The best indie comics

Indie comics have long fought hard to become mainstream, and they have achieved this goal with flying colors. There are an incredible number of indie comics that tell extraordinary stories from both an artistic and narrative perspective.

There are so many great comics out there that sometimes some of them get lost in the noise, even though they’re worth the investment. While many indie comics are widely known, there are many that deserve to be, but aren’t yet.

8 Murder Hawk

Creators: Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer | Publisher: Image

Murder Falcon, an 8-part series from Image, is full of wild energy. Featuring a Falcon sent to destroy all evil, powered by Jake’s guitar skills, it’s a series like you’ve never read before.

It’s not often that you get a vision as unique as the one in Murder Falcon, and that’s part of what makes it so special. You can tell that a lot of love went into this book, and it comes through on every page, making you empathize with the characters even more.

7 Violinist

Creators: Geoff Johns, Gary Frank and Brad Anderson | Publisher: Image

Set in a post-nuclear apocalypse world, Geiger is the story of a man who has become a wasteland legend. Fans of Fallout will know the story without stepping on any Fallout toes, and it has a beating heart that runs throughout the story and grips you right from the end of issue #1.

With an entire comic book universe called the Ghost Machine that encompasses the world of Geiger and the worlds of other indie characters, all with creative teams of impeccable caliber, Geiger is just one part of a machine that has many great comics to offer.

6 God Land

Creators: Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Publisher: Image

Some books have a special spice from the start. It can’t be forced or learned, sometimes a book just has it from issue 1. God Country is one of those books. Combining realistic fears of old age and family with giant swords and gods, it’s a book that combines challenges big and small, and it all rests on the shoulders of one man.

It’s a limited series and the paperbacks are easy to find. With 6 issues in total, God Country is a book that’s easy to pick up in an afternoon and not put down until you’re finished. It’s an afternoon you won’t regret.

5 Invincible

Creators: Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley and John Rauch | Publisher: Image

It’s hard to make indie superhero comics that achieve any level of popularity, but Invincible has managed to create a long-lasting series with an entirely new superhero world that feels fresh without trying to completely reinvent the genre.

Invincible offers a very in-depth look at a superhero, from the first moment he flies too far into his adult life. It’s a very cool character study of what that kind of life can do to a person. It manages to balance extreme violence with an occasionally very sweet tone. It’s easily collectible in paperback, and there’s a great animated adaptation on Prime.

4 saga

Creators: Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples | Publisher: Image

A hugely popular, long-running series from Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Saga is one of the most inventive and somehow still relatable genre blends ever created. Saga mixes occasionally absurd concepts with relationships and character dynamics so familiar to everyday life that somehow everything feels like lived experience, both the relationships and the absurdities.

Saga has a very consistent creative team throughout, creating a very coherent vision. The planned story spans 108 issues, making Saga a worthwhile investment. There are readily available trade paperbacks and a compendium available.

3 The page contains the lyrics and the German translation of the song “TMNT” by The Movie.

Creators: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird | Current Publisher: IDW

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles really need no introduction. They are one of the most popular, if not the most popular, indie comic creation of all time, and their success is for one very good reason: they are great. They combine a mixture of familiar ideas, new territory, and a completely ridiculous premise that has so much heart that it somehow still works wonderfully.

TMNT has now seen countless different versions in the comics (and on screen) that are suitable for every age group. The original comics were darker than much of what came later, but now there is a particularly healthy mix of Turtles in different media that has something for pretty much everyone. IDW is releasing many new TMNT series in 2024, making these series a perfect entry point.

2 Hellboy

Creators: Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart | Publisher: Dark Horse

Hellboy, a book with a tone all its own, has been quite successful, and rightly so. Mike Mignola has a style, both in his art and his writing, that handles grand and epic scales with great sensitivity. The commitment to that style allows what’s there to stand out in a truly extraordinary way, whether it’s a great shot or a quiet, beautiful little moment.

Hellboy has been adapted many times, including as a solid roguelite game, and some of those adaptations have even been great. But there’s a lot in the comics that didn’t translate to the screen, and a lot of what’s on paper couldn’t translate to the screen in the same way because of the differences between the mediums.

1 Bone

Creator: Jeff Smith | Publisher: Cartoon Books

Bone is an absolutely brilliant comic by Jeff Smith, who mixes the forms of the comic strip and the comic book to create something quite unique. There is a mix of humor, grounded fantasy and high fantasy here, but he manages to keep all of these boundaries so well that it never feels like you’re losing the plot. With a total of 55 issues (not including spin-offs and prequels), Bone is a great journey and a very entertaining book to read again and again.

Bone is also a book for all ages, but that doesn’t mean it’s just a children’s book. It’s more like Spirited Away, where children and adults can enjoy the story equally and possibly take away different things from it.