Holy rusted metal, Batman!

WE(L)COME BACK: Mali and Tessa are Sequels, assassins who get reincarnated over and over again to fight on opposite sides of a secret war. They’re drawn together, destined to kill each other in every life. They’ve lived hundreds of lives, locked in an eternal cycle of death and rebirth, until Mali starts to question why they’re still fighting a war no one remembers the purpose of. It's an epic story of subversion, tragic queers, and a long standing war that feels rich in history and legend. This is one of the coolest concepts I've ever seen put into a comic book, and there’s something truly magical in this story. It should have gone on forever. Created by Christopher Sebela, Claire Roe, Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, Jeremy Lawson, and Jim Campbell.

UNDER THE RED HOOD: Jason Todd, the second son, the second Robin and teenage victim of the Joker. In <i>Death in the Family</i> he's beaten to death with a crow bar and then blown up for his troubles before eventually coming back years later with another bang, literally. Basically in a convoluted plot of some crises or other, Superboy-Prime punched reality, and the former Robin, back into existence. After a quick bath in the Lazarus pit, Judd Winick brings Jason back fully restored with a violent vengeance and a whole new bag of daddy issues in <i>Under the Red Hood</i>, looking to make people answer for what happened to him. Even Batman. Ironically published around the same time as Bucky was resurrected over at Marvel. Coincidence? Debatable. Anyway, I’m grateful every day for the resurrection of that gun toting sass machine. Made by Judd Winick, Doug Mahnke, Shane Davis, Eric Battle, Paul Lee, Alex Sinclair, Cam Smith, Pat Brosseau, and more.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER: Who the hell is Bucky? Bucky Barnes has been presumed dead since the 1950's, after fighting side by side with his BFF Captain America against Red Skull and the Nazis during World War II. Thirty years later, a mysterious man known by the intelligence community as the Winter Soldier has been terrorizing and killing people all up and down the streets of New York. Surprise, it's Bucky, after being frozen for decades and kept in reserve as Hydra's favorite brain washed pet assassin. The movie is one of my favorite MCU installments, but the book itself is almost an entirely different read, packed with some really engaging political and international intrigue, and elaborate spy games, with the bonus resurrection of a Marvel character that will go down in comics history. Made by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Michael Lark, J.P. Leon, and more.

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE: Gods are reincarnated every ninety years into young people for society to worship, and in our case, that means they're all pop stars. They're loved, they’re hated, and ultimately they’re also fated to die an inevitable, headless death within two years of reincarnation. The thing is, they always come back. Some sooner than others. This is one of my favorite comics currently being published, with powerful messages about loss and transformation, and the unique relationship between fans and the object of their idolatry. Everything really is more beautiful for the doomed, and even then death is only the beginning. If you only had two years to live, what would you do with it? Created by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles.

THOR: Ragnarok has come and gone, and all the Asgardians are dead. That is until Thor comes back all wax poetic and resurrects everyone in the hearts and minds of mortals, finding them all on Earth and bringing Asgard along with him to settle down in rural Oklahoma. This story takes place after the events of <i>Civil War</i> and the Superhuman Registration Act, so social and political tensions are already running high when Thor and his Asgardians invade Middle America, and the God of Thunder isn't willing to play along. I genuinely loved this comic. Come for the Norse mythology, stay for Lady Loki. Made by J. Michael Straczynski, Marko Djurdjevic, Olivier Coipel, and more.

REVIVAL: One day in a rural town in Wisconsin, the dead come back to life, and not as your more traditional zombies. They come back completely reanimated, and nobody knows why. The town is quarantined, the CDC is called in, and the dead are segregated from the living as everyone tries to move on. It's a haunting story with a lot of social, political and religious depths mixed in with a bizarre set of circumstances, raising questions of government and media interference, and the powerful influence of religion and fanaticism against the backdrop of a good, old fashioned murder mystery. It's like <i>Fargo</i> meets <i>Dawn of the Dead</i>, with less eating brains and chock full of more intrigue, while the living have to find a way to peacefully coexist with the dead. Created by Tim Seeley, Mike Norton, and Mark Englert.

PHOENIX RESURRECTION: THE RETURN OF JEAN GREY: Jean Grey is back! The X-Men are chasing strange, Phoenix connected events across the globe, meanwhile a young woman named Jean is starting to realize the quiet, suburban life she’s in may not be what it seems. With cracks in her reality starting to appear everywhere she turns, Jean needs to find a way out, and the X-Men need to find a way to stop the Phoenix. Again. For me it was the very last issue that made it memorable, wrapping the story up with the message that this was always more about Jean, and her connection to the Phoenix Force, successfully carrying the emotional weight of Jean's complicated and painful Marvel history. Made by Matthew Rosenberg, Leinil Francis Yu, Joe Bennett, Gerry Alanguilan, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Travis Lanham.

BLACKEST NIGHT: One of the most fun crises DC has ever had, where we see a bunch of beloved, very dead superheroes and some supervillains resurrected as zombified Black Lanterns and sent to attack the living. I mean, any story that starts off with Black Hand removing Bruce Wayne's skull from his grave and licking it is bound to be a great one, right? A+ action and general insanity, a great Lantern-centric event complete with zombie sharks! Made by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Julio Ferreira, Nick J. Napolitano, and more.

THE WALKING DEAD: Nothing says rebirth like your loved ones rising from the dead to come eat your face off. Maybe it's not your traditional resurrection story, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention this ongoing post-apocalyptic saga, where the undead now walk the earth and everyone else is pretty much screwed. No one is safe, and when it comes to the goal of survival, sometimes the people you run into on the road are even more dangerous than the monsters trying to eat you. You're technically still being reborn even if you're coming back as an undead cannibal, right? Created by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Dave Stewart, Stefano Gaudiano, and Rus Wooton.