Best of 2020
Top 10 Series
ALFRED scores 0% to 100%, average of 50%
Updated January 1, 2021
Our comic scoring system ALFRED aggregates critic reviews and scores them 0% to 100%.
Which series had the highest-rated issues this year? ALFRED is listed for 2020 issues only!
Key Creators
Kieron Gillen
Dan Mora
Tamra Bonvillain
Issues in 2020
Nine
Analysis
After a critical hit in its first arc, Once and Future returned with more adventures in 2020. This is the first of two Gillen series in the Top 10!
Official Description
When a group of Nationalists use an ancient artifact to bring a villain from Arthurian myth back from the dead to gain power, ex-monster hunter Bridgette McGuire escapes her retirement home and pulls her unsuspecting grandson Duncan, a museum curator, into a world of magic and mysticism to defeat a legendary threat.
Adventure
More Best of 2020
Top 10 Series
Top 10 Issues
Top 10 New Series
Top 10 Graphic Novels
Key Creators
Brandon Thomas
Khary Randolph
Emilio Lopez
Issues in 2020
Three
Analysis
Excellence improved on its already-stellar ALFRED score over the course of its most recent three entries – how high can it climb in our Top 100 Series?
Official Description
Spencer Dales was born into a world of magic. His father belongs to the Aegis, a secret society of black magicians ordered by their unseen masters to better the lives of others—those with greater potential—but never themselves. Now it’s time for Spencer to follow in his father’s footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But in this fight for a better future, who will stand beside him?
Adventure
Key Creators
Matt Fraction
Steve Lieber
Nathan Fairbairn
Issues in 2020
Six
Analysis
The series had a strong ALFRED score after its first six issues, but the second six rewarded viewers with more great one-liners and emotional payoffs. A true treat!
Official Description
Jimmy Olsen must die! Wait, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Jimmy Olsen lives! Superman’s best friend and Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen tours the bizarre underbelly of the DC Universe in this new series featuring death, destruction, giant turtles, and more, combining Silver Age energy with a distinctly modern sensibility! It’s a centuries-spanning whirlwind of weird that starts in Metropolis and ends in Gotham City.
Superhero – Adventure
Key Creators
Chip Zdarsky
Marco Checchetto
Marcio Menyz
Issues in 2020
Ten
Analysis
Daredevil elevated from a top-notch superhero comic to a Must-Read out of the entire comic landscape over the course of two stellar arcs that challenged Matt Murdock in ways never quite seen in the character’s storied history.
Official Description
Will the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen make his return? As Matt Murdock rekindles his alliance — and possibly more — with Elektra, New York Mayor Wilson Fisk works on some deadly allegiances of his own. But a war is building in Hell’s Kitchen as Hammerhead makes his move, and the Owl takes a stab at the Kingpin! Matt Murdock must come to terms with what being Daredevil truly means. And he had better do it soon, as a new and deadly foe has arrived on the scene with a decisive strike — and all hell is about to break loose. As the streets burn, a gang of lethal super villains runs riot, and the Kitchen is left hanging by a thread. That thread…is Daredevil.
Superhero – Crime
Key Creators
Steve Orlando
Riley Rossmo
Ivan Plascencia
Issues in 2020
Two
Analysis
The final two issues of this maxiseries tied together the plot and emotion that was built along the way. Undoubtedly a unique superhero take from standout creators!
Official Description
Back on Mars, J’onn J’onzz was about as corrupt as a law officer can be, and when a reckoning comes for his entire society, he’ll get a second chance he doesn’t want or deserve! One shocking murder, and an unexpected fragment of the Mars he lost, will change his life forever!
Superhero – Adventure
More Top Series
#25 The Dollhouse Family 2019 – 81%
#24 Sex Criminals 2013 – 81%
#23 Suicide Squad 2019 – 82%
#22 Barbalien: Red Planet 2020 – 83%
#21 The Dreaming: Waking Hours 2020 – 83%
#20 American Vampire: 1976 – 2020 – 83%
#19 Something is Killing the Children 2019 – 83%
#18 The Department of Truth 2020 – 83%
#17 Black Widow 2020 – 83%
#16 Locke & Key: In Pale Battalions Go 2020 – 83%
#15 The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage 2019 – 84%
#14 Killadelphia 2019 – 84%
#13 Wonder Woman: Dead Earth 2019 – 84%
#12 Hawkman 2018 – 85%
#11 Colonel Weird: Cosmagog 2020 – 85%
Key Creators
Al Ewing
Joe Bennett
Mike Hawthorne
Issues in 2020
Thirteen
Analysis
Hulk took the top spot in our Top 100 Series, and its entries in 2020 were adored by critics, though not quite to the extent of its first two-dozen issues.
Official Description
There’s a new monster in town. He’s cuddly. He’s lovable. He’s down with the kids. And he’s available for your corporate retreat. Yes, there was another Hulk once — the one who made all those nasty threats about ending the world. But who needs him? The Living Hulk is here — you might know him as Xemnu. And he’s going to save us all, or your money back! But who will triumph when Xemnu battles Robert Bruce Banner, the strangest man of all time?!
Superhero – Horror
Key Creators
Marjorie Liu
Sana Takeda
Issues in 2020
Two
Analysis
The only new-ish series in the Top 10! Before Monstress returns in January 2021, we were treated to this delightful short series that charmed critics and gave fans a much-needed ramp-up for Monstress to return.
Official Description
In the world of DIE, the players are now real players. Countries are their pieces, and the board threatens to run red with blood. Who is the Queen, and who are pawns? Who’s playing to win? Who’s forgotten what they’re playing for? And what will they do when they’re reminded of the real stakes? The critically acclaimed dark fantasy smash hit goes epic in its third volume.
Fantasy
Key Creators
Chuck Brown
David Walker
Sanford Greene
Sofie Dodgson
Clayton Cowles
Issues in 2020
Five
Analysis
Bitter Root’s second arc earned a 94% ALFRED, equal to its first five issues! The dynamite creative team extended the tale into more locations with more characters, with no drop-off in its Must-Read quality.
Official Description
Monster-hunting has been the Sangerye family business for generations as they battle the jinoo—hideous creatures born out of hate and racism. But now, the Sangeryes face a different threat—the deadly inzondo, a new kind of monster born out of grief and trauma. With one of their own turning into an inzondo, and an army of tortured souls on the attack in 1920s Harlem, the Sangerye family must once again fight to save the world, unless their own pain and suffering transform them into monsters as well!
Adventure
Key Creators
Kieron Gillen
Stephanie Hans
Clayton Cowles
Issues in 2020
Five
Analysis
Die spent time at #1 in our Top 100 Series this year, thanks to its most critically-acclaimed arc to-date. Things became more of dire for our beloved players, yet each character had touching moments as well. If you aren’t on-board yet, read Die now!
Official Description
In the world of DIE, the players are now real players. Countries are their pieces, and the board threatens to run red with blood. Who is the Queen, and who are pawns? Who’s playing to win? Who’s forgotten what they’re playing for? And what will they do when they’re reminded of the real stakes? The critically acclaimed dark fantasy smash hit goes epic in its third volume.
Fantasy
Key Creators
Simon Spurrier
Aaron Campbell
Jordie Bellaire
Issues in 2020
Ten
Analysis
The highest-scoring series for issues in 2020 is John Constantine: Hellblazer. The Sandman Universe series not only brought a new challenge for a decades-old character, it was also the standout of the critically-adored Black Label line. We plan to pick up whatever Spurrier or Campbell do next.
Official Description
John Constantine faces his final reckoning with the older version of himself who’s been seeding magical chaos all around England, while the lives of all his friends hang in the balance…and that is not a good situation for John Constantine’s friends. Can the evil in John’s heart ever be contained? Or will it reach out and destroy the one life he would give anything not to corrupt?
Superhero – Crime