Best in 2007: Comics
Yeah it's a top 12 with honorable mentions. It's my list dammit.Hopefully someone reads it.
Honorable mentions:
52-It shouldn't have worked.A weekly series, even with 5 experienced creators at the helm this should have crashed and burned.I wasn't even sure it had worked until I read the last issue worth the trades.which just brimmed with possibilities. Rereading it without the expectation that all the plot threads would come together and just treating it as an anthology about a year in the DC universe put the series in a better light. This was a book that tried relentlessly and went in some strange directions. Not all of it worked but it was a lot more fun than I expected and well
Doctor Sleepless-Warren Ellis talking about the future. That either fill you with glee or terror. It's only an honorable mention for two reason, one the artist is kind of bland, and not quite enough issue have been released on this slow burner to really judge it.But it's downbeat,fractured vision is well worth paying attention to in the coming year.
The Order/Punisher War Journal- This was the year Matt Fraction joined the exclusive club of writers I will buy the vast majority of their output. He shows up on this list twice though so I didn't quite feel like I could include these. PWJ is a constantly entertaining black comedy with a healthy dose of 'Fuck Yeah!' moments (the Punisher at one point used a gun that shoots swords, 'nuff said.) The Order is more conventional on the surface but it sneakily subversive. It's a strong character oriented book with great, expressive art from Barry Kitson.
Batman-It wasn't Grant Morrisons best year, I'll say that. 52 seemed to burn him ou,t with his Wildstorm books DOA and almost no books that felt as personal/cretive as say We3, Seaguy or even 7 Soldiers.So...Batman. Individually some great moments and stories the highlight of which being the J.H Williams drawn Club of Heroes arc. Morrison seems to be trying to expand the possibilities of what Batman can be by embracing all the weird forgotten bits of the character's back story.But...the art was variable in quality, the pacing was choppy and there was a fucking pointless crossover near the end. The ending to this weeks issue cracks open some interesting possibilities open so we'll see what comes.
12.Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8-Yes I bought my first licensed comic. Normally lichenced comics are the purest form of cash in hackery. BTVSS8 however, is a worthy, even welcome continuation to the series. The end of season 7 left the characters in a position where they could no longer work on a tv series small intimate scale(plus you know burnt out actors).8 lets Whedon cut lose without budget restrictions. Hundreds of slayers all around the world? Yes. Scottish castle as base? Yes. A one shot adventure in a magical underground kingdom? Of course. Giant Dawn? Hell yes. And he doesn't for one second lose focus on one of fictions finest casts. While Whedon won't be writing every issue if the Brian Vaughn written Faith story is any indication the series is in good hands even without Joss' involvement.
11.Y the Last Man- Speaking of Vaughn here is his signitures series, the little comic that could. Y is the first of the 'big Verigo' books I've had the opportunity to follow from beginning to end and it's shaping up to be a great ending. I tend to underrate and forget about this book, never really anticipating it (even when I'm knocked flat by it's cliffhangers)but reading it every month. But honestly? Looking back it was a great book, an adventure serial for grownups with great characters, crackling dialog, thrills, humor, heart, and incisive social commentary.And as it closes it delivers it's finest moments from Yorick's reunion with Beth, his subsequent heart-to-heart with 355 (and how that ends) to his confrontation with Alter where he downs that gas mask, a moment charged with five years of buildup and growing up.There's one more issue to go and then it's hats off to one of decades most solid series.
10.Criminal- Once again Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips team up to show no one can do crime fiction better, only this time no superpowers are involved (read the brilliant Sleeper anyway).Criminal to me hearken to the sophisticated sleek grime of seventies film though it's rooted in a deep appreciation of the noir genre (particularly 30's-50's noir). Philips was born to draw shadowy ally ways, abandoned farms, flawed haggered men, and sexy dangerous women. Brubaker finally has a book where he has the freedom to tell the kind of stories he clearly wants to tell building a complex, enthralling underworld community (Criminal changes protagonists every arc but takes place in shared world). Plus, the backmatter is a noir fans dream.
9.All-Star Superman-Proof Morrison still has it. ASS is going to go down as one of the definitive takes on the characters. It's pure distilled joy, classic and subtle. Frank Quietly continues his masterful character work crafting a cast that has the body language and facial expressions of real people. He has the scope to make the epic scenes work as well light touch to handle the quiet scenes. Morrison distills 70 years of history into rocket power sci-fi fairy tails.Each issue is dense as a white dwarf, with wonder and resonance. While the second part of the Bizzarro story was the weakest issue of the series issue six might have been the most powerful, affecting issue of the series yet.
8.The Immortal Iron Fist-And here we have the best monthly superhero book of the year.Iron Fist is perhaps the best reinvention of a C-list superhero since Starman. Fraction and Brubaker turned Iron Fist into an intelligent neo-pulp. For maybe the first time in decades Danny Rand feels like a fully rounded character. This alone would be noteworthy but it's the rich mythology the Brubaker/Fraction team have built up.From Golden Age Iron Fist Orson Randell to the mystic sumo Fat Cobra this book is constantly made of joycore win. And primary series artist David Aja brings Steranko-inspired flare the proceedings(not to mention guest artits like Dan Berignton and the legendary John Severin)
.
7.The Nightly News- I read the trade this year though I thin it started in late 2006 so I'm counting it.Nightly New is the brainchild of writer/artist and newcomer Jonathan Hickman, Nightly new was a biting satire about the media, cults ad politics. Using an art style rooted in graphic design rather than say Jim Lee or John Byrne Hickman made one of the most visually striking comics this year. It's a story told with style and wit that aims for the head and the heart with deadly accuracy. It's anti-propaganda dressed as propaganda, a polemic committing seppuku as self critique.
6.Crecy- In which Uncle Warren teaches us about history. It was a solid year for Ellis where he subverted the mainstream and also put out some astounding books through Avatar. Crecy is the first graphic novella in Ellis' Apparat label. It's a lushly drawn, detail-packed monologue about the battle of Crecy between the English and French.Which may sound dull but it's fascinating look at the conflict both from the ground level and from a tactical and historical context.It's comics as documentary and lecture and a brilliant use of the form. And it's a great addition to one of modern comics greatest bodies of work.
5.Dr. Thirteen: Architecture & Morality-There should be a review on Guttergeek by me posted soon so I'll keep this brief.Brian Azzarello out-Morrisoned Grant Morrison, and mocked him and the other 3 writers of 52, with this funny, though provoking aforementioned of DC's most forgotten characters. And Cliff Chiang is too great a cartoonist to be wasted following this up with having to illustrate the steaming pile that is Green Arrow/Black Canery.
4.Phonogram- Really half belongs on the 2006 list (which is why it's not ranked higher) but I didn't do one so here goes. I say pretty much everything http://www.guttergeek.com/phonogram.html here. It bears repeating that this was one of the best done, most affecting comics I've read in ages.
3.Casanova- And here we have the best ongoing series of the year. I'm tempted to rank it higher but frankly all the top 3 were flawless. Anyway, Casanova is Matt Fractions most personal, creative work. This year saw the end of album one and about half of album two. Casanova Quinn, imagine if Kith Richards and James Bond had a baby, is comics most lovable antihero staring in the best and only sci-spy book available. He's surrounded by one the most original cast in comics and it's all currently rendered in an eye searing and beautiful electric blue.The Ba twins alternate art chores and give the book an unmistakable visual identity while handling everything from fluid fights to touching scenes of post-coitus . It's clearly the synthesis of everything Fraction wants to do in comics and a masterpiece in the making.
2.Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together- Again there will be a Guttergeek review posted soon (combined with the Black Dossier actually) so in brief.Another year another Scott Pilgrim, and as always it's one of freshest,cleverest books of year, not to mention one of books I'd most recommend to non-comic fans. It's a romantic slacker video game inspired martial arts comedy. A North American Ranma 1/2 for the 21st century.
1.League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier- Even now I must still bow to the incomparable skill of the Wizard of North Hampton because of this, the dense, most stylistically adventurous comic of the year. Kevin O'Neil goes from a great artist to one of the greatest comic artists living.
Books that could have made this list but I haven't bought yet:Alice in Sunderland, Pulphope, Pwr Masters, all of Tezuka reprints release this year Fables (I'm behind in the trades), King City, Wonton Soup,
Books to look out for next year:The Order, Casanova (again),Criminal(launching in a magazine format), Fell returning,Dr. Sleepless, Final Crises, the next Scott Pilgrim, the next League book, Iron Fist (again), Pax Romana, Northlanders, and Astonishing X-Men by Warren Ellis.
God that was exhausting to write.
Honorable mentions:
52-It shouldn't have worked.A weekly series, even with 5 experienced creators at the helm this should have crashed and burned.I wasn't even sure it had worked until I read the last issue worth the trades.which just brimmed with possibilities. Rereading it without the expectation that all the plot threads would come together and just treating it as an anthology about a year in the DC universe put the series in a better light. This was a book that tried relentlessly and went in some strange directions. Not all of it worked but it was a lot more fun than I expected and well
Doctor Sleepless-Warren Ellis talking about the future. That either fill you with glee or terror. It's only an honorable mention for two reason, one the artist is kind of bland, and not quite enough issue have been released on this slow burner to really judge it.But it's downbeat,fractured vision is well worth paying attention to in the coming year.
The Order/Punisher War Journal- This was the year Matt Fraction joined the exclusive club of writers I will buy the vast majority of their output. He shows up on this list twice though so I didn't quite feel like I could include these. PWJ is a constantly entertaining black comedy with a healthy dose of 'Fuck Yeah!' moments (the Punisher at one point used a gun that shoots swords, 'nuff said.) The Order is more conventional on the surface but it sneakily subversive. It's a strong character oriented book with great, expressive art from Barry Kitson.
Batman-It wasn't Grant Morrisons best year, I'll say that. 52 seemed to burn him ou,t with his Wildstorm books DOA and almost no books that felt as personal/cretive as say We3, Seaguy or even 7 Soldiers.So...Batman. Individually some great moments and stories the highlight of which being the J.H Williams drawn Club of Heroes arc. Morrison seems to be trying to expand the possibilities of what Batman can be by embracing all the weird forgotten bits of the character's back story.But...the art was variable in quality, the pacing was choppy and there was a fucking pointless crossover near the end. The ending to this weeks issue cracks open some interesting possibilities open so we'll see what comes.
12.Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8-Yes I bought my first licensed comic. Normally lichenced comics are the purest form of cash in hackery. BTVSS8 however, is a worthy, even welcome continuation to the series. The end of season 7 left the characters in a position where they could no longer work on a tv series small intimate scale(plus you know burnt out actors).8 lets Whedon cut lose without budget restrictions. Hundreds of slayers all around the world? Yes. Scottish castle as base? Yes. A one shot adventure in a magical underground kingdom? Of course. Giant Dawn? Hell yes. And he doesn't for one second lose focus on one of fictions finest casts. While Whedon won't be writing every issue if the Brian Vaughn written Faith story is any indication the series is in good hands even without Joss' involvement.
11.Y the Last Man- Speaking of Vaughn here is his signitures series, the little comic that could. Y is the first of the 'big Verigo' books I've had the opportunity to follow from beginning to end and it's shaping up to be a great ending. I tend to underrate and forget about this book, never really anticipating it (even when I'm knocked flat by it's cliffhangers)but reading it every month. But honestly? Looking back it was a great book, an adventure serial for grownups with great characters, crackling dialog, thrills, humor, heart, and incisive social commentary.And as it closes it delivers it's finest moments from Yorick's reunion with Beth, his subsequent heart-to-heart with 355 (and how that ends) to his confrontation with Alter where he downs that gas mask, a moment charged with five years of buildup and growing up.There's one more issue to go and then it's hats off to one of decades most solid series.
10.Criminal- Once again Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips team up to show no one can do crime fiction better, only this time no superpowers are involved (read the brilliant Sleeper anyway).Criminal to me hearken to the sophisticated sleek grime of seventies film though it's rooted in a deep appreciation of the noir genre (particularly 30's-50's noir). Philips was born to draw shadowy ally ways, abandoned farms, flawed haggered men, and sexy dangerous women. Brubaker finally has a book where he has the freedom to tell the kind of stories he clearly wants to tell building a complex, enthralling underworld community (Criminal changes protagonists every arc but takes place in shared world). Plus, the backmatter is a noir fans dream.
9.All-Star Superman-Proof Morrison still has it. ASS is going to go down as one of the definitive takes on the characters. It's pure distilled joy, classic and subtle. Frank Quietly continues his masterful character work crafting a cast that has the body language and facial expressions of real people. He has the scope to make the epic scenes work as well light touch to handle the quiet scenes. Morrison distills 70 years of history into rocket power sci-fi fairy tails.Each issue is dense as a white dwarf, with wonder and resonance. While the second part of the Bizzarro story was the weakest issue of the series issue six might have been the most powerful, affecting issue of the series yet.
8.The Immortal Iron Fist-And here we have the best monthly superhero book of the year.Iron Fist is perhaps the best reinvention of a C-list superhero since Starman. Fraction and Brubaker turned Iron Fist into an intelligent neo-pulp. For maybe the first time in decades Danny Rand feels like a fully rounded character. This alone would be noteworthy but it's the rich mythology the Brubaker/Fraction team have built up.From Golden Age Iron Fist Orson Randell to the mystic sumo Fat Cobra this book is constantly made of joycore win. And primary series artist David Aja brings Steranko-inspired flare the proceedings(not to mention guest artits like Dan Berignton and the legendary John Severin)
.
7.The Nightly News- I read the trade this year though I thin it started in late 2006 so I'm counting it.Nightly New is the brainchild of writer/artist and newcomer Jonathan Hickman, Nightly new was a biting satire about the media, cults ad politics. Using an art style rooted in graphic design rather than say Jim Lee or John Byrne Hickman made one of the most visually striking comics this year. It's a story told with style and wit that aims for the head and the heart with deadly accuracy. It's anti-propaganda dressed as propaganda, a polemic committing seppuku as self critique.
6.Crecy- In which Uncle Warren teaches us about history. It was a solid year for Ellis where he subverted the mainstream and also put out some astounding books through Avatar. Crecy is the first graphic novella in Ellis' Apparat label. It's a lushly drawn, detail-packed monologue about the battle of Crecy between the English and French.Which may sound dull but it's fascinating look at the conflict both from the ground level and from a tactical and historical context.It's comics as documentary and lecture and a brilliant use of the form. And it's a great addition to one of modern comics greatest bodies of work.
5.Dr. Thirteen: Architecture & Morality-There should be a review on Guttergeek by me posted soon so I'll keep this brief.Brian Azzarello out-Morrisoned Grant Morrison, and mocked him and the other 3 writers of 52, with this funny, though provoking aforementioned of DC's most forgotten characters. And Cliff Chiang is too great a cartoonist to be wasted following this up with having to illustrate the steaming pile that is Green Arrow/Black Canery.
4.Phonogram- Really half belongs on the 2006 list (which is why it's not ranked higher) but I didn't do one so here goes. I say pretty much everything http://www.guttergeek.com/phonogram.html here. It bears repeating that this was one of the best done, most affecting comics I've read in ages.
3.Casanova- And here we have the best ongoing series of the year. I'm tempted to rank it higher but frankly all the top 3 were flawless. Anyway, Casanova is Matt Fractions most personal, creative work. This year saw the end of album one and about half of album two. Casanova Quinn, imagine if Kith Richards and James Bond had a baby, is comics most lovable antihero staring in the best and only sci-spy book available. He's surrounded by one the most original cast in comics and it's all currently rendered in an eye searing and beautiful electric blue.The Ba twins alternate art chores and give the book an unmistakable visual identity while handling everything from fluid fights to touching scenes of post-coitus . It's clearly the synthesis of everything Fraction wants to do in comics and a masterpiece in the making.
2.Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together- Again there will be a Guttergeek review posted soon (combined with the Black Dossier actually) so in brief.Another year another Scott Pilgrim, and as always it's one of freshest,cleverest books of year, not to mention one of books I'd most recommend to non-comic fans. It's a romantic slacker video game inspired martial arts comedy. A North American Ranma 1/2 for the 21st century.
1.League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier- Even now I must still bow to the incomparable skill of the Wizard of North Hampton because of this, the dense, most stylistically adventurous comic of the year. Kevin O'Neil goes from a great artist to one of the greatest comic artists living.
Books that could have made this list but I haven't bought yet:Alice in Sunderland, Pulphope, Pwr Masters, all of Tezuka reprints release this year Fables (I'm behind in the trades), King City, Wonton Soup,
Books to look out for next year:The Order, Casanova (again),Criminal(launching in a magazine format), Fell returning,Dr. Sleepless, Final Crises, the next Scott Pilgrim, the next League book, Iron Fist (again), Pax Romana, Northlanders, and Astonishing X-Men by Warren Ellis.
God that was exhausting to write.