The Best of 2009: DC

Part two of our Best of 2009 review! This time we look at the best of what the Grand Old Lady of comic books, DC Comics, had to offer this year. Er, sorry. Make that DC Entertainment. We were entertained...by some stuff. Here's what we liked:

Jonah Hex by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Various Artists

Maybe when the movie comes out next year Jonah Hex will finally get the respect he deserves. He is one of the coolest characters ever created, and the current Jonah Hex series has been one of DC's best comics since it began. Unfortunately, the sales on this title have been lacking, but fortunately it has persevered. If it had been canceled, we would never have gotten the superb issue #50 that came out this month, with art by Darwyn Cooke. That issue was hands down one of the best single comics of the year (and one of the most heartbreaking). Jonah Hex also got experimental this year, trying out a six-part storyline when the comic had previously been almost entirely one-shots. The storyline was great, but I doubt it helped boost sales much. Here's hoping the movie does the trick, because these trades should be flying off the shelves. Check out my interview with Jimmy Palmiotti here. - RG

Secret Six by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

I am so happy Secret Six is an ongoing series. It's equal parts hilarious, insane, gross, sexy and just plain fun. It also packs more character emotion into each issue than pretty much any other superhero comic without being melodramatic. It's a team of violent, self-serving misfits who, despite their best efforts, are adorably loyal to each other. Gail Simone is up there with Jason Aaron when it comes to creating situations that make you say "holy shit!" out loud while you're reading. And I like that in a woman. I also like Nicola Scott's beautiful art. She can draw a sexy Deadshot. - RG

Batman: Streets of Gotham by Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen; Marc Andreyko and Jeremy Huan

I had no intention of reading this series. For one thing, it is a Batman story, minus Batman, that includes Hush. For another, I was pretty underwhelmed by Paul Dini's run on Detective Comics. My plan was to just ignore all Batman titles not written by Grant Morrison until Bruce Wayne is back and someone good is writing him again. A few weeks ago I read the first issue of Streets of Gotham,  mostly for the Manhunter back-up. A couple of days later I went to the shop and bought the rest of the issues, and added the series to my pull list. I have been pretty mopey about there not being any Batman stories lately, but this is a really good Batman story! Unlike a lot of comics I have been reading this year, there is really nothing boring about it, and I always look forward to the next issue to see what's going to happen. Nguyen's art has been great, and the Manhunter back-up story by Marc Andreyko and Jeremy Haun, is also really good. It's making the wait for Bruce Wayne's return a little easier. - RG

Power Girl by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Conner

There is no reason why any self-respecting feminist should care about Power Girl. Her costume is designed purely for drooling fanboys: a white, high-cut bathing suit with a giant hole that exposes her comically enormous breasts. Everything about her has always screamed "Stay away, females! This character is not for you!" That is until Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray launched Power Girl's first ongoing solo series earlier this year. Paired with Amanda Conner's beautiful and adorable art, this series has been fantastic since issue #1. They gave her a distinct personality, a job, an apartment, a stylish-yet-casual wardrobe, a cat, a gal-pal, and they have made her a hero that self-respecting women can not only root for, but relate to. And that feat should make this an award-winning series on its own. I have read every issue of this comic with giddy delight, and I love that many issues will feature pages of content that consist of Power Girl calling up her pal Terra to go to a movie or grab something to eat. Delightful! Also you should check out the Terra miniseries by the same creative team if you haven't already. - RG

Batman Confidential: King Tut's Tomb by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan

In the year without Batman, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir blindsided us with one of the single best Batman stories that I have read in a long time. And it was well hidden in a title that has been mostly lackluster since it's beginning, Batman Confidential. Their three-part story gives us the Batman comic debut of King Tut, a silver age-inspired villain who is obsessed with ancient Egypt. It's a fun story that has Batman doing actual detective work, and teaming up with the Riddler to do it. It also features fantastic art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan. Not too shabby! The story is being collected into a trade, which is great news. Check out my interview with DeFilippis and Weir here. - RG

Scalped by Jason Aaron, RM Guera and others (Vertigo)

This is easily one of the best comics on the stands. I love everything Aaron is doing over at Marvel, but this thing is a masterpiece. You could say that this would make a great HBO series, but the truth is that it is already being presented in the perfect medium. It's bleak as hell, but you can't put it down, especially if you buy it in trade format, which I recommend. It's been going strong for three years, and here's hoping for at least another ten. - RG

The Nobody by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo)

This has been a huge year for Canadian indie comic heartthrob Jeff Lemire. His Essex County trilogy (Top Shelf), one of my favourite things I have ever read, was collected into one giant, attractive volume in both hardcover and paperback, he launched his first ongoing series, Sweet Tooth with Vertigo (more on that from Tiina in a minute), AND he released The Nobody, an original graphic novel with Vertigo. The Nobody is a re-imagining of the classic H.G. Wells story, The Invisible Man, set it in a tiny Michigan fishing village. The reactions of the locals to the bizarre new resident, who has taken a permanent room at the local motel, range from fear, suspicion and hatred to curiosity and, in the case of one bored high school girl, fascination. Told with Lemire's instantly-recognizable artwork, The Nobody is a quiet-yet-powerful tale with richly developed characters and dialogue that you can hear every word of. Check out my interview with Jeff Lemire here! - RG

Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank

I keep hearing this: "Do we really need another Superman origin story?" The answer is yes, we do. "Really?" Yes. Shut up. And get me sandwich. While some people are so jaded they can't enjoy a retelling of where our boy, Superman, came from, I've been losing it over this mini-series. I guess we need another Superman origin story when IT'S PERFECT. Johns (who I assume is my distant relative), makes each issue rich with story, so it feels more like a trade than a single issue. I think that Superman has so much potential for emotionally moving stories and Johns just absolutely goes there. Frank is unbelievably good. I'm a big Christopher Reeve fan (who else thinks Christopher Reeve deserves a posthumous Oscar? Let's start a Facebook group!), so I love Frank's Reeve-y Supie, and seeing a young version of him made me squeal with delight. I love how Frank draws the facial expressions, especially on young Lex and Clark. I love the look of Legion's costumes. Really, I love the look of this comic so much that I want to cut it up and glue it to the ceiling of my bedroom so it's the first thing I see in the morning.
 
While the story obviously feels familiar—from a young Clark Kent on a farm in Smallville, to Supes catching Lois falling from a building in Metropolis—it's one that I don't ever tire of. I would be so happy to gather together every December 25th and read about this comic about origins of the best guy ever, SUPERMAN. -TJ

Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade by Landry Q. Walker and Eric Jones

I had been getting frustrated with how difficult it was to find an all-ages superhero comic with a girl main character. It was actually embarrassingly difficult. There are tons of non-superhero-y stuff that girls totally devour, so why aren't Marvel and DC all over this totally viable market? But then Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade busted in and saved my day. This is absolutely the funnest book of the year, and totally appealing to young girls, without being about, y'know, ponies. Walker and Jones succeed in this comic where so many other creators falter—the story includes bits of DC continuity with old favourite characters and past story-lines—while still remaining fresh and accessible to new readers. This Supergirl has a new (and arguably less confusing) origin. She lived on a Kryptonian moon colony that survived the destruction of Krypton. After a fight with her parents she hid on rocket bound for earth, but once she arrived, she realized she was stuck there until Superman could figure out how to get her home. The story finds Supergirl stuck in 8th grade, and draws on the important thing that makes us able to relate to a more-than-human character—she's an alien, and an outsider, just trying fit in.

It's an all-ages comic that kids will love, and crusty old nerds will secretly adore.-TJ

Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo)

My favourite new series of the year, hands down. Set in rural, post-apocalyptic Canada (or Nebraska or wherever), Sweet Tooth follows little Gus, an antler-headed boy born into a world where a plague has wiped out just about everyone. All the kids are supposedly humans with animal parts like Gus (although we've only seen Gus so far), and many of the adults are awful douches who hunt these kids. When his father dies, Gus leaves his log cabin home in the woods, and sets out to find the Preserve—a safe haven for animal-kids that may or may not exist—with the help of a huge, scary and violent dude named Jeppard. Much of the story is a mystery, as we see the world through lil' Gus's eyes, and his information is mostly rumors or stories from his religiously devout father. The story and art are fiercely original and totally engaging. In Gus, Lemire has created a character that I immediately care about. I'm getting stomachaches each issue from worrying about that little guy. What the heck is going to happen to him?

As Rachelle mentioned, Jeff Lemire is just totally killing it this year. Also, a Google image search has lead me to believe that he's totally cute too. Dude is a catch, and Sweet Tooth rules. -TJ

Mysterius the Unfathomable by Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler (WildStorm)

As much as I enjoy a story about an upstanding proponent of Truth, Justice and the [insert your nation of origin] Way of Life triumphing over evil or maybe a persecuted loner who fights on the side of the angels no matter what the world throws at him, there's just something about reading a tale featuring a total bastard doing what's right. It's just so... satisfying, not least because a bastard's brand of wrong-righting hews a lot closer to what you or I might get up to in the same situation - I certainly wouldn't be able to resist enriching myself or really sticking it to my foes, given the super-powered opportunity. Enter Mysterius, an ageless and mercenary sorcerer who makes his living doing stage shows and seances, both to pay the bills and as a form of hiding in plain sight. He's just basically duped the latest in a long line of assistants into joining up with him, he never pays a cheque and he'll do just about anything to get his own way. He relentlessly screws over person after person in this series, and yet he also ends up saving the day when it really counts. Plus: highly entertaining plot elements featuring sinister magical renditions of Burning Man, Dr Seuss, the Amazing Randi and David Blaine. Plus plus: it all looks fantastic, in an unconventionally wonderful, all the dudes have bellies, all the dames have big butts way. Plus plus plus: it was, I am sure, crafted out of pure delight, or at least reads that way. -JM (Check out our interview with Jeff Parker about Mysterius here).

Blackest Night by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

The latest DC crossover event is getting a lot of flak for jumping on the zombie bandwagon (DC Zombies is the most oft-repeated zinger, implying that DC is ripping off Marvel's recurring hit), but Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis are up to something a lot more interesting than that here. The revolving-door aspect of death and rebirth that has become increasingly commonplace since Barry Allen's ultimate sacrifice almost 25 years ago is, it turns out, part of a larger plot perpetrated by obscure Green Lantern nemesis Nekron. Spinning out of events in Johns and Reis' Green Lantern, Blackest Night is notable because it's the first DC crossover to feature the Hal Jordan GL and the Barry Allen Flash as its chief protagonists, rather than usual suspects Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Most of the tie-in miniseries and issues are largely unnecessary--it's pretty clear that Blackest Night was originally supposed to be simply a story running through the Green Lantern books, and there's honestly not that much story to go around beyond that. However, if you stick with Blackest Night, Green Lantern, and Green Lantern Corps, you'll be treated to a darkly suspenseful superhero epic that builds nicely on many of its predecessors. And Ivan Reis shows that he has picked up the artistic reins of earth-shaking action that people came to expect from Authority-era Bryan Hitch. -DH

Wednesday Comics by a Whole Pile of Creators

More exciting for its retro, Sunday Funnies-format and killer lineup of creators, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2009...and yet it was, in some ways, one of my most disappointing. Ultimately, the bad and the mediocre strips tended to outnumber the good, and the whole affair was more tiresome than exciting. I still feel duty-bound to include it because I think DC should be applauded for attempting such a bold (and likely very expensive) experiment. Some strips that seemed like sure things, like Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred's Metamorpho and Kyle Baker's Hawkman, fell flat, while left-field offerings like Paul Pope's Strange Adventures and Karl Kerschl's Flash, took advantage of the weekly strip format and managed to stay fresh and cool throughout.  -DH

Planetary #27 (WildStorm): This makes my year-end list more for the cumulative effect of the entire series, which I revisited in the weeks before the much-anticipated, much-delayed finale of Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's magnum opus arrived. I can only imagine that the oversized conclusion, which technically acts as more of an epilogue to the famously infrequent series (issue #26 shipped three years earlier!), wouldn't make much of an impact on its own. However, taken in its proper context, it provides a fitting and emotionally resonant capstone to a towering, ambitious work that folds pretty much all fantastic fiction--pulp magazines, superhero comics, Hong Kong action films, Japanese giant monster epics, and much, much more--into a fascinating shared universe. -DH

The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo)

This book is a wonderful example of the power of a) previews and b) the "first issues are only a dollar" policy that Vertigo books had for a while, both of which tactics ensured that a hell of a lot more people picked this up than might have otherwise. Which is great, because this is a wonderful series and I sincerely hope that it gets to be one of those epic comic book endeavors that gets to follow its intended path and end just where its creators want it to. The Unwritten is concerned with the life of Tom Taylor, the son of a man who wrote the insanely popular adventures of Tommy Taylor, student wizard, before mysteriously vanishing. Tom lives off of his father's reflected fame, appearing at conventions and the like, and generally does very little with his life. And then, as tends to happen, things get weird. Elements of fiction start to bleed into the real world, the question of whether Tom is merely the basis for Tommy or the real McCoy arises, secret societies creep from the shadows and horrible murders are committed. Fiction and inspiration are starting to emerge as of major importance to the state of the world of The Unwritten, and it all makes for the kind of fantastic comic that hopefully every nerd worth his/her salt will have the collected volumes of on their bookshelf in ten or fifteen years. Issue five is devoted to the literary adventures of Rudyard Kipling! And of course it looks fantastic, from the cover onward. Goes without saying, really. - JM

North 40 by Aaron Wilson and Fiona Staples (WildStorm)

An epic battle between good and evil, as personified in the forms of a comic-style nerd and a goth chick! Once again, someone has been reading my dreams. The first (hopefully of many) story arc of this book just ended, and I couldn't be happier. Here's the skinny: said Comic Nerd and Goth Chick managed to get their hands on a Lovecraftian tome of arcane power (through the ever-frightful Interlibrary Loan system - when will it cease destabilizing human civilization?) and were transformed into something akin to demigods. Goth Chick, being evil, or at least callously indifferent to the rights of others to exist, set out to remake the world in horror, while Comic Nerd made it his mission to stop her, to which end he erected a barrier around Conover County to contain them both. Both also set about transforming the people of the county into champions of their respective sides, but since Comic Nerd had to expend so much of his power in erecting and maintaining the barrier, there are a great deal more horrible monsters than superhumans roaming the countryside. Meanwhile, an ancient witch with ties to the source of their power mobilizes forces to stop them both. And that, my friends, is the backdrop. The real fun of this series is watching the various factions of the county react to the fact that everyone now has crazy powers, regardless of whether they were granted by the Nerd of Good or the Goth of Evil. Suddenly, the redneck family in the hills or the high school's popular kids or the guys running the drug lab in the junkyard all have the power to be on equal footing with each other and with the county's traditional authorities. Lines are drawn and continue to shift as the series goes on - there's a zombie prom queen whose day has not yet arrived, for instance. So: action, a large and interesting cast of characters, ancient evil, modern evil, super-heroes (kind of), octopoidal god-things, mystical junk-bots and mutated hill-folk. If it hadn't started in the Summer then this would be my favourite Christmas present. - JM

R.E.B.E.L.S. by Tony Bedard and Andy Clarke

Ah, space comics. Struggles between whole civilizations! Vast fleets of starcraft! Champions of alien worlds employing fist-based diplomacy! DC has a wonderful cosmic setting, drawing as it does on the antics of Hawkman, the Green Lantern Corps, the Omega Men, the Justice League, Adam Strange, Captain Comet and on and on. And of course the Legion of Super-Heroes, which retro-spawned L.E.G.I.O.N., which begat R.E.B.E.L.S. and its leading man Vril Dox, the Biggest Bastard in Comic Books. Dox is on the run once again, having had the reins of space police force L.E.G.I.O.N. stolen from him and his own robo-police turned to the task of hunting him down. Happily, his Thirtieth Century descendant Querl Dox (aka the Legion of Super-Heros' Brainiac 5) sends him some future-knowledge to help him survive and get on with the important job of being an ancestor. Everything excellent about the last fifty years of outer space DC comic books is making its way into this series, from Kanjar Ro and his Gamma Gong to Despero to the surprisingly scrappy Gil'dishpan to Amon Hak doing his best impression of Legion foe Tyr to Vril Dox getting his very own Sinestro Corps ring for a couple of issues. Sure it's a pretty rooted-in-continuity kind of story because of all of that but frankly, I don't care. It looks great, it's well-written and it features a terrific reinterpretation of Starro the Conqueror, something that I wouldn't have really believed was possible before now. - JM

Adventure Comics by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul

This one is a simple equation: having an Adventure Comics series in which Superboy lives in Smallville and has run-ins with a scientifically-minded youngster while splitting his time between heroics and high school is a good idea. It might go off the rails in the new year, especially if/when Johns leaves, but up until now it's been a very satisfying book to pick up every month (and featured what might very well be the ultimate comeuppance of the much-loathed Superboy Prime!). All this and a Legion of Super-Heroes second feature! It's more than i could have hoped for. - JM

Batwoman in Detective Comics by Greg Rucka and J H Williams III

When Batwoman (two? three? four?) first appeared in 52 a couple of years ago she was kind of a neat character: gay, of course, which is still something of a super-hero rarity, visually striking with her black and red colour scheme, mysteriously motivated. Then she pretty much faded from sight, or at least got lost in one of the far too many 52 and Countdown and Final Crisis tie-ins. When she turned up as the lead in post (mortem) Batman Detective Comics my initial reaction was mild interest. Oh, the folly of youth. First up, the first two story arc have been great. Batwoman versus the Crime Religion and its leader who only speaks in quotes from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass? Teaming up with half-human members of a splinter Crime sect to prevent Alice and her minions from poisoning everyone in Gotham City? A squid man? And that's all before the current arc began, the current arc that is in the process of explaining why and how a seemingly spoiled debutante ended up becoming the latest in a long line of dark avengers of the Gotham night, and doing it believably (for a comic book value of believability, of course) and well. All that would probably be enough to have this title in my stack every month, but what really ensured that Batwoman in Detective Comics would be on this list is the fact that it looks friggin' amazing. J H Williams III starts out strong, with fantastically arresting visuals that emphasize the red/black Batwoman colour scheme (and here I must point out that John's Favourite Colourist Dave Stewart is playing a big part in all of this as well), which would be great in and of itself, but then you turn the page and discover that Kathy Kane's private life is illustrated and coloured in a different style and then you read the recent flashback issues and they're in yet another style. And it all looks amazing. On top of all of that, the panel layouts are positively the most original that I've ever seen - Batwoman fights and the panels become bolts of lightning, she leaps and they're bats. Alice's madness renders the edges of her panels into insane wisps of smoke. The way that the story is being told and the story itself interact in an astonishingly effective way. COMIC BOOKS! Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the second feature, delightful in and of itself and featuring Renee "The Question" Montoya in a good old fashioned "do your homework, solve the crime, stomp the bad guys" yarn. What fun! - JM

Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - There has been some debate over exactly how successful a job Grant Morrison did of breaking Batman down in Batman RIP, but it's a lot harder to dispute the fact that Batman and Robin has been completely awesome.

Wait, I forgot. We're all comics nerds here, aren't we. Disputes are being composed as I type. Well, stow 'em, because you aren't going to convince me that Dick Grayson and Batman's horrible son Damien teaming up as Batman and Robin, as illustrated (usually) by Frank Quitely and versus a new batch of villains straight from the fertile brain of Grant Morrison isn't delicious. Happy-go-lucky Batman and hard-nosed pre-teen Robin is the biggest shift in that team's dynamic since the Eighties, and that can only be a good thing in my eyes.

Sure, Jason Todd, the bane of my Bat-existence, did invade the second story arc, but I'm feeling forgiving. After all, a) we're now one step closer to being rid of the pissy bastard once and for all and b) he had an amazingly designed new Red Hood costume.

As someone who basically buys Batman comics as a reflex, this title has been a positive gift - JM

Honourable Mentions

Victorian Undead, by Ian Edginton and Davide Fabbri - "Blah blah blah tired of zombies blah blah." Yes, I have heard that this is the case with many of you, that you have been overexposed to one of the basic monster types and can therefore derive no more joy from their shambling antics. Poppycock, says I, and produce these three pieces of evidence to the contrary: 1) I still like them. 2) The zombie is the blankest of monster canvasses and can be used to tell any type of story, from any era, in any style of writing. Like Batman. 3) Victorian Undead. How can you resist class-obsessed Londoners being devoured by corpses? And featuring the best-written comic book Sherlock Holmes that I've encountered in years (sorry Leah Moore)! - JM

Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! By Matthew Sturges and Freddie Williams with terrific covers by Kako - I simply had to mention the covers on this series, as they were fantastic. This was the Final Crisis Aftermath series that truly accomplished what it set out to do, which was to have the Human Flame drive his life into the ground, alienate the entire world and ultimately come to justice. Very cathartic for those who love the Martian Manhunter. - JM

Astro City by Kurt Busiek and Brent E. Anderson - Look, as long as Astro City keeps on coming out and doesn't magically transform into a comic about a man reading the phone book to his cat, it will be on my "best of" list. This year saw the end of what I think is the penultimate chapter in the epic Dark Age storyline, plus the two-part Astra special, and every single time it provides me with joy. - JM

Seaguy by Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart - Not actually one of my "best of year" books, but this deserves a mention because a) there were a fair number of folks who never ever thought that Seaguy would ever return in a million years and b) this could very well be the reason that Grant Morrison wrote Final Crisis, so that he could return to what is perhaps his most completely and unabashedly messed-up creation. - JM

Batgirl by Bryan Q. Miller, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott - This series hasn't been spectacular yet, but it has the potential to be very fun. I'm going to mention it here and then watch carefully. - JM

Wonder Woman by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti - This was on my Best of list last year, and I'm still loving it this year. It's the perfect creative team matched with the perfect character. - RG

Superman: World of New Krypton by Greg Rucka, James Robinson and Pete Woods - I dropped both Superman and Action Comics this year because I was finding them to be both dull and boring. But World of New Krypton I have actually been enjoying since the beginning. Maybe it's because it's the only Superman title that Superman is actually in. Or maybe it's because Superman looks hot in that military uniform. - RG

The Best of 2009: Marvel

2009 is almost over and we, like all nerds, are taking some time to reflect on the best comics of the year. Because there are four of us writing the blog this year, we figured it would be best to divide the list into four categories: Marvel, DC, Collections and Original Graphic Novels, and The Best of the Rest. We'll post one of these lists each day for the next four days.

Now, even though there are four of us, it doesn't mean that we've read everything. I know I trade wait a lot of really good comics like Incredible Hercules and Agents of Atlas that won't make the list just because I haven't gotten around to reading them yet.

As an aside, I personally think that Marvel triumphed over DC overall this year. This is mostly for three reasons: a plethora of hot young talent; a willingness to experiment with its characters and allow "outsider" creators play in the Marvel Universe, and minimal crossovers (more importantly, minimal titles being pulled into crossovers).

So here are our picks for the Best of Marvel, 2009. Dave and I are pretty much the only ones who read an array of Marvel titles on a regular basis, but Johnathan has a few contributions to this list.  - Rachelle 

Wolverine: Weapon X  by Jason Aaron, Ron Garney and Yanick Paquette
In my opinion, Jason Aaron is the comic writer of the year. He had three ongoing series in 2009, Ghost Rider, Scalped and Wolverine: Weapon X, as well as a number of one-shots and guest spots. He also started a brand new ongoing series in November, Punishermax. And here's the thing: they all rule. I really like Jason Aaron's writing because it's full of crazy, insane violence, but without any of the cynicism of, say, a Garth Ennis book. I can't verify that this is true, but when I read Aaron's superhero comics, I feel like he has exactly the right attitude about comic books: they are awesome, but shouldn't be taken too seriously. Every title he writes, (with the exception of Scalped, which is just a masterpiece), takes comics back to being sensationalist pulp entertainment full of insane fun. Wolverine is a character that Jason Aaron writes really well. The first storyline in Wolverine: Weapon X has Logan fighting evil super soldiers in the jungles of Colombia. And when I saw evil, I mean they have laser claws and guns that shoot bullets full of cancer. The second story has put Logan, suffering from amnesia, in an truly horrific insane asylum that he can only get out of if he remembers that he can pretty much kill he shit out of anyone if he wants to. This series is everything a Wolverine comic should be. -RG

Ghost Rider by Jason Aaron, Tony Moore, and Mark Robinson and Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire by Jason Aaron and Roland Boschi
Jason Aaron's awesome run on Ghost Rider will sadly come to an end soon. It's a damn tragedy because I would have happily read this series forever. At the same time, though, I am excited to see what Aaron does next. I want to see his take on every character. Wouldn't you love to read a Jason Aaron Daredevil comic? Or see what he does with Superman? Or Supergirl? I know I would. In the meantime we'll have Wolverine: Weapon X and Punishermax to keep things awesome. Although they probably won't have U.S. 1 character cameos, and that's too bad. Adding Tony Moore as the artist for a short run on this series was a stroke of genius, by the way. -RG

Daredevil by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, and others
Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark wrapped up their flawless run on Daredevil this year. They took over the comic in 2006, faced with the challenge of picking it up after Brian Michael Bendis' insane cliffhanger finish that saw Daredevil's identity disclosed and our hero thrown in jail. Brubaker took a difficult task and turned it into a masterpiece. This year's stories were really excellent, beginning with Lady Bullseye and moving into the Return of the King storyline, and ending with Daredevil becoming the leader of The Hand. And you know what? Andy Diggle has been doing a great job since he took over, so it looks like Daredevil will continue to be one of my favourite comics as we enter 2010. Also exciting: The first volume of the Brubaker/Lark Daredevil Omnibus collection was released this year, meaning that the comic is beautifully presented on giant, heavy-duty pages. As it should be. -RG

Nomad by Sean McKeever and David Baldeon
It is just so exciting to see Sean McKeever writing for Marvel again. I don't want to call his time at DC a colossal failure, but, well...it's just nice to see him writing for Marvel again. And back writing fun stories about teenagers! Nomad is a completely charming mini-series that takes a fairly confusing character and put her at the centre of a very accessible and enjoyable story of teen anxiety. It's common for teenagers to have trouble fitting in, but Rikki Barnes has just arrived in town from an alternate universe, so her situation is a little more extreme. Worse still: her brother in this universe isn't her brother...and he has a big crush on her. Despite all this, she is still totally kicking ass with confidence using the skills she learned as Captain America's sidekick back in her old universe. Nomad is not a character that anyone should really care about, or want brought back, but Marvel was smart enough to hire McKeever for the job and that makes all the difference. Also: Nomad has one of the coolest costumes in comics right now.  -RG

Criminal: Deluxe Edition by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
There's really nothing I can say about this comic that hasn't been said already by a million people. It's a fantastic, perfect series of crime stories with compelling characters (my favourite is Leo) and great art. It celebrates the pulp crime genre by perfectly marrying it with a medium that can really do it justice: uncensored comic books. Now the first few arcs are collected in a big beautiful hardcover book and you should buy it. -RG  
 

Strange Tales, By Many, Many People
Strange Tales was such a good idea - I'm surprised that it took this long to happen. Paul Pope, Tony Millionaire, Stan Sakai, Jhonen Vasquez... these are people who are going to make your comic anthology sing. Heck, Vasquez' "MODOK and Me" inspired my Halloween costume, the scamp. I was originally kind of grumpy about this title, and was going to award the coveted "Best of Year" title on issue number one only, but I just reread them all and I recant my cranky position. Basically everything in this series is really solid - the Dash Shaw Dr Strange yarn and Jacob Chabot's tale of Ben Grimm and his Chia mustache both just made me guffaw all over again, for example - but the distribution of stories among the issues was really uneven, with the bulk of the mind-blowingly pretty/funny stuff crammed into the first installment. Plus Peter Bagge's "Incorrigible Hulk" suffers for being chopped up into segments. But for all my complaining, this is some of the most entertaining stuff that I've read all year, with some of the best looking/most unorthodox super-hero art since, well, Bizarro Comics. If you haven't taken it in yet, just make sure to read all three issues at once and you won't have to suffer unwarranted nerd rage, like me. - JM

Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca
The Iron Man movie kicked off the 2008 summer season, becoming one of the year's highest grossing pictures, rebooting Robert Downey Jr.'s career, and introducing the Armored Avenger to a giant new audience hungry to read more of his exploits. Unfortunately, 2007's Civil War crossover had turned the character into Marvel's biggest douchebag, a tin-plated dictator who made everyone give up their secret identities and was indirectly responsible for the death of his best friend, Captain America. Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca were given the unenviable task of relaunching Ol' Shellhead's series a few months later, and thankfully, they rose to the occasion with fast-paced action, snarky-cool technojargon, and snappy humour. The new ongoing series' opening arc returned the focus to Stark Industries and Tony's ongoing moral dilemma over how his technology was being used. Fraction and Larroca followed up with a stellar one-off issue guest-starring Spider-Man, and continued with the year-long World's Most Wanted arc, dealing with Tony Stark's fall from grace and following the fugitive hero's quest to destroy his own technology to keep it out of Norman Osborn's hands. In the wake of World's Most Wanted, the current Stark: Disassembled storyline is concerned with rebuilding the character and his relationship with the other Avengers, just in time for the upcoming Siege event (and, of course, Iron Man 2, in theatres next summer). -DH

Punisher, the current Franken-Castle arc by Rick Remender and Tony Moore
It seems that lately, whenever someone buys an issue of the current Rick Remender/Tony Moore Punisher from me, they inevitably groan and ask when the Franken-Castle storyline is going to be over, as if they're worried that Marvel is going to actually keep the character running around as a Frankenstein forever. Hey, if they did, I wouldn't complain--one of the best things about Remender's Marvel Universe-centric Punisher relaunch is how much it embraces the roots of its comic book silliness, making use of crazy superhero tech like Pym Particles, old storylines like the Scourge's massacre at The Bar With No Name, and now, teaming a reanimated, reconstructed Frank Castle (who was murdered by Wolverine's evil son Daken in a Dark Reign tie-in) with the Legion of Monsters (namely, Morbius, Werewolf By Night, and Man-Thing, to name a few). Throw in Remender's old Fear Agent collaborator and co-creator Tony Moore on the art, and you've got one of the most ridiculously fun and unpredictably crazy books on the stands. And hey, if you prefer your Punisher stories to be gritty and realistic, may I suggest Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon's new Punishermax series? It's got less Frankensteins and more popped-out eyeballs, but it's also a great read. -DH 

New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen
The flagship Avengers title is sort of like a lost friend to me; it's done a lot of stupid shit in the last few years, but I really miss hanging out with it. Under Brian Michael Bendis, this series--which mostly follows fugitive Avengers like Spider-Man, Captain America, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, etc., as they try and stay one step ahead of Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers--is still, on many occasions, profoundly stupid. For instance, why would a power-dampening device have any effect on powerless heroes like Ronin and Cap? Why does the same device give Luke Cage a heart attack, instead of robbing him of his invulnerable skin? Why does the solicitation info usually not match the final published issue? Why is Wolverine almost always on the cover, even though he's pretty much never in the book anymore? Never mind--I think I know the answer to that one. Despite all that, I've given in and started buying this book, and it's not for the writing; it's for the spectacular art of Stuart Immonen, who has always been a formidable talent but has stepped up his game big time over the last few years (since around Nextwave, I believe, where he pared his usually realistic style down to an angular, more streamlined look). I don't quite understand why this guy isn't a crazy superstar--his work here is thrillingly cool, amping up the ho-hum neverending chase-and-fight antics into something much more. And, unlike many of his contemporaries, he can actually meet a deadline! 2010 promises the return of Iron Man and Thor to these pages, and with Immonen on art chores, the timing couldn't be better. -DH

Honourable Mentions

Fin Fang Four Return: I will never get tired of the Fin Fang Four. "How Fin Fang Foom Saved Christmas" alone is enough to get this comic a mention here, as it is in the running for greatest Christmas comic of all time. - JM

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers: Deserves a mention for being super-fun and having such a potentially-dopey-but-obviously-awesome-when-you-think-about-it concept and for featuring Speedball's cat (Hairball!), but even if it was terrible it would be here for introducing Frog Thor II/Throg to the world. - JM

M.O.D.O.K.: Reign Delay: Like Fin Fang Four Return, this was a really enjoyable one-shot by a very fun creator. Ryan Dunlavey, of Action Philosophers fame, delivers a very funny comic about a down-on-his-luck M.O.D.O.K. who has to move back in with his parents in New Jersey. - RG

Mighty Avengers: I really like the line-up, and I really like Dan Slott's writing. I don't normally read Avengers comics, but when the line-up includes members of the Young Avengers and Hercules and Cho, I can't resist. - RG

Amazing Spider-Man: Marvel's flagship title is still one if its best. The vast majority of 2009's issues (and there were a lot of them) were excellent. I especially love any issues written by Mark Waid. The comic went through a couple of rough patches this year, but the overall quality has been outstanding, and it's been coming out on time three times a month! Well done, team Spidey! - RG

The Marvel 70th Anniversary Specials: Marvel celebrated its 70th anniversary by releasing a whole lot of one-shots that re-visited their earliest titles and characters. Quite a few of these comics were excellent, especially the Sub-Mariner Comics special and the All Select Comics special that included a Marvex back-up by Michael Kupperman. - RG

Captain America and Captain America: Reborn: Steve Rogers is making a comeback. The return of a superhero never gets as much press or attention as a death, but so far Steve's return has made for some pretty excellent reading. So excellent that I don't even mind that my beloved Bucky will soon be redundant. - RG

Uncanny X-Men: Frankly, if Greg Land never drew any of the issues (he draws about half), then this would be one of the best superhero titles on the stands. But he does, and thus it's down here in Honourable Mention country. It's too bad. I highly recommend the Dodson issues, though. And really the whole series if you can stomach Land's art (I usually just read the speech bubbles without looking at the art) - RG

2009 Mid-Point Check-In

Here we are in June, which means the year is half over! Holy smokes! It seems like yesterday that I wrote my epic Best of 2008 post. I thought I would do a check-in post to see how some of the best titles of 2008 are faring now.

Action Comics/Supergirl

Action Comics and Superman are now being written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson, with Sterling Gates on Supergirl. Action Comics was number one on my Best Of list last year thanks to the awesome Geoff Johns/Gary Frank Legion and Brainiac stories. Those stories paved the way for the highly entertaining New Krypton/World Without Superman that we are getting now in Superman, Action Comics, Supergirl and World of New Krypton. Despite the absence of my boy Geoff Johns, the story is still one of my favourites happening in comics right now. I think Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle have been doing a great job with Supergirl, and I love Pete Woods' and Renato Guedes' art on the other titles. And I get a taste of Gary Frank with some of the New Krypton covers, so that's nice. The other great thing about this current storyline is that, between the four titles, we are getting a piece of the story every week. If we think back to a couple of years ago, the Superman titles were a scheduling nightmare. Kurt Busiek's Camelot Falls storyline in Superman went on for like a million years, and Geoff John's Last Son story in Action Comics went on for slightly longer, both plagued by crazy delays resulting in way too many fill-in issues. The Superman family of titles is now a well-oiled machine...a machine that makes awesome comics!

Still on the Best Of list? Yes

Tiny Titans

I mentioned in a recent post that I am surprised and delighted that kids love this series so much. I haven't met many people, young or old, who don't love this series. Definitely one of the most fun and innovative superhero comics every created for young children, Tiny Titans is introducing kids to a crazy array of DC characters in the most hilarious ways possible. The art is adorable and can be easily replicated by the kids who read the comics. The jokes work on many levels. The short story format holds the attention of kids and myself alike. I love this book.

Still on the Best Of list? Aw yeah!

Ghost Rider

So Ghost Rider has been completely awesome every since Jason Aaron took over early last year. So Marvel was like "Hmmmm...it's pretty awesome...but what if it was CRAZY AWESOME?!" And thus we now have Tony "Walking Dead" Moore doing the art. To me, Ghost Rider is a perfect example of why comic books need to exist. You just won't get this exact storytelling formula from any other medium. It's insane, violent, hilarious, ridiculous fun. Every issue. Jason Aaron is my pick for best writer of the year so far, because between this, Scalped, Wolverine: Weapon X, and all the single issues of things he's been writing, he's been kicking ass.

Still on the Best Of list? HELL YES

Watchmen Mania!

So the Watchmen movie happened. And it seems like Watchmen Mania has calmed down quite a bit. I no longer work in a comic shop, so I am not on the front lines, but I would say that no one is really talking about this book anymore. But I liked the movie. I really did. I only saw it the once, and I haven't seen the animated Black Freighter yet, but I am planning on watching the long-ass director's cut with the animated bits included when it's released on DVD.

Since this is an abstract phenomenon, and not an actual thing, I am not going to say whether or not it is still on the list. But I will say that I think the movie was good, so my excitement about it last year was not wasted.

I may as well mention the other comic-related movies thus far. Wolverine was a miss. Star Trek was the greatest.

Wonder Woman

We are one issue away from the end of the Rise of the Olympian storyline. Gail Simone is still rocking Wonder Woman like she created her. Aaron Lopresti is still drawing beautiful art in every issue. I feel like Simone's run on Wonder Woman has been an effort to isolate the character from the DCU (ie - the Justice League) so she can be more properly constructed. Wonder Woman has been given the dignity she deserves, and I would say that it's getting near time she was reintegrated back into the larger DCU. I'd like to see her interacting with other characters more.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

The Incredible Herc

I love this comic so much. I have been buying it in trade format, mainly because somewhere way back I missed a couple of issues and then I ended up waiting for the trade and so forth. The same thing happened with Scalped. I am thinking about doing more trade-waiting and less issue-buying because I really do enjoy reading stories when they are all collected. But anyway.

This comic follows the adventures of two delightful characters, Hercules and Amadeus Cho. It's barrels of fun with the best sound effects I have ever read. I love this comic so much that I followed our heroes over to The Mighty Avengers, which is a title I never read before but now I really enjoy. There are three trades of The Incredible Herc out now, and I highly recommend all of them.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

Top Ten Season Two

This has very slowly been coming out. Have we only gotten one new issue this year? Well, that issue was good.

Still on the Best Of list? Sure

The Amazing Spider-Man

We are now a year and a half into the near-weekly Spider-Man series experiment and I would definitely say it is a success. Lately I have felt it is starting to fray at the edges a bit (some fill-in art, some books with several artists, etc), but it's still pretty strong. Even though I hated the last issue, I am very impressed with the overall effort of the Spider-Man team, and it is often one of my favourite comics each week. The 24/7 story, which wrapped up a couple of issues ago, was fantastic.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

Secret Six

For real I love this comic. I am so happy it's an ongoing series. I think it just keeps getting better, too.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

The Age of the Sentry

Sadly, this piece of awesome is over now. While it lasted, it was just an absolutely fantastic and loving tribute to the Silver Age, and featured beautiful art by artists such as Michael Cho and Colleen Coover. The trade is coming out soon, and it should be on a lot of critics' Best of 2009 lists. Fortunately, Jeff Parker is currently writing a lot of other great comics, like Exiles, Agents of Atlas and Mysterius the Unfathomable.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

The Umbrella Academy

I'm not gonna lie to you: I haven't read a single issue of the second Umbrella Academy series. I don't know why. I guess I am waiting for the trade.

Still on the Best Of list? Maybe?

Zorro

Francesco Francavilla took a break from doing the interior art on this series, but Cesar Rezac did a great job in his absence. I see that Francavilla is listed as the artist for the August issue, so that's exciting. I really enjoy this comic a lot. I think it's highly underrated, especially since Matt Wagner is writing it and he only writes things that are great. I think the first trade is finally being released soon.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

Daisy Owl

I read that the creator of Daisy Owl, Ben Driscoll, was recently able to quit his dayjob and focus on Daisy Owl fulltime! This is very exciting news for both him and for us fans. I bought a signed print of one of my favourite Daisy Owl strips, which I received and promptly spilled water on, ruining it forever. Sad face. I really can't wait until there is a book that collects this comic, which is perfect in every way.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

Batman: Brave and the Bold Cartoon

Not only is this still an awesome cartoon show, it is now an awesome comic as well! I am certainly buying the DVD collection of the first season of the show as soon as it drops. It's basically the only way I can get a proper Batman fix these days, too.

Still on the Best Of list? YES

And The Rest...

I want to give a shout out to series that are definitely headed to my Best of 2009 list if they keep up the good work:

Daredevil (a masterpiece of long-format superhero storytelling)
Captain America (Bucky is sexy)
Green Lantern/Blackest Night (This shit is about to jump off for real)
Scalped (I am going to have to do a whole other post about how awesome Scalped is)
Mysterius the Unfathomable (It's new! It's different! It's awesome!)
Batman and Robin (I don't think it's too early to call this one)
Unwritten (One of the most compelling first issues I have read in a long time)
Jersey Gods (I think I owe this series its own blog post as well)
The Muppet Show (Well, I mean, obviously)
Jonah Hex (I feel like they have stepped up the game this year...and the game was already pretty awesome)
Power Girl (I have really high hopes for this)
Wolverine: Weapon X (Jason Aaron and Wolverine is just a great combination)
Exiles (A delightful ragtag group of mutants from various dimensions)

And that's just from what's come out so far! I mean, we still have things like DC's Wednesday Comics and Darwyn Cooke's Parker book to look forward to!

2009 is gonna be a good year!

The Best of 2008

2008 was a big year for me. Matt and I got married, we both finished school, we both got jobs, and we each released a new album. I also got to go to my first comic book convention, HeroesCon in Charlotte. A pretty exciting year overall.

It was an exciting year for comic books too! As is now a Living Between Wednesdays tradition, I present my list of the best comic book-related things of 2008. I have selected 20 books, series, movies, events, and phenomenons that I feel were the best of the year. I have also created a list of runners-up, a list of ongoing series that continued to be awesome with the same creative teams as last year, and a list of great series that came to an end this year.

Enjoy the list. It took me about a thousand hours to write. Feel free to disagree, I don't claim to be an expert on these things. Thanks for reading my blog for another year! And have a happy new year! I'll see you in 2009 (a lot more frequently now that school is over forever!).

1. Action Comics
2. Tiny Titans
3. Ghost Rider
4. Watchmen Mania!
5. Wonder Woman
6. The Incredible Herc
7. Top Ten Season Two
8. The Dark Knight/Iron Man
9. The Amazing Spider-Man
10. Fourth World Omnibuses
11. Dr. Horrible
12. The New Frontier Movie/One-Shot
13. Secret Six
14. Supergirl
15. The Age of the Sentry
16. The Umbrella Academy
17. The War at Ellsmere
18. Zorro
19. Daisy Owl
20. Batman: Brave and the Bold Cartoon

 

1. Action Comics (DC) by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank

The longest-running comic book title of all time was the very best of 2008, in my opinion. Geoff Johns gave us incredibly satisfying Superman stories that embraced the Man of Steel's past without being overly nostalgic. One of my favourite things about Geoff Johns as a writer is that he isn't snobby about the more recent history of comic book characters. Maybe it's because he's a younger writer, but I absolutely love how he doesn't write with the attitude that things were so much better in the 60s, or 70s, or whatever decade the writer feels the closest connection to. Johns does a great job of blending the best of all eras to create stories that will define the current era of comic books.

The two completed storylines, the Legion of Super-Heroes arc and the Brainiac story, were both excellent, and the New Krypton crossover that followed them has been really fun.

I also just love Gary Frank's artwork so much. His Reeve/Kidder style Superman and Lois are just fantastic. No offense to all other artists, but I wouldn't be sad if he drew every single comic, just because I want to see what every character would look like in his style. And that is why I am grateful that he illustrated the Legion story in Action earlier this year...so many characters!

2. Tiny Titans (DC) by Art Baltazar and Franco

Aw yeah! Tiny Titans was one of the titles that I was most excited about for 2008. Not only because it looked adorable and funny, but DC was finally making a real effort to go after kids under the age of 10. 2008 also saw the launch of DC's Super Friends (with awesome J. Bone covers), Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam (really great but needs to come out faster), and Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade. Last year Marvel had it all over DC for all-ages titles, but I think DC wins the war this year. I don't really care who's winning, just as long as the battle is happening. Because, really, when the two big publishers are trying to one-up each other's all-ages material, everyone wins.

 

3. Ghost Rider (Marvel) by Jason Aaron, Roland Boschi and Tan Eng Huat

If you told me a year ago that I would have Ghost Rider on my pull list by June...

Jason Aaron was the perfect man for the job on this title. I have been enjoying Scalped since it started so I was interested in picking up anything else that Aaron was going to be writing...I just didn't expect that to be Wolverine (which was excellent) and Ghost Rider.

Since the newest Ghost Rider series started up, it has been lacking the fun that a comic book about a flaming skeleton riding a motorcycle should have. When Aaron took over on issue #20, he injected an appropriate amount of fun and craziness. Each issue is packed with "holy shit!" moments. It's macho, it's insane and it's everything a comic book should be. I can't recommend it enough.

4. Watchmen Mania!
 

So in case you haven't heard, they are making a movie based on Watchmen. And people are kind of excited about it. This year saw the re-release of the Absolute Edition, a new hardcover, and the paperback was Amazon's #1 bestseller at one point, despite being over 20 years old. Plus Dave Gibbons and Chip Kidd put out a beautiful hardcover book, Watching the Watchmen, detailing the making of the legendary comic. It was a good year for the little yellow book.

I, like, a jillion other people, re-read Watchmen this year. I bought the recently re-released Absolute Edition, actually, so I could see the artwork as big as possible. Here's the thing about Watchmen: it's amazing. It's so good that, even though I had read it before, it hurt to put it down. It was so hard to stop reading it because it's just so damn awesome. I get totally lost in that world, depressing as it is. Plus, my love for Nite Owl know no bounds.
 

Watchmen is one of those things that is so good that it gets me thinking about all the things that had to happen, and had to come together, at the exact right moment in time to create this one perfect thing (sort of like how I feel about my own birth).
 

Alan Moore. Dave Gibbons. DC. The 80s. The Cold War. Reagan. Nixon. The emergence of British comic writers. Swamp Thing. Charlton Comics. DC's purchase of Charlton's characters. All of these and an infinite number of other things had to happen and had to come together in the mid-80s to give us this exact book, which is still completely mind-blowing.
 

There is a great deal of cynicism about the movie, even though the trailers do look pretty frigging awesome. All that I know is that the shop I was working at sold HUNDREDS of copies of Watchmen since the first trailer hit the theatres in July. And whether or not the movie does the book justice, the fact is that thousands of people worldwide are taking an interest in the book, many of whom had never heard of it. And that ain't bad.

 

5. Wonder Woman (DC) by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti

I read an interview somewhere (Comics Journal?) where Simone said that she specifically told DC when she went to write for them that she never wanted to write Wonder Woman. Too predictable to put the token female writer on the token heroine's book.
 

I'm glad she changed her mind.

Wonder Woman is a character that has been suffering since her creation. She's never really starred in a comic that was actually very good. The earliest stuff is just insane and, y'know, sexist. The "mod" era is fun but not particularly inspiring as far as super hero stories go. And, y'know, sexist. The character has typically been either a cold, ruthless, man-hating warrior, or has been really boring. What it comes down to is that no one knows what to do with her, whether in a group like the Justice League, or in a solo adventure. She's "the female one," which doesn't give the writers a lot to work with. So, as much as I like to think this doesn't need to be the case, perhaps it takes a woman to really flesh out a personality and a purpose for DC's most famous female character.
 

Gail Simone, one of my very favourite writers for many reasons, took over the Wonder Woman title on issue #14 last November after a pretty good run by Allan Heinberg and an abysmal run by Jodi Picoult. Simone quickly gave Diana Prince a personality, a life, a love interest and a place in the DCU that made sense. She has balanced her new life as an agent at the Department of Metahuman Affairs, and her old life as an Amazonian princess who has more than a few gods in her Rolodex. Plus, the boyfriend. I mean...FINALLY! And Etta Candy is back, so Diana has an actual friend for a change.

 

It's all very exciting, and made more exciting by the fact that Aaron Lopresti is a fantastic artist who is able to draw stunning renditions of Wonder Woman without making her costume look skanky, or without throwing her ass in our faces (sorry, Dodsons. I love your art but seriously...).

 

Now let's try to get an all-ages Wonder Woman title off the ground, eh DC? Or at the very least a Wonder Woman Super Friends action figure! Why are there Super Friends Cyborg figures but no Wonder Woman?!
 

6. The Incredible Herc (Marvel) by Greg Pak and Various Artists

 

And speaking of gods...

 So, Marvel took a risk with this one. It was a weird decision. Last year they had a big crossover event happening, World War Hulk. This year they had a Hulk movie hitting theatres. So obviously the thing to do with the Hulk title is to change the titles to The Incredible Herc, and make it a comic about Hercules instead of Hulk, right?

On paper, it looks crazy. But that's exactly what Marvel did. I am not sure how big a seller this title is, but as far as I can tell, it does alright. And it is GREAT! It's one of those titles that I read with a big smile on my face. It's just pure fun.

7. Top Ten Season Two (Wildstorm/DC) by Zander Cannon and Gene Ha

I can't even imagine how intimidating it would be to attempt to fill the shoes of Alan Moore. I guess it helps when the people filling the shoes are the rest of the original creative team. Zander Cannon and Gene Ha have done an excellent job of bringing back Top Ten, which is my personal favourite Alan Moore creation. It really is just as good as it was when Moore was writing it, and Ha is providing his usual beautiful artwork. Plus...it's coming out reasonably quickly! Very exciting.

My wish for 2009: an Absolute Edition that collects the first two Top Ten books, the Forty-Niners and Smax. Come on, DC! Bury the hatchet and put it out!

8. The Dark Knight / Iron Man

I spent several years feeling impossible levels of excitement for these two movies, closely following every casting decision, every development, every rumour, every trailer or poster, every photo from the sets. My anticipation was so great that I could hardly believe, when I was sitting in the theatre when they were each released, that the big day had finally arrived. And yet, somehow, both movies surpassed my crazy high expectations.

I mentioned at the end of last year's Best of 2007 post that 2008 was going to be a huge year for nerdy movies. Although both Harry Potter and Star Trek were bumped to 2009, it was still a monumental year for comic book, sci-fi, and fantasy films. Not only because of the volume of films that were released in the genre, but because they topped the box office returns. Six of the top ten fall in that genre, seven if you want to count Kung-Fu Panda, and eight if you want to count Quantum of Solace. So many comic book movies were released that I actually missed some that I was looking forward to (Hellboy II, Speed Racer and Punisher: War Zone, for instance).

Iron Man was loved by pretty much everyone. It was just so much fun, and it was a completely satisfying interpretation of the character. Many of the complaints about the Spider-Man, Daredevil, X-Men or Fantastic Four movies couldn't be made about this one. A lot of the loyalty to the characters and the comics can be owed to the fact that Marvel was now producing the movie themselves with the newly established Marvel Studios. But a lot of the credit also has to go to Jon Favreau, who genuinely loves Marvel super heroes. It also didn't hurt that all four of its big stars were Oscar nominees or winners.

As successful as Iron Man was, it turned out to be the appetizer. When The Dark Knight was released two months later, the whole world became Batman fans. Or, more specifically, Joker fans. It. Was. Insane. Of course we all know about Heath Ledger's amazing performance and his sudden and tragic death, and how that largely was what the world was talking about re: Dark Knight. But if you look beyond that, you'll see some great performances that have been overlooked. Gary Oldman returned as Commissioner Gordon and killed it once again. Aaron Eckhart was fantastic as both Harvey Dent and Two-Face (Spoiler!!). Morgan Freeman was even more enjoyable as Lucious Fox than in Batman Begins. And, of course, Christian Bale once again was great as Batman and Bruce Wayne. I'm not saying that Ledger's performance doesn't deserve the attention it got, I'm just saying that there are a lot of great scenes in that movie that he's not even in.

The added bonus of these two fantastic movies is that their success means more comic book movies in the future! We already heard Marvel's plans for a slew of movies leading up to a series of Avengers films, as well as the plans for another Batman sequel. There are also Green Lantern and Jonah Hex movies in the works, as well as that weird-ass Justice League movie. Who knows what else will get the green light? (Power Man and Iron Fist buddy movie...Power Man and Iron Fist buddy movie...).

9. Amazing Spider-Man Brand New Day (Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim, Bob Gale, et al.)

A year ago, Spider-Man comics would have been on my "worst of" list. This year Marvel ditched two of the redundant titles, made Amazing Spider-Man come out three times per month, and also decided to make that comic awesome. It was a wise move.

I love the new format of the title. I love that it allows great writers like Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim and Mark Waid team up with great artists like Marcos Martin, John Romita Jr and Steve McNiven for short stints. The result is that there are no fill-in issues or incidents of burn-out. The larger story arc isn't particularly fluid, but it doesn't need to be because the short storylines are great. The two-issue arc (#578 and 579) by Mark Waid and Marcos Martin were as close to comic book perfection as I think I have ever read. If they had been one issue, it would have been my favourite single issue of the year.

It was a controversial and courageous move for Marvel to basically wipe the board clean of all the terrible decisions they made about Spider-Man in recent years. They brought the character back to basics, but not without including fan-favourite characters and events from the 90s and beyond. The incredibly popular and high-selling arc, New Ways to Die, was an Eddie Brock story that was really exciting and featured some beautiful JRJ art. It's going to make a great hardcover.

I have bought every issue of Spider-Man since Brand New Day started. I had never bought an issue of Spider-Man before. Well done, Marvel!

10. Fourth World Omnibuses (DC) by Jack Kirby and the New Gods Action Figures

 

2008 was a huge year for reprints and new editions. Starman, Gotham Central, JLA/Avengers, Scud, Zot, Kirby's The Demon and O.M.A.C., Giffen, DeMatteis and Maguire's Justice League, Bendis' Daredevil, Gibbons and Rude's World's Finest, Watchmen, The Killing Joke, The Man Who Laughs, Demon in a Bottle, Y: The Last Man, Hellboy, The Tick and Ronin were some of the countless titles to get reprinted, usually in fancy new hardcover editions. Of all the re-prints this year, however, none was more satisfying than seeing Jack Kirby's Fouth World comics collected in four beautiful hardcovers, all in colour, and all in order, for the very first time.
And Fourth World fans were also treated to the first series of New Gods action figures, which perfectly replicated Kirby's art and, in my opinion, are the nicest action figures of 2008.

11. Dr Horrible

  

The one good thing to come out of the writer's strike is that it gave Joss Whedon and a bunch of his pals time to make this 45-minute musical that quickly became the darling of the internet. Die-hard Whedon fans, much like Gaiman fans, have a tendency to ruin everything by being way too hardcore about it, but no amount of their insanity was going to ruin this for me. It's just really funny and has really catchy songs that you can't get out of your head. And Neil Patrick Harris is so great in it. It's nice to see him doing something that isn't just a parody of himself (although he is great at that too).

I watched all of Buffy and all of Angel for the first time this year, so it was a big Whedon year for me. I think I watched all of Firefly this year too, but that might have been last year. I can't remember. It's nice to finally get the appeal of Whedon and his work. Just calm down, Whedon-heads, alright? You are starting to make the Tim Burton fans look sensible.

12. The New Frontier Movie/One-shot (DC) by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone

Those who know me, or those who read this blog, know that I am batshit insane for Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier. So I was pretty excited about the animated movie that was finally released early this year. Strange Adventures put on a screening of it at one of the local movie theatres here to serve as a release party. The Halifax comic nerd family is pretty thrilled to have Cooke calling the area his home now. If he wrote a grocery list people would show up for its release here, and celebrate it as the greatest grocery list ever written. 

Anyway, what I am saying is people 'round here were pretty excited about the New Frontier movie. And I think we were all pretty happy with it. Obviously it omitted some of our favourite parts of the book (Dinosaur Island!) but overall I think they did a nice job of fitting most of the story into a 90 minute movie. I also really liked the voice acting and the animation. It's a nice-looking film. It's bloodier than the book, which I thought was weird, but definitely a satisfying justice league cartoon for adults.

And as an added bonus we got some new stories set in the New Frontier universe in a one-shot special released around the same time as the movie. Included was a great Wonder Woman/Black Canary story by J. Bone, who doesn't do nearly enough interior work. I hope to see more New Frontier stories in the future. A special ever year would be great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. Secret Six (DC) by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott
 

Not only do we get to see Gail Simone reunited with the Secret Six gang, we see Simone reuinited with artist Nicola Scott!
 

I love Simone's Secret Six. I could read an ongoing story that follows this gang of weirdos forever. It's violent, it's crazy, it's hilarious and it's sexy.

 

 
 

 

14. Supergirl

  

I'm not so much talking about Supergirl the title as I am Supergirl the character. She definitely wins the award for "most improved" hands down.

  

It was a really big year for Supergirl. Beyond her own title, which I will get to in a minute, she is now the star of an all-ages title, Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade, and a fantastic mini-series, Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom. She is now playing a major role in the Superman cross-over event, New Krpyton, which is really satisfying.

  

So a couple of years ago, when Eddie Berganza begged women to give Supergirl a chance, DC was planning on "fixing" the character and her title. I hated the new Supergirl. I mean, she was created by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner. It's not really her fault. I was basically content ignoring her as a character, and never planning to read her title ever. When DC said they were fixing the title, they did make changes, but they book didn't really get any better. It just got weirder as they created a story where her parents had sent her to Earth to kill her cousin, Superman. Booooooo.

  

It didn't really start to turn around until Tony Bedard took over for a few issues, and Renato Guedes provided some fantastic art that completely changed the look of the character. Suddenly she looked like a young woman and not a weird doll. Even the ridiculous costume started to make sense when it was drawn in a way that resembled fabric.

  

The comic kind of took another weird turn when it was tying into the Sinestro Corps War. It wasn't bad, but it was kind of confusing. For most of 2008 I was buying Supergirl every month and enjoying it, but since Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle took over as the writer a couple of months ago, it is the best it has ever been.
 

DC could have just swept this unpopular character under the rug. They had tried her in other titles, like Legion of Superheroes and Teen Titans. She just wasn't winning any fans. It would have been easy to ditch her without any explanation. No one would have noticed or cared. But they instead decided to really make an effort with her, and it worked. She has gone from being my least-favourite DC character to one of my favourites. She has finally found her place in the DCU and in the Superman family, and I'm really happy about it. So good job, DC!

15. Age of the Sentry (Marvel) by Jeff Parker and Various Artists

When so many elements that I love come together in one comic series, it's pretty obvious that I am going to go crazy about it. Silver age stories, Jeff Parker, and artists like Colleen Coover, Dave Bullock, Nick Dragotta, and Michael Cho combine to make one of the funnest mini-series since...Jeff Parker's last mini-series. This comic is brilliant and fun, and it pays tribute to the Silver Age in a hilarious way without full-on making fun of it. Even the letters page replicates the Marvel Mailbag of the 1960s. The best part about this series is that you really don't need to know much about The Sentry as a character. Each issue is made up of short stories that are in no way complicated and are more about what is awesome about comic books and super heroes than anything else. I feel like a lack of interest in The Sentry might deter people from picking up this great comic, and that's too bad.

16. The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

"I heard that emo fruit from that emo fruit band wrote a gay stupid comic."

"Well...yes and no..."

"My Chemical Romance sucks. I hate that emo shit!"

"Yeah, well, I don't like them either but since you're asking about the comic written by Gerard Way it's..."

"He only got to write it because he's famous and all his stupid emo fans are in love with him."

"Well, actually, he studied comic book writing before he..."

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAY."

Unfortunately, inane conversations like this one were the price to pay for what is easily one of the best new comic creations in years. The first series of The Umbrella Academy, Apocalypse Suite, quickly won over most of the comic fans who were doubtful that a guy who makes such uninspired music could possibly create such an imaginative and grown-up comic series. Gabriel Ba's beautiful art didn't hurt either. Apocalypse Suite was collected in a trade and a super deluxe fancy edition. A second series of The Umbrella Academy is also underway.

17. The War at Ellsmere (SLG) by Faith Erin Hicks

Most of what I wanted to say about this book I said in a recent post about it. But let me repeat that this book is a completely enjoyable read for people of all ages. Hicks is not only a delightful person, she has a genuine interest in creating comics that have strong, realistic female characters.

Despite the cancellation of the Minx line by DC, 2008 was actually a pretty good year for comics for teen girls. Besides The War at Ellsmere, we also got Hope Larson's Chiggers, Mariko Tamaki's Skim and Emiko Superstar, Cecil Castellucci's Janes in Love, Raina Telgemeier's new Babysitter's Club comic (Claudia and Mean Janine), and all the great new Supergirl stuff that I mentioned earlier. A solid year for sisters doing it for themselves!

18. Zorro (Dynamite) by Matt Wagner and Francesco Francavilla

I don't know why more people aren't talking about this series. Matt Wagner is doing a fantastic job of telling the origin story of one of the greatest fictional heroes of all time. And Francesco Francavilla's art is stunning in every issue. Plus there are always beautiful covers by artists like Ryan Sook and John Cassaday, as well as by Wagner and Francavilla. Overall, this comic is just really high quality, and it's a great read.

Also, consider this: if Batman read a comic book, it would be this comic book.

19. Daisy Owl by Ben Driscoll

One of my resolutions for 2009 is to read more webcomics. And if I find more like this one, then it won't be hard to fulfill that resolution.

Daisy Owl, by Ben Driscoll, is everything I have been looking for in a comic strip. The art is top quality, the characters are delightful, it's hilarious, and there is a good running story with actual character development.

Daisy Owl is the name of a young girl who, along with her younger brother, has an owl for a father. This is never explained, and that's fine. Other than the fact that their father is an owl and they live in a tree, and their father's best friend is a bear (Steve), their lives are pretty normal. They go to school, their father goes to work, they go on family trips. Daisy is a very smart young girl who is also a very loving sister to her young and confused brother, Cooper. 

But the main thing is that the comic is completely hilarious, and I look forward to the day that a book is published so I can give it to everyone I know.

20. Batman: Brave and the Bold Cartoon

Finally something comes along to fill the void left by Justice League Unlimited. The happy difference between this Batman cartoon and others is that Batman is actually a pleasant guy on this show. He's an actual hero, not a grumpy weirdo. It's a great show for kids, very funny and full of action. And seeing characters like the new Blue Beetle and Plastic Man animated for the first time is a real thrill for us comic nerds. Plus...how about those opening credits?! So awesome.

Runners Up

Garfield Minus Garfield (Dan Walsh)
Batman: R.I.P. (DC) by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniels
Tales Designed to Thrizzle #4 (Fantagraphics) by Michael Kupperman
Ambush Bug: Year None (DC) by Keith Giffen
The Hall of Best Knowledge (Fantagraphics) by Ray Fenwick

Mini-Marvels: Rock, Paper, Scissors Digest (Marvel) by Chris Giarrusso

Final Crisis (DC) by Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco and Doug Mahnke

Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom (DC) by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Phil Noto

Terra (DC) by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Conner

Chiggers (Aladdin) by Hope Larson
Marvel Adventures Superheroes (Marvel) by Various

The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 1 (DC) by James Robinson and Tony Harris

Emiko Superstar (Minx) by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston
Omega the Unknown (Marvel) by Jonathan Letham and Farel Dalrymple
Janes in Love (Minx) by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Wolverine: Get Mystique (Marvel) by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney

The Incredible Hulk movie

Teen Titans the Lost Annual (DC) by Bob Haney and Jay Stephens

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam (DC) by Mike Kunkel

Batman Confidential (DC) by Tony Bedard and Rags Morales

 

Ongoing Series that Continued to Rock with the Same Creative Teams

Jonah Hex (DC) by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and various artists

Daredevil (Marvel) by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark

Captain America (Marvel) by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting

Scalped (Vertigo) by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera
Green Lantern (DC) by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse) by Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty and various other writers and artists

 

Fond Farewells

 

Catwoman (DC) by Will Pfeifer and David Lopez
All Star Superman (DC) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Y: The Last Man (Vertigo) by Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Justice League Unlimited (DC) by Various
The Batman Strikes (DC) by Various
All-New Atom (DC) by Various
X-Men: First Class (Marvel) by Jeff Parker and various artists

The Best of 2007

2007: The year that the Civil War ended, Hulk Smashed, Sinestro rounded up the troops, Captain America bought the farm, and DC fans half-heartedly began counting down to the glorious day when Countdown would finally be over.

It was a good year for comics, which means I have an epically long post to make here that lists my top picks of the year. Once again, this list encompasses all things comic related. I liked a lot of stuff this year, but after much careful deliberation, I have decided to name these twenty things the best of the year. These are not ranked in any particular order.

In short:

1. Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil
2. Booster Gold
3. Sinestro Corps
4. Minx
5. The Death of Captain America
6. The Spirit
7. X-Men First Class
8. Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four
9. Marvel Adventures and other Kids Comics
10. Grant Morrison on Batman
11. Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis
12. Jeffrey Brown
13. Spider-Man 3
14. Geoff Johns and Richard Donner on Action Comics
15. Scalped
16. Doctor Thirteen: Architecture and Mortality
17. Essex County: Tales From the Farm and Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire
18. The Brave and the Bold
19. I'm a Marvel/I'm a DC
20. The Immortal Iron Fist

1. Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil

Jeff Smith stepped up to the superhero plate and knocked this one way, WAY out of the park. Though sadly only four prestige-format issues long, this comic got the same reaction when it came out as All-Star Superman: universal love from everyone. But this had the added bonus of being a perfect comic to recommend to kids, particularly the legions of Bone fans. Anything that gets kids into Captain Marvel is ok by me.

These comics have now been collected in a beautiful hardcover book that comes with a really nice poster. All hardcover books should come with posters.

2. Booster Gold

The biggest surprise for me this year was not how good this series is, but how surprised everyone else was by how good it is. I don't know what about Geoff Johns writing Booster Gold doesn't sound awesome to people. Basically a solo Booster Gold title is all I need to be happy, and having Johns write it is just gravy. (Of course, I'd be a little happier if it were a Blue/Gold team-up book).

This comic has been one of the most consistently enjoyable titles of the year. I am loving Booster's nerdy road trip through time, visiting a cavalcade of favourite characters from all corners of the DCU.

3. Sinestro Corps

And since we're talking about Geoff Johns anyway, lets talk about the best comic book event of the year.

I actually can't believe how successful this was. From the perspective of someone working in a comic shop, it was awesome to see the copies of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps fly off the shelves. Both were great titles to begin with, and now I have noticed an increased interest in all things Green Lantern.

So of course the exciting turning point in this series was when the Guardians enabled the Corps to use lethal force for the first time ever.

It got very awesome after that.

If I had to pick my favourite single issues of the year, both the Sinestro Corps one shot that launched this event, and the double-size issue of Green Lantern that ended it, would be on that list. It's rare that a big cross-over event has a great beginning and ending. World War Hulk started out really strong, but the final issue fell a little flat. And Civil War...well..you know. We don't even have to talk about One More Day.

And that is why Sinestro Corps is the best comic book event of the year.

4. Minx

When DC first announced a new line of comics aimed at teen girls, my first thought was "Siiiiiighhhhh." I've never been a fan of anything that's aimed at girls. Leading up to the big debut, there was much nitpicking about the name of the line (I believe someone remarked "Why not name it 'Slutz'?"), and also about the fact that there was, like, one woman total involved in the writing/drawing of these books.

I am saying all of this because despite my determination to not care one way or the other about this launch, I took home a copy of the debut title, The Plain Janes, and totally loved it.

And I realized that everything about the Minx label was good. First we have comics which authentically speak to teen girls with characters who are not only believable, but really great role models. All of the girls in these books are cool. They make embarrassing mistakes (usually due to teen crushes on boys) and learn lessons. Even if you believe, and rightly so, really, that these books are being read more by the usual comic fans and are not necessarily reaching a new readership, they are still awesome because it gives indie comic writers and artists a new platform. DC marketed the hell out of this line in 2007. I think it's impressive enough that one of the big two publishers is throwing their weight behind black and white, non-super hero comic one-shots.

My favourite Minx book so far was Mike Carey's Re-Gifters. I really liked the main character. It was a good tom-boy story.

Well done, DC! I look forward to more of these fun, affordable little books!

5. The Death of Captain America

This was one of those rare events where something that happens in comic books makes it into the mainstream press. It's always weird to hear about a superhero dying on CNN. What this means for retailers is that a million zillion people come into the store and buy five copies of issue #25 with bags and boards, and we never, ever see those people again. It's too bad for them because they are missing out on one of the very best comics being written now, or possibly ever.

This comic has been going strong since the death of its titular character. Brubaker has developed such a strong cast of supporting characters that readers really haven't been missing Cap at all. Sharon, The Falcon, Winter Soldier, Tony Stark, Black Widow and others have been putting on a very entertaining show for us, full of mystery, intrigue, romance, angst, and revenge.

Plus...hot, hot Winter Soldier.

6. The Spirit

Twelve wonderful months of Spirit comics by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone will soon be at an end, but I have high hopes for the future. Cooke managed to breathe new life into one of the greatest comic characters of all time in a way that few could. Even Ebony had a dignified role in this series, which is something that Frank Miller won't even attempt to do in his upcoming film.

Great writing and stunning art made this a favourite of fans and critics alike this year. It should do well at next year's Eisner Awards. The first six issues have already been collected in a great-looking hardcover, but hopefully the full twelve issues (technically eleven by Cooke) will be collected in an absolute edition someday.

I am very happy that, despite the absence of Cooke and Bone, this series will continue. The bar has been set high, but it was set pretty damn high when Cooke took the project on to begin with.

7. X-Men First Class

If I were to pick the top three comic writers of 2007, they would be Geoff Johns, Ed Brubaker and Jeff Parker. Not only because they are all good writers, but because they all worked on a lot of stuff and it was ALL GREAT.

Hey, I know that X-Men First Class started up in 2006, but they brought it back for a second series in '07 and for that I am eternally grateful. As someone who enjoys the X-Men, but not any current X-Men title on the shelves, this is perfect. My main problem with the X-Men is that there are too damn many of them. This brings it back to the basics: four dudes, one girl and a professor. The writing is hilarious, the art is always nice, and the comic is always all-ages appropriate. Much like Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane, I am confident recommending this to anyone. It just makes you feel all happy inside.

I am also grateful that they decided to include mini-comics by Colleen Coover! YAY!

In general I am pleases that Marvel is more open to having indie artists contributing to super hero comics. Projects like this one and Spider-Man Family, as well as the Fairy Tales books and all the other off-beat stuff lets writers and artists have some fun with the iconic characters. We haven't seen any fun like that over at DC since the Bizarro comic collections. Let's get another one of those on the shelves, DC!

8. Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four

Parker again! This time with the perfect antidote to all the whiny nonsense happening over in the main Spider-Man titles. This four-part series, written by Parker and drawn by the late Mike Wieringo, whose sudden death was the worst thing to happen to comics this year.

This series was everything that a Spider-Man and/or Fantastic Four series should be: funny, all-ages appropriate, and action packed. I loves projects like this that can just ignore current continuity and use popular characters in the ways that fans know and love:

You can buy the whole series as a paperback now. You owe it to yourself to read it if you haven't yet.

9. Marvel Adventures and Other Kids Comics!

Hold on, Jeff Parker! I'm not done with you yet! One of my favourite things about 2007 was the increased attention on comics for kids. Its a crazy idea. Imagine a comic book that even a kid could read!

Marvel added new titles to their already impressive Marvel Adventures line. Hulk and Iron Man got the all-ages treatment, just in time to get kids familiar before the 2008 movies are released. As well we saw Chris Giarusso's hilarious Mini Marvels comics added to the back of many Marvel titles. Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane, Marvel Adventures Avengers, and Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius were all rocking the house in 2007, along with mini-series like the one mentioned above.

Marvel also started re-printing silver age Avengers comics in their Avengers Classic series. I'm really into that, except the back-up stories, which are new, are always gory and inappropriate for young kids. I don't know why they would do that.

DC also launched the new Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century comic, to tie into the popular cartoon show. It's a great comic, and a great show, and I love that kids are familiar with the Legion now. DC is throwing down some new all-ages titles in the new year which I am excited for, including the new Shazam! ongoing series, the adorable Tiny Titans and the new Super Friends comic. 2008 could be a good year for kids!

10. Grant Morrison on Batman

It was exciting news for Batman fans when Morrison was announced as the new writer. Not only were Bat fans gaining one of the best writers in the business, but also one of the most prolific. If only Andy Kubert could stick around as long.

I really like Morrison's happier Bruce Wayne. And I've been enjoying the way he's had to deal with every obscure Batman chestnut that Morrison cares to dig up, be it an illegitimate son from 1987, or the reunion with the Club of Heroes. The latter storyline is, I think, three of the most brilliant comics of the year, and contain some of the best art of the year, by J.H. Williams III.

Not every issue of Batman since Morrison took over has been great, particularly due to the surprisingly dull Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul cross-over, but I am glad to have Morrison on Batman for the long haul. I look forward to many more of his wacky ideas.

11. Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis

I was pretty open about my love of Tad Williams' run on Aquaman, and about my misery that it was canceled. It was fun, well-written, exciting, funny, and had great art. Every cover was amazing. I think I can confidently say it was the best underwater story I have ever read. The cast of characters were great. Black Manta was back in all his glory:

It was just a really great comic book, but I guess no one was interested in a new version of Aquaman, even if it was becoming clearer that this new guy was going to lead us to the original king of Atlantis that we all know and love. While all the hype was going on about the long, convoluted search for Ray Palmer, this was quietly providing a much better search story for a missing hero. Sadly, we'll never know how it ends.

12. Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey Brown put out two absolutely hilarious, 100% emo-free books this year. Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations and Incredible Change-Bots are two of my favourite books of 2007, and have been really easy to sell people on.

Turn to any page of Cat Getting out of a Bag and you will be unable to put it down. It's just so damn adorable. And every comic in it perfectly depicts the hilarious things cats do all the time.

Seriously, we couldn't keep this book in stock at the shop. It's impossible not to like it.

And Incredible Change-Bots was a fantastic and loving parody of the Transformers, timed perfectly as the antidote to that terrible movie that hit the theatres this summer (It was terrible. I stand by that statement).

So there you have it! A great year for Jeffrey Brown!

13. Spider-Man 3

Alright, here we go.

This movie was awesome. Are you ready for this? It was my favourite of the trilogy. That's right. I not only liked it, I liked it more than Spider-Man 2. I was really surprised by the amount of people who hated this movie. I mean, I expected Venom fans to be disappointed, but who cares about them?

Naw, I'm kidding. Look, I grew up as a member of the Venom generation. I thought he was cool, and I loved that Maximum Carnage video game. But seriously...Venom should never have been a part of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies. But he was, and I didn't think it sucked. I thought the black suit was used well. It was tons of fun, actually. I don't care what anyone says: I love that in Sam Raimi's world, a bad ass Peter Parker is one who plays hot jazz piano solos and dances.

This movie was fun! Why didn't people want a Spider-Man movie that was fun?! After the movie was over the first time I saw it I heard someone say "Booo! Where's Carnage?" Seriously? It's too bad because Raimi couldn't win: having Venom in the movie pissed off classic Spider-Man fans, and only having him in the movie for a little while pissed off Venom fans.

I also think people who criticize the movie are forgetting something: Sandman was AWESOME.

And also: Harry was awesome. I mean come on. The movie opens with an awesome fight between him and Peter. Then he falls and gets amnesia and is a super nice guy, which is very entertaining. He has a GIANT PAINTING OF WILLEM DEFOE on his wall, which rules. And he makes omelettes and dances the twist with Mary-Jane! It's fantastic! And then he turns bad again, and is so crazy evil. My favourite part of the movie is when he tells Peter that he has a thing going on with MJ, and then Peter leaves, all heartbroken, and the waitress asks him how the pie is, and Harry just smiles and says "So good" in the best way imaginable. THIS MOVIE IS GREAT! Screw the haters!

14. Geoff Johns and Richard Donner on Action Comics

I think that this is going to get left off a lot of best of lists this year. Sadly, both Superman titles were plagued by delays which meant that perfectly great Superman stories were chopped up and released so slowly that most people just plain forgot about them. Geoff Johns' run on Action with Richard Donner has been great. The Last Son storyline, which we will finally see the conclusion of in February, has been a real treat for fans of the Superman movies. The three-issue Bizarro arc with Eric Powell was fantastic. And the 3D issue was totally awesome! Plus there was a really great Action Comics Annual this year. When you think about it, Action really was one of the most consistently awesome titles of the year.

15. Scalped

I don't venture over to the darker side of comics that often, but Scalped is really an amazing series. Bleak doesn't even begin to describe the reservation that the series is set on. Besides the fact that it's one of the most compelling comics of the year, it also treads new ground. I think I saw at least 700 reviews this year that compared this to the Sopranos, but the Sopranos is about the Italian-American mafia, which has been depicted on screen and in comics for decades. Corruption and brutal violence on an Indian reservation is fresh subject for a drama, and it serves as a way to educate readers about the utter hopelessness of reservation life in North America.

The art, by R.M. Guera, is perfectly suited to the story, and the Jock covers are always stunning.

16. Doctor Thirteen: Architecture and Mortality

Brian Azzarello managed to out-obscure Grant Morrison and everyone else this year with his Dr. Thirteen back-up story, featured in the Tales of the Unexpected mini-series. Thankfully, it has now been collected into a trade so everyone can enjoy one of the best, and funniest, comics of the year. Plus, with art by Cliff Chiang, it's one of the best-looking comics of the year.

Dr. Thirteen, that lovable non-believer from old Phantom Stranger comics, is forced to team up with a motley crew of DC throw-away characters. Despite hanging around this wacky team, which includes I...Vampire, Infectious Lass, Anthro and J.E.B. Stuart of Haunted Tank fame, Dr Thirteen is convinced that none of them actually exist. Add to that the fact that his teen daughter is secretly a witch, and you're having a pretty good time.

And of course the real brilliance of this story is that it leads our heroes to the Architects, who turn out to be the writers of 52 (Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns and Mark Waid). It ends up being an amusing commentary on the way characters stop being used and therefore cease to exist in the DCU.

17. Essex County: Tales From the Farm and Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire

These books combine my two greatest loves: comics and hockey. And they both totally blew me away.

This is just beautiful storytelling. I'm not an emotional person, but I actually teared up at the end of Ghost Stories. I've been lending the book to everyone. I love it. I am really looking forward to the next book.

Lemire's art perfectly suits these stories. I absolutely love the way he draws the big bruiser hockey players in both books, with their wide, disfigured noses and giant hands.

I was standing next to Jeff Lemire at TCAF in August but I was too shy to tell him how much I loved his work. So this is what I'm doing instead.

18. The Brave and the Bold

Absolutely one of my favourite things to happen this year was the return of The Brave and the Bold. Not only is this title back, it's better than ever! The creative team of Mark Waid and George Perez so good that they could have called this an All-Star book.

What's different about this title compared to the original is that it's a continuing story, rather than a series of one-shots. Normally I'd be against that, but the story is so damn good, and leads to so many awesome and bizarre team-ups that I really can't complain. Supergirl and Lobo! Wonder Woman and Power Girl! Batman and the Legion of Super-Heroes! The Flash and the Doom Patrol! Green Lantern and Supergirl! Batman and the new Blue Beetle!

It's just delightful, and perfect for giant super hero nerds such as myself. The love that Waid and Perez has for their work and these characters really shines through in this title. Any week that has a new Brave and the Bold is a good week.

19. I'm a Marvel/I'm a DC

I always like to include at least one fan contribution on this list. These little webisodes, made and posted by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, have been a smash hit on YouTube this year, and I love them. They started simply enough: a parody of the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" Apple ads using a Superman action figure and a Spider-Man action figure. The result was that Marvel came off looking like the cool company, based entirely on the amount of successful movies based on their characters. One skit led to another and now they have 10-minute episodes with giant casts of action figures and full sets with props. They are all very funny, and full of biting commentary aimed equally at both DC and Marvel. Plus, they keep you up-to-date on all the latest movie rumours.

You can watch all of the videos at this link.

20. The Immortal Iron Fist

This technically started up at the end of 2006, but it definitely qualifies as one of the best comics of 2007.

As I've said before, it's just really obvious to the reader that Fraction and Brubaker are having a lot of fun writing this. Danny Rand is a fun character to begin with, and he has one of the best supporting casts in comics. Plus all of his battles involve kung-fu fighting, so you can't really go wrong.

The art is excellent. The fights are excellent. And the most recent arc was basically a crazy video game.

Plus there was a really excellent Iron Fist annual this year. I'm just really glad Iron Fist gets his own title again. And it's awesome.

Honorable Mentions

• Black Adam
• The Umbrella Academy
• Omega the Unknown
• Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
• Daredevil Annual
• Metal Men
• World War Hulk
• Green Arrow Year One
• The Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories
• Captain Carrot and the Final Arc
• The Return of Nexus
• Midnighter
• JLA/Hitman
• Metamorpho Year One
• JSA
• Avengers: The Initiative
• 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen

Phew! Finally finished! So there it is. The best and brightest of 2007, at least as far as what I got around to reading. I'm sure lots of great stuff came out that I haven't read yet.

2008 is gearing up to be the nerdiest year ever. If we look at movies alone we have a jam packed year of pop culture trash that will keep us all fat and happy. 2008 opens with a new Rambo movie and closes with a new Star Trek movie. In between we get Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Hellboy II, The Incredible Hulk, The Punisher, Indiana Jones, Wanted, Hancock, Where the Wild Things Are, Speed Racer, Get Smart, a new James Bond, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and a new Harold and Kumar. PLUS the awesome-looking Be Kind Rewind. AND a New Frontier DVD movie and at least one or two new Futurama DVD movies. It's the Year of the Nerd! Bring it on!

Best of 2006 (the longest post ever)

Every nerd and their nerdy dog is posting a list of the best graphic novels of 2006, so I'm going with a slightly different approach. I'm listing the best comic things of the year. Anything to do with comics is fair game.

I'm sure I'll miss stuff that was great, but I don't have time to read everything. These are not ranked in any particular order. I am going to post a quick list that you can glance at if you are short on time and don't feel like reading the detailed notes that took me, I'm not kidding, over four hours to write. It's a long post.

In short:

1. All-Star Superman
2. Batman: Year 100
3. Superman Returns
4. The return of Astonishing X-Men
5. The Escapists
6. Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness
7. The new Jonah Hex
8. 52
9. The new Justice League of America
10. The Green Arrow on Smallville
11. DC podcasts
12. The Diary of Ralph Dibny
13. The Baby-Sitters Club in graphic novel format
14. The New Frontier action figures/Absolute New Frontier
15. The Justice League animated series on DVD
16. Batman and the Mad Monk
17. The Hall of Best Knowledge
18. Superman/Batman Annual #1

Alright. Here we go:

1. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Grant Morrison + Frank Quitely + Superman = one of the funnest series I have ever read. Fun. The way comics are supposed to be. And the fact that it's slow coming out is overshadowed by the ultra-slowness of its stupid, ugly brother, All-Star Batman and Robin.

In particular I liked issues #3 and #5. Issue #3 (May '06) was a delightful Silver Age throwback that had Superman reluctantly facing off against Samson and Atlas in a series of Super-Feats of Strength (the prize supposedly being Lois Lane's affections, but Lois, being a modern woman of today, is mostly just amused by all this). Lois also has superpowers for the day, a birthday present from Superman. Again: delightful throwback.

Issue #5 (Sept '06) was possibly my favourite issue of any comic to come out this year. It had a wonderfully nerdy and awkward Clark Kent interviewing a wonderfully obsessed and self-satisfied Lex Luthor in prison. Despite many obvious clues throughout the interview, Lex still doesn't figure out that Kent = Superman. This comic also contains not one, but two hilarious eyebrow-related jokes. And that's got to be a record.

The writing is smart and funny. The artwork is stunning. I wish it were coming out faster, but I'm just happy it exists at all.

2. Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope

Right off the bat I'm going to say that I'm not usually a fan of stories (Elseworld or otherwise) that set superheroes in the future. I'm more into the past. As long as no one is a vampire. Man, that gets tired.

Paul Pope totally rocks the house with Batman: Year 100. I loved so much about it. I really like his artwork all the time, for starters.

It's set in 2039. Gotham is more or less a police state, with heavy surveillance on every citizen. The days of superheroes and secret identities are over, with stories of a Bat-Man in Gotham being dismissed as urban legend. Jim Gordon's grandson, a GCPD detective, begins to discover that there might be truth to the legend, and that his grandfather had been closely tied to Batman. The most interesting thing about this series is that Batman is not only still operating in Gotham 100 years later, but he also still seems to be Bruce Wayne. So it ends up being a really great manhunt story where the ultimate prize is learning who is wearing the mask, and how it's possible that he even exists.

Awesome characters. Awesome motorcycle chases. I really like the creative choice by Pope to make Batman's costume and weapons more primitive, rather than more futuristic. I love that he wears fake fangs and that he can't really talk when he's wearing them:

Gritty, interesting, imaginative and fun to read. Totally one of the best books of the year.

3. Superman Returns

I went opening night, knowing surprisingly little about what the plot of this movie was going to be. I had only seen the teaser trailer, and the occasional milk ad with Brandon Routh sporting a milk mustache. (As Tiina complained, "Who is this guy? I don't know this guy as Superman yet." It's true. As far as we were concerned, he was just some guy in a costume with milk on his face. We hadn't been properly introduced).

Anyway, I had a giant smile on my face for this entire movie. I wasn't able to see it in IMAX 3D, but I saw it in theatres twice. Seriously, after years of terror from reading all the drama associated with the new Superman movie, this was such a relief. I knew things would be ok as soon as I heard Bryan Singer was taking over, and that an unknown had been cast in the lead role.

Brandon Routh was great, both as Superman and as Clark Kent. And he's hottt. Kevin Spacey was fantastic, channeling Gene Hackman somewhat, but also giving Lex his own style (eerily calm and slow-talking). Sam Huntington was hilarious as Jimmy Olson. And I was fine with Kate Bosworth. I thought she was pretty good. Way too thin, but pretty good.

Screw all the haters, this movie is as much fun as you can possibly have at the theatres. I loved it. And I want to marry Brandon Routh.

4. The Return of Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday

I don't read a lot of Marvel these days, but I have always enjoyed a good X-Men book. Tiina lent me the first two trades of this series, which she got into because of her complete and utter devotion to Joss Whedon. It really is a fun series. And we finally got to see some new issues come out this year. I know some people don't care for its Kitty Pryde-centric storyline, but I think he's made her into a really great character. And I never gave a damn about her before.

I still think that the first six issues of Astonishing were the best six issues, but it's still a really fun read and I get very excited every time a new issue comes out.

5. The Escapists by Brian K. Vaughan, Philip Bond, Eduardo Barreto, Steve Rolston and Jason Shawn Alexander

Oh man. Would you believe I didn't read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay until earlier this year? I have no idea what kept me from reading it (no pictures, maybe?). It's truly one of the best books I have ever read. And it turned out that my timing was perfect because shortly after I finished it, Dark Horse announced a mini-series called The Escapists. Written by Brian K Vaughan, no less!

The Escapists follows the struggle of Maxwell Roth, a 19-year-old comic fan who buys the rights to the now-defunct character, The Escapist. He teams up with a young artist and his best friend, who happens to be an excellent letterer, to create some new Escapist comics. There are so many layers to this awesome series. It details the struggle of the independent comic producer. It criticizes the big business of major comic publishers. It has a comic-within-a-comic, as each issue gives you a few pages of the Escapist comic they are working on, and sometimes a page or two from supposed vintage Escapist comics. All the artwork is rad, and there is a nice variety of styles, including some hot covers by guest artists like Paul Pope and John Cassaday. I could go on but you should really just read it. And read Kavalier and Clay too.

6. Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Book #3 of everyone's favourite indie comic.

There is nothing not to love about this book. As a 20-something Canadian video game lover who is also in a band, I guess I find this book very comforting. It takes place in Toronto, but I know it's being written and illustrated here in Halifax, and the title character takes his name from a song by the late, great Halifax band, Plumtree. But who wouldn't enjoy this series? It's completely hilarious and book #3 is possibly the best book yet. But that's a tough call. It certainly did feature vegans with special powers, and a battle inside baffling Toronto mega-store, Honest Ed's.

The really brilliant thing about the Scott Pilgrim series is the way O'Malley seamlessly splices totally insane battles and video game moments in with mundane evenings of band practices and renting movies. You often forget that Scott is a superhero, of sorts. Most of the time, he seems to forget it too.

I would also like to give a special mention to the Free Comic Book Day Scott Pilgrim comic because it was a lot of fun (in particular, Scott taking forever to choose a beverage).

7. The New Jonah Hex

Technically this started up in late 2005, but for the most part it has been a 2006 series. A series that I am totally down with.

I love Jonah Hex for its simplicity: Hex rides into a town full of assholes. Hex kills the asshole(s). Hex gets money. Hex leaves. The writing is great. The art is beautiful. Jonah Hex is one of the greatest characters ever.

Maybe it's just refreshing to read about a hero who does not have a code against killing. Because sometimes you just want to see a horrible person die in the worst way imaginable. (This may also explain why I love The Authority).

8. 52 by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Keith Giffen

What a brilliant idea, DC. Get your best writers together and have them pump out a mega comic every single week. It's confusing, it's epic, it's got the internet abuzz with theories. Who is Supernova? Is Ralph Dibny ever going to be sane again? Is he crazy now? Is he actually dead? Is Superboy really dead? Is Rene Montoya going to be the new Question? Who's going to die? What the hell is 52?
It's essentially served as a soap opera for comic fans, and has effectively boosted discussion about the entire DC cast of characters.
I'm a fan of the entire Infinite Crisis/52/One Year Later model that DC went with for 2006. I'd also like to give props to Douglas Wolk over at 52 Pick-Up for doing such a great job of re-capping and explaining every single issue. It's really been helpful for someone like me who maybe doesn't have complete encyclopedic knowledge of every single corner of the DC universe. I've also been enjoying J.G. Jones' Cover Blog over at Wizard.com. The covers have all been totally awesome. Especially these ones:

52 has been a fun ride so far, and I think, as we enter the home stretch, it is only going to get more interesting.
If anyone cares, I am leaning toward the theory that Supernova is Ray Palmer, but that might be wishful thinking. I miss Ray.

9. The New Justice League of America by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes

I think I read Justice League of America #0 about ten times. I really loved it. Brad Meltzer is just so great at writing superheroes as real people, but without it being corny or boring. I know some people would argue that it is corny and boring, but I disagree. And, yeah, maybe we've seen enough of the big three looking at (ridiculous) photographs of potential league members and voting them in or out, but it's seriously been a great series so far, and I expect it to get better. (I could do without the Michael Turner covers, though).

10. The Green Arrow on Smallville

Ok, like, it's not the best portrayal of Oliver Queen. But it might be the most attractive. And anyway, I'm just glad that FINALLY, after five long seasons, there is an honest-to-gosh superhero on Smallville. In a costume. Fighting bad guys. And he's suggesting that Clark get off his ass and start using his powers to help people. It's about time someone pointed this out to Clark.
The Green Arrow costume is totally cool looking. He has a fun variety of arrows. He replaces Lex as Clark's new hot billionaire "friend." And coming up in January: a Justice League episode of sorts! Clark, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Cyborg and Flash (Impulse?) will team up.
Martian Manhunter has also made one teaser appearance on the show which was very exciting. I can't wait to see more of him.
Six years of watching a mediocre show are starting to pay off!

11. DC Podcasts

Yay! Now I can feel like I was at one of the major comic cons! This was a really good idea: DC recorded many of their panel discussions and talent spotlights at the NYC and San Diego comic cons and turned them into downloadable podcasts for all to enjoy! I'd heard good things about the 52 Panel Discussion in San Diego, and then I was overjoyed to learn that I could listen to the whole thing!

You can check them all out here.

12. The Diary of Ralph Dibny

I can't even tell you how many times I have laughed out loud reading this. It's just brilliantly written and a really, really great idea. I would especially suggest the Halloween entry, where Ralph gets a visit from the Phantom Stranger and Dr Thirteen.
It's written by British comic writer Al Ewing, and he does a great job of making the posts follow the 52 series storyline, but also veer off into imaginary crazy adventures when Ralph doesn't get enough material that week. So it certainly helps if you read 52 and supplement it with this hilarious blog, but you could certainly enjoy it on its own.

13. The Baby-sitters Club in Graphic Novel Format by Raina Telgemeier

I was so crazy about The Baby-sitters Club when I was a kid. Right up until I started babysitting and realized it actually kinda sucked. I was totally thrilled when I saw this new graphic novel version of the beloved series. It's a great way to update it for a new generation, and it's awesome to see my childhood fictional best friends as comic characters. The artwork is really fun, with a great sense of humour. The girls all look great, each with their own style that stays true to the books (it lets girls choose the babysitter that most resembles themselves. I always felt I was a combination of Kristy and Mary-Anne).

There are two books out now, Kristy's Great Idea and The Truth About Stacy. I love them. I hope they do the whole series in comic format. I can't wait to see that dreamboat Logan!

14. The New Frontier Action Figures/Absolute New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke

Anything to do with Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier is going to get my stamp of approval. I'm not really a collector, so I don't get particularly excited about Absolute editions of things. But as soon as I saw the Absolute New Frontier I totally wanted it. And I'm glad I have it. It's so big and pretty. I can't wait for the animated movie to come out next year.
I'm also not much of an action figure person. I mean, I like them, but if I only have $20 I'm going to spend that on something I can read every time. I totally want all of the New Frontier action figures, though. They are so nice looking. I love the colouring and I really love how they got the little fabric folds and creases (one of my favourite art details about New Frontier is the way all the costumes are tucked into the belts, and the fabric bunches a little). I got the Green Arrow figure for Christmas. This is when I learned that these figures are very fragile. I immediately broke his bow, his arrow, and all of his back-up arrows. Then I learned that everyone's New Frontier action figures are breaking like eggs. Booooo. But still...pretty. Here's what it's supposed to look like:

15. The Justice League Animated Series on DVD

Man, am I every happy to finally own these. Justice League and Justice League Unlimited is a truly awesome show. Smallville wishes it was a third as good as this show. Like, you think Batman: TAS and Superman: TAS are awesome (and they are), but then you watch this show and it's just so good. I eagerly await the final box set to complete my collection.

16. Batman and the Mad Monk by Matt Wagner

I frigging love Matt Wagner. I loved his Batman and the Monster Men mini-series and I love that he has followed it up with this series. And they come out in a timely manner that pleases me. Well done, Matt.
It's not finished yet. There are still two issues to go, but I am taking a risk and naming it one of my favourite things of the year. I think Wagner writes Batman better than almost anyone. And I could look at his artwork all day. I always like a good early-years Batman story, and I am really enjoying him fighting horrific villains. Plus, throwing in a doomed romance only sweetens the deal.

17. The Hall of Best Knowledge by Ray Fenwick

This was a local comic by a local artist that ran in the local weekly paper. It started in 2005, but sadly finished in 2006. It was completely amazing and brilliant and hilarious every single week. You can view the entire run here, and I only hope that they will someday be published as a book.

18. Superman/Batman Annual #1 by by Joe Kelly, Ed McGuinness, Ryan Ottley and Dexter Vines

Again, I just want to applaud DC for being bold enough to make the very first Superman/Batman annual completely over-the-top ridiculous. I loved every second of it. To all the haters, let me just remind you of how funny Deathstroke was in this. It was just pure crack, and a delight to read. And frankly it was better than most "serious" issues of Superman/Batman.

Ok, so that's the list. I'd also like to give special mention to the following things, some of which only didn't make the official list because it's too early in the series to be so bold as to name them among the best of 2006:

• Superman Confidential by Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale
• The Spirit by Darwyn Cooke
• Midnighter by Garth Ennis, Chris Sprouse and Karl Story
• The Grant Morrison run on Batman
• Batman and The Spirit by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke
• Mike Holmes' Buy Friends Easy comic in The Coast
• Runaways, Y: The Last Man, and Mary Jane for continuing to rock
• All of the DC Showcase Presents books. I haven't read them all, but I will and I love them. Thanks for making them so affordable.

Oh my God. I'm done!