One of the great things about being a critic is that I have a chance to make bold declarations that I don’t necessarily have to back up.  The fact that Newsarama and Comic Related publish me grants me some kind of imaginary credibility.

…Well, maybe not really, but that’s how I can talk.  At any rate, most folks could probably make a pretty good guess as to what my choices are going to be for the Best Of and Worst Of for the year (particularly those who read a similarly-themed article I wrote at the end of November).  It’s shamelessly commercial stuff, for the most part, and a lot of the choices here are books that I pimp on a monthly basis via my postmortem columns over at Comic Related.  Still, it’s worth recognizing the really great things that brought us entertainment this year–and waving people off some of the bigger messes that have come out of the last little while.  And so, without further ado…!

Best Ongoing Monthly Comic: Booster Gold (DC Comics)
Since its first issue, Booster Gold has been consistently entertaining, beautifully illustrated and smart superhero fare.  Having Dan Jurgens–the character’s creator–on board for the art chores and at the top of his form this year has been a pleasure, only magnified by a strong outing in December as the writer of the book for the first time since 1988.  It also segues nicely into our next category, as it’s one of the many projects brought to prominence by…

Best Writer: Geoff Johns (Action Comics, Green Lantern, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, Booster Gold)
Johns seems to have the golden touch; with rare exception, his titles are a joy to read and really capture the excitement of their original concepts.  While I’m not a huge fan of New Krypton or the return of Barry Allen, his Green Lantern run has been a revelation and most people would probably have been hard-pressed to believe you if you told them five years ago that Booster Gold would be a can’t-miss book month-in and month-out.  Even in the morass of dull and seemingly random Final Crisis tie-ins, Johns and artist George Perez have managed to make Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds into one of the most entertaining grand-scope superhero stories in a while.

Best Artist: Gary Frank (Action Comics)
As someone who’s not a huge art guy (writers will sell me on a book far more), all I can say about Frank’s work is that I enjoy it.  I’ve always enjoyed lifelike depictions of superhero characters that don’t altogether rob the figures of their magic.

Best Cover Artist: Jae Lee (Dark Tower)
Consistently beautiful since they started making Dark Tower comics, Lee has found his niche as a cover artist.  I wish more of the superstars who can’t hit a deadline would just accept that reality and start doing this kind of work.

Best Mature Readers Title: Young Liars by David Lapham (Vertigo)
A bold storytelling style, real, interesting, flawed characters and a strong artistic direction make this title a pleasure to read month in and month out.  Anything but your typical monthly comic from the Big Two, it features no superheroics, no supernatural, no futures or shadowy government agents.  Just a bunch of kids who are really, really stupid sometimes and who really care about each other (mostly).  The best part?  Every month is a good jumping-on point as just about every issue so far has been a stand-alone story (and since the timeline jumps all over the place, they aren’t even stand-alone in any particular order).

Best New Title: Deadpool by Daniel Way et. al.
Unrelentingly enjoyable, this funny, violent and clever title has, since its first issue, been far better than fans had any real reason to expect.  Way has a great grasp on the character and the concept, capturing both the madness and the brutal genius of Wade Wilson as a character.

Best Original Graphic Novel: The Amazing, Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell & Dan Best (First Second Books)
Entertaining, touching, funny and actually a pretty quick read, this book demonstrates why Eddie Campbell is one of the great treasures in modern comics.

Best Story Arc/”Event” Story: Superman & The Legion of Super-Heroes (from DC’s Action Comics)
This is a great example of what Geoff Johns and Gary Frank do best.  They took a group of characters that I’ve frankly never cared about, and always thought looked kind of goofy (the Legion) and imbued them with a vitality and heart that  you rarely see in superhero titles.  The villain was believable and presented a legitimate threat–a rarity in Superman stories–and the humanity of Clark’s relationship to his Legion friends was the best part of the whole tale.  It’ll be a shame to see this team leave a major book next year in exchange for (yet another) miniseries depicting Superman’s origin-du-jour.

Best Use of a Licensed Property: Chuck (Wildstorm) and The Man With No Name (Dynamite Entertainment)
Just this once, I’m going to cheat and say that I can’t choose between these two very solid licensed properties.  While Boom! Studios’ Blood Bowl comic by Matt Forbeck also was in the running, it was frankly these two that have impressed me the most.  Chuck, particularly, was a surprise pleasure to read (as I’ve pointed out before), but The Man With No Name, as an ongoing, seems like it deserves a little more love and promotion than the already-concluded Chuck mini (available for free and completely legal here).  The talent lined up for the next few arcs of Dynamite’s Western are just…well, dynamite, pardon the pun.  So keep an eye peeled.  I’m generally very hesitant about licensed properties in comics, but the unqualified success of these books have me looking forward with a hopeful eye to Wildstorm’s X-Files title.

Best Relaunch: The Perhapanauts by Todd Dezago & Craig Rousseau (Image Comics)
This has to be in the running for best overall series of the year, but because of the irregular publishing schedule and the relatively low issue count (interrelated issues, I’ll grant you, but still somewhat distinct), it falls to another category.  Dezago has a ton of fun with these characters, and this book will remind you that you can have fun in a way that few books do in today’s grim-and-gritty marketplace. Rousseau’s art is, as always, exemplary.  It’s no wonder Marvel has pulled him away from this creator-owned book for work on a Spider-Man comic (and no, it’s not a “marginal” title if Terry Effing Moore is writing).  The Perhapanauts is brilliant whenever it comes out, and anyone who isn’t reading it, simply doesn’t know what they’re missing.

Best Comics-To-Film Adaption: The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)
There’s little to be said about Christopher Nolan’s brilliant interpretation of the Batman/Joker/Gordon/Harvey Dent dynamic that hasn’t already been said.  And said, and said, and said.  While Iron Man may have been the more exciting film of the summer, The Dark Knight is a gold standard by which all future “serious” comics movies will be judged–starting, perhaps to the chagrin of its own studio, with Warner Brothers’ Watchmen this March.

…But it’s not all roses and sunshine in the comics industry.  Frankly, there are a few books, properties and the like so dreadful that it’s important they be pointed out.  I’m sure these will draw more discussion and ire than the “best of,” but so be it:

Worst Ongoing Monthly Title: Titans by Judd Winick et. al. (DC Comics)
Could have called this one from the early solicitations, really.  Starting with the disgusting Titans East one-shot wherein Winick simply got a bunch of D-listers in one place and killed them en masse (because, after all, there’s no chance anyone would ever want to use them in a REAL story again, right?  Guys like Animal Man, Booster Gold and The Thing are no good to anyone after their solo titles are axed!)–and running through a beautifully-drawn but painfully-scripted series, this title is yet another reminder of why Judd Winick should probably go back to Barry Ween and leave the mainstream superhero stuff to someone with more of a nose for it.   A more promising group of characters has rarely been put together in one title, but there hasn’t been a single compelling story told since this book was started half a year ago.

Biggest Disappointment: Ultimates 3 by Jeph Loeb & Joe Madureira
Loeb hasn’t been himself in years, and Ultimates 3 is arguably the ultimate example of his self-indulgent, confusing and outright silly writing these days (if not this, then the go-to example would be Heroes, but let’s not pile on the poor man, as he’s been let go from there already).   Madureira’s art, meanwhile?  Not worth the wait.  I wanted much better from this franchise.

Biggest Clusterf***: Final Crisis by Grant Morrison et. al.
Quick!  Explain what the hell is happening in Final Crisis in twenty words or less!…Time’s up, class.  Aside from editorial fubars that have left the book seemingly wandering in a timeline all its own while the DC Universe marches on without its central precipitating event,  there’s the recent revelation that apparently the Batman: RIP storyline didn’t actually END at its end, but will end in Final Crisis #6…when and if that book ever actually comes out.  The shoddy handling of this series has now officially reached out and damaged the Batman titles at a time when–with The Dark Knight‘s theatrical take nearing a billion dollars–Batman’s star is about as high as it’s ever been.  Oops!

Worst Comics-To-Film Adaption: The Spirit (Lionsgate)
I had such high hopes for this flick!  Miller.  The Spirit.  A studio that apparently “got it,” with the famous conversation about how the producer was “bringing them the greatest property to come out of comics in seventy years.”  But no.  The Spirit was a depressing mess, and while The Hulk and Wanted may have been uninspired, this movie may actively drive interested readers away from the title in abject humiliation (think Steel with Shaquille O’Neal here, people).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 8:46 am and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.