Marvel Comics had a great 2019 when it came to producing quality comics throughout the year. Creators both old and new put out some incredible ongoing series, one-shots, and digital exclusives. The comic company also nailed a number of limited and miniseries, with a handful of stories in particular standing out above the rest.
Before getting into the list of our favorite series from Marvel's year, it's important to mention that a growing number of top-caliber Marvel miniseries didn't manage to make our final selection. That doesn't mean the miniseries are bad, that they shouldn't be sought out and read at the earliest convenience, or that the creators don't deserve credit. It only means that the following books stuck with us more than all others.
Presented below, in no particular order, are the very best limited and miniseries comics published by Marvel in 2019 (all of which can be found at your local comic book store today).
Gwenpool Strikes Back
The fact that most casual comic fans assume Gwenpool is a strange, female knockoff of Deadpool isn't ignored in Gwenpool Strikes Back, but embraced as part of the problem it's setting out to solve. With reboots and retcons far more common than ongoing series for the fourth-wall-breaking heroine, the newest Gwenpool series made its mission clear from the first issue: to prove that Gwen deserves a bigger piece of the spotlight. And the series more than delivers.
With the team of writer Leah Williams, David Baldeón, and Jesus Abertov at the wheel, the five-issue series took readers through one unforgettable scene, premise, and reality at a time. Embracing the meta as firmly as it does the heart (and the Bucky/Steve fanfic), the series ended with its biggest surprise of all: giving Gwen a new home with Marvel's mutants. More than a primer on the character, Gwenpool Strikes Back is a showpiece.
Meet the Skrulls
Meet the Skrulls follows the Warners, a seemingly perfect American family. Mom works in government, while Dad works for Tony Stark. Meanwhile, their two daughters attend high school like normal students. However, the Warners aren't a normal family. They've got a big secret they are hiding to the rest of the world - they are Skrull shapeshifters who are on Earth to gather intel for a future Skrull invasion.
Written by Robbie Thompson with art from Niko Henrichon, Meet the Skrulls follows in the footsteps of Tom King and Gabriel Walta's excellent Vision series, as a character study on a family trying to domesticate in suburban America while hiding a comic book-esque secret. The book weaves together stories about identity, loyalty, and trust, in a relentlessly truly fascinating read. Plus, Marvel is bringing the Warners back for a one-shot ahead of Empyre, so catch up on the book while you can.
War of the Realms: Agents of Atlas
In 2019, Greg Pak and Gang Hyuk Lim revamped the superhero team Agents of Atlas, who first got their own ongoing series in 2006. The new version of the team featured Asian and Asian American superheroes with a plethora of interesting new characters who have since spun off into their own series.
The original Agents of Atlas miniseries works as a War of the Realms tie-in and its own separate story. Familiar faces include Shang-Chi, Amadeus Cho, and Silk, while Pak introduces a mix of new characters including Aero, Wave, Sword Master Luna Snow, and Crescent and Io - the latter two making their comics debut after being featured in the mobile game Marvel Future Fight. You might think a tie-in event comic with mobile game characters might not be required reading, but Pak perfectly balances all these new heroes as they take on legions of Fire Demons across Asia and the globe. The miniseries was such a hit the new heroes have continued on in Marvel Comics with Aero and Swordmaster getting an ongoing series and Agents of Atlas continuing as well.
War of The Realms: Giant Man
Thor's quest was the driving force of the entire War of the Realms event, but fans who looked to the tie-in miniseries and crossovers found some hidden gems. Giant-Man was exactly that, giving a three-issue mission to the biggest superheroes in Marvel's Universe. Even before Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, and Atlas started comparing their super-heights and smearing themselves with blue paint to pass as Frost Giants, it was clear what readers were in for. In short: proof that a serious mission in a serious war can be an absolute blast.
The gags, antics, camaraderie, and drunken tavern singing showed that a miniseries can strike gold when turning a single idea into an adventure. The alchemical combination of Leah Williams, Marco Castiello, and Rachelle Rosenberg felt like a long-proven formula. The heroes proved they weren't just heroes, but human (and often struggling with even those problems). If it slipped past in the rush of the event, now is the time to revisit.
Spider-Man: Life Story
Chip Zdarsky has a well-deserved reputation as one of comics' more humorous voices, but the talented writer and artist deserves credit as one of the medium's best writers. Spider-Man: Life Story is an ambitious retelling of Spider-Man's entire 57-year history as if Peter was aging along with his books. Each issue examines a different decade in Peter's life culminating in a brilliant, heartbreaking journey for readers.
Life Story reexamines and re-contextualizes key moments in Peter Parker's life in a decade-spanning story that has no business being as good as it is. Both new and old readers will get something out of this book. Mark Bagley's art in the series is stellar and Zdarksy's cover art is pitch-perfect. It's a true achievement the six-issue series is coherent at all, but Spider-Man: Life Story is easy to follow, and achieves the unlikely goal of spinning an all-new twist on Marvel's most popular character.
Silver Surfer: Black
One thing should sell comics fans on Silver Surfer: Black: Tradd Moore doing interiors for a trippy cosmic book. Moore's art in Silver Surfer: Black is flat-out superb. Moore doesn't work in convention and for a story that's about the titular hero getting sucked into a black hole where he has to deal with Knull - the God of Symbiotes, his work really shines. There's nothing that looks like Silver Surfer: Black currently on the market. The art is trippy in all the best possible ways and features some of the most interesting cosmic galaxies ever drawn in a Marvel book.
Storywise, Donny Cates tells an interesting tale for the Surfer. In typical Cates fashion, the story is bananas but is centered with heart and care. It's a surprisingly deep book with a lot to say about staying in the light or shifting towards the dark. Silver Surfer: Black needs to be read to fully grasp how great it is.
House of X/Powers of X
You know this combination miniseries had to make this list. In recent years, the X-Men haven't been given the necessary attention of Marvel Comics. While there have been multiple series featuring all different kinds of mutants, there really wasn't a big ongoing book that brought anything particularly exciting to the characters. That's not to say the books were bad, but Jonathan Hickman's relaunch with art from Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva redefined the X-Men in new and promising ways.
The House of X and Powers of X miniseries is about as good of an X-Men story as there can be - specifically because it forges a new path for the characters. Spanning the past, present, and future, the book brings mutants back to the forefront of society. Hickman makes a number of great choices in the book - none better than a twist in House of X #2, which is probably the best issue of any comic released in 2019. The series makes multiple bold decisions and lays the groundwork for reinventing what the X-Men can be in the ensuing spinoff series. The world-building and interwoven stories are awesome. The run will set the standard and define the X-Men and Marvel Comics for years to come.