Yeah, it's a bit late to do this but I thought it would be a good idea to start talking about your favorite comic books from the last few years. Here's a list that the AV club did a couple months ago http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-b...the-00s,35713/.
So here's mine. I bet I'm going to be kicking myself later for not including something later.
10. Punisher Max- For taking our favorite psychopathic anti-hero and letting him brand his particular brand of justice on such hot topics as sexual slavery, War on Terror, and corporate fraud while somehow still making it entertaining as hell, Garth Ennis deserves an award. The best type of Death Wish genre type fun to be had here, while still leaving space for moments of character introspection and revelation.
9. Gotham Central- I imagine that Greg Rucka pitched this as what if Homicide Life on the Street actually took place in a world where Batman existed? And to this books' great benefit, it seems like it would be a horrible, horrible place. Placing identifiable characters in the utterly fucked environment where you can be murdered by ice laser, it makes one glad to just be able to read about super-heroics, instead of seeing it occur on the nightly news.
8. Powers- Another book that decides to look at superheros in a more realistic lens. Brian Bendis's two main characters investigate cases involving "supers", which can entail stepping into the realms of high celebrity, superhook-ups, deadly obsessed admirers, and tabloid blogs. Bendis also manages to pack in stories riffing on such varied topics as the 80s Aids epidemic and Conan the Barbarian. Also, goddamn do I love the dialogue.
7. The Human Target. A series about a person with the ability to mimic others perfectly for a price, it married noir-style storytelling techniques with drunken ruminations on the nature of individuality. Endings are what really make a story special, and the one wrapping up the story in vol. 2 is still imprinted in my mind, years later. Sobering and devastating, while making perfect thematic and narrative sense. Can't recommend this enough.
6. Achewood- A web-comic starting off as a quirky and irreverent funny about animals sharing a house, over the years it turned into a sometimes epic, often touching sprawling tale that touches on childhood, adulthood, and everything between. While still being consistently raucously hilarious.
5. Criminal- Finally! A breath of Richard Stark scented fresh air! Intensely dedicated to its Urban Jungle influenced milieu, Ed Brubaker gave us a new and interesting take on what the modern mainstream comic can be. Thought about putting Sleeper in this spot, but while that comic is more visceral and the ending iconic, Criminal is the much smarter and, ultimately, braver comic of the two.
4. We3- I like to joke that this is Grant Morrison's take on Homeward Bound. It IS a tale about a trio of animals seeking home, but with healthy heaps of hyper-technology, chaos, and complete heartbreak. Dispensing with imposing human-like (for the most part) characteristics on his heroes seen in most stories dealing with animals, Morrison manages to still have the reader care deeply for them. Which makes this an even more devastating and powerful book.
3. All-Star Superman- Grant Morrison makes another appearance on the list in this amazingly earnest take on the Man of Steel. Using mostly pre-Crisis on Infinite Earth continuity, with a heavy layer of Morrison type technological wacked-out details, this is the best iteration of Superman I've ever read. Exciting, idealistic, and regularly moving, the book gives us a goalpost for what superhero comics can be.
2. Planetary- Warren Ellis's take on genre fiction from 30's pulp books on. Subversive, funny, and comprehensively intelligent, Ellis manages to draw in equal measures insightful observations and propulsive narrative while infusing both with his trademark droll and wit.
1. 100 Bullets- THE book of the decade as far as I'm concerned. A grim series detailing the lives of people hopelessly steeped in violence, the decade long project always had its end firmly in mind. No matter that it took its time from its unaccountable attache beginnings to its later continent spanning conspiracies. This was always a story of unavoidable consequence hitting even the most entitled and accomplished individuals. The amazing artwork of its sole artist, Eduardo Risso, cannot be emphasized, with its noiresque use of light and shadow, and his monthly comic covers, which are masterpieces (I'll use the word) of the form. And then there's Brian Azzarello unmatched talent with authentic dialogue and dialect. There's a lot more to praise here, but I'll just end this with befuddlement. SPOILER! Who else would have the intelligence and sheer balls to end a series with a panel based off a famous Virgin Mary painting?
Making this list made me realize I really need to get out of the comic book ghetto I had created for myself, as the relatively few books that tended to challenge it were also the ones that stuck with me the most. Something to work on in the new year!
So here's mine. I bet I'm going to be kicking myself later for not including something later.
10. Punisher Max- For taking our favorite psychopathic anti-hero and letting him brand his particular brand of justice on such hot topics as sexual slavery, War on Terror, and corporate fraud while somehow still making it entertaining as hell, Garth Ennis deserves an award. The best type of Death Wish genre type fun to be had here, while still leaving space for moments of character introspection and revelation.
9. Gotham Central- I imagine that Greg Rucka pitched this as what if Homicide Life on the Street actually took place in a world where Batman existed? And to this books' great benefit, it seems like it would be a horrible, horrible place. Placing identifiable characters in the utterly fucked environment where you can be murdered by ice laser, it makes one glad to just be able to read about super-heroics, instead of seeing it occur on the nightly news.
8. Powers- Another book that decides to look at superheros in a more realistic lens. Brian Bendis's two main characters investigate cases involving "supers", which can entail stepping into the realms of high celebrity, superhook-ups, deadly obsessed admirers, and tabloid blogs. Bendis also manages to pack in stories riffing on such varied topics as the 80s Aids epidemic and Conan the Barbarian. Also, goddamn do I love the dialogue.
7. The Human Target. A series about a person with the ability to mimic others perfectly for a price, it married noir-style storytelling techniques with drunken ruminations on the nature of individuality. Endings are what really make a story special, and the one wrapping up the story in vol. 2 is still imprinted in my mind, years later. Sobering and devastating, while making perfect thematic and narrative sense. Can't recommend this enough.
6. Achewood- A web-comic starting off as a quirky and irreverent funny about animals sharing a house, over the years it turned into a sometimes epic, often touching sprawling tale that touches on childhood, adulthood, and everything between. While still being consistently raucously hilarious.
5. Criminal- Finally! A breath of Richard Stark scented fresh air! Intensely dedicated to its Urban Jungle influenced milieu, Ed Brubaker gave us a new and interesting take on what the modern mainstream comic can be. Thought about putting Sleeper in this spot, but while that comic is more visceral and the ending iconic, Criminal is the much smarter and, ultimately, braver comic of the two.
4. We3- I like to joke that this is Grant Morrison's take on Homeward Bound. It IS a tale about a trio of animals seeking home, but with healthy heaps of hyper-technology, chaos, and complete heartbreak. Dispensing with imposing human-like (for the most part) characteristics on his heroes seen in most stories dealing with animals, Morrison manages to still have the reader care deeply for them. Which makes this an even more devastating and powerful book.
3. All-Star Superman- Grant Morrison makes another appearance on the list in this amazingly earnest take on the Man of Steel. Using mostly pre-Crisis on Infinite Earth continuity, with a heavy layer of Morrison type technological wacked-out details, this is the best iteration of Superman I've ever read. Exciting, idealistic, and regularly moving, the book gives us a goalpost for what superhero comics can be.
2. Planetary- Warren Ellis's take on genre fiction from 30's pulp books on. Subversive, funny, and comprehensively intelligent, Ellis manages to draw in equal measures insightful observations and propulsive narrative while infusing both with his trademark droll and wit.
1. 100 Bullets- THE book of the decade as far as I'm concerned. A grim series detailing the lives of people hopelessly steeped in violence, the decade long project always had its end firmly in mind. No matter that it took its time from its unaccountable attache beginnings to its later continent spanning conspiracies. This was always a story of unavoidable consequence hitting even the most entitled and accomplished individuals. The amazing artwork of its sole artist, Eduardo Risso, cannot be emphasized, with its noiresque use of light and shadow, and his monthly comic covers, which are masterpieces (I'll use the word) of the form. And then there's Brian Azzarello unmatched talent with authentic dialogue and dialect. There's a lot more to praise here, but I'll just end this with befuddlement. SPOILER! Who else would have the intelligence and sheer balls to end a series with a panel based off a famous Virgin Mary painting?
Making this list made me realize I really need to get out of the comic book ghetto I had created for myself, as the relatively few books that tended to challenge it were also the ones that stuck with me the most. Something to work on in the new year!
