No Capes, No Masks – Just Incredible Stories! The ...

Superheroes dominated the comic industry for decades, and while DC and Marvel remain the two biggest comic publishers in the world, reader interests have shifted. Creators are branching off to tell their own kinds of stories beyond heroes and villains in capes. Fans need only look past DC and Marvel to comic publishers such as Image and BOOM! Studios.

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

At 193 issues, The Walking Dead is one of the longest-running non-superhero comics ever. Despite having an equally popular live-action TV series adaptation, fans shouldn’t skip the original comic. Certain characters live when they should have died in the TV series, and vice versa.

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)

Image via DC Comics

While The Sandman was published by DC Comics (later falling under its Vertigo umbrella), it reads nothing like a standard superhero comic. Dream is no Superman or Batman. Dream is one of the Endless, slivers of the universe, and he rules over the domain of dreams.

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

Image via BOOM! Studios

Readers who thought they knew the whole story of King Arthur and Excalibur should read Once & Future to see Kieron Gillen’s interpretation. Once & Future perfectly blends modern action and fantasy. The series uses classic legends and fairy tales involving classic figures such as Merlin and Beowulf but flips the world’s perceptions of them upside down.

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

Image via Image Comics

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

Every volume feels like a self-contained story, highlighting different levels of crime in Center City. Characters like Leo Patterson, Jacob, and Tracy Lawless make the series, which may follow crime on the surface but tackles some familiar plots, such as caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or grieving the loss of loved ones. Criminal is gritty, grounded and gripping.

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

Image via Image Comics

Take all the drama, plotting and infighting of the Greek gods and bring it into the modern world. The Wicked + The Divine stars 12 humans who reincarnate as gods for only two years each. They live among the rest of the world, living lives of power and fame, celebrities and pop stars.

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

Image via Image Comics

Superhero fans know the name Jonathan Hickman well––the acclaimed writer has written some of the best Marvel comics of the last decade, such as the Avengers title in Marvel NOW! and the recent X-Men Krakoa era. Over at Image Comics, Hickman helped craft a series that belongs in so many genres.

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

Image via Image Comics

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

Image via BOOM! Studios

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

When children go missing, claiming to see horrifying monsters, Erica Slaughter is the one person capable of helping them. Mysteries unfold across each volume as readers learn why these children disappear, what happens to them and why Erica is so important. The adventures continue in the House of Slaughter spin-off series, which delves more into Erica’s roots.

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.