Fans of the Walking Dead TV series should check out the comic it was based on. DC’s Vertigo imprint may publish Sandman, but it’s closer to mythology than superheroes. Comics like Black Science, Saga and Descender are all sci-fi epics. Comic books are so much more than superheroes and superpowers; these comics prove that good sequential stories exist in any genre.
10Comic Rick Grimes In The Original Walking Dead
The Walking Dead








Creators
Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano, Cliff Rathburn & Dave McCaig
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
193
The Walking Dead comic is also presented entirely in black and white, which adds to the creepy factor and allows the artists to play with lighting. There are no superheroes in this world, just survivors––good and evil––in an epic saga that remains one of the best horror comics of the last two decades.
9Dream & Mythology In The DC Universe
The Sandman (Vol. 2)

Creators
Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg & more
Publisher
DC Comics Vertigo
# of Issues
75
The Sandman comics should be more closely compared to Greek and Roman mythologies, based on the conflicts and drama between Dream and his siblings, such as Death and Destiny. With haunting covers illustrated by Dave McKean (Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth) that created a cosmic, horror-inspired look to the Endless world, The Sandman may be the best non-superhero comic DC ever published.
8The Truth Of King Arthur, Camelot, Excalibur, Merlin & More
Once & Future

Creators
Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora & Tamra Bonvillain
Publisher
BOOM! Studios
# of Issues
30
The short, fast-paced Once & Future series stars Bridgette McGuire, a retired monster hunter familiar with these stories, and her grandson Duncan. Bridgette is a fantastic main character––giving major “I’m too old for this” vibes, while Duncan slowly develops into a confident lead. With beautiful art by Dan Mora and Tamara Bonvillain, the return of an evil King Arthur serves as the backdrop to the lovable, growing relationships of the main Once & Future cast.
7Crime In Center City
Criminal

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are the masters of comic book crime dramas. Readers may already be familiar with their works, such as Fatale and The Fade Out. They truly shine in Criminal, weaving together five seemingly unrelated crime stories that all take place in the same city, with some crossovers in characters and plot.
Creators
Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Val Staples & Elizabeth Breitweiser
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
38
6Travel The Multiverse In Image Comics
Black Science








Scientist Grant McKay discovers the secrets of breaking through the walls of reality, but all reality is vast and unknowable. Grant and his team of scientists quickly lose themselves when they can’t immediately return home. Black Science follows the team as they jump from one reality––one universe––to the next.
Creators
Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera & Dean White
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
43
Modern superhero comics and projects focus so heavily on the concept of the multiverse that it’s growing too wild. Black Science has a lot of moving parts, but it never feels like too much. New aliens and scientific concepts appear in nearly every issue, but this sci-fi adventure feels more like Star Trek anthologies of discovery, with the added pressure of returning home.
5Celebrity Deities Rule The World
The Wicked + The Divine

Creators
Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie & Matt Wilson
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
51
Laura admires the Pantheon of deities and envies their existence. However, as the series progresses, both Laura and readers learn more about the Recurrence process and the histories of these gods. The Wicked + The Divine is a great must-read book for fans of mythologies and god pantheons, blending drama and humor with a memorable cast of mortals and gods that definitely deserves a live-action adaptation one day.
4The Four Horseman Bring The Apocalypse
East of West

Creators
Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
45
East of West is a Western sci-fi action series with many religious elements, considering the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the main characters. Death really steals the show, developing personal connections to many human characters and causing drama within the Horsemen.
3Descender Ascends
Descender

Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen make the perfect comic duo in Descender. Nguyen’s watercolor artwork perfectly fits this heartwarming sci-fi story, and Lemire has written some incredible thrillers and mysteries, such as Mazebook. Descender is a must-read Image comic with no superheroes in sight.
Creators
Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
32
The concept alone is incredibly inventive: a lone android waking up in a universe that reviles artificial intelligence and machinery becomes the most valuable prize in the cosmos. Descender is not only a space epic but a touching story of discovery and what it means to be “human.”
2Erica Slaughter, Monster Hunter
Something is Killing the Children

Something is Killing the Children is one of the best modern comic books that doesn’t feature superheroes. Instead, Something is Killing the Children is a thriller, mystery and supernatural adventure rolled into one, starring one of the best protagonists in Image Comics, Erica Slaughter.
Creators
James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Giovanna Niro & Miquel Muerto
Publisher
BOOM! Studios
# of Issues
41
1Saga Is Science Fiction & Fantasy At Its Best
Saga








Saga usually tops the lists of the best indie, sci-fi, or, appropriately, the best comics without superheroes. Beginning in 2012, Saga is a long-running space opera about a wonderfully inventive galaxy at war, starring two parents, Alana and Marko, and their daughter Hazel fleeing both sides.
Creators
Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Publisher
Image Comics
# of Issues
71
Saga truly has everything comic readers could want: great action, endearing, maturing characters, and grand science fiction concepts that elevate every volume, offering things readers likely haven’t seen before. Year after year, Saga continues to win Eisner, Harvey and Hugo awards for best ongoing series, best writer, best artist and so on.