The Best Stuff I Read In 2024
Comics, Books and more!
I didn’t do as much writing as I would have liked in 2025, and I didn’t watch as many movies as I had planned - but I did spend 2024 reading a TON of great novels, comics, and non-fiction books. This isn’t, by any means, a ranking - just a chronological diary of some of the great books I read last year:
BUD & LOU: THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO STORY by Bob Thomas
I wrote about it here.
THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST: STALKING VAMPIRES FROM NOSFERATU TO COUNT CHOCULA by Eric Nuzum
I didn’t necessarily love Nuzum’s “holier-than-thou” approach to writing about the horror genre and its fans (it read very ‘00s “cynicism is kool!”), but I did dig this informative and entertaining overview of the vampire legend and its modern-day pop culture legacy.
ANTKIND by Charlie Kaufman
This book took me FOREVER to finish, but it was worth it - a wonderfully weird, subversive spin on just about everything and anything. I wrote about it here.
DEATH PACTS AND LEFT-HAND PATHS by John Wayne Comunale
A very short but sweet horror-comedy about a man who summons a shit demon to help him enjoy a more successful life. Great world-building, fun banter, and some weird and unexpected twists made this a very enjoyable winter read.
The Complete Run of JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL by J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Griffin
I wrote about it here.
SABBATH by Nick Mamatas
Definition of popcorn literature. Mamatas’ novel is a pulpy action fantasy about a medieval warrior brought to modern-day New York City to kill the anthropomorphic avatars of the seven deadly sins. It’s like if HIGHLANDER was about a big dumb horny dude killing politicians and cage fighters.
BLACK HOLE by Charles Burns (re-read)
I wrote about it here.
ESCAPE VELOCITY: A CHARLES PORTIS MISCELLANY by Charles Portis
I was gifted a copy of ESCAPE VELOCITY, a collection of non-fiction, short stories, and a play by Charles Portis (TRUE GRIT). I've never read anything else by Portis, but this book was so fantastic that I'm determined to devour everything else by Portis that I can get my hands on.
A CARNIVAL OF SNACKERY: DIARIES (2003 - 2020) by David Sedaris
Despite being obsessed with him as a teen, it had been a while since I'd read any of Sedaris' work. I forgot just how funny he is, in an absolutely mean and cruel way. I can't imagine Gen Z reading his stuff. Reading ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY and NAKED as a teenager did something irreversible to my brain. Sedaris' shock humor was a significant influence on my writing and was a guiding force behind my general sense of humor. David Sedaris, I missed you.
ZOMBIE SPACESHIP WASTELAND by Patton Oswalt
I very much enjoyed this collection of essays. The comedy's great, of course, but I'm always bowled over by Oswalt's insight into the obsessive's mind. This and SILVER SCREEN FIEND are essential to understanding the tragedy of deep fandom.
THE ECHO WIFE by Sarah Gailey
This book, about a woman who discovers that her ex-husband has cloned a docile, housewife version of her, felt like a more empathetic twist on an EC Comics tale. I'm a fan of mean-spirited lit as much as the next misanthrope, but I also enjoy a novel where characters exhibit compassion, even as they commit murder and break the laws of nature.
THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE by Stephen Graham Jones
This book, the conclusion to Jones’ Final Girl trilogy, reminded me of the monster mash-ups Universal Studios used to put out (HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, etc.) - just non-stop spook-a-blast fun. The only difference is that, under Jones' pen, the book drips with raw emotion. Read it!
GREATEST HITS by Harlan Ellison
Baby's first Harlan Ellison story collection. I'm glad to be able to count myself among the writer's fans, but I'm just disappointed I didn't do it in time for the author to sue me.
HELLSTROM: PRINCE OF LIES
I wrote about it here.
DIRTY PICTURES: HOW AN UNDERGROUND NETWORK OF NERDS, FEMINISTS, MISFITS, GENIUSES, BIKERS, POTHEADS, PRINTERS, INTELLECTUALS, AND ART SCHOOL REBELS REVOLUTIONIZED ART AND INVENTED COMIX by Brian Doherty
This is an exhaustive and humanistic look at the first few generations of cartoonists who started the underground comics movement. It is as inspirational as it is detrimental to the size of my “to-read” list.
HOUSE OF BLOOD VOLUME 1
I dug HOUSE OF BLOOD by Zach Chapman and a murders’ row of fantastic artists. It’s the perfect blend of bite-size horrors, told with wonderful imagination (some concepts I’ve never seen before in horror comics) and stunning visuals. Give this horror comic anthology a read!
LAST LOOK by Charles Burns
It is a beautifully illustrated portrait of a life wrecked by regret. Combining Burns’ own art style with a parallel tale done in the style of Hergé’s Tintin, LAST LOOK is the weird body horror-endured gut punch I’ve been looking for since BLACK HOLE.
WIFWULF by Jackson Lanzing
From Dailen Ogden, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and the whole creative team, this fantastic “new” take on werewolves is a haunting folktale about escaping trauma and finding your pack. The art is stunning, and the story evokes the best of Angela Carter. Read it!
MR. BOOP by Alec Robbins
I missed it during its webcomic run, but Alec Robbins' MR. BOOP is an incredible comic - part elaborate prank, part all-in satire of IP appropriation. Alec Robbins’ meta comic stars the creator as a man married to Betty Boop, who finds his life ripped apart by corporate cease and desists. Read as one complete four-act story, MR. BOOP is high art masquerading as 4Chan shitposting in the best way possible.
GEEK LOVE by Katherine Dunn
I wrote about it here.
YOU LIKE IT DARKER by Stephen King and HORROR MOVIE by Paul Tremblay
I wrote about both books here.
MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS, Vol. 1 (reread) and Vol. 2 by Emil Ferris
Emil Ferris' second volume of MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS again wows with incredible artwork. Both books follow a monster-obsessed girl trying to make sense of her family’s history and the murder of a woman in her apartment complex. Part nostalgia trip, part journey into the darkness of the holocaust, the story is a dense, sprawling time capsule of the moment childhood begins to melt around you, intersected with the history of Chicago and a healthy love of horror. Loved it.
WEST, NOT SOUTH by Nico Rodriguez
This super cool graphic novel features gorgeous handpainted art and a hard-boiled Texas-sized tale of anthropomorphic critters engaged in murder, beer can philosophy and self-destruction.
FLYNN (reread) by Gregory McDonald
Tremendous fun from the writer of FLETCH. I've always liked Inspector Flynn, an international spy working undercover as a Boston cop. He has a giant family, smokes a pipe, and lets his kid infiltrate a sex cult. Good stuff! I wish somebody would try adapting the Flynn novels for the big screen. It's a role Paul Giamatti was born to play.
THE BOY IN THE IRON BOX by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
A novella released as an old-fashioned serial - with six chapters detailing a tussle between a group of Russian mercenaries and a creature buried in a forgotten snowbound fortress. Weird fiction done right.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (2024) and ULTIMATES (2024)
I have to admit - my favorite thing about Jonathan Hickman’s current run on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is the fact that it’s a bestselling comic month in and month out, and there are multiple issues where nothing at all happens beyond characters sitting around talking. Take that, everybody who said WHERE WOLF had too much dialogue. Oh, well. I guess we can’t all be Jonathan Hickmans. On the other side of the spectrum, Deniz Camp’s current run on ULTIMATES is just issue after issue of action-packed world-building - ideas thrown at readers faster than we can sometimes keep up with. Both books are super fun!
MICHAEL CHABON’S THE ESCAPISTS by Brian K. Vaughan
I wrote about it here.
GIRL ON FILM by Cecil Castellucci and artists
This comic book memoir from YA author Castellucci follows her attempt to find a way to create and share art with the world. It’s a story of perseverance, struggle, and a lot of name-dropping as Castellucci finds herself constantly pushed to the peripheries of the famous and groundbreaking artists of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN
Of all the recent DC Comics reboots, I’ve enjoyed this one the most. In it, Wonder Woman’s origin is revamped - she’s no longer a princess from an island full of warrior women. Instead, Diana was born and raised in hell, a tough-as-nails survivor who cut off her arm to help protect humanity. It’s part FURIOSA, part CLASH OF THE TITANS and features gorgeous artwork by Hayden Sherman.
BEST POSSIBLE PLACE, WORST POSSIBLE TIME: TRUE STORIES FROM A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD by Barry Sonnenfeld
While I wish he were still actively making movies regularly, I'm glad Barry Sonnenfeld’s first memoir wasn't the only book we get from him. This chatty, entertaining book is a wonderful collection of anecdotes about the making of MEN IN BLACK, PUSHING DAISIES, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and more.
THE FUTURE WAS NOW: MADMEN, MAVERICKS, AND THE EPIC SCI-FI SUMMER OF 1982 by Chris Nashawaty
A breezy, informative look at some of the most beloved genre films of the '80s, told with a storyteller's eye. I love books that bounce back and forth between the making of various films, and this is right up there with SHOCK VALUE, REBELS ON THE BACKLOT, and EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS.
JAY J. ARMES: INVESTIGATOR: THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL PRIVATE EYE by Jay J. Armes
I wrote about it here.
ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT by Stephen King
I'm incredibly late to the game, but I finally read Stephen King's ON WRITING, and it hit me as hard as I knew it would. I feel inspired, rejuvenated, and ready to storm into a hopefully very productive 2025. I can't stop thinking about this quote: "Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."
FREDDIE THE FIX
This tongue-in-cheek meta-noir comic book is about a Hollywood fixer (think Eddie Mannix) who specializes in covering up the carnivorous appetites of real-life monsters who work as actors in horror films. From Garth Ennis and Mike Perkins, the comic is silly fun with gorgeous art.
EIGHT BILLION GENIES
In Charles Soule and Ryane Browne’s comic, every person on earth suddenly gets a personal genie willing to grant them a single wish. Chaos reigns. Funny, poignant, wonderfully weird - this comic is just a complete package. Maybe one of the single best things I read this year.
THIS BODY’S NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US by Edgar Cantero
A wacky noir that gives the middle finger to any expected reverence for the genre. Adrian and Zooey Kimrean are private-eye twin siblings sharing a single body: playful prose, a nonsense mystery, and a great hook made this a fun read.