Show Notes
My pal Brandon Burpee returns to the podcast for our annual look at the year in comics before we count down our 20 favorite comics of the year. Burpee discusses the year in comics, the state of the Big Two, where the X-Men are, older comics that might have previous lists, anticipated comics from 2026, ancient Star Wars takes, and more, before we share our honorable mentions from the year in comics and then count down our 20 favorites comics and graphic novels from 2025. Love the podcast and want to support it? Back it on Patreon at Patreon.com/OffPanel For those that are looking for a list of our 20 favorite comics, here they are.
David Harper's 20 Favorite Comics of 2025 1. Beetle Moses 2. Hirayasumi 3. Sleep 4. Land Vol. 1 5. Do Admit! The Mitford Sisters and Me 6. Cannon 7. The Fables of Erlking Wood 8. Good Devils: Don't Play Fair with Evil 9. Ionheart 10. Lucas Wars 11. Out of Alcatraz 12. A Garden of Spheres 13. Tongues Vol. 1 14. Assorted Crisis Events 15. Flip 16. The Knives 17. Raised by Ghosts 18. Tokyo Alien Bros. 19. Absolute Wonder Woman 20. Absolute Batman
Brandon Burpee's 20 Favorite Comics of 2025 1. One World Under Doom 2. Green Lantern 3. Batman and Robin: Year One 4. Deadpool/Wolverine 5. Superman 6. X-Men 7. JSA 8. Absolute Superman 9. Justice League Unlimited 10. Exquisite Corpses 11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 12. Geiger 13. Storm 14. Absolute Wonder Woman 15. Redcoat 16. Captain America 17. Invincible Universe: Battle Beast 18. Green Lantern Corps 19. Escape 20. History of the DC Universe
More from Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast
Writer G. Willow Wilson joins the show for the first time to talk about her journey in comics and her work on titles like Poison Ivy at DC and Black Cat at Marvel. Wilson discusses her thoughts on conventions, comic book gateways, the appeal of comics to her as a reader and creator, the small stories of superheroes, being a rule follower, the anger and roots of Poison Ivy, playing with reader expectations, finding her stories, creating Kamala Khan, what made her want to make comics, relationships in comics, the business side of the job, how the length of Poison Ivy shaped it, her plan for the series, how Poison Ivy became the mayor of Gotham City, the story behind Bad Seeds, her love of soccer, the overlap between sports and soccer fandoms, and more.
Writer/artist Patrick Horvath joins the show to talk about Archie in Hell, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, and his journey through comics. Horvath discusses juggling multiple projects, figuring out the world of comics, his intense first few years, rolling with what comics brings you, Archie in Hell, what goes into Beneath the Trees, figuring out his angle to Archie horror, Tyler Crook's impact, writing for others, his larger plan for Beneath the Trees, Samantha Strong's backstory, how people respond to her, the Beneath the Trees Halloween Special, the title's time jumps, the biggest things he's learned from comics, what he wants going forward, and more.
Cartoonist Beetle Moses joins the show to talk about his webcomic, Beetle Moses, and its first print collection, Beetle Moses: A Comics Menagerie. Beetle Moses discusses his SPX experience, engaging with readers, what 2026 has been like, surprising influences, his longform comics, The Far Side overlap, bringing yourself to the work, Beetle Moses: A Comics Menagerie, figuring out what to include in the book, pop culture references, the important of going print, keeping the special sauce, breaking up rhythms, the different sides of comics, what he wants for himself, and more.
Art rep Felix Lu joins the show to talk about the story behind his company, Felix Comic Art, and the original comic art market. Lu discusses the evolution of Felix Comic Art, building relationships, what an art rep does, how the artists he works with push each other, commissions as business cards, the origins of Felix Comic Art, the power of word of mouth, figuring out who to work with, the evolution of the original art market, investments, the variant world, passion's place in original art collecting, helping artists with their careers, the personality side of things, whether there's space for lower budget customers, and more.
Writer Rob Williams joins the show to talk about his career in comics and his next big project, Judge Dredd: The New Future. Williams discusses managing workloads, writing versus co-writing, learning from collaborators, the TV/comic overlap, the power of trust, Judge Dredd: A Better World's accessibility, the versatility of Dredd, his ronin era, the flow of Petrol Head, the roots of Judge Dredd: A Better World and The New Future, 2000 AD blindness, standing alone as a Dredd writer, navigating a career in comics, and more.