Creators' Year in Review Part 3: Older Comics We Read in 2025
The past is a land both distant and close. Easy to visit, hard to stay, and impossible to truly grasp.
Welcome folks to the second Creators' Year in Review here at House of Ideas, Powers of Secrets, keeping the Multiversity tradition alive and well. The gist for anyone new is I send out five questions to comics creators from all the around the comics world. They come back with a list of answers that is every bit as eclectic as they all are and I compile them into articles. Part of the fun is: you never know what comics or other creators will be reified en masse and which ones will bubble up from the underground, catching you completely off guard.
For anyone who would like to see what 2024 held in store before diving into 2025, check out last year's lists!
So. Five Questions. Five Posts. Halfway there!
What older comics did you read in 2024?
Meredith McClaren (“Black Cloak,” “Hinges”): Reread “Azumanga Daioh” by Kiyohiko Azuma. It's still very good.
Blue Delliquanti (“O Human Star”, “Across a Field of Starlight”): I caught up on some older manga this year, including detective series “Master Keaton” (Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katsushika, Takeshi Nagasaki), and ladies wrestling drama “Harukanaru Ring” (Keigo Nakamura.) I also got ahold of “Domu: A Child’s Dream” after watching the Katsuhiro Otomo interview on Manben - talk about a comic in desperate need of an English re-release!!
Jose Pimienta (“Halfway to Somewhere,” “Suncatcher”): The Only Child, Plain Jane and The Mermaid, Mary Taylor Moorehawk
Michael Grover (“Deeply Dave,” “Jake Spooky and the Wolves Within”): Tintin! I hadn't read any Tintin comics since I was a kid, and it's been fascinating to revisit them. Like many old comics, Tintin has some thorny ideological aspects to navigate here and there. But Tintin is a masterclass in draftsmanship and raw cartooning skill. It's interesting how much mileage Hergé managed to get out of such simple characters.
Rodrigo Vargas (“The Do-Over,” “Walking to Do”): All of them! haha! I saw on humble bundle they had a Bendis collection, and oh I love “Powers” so much. I read it a while ago and I think there’s some new comics coming out, so I read a bunch of them to get ready for the new book. Also right now I’m the middle of reading “Black Hole,” which I got for cheaps in Toronto. Not much you can say about it that hasn’t been said already, so I’m just gonna point out that I got it for 15 Canadian bucks. What a steal!
Reed Hinckley-Barnes (“Hero of Legend,” “Countless Little Deaths”): I'm a big fan of the Shelved by Genre podcast, and for the back half of this year, they've been reading through some of Alan Moore's work. Haven't followed along with all of it (they're reading “Promethea,” and I will never read that book again) but revisiting “V for Vendetta,” “Swamp Thing” and “From Hell” were really great. You know what, that Alan Moore guy can really write comics!
Jade Armstrong (“Scout is Not a Band Kid,” “Food School”): Technically also a 2025 release for the english translation, but “Miss Ruki” by Fumiko Takano. Strip comics from 88 to 92 that feel timeless. the kind of comic that makes you happy to be alive.
Joe Corallo (“Dahlia in the Dark,” “The Never-Ending Party”): So much! I’ve been picking up all the “Gundam: The Origin” Deluxe Editions as they’ve been coming out and it’s been an incredible reading experience. I also picked up and read through the “Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Traveling Heroes” omnibus which was filled with issues from the 70’s I had never read before that were after Neal Adams had left the title. I read the entire Walt Simonson and Tom DeFalco “Fantastic Four” runs in Epic Collection format too. Also dipped back into Bronze Age “Legion of Super-Heroes” because I always go back and read older Legion comics.
Zach Weinersmith (“Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal,” “A City on Mars”): The above mentioned, and I think I read a bit of Watchmen as well.
Clayton Cowles (“Die: Loaded,” “Wonder Woman Historia”): Right now I’m in the middle of David Mazzuchelli’s Asterios Polyp. It’s exactly the kind of graphic novel that would have annoyed the hell out of me when it was first released (especially for winning the Eisner Awaard for Best Lettering), but, well, it is pretty darn good--lettering included. I don’t know how many memoir-esque graphic novels we need about sad, middle-aged dudes, but if there’s a purge coming, I insist that this one be spared.
I dove into Peter David’s X-Factor and The Incredible Hulk after he passed away, both of which lived up to their legend. So far, I’ve only read the Pantheon/Future Imperfect sections of the Hulk run, and I’m waiting for more to be released in an Epic format before I continue (I have high hopes for the Joe Fixit era). And last but not least, I read Miracleman for the first time, which is now tied with D.R. & Quinch for my favorite work by [The Original Writer].
Zack Quaintance (“Death of Comics Bookcase,” “Macabre Valley”): I read the new printing of Jan Strnad and Dennis Fujitake's classic sci-fi comics, “The Dalgoda Omnibus.” I also read the 2000AD collection “Shakara!” And the new big Humanoids hardcover by Caza, “Arkadi and the Lost Titan.”
Brian Gonsar (“Dracula’s Brunch Club,” “Twisted Tales of Scary Stories: Werewolves”): I tend to read more graphic novels than comics. But I did pick up “Amulet” for the first time and read the series. I felt like I had to, since that series really helped kickstart the graphic novel craze.
Kyle Starks (“Rick and Morty,” “Assassin Nation”): I definitely read more old stuff than new stuff by virtue of the library, Hoopla and the Big two apps. The standouts were probably my re-read of the entire “Astro City,” revisiting “ZOT” for the first time in years. I started a re-read of James Robinson's “Starman,” a classic of course. I caught up on the James Tynion stuff I had somehow missed prior to this year like “WorldTr33” and “The Woods.” Also got caught up on Kelly Thompson’s work - I think they are delightful. “Top 10,” “Sandman Mystery Theatre,” “NEXTwave” and a TON of old stuff for research for different potential projects.
Caroline Cash (“PeePee PooPoo,” “Adventure Time: The Bubbline Special”): “Skip Beat” by Yoshiki Nakamura and “Nancy” by Ernie Bushmiller.
Michael Conrad (“Plague House,” “Wonder Woman”): I really enjoyed revisiting some of the books I loved as a youngling. “Sandman Mystery Theatre,” “Black Hole,” and “The Maxx” remain quite good.
Derek Charm (“Toxic Summer,” “The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl”): Mark Waid’s entire “Flash” run, “JLApe,” 90’s “X-Men,” Jack Cole’s “Plastic Man,” the original “Speed Racer” manga, “Batman: Red Skies,” and most recently the 1991 “Marvel Holiday Special.”
Ben Kahn (“Mr. Muffins: Defender Of The Stars,” “Heavenly Blues”): Keeping up with the weekly releases has taken up most of my reading time this year, but recently I read and have absolutely loved “Catwoman: Selina's Big Score,” and the Dan Slott & Mike Allred run of “Silver Surfer.”
Murewa Ayodele (“Akogun: Brutalizer Of Gods”, “Storm” (2024)): I mostly read older comics these days. I need them for research purposes. But occasionally, I make the time to remember to read older comics for fun too. I’m currently re-reading the ‘Court Of Owls’ storyline from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on “Batman” and “Cosmic Ghost Rider” by Donny Cates and Dylan Burnett. I also re-read “The Unworthy Thor” by Jason Aaron and Olivier Coipel. These are comics that I went absolutely bonkers for when I was first introduced to them. It’s always nice to recapture some of that fun, notice how my taste may have changed, and develop a deeper respect for these works of art.
On the flip side, I read the “God Of Magic” story arc from Donny Cates and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s run on “Doctor Strange” for the first time. That was a fun hidden gem to discover. Extremely thrilling comic that ended up being very influential to subsequent “Doctor Strange” runs, in my opinion.
Adedotun Akande (“Akogun: Brutalizer Of Gods,” “I Am Iron Man”): Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius’ “The Black Incal.” A beautiful, stirring, ambitious and arresting saga.
Moebius’ art is so intricately crafted with careful and clear intentions such that even chaotic scenes feel elegant, less like a doctor’s note and more like clean calligraphy in a love letter.
Matt Hotson (“Wild West C.O.W.-Boys Of Moo Mesa”, “MMPR: The Return”): “TMNT Journeys”! IDW’s reprinting of the hard-to-find, excellent fourth volume of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” by co-creator Peter Laird, Jim Lawson, and others from the Mirage Studios team. This re-release will save me countless hours (and dollars) of searching for the originals at conventions! I’m also a sucker for any and all old issues of “Groo.” That book and “Usagi Yojimbo” are two very rare examples of a comic where you can pick up any issue from any decade at any publisher, and never feel lost. When are these two characters doing a crossover?!
Rye Hickman (“Hey Mary!”, “Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story”): I'm currently doing a Love & Rockets re-read, at the pace of my bank account telling me I can have a little treat, so I'm still on “The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.” It's incredibly luxurious to have so MUCH of a comic, and I feel like the stories reflect that. The pacing is lovely. And I'm always a sucker for black and white work.
Cullen Bunn (“Autumn Kingdom”, “Harrow County): I re-read some of Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing” and some early “Hellblazer.” I also hit the old Arrow/Calibur comic “The Realm” by Ralph Griffith, Stu Kerr, and Guy Davis pretty hard.
Zac Thompson (“Cemetery Kids Don’t Die”, “Come Into Me”): Mostly just old issues of “BPRD.” I’ve slowly been making my way through all the volumes as it was a huge blind spot in my reading history.
Andrew Wheeler (“Hey Mary!”, “Cat Fight”): I always go back to the Kyle Baker works that I fell in love with in my 20s, especially “The Cowboy Wally Show” and “Why I Hate Saturn.” The peak of comedy in comics form.
Triple Dream Comics (Lauren Davis, Mel Hilario, Katie Longua) (“Agent Cupcake”, “Debian Perl, Digital Detective”):
LD: I did a major book purge this year, but I actually went on eBay to acquire a copy of Liz Suburbia’s “Sacred Heart,” which I had previously only read as a webcomic. It’s set in a town where all the adults left years before on a religious sojourn, but the kids still follow the teen rituals of going to school, having sports games, going to parties. The characters and their world feel so lived in, plus there’s a murder mystery, which I’m always a sucker for.
MH: Whenever I need a pick-me-up I flip through anything by Lynda Barry, Allie Brosh’s “Hyperbole and a Half,” as well as Jenn Woodall’s “Magical Beatdown.”
KL: 2025 was a big year for me and shoujo manga history. I dove into work from Moto Hagio, Keiko Takemiya, and Riyoko Ikeda. “A, A Prime” and “The Rose of Versailles” in particular stand out and influenced my own work. I’m going into 2026 with the goal of capturing even a speck of the beauty of these artist’s panel layouts.
Jorge Corona (“Transformers” (2024,) “Middlewest”): For reasons that I hope are known by now, I went back and re-read the old “Lobo” books and had a blast with them. I also went back to read the first few Omnibuses of “Berserk” and the “Doctor Strange/Doctor Doom” series by Mignola. Just really beautiful works.
Taylor Robin (“Never Satisfied,” “Hunger's Bite”): It's a bit of a stretch, because it's not really comics exclusively but there were comic samples in the books about him, but I got into the life and work of Frank Frazetta. Reading about that dude and his career will make you want to burn down publishing offices, not because of a history of mistreatment, but because you used to be able to make a living at this! You could make a great living! The guy was crazy well off just from book covers. And now we don't do those anymore and the ones we do get paid dirt. It's maddening.
Colleen AF Venable (“Junie B. Jones,” “Kiss Number 8”): “Tender” by Beth Hetland will HAUNT ME FOREVER. Also finally read the “Henry and Glen Forever & Ever” anthology by Tom Neely and it gave me hope that true love (and lots of mesh shirts) can survive in this world.
Der-shing Helmer (“Mare Internum,” “Quail Party”): Jim Terry's “Come Home Indio,” an exceptional and vulnerable autobio comic published in 2020 that I can't help but revisit. Jim is a comic artist on par with Will Eisner, in my opinion, and I love all his work, but the honesty with which he wrote this book continues to hold my attention.
Violet Kitchen (“Allodynia,” “Crawlspace”): I recently reread Der-shing Helmer’s “Mare Internum,” a very formative webcomic for me that left me with an abiding love of caves. I also revisited “A Softer World” and “Buttercup Festival,” two others that I return to with regularity.
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Elias Rosner
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