Best comic-book series of 2012

Aric of Dacia is a Visigoth warrior enslaved by alien colonizers in the debut launch from Valiant Comics.

The warrior steals a suit of armor and escapes, before finding himself now on modern earth. The series is written by Robert Venditti (“Surrogates”) with art by Cary Nord (“Conan”).

Bloodshot

Crime novelist Duane Swierczynski brings a noir sensibility to the techno-thriller comic book series “Bloodshot,” which is the third title to be released by the relaunched Valiant Comics. Artists Manuel Garcia and Arturo Lozzi round out the creative team for “Bloodshot.”

Hell, Yeah

It was a big year for writer Joe Keatinge, who also helmed the excellent “Glory” for the Extreme Comics relaunch and wrote an issue of “Amazing Spider-Man.” Perhaps his most notable achievement was “Hell, Yeah,” which feels a bit like early “Love and Rockets” meets “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” The series stars Ben Day, a young, superpowered man who discovers that alternate versions of him throughout the multiverse are being murdered.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Working with a variety of artists, including Mike Allred and Nick Bradshaw, Jason Aaron wrote the most consistent X-Men book of the year. Wolverine deals with being the headmaster of the Jean Grey school for mutants.

Daredevil

Writer Waid and worked with artists including Chris Samnee and Mike Allred on “Daredevil” in 2012, as the blind lawyer Matt Murdock is secretly adventurer Daredevil. Waid revitalizes once-belittled villains and crafts a fun, well-written crossover with Spider-Man over the year's worth of issues.

Manhattan Projects

Jonathan Hickman also completed a memorable run on “Fantastic Four” this year, though perhaps his best work was on “Manhattan Projects” an alternate history drawn by Nick Pitarra that mixes science fact and fiction.