This question always gets me a bit since I’m not reading a huge slate of comics and I’m not exactly caught up on some of them. The best series being published now? That’s always a difficult one no matter how invested in something you are. You start coming up with caveats on series, you start wanting to break it down by genre perhaps, or publisher so as to not leave out some great stuff. The problem is that, especially outside of the superhero genre, there’s some fantastic stuff.
I’m really thrilling to East of West. I’m horribly behind on Saga but I’ve loved what I’ve seen so far. I can’t get enough of Manifest Destiny and want to see more. And I’m just grinning at the thought of what Manhattan Projects is actually doing in a larger sense. There’s so much to like through this and a whole lot more.
But the one book that instantly popped into my mind, even though I’m years behind in material, is The Walking Dead. I’ve read the first sixteen or so volumes so far and what I keep finding throughout its run is that with its stark style, the black and white aspect and the way things get so bleak and difficult to deal with that I keep coming back to it as a really strong narrative to work through. The problem I had with comics for the longest time was the lack of permanence for certain things. Everything always seemed to go to a status quo, though with some elasticity to it to adjust for the times. With books like this, outside of the shared universe system, things are wide open. We’re getting relationships under strain dealt with, mortality issues truly being faced, a kind of oppression that’s near impossible to really understand while you’re living it.
The series has also obviously been a boon to many other industries as the TV show has created a slew of merchandise, numerous fans that have crossed over and a lot more. It’s an impactful series, but it’s also because it’s a fantastic series in its own right. If the series had never gotten a TV run, yes, it wouldn’t be quite as popular as it is, but the book would still be a significant one within the comics world. This is a book that continues to challenge itself and its readers on a regular basis and that’s one of the reasons it’s one of the best series running these days.
