The Best DC Comic Book Series of 2021
After a rocky 2020, it would be kind to say that in 2021 DC Comics experienced a year of flux and middling success.
They began the year with the ‘Future State’ event, for which they put all their mainline titles on hold for two months. Born out of the ashes of the discarded ‘5G initiative’, it was a hard sell to get behind the why of the deliberately ambiguous and inconsequential event. The looming question over every story was why should the reader care? And why was ‘Future State’ a worthy replacement to DC’s regular ongoing series?
Two significant positives came out of the event. It was a creative testing ground for new creators, creative partnerships, and characters, some of which bore fruit. It also allowed for a reassessment and reset of DC’s ongoing series, which resulted in some of their best releases of 2021.
DC Comics creative and commercial choices are regularly worthy of criticism from comic book fans and critics, and while some is rabid and nonsensical, a lot of it is entirely justified. Thanks to some of comics greatest ever characters, a high volume of releases, and a willingness to try new ideas, DC released some excellent titles in 2021, beloved by readers worldwide.
Please enjoy our best DC Comics comic book series of 2021.
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1. Nightwing
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
DC Comics kicked off 2021 with ‘Future State’, a two-month long showcase event depicting a possible future for the DC Universe.
Born out of the cancelled ‘5G Initiative’, which would have seen the main DC heroes aged and replaced, ‘Future State’ was a chance for DC to try out a whole range of new creative initiatives - characters, writers, artists, and storylines - and to see what stuck with readers.
While many of the comics delivered were criticised, and the event as a whole was much maligned, as a testing ground it bore fruit. DC cherry-picked the best of what worked, and they’ve spent the rest of 2021 drawing on this for much of their new creative output.
With all of DC’s mainline titles being put on hold throughout ‘Future State’, it offered the opportunity for a creative reset on many titles. ‘Nightwing’ had been viewed as a middling title for a few years by both fans and critics, exemplified by its rotating selection of writers and artists.
A gunshot to Nightwing’s head by KGBeast established a boring long-running storyline driven by “Ric” Grayson’s bout of amnesia, feeling at times like something out of a day-time soap opera. Grayson became a chore, Nightwing was often nowhere to be seen, and flat original characters did nothing to help the situation. Its dubious quality and time wasting were best exemplified by the return of KGBeast to again shoot Grayson, and potentially set off another two years of ‘Nightwing’ comics that no one really wanted.
‘Nightwing’ benefitted from the ‘Future State’ hiatus and refresh more than any other DC title. Taking on the title, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo delivered the most captivating and entertaining superhero comic of the year, their six-issue run delivering the ‘Leaping Into The Light’ story that is sure to be held up as one of the greatest ‘Nightwing’ books for decades to come.
Taylor and Redondo’s love for the character is clear, as is their understanding of his nature, as Dick Grayson becomes the inspiring hero that those around him always knew he was. The art is continually powerful and majestic, feeling inspired at times by the warmth of golden age DC and the punch of David Aja’s work on the modern-classic ‘Hawkeye’ (2012). It’s also consistently funny, which can often help temper the ridiculousness of stories about men in capes, but especially when their decision making is as poor as Dick Grayson’s.
Most impressively, ‘Nightwing’ is a book that will give you actual goosebumps of inspiration, even long-time superhero comic book readers who feel like they’ve read it all.
2. The Joker
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Guillem March
An early criticism I read of ‘The Joker’ was that the book should instead be named ‘Gordon’, given retired Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon is inarguably the book’s protagonist, and the Clown Prince of Crime barely features in the title’s early issues.
I fully agree with these sentiments, though not as a criticism. Gordon is a linchpin character for ‘Batman’ and ‘Batman’-related books, often finding himself to be Gotham’s brightest light, warts and all. He’s more responsible than any other character for keeping ‘Batman’ grounded in relative reality, stopping the title from devolving into ridiculous, nonsensical tales about a billionaire dressing up like a bat.
While the potential commercial success of a ‘Gordon’ title might be questionable, DC Comics had no problem charging an exorbitant $5.99 USD per issue for ‘The Joker’. DC knows which characters keep their office lights on, and given their rough 2021 average of three titles starring Batman every week (even more when counting titles where he’s a minor character), it’s pretty clear what motivates DC’s creative output. Such is the fervour for their classic villain that DC could release ‘The Joker Goes to Camp’ or ‘The Joker Saves Christmas’ to guaranteed high sales.
But in the relatively volatile world of comics, it’s forgivable to get paid where there’s money to be made, at least to an extent. And they’re not alone. While ‘The Joker’ was being released, author James Tynion IV was simultaneously releasing ‘Batman’, ‘The Department of Truth’, ‘The Nice House on the Lake’, ‘Something is Killing the Children’ AND ‘Wynd’. It’s a staggering quantity of output for any writer to deliver at once if hoping to be completing their best quality work.
Thankfully ‘The Joker’ isn’t one of the titles that suffered and it’s a solid read throughout. He builds off his experience with the character from 2020’s major event ‘The Joker War’, understanding how to toe the line between his cool charisma and his cold-blooded, calculated-yet-chaotic brutality.
As with the main ‘Batman’ title, Tynion’s good writing is lifted significantly by Guillem March’s superb art to combine into something special. He nails the visuals for every location, from seedy bars and opulent mansions to jungle fortresses and cursed carnivals. Hugely frustrating is the fact that March isn’t the artist for every issue, with these suffering from his absence.
Cynically, you could view ‘The Joker’ as a cash-grab that exploits comic book completists and die-hards. But there’s more than enough here to be enchanted by. Maybe just head to your local library to pick it up.
3. Harley Quinn - The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour
Writer: Tee Franklin
Artist: Max Sarin
Franklin starts the comic on high adrenaline, taking place mere seconds after the end of the successful animated TV show’s second season. Sarin follows the style of art seen on the show allowing fans of the animated series as well as the comic fans to pick up the style and tone immediately. It’s bright, wacky and gloriously mad.
Find out about ‘The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour’ here.
4. Batman - The Adventures Continue: Season Two
Writer: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini
Artist: Ty Templeton
All in all, this is a great Batman book. It has the Batman: The Animated Series feel. BTAS is easily the best animated series of all time and, for many folks my age, is the definitive Batman. I read this Batman, and I hear Kevin Conroy and all the other actors in the series.
Learn more about ‘Batman - The Adventures Continue: Season Two’ here.
5. Hellblazer: Rise and Fall
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Darick Robertson
DC titles often reside on the darker, more serious side of comics, the vast quantity of Gotham-based titles being the number one culprit.
Which would be fine, except for that DC titles also need to be created so that they can be consumed by teenagers, and creating comics that are gritty and grim that still appeal to people that can’t drive a car can be a recipe for incongruous disaster.
DC’s Black Label (and Vertigo before it) has often been the solution to this, allowing creators to include swearing, nudity (Batman’s dick!), more intense violence, and generally more adult themes and behaviour.
And though the idea that these titles deserve a price mark-up is completely dubious, in 2021 alone DC Black Label delivered ‘Rorschach’, ‘Batman: Reptilian’, ‘The Nice House on the Lake’, ‘Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity’, ‘Sweet Tooth: The Return’, ‘Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn’, ‘American Vampire 1976’, ‘Superman vs. Lobo’, and a host of other titles that would have suffered if they were forced to adhere to a relative PG rating.
‘Hellblazer - Rise and Fall’ was the best of the bunch for Black Label, offering a fantastic conclusion to the run it began in late 2020. John Constantine is one of DC/Vertigo’s best characters, full of desperate self loathing and remorse, but willing to get out of bed each day to fight the worst the Underworld has to offer. Relying on his wits rather than gadgets or superhuman abilities, he never shies from getting his hands dirty.
Between ‘Rise and Fall’ and the character’s appearances in ‘DCeased: Dead Planet’ (2020), it’s clear that Tom Taylor gets what makes Constantine work. Darick Robertson’s art is a perfect pairing, keen is his ability to deliver darkness with clarity, ensuring a well paced offering.
Released in April 2021, the 200 page collection of ‘Hellblazer - Rise and Fall’ is a fantastic pick-up for longtime comic readers, particularly those who have dipped out of reading DC’s mainline titles due to waning appeal.
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6. Wonder Woman
Writer: Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad
Artist: Travis Moore
‘Wonder Woman’ thrives on the strength of its lead character. By providing stories about Diana, the comic creates a well-rounded narrative that works whether this is a reader's first Wonder Woman comic or not. Whether a reader desires action and mystery or good-natured fun, ‘Wonder Woman’ delivers.
Learn more about ‘Wonder Woman’ here.
7. Robin
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Gleb Melnikov
‘Robin’ is a love letter to Enter the Dragon and honestly, I am totally down with that. It is perfectly paced, totally action packed. It has humor AND heart, a testament to Williamson's amazing writing and Melnikov's amazing art.
Find out about ‘Robin’ here.
8. Man-Bat
Writer: Dave Wielgosz
Artist: Sumit Kumar
Man-Bat is a character that is awesome from a visual and story point of view. The art and colors are jaw-dropping, and look different from any other comics out there, giving it a visual edge. Two different characters in one body that you can't help but feel sorry for.
Learn more about ‘Man-Bat’ here.
9. Harley Quinn
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Riley Rossmo
Ultimately, ‘Harley Quinn’ is an excellent re-introduction to the series and its new status quo. This book’s success is due to Stephanie Phillips' expert approach to Harley's characterization and Riley Rossmo's beautiful artwork.
Find out about ‘Harley Quinn’ here.
10. Detective Comics
Writer: Mariko Tamaki
Artist: Dan Mora, Viktor Bogdanovic
Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora's 'Detective Comics' is a delightful romp through Gotham's corridors of power. Dan Mora delivers some stunning visuals with beautiful details throughout both in the exteriors and interiors of the world.
Learn more about ‘Detective Comics’ here.
Head here for our Top Ten Best Comic Books of 2021.
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