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| via Huffington Post |
It's no secret that I'm a fan of Grant Morrison. He has in fact written or co-written five out of the nine top-ranked comics on this list (52 in 2006 and 2007, on which he collaborated with Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, and Greg Rucka; Batman in 2008, which would have been circa "R.I.P.;" and Action Comics in 2012, which would have been the first year of the New 52 run, including the crucial ninth issue, which for all intents and purposes introduced The Multiversity; and now of course Annihilator in 2014). Never mind that if I could retroactively reconsider Joe the Barbarian's listings in 2010 and 2011 (the former in which Air took its second consecutive top ranking, and the latter in which RASL took the honors) I would now seriously like to see that list increase by one (likely 2010)...Anyway, Annihilator isn't finished yet. With four of its six issues released, the story of Hollywood screenwriter Ray Spass (pronounced "space") and his fateful meeting with Max Nomax, who happens to be the star of Ray's latest effort, for me reads like a culmination of all Morrison's best instincts, as well as lessons learned from his best work. (I mean, what else could you ask for, right?) Frequent collaborator Frazer Irving has also provided some of his career-best material. Issue after issue has only increased Annihilator's impact. There remains the possibility that its two remaining issues next year will make it the top-ranked comic in the 2015 QB50. We'll see. Should Morrison nail the ending...? Could be his best ever.
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| via Unobtanium 13 |
And here's Morrison as his own closest competition. Seriously, it's not just the fact that fans have been waiting years to see this one become a reality. It's brilliant, it really is. Combining Seven Soldiers of Victory, The Return of Bruce Wayne, and the early issues of Batman Incorporated, this is Morrison exploding the concept of one-and-done by creating definitive comics for every concept he touches, including Pax Americana, a direct commentary on and answer to Watchmen, and what will for years be argued as an actual improvement. This is Morrison's argument for the genre of superhero comics being viable into the 21st century, not for nostalgia's sake or because they happen to be pop culture commodities at the movies, but as legitimate storytelling characters in their own right, by their own rules, and to their own ends. An epic vision of the complete DC landscape, something he previously tackled in Final Crisis, for which Multiversity might almost be seen as a sequel to, an apology for, and at least a refinement of, this is a total creative statement, a second project for which an entire legacy can be built around. Which is saying something, given that Morrison already has several such efforts under his belt. Most comics creators at this point in their careers have settled into more subdued expectations. Here's a chance to see someone live up to the old showbiz end-of-career delusion, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
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| via Shopify |
Previous rankings for this series: 10th (2006), 26th (2007), 11th (2009), 7th (2010), 7th (2012), 15th (2013). Missing years denote either blanks in the publishing schedule or how difficult it's been to find Wasteland reliably available in comic book shops. Which is a huge crime I won't have to worry about after one more issue, because as of December 2014, there is only one remaining. The epic journey of post-apocalyptic drifter Michael and the mystery of how that landscape was created has reached its final arc. Wasteland has been my personal equivalent to Bone, a series I discovered by proxy in the '90s and has gone on to legendary status in the comics community, slowly expanding outward thanks to mainstream Scholastic reprints. I hope Wasteland has a similarly fruitful afterlife. It has been brilliant from start to finish. I'm proud to have been a stalwart fan throughout its original run.
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| via DC Comics |
The single best series of the New 52 since the start, Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have collaborated several times in the past (Green Lantern Corps, Brightest Day), but ever to this pitch-perfect degree and certainly never to such operatic heights. For me, this might as well be considered unthinkable, given what I've said above: they've improved on Grant Morrison. It was Morrison who created the character of Damian, and last year killed him off. But any and all of that was merely a starting point for this dynamic duo. Early in the run they seemed content to ride shotgun with larger creative acts handling all the attention, but this was the year Tomasi and Gleason unleashed their full potential. The "Hellbat" option is on par with Frank Miller's famous wish-fulfillment fight with Superman in the pages of The Dark Knight Returns, the moment a vulnerable Batman ignored all restraints and went after the body of his son, the embodiment of a career dedicated to avenging the signal loss of his life. What happens when you attempt the impossible? Well, something like this. This is what superhero comics are all about.
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| via First Comics News |
Everyone's excited about Marvel reclaiming Star Wars in 2015, but it needs reminding that arguably the best Star Wars comic ever made was released by Dark Horse, who happened to have rights to the franchise for the last quarter century. That comic is the improbable adaptation of the original George Lucas draft of the first film, a whole alternate take on everything you know, and all the more mesmerizing for it. Imbued with the lush art of Mike Mayhew, it's the best thank-you Dark Horse could have conceived for everyone who enjoyed its efforts over the years, from Dark Empire to Brian Wood's Star Wars, the saga as you know it now would not exist without these comics. And now there's an accessible version of the saga that never happened. And that won't go away just because someone else has the rights now.
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| via DC Comics |
Along with The Multiversity: Pax Americana, this was 2014's best argument that one issue can say it all. Grayson is a repackaging of Nightwing, following the events of Forever Evil. It's Dick Grayson, the original Robin, in his latest transformation, this time as a spy. I haven't read the series itself regularly, but thank goodness I thought to have a look at the special issue released as part of DC's annual September events month, a tradition since the New 52 era began in 2011. In conjunction with the weekly Futures End comic that takes place five years in the future, the month gave the creators behind the rest of the line the chance to look ahead. Some creators opted out of the opportunity, some understood that they had the chance to make valuable statements on what they're doing now in the likelihood that they won't have such an opportunity again. Grayson writers Tim Seeley and Tom King did something even more brilliant: they crafted a riddle of an issue that not only seized the opportunity but wrote the definitive issue of this whole era in the character's ever-expanding legacy.
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| via Previews World |
It's not often you hear about a comic and without any prior interest know suddenly that you not only must read it but that it will end up being a defining experience. When this happens at all, it's something that was finished years in the past (Watchmen is the prototypical example) or merely the popular thing everyone's latching onto. Warren Ellis re-imagining Rob Liefeld and Alan Moore's Supreme, Blue Rose is a classic in the making. It's a superhero mystery unlike any you've seen before, removing the main character from his own story and instead exploiting his fantastic mythology in ways that are still hard to comprehend even after you've read an issue or two, much less the five that have been published to date. It's compulsive in the best comics tradition, and it will be talked about for years to come. At the moment, it seems to have slipped completely off the radar. This will change.
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| via USA Today |
It's hard to believe that DC put so much emphasis on Grant Morrison's Action Comics when the New 52 began that Superman became so hard to nail, by so many creators, that it became almost completely superfluous. Enter Geoff Johns. Of course, right? The last time Johns worked on the Man of Steel, he opted for iconic portraits of known elements such as General Zod, Bizarro, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. This time he's doing something new, and exceedingly clever. The idea of introducing a contrasting character has been done many times (Pete Tomasi has opted to try Magog again over in Superman/Wonder Woman, for instance), but rarely to such a high conceptual level as Johns has tackled with Ulysses, a "strange visitor" and "last son" who has pushed our hero to his very limits, not mortally, but morally. The art of John Romita, Jr., working at DC for the first time after a career dedicated to Marvel and Kick-Ass, has helped distinguish the story as well, forcing the reader to see Superman in a different light with every new striking image.
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| via Previews World |
This is the comic that put the entire industry on notice, and has been keeping everyone on their toes for three years now. Brian K. Vaughan has a number of iconic creations already (Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, for example), but he's doing the best work of his career in a science fiction opus that breaks every taboo and features a whole cast of exceptional characters. And the art of Fiona Staples. The way Image redefined art in the '90s is what Staples is doing in the pages of Saga. Without Staples' work here, there wouldn't be Tula Lotay's Supreme: Blue Rose, or even Frazer Irving's Annihilator. Staples sets the pace. And Saga has the best fans in all of comics, the best letters column in an age where such a feature has become a mark of pride for any comic that thinks to include it. What does Lying Cat say about all of that? Nothing at all...
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| via Hitfix |
If there's a Sandman being published, surely it deserves mentioning among the year's best? I've come very late to the game, and I'm still trying to catch up, but I know enough to acknowledge Neil Gaiman, at this point, as one of the most important creators in comics. In this return engagement, which has a very relaxed publishing schedule, he's sought to take an increasingly philosophical look at his most famous creation. Every issue is like a complete re-calibration on the whole effort. After four issues, we're still inching along, it seems, but the stakes keep getting raised, and so too does our emotional investment in Dream's latest crisis. The art of J.H. Williams III has become a challenge in its own right, but surely a welcome one, and a necessary one to convey the truly dream-like quality of the story. And maybe that's all you really need to know about The Sandman: Overture.
11. Tuki (Cartoon)
Jeff Smith's online comic begins, only his third creation after Bone and RASL. He has now completed two "seasons," or what amounts to two issues worth of material, but the results have been worth it. Beginning with RASL, Smith began relaxing the pace of his storytelling, allowing his art to rise to the surface, and that's been the most telling element of Tuki, in which a caveman slowly embraces another of Smith's trademark unique destinies.
12. Detective Comics #27 (DC)
The New 52 milestone of the second-ever issue featuring the same issue number as the first-ever appearance of Batman was the occasion for several remarkable short stories from some of the best contemporary creators, including a rare Brad Meltzer effort that revisited that first appearance, the first chapter of the otherwise-overlooked "Gothtopia" arc from John Layman, and a Scott Snyder version of the Dark Knight's future featuring the art of Sean Murphy, which was the impetus for this comics commentator reconsidering Snyder's emerging legacy. Not a bad way to celebrate.
13. Red Lanterns (DC)
The series that helped me discover the talent of Charles Soule. When it launched back at the start of the New 52, Red Lanterns was easily one of the most-questioned decisions made at that time, a series dedicated to one of the least compelling corners of a franchise that had only recently bloomed to proportions where such an opportunity presented itself. And that reaction lasted for several years. Then Soule arrived, bringing Guy Gardner with him, and exploded the concept into a full sci-fi spectacle, borrowing Supergirl for added emphasis, and using, as did Grayson, its Futures End special issue to dramatic effect, as a peak at an ending Soule, after a fan-crushing announcement of an impending exclusive deal with Marvel, would probably never get to write otherwise.
14. Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
I've been a fan of G. Willow Wilson for years (Air topped the QB50 in 2009 and 2010), and have been waiting for her big comics comeback for what seemed like centuries. So it was with great pleasure to see her launch Ms. Marvel to much critical and well as cultural acclaim. A very well-deserved triumph, and a terrifically fun read.
15. Django/Zorro (Vertigo/Dynamite)
A late addition to the year was this sequel to Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained and Matt Wagner's own previous Zorro for Dynamite, which has somehow managed to combine them for a story that serves to do justice to both.
16. Starlight (Image)
Last year I ranked Jeph Loeb's Nova #1 at seventh. Subsequent issues failed to live up to that incredible promise. Enter Mark Millar, who has been doing his best to single-handedly make comics relevant to wide audiences again, with a series of projects that have been adapted into major motion pictures. Hopefully Starlight will follow.
17. Superman Unchained (DC)
I came very late to this Scott Snyder/Jim Lee project, but its final issue served not only to join a considerable list of 2014 comics that shown new light on Lex Luthor, but helped me see Snyder more clearly as well.
18. Emerald City of Oz (Marvel)
After six adaptations of the original L. Frank Baum material, Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's remarkable collaboration has come to an end, and the magic they've helped illuminate will serve the legacies of all three creators. Technically released at the end of 2013. I didn't see it until early 2014. If you consider this retroactive to last year's QB50, that'll make one of these Oz comics ranked every year since 2009.
19. Forever Evil (DC)
A decidedly contentious event, Geoff Johns let the bad guys win (for a while) before concluding on a far more ambiguous note, with traditional uber-villain Lex Luthor becoming the hero, and then setting up the next crisis. Or, Crisis.
20. Atomic Robo (Red 5)
Has appeared on every list from 2009-2012, omitted last year because this is another small-press comic that is unreliably available in physical comics venues (and that was the year Dr. Dinosaur finally made the title of an Atomic Robo mini-series!). But suffice to say, every time I read a Brian Clevinger/Scott Wegener comic, a smile spreads broadly across my face.
21. The Unwritten: Apocalypse (Vertigo)
Mike Carey's metafictional account of a Harry Potter figure was cancelled in 2013, but brought back for a limited engagement in 2014, and the first issue was the best possible argument for the whole concept's brilliance.
22. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vertigo)
The comics adaptation was the biggest reason I finally read the original Stieg Larsson books. My personal favorite element was the inclusion of Antonio Fuso in the pool of artists, fondly remembered as one of the key creative elements of Mike Costa's Cobra.
23. Archeologists of Shadows (Septagon)
2014 was the year I finally went digital, and among the benefits was the possibility of discovering exciting new underground talent, which AOS exemplified in its innovative art and engaging vision of the heroic journey.
24. Trillium (Vertigo)
Neither of the two issues I finally read of Jeff Lemire's ambitious love story was technically released in 2014, but the project did conclude in the required time-frame.
25. The Bunker (Oni)
Joshua Hale Fialkov has been on one of the more unique creative journeys in comics, and if The Bunker signals where he's headed, he is a force that go very, very far.
26. Batman/Batman Eternal (DC)
Here's Scott Snyder' Batman, a creative run that most observers have pegged as among the very best comics. I've had my reservations over the years, but the more chances I give it, the more it rewards me.
27. Justice League (DC)
After having my regular reading experience broken a few years back, I've found it difficult to get back into a groove on this series, although I continue to contend that Geoff Johns is doing the most important work of the New 52 in its pages.
28. Superman/Wonder Woman (DC)
For most of the year this was another of the signal Charles Soule projects, and the first he had to conclude as he prepared for that (wretched!) Marvel contract. His successor couldn't have been better, though: Pete Tomasi, bringing, apparently, everything he's learned in the pages of Batman and Robin with him.
29. The Death of Wolverine (Marvel)
For once, this kind of thing actually delivered, making a permanent touchstone statement in the history of a major comics character, building on the milestone work that has retroactively an entire background for one of the most important superheroes of our time. And Charles Soule wrote it. So maybe fans like me don't have to worry so much.
30. Captain America/All-New Captain America (Marvel)
Rick Remender has somehow become a defining writer of Steve Rogers. Following the long tenure of Ed Brubaker, which among other things produced the material for the film Captain America: Winter Soldier, Remender brought his off-kilter instincts to full effect, depowering Rogers and introducing the Falcon as his latest replacement. The latter series features the art of Stuart Immonen, featuring his most recognize work in years.
31. "Brace Yourself," Sensation Comics (DC)
This was the year Wonder Woman finally began to be embraced as the same creative opportunity as Batman and Superman. The digital-first Sensation Comics rewarded that faith almost immediately with this story from Jason Bischoff, which took a fresh look at the Amazon's origins.
32. Umbral (Image)
If there's any reluctance on my part to fully enjoy this series, it's because I'm still attached to Antony Johnston and Christopher Mitten's last collaboration, Wasteland (uh, see above).
33. Damian: Son of Batman (DC)
Here's Andy Kubert's solo look at an alternate future first proposed by Grant Morrison, as Damian becomes the new Dark Knight and struggles against the legacy.
34. Ultimate Spider-Man #200 (Marvel)
We all need a little Brian Michael Bendis, and this may have been the best example, a special celebration that had a look at both amazing arachnids, Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
35. Dysphoria (Hollow Tree)
Something the digital community can't really give you is the product of local talent, whose material needs all the platforms it can get to spread awareness. If I hadn't seen this in a comics shop, I would never have seen it at all.
36. Swamp Thing (Vertigo)
The last project Charles Soule has to wrap up at DC is this one, and that may be the most telling thing to know about it.
37. Wonder Woman (DC)
Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang concluded their epic run on the series, which may go down as the most significant creative statement in the character's long history.
38. Smallville: Lantern (DC)
In the comics, the TV series never ended. And Superman finally became a Green Lantern.
39. The Fuse (Image)
Wasteland mastermind Antony Johnston also launched this series, a sci-fi procedural with Justin Greenwood, who along with Christopher Mitten is another signature Wasteland collaborator. And yeah, I'm waiting until the end of that one to embrace this one, too...
40. Superior Spider-Man (Marvel)
The era of Dan Slott's Doctor Spider-Man came to an end, and y'know what? I kind of miss it.
41. Secret Origins (DC)
Very cleverly, this has been a platform not only to emphasize new creative runs, but also to acknowledge ones that have concluded.
42. The New 52: Futures End (DC)
The headlining act of a trilogy of weekly series, I badly wanted this one to remind me of 52, but it hasn't even hit the notes of Countdown to Final Crisis. Which I liked, by the way.
43. Green Lantern (DC)
Robert Venditti's era, for me, always had an impossible act to follow, but he's been doing okay. "Godhead" has been a step in the right direction.
44. Kick-Ass 3 (Icon)
When Mark Millar launched Kick-Ass originally, I actually was among the readers, but I quit following along after a while. I was happy to come back and see the conclusion.
45. Deadpool: The Gauntlet (Marvel)
Hey, so I liked a Deadpool comic!
46. 7th Sword (IDW)
If the comic includes swords, it has to be awesome. This one obviously does. And it is.
47. Sinestro (DC)
I really wish this series were better. A can't-miss opportunity that is on the verge of doing exactly that...
48. Teen Titans (DC)
Scott Lobdell's New 52 work hasn't been properly acknowledged in the QB50. I came too late his Superman. Thankfully I caught a moment every other reader (this is a running theme of Lobdell's efforts) called egregious, as Bart Allen's past (future?) was dramatically revamped. A certain amount of evil genius was involved to make this happen. Keep in mind, I was a huge fan of Mark Waid's Impulse, which is arguably better than his Flash, which is arguably, at its best, among the best comics ever written.
49. Star Trek Special: Flesh & Stone (IDW)
This otherwise unremarkable comic brings together all the major doctors from Star Trek history, which among other things means Enterprise now has its comic book debut.
50. Earth 2/Earth 2: World's End (DC)
The introduction of the new Superman was underwhelming, but the origin of the new Batman, which I still haven't read, is still one of the best moments of any comic in 2014. And the spin-off weekly gets no respect, but softly deserves it.
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