A plethora of comics came out last year. Some good, some great, and some downright amazing. This top 5 list will dig deep and find the best of the best out of last year’s unforgettable bunch of books.

Comics and their long lore can always be intimidating, no matter how interesting the book actually seems. Nobody likes feeling lost, and it’s a great thing you don’t have to when it comes to a great miniseries from an indie publishing company.

Writer Garett Gun and artist Kit Wallis from the “Good Boy” series take a break from that to try something new. Last year’s “Little Red Ronin” is a three issue, self contained story that is a play on “Little Red Riding Hood,” but with a twist.

Opening any issue of this story won’t reveal sweet kisses from grandma or a story to share with the kids, but an action packed, hilarious bloodbath. 

The story follows a young girl named Red as she tries her hardest to reveal to everyone that her grandmother isn’t crazy, and that the big, bad wolf really does exist. And she isn’t afraid to splatter the pages with all sorts of limbs while she does it.

In the mood for another self contained, bloodbath of an indie comic? It seems “Rogues’ Gallery” might just scratch that itch. With only four issues to spare, writer Hannah Rose May and “Spider-Punk” artist Justin Mason team up and deliver an amazing story about how toxic social media and fandoms can be.

The first issue displays a group of teens who are very unhappy with the television adaptation of their favorite comic. After finding out the show’s star, Maisie Wade, has recently gained a copy of a famous issue of the in-universe comic, “Red Rogue,” the group decides to dress up as her rogues gallery and steal the issue for money. 

The book does a fantastic job of clearly showing the downsides of obsession and endless scrolling, and how quickly such a thing can turn into hate-filled harassment– or worse.

Reader of the book, Luis Ortiz, made it very obvious in an interview that he was all for everything being done in the book. 

“These four issues really give me hope for those who will hopefully read them, learn from them, and grow,” Ortiz said. “It’s really something special.”On the topic of meta commentary, plenty of it can be found in the rom-com that is writer Rainbow Rowell and artist Luca Maresca’s “She-Hulk.” 

She-Hulk may not break the fourth wall and talk directly to the reader as much as she used to in previous runs, leaving most cheeky nods of it to only be left as narration, but there’s still a ton of fun to be had.

The hilarious cast of characters, frequent guest stars, and love interest, Jack Of Hearts, keep the reader coming back for more. The stories may be a bit slow, but every little bit received per issue is always more than enough when it comes to this phenomenal Shulkie run. 

But if one is in search of something a little more fast paced, look no further than “Dark Space: Wildfire,” by previous “Batman” writer, Scott Snyder, and artist Hayden Sherman. Even just a quick flip through any one of the five issues of this story, and anyone would also realize it’s ultimately essential to mention the book’s colorist, Ronda Pattison. 

In issues filled with bright and beautiful colors that instantly grab attention, “Dark Spaces: Wildfire” is a tale about a group of misfits serving time as firefighters instead of prisoners for crimes they’ve all committed in the past.

What starts off as the idea of a new member of the team’s idea to break into the house of her old boss turns into a mystery filled with twists and turns that nobody could ever really expect, as an enormous fire burns its way closer and closer to the home.

But since a couple of these books have all ended, one might want a high quality ongoing comic to satisfy the need of good stories and art. This thirst will be much more than quenched for anybody who even looks at an issue of the current run by writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Marco Checchetto. 

This current era of everyone’s favorite scarlet garbed hornhead portrays Daredevil as nobody has ever seen him before. He’s left his life as Matthew Murdock behind, and is now a vigilante full time, as he teaches his new allies to fight against the great ninja cult known as the Hand. 

A peek at the letters page of any one of these issues, or a scroll through any website that allows users to comment their thoughts on them, and it’s more than obvious that everyone is loving this comic. Even Daredevil fans who are still catching up on the book are enjoying what they’ve seen, proven by Shae Liguori in an interview. 

“I’m trying my hardest to catch up on this run just to find out what’s caused Daredevil to wear such a sweet, sweet new costume,” Liguori said. 

All of these fantastic 2022 books are worth catching up on, and will leave new readers feeling extremely excited that they got to read such magnificent stories in one sitting.