Kicking off our countdown is one of the most ferocious characters in the entire Invincible Universe — Battle Beast. Robert Kirkman's sci-fi superhero sandbox has been thriving ever since the smash-hit Amazon Prime adaptation reignited global interest in the series, and Battle Beast's solo spotlight title tapped straight into that renewed hunger.

Fans of the TV show who wanted to dig deeper into the lore of this imposing alien warrior made this one of our fastest-selling indie titles of the year. It's brutal, beautifully drawn, and absolutely rewards long-time readers of the core Invincible run.

There is perhaps no character better suited to a Marvel/DC crossover than the Merc with a Mouth himself. The Marvel/DC Deadpool event leaned hard into everything fans love about Wade Wilson — the fourth-wall breaks, the outrageous humour, and the sheer chaos of dropping him into a shared universe he was never meant to inhabit.

In a year when crossover events were plentiful, this one stood apart by being genuinely funny and genuinely consequential at the same time. It became a word-of-mouth hit almost immediately, and we couldn't keep it stocked. A must-own for collectors and casual readers alike.

This is not your average superhero comic. Absolute Martian Manhunter, written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by the Eisner Award-winning Javier Rodríguez, launched in March 2025 as part of DC's second wave of Absolute titles — and immediately distinguished itself as the most artistically daring book in the entire line.

The premise is brilliantly strange: FBI agent John Jones finds his mind fused with an otherworldly Martian consciousness, pulling him into a metaphysical war against a White Martian entity that plants hate and division into people's thoughts. It is a psychological horror book as much as a superhero comic. Rodríguez — who famously used modelling clay to design this version of the Martian rather than traditional pencil sketches — produces artwork like nothing else on stands. DC itself describes it as doing things no comic page has ever done before.

The series sold over 120,000 copies on its first issue and was extended for a second run into 2026 due to overwhelming demand. For readers in the UAE who want something genuinely unlike anything they have read before, this is the book.

The biggest DC event of 2025 arrived in October and did not disappoint. DC K.O. — written by Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson, with art by Javi Fernández — is a five-issue cosmic tournament in which the entire Justice League is forced to compete in gladiatorial combat to determine who becomes King Omega: a champion powered by enough energy to stand against a returning Darkseid.

Critically, "K.O." does not stand for Knock-Out — it stands for King Omega, and that distinction perfectly captures what makes this event smarter than it initially appears. Snyder, returning to DC after a five-year absence, brings genuine weight to the tournament. The event spawned match-up one-shots including Harley Quinn vs Zatanna, Wonder Woman vs Lobo, and Red Hood vs The Joker — making it the most expansive DC event in years. It averaged 8.3 out of 10 across 87 critic reviews on Comic Book Roundup.

Marvel's Ultimate line reinvention has been one of the most ambitious relaunches in recent comic history — and Ultimate End Game represented a seismic turning point within that fresh universe. Stakes were high, creative ambition was higher, and readers who had been following the relaunch from issue one were not about to miss this.

New readers attracted to the Ultimate line's accessible entry points also jumped in here, making this a true crossover seller — topping our lists across long-time Marvel subscribers and newcomers across Dubai and Abu Dhabi alike. The ending left jaws on the floor and pre-orders through the roof.

Sometimes the most impactful seller isn't a single title — it's a format revolution. DC Compacts arrived as DC's answer to the question every fan in the UAE has asked: "How do I get into classic stories without importing a shelf full of expensive oversized hardcovers?" The slim, affordable, digest-sized format made the greatest runs in DC history newly accessible — perfectly sized for the Dubai Metro, a long flight, or gifting to someone discovering comics for the first time.

The line brought genuinely iconic stories to this format. Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale — the masterpiece murder mystery set across a year of Gotham's most dangerous nights — became an instant bestseller in compact form. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, widely considered the definitive Superman story ever told, found a whole new audience. Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, a breathtaking painted epic about a future where heroes and humanity collide, sold out in its first week. And Batman: Year One by Frank Miller — the origin story every Batman film has drawn from — proved that classics never stop selling when you put them in people's hands at the right price.

The Dark Knight's headline relaunch exceeded even our most optimistic projections. The reason? Two words: Matt Fraction. The Eisner Award-winning writer behind one of the most celebrated Marvel runs of the modern era — Hawkeye (with artist David Aja), a book that redefined what a superhero comic could feel and look like — brought exactly that creative fearlessness to Gotham City. Fraction himself has said Batman was the first comic he ever read, making this run feel like a deeply personal love letter to the character.

His partner on the book is Jorge Jiménez, one of the most celebrated Batman artists working today and a veteran of multiple acclaimed DC runs. Jiménez described this as a deliberate chance to reinvent his own approach to the character. Together with colours by Tomeu Morey, they produce what reviewers have called "beautiful chaos" — kinetic layouts that accelerate through action sequences then slow into quiet, humanising moments with the Bat-family.

The decision that generated the most conversation? Returning Batman to his classic grey and blue costume. After years of the all-black tactical suit dominating both comics and screen, Jiménez confirmed this was deliberate — bringing the iconic colour scheme back in what he called a "definitive way." This is only the fourth time in Batman's 85+ year publication history that DC has reset the series to a new #1. Every issue has been a sell-out.

Landing in our top three is the Amazon warrior who has captivated readers for generations — and Absolute Wonder Woman, written by Kelly Thompson and illustrated by Hayden Sherman with colours by Jordie Bellaire, is perhaps the most radical reimagining in DC's entire Absolute line. This Diana was not raised on the paradise island of Themyscira — she was raised in Hell itself, by the sorceress Circe, after Zeus condemned the Amazons. She is less a symbol of peace and more a mythic warrior-queen torn between compassion and conquest, covered in tattoos that are woven into the very plot of the series.

Thompson, known for her bold character-driven work on Captain Marvel and Black Widow at Marvel, delivers the most emotionally resonant DC writing of the year. Sherman's artwork — dynamic, abstract, and completely unlike any house style — and Bellaire's vivid colours create a visual world critics have called extraordinary. The comic industry agreed: Absolute Wonder Woman won Best New Series at the 2025 Eisner Awards, with Bellaire winning Best Coloring and multiple additional nominations for the creative team. It debuted with over 150,000 copies ordered and has continued selling strongly across the Gulf driven entirely by word of mouth.

The Man of Steel has never been more compelling — or more of an underdog. Absolute Superman, written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Rafa Sandoval with colours by Ulises Arreola, launched in November 2024 to complete DC's Absolute Trinity. Aaron — acclaimed writer behind celebrated runs on Thor, Wolverine, and Southern Bastards — brings his gift for epic mythological storytelling to a completely reinvented Kal-El.

In this universe, Kal-El is not the beloved adopted son of a Kansas farming couple. His ship crashes on Earth, but not into a loving home. He grows up on the run — a refugee from Krypton, hounded across the planet by the Lazarus Corporation run by a chilling Ra's Al Ghul. The "S" on his chest is the mark of the Labour Guild, the lowest caste on Krypton. Superman earns his heroism through defiance, not privilege — making this one of the most emotionally affecting Superman stories in decades, and a premise that resonates deeply across the Gulf.

Sandoval's art — clean, dynamic, and cinematic — anchors the story's global scope. The series debuted with a print run of around 180,000 copies, and by December 2025, the entire Absolute line had sold over 8.5 million units, with Superman a major contributor to that extraordinary figure.

There is no debate. There is no close second. Absolute Batman, written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Nick Dragotta with colours by Frank Martin, is the undisputed bestselling title of FOMO Books' entire first year — and it is backed by the numbers to prove it.

Launched on 9 October 2024 as the very first title in DC's new Absolute Universe imprint — which Snyder himself oversees — the debut issue had a print run of around 250,000 copies. By end of 2024, issue #1 alone had sold just under 400,000 copies across multiple printings. By December 2025, Absolute Batman had sold nearly 3 million units total — the single best-selling title in the entire Absolute line. In September 2025, it reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Issue #1 went through eleven printings.

The concept is brilliantly conceived: in this universe, Bruce Wayne is not a billionaire. He is a 24-year-old blue-collar civil engineer who grew up in Crime Alley, builds his own equipment with his own hands, and fights crime without a mansion, without Alfred, without any of the resources that traditionally define Batman. What remains is the mission. When Dragotta was designing this Bruce, Snyder told him he needed to be the biggest Batman ever drawn. Dragotta drew him huge. Snyder said bigger. The result is a physically imposing, visually iconic Batman unlike anything before — yet instantly, unmistakably, the Dark Knight.

Critics called it "a bold reinvention" and "a masterwork of action storytelling." It is less a comic book and more a cultural event. If you have been on the fence — stop. Absolute Batman is the comic of the generation.