There's been a little confusion as to why Imperium got shortlisted into the horror category, because many feel it's a sci-fi series. Or a thriller. Or a political work. And hey, yeah, it's all three of those things — but it's also the most terrifying comic I read all year, and its victory in this category shows that I'm not alone in thinking that.

You can't get comfortable in this series at any point. The collection of monsters, freaks, horrors and otherworldly creations that makes up the ensemble cast are unpredictable in the extreme, with writer Joshua Dysart doing everything in his power to make sure that the readers are left in terrible suspense with each turn of the page. With this being a book where only one of two characters have ever been seen before, there's no safety net for any of the characters — your favorite could be mutilated forever within the events of any one issue. This is a psychological horror as much as it is anything else, and Valiant's series has quickly leapt up in intensity to the point where each issue is a gleeful sequence of spectacular suspense. Sometimes I can barely dare turn a page. It's riveting. [Steve Morris]