Well 2012 has come and gone and surprise, surprise we are
still here. Which is unfortunate because I've read a lot of good titles over
the past year, and I hate having to narrow down my favorites but dammit it has
to be done!
5. I, Vampire
Story by Joshua Fialkov, Art by Andrea Sorrentino
I really dismissed this title when it first came out. DC
putting out a vampire story for the New 52? Pssssh. Luckily, I had a friend who
forced me to sit down and read it. I was hooked almost immediately. I guess you
could say it was...love at first bite!
*SLAP* OWW, OWW, OWW, okay, I'll behave!
*ahem* I’ve been kind of down on vampire stories lately. Not
so much because of Twilight itself, but because of the glut of vampire stories
that started popping up on the market. Most of them didn't really capture the
spirit of a true vampire or what they were capable of. I Vampire, on the other
hand, does it almost perfectly.
I, Vampire is set around our two main characters,
Protagonist Andrew Bennet and his lover/ nemesis Mary Queen of Blood. Andrew
was a 14th century British nobleman who fell in love with Mary, a local serving wench.
On the night that he ran away to be with her, he was turned into a vampire. He
tried to stay away from Mary but he eventually turned her as well. The conflict
comes from how they handle their new found powers; Andrew is horrified by what
he has become and wants to protect his people and live in harmony and humanity.
Mary sees her newfound power and freedom as a means to take over the world and
crush humanity under her heel. Their love story is rather tragic. Andrew loves
her for the person she used to be, and she loves him for the monster he could
become. But even with all the drama, the title has had room for a lot of funny
moments and quips to keep the mood from becoming too angsty while not losing its
horror tension.
This title has had an amazing run so far. It's set in the modern DCU and has already had several guest appearances by other characters like Batman, John Constantine, and Storm watch- all while not being forced. And now it has closed out the year with the tables being turned: Andrew has become a feral monster and Mary has to step up and be a hero! The art by Sorrentino has been fantastic. It's dark, heavily shadowed, but detailed when it needs to be. I'm sorry to see her go, but I still look forward to reading this title and hope it only gets better in the future.
4. Tie: Animal Man and Swamp-Thing battle the Rot
Animal Man: story by Jeff Lemire, Art by Steve Pugh
Swamp-Thing: Story by Scott Snyder, Art by Yannick Paquette
I have been waiting for this crossover for a year now. And
it has delivered in spades. Quick recap: Swamp-Thing and Animal Man are both
avatars of their respective elemental factions, the Green (which encompasses
all plant life) and the Red (encompassing all animal life). Both the Red and
the Green are opposed by an elemental force of decay called the Rot, which
wants to destroy all life on earth.
Animal Man is a superhero/actor who can channel the
abilities of any animal on Earth. He is also unique for having a family, who he
must protect at all cost, especially his daughter Maxine who is the REAL avatar
of the Red, and exceptionally gifted with her powers. Swamp-Thing is about Alec
Holland, a botanist newly returned to the land of the living. Alec fought the
Green's decision to make him their Warrior King, but when faced with losing his
beloved, Abigail Arcane, he donned the mantle of Swamp-Thing. Both titles are
being written by excellent authors, but Scott Snyder's Swamp-Thing has really
"grown" on me.
*SMACK* OKAY, I PROMISE THAT'S THE LAST ONE!
Both titles share exceptional art and stories. A trick by
the Rot forces Animal Man and Swamp-Thing into a future where they're disappearance
means victory for the Rot. Most of the world's heroes are dead or converted
into monsters and only a pocket resistance must put a stop to the Rot. Cameos
and action abound, and they only become more prevalent as both make their
separate journeys Animal Man to find his daughter, and Swamp-Thing to rescue
his beloved. These titles truly capture a feeling of despair and hopelessness
as they march on through the wasteland. The enemy they face is unstoppable. It
doesn't eat, it doesn't sleep. It just destroys everything in their path.
Battered, but determined to save the ones they love. our heroes soldier on,
even as they lose companions along the way. And as always when Scott Snyder or
Jeff Lemire are helming a titles, the twists keep me surprised and on the edge
of my metaphorical seat. I'm glad to see that so far, this was worth the wait.
3. The Goon
Story and Art by Eric Powell
Man, I love the s$^% out of the Goon. Imagine every pulp 1930s and 1940s smashed together (Neon spacemen, giant monsters, and mobster noir) mash it up with some self-deprecating, crass hick humor and then sprinkle some surprisingly poignant and moving stories and you have the Goon. Powell has been busy trying to put together a Goon movie (which is finally happening!), but this year the title went monthly.
And then there was much rejoicing! From me! Because I don't
normally get to read a comic where the main character is being chased by gangsters
and a murderous, hatchet wielding squid while punching zombies! That might be
the most awesome thing I wish I could have included in an English Paper!
Eric Powell seemed almost manic depressant this year. He
went from stories mocking the recent gimmicky trends in comic books and a Charleston
dance showdown that lead to the summoning of Satan, to the horribly grounded
realistic origin of Goon's aunt and caretaker, Kizzie the Iron Maiden Even worse was the return of the terrifying
Zombie Priest, who came bearing a grim message to the Goon. The rest of his
kind is coming, and...
Everyone in this town is doomed.
...Damn I love this comic.
This title has continued to wow me as something new and
unique ever since it came out... Still, it's good to know our hardened mobster
with a heart of gold is still doing good. We even got a crossover with Powell's
other major title, Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities. And it was glorious.
Then again how could it not be? I'm just
happy I get to read it on a more consistent basis!
2. Invincible aka the Best Super Hero Comic in the Universe.
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Corey Walker, Cliff Rathburn, Ryan Ottley, and John Rauch
When my immediate response to closing a comic book is
"DAMMMMN, Shit just got real!" You know it's good. If Invincible's
shit got any realer, it would be in my hand.
EW, EW, EW that was a terrible metaphor!
Okay, let's try again. Better metaphor this time.
If Invincible got any more intense, then I would literally
need to take a smoke break between inhaling these comics because they are that
INTENSE. Invincible is written by the Robert Kirkman, the same man behind The
Walking Dead comics. Yeah. That Kirkman. You think characters aren't safe just
because they are in a superhero comic? BITCH PLEASE. This is an indie comic and
Kirkman can kill off whoever he feels like! That's what makes this story
intense. Unlike most superhero books, the danger of losing a character isn't as
real as it is in here (with a few minor exceptions and one major one).
Invincible started out as a typical coming of age comic
about a teen getting super powers and quickly spiraled into a story where the
world deals with the fantastic in practical ways, the lines between villains
and heroes are morally blurred, and no one is totally perfect.
We've gotten a lot over this past year. Bulletproof's
origin was finally explained, what happened between Robot and Monster Girl was
finally explained, and Invincible even had to cope with losing his powers for a
while.
This book has had some odd choices over this last year. In
particular, one background character had an origin that was finally explained
that lead to a sudden and very violent conclusion that didn't make much sense.
Even worse, Kirkman inserted an avatar of himself that explained what happened
in his terms. I don't know if he was justifying himself or parodying his
writing style but it just felt odd.
But that was okay, because next issue he kicked it into high
gear with a comic that literally changed the rules of Invincible's game. For
the past year, he'd been trying to reform a villain. What happens when that
backfires stupendously? We won't know for sure until issue 100, but you can bet
I will be there to find out!
And of course, the number 1 is...
1. Batman
Story by Scott Snyder, Art by Greg Capullo
Remember when I told you that Invincible was super intense?
Well, there is a reason it is number 2 to Scott Snyder's Batman. After every
issue, I would call one of my best friends and just gush about this series.
Every time of the month. Like clockwork. I'm hearing people say that Scott
Snyder is over- rated and that these stories have been disappointing from a few
random comments on the web and I am here to tell you. Usually, I believe people
are entitled to their own opinions and I won't try to bluntly or rudely tell
them they are wrong. But in this case...
No. You are wrong, sir and/or madame. Wrong. In fact, Lex I
need some help with this.
Scott Snyder's run on the Court of Owls has to be up there
with one of my favorite Batman comics. Maybe not the best. But damn close. He
claimed that Court of Owls was going to look like a warm-up compared to Death
in the Family. I scoffed.
He was right.
Joker has been inactive for over a year. He cut his own face
off for purposes that I never exactly understood. To reinvent himself? To hide?
I don't know. I probably missed some tie-in that explained everything. Ah well,
point being Joker was out of the lime light for a year. Which was awesome,
because it gave new villains like the Court of Owls time to shine. And then
Joker killed almost everyone in a police precinct except Jim Gordon while
telling a joke.
Things went downhill pretty quick. Joker's back and he's
inverting all his usual tricks and methods. He's more hands on with his crimes,
he doesn't wear a fancy suit, he repeats all his old crimes but with a cruel, self-aware
twist. Joker never played by many rules, but now he's abandoned all pretenses of
guidelines.
This isn't a superhero comic, it's a horror story.
Greg Capullo is an excellent artist. While his characters
look great (god the Talons where gorgeous!), his real strength is in the
environments. He brings the architecture of Gotham to life, working hand in
hand with Scott Snyder's knack for using architecture to tell a story. And his
Joker is...frightening. Terribly frightening. Especially the eyes. Batman has
to keep reminding himself he's only dealing with a human being when he fights
the Joker, but he lets it slip that his eyes unnerve him. And with Capullo
drawing them, I can see why.
So once again, because he deserves it, Batman wins for what
I believe to be the best comic of this year.
Thank you guys for
joining me, I know this was a lot, but this was also a year in review and my
first real article. I hope that you enjoyed this article as much as I did
writing it, and that you enjoyed everything on your pull list as much as I
enjoyed my stuff. Happy 2013!
No comments:
Post a Comment