Top Ten Underrated Independent On-Going Books 9/15/16

What up Muchachos. I know that there are a ton of Independent books that I missed when I wasn't collecting, but I was talking to my cousin about Men of Wrath and Black Market and it came up that he missed both series completely. Side Note: I didn't realize that Men of Wrath was under the Marvel umbrella, but I am going to treat it as an independent because it would fit much better under the Image brand. Anyways, this got me thinking how many independent books that have been excellent and do not have the following that they should.

I am going to exclude tent poles for companies like Image's The Walking Dead and Outcast, Chew, Saga, Spawn IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Judge Dredd etc. I try and read most independents whether they catch my eye or not. There have been a couple that my local comic guy has recommended that were really good. As I was gathering information on my list, I realized that there are a ton of books that are underrated and deserved to be read. So I am going to break this into two sections, 1 - Ongoing Independents in this column and 2 - Independent Limited Series that are pretty easy to pick up in trade form that I will write up tomorrow.

Even when I separate the two categories, I am having a hard time whittling it down to ten. I think people are going to kill me for no having Manifest Destiny or Invincible on the list, but those books I read the first trade and they did not grab my attention as others had. The books that barely missed the cut off were Velvet, Postal, They Are Not Like Us, Thief of Thieves and Clone. The one issue that seems to be common throughout the all the independents are the irregular release schedule.

Please note that I don't necessarily think that the books are listed in the order of quality. I would compare it to the Vision story right now.  It is the best Marvel book being put out and I don't know how Civil War II is selling 2 to 3 times as many copies. I think these are all quality books, but the higher they are on the list, the more underrated I think they are.

W: Brian Michael Bendis A: Michael Avon Oeming

Honorable Mention/Cancelled Too Early - The United States of Murder Inc. - I know this book has only 4 issues, but Marvel still has it listed as active and on going. I really enjoyed this book.  The art was different from anything else and went perfectly with the story. Alternative history books always call my name. This one with the Mob owning part of the USA and basically having a treaty with the government is a great concept.  This had the potential to be a lot higher on the list.  I would say go read it now, but you will only be disappointed because it does not have a satisfying ending.

W: Scott Snyder A: Jock

10. Wytches - This book is a dark and twisted story.  I am not a big horror fan, but this book is incredible. It has a great premise with fantastic art work.  Snyder and Jock weave a story that is hard to put down.  This is a book that I cannot wait to start up again.  This is one of the books with an erratic schedule. While I was getting an autograph form Snyder at San Diego Comic Con I asked how this was coming along.  Thinking back about it he was very vague about the time table, but said that a new issue is coming out soon.

W: Jason Aaron A: Jason Latour

9. Southern Bastards - This is another fantastic book. It is described as "a southern fried crime series that's like the Dukes of Hazzard meets the Coen Brothers... on meth."  I would compare it more to a Walking Tall story. Either way the story is about a corrupt rural town and a long lost son coming back with a plan to leave as fast as possible. However, we all know that it is not that easy.

W: Josh Williamson A: Mike Henderson

8. Nailbiter - This is another horror book about a town that produces serial killers. Midway through the series it lost its way, but it started out incredibly strong  and has got back to being a strong suspense horror book.  A local cop and FBI agent try and figure out why this town, Buckaroo, is producing serial killers.  

W: Josh Williamson A: Andrea Bressan, Adiano Lucas

7. Birthright - Back to back Josh Williamson books. However, this one is totally different than any of his horror based books.  The premise from Image's website is "For the Rhodes family, losing their son was the most devastating thing that could have occurred...but it couldn’t prepare them for what happened when he returned." This book is a little dark with what happens to the family when the son goes missing, but when he returns it's like this big hulking dragon slayer is your long lost son and he is back. If you like fantasy type books this is a must read.

W: Jeremy Haun, James A. Hurley A: Jeremy Haun

6. Beauty - This is a book that I wasn't planning on picking up, but my local comic guy was pretty insistent that I should.  I am glad he was so insistent because this book is awesome.  Police are investigating basically an STD that makes you really really good looking, but at the same time may cause you to burst into flames.

W: Marjorie Liu A: Sana Takeda

5. Monstress - The first time I heard about this was at Wonder Con on an Image panel. Liu was talking about how the first issue was basically the size of a trade and that everyone one was telling Liu that she needed to split the book, but there was no place to split it.  Once this book came out the story and the art was amazing.  This is one of those books that you can not put down.  It is unlike anything else out there.

W: Roberto Aguirre Sacasa A: Francesco Francavilla

4. Archie Afterlife - This is a book that I thought was going to be incredibly stupid.  I was pleasantly surprised when my sister forced me to red this.  I was blown away.   I was never an Archie fan, but this was so different and I could actually .  Francavilla's art is fantastic and is paired perfectly with the story.  The story is compelling and actually easy to relate to.  This is another book with an erratic release schedule. If it did not, I think this would be a monster book with a huge following.

W: Nick Spencer A: Steve Lieber

3. The Fix - This book is hilarious. The first book reminded me of Training Day had it been made a comedy. The premise as solicited on Image's website is "crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run things—and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels." This is a book I almost missed because it was sold out everywhere. SPOILER: There is a part in the first book where they rob this old man with masks on and then they come back as cops to interview him. While they are interviewing him, wearing the same clothes as when the robbed him, one of the cops starts asking the victim to basically compare him to his partner regarding height weight build.  It had me busting up. 

W: Josh Williamson A: Goran Sudzuka

2. Ghosted - For not liking horror books, there are a lot on this list as well as Josh Williamson. I thought this book had ended, but I spoke to Josh Williamson when I was at San Diego Comic Con getting an autograph and brought up this series.  He said something to the effect that he has an idea for a new arc and thinks something might be coming in the near future.  Near future is relative especially with him writing as many books as he does, but if it is true I can't wait. The premise is that a man that can steal anything is hired to steal a ghost. 

W: Joshua Hale Fialkov A: Joe Infurnari

1. Bunker - This is one I missed initially, but the second print cover, pictured above, really grabbed my attention so I picked it up. The basic premise is that a group of friends find a bunker sent from the future from, wait for it, themselves in order to save the world.  I know that actually sounds a little cheesy, but it is executed very well. This one suffered from an erratic release schedule too, which I think plays a huge part in being underrated, people forget what happened and it is easy to drop. I really enjoy this book and never see it talked about and the sales numbers are not that great.

In addition to this list I think that these newer books have the potential to be powerhouse books.  Jump on now before it is too late:  4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, Eclipse, Briggsland, Glitterbomb, Generation Zero, Horizon, and Kill or Be Killed.  Also, I think that the Forevers could be added to this list, but I haven't read it yet.