Last fall I did the unthinkable and sold my comic book collection. And a few weeks ago, I discovered a remnant of that period of collecting that I really had completely forgotten about, probably because I'd set them aside to write about at some point. Well, now here we are, closing that loop.
I bought Simpsons Comics Presents Bart Simpson #50 when it was released, which was in 2009, although I might have gotten it in 2010, from Borders, where I worked for five years. There was a point where I wrote about the comics I read and bought from Borders, for another website, because it was unusual for me to be working somewhere that sold comics and I figured I might as well exploit it. This particular issue was notable because, as the subtitle suggests, "Mad About Sergio," which means that this was an issue created entirely by Mad veteran Sergio Aragones.
Sergio is a legend not just because of his contributions to Mad, but also for his creation of Groo, who is more or less the idiot version of Conan the Barbarian. Sergio collaborated a number of times with DC, but this issue for Bongo is pretty unique in that it combines two different-but-not-as-much-as-you-might-think comedic traditions, Matt Groening's Simpsons and Sergio Aragones.
If you've never read Sergio, he specializes in incidental slapstick situations, in which Murphy's Law is in full effect, so that anything that can go wrong will. One of the surprising things is that his distinctive art works exceptionally well in the Simpsons style. He does adapt to expectations, but for the most part you definitely know that you're reading a Sergio comic. There are four stories of varying length, two that are wordless and feature Maggie, the baby who never grows up, and two that feature Bart, his pal Milhouse, and various other denizens of Springfield, the first about their abortive attempts to build a rocket that quickly spiral out of control when everyone (EVERYONE) becomes involved and the second about a school trip to the circus that Bart and pals try to improve upon and fail miserably.
It's a milestone confluence of creation and creator. This is probably not something South Park or Family Guy, two erstwhile would-be successors to the Simpsons, could do, and speaks to the continuing strength of Groening's creations. That and the phrase "best [adlib] ever" freely adapted from Comic Book Guy, which everyone says now. (He actually began this meme by saying "worst [adlib] ever, and then switched to "best" when describing death by mylar.)
The other comic book was a more deliberate attempt to save for writing about later, because I'm always thinking about the comic books that come as part of a package deal, usually with an action figure or DVD. It's Star Wars - Heir to the Empire #1, based on the Timothy Zahn book that gave birth to the modern expanded universe in the franchise (which some fans have supported as material for Episode VII).
The most obvious problem that developed for Heir to the Empire was that George Lucas later contradicted at least one major element of Zahn's story, which was his conception of the Clone Wars. In Heir (and its subsequent sequels), the clones in question were of Jedi, notably represented by Jorus C'Baoth, not Jango Fett as later revealed in Attack of the Clones. Say what you will, but to make the mysterious Clone Wars about the origins of the distinctive but anonymous Storm Troopers was something no fan, not even one who wrote official books, would have been able to come up with. The other major detail of Heir is Grand Admiral Thrawn, the last great Imperial figure, although he deviates notably from Star Wars lore established well before the prequels in that he is not human. Zahn also establishes Mara Jade, the erstwhile lover of Luke Skywalker, as well as Han and Leia's twins, who would go on to star in their own series of books as the next generation of Jedi (and wrinkle in the Skywalker legacy).
When Heir was first released in 1991 (this comic book, or at least the version released with action figures, dates to 2007), I was still eagerly reading fiction based on screen properties and wasn't much critical about it. Now I will barely touch the stuff. There are thematic flaws, inconsistencies with the source material, that their creators never seem to consider, and I'm not just talking details that can be contradicted, but things like Thrawn being an alien when every other Imperial officer was human. Still, it's interesting to revisit this story, and see some of it depicted in images. I do still have the action figures, who proudly stand on one of my bookshelves, one of them being Thrawn and the other Talon Karrde (Captain Pellaeon is the other notable character from this adventure), who is more or less Zahn's version of Han Solo (Shadows of the Empire has another variation on Han, because apparently he's everyone favorite character from Star Wars).
The added bonus of finding these is that I actually reread some of my old comics, the only thought that makes me feel better about not having my old collection. Although now of course I'd love to reread those comics...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Batman: Arkham City - End Game #1 (DC)
writer: Derek Fridolfs
artist: Jason Shawn Alexander
It's hard to find a Joker story you really like. Especially after The Dark Knight, in which Heath Ledger brilliantly reimagined the character. In the comics, killing Robin and maiming Batgirl made Joker pretty infamous in the 1980s...and kind of hard to write after that. I mean, what does he does for an encore?
I read a version of an origin story, "Lovers and Madmen" from the pages of the short-lived Batman Confidential, that I really liked, and Grant Morrison used Joker sporadically, but aside from Arkham Asylum seemed reluctant to explore the character much further, other than as Batman's opposite number. Scott Snyder has brought him back in a big way for "Death of the Family," but for me, the recent Joker story that stands out is purely out of continuity, and is featured in a comic book based on a video game.
Now, for some people, "comic book based on a video game" can be a good thing, because they love said video game. For others, it means that the story will be instantly irrelevant. Yet out-of-continuity is not always a bad thing. DC made some really good stories of that nature with its Elseworlds line. You can almost think of this comic as an Elseworlds story. It features the death of the Joker.
And yet, because it's Joker, that's not the end of the story. Derek Fridolfs has been using his comics based on video games to write the stories he wants to write rather than stories based on video games. Here he's found his masterstroke, the ultimate out of continuity story. The Joker is set free by his death, and is thus free to push Batman to his limits. End Game is an extra-sized story, culled from material previously presented online, and as such is the very same kind of statement event as "Death of the Family."
Does Batman survive? That's not even a guarantee, and in fact the story teases that more than one monumental career ends. Jason Shawn Alexander's moody art helps set the tone. This could have been a movie, if Heath Ledger hadn't died, perhaps even The Dark Knight Rises in a totally different interpretation. (I still contend that Paul Giamatti, perhaps only as a voice, could have continued Ledger's Joker.)
Anyway, it's brilliant, it really is, a must-read Batman story regardless of how much you know about the video game that helped make it possible.
artist: Jason Shawn Alexander
(via dccomics.com)
It's hard to find a Joker story you really like. Especially after The Dark Knight, in which Heath Ledger brilliantly reimagined the character. In the comics, killing Robin and maiming Batgirl made Joker pretty infamous in the 1980s...and kind of hard to write after that. I mean, what does he does for an encore?
I read a version of an origin story, "Lovers and Madmen" from the pages of the short-lived Batman Confidential, that I really liked, and Grant Morrison used Joker sporadically, but aside from Arkham Asylum seemed reluctant to explore the character much further, other than as Batman's opposite number. Scott Snyder has brought him back in a big way for "Death of the Family," but for me, the recent Joker story that stands out is purely out of continuity, and is featured in a comic book based on a video game.
Now, for some people, "comic book based on a video game" can be a good thing, because they love said video game. For others, it means that the story will be instantly irrelevant. Yet out-of-continuity is not always a bad thing. DC made some really good stories of that nature with its Elseworlds line. You can almost think of this comic as an Elseworlds story. It features the death of the Joker.
And yet, because it's Joker, that's not the end of the story. Derek Fridolfs has been using his comics based on video games to write the stories he wants to write rather than stories based on video games. Here he's found his masterstroke, the ultimate out of continuity story. The Joker is set free by his death, and is thus free to push Batman to his limits. End Game is an extra-sized story, culled from material previously presented online, and as such is the very same kind of statement event as "Death of the Family."
Does Batman survive? That's not even a guarantee, and in fact the story teases that more than one monumental career ends. Jason Shawn Alexander's moody art helps set the tone. This could have been a movie, if Heath Ledger hadn't died, perhaps even The Dark Knight Rises in a totally different interpretation. (I still contend that Paul Giamatti, perhaps only as a voice, could have continued Ledger's Joker.)
Anyway, it's brilliant, it really is, a must-read Batman story regardless of how much you know about the video game that helped make it possible.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Avengers #34 (Marvel)
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
artist: various
artist: various
(from weeklycomicbookreview.com)
The significance of this issue (along with New Avengers #34) is that it is Brian Michael Bendis' final issue of Avengers after writing the team in various incarnations since 2004.
Bendis has a massive essay at the end of the issue detailing this relationship, hitting up its highlights and origins. Suffice it to say, but I did not read every issue (he has a count of 232), and in fact very few of them. Here's a very brief recap, though: "Avengers Disassembled," House of M, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, New Avengers, Avengers.
Anyway, not to be reductive, but the first three will remain his legacy with the team that has lately stormed the box office. "Disassembled" was the story that, as the title implies, took the team apart, famously killing off (for a while) Hawkeye. House of M was basically a very early preview of Bendis's X-Men. New Avengers was where he took the Justice League formula and more accurately the Grant Morrison JLA formula, and applied it to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He brought Wolverine and Spider-Man, among other characters who had never been members to the Avengers, and in the process made it possible for just about every other character ever to be an Avenger.
This last issue is more or less about scaling it back to what the team was when he started. It features Wonder Man desperately trying to redeem himself. You may not know Wonder Man too well. He played a part in "Disassembled" and then went away. It also features the return of Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp, who was a founding member of the Avengers. Bendis' whole idea was to move the team away from its original concept and defining characters, although of course Iron Man was still around.
The catchphrase included in this issue is, "We go bigger" (although realistically it's impossible to go bigger than the team was in the Bendis era), uttered by Tony Stark, who is one of several characters who acts exactly in this comic the way he does in the movies (synergy!).
Bendis doesn't do a lot to make a closing statement other than undo everything he did and suggest other people will "go bigger" (by again, basically doing all of that over again). It's more implied. If you get it, that's great. Otherwise you might be forgiven to assume that this is just another issue of Avengers, aside from that massive essay.
One of the things I love about Marvel is that it still includes things like massive essays from incoming/outgoing creators, and also letters columns. Bendis is a big proponent of letters columns (although no letters column this issue), and you've got to admire that about him. Although I did not read all 232 issues, I think it's definitely worth marking his departure, although he's really only picking up a thread he laid down years ago, with a different franchise.
Friday, December 28, 2012
2012 QB50
Every year since 2006 I've been presenting my picks for the best comics I read over the past year. In 2007 it expanded to its present form of the QB50. Since 2010 I've been presenting them here at Comics Reader, and apparently this is the only place that has had enough permanence where previous versions haven't been swallowed by the Rule of Internet Decline.
"QB" in this instance is a reference to the first comics column I wrote, "The Quarter Bin," which has since been converted here as a forum to examine back issues. I don't pretend to have read every comic published, and increasingly so I've had to be selective about what I read, which means that more so than at any other point, if a comic is on this list, I've made a real commitment to it in recognition of its quality.
Without further adieu, the best of 2012:
1. Action Comics (DC)
Grant Morrison has a pretty good history in the QB50. Last year he hit #2 with Batman Incorporated, #6 in 2010 with 18 Days, #6 in 2009 with Final Crisis, #1 in 2008 with Batman, and the same in 2007 and 2006 in the collaborative effort 52 (my favorite comic of the modern era). That would be the reason he's got the shrine here, because Morrison has so consistently given me some of my favorite comic book memories. Action Comics was not month-by-month the best comic I read, but it was the most consistently transcendent. The above image comes from #9, which features a look at a parallel reality and is one of the best single issues of the year, followed closely by #15, which delves into the 5th dimension and the unexpected depth of Mxyzptlk. Smaller moments that explored Clark Kent's life were also well worth savoring, including a temporary switch to Johnny Clark, as well as #0, which was an intimate look at the origin of the t-shirt and what happens when a kid steals Superman's cape. All of it rewards faithful readers. Morrison was ably supported throughout the year by backup writer Sholly Fisch, who also had a standout issue in #9 as well as #14, and gave perhaps the better Captain Comet story in the series this year in #0. (Ranked 5th in 2011.)
2. Green Lantern (DC)
It's strange, because my appreciation for Geoff Johns' work in this series has grown over the years. I've ranked it everywhere from 16th in 2006 to 19th in 2007 to 15th in 2008 and 2009 to 5th in 2010 to 6th last year. Green Lantern as a property has been one of my favorites for as long as I've cared about superheroes. The Ron Marz era (also known as the dawn of Kyle Rayner) was a favorite of the 1990s. I've followed the Johns run since Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004 and been fascinated by his expansion of the mythos ever since, and in fact increasingly so. Yet it wasn't really until last year's New 52 fresh start, which in this series meant just a renumbering, that I began to feel Johns grow in confidence, perhaps because he shifted his focus away from Hal Jordan, who always seemed a reluctant lead, and onto Sinestro, who dragged Jordan around for the first year of the series. #12, whose cover image graces us above, crystallizes Jordan's new status, and perhaps what Johns was inadvertently leading to since 2004, including Blackest Night, shifting the most famous Green Lantern into a new destiny (by now an old routine) and making way for Simon Baz, who with #0 began to shape his own. While various spinoff series handle other things Johns has brought to the franchise, Green Lantern finally explored the Indigo Tribe, demonstrating yet again that there's plenty of material left to explore.
3. RASL (Cartoon)
Jeff Smith's second epic work (after Bone) came to an end this year, and was one of the series that I fought tooth and nail to read. That's how I knew what my favorite comics were in 2012, the ones I absolutely had to read. There were in fact only three issues released this year, and fifteen issues overall, making RASL a sparse experience no matter how you look at it, including in narrative, as Rob Johnson tries to undo the damage he caused by investigating the science of Nikola Tesla and trying like Tesla before him to find practical uses for it. Sometimes the world simply isn't ready, and as Batman feared in The Dark Knight Rises will exploit in the wrong ways visionary new technology. In Rob's case, this was a problem that involved parallel worlds, and a girlfriend he thought he lost but in fact was his opposite number. The title, I should note, is an acronym for Romance At the Speed of Light. Brilliant stuff, which will hopefully find a similar level of appreciation as Smith's more famous work.
4. The Shade (DC)
Last fall I was fascinated to learn that James Robinson was returning to the world of Starman (much as readers are fascinated this fall to learn Neil Gaiman will be returning to the world of Sandman, though that project is still a year away). I felt compelled to read The Shade even though in truth I still haven't read the complete Starman. Robinson can be a little hit-or-miss. The Golden Age was an obvious hit. I loved Cry for Justice. His Justice League of America seemed run-of-the-mill. Yet The Shade didn't just revisit Starman, a pioneering look at the superhero trajectory later featured in Ultimate Spider-Man and Invincible, but one of its most fascinating characters, the reformed villain, the gentleman fop once known as Richard Swift. In fact the final issue gave readers his origin, but his life and career are explored throughout the series, with #5 featuring a dramatic uptick with the story of La Sangre, which continues for the next few issues.
5. Justice League (DC)
Johns again in the series that from the start of the New 52 last year read like a sensation to me, a monthly event book, which is to say Johns writing a monthly series the way he's written numerous event books (Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, Flashpoint). While the high drama and stakes of the early Darkseid arc gave way to more intimate threats such as Graves, the man who literally wrote the book of the League, the strong character work remained, most especially with Wonder Woman, on whom most of the action pivots, including a budding romance with Superman.
6. Saga (Image)
Easily the best new series of the year, this imaginative work from Brian K. Vaughan (also responsible for Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways) and Fiona Staples was something that took me by complete surprise. Perhaps I would have been forgiven to assume that it was just another overhyped indy book, because the indy scene specializes in overhyping itself, but not only was this from Vaughan but it turned out to be nothing like anything else he'd done, which is rare for any creator. Okay, so it's a little like Y: The Last Man, but there are so many colorful characters and such a rich reality built around them, it really doesn't matter.
7. Wasteland (Oni)
I've been enjoying this series since 2006, and am still waiting for the rest of the comic book world to catch up. At any rate, Antony Johnston is still writing it and still working toward the central revelation of the narrative, what happened and how it came to be. In the meantime, 2012 was a very good year for new readers to catch up with Wasteland, as most of the plot points that have been featured since the beginning have been repeated but in more standalone context, leaving lead stars Abi and Michael to fascinate with their journey to rediscover the lost city of A-Ree-Yass-I, as well as who they are and why they have such unnatural lives. I've been comparing Michael to Wolverine since the beginning. This is like returning to the days before Origin and seeing the character explored, from the start, more deliberately.
8. Batman Incorporated (DC)
It's funny that Grant Morrison's Batman has become so low-key, since for years it was the buzz of the comic book world. That's probably thanks to Scott Snyder. Since relaunching earlier this year, Batman Incorporated has slowly drawn the strings of Morrison's story together, and appropriately enough it all comes back to Damian and his mother Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. The current Robin has been a target throughout this run, which has made his father overprotective, which as you might expect Damian doesn't take well. #2 serves as a handy recap for anyone who has no idea who Talia is or how she can be the ultimate threat in Morrison's saga, while the international heroes who are represented in the title make a comeback in #0.
9. Cobra (IDW)
Mike Costa might not seem like an impressive name to readers only familiar with his DC effort Blackhawks, but he's been writing one of the best comics in the market for years, and that's Cobra. For anyone who appreciates rich character work and an expansive look at the G.I.Joe mythology, this has been your series and you may simply not have known it. The above image comes from #17, which focuses on the familiar Major Bludd, who has been at the center of recent developments, though plenty of Cobra agents, past, present and perhaps future, have been involved in the events that presently find us in Russia with the Oktober Guard. Early in the year Chuck Dixon wrote the annual that introduced the new Cobra Commander, part of a franchise crossover event necessitated by the last one's assassination in these pages.
10. Saucer Country (Vertigo)
I've been slow to embrace Paul Cornell as one of my favorite writers, but he's been producing some of my favorite stuff (Captain Britain and MI13, Knight and Squire, the Lex Luthor arc in Action Comics) for years. Saucer Country is Cornell's first original comic and perhaps the latest great Vertigo series. It concerns Arcadia Alvarado, current governor of New Mexico and hopeful president of the United States, who believes she was abducted by aliens. The fascinating thing about this isn't following Arcadia as she discovers whether it really happened, but following everyone else around her, too, and in turn exploring the whole culture of the phenomenon, like The X-Files if it wasn't so concerned with monsters. #6 is the turning point, the beginning of Cornell's version of UFO mythology.
11. Batman and Robin (DC)
Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have been a dynamite team twice before (Green Lantern Corps, Brightest Day), and the high hopes for their reunion in the pages of Batman and Robin survived the New 52 reboot and led to their best work. Early issues dealt with Robin's continuing efforts to discover his own legacy, one that didn't just involve the training of his ruthless mother but rather also the influence of his father, Batman, and those that involved the son of Henri Ducard were exceptional. Yet #0, which details his relationship with Talia, is the highlight of the year, with #15 a close second, a tie-in with "Death of the Family" that finds Damian matching wits with the Joker. At their best, Tomasi and Gleason are among the best, and they were at their best quite a lot in 2012.
12. Happy! (Image)
Here's Morrison again, in a mob comic dripping with the threat of violence that also features the title character, a little blue horse only Nick Sax can see. Nick appreciates this fact when it helps him escape a grizzly end, and when he realizes that Happy is not a delusion. Depending on how you read comics, this might seem like the most disposable of the three, or it might be the only one you care to read, because that's how most comics readers approach the medium, very little in-between. Though I suppose given that most of the comics on this list involve superheroes, I stand outed. I tend to follow the material and the creators, the best work relevant to my interests, so like Happy! can deviate from my norm quite easily.
13. Hoss and Feffer (FishTank)
This is the latest from one of my favorite creators, whom I didn't even realize until this year was still actively pursuing the craft. Manny Trembley is the co-creator of PX!, an all-ages adventure strip that went away a few years ago. He seems to have since reinvented himself as the proponent of material that caters but does not speak down to children. This is, for instance, a retelling of the tortoise and the hare. Lively, lovely and sweet, Hoss and Feffer is everything that proves Trembley's talent as great and enduring.
14. Batman: Earth One (DC)
A rare venture outside of monthly comics work for Geoff Johns, this is part of DC's graphic novel series that basically serves as movie-style storytelling and approachability. In fact, there are similarities between the origin found here and Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, but most especially a Bruce Wayne who's definitely still learning his craft and who has Alfred to lean on, the estwhile butler revealed in this version to be playing the role rather than living it, because he was really a friend of Thomas Wayne's come to defend him against the corruption of the Penguin, who serves as the villain of the story.
15. The Twelve (Marvel)
Last seen properly in 2008 (where it landed in 3rd, though a Chris Weston one-shot hit fifteenth in 2010), J. Michael Straczynski's vision of twelve heroes brought to the present from WWII finally concluded with its final four issues. This was basically Watchmen meets Captain America, but it was absolutely brilliant, absorbing in its depiction of morally gray and the shifting allegiances of allies discovering anew their diverging paths.
16. Aquaman (DC)
Johns again, this time in his efforts to make a man out of Aquaman, which began to take shape around the "Others" arc that finally proved once and for all that there are compelling things about the character that have nothing to do with talking to fish or Atlantis. Although with "Throne of Atlantis" kicking off, there's plenty for Johns to say about that, too. The Others, by the way, are international allies Aquaman had well before the Justice League, fellow outsiders looking for redemption, who become targets of Black Manta, Aquaman's most famous foe.
17. Avengers vs. X-Men (Marvel)
Aside from the movie The Avengers, this was Marvel's biggest event of the year, a sequel to the "Dark Phoenix Saga" (roughly covered in X-Men: The Last Stand) and House of M, which famously included the phrase, "No more mutants." This was the final reckoning, in which the Phoenix force returns to Earth and both mutants and Avengers struggle to contain it. Written by the company's best-known creators, AvX spanned the summer and helped pave the way for Marvel Now!
18. Dinosaurs vs. Aliens (Dynamite)
I figured it would be pretty funny putting similarly titled books one after the other, but they have no relation to each other. This one's from Grant Morrison and filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld, and may end up becoming a movie. Like Morrison's earlier 18 Days, it may also remain an awesome screenplay version of his awesome scope as a storyteller, a visually and psychologically compelling experiment that sees what happens when two very different worlds collide.
19. Before Watchmen: Comedian (DC)
One of the biggest and most controversial stories of 2012 was DC's decision to launch Before Watchmen without the consent of Alan Moore. I figured that we would at least get interesting twists on familiar elements. I didn't think we'd get Comedian. In Watchmen Edward Blake was the victim at the heart of the story, but also one of its villains. This is the worthy effort to explore him more fully.
20. All-New X-Men (Marvel)
If you really stop to think about it, Brian Michael Bendis has been itching to write Marvel's merry mutants for years, and he finally has his chance with this series, featuring art from Stuart Immonen. It's more or less the sequel to AvX, may possibly feature the last days of Hank McCoy, and as an opening gimmicks literally brings the original team from the past to meet its own future. Also, Scott Summers deals with becoming the new Magneto in a more figurative sense.
21. The Secret History of DB Cooper (Oni)
Brian Churilla first proved he could do monsters in Phil Hester's The Anchor. In this mini-series he proved he could find the heart of a monster, a man struggling to reclaim his own life in the face of a mythology, a cold war, and an identity later to become famous for leaping from a plane he hijacked midflight.
22. Artifacts (Top Cow)
Ron Marz recreated himself as the scribe of the Top Cow universe, and with Artifacts has been redefining the landscape with some of the most interesting mythology in comics. You may be familiar with Witchblade or the Darkness, but this series will make you care about a dude named Tom Judge.
23. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive (IDW)
Most of IDW's best work with the Star Trek licence has involved characters from the Kirk era, whether original or movie reboot versions, so it's always a treat when the company can work its magic with other eras. This one combines Next Generation with Voyager, and handles the Borg Collective, giving Brannon Braga one last shot at the franchise.
24. Vengeance (Marvel)
This stunning vision of the next generation from Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta concluded early in the year but deserves one more round of recognition (Dragotta earned my designation as artist of the year in 2011 for his exceptional work).
25. Nightwing (DC)
Kyle Higgins started off strongly in his New 52 launch last year, and although the series has since fallen below essential reading, I'd still like to acknowledge that it's some of the best work Dick Grayson has had under this name in years.
26. Red Hood and the Outlaws (DC)
Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort have been so sensational in this series that DC graduated them to the pages of Superman. Granted, this statement is only recognized by a select few, because most fans ended up dismissed the book upon its New 52 launch, but the work speaks for itself.
27. Earth 2 (DC)
James Robinson in his ongoing series for the New 52, reimagining the Justice Society on its own parallel world, sensationally taking the same elements that launched Justice League and using them to springboard old heroes into fresh interpretations, most famously with original Green Lantern Alan Scott being revealed as gay.
28. Peter Panzerfaust (Image)
I've got a soft spot for Peter Pan, and as you may guess from the title of this series, this is an adaptation of the mischievous youth, brought into WWII with his Lost Boys as resistance fighters. It's how the new resonates with the old, and how it all unfolds, that makes something like this work.
29. Demon Knights (DC)
Paul Cornell worked a certain amount of his magic in this medieval version of DC lore, where familiar faces like Vandal Savage and Etrigan can be explored in more friendly context. I wonder if Cornell shouldn't have worked smaller arcs to make it more compelling, but at any rate he has since left the series.
30. Before Watchmen: Minutemen (DC)
The next best project of this effort is a reliable old-timey look at the first generation of heroes, something else that was a subplot in the original Watchmen that could definitely have used its own spotlight.
31. Atomic Robo (Red 5)
Although the more traditional Flying She-devils of the Pacific served as the regular installment of Atomic Robo's adventures in 2012, I think he was actually more interesting in Real Science Adventures, an anthology series that pushed the boundaries of the character.
32. DC Universe Presents (DC)
I found some good excuses to read this anthology, including the Challengers of the Unknown, Fabian Nizieza's Kid Flash outing in #12, and #0, which had another look at all the characters who lost their series launched at the start of the New 52, while Deadman, whose adventures launched the series last fall, got a visit from Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel, reunited for the first time since The Great Ten.
33. BlueSpear (Com.x)
Andi Ewington's followup to 45 was a more conventional comic but featured the same strong character work and sense of mythology, marking it as a good test of its continued vitality.
34. Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre (DC)
At its most relevant, Before Watchmen had to explore things in ways we hadn't seen before, and Silk Spectre's look at the relationship between the mother and daughter to share that name and Laurie's subsequent surge to independence fit that bill.
35. Superman (DC)
This entry should be understood to indicate the Lobdell/Rocafort era, begun toward the end of the year and including the famed #13 in which Clark Kent quits the Daily Planet. With any luck, it's an era that will continue for years and leave a lasting impression.
36. Batman (DC)
Most comic book fans are gaga over Scott Snyder, and are eating up stories like "Night of Owls" and "Death of the Family." I don't read this series regularly, but it's always worth sampling.
37. Beyond the Fringe #1 (DC)
The TV series Fringe has long been a favorite of mine, and so I've read a number of the comics based on it. But this issue is the best and most relevant, from "Peter Bishop" Joshua Jackson himself, dealing with his character's experiences involving the mysterious machine that shaped so much of the third and fourth seasons.
38. Punk Rock Jesus (Vertigo)
This is a series I wish I'd been able to read more extensively, but the little I have so far is some of the best stuff I read all year. Sean Murphy, Grant Morrison's artist on Joe the Barbarian, imagines what would happen if Jesus Christ were incarnated again in the present. I know that #3 is a standout.
39. After Earth: Innocence (Dynamite)
Movie tie-ins can sometimes at best be promotional hack work. This one, for the forthcoming Will Smith/M. Night Shyamalan blockbuster, is anything but.
40. Batman: Arkham City -End Game (DC)
Derek Fridolfs gets to tell the story few others have had the chance to, the Joker's last laugh. As you might expect from the greatest comic book villain ever, death doesn't stop his madness.
41. Scalped (Vertigo)
Apparently I was last a regular reader of Jason Aaron's masterpiece in 2009, where Scalped ranked at 17th, its best of two previous appearances in the QB50, the other being 42nd in 2008. Dash Bad Horse finally leaves the reservation after somehow surviving sixty issues. I had to come back to read it happen.
42. Before Watchmen: Nite Owl (DC)
When fans envisioned what outrages would come of Before Watchmen, something like Nite Owl was probably what they expected, the first sign that the worst they could expect wasn't bad comics but mediocre material. But at least these comics feature the inks of the late Joe Kubert.
43. Brilliant (Icon)
This is Brian Michael Bendis turning the superhero experience into a TV series, half procedural, half coming of age, The OC meets Criminal Minds.
44. Green Lantern: New Guardians (DC)
The one starring Kyle Rayner and representatives from each of the "color Corps" introduced by Geoff Johns over the past few years, it's also the one written by Tony Bedard, who is a junior member of DC's mythology team, currently spearheaded by Johns and Grant Morrison. (Peter Tomasi is also a member, and writes Green Lantern Corps.) From the few issues I read in 2012, Bedard retains his fascination with the Weaponer who originally forged Sinestro's yellow ring (he employed the character in the pre-New 52 GL Corps), which is a good thing.
45. The Stand: The Night Has Come (Marvel)
This series of mini-series adaptations of Stephen King's best work finally came to an end. I previously distinguished the efforts in 2010 (where it ranked 9th), 2009 (where it ranked 12th), and 2008 (where it ranked 35th).
46. The Road to Oz (Marvel)
Eric Shanower and Skottie Young are now on their fifth book in the L. Frank Baum series filled with whimsical creations. I've ranked their efforts 19th in 2011, 24th in 2010, and 33rd in 2009.
47. Before Watchmen: Ozymandias (DC)
When I had to start being more selective about how I followed Before Watchmen and therefore make more definitive judgments on the material, I had to judge the extraneous from the inspired. And Ozymandias is basically extraneous, and subsequent efforts like Rorschach, Moloch, and Dr. Manhattan also appeared so. Perhaps later collected editions will read better. After all, I'm part of the generation that has only known Watchmen in that form.
48. Spawn (Image)
I culled my favorable reading of #220, part of Image's 20th anniversary and a repositioning of the series, into this ranking in part because I had a pretty limited comics experience in 2012 (and probably will be all the more limited in 2013).
49. Westward (Kinetic)
A pretty amusing indy work that I was subsequently a little miffed to see would only continue via crowdfunding. Just off this list is material from Jesse Grillo, whose Bleeding Ink seems to be entirely funded that way.
50. Charmed (Zenescope)
Unless I'm mistaken, these comics have come to an end, but were still a worthy followup to the TV series.
Some concluding awards:
Writer of the Year: Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Justice League, Aquaman, Batman: Earth One)
Artist of the Year: Fiona Staples (Saga)
Character of the Year: Damian Wayne (Batman Incorporated, Batman and Robin)
Single Issue of the Year: Punk Rock Jesus #3
Movie of the Year: The Dark Knight Rises
New Series of the Year: Saga
New Character of the Year: Simon Baz (Green Lantern)
Series Conclusion of the Year: Scalped #60
Limited Series of the Year: The Secret History of DB Cooper
Cover of the Year: Batman #6
"QB" in this instance is a reference to the first comics column I wrote, "The Quarter Bin," which has since been converted here as a forum to examine back issues. I don't pretend to have read every comic published, and increasingly so I've had to be selective about what I read, which means that more so than at any other point, if a comic is on this list, I've made a real commitment to it in recognition of its quality.
Without further adieu, the best of 2012:
1. Action Comics (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
Grant Morrison has a pretty good history in the QB50. Last year he hit #2 with Batman Incorporated, #6 in 2010 with 18 Days, #6 in 2009 with Final Crisis, #1 in 2008 with Batman, and the same in 2007 and 2006 in the collaborative effort 52 (my favorite comic of the modern era). That would be the reason he's got the shrine here, because Morrison has so consistently given me some of my favorite comic book memories. Action Comics was not month-by-month the best comic I read, but it was the most consistently transcendent. The above image comes from #9, which features a look at a parallel reality and is one of the best single issues of the year, followed closely by #15, which delves into the 5th dimension and the unexpected depth of Mxyzptlk. Smaller moments that explored Clark Kent's life were also well worth savoring, including a temporary switch to Johnny Clark, as well as #0, which was an intimate look at the origin of the t-shirt and what happens when a kid steals Superman's cape. All of it rewards faithful readers. Morrison was ably supported throughout the year by backup writer Sholly Fisch, who also had a standout issue in #9 as well as #14, and gave perhaps the better Captain Comet story in the series this year in #0. (Ranked 5th in 2011.)
2. Green Lantern (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
It's strange, because my appreciation for Geoff Johns' work in this series has grown over the years. I've ranked it everywhere from 16th in 2006 to 19th in 2007 to 15th in 2008 and 2009 to 5th in 2010 to 6th last year. Green Lantern as a property has been one of my favorites for as long as I've cared about superheroes. The Ron Marz era (also known as the dawn of Kyle Rayner) was a favorite of the 1990s. I've followed the Johns run since Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004 and been fascinated by his expansion of the mythos ever since, and in fact increasingly so. Yet it wasn't really until last year's New 52 fresh start, which in this series meant just a renumbering, that I began to feel Johns grow in confidence, perhaps because he shifted his focus away from Hal Jordan, who always seemed a reluctant lead, and onto Sinestro, who dragged Jordan around for the first year of the series. #12, whose cover image graces us above, crystallizes Jordan's new status, and perhaps what Johns was inadvertently leading to since 2004, including Blackest Night, shifting the most famous Green Lantern into a new destiny (by now an old routine) and making way for Simon Baz, who with #0 began to shape his own. While various spinoff series handle other things Johns has brought to the franchise, Green Lantern finally explored the Indigo Tribe, demonstrating yet again that there's plenty of material left to explore.
3. RASL (Cartoon)
(from archonia.com)
Jeff Smith's second epic work (after Bone) came to an end this year, and was one of the series that I fought tooth and nail to read. That's how I knew what my favorite comics were in 2012, the ones I absolutely had to read. There were in fact only three issues released this year, and fifteen issues overall, making RASL a sparse experience no matter how you look at it, including in narrative, as Rob Johnson tries to undo the damage he caused by investigating the science of Nikola Tesla and trying like Tesla before him to find practical uses for it. Sometimes the world simply isn't ready, and as Batman feared in The Dark Knight Rises will exploit in the wrong ways visionary new technology. In Rob's case, this was a problem that involved parallel worlds, and a girlfriend he thought he lost but in fact was his opposite number. The title, I should note, is an acronym for Romance At the Speed of Light. Brilliant stuff, which will hopefully find a similar level of appreciation as Smith's more famous work.
4. The Shade (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
Last fall I was fascinated to learn that James Robinson was returning to the world of Starman (much as readers are fascinated this fall to learn Neil Gaiman will be returning to the world of Sandman, though that project is still a year away). I felt compelled to read The Shade even though in truth I still haven't read the complete Starman. Robinson can be a little hit-or-miss. The Golden Age was an obvious hit. I loved Cry for Justice. His Justice League of America seemed run-of-the-mill. Yet The Shade didn't just revisit Starman, a pioneering look at the superhero trajectory later featured in Ultimate Spider-Man and Invincible, but one of its most fascinating characters, the reformed villain, the gentleman fop once known as Richard Swift. In fact the final issue gave readers his origin, but his life and career are explored throughout the series, with #5 featuring a dramatic uptick with the story of La Sangre, which continues for the next few issues.
5. Justice League (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
Johns again in the series that from the start of the New 52 last year read like a sensation to me, a monthly event book, which is to say Johns writing a monthly series the way he's written numerous event books (Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, Flashpoint). While the high drama and stakes of the early Darkseid arc gave way to more intimate threats such as Graves, the man who literally wrote the book of the League, the strong character work remained, most especially with Wonder Woman, on whom most of the action pivots, including a budding romance with Superman.
6. Saga (Image)
(via comicbookresources.com)
Easily the best new series of the year, this imaginative work from Brian K. Vaughan (also responsible for Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways) and Fiona Staples was something that took me by complete surprise. Perhaps I would have been forgiven to assume that it was just another overhyped indy book, because the indy scene specializes in overhyping itself, but not only was this from Vaughan but it turned out to be nothing like anything else he'd done, which is rare for any creator. Okay, so it's a little like Y: The Last Man, but there are so many colorful characters and such a rich reality built around them, it really doesn't matter.
7. Wasteland (Oni)
(via antonyjohnston.com)
I've been enjoying this series since 2006, and am still waiting for the rest of the comic book world to catch up. At any rate, Antony Johnston is still writing it and still working toward the central revelation of the narrative, what happened and how it came to be. In the meantime, 2012 was a very good year for new readers to catch up with Wasteland, as most of the plot points that have been featured since the beginning have been repeated but in more standalone context, leaving lead stars Abi and Michael to fascinate with their journey to rediscover the lost city of A-Ree-Yass-I, as well as who they are and why they have such unnatural lives. I've been comparing Michael to Wolverine since the beginning. This is like returning to the days before Origin and seeing the character explored, from the start, more deliberately.
8. Batman Incorporated (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
It's funny that Grant Morrison's Batman has become so low-key, since for years it was the buzz of the comic book world. That's probably thanks to Scott Snyder. Since relaunching earlier this year, Batman Incorporated has slowly drawn the strings of Morrison's story together, and appropriately enough it all comes back to Damian and his mother Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. The current Robin has been a target throughout this run, which has made his father overprotective, which as you might expect Damian doesn't take well. #2 serves as a handy recap for anyone who has no idea who Talia is or how she can be the ultimate threat in Morrison's saga, while the international heroes who are represented in the title make a comeback in #0.
9. Cobra (IDW)
(from unleashthefanboy.com)
Mike Costa might not seem like an impressive name to readers only familiar with his DC effort Blackhawks, but he's been writing one of the best comics in the market for years, and that's Cobra. For anyone who appreciates rich character work and an expansive look at the G.I.Joe mythology, this has been your series and you may simply not have known it. The above image comes from #17, which focuses on the familiar Major Bludd, who has been at the center of recent developments, though plenty of Cobra agents, past, present and perhaps future, have been involved in the events that presently find us in Russia with the Oktober Guard. Early in the year Chuck Dixon wrote the annual that introduced the new Cobra Commander, part of a franchise crossover event necessitated by the last one's assassination in these pages.
10. Saucer Country (Vertigo)
(via vertigocomics.com)
11. Batman and Robin (DC)
Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have been a dynamite team twice before (Green Lantern Corps, Brightest Day), and the high hopes for their reunion in the pages of Batman and Robin survived the New 52 reboot and led to their best work. Early issues dealt with Robin's continuing efforts to discover his own legacy, one that didn't just involve the training of his ruthless mother but rather also the influence of his father, Batman, and those that involved the son of Henri Ducard were exceptional. Yet #0, which details his relationship with Talia, is the highlight of the year, with #15 a close second, a tie-in with "Death of the Family" that finds Damian matching wits with the Joker. At their best, Tomasi and Gleason are among the best, and they were at their best quite a lot in 2012.
12. Happy! (Image)
Here's Morrison again, in a mob comic dripping with the threat of violence that also features the title character, a little blue horse only Nick Sax can see. Nick appreciates this fact when it helps him escape a grizzly end, and when he realizes that Happy is not a delusion. Depending on how you read comics, this might seem like the most disposable of the three, or it might be the only one you care to read, because that's how most comics readers approach the medium, very little in-between. Though I suppose given that most of the comics on this list involve superheroes, I stand outed. I tend to follow the material and the creators, the best work relevant to my interests, so like Happy! can deviate from my norm quite easily.
13. Hoss and Feffer (FishTank)
This is the latest from one of my favorite creators, whom I didn't even realize until this year was still actively pursuing the craft. Manny Trembley is the co-creator of PX!, an all-ages adventure strip that went away a few years ago. He seems to have since reinvented himself as the proponent of material that caters but does not speak down to children. This is, for instance, a retelling of the tortoise and the hare. Lively, lovely and sweet, Hoss and Feffer is everything that proves Trembley's talent as great and enduring.
14. Batman: Earth One (DC)
A rare venture outside of monthly comics work for Geoff Johns, this is part of DC's graphic novel series that basically serves as movie-style storytelling and approachability. In fact, there are similarities between the origin found here and Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, but most especially a Bruce Wayne who's definitely still learning his craft and who has Alfred to lean on, the estwhile butler revealed in this version to be playing the role rather than living it, because he was really a friend of Thomas Wayne's come to defend him against the corruption of the Penguin, who serves as the villain of the story.
15. The Twelve (Marvel)
Last seen properly in 2008 (where it landed in 3rd, though a Chris Weston one-shot hit fifteenth in 2010), J. Michael Straczynski's vision of twelve heroes brought to the present from WWII finally concluded with its final four issues. This was basically Watchmen meets Captain America, but it was absolutely brilliant, absorbing in its depiction of morally gray and the shifting allegiances of allies discovering anew their diverging paths.
16. Aquaman (DC)
Johns again, this time in his efforts to make a man out of Aquaman, which began to take shape around the "Others" arc that finally proved once and for all that there are compelling things about the character that have nothing to do with talking to fish or Atlantis. Although with "Throne of Atlantis" kicking off, there's plenty for Johns to say about that, too. The Others, by the way, are international allies Aquaman had well before the Justice League, fellow outsiders looking for redemption, who become targets of Black Manta, Aquaman's most famous foe.
17. Avengers vs. X-Men (Marvel)
Aside from the movie The Avengers, this was Marvel's biggest event of the year, a sequel to the "Dark Phoenix Saga" (roughly covered in X-Men: The Last Stand) and House of M, which famously included the phrase, "No more mutants." This was the final reckoning, in which the Phoenix force returns to Earth and both mutants and Avengers struggle to contain it. Written by the company's best-known creators, AvX spanned the summer and helped pave the way for Marvel Now!
18. Dinosaurs vs. Aliens (Dynamite)
I figured it would be pretty funny putting similarly titled books one after the other, but they have no relation to each other. This one's from Grant Morrison and filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld, and may end up becoming a movie. Like Morrison's earlier 18 Days, it may also remain an awesome screenplay version of his awesome scope as a storyteller, a visually and psychologically compelling experiment that sees what happens when two very different worlds collide.
19. Before Watchmen: Comedian (DC)
One of the biggest and most controversial stories of 2012 was DC's decision to launch Before Watchmen without the consent of Alan Moore. I figured that we would at least get interesting twists on familiar elements. I didn't think we'd get Comedian. In Watchmen Edward Blake was the victim at the heart of the story, but also one of its villains. This is the worthy effort to explore him more fully.
20. All-New X-Men (Marvel)
If you really stop to think about it, Brian Michael Bendis has been itching to write Marvel's merry mutants for years, and he finally has his chance with this series, featuring art from Stuart Immonen. It's more or less the sequel to AvX, may possibly feature the last days of Hank McCoy, and as an opening gimmicks literally brings the original team from the past to meet its own future. Also, Scott Summers deals with becoming the new Magneto in a more figurative sense.
21. The Secret History of DB Cooper (Oni)
Brian Churilla first proved he could do monsters in Phil Hester's The Anchor. In this mini-series he proved he could find the heart of a monster, a man struggling to reclaim his own life in the face of a mythology, a cold war, and an identity later to become famous for leaping from a plane he hijacked midflight.
22. Artifacts (Top Cow)
Ron Marz recreated himself as the scribe of the Top Cow universe, and with Artifacts has been redefining the landscape with some of the most interesting mythology in comics. You may be familiar with Witchblade or the Darkness, but this series will make you care about a dude named Tom Judge.
23. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive (IDW)
Most of IDW's best work with the Star Trek licence has involved characters from the Kirk era, whether original or movie reboot versions, so it's always a treat when the company can work its magic with other eras. This one combines Next Generation with Voyager, and handles the Borg Collective, giving Brannon Braga one last shot at the franchise.
24. Vengeance (Marvel)
This stunning vision of the next generation from Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta concluded early in the year but deserves one more round of recognition (Dragotta earned my designation as artist of the year in 2011 for his exceptional work).
25. Nightwing (DC)
Kyle Higgins started off strongly in his New 52 launch last year, and although the series has since fallen below essential reading, I'd still like to acknowledge that it's some of the best work Dick Grayson has had under this name in years.
26. Red Hood and the Outlaws (DC)
Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort have been so sensational in this series that DC graduated them to the pages of Superman. Granted, this statement is only recognized by a select few, because most fans ended up dismissed the book upon its New 52 launch, but the work speaks for itself.
27. Earth 2 (DC)
James Robinson in his ongoing series for the New 52, reimagining the Justice Society on its own parallel world, sensationally taking the same elements that launched Justice League and using them to springboard old heroes into fresh interpretations, most famously with original Green Lantern Alan Scott being revealed as gay.
28. Peter Panzerfaust (Image)
I've got a soft spot for Peter Pan, and as you may guess from the title of this series, this is an adaptation of the mischievous youth, brought into WWII with his Lost Boys as resistance fighters. It's how the new resonates with the old, and how it all unfolds, that makes something like this work.
29. Demon Knights (DC)
Paul Cornell worked a certain amount of his magic in this medieval version of DC lore, where familiar faces like Vandal Savage and Etrigan can be explored in more friendly context. I wonder if Cornell shouldn't have worked smaller arcs to make it more compelling, but at any rate he has since left the series.
30. Before Watchmen: Minutemen (DC)
The next best project of this effort is a reliable old-timey look at the first generation of heroes, something else that was a subplot in the original Watchmen that could definitely have used its own spotlight.
31. Atomic Robo (Red 5)
Although the more traditional Flying She-devils of the Pacific served as the regular installment of Atomic Robo's adventures in 2012, I think he was actually more interesting in Real Science Adventures, an anthology series that pushed the boundaries of the character.
32. DC Universe Presents (DC)
I found some good excuses to read this anthology, including the Challengers of the Unknown, Fabian Nizieza's Kid Flash outing in #12, and #0, which had another look at all the characters who lost their series launched at the start of the New 52, while Deadman, whose adventures launched the series last fall, got a visit from Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel, reunited for the first time since The Great Ten.
33. BlueSpear (Com.x)
Andi Ewington's followup to 45 was a more conventional comic but featured the same strong character work and sense of mythology, marking it as a good test of its continued vitality.
34. Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre (DC)
At its most relevant, Before Watchmen had to explore things in ways we hadn't seen before, and Silk Spectre's look at the relationship between the mother and daughter to share that name and Laurie's subsequent surge to independence fit that bill.
35. Superman (DC)
This entry should be understood to indicate the Lobdell/Rocafort era, begun toward the end of the year and including the famed #13 in which Clark Kent quits the Daily Planet. With any luck, it's an era that will continue for years and leave a lasting impression.
36. Batman (DC)
Most comic book fans are gaga over Scott Snyder, and are eating up stories like "Night of Owls" and "Death of the Family." I don't read this series regularly, but it's always worth sampling.
37. Beyond the Fringe #1 (DC)
The TV series Fringe has long been a favorite of mine, and so I've read a number of the comics based on it. But this issue is the best and most relevant, from "Peter Bishop" Joshua Jackson himself, dealing with his character's experiences involving the mysterious machine that shaped so much of the third and fourth seasons.
38. Punk Rock Jesus (Vertigo)
This is a series I wish I'd been able to read more extensively, but the little I have so far is some of the best stuff I read all year. Sean Murphy, Grant Morrison's artist on Joe the Barbarian, imagines what would happen if Jesus Christ were incarnated again in the present. I know that #3 is a standout.
39. After Earth: Innocence (Dynamite)
Movie tie-ins can sometimes at best be promotional hack work. This one, for the forthcoming Will Smith/M. Night Shyamalan blockbuster, is anything but.
40. Batman: Arkham City -End Game (DC)
Derek Fridolfs gets to tell the story few others have had the chance to, the Joker's last laugh. As you might expect from the greatest comic book villain ever, death doesn't stop his madness.
41. Scalped (Vertigo)
Apparently I was last a regular reader of Jason Aaron's masterpiece in 2009, where Scalped ranked at 17th, its best of two previous appearances in the QB50, the other being 42nd in 2008. Dash Bad Horse finally leaves the reservation after somehow surviving sixty issues. I had to come back to read it happen.
42. Before Watchmen: Nite Owl (DC)
When fans envisioned what outrages would come of Before Watchmen, something like Nite Owl was probably what they expected, the first sign that the worst they could expect wasn't bad comics but mediocre material. But at least these comics feature the inks of the late Joe Kubert.
43. Brilliant (Icon)
This is Brian Michael Bendis turning the superhero experience into a TV series, half procedural, half coming of age, The OC meets Criminal Minds.
44. Green Lantern: New Guardians (DC)
The one starring Kyle Rayner and representatives from each of the "color Corps" introduced by Geoff Johns over the past few years, it's also the one written by Tony Bedard, who is a junior member of DC's mythology team, currently spearheaded by Johns and Grant Morrison. (Peter Tomasi is also a member, and writes Green Lantern Corps.) From the few issues I read in 2012, Bedard retains his fascination with the Weaponer who originally forged Sinestro's yellow ring (he employed the character in the pre-New 52 GL Corps), which is a good thing.
45. The Stand: The Night Has Come (Marvel)
This series of mini-series adaptations of Stephen King's best work finally came to an end. I previously distinguished the efforts in 2010 (where it ranked 9th), 2009 (where it ranked 12th), and 2008 (where it ranked 35th).
46. The Road to Oz (Marvel)
Eric Shanower and Skottie Young are now on their fifth book in the L. Frank Baum series filled with whimsical creations. I've ranked their efforts 19th in 2011, 24th in 2010, and 33rd in 2009.
47. Before Watchmen: Ozymandias (DC)
When I had to start being more selective about how I followed Before Watchmen and therefore make more definitive judgments on the material, I had to judge the extraneous from the inspired. And Ozymandias is basically extraneous, and subsequent efforts like Rorschach, Moloch, and Dr. Manhattan also appeared so. Perhaps later collected editions will read better. After all, I'm part of the generation that has only known Watchmen in that form.
48. Spawn (Image)
I culled my favorable reading of #220, part of Image's 20th anniversary and a repositioning of the series, into this ranking in part because I had a pretty limited comics experience in 2012 (and probably will be all the more limited in 2013).
49. Westward (Kinetic)
A pretty amusing indy work that I was subsequently a little miffed to see would only continue via crowdfunding. Just off this list is material from Jesse Grillo, whose Bleeding Ink seems to be entirely funded that way.
50. Charmed (Zenescope)
Unless I'm mistaken, these comics have come to an end, but were still a worthy followup to the TV series.
Some concluding awards:
Writer of the Year: Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Justice League, Aquaman, Batman: Earth One)
Artist of the Year: Fiona Staples (Saga)
Character of the Year: Damian Wayne (Batman Incorporated, Batman and Robin)
Single Issue of the Year: Punk Rock Jesus #3
Movie of the Year: The Dark Knight Rises
New Series of the Year: Saga
New Character of the Year: Simon Baz (Green Lantern)
Series Conclusion of the Year: Scalped #60
Limited Series of the Year: The Secret History of DB Cooper
Cover of the Year: Batman #6
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Aquaman #14 (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
writer: Geoff Johns
artist: Pete Woods, Pere Perez
In this prelude to "Throne of Atlantis," the Aquaman crossover with Justice League (both series written by Geoff Johns), you may learn the most fascinating thing about the title character of this series.
I give you a hint: the answer is in the cover image provided above.
Okay, chances are you still have no idea, so I'll just go out and say it: Ocean Master. Who the hell is Ocean Master? Aside from being one of Aquamn's most notable foes, he also happens to be Aquaman's brother.
Now, I know I appreciate the idea of a hero's worst enemy being his brother. Many years ago I created a very crude comic (strictly for personal amusement) that was basically a very obvious knockoff of Superman (though there have been many, many creators who have done exactly that), with one crucial difference: he was not the only survivor of his world. Unlike, say, Supergirl or General Zod, Powerman's kin was his own brother. And mortal enemy.
No, I didn't get very much farther in the story. That's basically all there was.
That's just part of the reason why I think Ocean Master's new level of significance is so brilliant. Let me clue you in on a little secret: most of what anyone finds brilliant is something they may have thought of themselves, but someone else also ended up thinking it, and so it's like an affirmation. That's brilliance in a nutshell, the less-common-than-you'd-think confluence of thought processes.
Anyway, another reason why this is so brilliant is because it's surprisingly rare in comics. Martian Manhunter, in the years following JLA, when he had an actual ongoing series, had his own evil rival of a brother, but all due respect to Martian Manhunter (a continually underrated, brilliant character) and John Ostrander, but I will choose to overlook that one.
Of the major characters in comics, Aquaman stands pretty unique in this regard. And somehow every single one of the creators before Geoff Johns never really saw fit to exploit this.
That would be like failing to acknowledge Wonder Woman as the ultimate ambassador. Oh, wait. Pretty much every Wonder Woman comic not written by Greg Rucka has done that. (To steal an expression: hurm.)
Anyway, you may or may not have heard of "Throne of Atlantis." It's one of the dozens of crossover storyarcs DC is currently in the midst of, and probably the one you should be noting right now in case you haven't already. Obviously the point is to help raise the profile and significance of Aquaman, which Johns has been doing quite well in this series already, in a far more lucid and imaginative interpretation than the character has ever seen before. As I've noted in the past, it's not enough to have Atlantis as a prominent element of Aquaman's story. You have to know what to do with it.
Aquaman is a fish out of water in two worlds, which is pretty ironic, because one of those worlds is certainly under water. He's not just that dude who talks to fish. He's awesome.
The cleverest thing about this issue is that even though Ocean Master is kept in shadow and most of anything you need to know about him is omitted, it's so obvious what's going to happen, you're only following along as Aquaman himself discovers that his brother is going to turn out to be his worst enemy. That was always supposed to be the virtue of the New 52: these elements are all familiar to older readers, but to new ones they can come as revelations, and the right writers will know exactly how to strike that balance. In a way, this makes Aquaman quintessential New 52 reading.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Action Comics #15 (DC)
(via dccomics.com)
writer: Grant Morrison
artist: Brad Walker, Rags Morales
Earlier this year I was pretty certain that Grant Morrison had written his best issue of Action Comics with #9, which featured some bold variant storytelling. I may now stand corrected. This is probably his best issue of the series.
For some reason, Morrison does his best work with Superman by subverting every expectation. In All Star Superman, he had a look at what a dying Man of Steel would do, and it was pretty much everything he hadn't done previously in his career, living up to all those funny little fan diatribes that say he's too powerful to be taken seriously.
Granted, Morrison launched Action Comics last year by looking at a very human Superman, and that too was a revelation, perhaps a a little too radical for some readers even though aside from the t-shirt there wasn't too much difference between what he did and Geoff Johns in Superman: Secret Origin or J. Michael Straczynski in Superman: Earth One. What set Morrison apart, as always, was his intrinsic understanding of the mythology. (That, by the way, is the reason why Morrison and Johns function so well as the head writers of DC, since it's a trait they both share.)
In Final Crisis, and specifically Final Crisis: Superman Beyond, Morrison all but gave a preview of what Action Comics would be like, featuring a Man of Steel who is intrinsically significant, not just because he's the comic book character the majority of the public identifies with superheroes, but because he's meant to be the quintessential superhero.
If you keep that in mind, you may understand why Mxyzptlk has suddenly become the most significant supporting player in Superman lore.
Mxyzptlk may have the most convoluted name in comics. No, he does have the most convoluted name in comics. It's so awesomely terrible that it's become plain awesome. He's a peculiar Superman villain, though, because he forces the Man of Steel to do anything but be a typical World's Greatest Superhero. He's an imp from the 5th dimension, and has always had, throughout his various incarnations, one of the most cartoonish looks in comics.
So again, why is this guy a Superman villain, and why is Morrison making him the showcase supporting character of Action Comics?
Perhaps not just because JLA previously featured Morrison's efforts to redeem 5th dimensional imps, Action Comics has with notable subtlety been featuring them for much of its run, including Clark Kent's apartment super, Nyxly. (Yes, because of the precedent, all of these imps have the same impossible naming scheme. You just have to accept that.)
While there has been building a team of villains interested in eliminating Superman, we've also been watching him figure out his relationship to the world. In an odd sort of way, this issue shows how the imps have been doing the same, specifically Mxyzptlk. Well, as I said, it's a pretty remarkable accomplishment. No one else has ever made this kind of effort to legitimize him.
Rather than going into much further detail, I would simply like to note that as I may have suggested, this is a must-read. And as his efforts have been from the start, Sholly Fisch knocks his backup contribution out of the park, emphasizing everything Morrison just accomplished in a more standalone capacity.
Reading Comics #86 "Noah By Any Other Name"
I've got a lot of obsessions. One of them has less and less inadvertently become reading variations on Noah's Ark (Not Wanted On the Voyage, The Preservationist, A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters).
I stumbled across Microcosm Publishing about a month ago and Box Brown's Everything Dies, which was a web comic subsequently collected in print editions by Microcosm. Everything Dies #7, as you might guess, features a variation on Noah's Ark.
Now, as you may or may not know, the idea of a vast flood that wiped out all of civilization in ancient times was not unique to the Bible. In fact, it seems to have been a common story of the Mesopotamian region, for instance depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh as well, and therefore either based on an actual flood or simply a story several cultures really liked.
The account in Everything Dies #7 comes from Eridu and in many ways is a pretty standard origin-of-the-world story with archetype gods whose decision that humanity has become "too raucous" leads to the flood, the ark and a king named Ziasudra packing up animals into the ark in order to preserve a semblance of continuity.
Ziasudra plays a very minor role in Brown's account. He basically functions. It's the gods that carry this story, almost like how the gods play such an integral role in Homer's Iliad.
Brown is your fairly typical indy creator. His art is very cartoonish and simple, which is not a bad thing. In many ways, it suits his ambition to strip this version of Noah's Ark to its most essential elements. Even in the biblical version, it can sometimes be hard to remember that God is a huge part of the story. (In Not Wanted On the Voyage, he's an immortal, very old, very brittle passenger, one of several quirky individuals in the narrative.)
I stumbled across Microcosm Publishing about a month ago and Box Brown's Everything Dies, which was a web comic subsequently collected in print editions by Microcosm. Everything Dies #7, as you might guess, features a variation on Noah's Ark.
Now, as you may or may not know, the idea of a vast flood that wiped out all of civilization in ancient times was not unique to the Bible. In fact, it seems to have been a common story of the Mesopotamian region, for instance depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh as well, and therefore either based on an actual flood or simply a story several cultures really liked.
The account in Everything Dies #7 comes from Eridu and in many ways is a pretty standard origin-of-the-world story with archetype gods whose decision that humanity has become "too raucous" leads to the flood, the ark and a king named Ziasudra packing up animals into the ark in order to preserve a semblance of continuity.
Ziasudra plays a very minor role in Brown's account. He basically functions. It's the gods that carry this story, almost like how the gods play such an integral role in Homer's Iliad.
Brown is your fairly typical indy creator. His art is very cartoonish and simple, which is not a bad thing. In many ways, it suits his ambition to strip this version of Noah's Ark to its most essential elements. Even in the biblical version, it can sometimes be hard to remember that God is a huge part of the story. (In Not Wanted On the Voyage, he's an immortal, very old, very brittle passenger, one of several quirky individuals in the narrative.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)