Brian K Vaughan

Over the past month or so, it seems like everybody and their mother has become obsessed with the latest hit Netflix original series, Stranger Things. The '80s-inspired horror series blends the likes of Stand By Me and ET: The Extraterrestrial with elements of eldritch horror and X-Files-style conspiracies and the lead cast of kids is one of the most engaging group of youngster on television. If you've found yourself craving more stories in a similar vein, we've put together a list of five of the best independent comics that deal with similar themes of horror, nostalgia, friendship and conspiracy. Love that? Try this!

We got action figures based on Brian K. Vaughan's and Fiona Staples' Saga. Those are words I never thought I would write. Not that Saga isn't amazing and worthy of a line of toys, but it's a rarity for independent books like this to be immortalized in plastic. It's a lot cheaper to craft and sell pins and t-shirts than it is action figures or even statues (which Saga has now), and the market for toys based on a property like this is often viewed as too small for the effort. Thankfully, Skybound Entertainment and McFarlane Toys are willing to take risks on properties like Saga. Otherwise we probably never would have gotten such great toys for one of the best comics currently being published.

The 28th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards took place this Friday at San Diego Comic-Con, where the creators, editors and publishers of your favorite comics were honored for their accomplishments. While many will be nominated, only a select few will take home the top honors in one of comic's most respected awards. It was a particularly good night for publishers Drawn and Quaterly and Fantagraphics, with fan and critical favorites like Over the Garden Wall, Cliff Chiang and Bandette being recognized as well. Check out the complete list of winners and nominees below.

Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist. During Pride Week we've invited a couple of guest writers to contribute their ideas for movies with a strong LGBTQ focus. Today we’re casting an imaginary Y: the Last Man movie. Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s comic has a number of queer characters, most notably by Dr. Allison Mann --- and I would love to see a movie filled with this many women. The series has been optioned for film and television before, but adaptations have floundered in pre-production. For this movie, we’ll narrow down the focus to Yorick, 355 and Dr. Mann and their odyssey to the doctor’s lab in San Francisco. It’ll be a road trip movie with the trio encountering lots of trouble and a little help along the way.

Even movies about toys need writers. That’s why Hasbro, in an effort to compete with Marvel, DC, and every other company out there trying to create an integrated multiproperty cinematic universe has assembled a writer’s room of talent to figure out how to merge their assorted toy brands, including G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., ROM, Micronauts, and Visionaries, into one streamlined movie continuity. The Hollywood Reporter says the Hasbro writer’s room will meet for the first time on Monday with an impressive roster of talent.

The Walking Dead has become a titan of independent comics since its debut in 2003, and despite the television shows, novels and video games, the actual comic franchise has been heavily guarded by its co-creator Robert Kirkman. Very few people can say that they’ve worked on Walking Dead comics, but as of today Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin can be counted among that select group thanks to the release of the digital one-shot The Walking Dead: The Alien, available now via Panel Snydicate.

Since its first issue, debuting on this day in 2012, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga has become the benchmark for independent, creator-owned series that solidified Image Comics as the place for exciting new indie series, and paved the way for the likes of Sex Criminals, Rat Queens and The Wicked and The Divine to follow.

Our judges have adjudicated; our readers have voted. We’re proud to present to you the outstanding writer of 2015 — and four great runners up.

Here are two things you already know and one thing that you probably could've guessed: Brian K. Vaughan is a pretty great comic book writer. Marcos Martin is a jaw-droppingly amazing comic book artist. Their new comic with Muntsa Vicente, Barrier, released digitally this week through their Panel Syndicate imprint, is easily one of the best comics this week, and it's well worth picking up. Those are the basics --- and if we're being honest with each other, that's all you really need to know before you head over to their website and pick it up for yourself --- but Barrier is a comic that deserves a whole lot of fanfare. It's not just that it's well done, and it's not just that it's engaging and interesting, telegraphing an ending that still manages to come as a surprise when the last few pages hits. It's that everything about it is something that goes beyond those basics in every way.

Littered though the TV landscape is with comic book adaptations, fan-favorite Y: The Last Man has become a running joke in the industry, having proven infamously difficult to get off the ground as a feature. Now, FX may finally have gotten the beloved Brian K. Vaughan/Pia Guerra comic in development as a TV series. Alas, poor Yorick.