Top 10 Comic Books of 2025
The best part of making comics is reading comics! What were our favorite titles of the year?
Hello Lifeline Comics Readers!
As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to start working on those Top 10 Lists! We’re kicking things off with our Top 10 Comic Books of 2025 in this post!
But first, we’re bringing in some guest writers to discuss the making of our first DEATHline comic: MALLOCH THE DAMNED, what makes the series special, and how this partnership came to be.
And finally, we’ll share our thoughts on the long-awaited Wicked: For Good, as well as Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Squid Game: The Challenge, John Cena’s last WWE Monday Night Raw, and more!
Let’s dive in!
“Malloch the Damned” — How the First DEATHline Title Came to Be!
Phil: MALLOCH THE DAMNED #1 — the first official release title from our DEATHline imprint, officially hit its funding goal yesterday!
To celebrate, we’re bringing in the team that made MALLOCH possible to talk about the making of the book, how they developed its style, and what makes it special!
David M. Booher (writer): MALLOCH THE DAMNED is a noir detective series with a twist. Our private eye Moe Malloch is the son of the devil. He was having a great time in Hell until he came out to his father as gay. Of all the depravity in the underworld, apparently that’s where Satan draws the line. Now Malloch is stuck on Earth with some companions until he can find a way back to confront his father. In this story arc, he investigates a quadruple-murder suicide that has demon written all over it.
This series was inspired by the stories of so many queer kids getting thrown out of the house after coming out. I can’t get my brain around why that would make a parent disown a child. This is the deal breaker? It’s absurd. So the idea for Malloch sprang from that absurdity—we’ve heard about the evil that exists in Hell, and Malloch coming out is somehow the worst of it. I mean, come on. We lean into that as we go along.
Winston Gambro (artist): For my last book, Lights in the Sky, I developed an art style to make the entire comic look like grainy black and white photos. The book is inspired by real-life alien/cryptid stories, so I wanted to emulate the unclear pictures that motivate the legends to continue.
David saw my art in that and realized the potential in pushing it into the magical reality of Malloch, the Damned. That meant more unusual colors, unique layouts, and of course the different art styles of characters mixed in.
I tend to get bored of drawing the same style for long periods of time, so the cast of this comic offers the amazing opportunity for me to stay fresh and constantly come up with something new, I love it!
David: Most folks would know me from my all-ages series Canto, and my stories for Ghostbusters and Dungeons & Dragons. Malloch strays from the more family-friendly fare into adult territory. I end up putting some element of queerness into everything I write. In Malloch, it’s front and center. I’d say it shares the most kinship with my original series Killer Queens. Wry, witty adventure that never takes itself too seriously.
Phil: As Lifeline Comics grows, it’s a goal of ours to be able to put the work of other talented creators out through our platform. To that end, Michele Abounader has been instrumental in helping us to procure talent.
Below, we ask Michele how she’s approached building the slate for DEATHline. And we ask both Michele and David when they knew MALLOCH was a good fit.
Michele Abounader (editor): I wanted to find interesting horror stories that focus on complex LGBTQIA+ characters to give readers something that they haven’t seen before.
David is a creator I really respect in the comics industry. I love his writing and his voice, and we’d been discussing a few projects that he had in the works, Malloch really resonated with me.
The timing just worked out perfectly? My conversations with Kat and Phil at Lifeline about working on some creator owned horror comics were happening at the same time that David introduced me to Moe Malloch. A coincidence? Maybe. But I couldn’t ignore it. I think the Lifeline audience will really enjoy this story.
David: Malloch feels like a series to the left of mainstream comics. Lifeline champions bringing these kinds of series directly to readers via Kickstarter, and I thought Malloch fit the bill. When they announced the horror imprint DEATHline, it became a perfect match.
Top 10 Comic Books of 2025
10. Absolute Green Lantern (DC Comics)
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Jahnoy Lindsay
Kat: There is plenty to love about the Absolute universe, but what I enjoy the most is how diverse, but still equally good each title has become. There are so many readers with different favorite titles, and that’s the testament to the quality of this new DC line.
And my personal favorite is Absolute Green Lantern. I usually gravitate towards Hal’s solo adventures. Green Lantern Corps is not a book that usually stays on my pull list for long BUT Absolute Green Lantern has perfectly found the balance between ensemble and individualism as it explores Jo’s role as the main ring bearer.
Al Ewing slowly reveals his new Green Lantern mythology, and grounds the narrative with Abin Sur directly affecting Jo and her friends’ town. Jahnoy Lindsay’s anime like style brings a unique look to not only the Absolute universe, but the Green Lantern franchise as a whole. It makes the story familiar, while also feeling completely unique.
Absolute Green Lantern is a character driven story that shows a completely new side of the Green Lantern mythos that will sure keep even the biggest Green Lantern fans on the edge of their seats.
9. Minor Arcana (BOOM! Studios)
Creator: Jeff Lemire
Kat: Minor Arcana is a quiet comic that highlights what Jeff Lemire does best - a rural, character driven mystery. And it’s more than just Theresa’s tarot card powers that keeps me reeled in. It’s also the complex relationship our main character has with her hometown.
Her mom has cancer, and her connection with magic is just as complicated as her relationship with her daughter. Will Therea end up with her ex-best friend and first love, or will she fall for a new girl next door? Minor Arcana proves that your character work has to be just as exciting as the overall plot to create a successful rural mystery.
8. Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League (DC Comics)
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Nicola Scott
Kat: Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League feels like a creator owned series using DC’s deep mythology to enrich the current conflicts of the DC universe, all while expanding on characters that have never or don’t frequently get the spotlight.
And this all makes sense knowing the creative team behind the indie like superhero book - Black Magick’s Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. These comic book juggernauts perfectly explore the world of Cheshire and Cheetah, two villains that have towed the line between good and evil, but have never fully crossed into heroism.
This allows for an Ocean Eleven inspired adventure with the likes of Lian Harper and Klarion that feels both current and something that lives in the pre-New 52. It showcases that even if you’re doing bad things, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Cheetah and Cheshire are horrible people as they continue to perfectly toe the line.
7. Supergirl (DC Comics)
Creator: Sophie Campbell
Kat: Supergirl is one of those heroes that have always been on my pull list. I started following her adventures at a very young age, and over the decades have been awe inspired by the very different iterations of the character that ranges from the Silver Age to her edgier takes like Woman of Tomorrow.
Sophie Campbell uses Silver Age style storytelling for a modern age. It takes inspiration from the many versions of the character to create a completely new tone. This current Supergirl volume is both new reader friendly, while also being equally as engaging to long-time fans.
6. Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel)
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Kat: As a hardcore Spider-Man fan, Ultimate Spider-Man has been one of the best Peter Parker stories in DECADES. I love seeing him have a true support system, and I’ve been especially impressed by his relationship with Harry Osborn, and concurrently Gwen Stacy. Harry has always been morally gray, while Gwen never lived long enough to choose her own destiny. Hickman and Checchetto’s run may be finite, but I’m enjoying the ride for as long as we have it.
5. Runaways (Marvel)
Writer: Rainbow Rowell
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Kat: There are plenty of reasons why I love comics, but one of the biggest is the opportunity it gives to tell a long running story. Especially when that story comes from the same creative team! Brian K. Vaughan’s run on Runaways is one of my favorite pieces of literature, and I never thought another creator could take on the torch and run with it…until Rainbow Rowell.
Rowell has been writing Runaways on and off for nearly a decade and with every passing volume she continues to prove how much she loves this rag tag team, and the endless amount of stories she has in her holster for the ensemble. It’s been a pleasure to see her team up with some of the best artists in the business, and this volume is no exception with the inclusion of Black Widow’s Elena Casagrande.
Runaways is one of the few Marvel heroes that can grow without putting the toys back into the toy chest. Spider-Man will always be the friendly neighborhood hero, Iron Man will always be a billionaire who owns armor, etc. But there’s a looser roadmap for the Runways. Proof and point, in this volume notorious frenemy, Alex Wilder, officially rejoins the team he had once betrayed (time and time again). This is the type of GROWTH that only the Runaways can truly “run” with.
And I hope we have even more years with Rainbow’s voice on the characters!
4. The Last Boy (BOOM! Studios)
Writer: Dan Panosian
Artist: Alessio Avallone
Kat: Dan Panosian and Alessio Avallone’s The Last Boy isn’t your traditional story about growing up. No one is yearning for Peter Pan to leave Neverland. But even as a child, adult-like troubles can still intervene as Peter faces the morally gray dilemmas that make his world a little less black and white.
In contrast, Wendy as a young adult juxtaposes Peter’s story as the world around her forces her hand towards a traditional path she never wanted for herself. Her desire is to live in the fantasy world that Peter showed her once upon a time, all while grounding this dream by becoming a writer.
You may have read Peter Pan’s story before but never like this!
3. Exceptional X-Men (Marvel)
Writer: Eve L. Ewing
Artist: Carmen Carnero
Kat: It’s sad to see this series not survive the aftermath of Age of Revelation, but I really enjoyed the ride while it lasted. Ewing and Carnero’s Exceptional X-Men was truly a love letter to Kitty Pryde. The once youngest X-Man has gone through a whole lot of trauma to get to the other side. She’s now settled in her home state of Illinois, and by placing her here. It: A.) gives a different backdrop from your classic New York setting, and B.) allows for Kitty’s early stories to seamlessly intertwine with her present.
Exceptional X-Men just felt different than all the other X-books on stands (because it was a solo series masquerading as a team book) and as a hardcore Kitty Pryde fan it was a pleasure to get to see her interpersonal relationships on full display in a way we haven’t seen in decades.
2. Everything Dead and Dying (Image Comics)
Writer: Tate Brombal
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Kat: If you miss the days of The Walking Dead than Brombal & Phillips’ Everything Dead and Dying is the comic you NEED on your pull list. It feels like a compact version of the smash hit, while creating its own identity with its queer lead and his unique circumstances. Our lead cannot be affected by the zombie pandemic, but instead lives within the shadows of his old life. The book explores the raw emotions of losing everything, while the very archetypes of The Walking Dead become the threat.
1. Superman (DC)
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Dan Mora
Kat: As mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker for a long-running superhero story. Superman has been on my Top 10 list for three years in a row, and this may be the first time a series has actually raised its placement over the course of those three years.
I’m not a hardcover Superman fan, but Williamson and Mora have me constantly clamoring for more. Superman has become the true flagship of the DC universe AS IT SHOULD BE. DC K.O. has been one of the most exciting Big 2 events since Blackest Night, and that narrative span out of the years of Superman storytelling that Williamson has been developing.
And if that wasn’t enough, Williamson and Mora beautifully craft a Lois Lane Superwoman story that feels fresh. Superman is always at its best when Lois Lane is his co-star, and this creates a dynamic that truly puts her at the center of all the juicy story beats that DC has been building as a whole.
Coming from a casual Clark Kent fan, Superman is the best superhero run of the decade!
Honorable Mentions: Absolute Batman (DC), Black Canary: Best of the Best (DC), I Was A Fashion School Killer (Image), Predator Vs Spider-Man (Marvel), and Feral (Image).
Crossover Art Prints
Phil: As you know if you’ve been following us, we’re currently live with our Mature Sapphic Wicked Witch x Glinda comic series: The Witches of Oz!
And we’ve recently announced two FREE CROSSOVER ART PRINTS that you get when you support multiple live campaigns at a Physical Pledge Level!
Holiday-Themed “CARMILLA” Crossover!
Get this art print by Alessandro Canzanella when you support both “The Witches of Oz” and “A Very Carmilla Christmas Carol”!
Gay Club in Hell “MALLOCH” Crossover!
Get this art print by Winston Gambro when you support both “The Witches of Oz” and “Malloch the Damned”!
What have we been up to?
Let’s talk about how we’ve kept busy these last few weeks!
John Cena’s Last WWE Monday Night Raw
Kat: For an early birthday/Christmas gift, I took Phil’s brother, Dan, to Madison Square Garden for John Cena’s Last WWE Monday Night Raw. It was fun to be a fly on the wall as someone, who only casually knows about the WWE and wrestling.
I was most impressed by the WWE’s community. There were dozens of chants and the pure excitement from the crowd made the price of admission worth it.
Media
Let’s discuss some non-comics media!
Wicked: For Good
*Spoilers in for Phil’s review*
Phil: This is a review I’ve been dreading having to write. Not because I have an intensely negative opinion of Wicked: For Good. But because it is hard to talk critically about something that you genuinely love.
It’s easy to talk about Wicked (2024), which adapts the first act of the Broadway show, because I do consider it to be a perfect movie (my favorite movie, in fact). But the second act of the play (and, by extension, Wicked: For Good) is an undeniably “less perfect” narrative that requires more nuanced (and lengthier) discussion.
I’ll start with the good. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande continue to soar. Their performances are fantastic. “The Girl in the Bubble” is a fantastic addition for Glinda that really sells her headspace as she heads into the finale. I also loved getting glimpses of Glinda’s childhood. “Every Day More Wicked” was also a fun reworked opening medley for this film, giving us a taste of the songs from the first movie.
The costume and set design are excellent, delivering countless iconic looks and settings. And while For Good doesn’t have as many powerhouse hits as its predecessor, the performances are handled beautifully. Special shoutout to “No Good Deed” and “For Good,” which are always showstoppers. Another surprise standout for me was “Wonderful,” which has always been a “skip” song in the Broadway version. But adding Ariana Grande’s Glinda, a brief “Defying Gravity” reprise, an absolutely gorgeous rainbow set, and fun-and-familiar choreography transforms it into one of the most enjoyable numbers in the movie.
On the negative side, I think I secretly hoped this film adaptation would change more from the source material. It’s a very faithful adaptation of the second act of the play, which means it preserves that act’s flaws. The biggest issue is its need to align itself with the events of The Wizard of Oz. Much of the action has to happen offscreen to maintain the viewer’s vision of The Wizard of Oz. But when so much of the plot is happening offscreen, it’s harder to engage with the journey. Worse, the plot of Wicked that we’ve been following for two movies then has to contort itself to match that offscreen action of another film. Elphaba, an otherwise level-headed woman with an intense sense of empathy, has to hate Dorothy and desperately want those slippers…for some reason. The Cowardly Lion has to hate Elphaba even though she saved him. Sidebar: the WORST LINE in both the play and the movie remains the bit in “March of the Witch Hunters” where Boq blames Elphaba saving the Lion for his being cowardly. It’s such a stupid line of logic that it makes my blood boil every time I hear it.
Aside from our heroes (Elphaba and Glinda) and villains (the Wizard and Madame Morrible), every other character basically becomes a cartoon character. Nessa and Boq were hardly the most developed characters in the first film. But here, they go from well-meaning people pining for folks who don’t love them back to possessive, hateful monsters. Fiyero spends five years pining endlessly after Elphaba (who he had two conversations with) and is completely willing to throw away his entire life for her.
Thematically, it’s curious that Elphaba is so intent on staying in Oz and trying to change it for the better in “No Place Like Home,” rather than escaping like the animals. But then the ultimate solution at the end of the film is for her to…fake her death and run away. I think with a few more story beats, this could have been fleshed out further — perhaps leaning harder into the idea that the people who don’t truly belong in Oz (the Wizard, Dorothy, and Elphaba by virtue of being the Wizard’s daughter) must leave for Oz to heal from the effects of these outsiders/invaders. I don’t mind subtext, but I don’t think the play (and thus the movie) does enough legwork to make Elphaba’s departure land as anything more than, “It’s sad she has to go, but at least she gets to be happy with her man.”
Okay, back to the positive. Despite its flaws, Wicked: For Good lives and dies on its two lead witches. The emotional journey of Elphaba and Glinda reaches truly exceptional heights. There’s hardly a dry eye in the crowd when the witches finally reunite and acknowledge how they’ve changed each other for the better (which is more obvious in Glinda’s case; but if you squint, you can see the ways Glinda has changed Elphaba too).
While Wicked (2024) is a perfect film in my eyes, I consider Wicked: For Good a flawed-but-great one. Some of the character logic and plot mechanics don’t entirely track, but the emotional and musical highs are so incredibly high. Who else is ready for a double feature?
Kat: How do you make a 40ish minute second act into a whole movie? Wicked: For Good, just like the first movie, expands Broadway’s moments to create an extensive narrative that only a movie can achieve - for better or for worse.
There are certain elements of the Broadway show that never jived with me: the heavy focus on Elphaba’s animal plot, her heel turn romance with Fiyero, and how this all affects the time Glinda and Elphaba are able to share. Even if we’re taking out the queer undertones of their story, their friendship is the heart of what makes Wicked work so well.
While watching the play it’s a little easier to digest because you had just watched the highs of act one, and the second act is relatively short. But the whole movie to focusing (and EXPANDING) on these plot points only makes my nitpicks into greater problems.
Even with these gripes, it’s hard to say Wicked: For Good is a “bad movie”. It does its best with a bumpy road map. Jon M. Chu extends scenes as well as he can to create awe-inspiring visuals that can only be showcased through the lens of a camera.
All in all, Wicked is still a musical, and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s love for these characters and this music seeps through every new number. There are some elements from the first movie that feel “recycled”, but it doesn’t deter from their new renditions of classic songs like the movie’s title track, For Good.
Most lacking sequels usually make the overall franchise feel lesser, but For Good does the best it can with the source material, which actually makes the first movie’s perfections shine even brighter.
SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT
Phil: If you enjoyed our Wicked: For Good reviews, you should definitely check out our own Sapphic Glinda x Wicked Witch comic series: The Witches of Oz!
Now live on Kickstarter with a new issue!
Frankenstein (2025)
Phil: A refreshing Gothic Horror Monster Film that carves its own path while paying loving homage to the work that comes before it.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is one of the best examples I’ve seen of toeing the line between remaking a well-known property and creating a unique cinematic experience. Under del Toro’s hand, the film tells effectively the same Frankenstein story we’ve seen before and tackles many of the same themes as Mary Shelley’s original work as well as the Universal Monster films Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). But del Toro puts his own flair on the familiar characters and the events, fleshing them out in a way that feels familiar but makes it his own.
The film is absolutely stunning to look at, using snow and ice in particular to create so many beautiful sequences. It’s similar to Nosferatu (2024) in its visual gravitas, but I found Frankenstein to be much more engaging as a whole.
If you’re a fan of gothic horror, this is an absolute must-watch.
Kat: I’ll be honest, gothic horror period pieces are WAY OUT of my wheelhouse. I watched Frankenstein for my podcast co-host and friend, Amy, because she was really excited about the movie. Frankenstein didn’t convince me to love this genre (I’m not sure if any movie could). But I appreciated what the film was going for, even if I wasn’t their target audience.
Here’s the podcast where I helped my friend Amy gush over her love for this movie.
Squid Game: The Challenge (Season Two)
Phil: I really enjoyed the first season of Squid Game: The Challenge back in 2023. I thought the challenges were super fun and unique, the twists were shocking, and the players were loveable (and, in some cases, hateable in a really engaging way).
Season Two delivers very well on the first two elements. If anything, the challenges themselves in Season Two are even more unique than in Season One because they barely follow the playbook of Squid Game the show anymore. With only a few fan-favorite challenges from the Netflix juggernaut being featured, Season Two delivers a ton of new-and-exciting challenges for this round of contestants. They also excel in introducing “minigames” to eliminate only a couple of players at a time. It made for some INTENSE cliffhangers that just beg you to keep watching.
Unfortunately, the players for this season were a big disappointment for me. I really loved how QUEER the cast of Season One was. It was such a pleasant surprise to see so many queer contestants make it so far into the game.
This time around, I didn’t really find myself rooting for any players. The few that did win me over usually ended up getting eliminated very shortly after they were first spotlighted. It’s harder to engage with the drama when you’re going into the Top Five, Top Ten, Top Twenty, etc. feeling lukewarm on every remaining player.
Side note, I don’t really see anyone else talking about this…but it’s kind of weird that the majority of the top players were intensely religious, right? No disrespect to religion, everyone has the right to practice their faith. But if you’re like me and have any sort of religious trauma, it’s pretty disappointing to go from a fun Queer cast in the first season to a Top 20 in the second season that references God, Jesus, and blessings at practically every turn.
Squid Game: The Challenge Season Two is worth the watch if you like complex challenges, strong cliffhangers, and lots of twists. Just don’t expect to fall in love with the players in this round.
Kat: Phil and Julius have been recommending this show to me since Season 1, and with Season 2’s premiere I gave it a shot. With their Squid Games-sized budget, the games are really well-thought-out and the show is more cinematic than your average reality show.
But my biggest problem with this season is that there weren’t many characters I was rooting to get to the finish line. There were so many people focusing on strategy that it was hard to feel sympathetic to most of them. The show reminds me A LOT of the Beast Games (because Mr. Beast has taken the Squid Games format as inspiration for his own YouTube channel). But what I enjoyed more about the Beast Games was how much you cared about the characters while they dwindled down, and it’s BECAUSE of their gameplay that made you like them.
Squid Games: The Challenge Season 2 is worth the watch for the intense childlike games, but prepare yourself for a somewhat lackluster cast.
Comics
Let’s discuss some comics we’ve enjoyed recently!
Since our main section focused so heavily on comics, this week we’ll only spotlight an Indie Book and a Live Kickstarter book!
Indie Comic: You Never Know #1
Phil: We talked about “You Never Know” by our friend Elliott Mondry back when it was funding on Kickstarter. But now that the digital book has been sent out and we’ve had the pleasure of reading it, we’re excited to talk about it again!
“You Never Know” is an exploration of anxiety and mental health, seeing lead Jason overanalyze minute interactions amongst this friend group until they build to the point of completely overwhelming his sense of belonging.
Mondry utilizes sound and quiet in a super interesting way throughout the comic. We start “loud” with a fun group dynamic among the four friends, before transitioning to a largely “quiet” middle section as Jason’s anxiety builds, finally erupting in a “loud” explosion of emotion as Jason is overcome by his intrusive thoughts. It’s a really effective structure that utilizes the comic medium in a unique way. I’m very excited to see what comes next!
Check out Calamity Comics here!
Kickstarter: SWAT KATS - FIRST EVER COMIC BOOK!
“The beloved vigilantes are back with their first ever COMIC BOOK SERIES from the TV show creators, A-list writers and Jorge Corona!”
Phil: Perhaps the perfect example of a book that is made for comics and for Kickstarter, specifically.
SWAT KATS is a first-ever comic book adaptation based on an animated series from the 1990’s, picking up right where the animated series left off. While I have never watched the show myself, it’s a property I had heard of and seen before. It plays with nostalgia — which is all the rage in comics right now — by reviving a long-dead property, but brings it into the modern day by attaching artist Jorge Corona (Transformers, Batgirls, Lobo).
This is exactly the kind of comic book that succeeds in today’s marketplace, delivering a story that wouldn’t really be able to be told in any other medium in the modern day (a continuation of a 30+ year old niche animated series) that plays on nostalgia while attaching a buzzy contemporary artist.
In Closing…
Thanks so much for reading this post! We hope you enjoyed our Top 10 Comics of 2025! Be sure to sound off in the comments with your own favorite comics of the year!
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to check out our live campaigns for Malloch the Damned & The Witches of Oz. And if you’re looking for Holiday Gifts for your loved ones, be sure to check out our limited-time Holiday Campaign for gift wrapped comics!
We’re wishing all of our readers who celebrate a happy Thanksgiving this week!
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Buy Lifeline Comics on our Website!
Current Kickstarters:
SURPRISE! Lifeline Comics Holiday Bash 2025! (Ends 12/04)
Witches of Oz #1-3: IN KANSAS?! A Mature Sapphic Fantasy (Ends 12/11)
Malloch the Damned #1 - Whiskey-Soaked Queer Horror (Ends 12/11)
Read our Webtoons for FREE:
Slice of Life [GL] (Anime Character x Closeted Cheerleader High School Romance)
Love at Second Bite [BL] (Vampire College Adventure/Romance)
Can’t deny Dan Mora on Superman… how many pages (including covers) has Mora been illustrating per month btw?! It’s gotta be 100+!