The Must-Read Comics of 2014

As we take a look back at the best of the best in today's video, we're going to explore the must-read comics of 2014. Luke Demell's list is finally out, and it's time for us to get started.

First up, Barbara Gordon's return as Batgirl is finally underway. After years on the shelf as an inactive superhero thanks to a Joker-fired bullet, Gail Simone's Post-New 52 run on the character was so-so hampered with far too much grittiness for a hero who should be the antithesis of perennial brooder Batman. Thankfully, the new creative team of Cameron Stewart and Brendan Fletcher are fast transforming Batgirl into the most 21st century hero out there. If you're looking for a lighter, more action-packed character that's more in tune with the 21st century, think coffee shops, selfies, and social media – this is a book to pick up.

Batgirl hasn't been so much fun since the first 25 or so issues of Cassie Kane's Standalone Batgirl comic from 2000. A bit like Butt Girl writer and artist combo Mark Wade and Chris Samney have helped steer away from the omnipresent world of dark and gritty Heroes by moving Daredevil to San Francisco. The change in scenery offers a fresh start for both Matt Murdock and would-be new readers, and so far it has paid off perfectly. The art is gorgeous, the mysteries are intriguing, and the characterization is superb – there's enough action to keep everyone happy despite not being a movie box office draw on the level of Iron Man or Captain America.

Daredevil shows here why he's one of Marvel's best heroes. In fact, if there's one comic book this year that has been spread purely by Good Word of Mouth, it's Matt Fraction and David Aja's Sex Criminals telling the story of a young actor and a librarian who have sex after meeting at a party – only discovered that their orgasms are capable of freezing time. The series fuses crime drama romance comedy and a fair bit of raunchiness too. If there's one thing we love about this series, it's the fact that it continues to surprise us even after we get past its high concept premise.

Brian K. Vaughan's epic space saga called Saga just keeps getting better and better if you're eagerly awaiting the new Star Wars movie or the next season of Game of Thrones but have yet to check this out then Saga is your holiday reading list taken care of straight away. Perhaps most impressive of all is what the series continues to do – it's a masterclass in storytelling, character development, and world-building that sets a new standard for modern comics.

Moving on, there's Love & Rockets writer Jamie Hernandez' latest installment of The Love Bunglers – it's the perfect note to go out on. It's been running for years, but this could be the final chapter if so, it's the perfect way to wrap up the series. On a similar note, Batman Zero Year has been nothing short of Epic – although it has played out in comics as wide ranging as Batgirl Action Comics and yes even Grand Lantern Corps.

The bulk of year zero has taken place in the pages of Batman which continues to go from strength to strength courtesy of writer artist team Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. It's another retelling of Batman's origin story but it does it with sufficient differences to make this not feel like a reread – it's also the most significant Riddler story we've had in ages in an age where comic books are down from their high points in the 1990s whilst movies like The Avengers are raking in billions at the box office.

Fortunately, the Ultimate Universe has followed through and made some changes to shake things up. Peter Parker is done being Spider-Man with the web Slinger role handed over instead to Miles Morales in this year's Miles Morales' Ultimate Spider-Man. We've had built-to-water confrontation between morale's body and Norman Osborne's Green Goblin – the pace has been a little bit slow for some readers but we've always loved Brian Bendis's insistence on creating characters you come to care about and this title is no different.

And that's it, folks! The must-read comics of 2014. If you want to share your favorite comic from the list, let us know in the comments down below. Don't forget to hit the Subscribe button so you don't miss a single video from Cult of Mac and if you enjoyed this video, hit the like button as it really does help us out – I'll see you next time!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eneverything it has finally come to that time of the year to take a look back at the best of the best in today's video we're going to take a look at the must read comics of 2014 now that Luke demell's list is finally out so let's get started after years on the Shelf as an inactive superhero thanks to a joker fired bullet Barbara Gordon's Batgirl is finally back in Action Gail Simone's Post New 52 run on the character was so so hampered with far too much grittiness for a hero who should be the anthesis of perennial brooder Batman thankfully the new creative team of Cameron Stewart and Brendan Fletcher are fast transforming Batgirl into the most 21st century hero out there if you're looking for a lighter more action-packed character that's more in tune with the 21st century think coffee shops selfies and social media this is a book to pick up Batgirl hasn't been so much fun since the first 25 or so issues of Cassie Kane's Standalone Batgirl comic from 2000. a bit like butt girl writer and artist combo Mark Wade and Chris samney have helped steer away from the omnipresent world of dark and gritty Heroes by moving Daredevil to San Francisco the change in scenery offers a fresh start for both map mayor duck and would-be new readers and so far it has paid off perfectly the art is gorgeous the Mysteries are intriguing and the characterization is superb and there's enough action to keep everyone happy despite not being a movie box office draw on the level of Iron Man or Captain America Daredevil shows here why he's one of Marvel's best heroes there's one comic book this year that has been spread purely by Good Word of Mouth its map fractions sex criminals telling the story of a young actor and a librarian who have sex after meeting at a party only discovered that their orgasms are capable of freezing time the series fuses crime drama romance comedy and a fair bit of raunchiness too if there's one thing we love about this series it's the fact that it continues to surprise us even after we get past its high concept premise Brian K Vaughn's epic space Saga called well Saga just keeps getting better and better if you're eagerly awaiting the new Star Wars movie or the next season of Game of Thrones but have yet to check this out then Saga is your holiday reading list taken care of straight away perhaps most impressive of all is what the series continues to do with the monthly format not just telling an ongoing story that remains gripping from issue to issue but also fleshing out an entire comic book universe that may just be one of the richest of all time do you do after creating Scott Pilgrim one of the most popular Indie comics of the last decade having superbly told Scott's story over the course of six years and six separate digest size black and white graphic novels Creator Brian Lee O'Malley could be forgiven for not managing to replicate that kind of creative success a second time round if the appropriately titled seconds is anything to go by however O'Malley is just getting started seconds concerns Katie the 20-something owner of a restaurant who gets the power to change their pass by writing mistakes down in a notebook eating a mushroom and falling asleep only to wind up creating more problems seconds is only one book so far but already it's a much more mature work than Scott Pilgrim O'Malley's writing resonates more than while his artwork has a new level of assurance to it with so many great titles on this list it's tough to pick an overall winner but if you're only going to buy one title we say make it this one Wonder Woman is a character that has consistently been shortchanged through comic book history having an iconic 1970s TV series with relatively little else battle changed a few years back and Brian azarello and artist Cliff chayang took on the character and wrote what will go down in history as the definitive three-year Wonder Woman run which came to a close in late 2014. too many creators try and put their own stamp on the characters they are writing for but in the meantime ripping up what's most memorable about the characters to start with azarillo certainly jettison's part of the Wonder Woman Legend along the way but it all a means to explore just who Wonder Woman is and why she matters the wicked and the Divine depicts a world where every 90 years or so an event calls the recurrence takes place in which God's return to Earth for two years they lived the high life as rap stars rockers and sisters before they have to die okay so it's a Miley Cyrus 15 minutes of fame pairable for the TMZ generation but at the same time it also has a sort of 1990s vertical Vibe being the kind of comic that could have sat alongside the Sandman and other such titles the art by Jamie McKelvey is nothing short of Godlike no pun intended whilst we're talking about Comics that could have come out in the 1990s The Love bunglers written by Love and Rockets Jamie Hernandez there's a graphic novel that absolutely should be mentioned it's the latest installment of Hernandez long-running series and it could be the end of the line too if so it's the perfect note to go out on running from the middle of 2013 to the middle of this year Batman zero year has been nothing short of Epic although it has played out in comics as wide raging as Batgirl Action Comics and yes even Grand Lantern corpse the bulk of year zero has taken place in the pages of Batman which continues to go from strength to strength courtesy of writer artist team Scott Snyder and Greg capollo zero year is yet another retelling of Batman's origin story but it does it with sufficient differences to make this not feel like a reread it's also the most significant Riddler story we've had in ages in an age where comic books are down from their high points in the 1990s whilst movies like The Avengers are raking in billions at the box office it's easy to imagine that major Comic Book franchises like Spider-Man would be required to tick along without rocking the boat fortunately follows though there are a few signs of that happening over in the Ultimate Universe Peter Parker is done being Spider-Man with the web Slinger role handed over instead to Miles Morales in this year's miles morale's Ultimate Spider-Man we've had built-to-water confrontation between morale's body and Norman Osborne's Green Goblin the pace has been a little bit slow for some readers but we've always loved Brian bennis's insistence on creating characters you come to care about and this title is no different so there you have it the must-read comics of 2014 but I want to know was your favorite comic on the list let us know in the comments down below until next time if you haven't already hit the Subscribe button so you don't miss a single video from Cult of mac and if you enjoyed this video hit the like button as it really does help us out I'll see you next time\n"