By Dustin Cabeal

There was a time in which Dark Horse had a lot of titles on this list, but we’re not here to talk about that, we’re here to talk about the one they had that made this list. Resident Alien is one of the most underappreciated comics out there. It’s pretty much the only reason to read Dark Horse Comics Presents and if you know about the way they structure that anthology, you should be even more impressed by this series.

To explain, they produce a set number of pages each month. These chapters are then collected into four issues and released as a mini-series, then a trade. And the story works at each level. It works monthly in an anthology and then into a single issues later, and that alone is talented storytelling.

All that would mean nothing if the actual story wasn’t good, which it is. A stranded alien is posing as a small-town doctor. While he hides out, he solves murders. Meanwhile, the government is closing in on him. It’s murder mystery, paired with sci-fi, but all in a small rural town setting. The story is fantastic, and the art elevates it to being iconic. This series is completely underappreciated, and it’s one of the biggest crimes in comics right now. Years from now, people will find it, and it will blow their fucking mind, or you could find it now and get a jump on the mind-blowing process.