The Funkiest, Grooviest Comics of 2014

- by Ninja Ross, 31 December 2014

We’ve already seen some of the raddest and oddest comics of 2014, thanks to Señor Editor, but let’s not forget the funkiest and grooviest. Just in time for the New Year, I have complied some excellent books for you to check out right freaking now. All of which are both incredibly funky AND groovy.

Ben Templesmith released Squidder through his company 44Flood on Kickstarter a while ago, but teamed up with IDW this year to release it in monthly instalments. Which is good, because it’d be difficult to take this much awesome in one go.

The Squidder shows the world trying to carry on after losing a big war with the Almighty Squids. Our hero is a soldier from the legendary Squidder Legion, who is just trying to get by and not be killed horribly. Not easy in a world ruined by calamari.

This is one of the coolest books to hit the shelves this year, featuring a character that feels fresh, while also feeling a bit like a throwback to classic action heroes from the likes of Predator and Robocop.

It also looks freaking great, thanks to Templesmith supplying the art as well as the writing. It’s some of his best work to date, with his love of the Cthulhu Mythos showing through.

I hate knowing what’s going on! I hate it when things make sense! It’s a good thing Ray Fawkes has given us Intersect, just to make sure 2014 was confusing and weird enough!

Intersect is one of the most unique books of 2014, with a story featuring body sharing, blood rain and evil voices. Our hero is Ali, a woman sharing her body with a man named Jason. Together, with “Kid”, Ali aims to get out of the city and away from their pursuer, known as “Lucky.” But with Jason wanting to heads back into the city, things aren’t all that easy.

As I mentioned in my review of issue one, it’s incredibly weird and the plot doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but things are definitely piecing together. It’s interesting and incredibly good looking, thanks to Fawkes' artwork.

This is a direct sequel for the original John Carpenter movie, with Carpenter himself on board to assist with the plot.

The book is written by Eric Powell, of “The Goon” fame, who brings his love of Carpenter and monster movies to this book, giving it a very welcome 80’s movie vibe as well as plenty of his own unique creativity.

Art is provided by Brian Churilla, who easily captures the look of the movie. He brings a nice, simplistic cartoon style to the book but doesn’t sacrifice what counts, like Kurt Russell’s manly chin.

For maximum effect, don’t forget to listen to the movie theme on repeat while reading. 

More on this comic here.

This book was originally covered by our very own Señor Editor a while ago, which encouraged me to pick up the book myself. The Señor Editor guy knows his stuff, I tell you what.

Written by Joshua Williamson, the book features a town called Buckaroo, which has produced the most serial killers in the world, including Edward Charles Warren, the titular Nailbiter.

Nicholas Finch, a disgraced Army Intelligence Officer, is dragged into Buckaroo following his friend Carroll’s disappearance.  Carroll has been investigating the town,. Trying to figure out why so many serial killers are born there. Things... Don’t go too well.

Everyone loves serial killers and this is the perfect book for that! Plenty of imagination, but it never gets too outlandish. All of the serial killers mentioned in the comic feel just realistic enough to have existed, even if they are a bit weird.

The series recently featured an issue following Brian Michael Bendis as he explores the town, gathering research for his book. While slightly gimmick-y, it is a bit of fun and is even written in his style (keep an eye out for plenty of “Powers” references).

Here’s a surprise hit for the end of 2014! And it’s written by the previously mentioned Ray Fawkes, who brings a nice dose of horror to the Batman universe.

While the book does have a little bit of Batman in it, it follows The Spectre ( Jim Corrigan) and his team of supernatural specialists as they investigate the weird and horrifying aspects of Gotham that even Batman doesn’t really want to deal with.

The art is provided by Ben Templesmith, who has also already featured in this list. He brings his usual gorgeous creepiness to Gotham, helping to emphasise the more gothic nature of the city.

This book is one of the best to hit the shelves in 2014 and should only get better as time goes on.

This year has been pretty great for 2000AD. They have been releasing some fantastic stories, including some fantastic Dredd and Ulysses Sweet stories. Plus, they recently kicked off a new Dredd story featuring the magnificent return of the legendary Dark Judges!

Each issue is filled with different stories following some of the most unique characters and some of the best talent in comics, including Guy Adams, D’Israeli’ and Dan Abnett (check out our interview with him).

After the recent Christmas Special, 2015 looks to be pretty good for 2000AD. Pick up the Drokking book, citizen! You will never regret adding 2000AD to your pull list. 

Special mention: Corporate Skull

Corporate Skull is one of the funniest funny books around. It’s a web comic by Jamie Smart, featuring a man who loses his face in a photocopier accident. While there has been no new pages this year, it’s worth mentioning since series creator Jamie Smart has been talking about bringing it back in 2015. So keep an eye on that. 


Go and get these comics! And we'll see you in 2015! 

Tagged: comics.

blog comments powered by Disqus

---

Follow @TrashMutant