I’m sure some people remember the checklist for underrated comics for Marvel and DC. Well now it’s time to cover the Underrated Dark Horse Comics. For other comics by a major publisher other than the Big Two, visit the Image Comics page. As a more alternative publisher, this company doesn’t just feature superheroes. But again we cover the underrated series so don’t expect many Hellboy or Buffy stuff. To qualify for this list the series and books must meet these requirements:
- Must have an overall score 8 or above with at least three reviews in the Comic Book Round Up website. There are a few notable exceptions however; some series attribute to particular tastes.
- Alternatively a score of 3.63 or above on Goodreads.
- Cannot include licenses such as Alien, Predator, Star Wars, Avatar, Conan, etc.
- No republishing series like ElfQuest or Lone Wolf and Cub.
- Spin-offs or franchise bits are okay but they’re not a priority. E.g. don’t expect Mignola-verse material unless it plays a small but notable part down the line.
- Must not make appearances like crossovers, video games, or features in Free Comic Book Day.
- Must not win or receive nominations for awards.
- Cannot be on any lists depicting the most popular series. Unfortunately this includes Concrete.
Again this list is subject to change with time and suggestions are free to everyone.
The Underrated Dark Horse Comics List
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Age of Reptiles by Ricardo Delgado might be an Eisner winner but it’s for Need of Wider Recognition. Displaying the detailed (at the time) lives of dinosaurs it’s a docudrama series at its finest.
Criminal Macabre ranks among the forgotten classics with occult detectives that combine black humor with action.
Battle Gods is what happens when Mayan legends meet their modern counterparts. From Lucha Libre to zombies of the Mayans’ conflict with the Aztecs, this series is gonzo!
Art Adams has a couple of things to his name including a love of monsters in Creature Features.
Meanwhile Monkeyman & O’Brien is where Adams embraces the weirder side of science-fiction.
Samurai: Heaven and Earth details a chanbara setting that transitions into a fun swashbuckling tale by Ron Marz.
Motel Art Improvement Service is a coming of age tale about how to make travels memorable and doing things for the sake of it. With interesting characters and a clean art style, it’s appealing to the eyes and mind.
Outer Orbit by Zach Howard and Sean Gordon Murphy is a raunchy space romp fun for all readers.
Dream Thief by Jai Nitz and Greg Smallwood is a quirky series about a layabout thief who steals a mask that allows murder victims to possess his body. Be aware of the writer’s reputation.
During Dark Horse’s Superhero venture Project Black Sky, a legacy character takes the reins of Skyman. Unlike the original Golden Age character, Sgt. Eric Reid’s tale is about a veteran’s struggle with PTSD and what it means to represent a group’s ideal.
Greg Rucka’s Veil is a supernatural series about an innocent demon who uses rats to defend herself in an urban jungle. But that might not be enough to fend off her summoners. Toni Feizula’s grotesque artwork really brings home a feeling of fear from the demon’s perspective.
The Eltingville Club by cartoonist Evan Dorkin is about the misadventures of four fandom caricatures. Each of which satirize the worst parts about fandoms from unhealthy obsessions to elitist gatekeeping. Fortunately the message here isn’t that geeks are toxic, because there are still things to love about fandoms.
Alex de Campi’s Grindhouse: Doors Open At Midnight Double Feature like most anthologies are generally hits or misses. This series merely brings in that notion to its most extreme by embracing Grindhouse cinema styles.
After numerous disappointing films like the prequel of The Thing From Another World, Eric Heisserer went into comics. But before Valiant’s Secret Weapons, Shaper is Heisserer’s first take on persecution. With images and actions offering exposition, the series delves into a battle for survival against a regime.
Ei8ht is an example of people getting tired of time travel/alternate reality stories. Which is a shame because there are ideas of a Meld, a place where pieces of reality come together. The coloring can also provide for some mesmerizing looks at how time is seen.
Mulan Revelations is the tragically cut short series beautifully illustrated by Micah Kaneshiro. Inspired by the legendary character of China’s Northern and Southern dynasties, her cyberpunk descendant goes against the corporations who have released a virus in order to profit off a cure.
Never Ending is the story of how superhero serialization can affect people’s sense of time. Within three issues of the hero Chuck’s life, the nonlinear storytelling goes into Chuck’s attempts to get a handle on things.
Adam.3 is Past Aways’ artist Scott Kolins science fantasy title where the titular character must fight an alien invasion in order to save his son.
Power Cubed is Aaron Lopresti’s coming-of-age story of inheritance in a fantastic sci-fi universe revolving around some alien tech.
Mystery Girl is about PI Trine Hemstead who has the ability to solve every mystery. All except her memory of the last 10 years so as she’s on the job she’s trying to figure it all out. With a cast of quirky characters at her side, the reader enjoys it as much as Trine does.
Combining Steampunk, Westerns, and the themes of H.G. Wells is The Steam Man. The breathtaking landscapes by Mark Alan Miller and Piotr Kowalski introduce readers to a unique world to immerse in.
Cullen Bunn has a reputation for the macabre folk horror Death Follows is no exception. A struggling farm’s new hand causes the dead to rise, putting the hand’s employers on alert. With grotesque art by A.C. Zamudio, readers get the perfect companion to Harrow County.
Space Mullet is full of lovable misfit characters going into one adventure after another.
Matt Kindt changes trajectory in Poppy and the Lost Lagoon. Unlike his usual mindbenders, Kindt displays a simpler story about looking for adventure, all the while coming to realize that the people you look up to are still people with flaws.
Mike Richardson when he’s not managing Dark Horse, can dive into some serious topics. Echoes is the story of a bitter man getting a new chance to change his life. Becoming a child again, he has to make the journey to prevent his mother’s death by her boyfriend’s hands. This is not an easy thing as the fear and trauma is a process to deal with.
Shadows On The Grave is a follow up anthology to Spirits of the Dead. Featuring numerous short stories worthy of EC Comics, the collection is sure to please someone.
With horror anthologies being a dime a dozen, it’s easy to miss Gary Gianni’s Monstermen and Other Scary Stories. Originally existing alongside Hellboy, these pulp-fiction style stories manage to stand on their own with longevity.
Eric Grissom is known for his conspiracy laden stories full of action. Gregory Suicide is a slowburn cyberpunk series about AI where the artwork by Will Perkins IV tells most of the story.
Regardless on how anyone feels about Jai Nitz, that’s no reason not to enjoy Astro Hustle and its artwork by Ursula Decay.
At first glance, Death Orb is your generic cyberpunk revenge story. But the stellar artwork by Alejandro Aragon is something to die for.
Calamity Kate deals with a superhero’s biggest struggle, trying to start anew. This series inadvertently captures directionless adulthood and how fresh starts are not clean slates.
Tomorrow deals with the anxieties of inheriting a world when the previous generation vanishes. With all of the adults gone, two twins separate from one another and attempt to find stability. But in a world that embraces the new, can anything of the past remain?
Earth Boy is the coming-of-age story of dealing with school and feeling isolated… in space! The character development is genuine among the struggles of trying to get through life.
Winds of Numa Sera is a massive world-building experience for fantasy lovers featuring characters from different walks of life.
Into Radness is a graphic novel about chasing spectacle. As some punk kids try to get internet famous, they find their niche in fighting monsters. With it come the pressures of keeping together in stylized absurdity.
Raiders is an OGN that gets way too many comparisons with Image’s Headlopper. This action packed take on how dungeon raiding gets exploited deserves its own merits.
Kali is a grand spectacle of a Shakespearean tragedy. One where the boundaries between good and evil get lost in the shuffle.
Birdking is another one of Daniel Freedman’s dark fantasies. Unlike Raiders this dives more into world-building of high fantasy to immerse readers.
Shock Shop is a Cullen Bunn horror anthology flipbook featuring two stories of relationship troubles. Because what’s better than two monsters to show mundane terrors?
Break Out is a sci-fi rescue heist about high schoolers trying to free their friends from invaders. But along the way are multiple challenges that clash with teens having a lot going on.
White Savior is a satire on how Western storytelling can be exploited while making fun of the central concept.
Survival Street is yet another satire that rechecks the realities on our favorite childhood puppet shows. What happens when our favorite mascots are thrown out by their corporate overlords? They continue doing what they do best, helping kids and making them aware of the world around them. This time without censors or marketing.
