the King himself. Darkseid is dead, and his death is being felt throughout the multiverse as a prophecy warns of dark days ahead. Highfather orders Orion on a mission to stop a child that could bring the end of days, forcing Orion to seek out Mister Miracle for assistance.
Ram V gives fans a book that is amazingly epic in scale, but balances it out with incredibly human moments, including showcasing Mister Miracle as a new father. And Cagle was the absolute best choice for this issue, as his art manages to be both grand while also personal. It’s a great start that promises a lot of exciting things to come in DC All In.
2
DC All In Special Went Above and Beyond to Introduce the Absolute Universe
Created by: Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, and Wes Craig
DC Comics really built up suspense when it revealed DC All In Special would set up the All In initiative and the All In era. Thanks to the conclusion of Absolute Power, Darkseid has gone power mad and fuses with the Spectre, just as the Justice League reforms on a newly constructed Watchtower. However, Darkseid’s physical body is destroyed, causing universe-wide consequences that are still being explored right now.
Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere and Wes Craig really did go all out for this special. It was made as a flipbook so that fans could read the story from the League’s perspective one way and Darkseid’s the other (so definitely get a physical copy of it). It was exactly the right kind of bold move necessary to really get readers excited about DC’s ambitious new era.
1
Absolute Wonder Woman #1 Was The Defining Comic of DC All In
Created by: Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman
DC Comics began its new wave of Absolute titles with books starring radically overhauled versions of the Trinity. And standing out from the pack was Absolute Wonder Woman #1 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. This story presents a different version of Diana, one who was raised by Circe in Hell rather than on Paradise Island. But Wonder Woman still grows into a powerful warrior, just in time to stop demons that have begun to attack the Earth.
Thompson and Sherman had their work cut out for them, but they both rose to the occasion with their new take on Wonder Woman. She’s still the same powerful and loving hero, but somehow even more badass. Even as she makes changes to Diana’s history in the Absolute Universe, Thompson’s love for the character can be felt on every page. And Hayden Sherman does not slouch here, giving the DC Universe its best new Wonder Woman since the original.
