The Greatest (or at least, My Favorite) Comics of the Decade: Part 1-the complete works

[thehefner]

ANNIHILATION

While the horrendous CIVIL WAR crossover raged across Earth, infesting nearly every major Marvel title for almost a year, Marvel had a far superior crossover quietly unfolding in the background, a grand space opera of asskicking cosmic proportions featuring characters one would hardly consider A-list. Silver Surfer's a biggie, sure, but Ronan the Accuser? Super-Skrull? Frickin' NOVA?! I mean, I'm a DC boy. I love Marvel, but I don't know much about any of these characters, nor did I really care. Notice the past tense. Unless I'm forgetting something, this might well be the single best Marvel event of the decade (which isn't saying much, considering the Bendis/Millar-filled competition).




THE ALCOHOLIC

The first graphic novel by Jonathan Ames (novelist and creator of HBO's series BORED TO DEATH, which I need to watch), drawn by the great Dean Haspiel is kinda like a drunken, neurotic version of BLANKETS. Ames performs storytelling at the Moth in NYC (a minor goal of mine), and those abilities absolutely shine through the writing itself, as if this comic is being performed as you read it. Why this hasn't shown up on any other "best of" lists, I just don't know.





ALL-STAR SUPERMAN

Grant Morrison work can be incredibly frustrating, particularly his run on BATMAN,* but ALL STAR SUPERMAN truly is one of the greatest Superman (and superhero) stories of all time. If I count encompass this series' greatness in two pages, it'd be these. As Mark Waid observed, this series--and those pages--beautifully illustrate the enduring power of Superman. "Gods achieve their power by encouraging us to believe in them," he wrote. "Superman achieves his power by believing in us."




ASTERIOS POLYP

David Mazzucchelli--one of my all-time favorite artists--has totally stepped up his game and delivered the greatest comic I've read all year. He's apparently spent more time teaching the art of comics rather than making his own, and that professor's mentality shines through his magnificent tragicomedy of a down-and-out architecture professor whose life has fallen apart. I am a total sucker for comics that really play with what sequential art--and only sequential art--can do as a medium in ways film and prose cannot. If I may wax pretentious, I see ASTERIOS POLYP as a celebration of the art form itself. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, but regardless, this one might be going on my all-time favorites list (like, top twenty).






BATMAN ADVENTURES

The best BATMAN comics of the decade. Seriously. You wouldn't think to look at it, but this short-lived series of 18 issues carried an understanding of the rich world of Gotham City with far more wit, depth, compassion, and insight than all of Grant Morrison's grand, sweeping ideas. All of the DCAU animated-style BATMAN comics were excellent, but the fourth and final series found the perfect synthesis of B:TAS style and regular DC continuity. Sadly, it was canceled to make way for comics based on THE BATMAN, but not before its final issue delivered the most poignant, powerful take on Joe Chill to date.




CATWOMAN

Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke teamed up to revitalize Catwoman from the lamentable "bad girl" state of disrepair she'd fallen into over the 90's. No longer a spandex clad pair of tits with a bitchy attitude, Selina finally assumed her rightful spot as one of DC's most compelling, complex characters, complete with a sexily practical new costume and great supporting cast (including Sam Bradley, an obscure Golden Age P.I. revised to look like Robert Mitchum, always a plus). Eventually, Cooke left, to be replaced by the magnificent art of Cameron Stewart and Javier Pulido, who carried it through four volumes of excellence that read almost more like an indie comic with crime than a DC tights title. And then DC decided it needed to be a T&A book again for some idiotic reason, hired Paul Gulacy as the new artist, and it all pretty much went to shit. But still, those first four volumes are must-owns.

Special mention should go to Cooke's own stand-alone prequel of sorts, SELINA'S BIG SCORE, a classic heist story in the style of Richard Stark's PARKER series.



Henchgirl considers it to be the greatest Catwoman story of all time, and I'm hard-pressed to find any fault there. She was appalled to discover that most comic fans have never even heard of this, opting instead for such unmitigated shit as CATWOMAN: WHEN IN ROME. It's a crime worse than anything Selina herself has ever done.




CRÉCY

Warren Ellis is one of the most overrated-yet-still-excellent writers out there, purely because he milks the cult of personality thing among his devoted fans who hail him as on par with Alan Moore. He's an amazing writer when he really gives a shit, but too often he pounds out a lot of for-hire work that's usually solid but pretty soulless for the most part. That said, CRÉCY is fucking awesome: a nasty little history lesson about the "Death of Chivalry" in British warfare, told in the caustic flair of a modern-day pub raconteur. If more of Ellis' stuff were like this, even I would be calling him "Internet Jesus" right alongside his fans.




GREEN ARROW: THE ARCHER'S QUEST

I actually have a bit of history with this story, which I'll go into in its own post someday (which I started writing in September. Of 2008.). So I may not be entirely objective when I declare this to be, quite possibly, the definitive GREEN ARROW story. I know people in my fandom have a lot of opinions about Brad Meltzer's later work, but I never hear anybody mention THE ARCHER'S QUEST, which plays to all of Meltzer's strengths of character, dialogue, and relationships.

It's a quiet, introspective story, virtually free from superheroic action (save for a random-yet-awesome Ollie vs. Solomon Grundy battle). Rather, it's a wonderful character study of the recently-resurrected Oliver Queen, taking care of loose threads left behind after his death. There's a moment near the very end that may well rank as the purest essence of the man who is, quite possibly, the most complex DC superhero.




DOCTOR THIRTEEN: ARCHITECTURE AND MORTALITY

This was DC's NEXTWAVE, a hilarious non-stop parade of crack and awesomeness. But more importantly, it's one of the most subversive things DC ever published. So subversive, in fact, that they didn't even realize what it was about until halfway through the run. Underneath the randomness, Mel-Brooks-style wordplay, and hilarious one-liners, DOCTOR THIRTEEN is not just a love letter to even the most obscure and seemingly-stupid characters of comicdom, but also a bold and sharp "fuck you" at a callous comic industry in the wake of INFINITE CRISIS, which slaughtered several dozen such characters in the name of lazy, cheap shock value. Some of the specifics are a little dated now, and some of the targets were not entirely deserving of blame, but DOCTOR THIRTEEN remains one of my fondest feel-good comics ever.





LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL



LOKI


I'm including these two together because, as two mini-series taking the villain's POV, they both explore similarities beyond merely sharing the same first letter. Lex and Loki both have compelling reasons for loathing their respective enemies, they both see themselves as the heroes of their own story, both struggle to rise above the position they find themselves in, but their arrogance and ego prove to always be their undoing. In the end, seem to go back to status quo: Lex retains every ounce of his power, while Loki has lost it all once again. But this time, you sense that both characters gain a tragic, all-too-small understanding of just why it is that they can never truly be the hero.





NEW FRONTIER

Darwyn Cooke is one of the true masters of comics, and NEW FRONTIER, his love-letter to the Silver Age of DC Comics, shall deservedly remain an iconic superhero classic for generations to come. THIS is the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie that Warner Bros should be making, or at least paying close attention to it as the basis.

And since we're in total Cooke overload between this, CATWOMAN, and SELINA'S BIG SCORE, I'll just throw this bonus in here for shits and giggles:



The first of four planned adaptations of the classic hard-boiled thief, THE HUNTER oozes retro cool and timeless badassery. After being depicted in film by the likes of Lee Marvin in POINT BLANK and Mel Gibson in PAYBACK, Parker is finally does justice under Cooke's pen, and I cannot wait to see the next volume.




PYONGYANG

Y'know what, I'm just gonna copy-paste the AV Club's astute summation: Joe Sacco pioneered comics-as-journalism with books like PALESTINE and SAFE AREA GORAZDE. Quebec’s Guy Delisle carried on the tradition in the ’00s with SHENZEN and PYONGYANG, the latter of which chronicles the time he spent working for a low-budget animation studio in North Korea. It’s simultaneously funny, chilling, and enlightening, providing a rare, detailed look at life behind the last Iron Curtain and its forbidding capital: the closest thing to a real dystopia anyone could hope to find on Earth.

Yeah, that sounds about right. I'll add that Guy's true strength is in how he manages to keep a light, witty tone in parts that could easily have been taken over by the eerie, chilling sights and events he witnessed. A powerful, compelling depiction of a nightmare world many of us barely understand, much less can imagine actually existing outside of a novel.




PUNISHER (MAX)


Garth Ennis has a propensity to lose himself in obnoxious dirty humor and his own obsessive distaste for religion and superheroes. The Punisher is one of the most stupid, boring, two-dimensional characters in all of comicdom. When Ennis started writing THE PUNISHER under the PG-13 style Marvel Knights imprint, the results were about what you'd expect: somewhat amusing, mostly juvenile, and mostly forgettable.

And then the title rebooted over at Marvel's MAX imprint, the mature reader line. The result was a harrowing 60-issue epic that read like a Cormac McCarthy comic series. Ever read/seen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN or THE ROAD? Like that, but against the backdrop of New York City. PUNISHER may well be Ennis' masterpiece, a chilling tragedy about a man who's utterly dead inside yet still haunted by the ghosts of everything he's lost, including his own soul.




SLEEPER

While the AV Club rightly praises Brubaker and Phillips' wonderful CRIMINAL, the masterwork of their partnership is still SLEEPER. The story of a superpowered government agent who goes undercover in a criminal syndicate run by supervillains, SLEEPER is packed with wonderfully evil characters, plenty of cloak-and-dagger intrigue, healthy doses of meta black humor (whenever the villains are bored, they like to swap origin stories), and twists and turns upon twists and turns. Completely told over just a couple of volumes, SLEEPER is one of those rare, near-perfect comic runs.




SOLO

Not all of Mark Chiarello's ideas took off as well as NEW FRONTIER, and more's the pity for everyone. SOLO was a brilliant series that put the spotlight on a single artist and essentially gave them free reign to create... well, pretty much anything they wanted. As a result, we got to see visionary artists talents like Tim Sale, Richard Corben, Sergio Aragones, Darwyn Cooke, and more just letting loose to the limits of their abilities.

Each issue was thrilling, or at the very least fascinating. Unfortunately, it never found a consistent audience, and SOLO was canceled even though artists like Jill Thompson and George Pratt had reportedly already done their entire issues, which have yet to see the light of day. I long to see those issues, as well as the rest of SOLO, properly collected for future generations. At the very least, they should give us Cooke's whole issue! That one was a particular highlight.




SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY

One of the best Superman comics of all time, and it doesn't even have Superman in it. I'm starting to pass out from exhaustion as I write this, so I hope you'll forgive me for copy-pasting the Booklist blurb off Amazon.com:

Superman's origins have been imagined and reimagined over the years. Here is a new take on the character's roots. Busiek and Immonen start with mild-mannered teen Clark Kent, who, after years of being kidded about his name, suddenly discovers that he has powers like those of his fictional namesake. He feels obligated to use his capabilities for good but realizes that, to live a normal life, he has to operate in secret, performing his superfeats covertly. His precautions prove insufficiently protective, however, and government agents investigating the existence of a real-life superhero have ominous plans for him. Busiek here uses the same trick--setting characters with fantastic powers in a "real-life" world closely resembling that of readers--that has made his Astro City a critical favorite, and Immonen greatly aids him with quietly powerful, realistic artwork. Superman has remained popular for nearly 70 years because of the appeal of having powers "far beyond those of mortal men." Busiek gives us a glimpse of what actually possessing them would probably entail, taking a cue from the contemporary superheroic slogan, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Ditto. *collapses*



In Part Two: the best stories still in progress, the best compilations of older material, and even a couple honorable mentions!




*A month ago, I wrote most of an epic rant about Grant Morrison's BATMAN, but I keep putting off posting it because, well, what's the point? It's not like I'm going to change any opinions.

Comments

[harper-knight.livejournal.com]

You dare malign the Internet Jesus? :P

To be honest, and this might get me lynched, I'm not so sure I'd say Warren's work is better than Alan Moore's, but it's a lot more readable. I can actually read as much Transmet as I have time for in a single sitting, for instance, but stuff like Promethea and Tom Strong, while pretty awesome, I can hardly get through a whole tpb at once. It's too much to take in.

I'll agree that his work for Marvel isn't as good as Transmet or Crecy or Freakangels, it's a damn sight better than a lot of the slush you get there. It's kinda like Joss Whedon, who comes to mind because Dollhouse just got cancelled, right when I started watching it.. his run on X-Men (which, heh, Warren took over afterwards) doesn't nearly approach Buffy or Firefly, but it's still worth reading.

Anyway. Ellis-fan-rant over.

I've noticed Annihilation in Borders but haven't read it yet, I should do so. And I *haven't* heard of DOCTOR THIRTEEN but it's sure on my list now.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Have you checked out Moore's Collected DC Comics work? Those are much more bite-sized, for the most part. Even his bigger ones, like WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? are no more dense than CRECY.

I agree that his Marvel work is solid, and better than many, but the problem is that he clearly doesn't give two shits about the characters. He's work-for-hire, and knows that he's being hired because he's Warren Ellis and can do pretty much whatever he wants with the characters. As such, they all read like stock Warren Ellis characters with typical Warren Ellis dry-madman humor. Which is great fun, do not get me wrong, but I can never escape the fact that he really doesn't care. He's a great craftsman in those instances, hired to do a job and pulling it off excellently, but there's little soul to be found.

Unlike, say, Geoff Johns, whose work just seems to glow "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ACTUALLY WRITING THESE CHARACTERS OH MY GOD I'M SO HAPPY YAY!!!"

Which is why NEXTWAVE was so great, because he was just letting loose and clearly having a fun time. He wasn't creating anything of substance, just pure crack wrapped up in his trademark rock-star posturing, and the results were delightful.

TRANSMET, of course, is the perfect example of Warren giving a shit and making it sing. At least, after the first volume or two. It still reads at times a bit too much like his Internet Jesus persona, but by and large I really did like it a hell of a lot. And I really do need to check out FREAKANGELS, though.

ANNIHILATION is three volumes, so it takes a bit of commitment, but if you're up for it then you'll be in for a treat. Yeah, DOCTOR THIRTEEN went wayyyy under the radar of DC, and still remains something of a cult thing. But it's the closest thing DC's had to a NEXTWAVE that I can imagine. Pure crack. I'd be morbidly curious to see what would happen if Azzarello and Ellis ever sat down to share a beer. Those two egos get along swimmingly or not stand each other.

[harper-knight.livejournal.com]

I have not read much of that Moore stuff.. although I think I have read WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?. Anyway, I'll add that to the list as well.

And I will agree that the characters don't stay very.. in-character when Ellis is writing contract work. Except the ones that are already Ellis-like.. I seem to remember particularly liking Emma Frost in his X-Men work. And I love the X-Men, so there are better writers. Including Whedon, whose run was fantastic and if you haven't read it you should.

NEXTWAVE remains of one my favorite things in the whole world and I desperately wish there was more.. as one of those screaming legions of fanboys who follows everything the man says and does, I know perfectly well that the inside of his brain is something very like what spilled out into NEXTWAVE and he could have kept it up for a long time.

A lot of the Internet Jesus thing is very tied up with Transmet, so it's not surprising that you feel his internet cult thing and Transmet read similarly. Transmet was really what kicked it off, and it's what got most of us into his work, me included.

And Freakangels is fairly amazing so far, and it seems like we might finally be going to get some real backstory, so now's a good time to start reading, by the time you get through the first couple books of archives there should be some nice stuff in the latest updates.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Oh, do, do! It's a single volume, THE COLLECTED DC COMICS STORIES OF ALAN MOORE or something like that. A wonderful buffet of short stories and one-shot issues! It's such a shame he'll never write for DC again, because I'd love to see what he could do with those characters now. He actually seemed to care about them in ways that Ellis doesn't (although he's since renounced stuff like THE KILLING JOKE for reasons I don't entirely agree with).

Want to hear something mean? Warren Ellis looks like Alan Moore with mange. Discuss.

Agreed on Emma, it's the kind of character Ellis was born to write. I do want to read Ellis' ASTONISHING X-MEN. Is it good? While I have serious issues with Whedon, I admit that I really liked his run. He's one of the only people to actually understand that Cyclops is awesome. Even if he is wearing that ridiculous body condom again.

And sometimes Ellis' fuzziness when it comes to character faithfulness pays off when he's writing someone like, say, Norman Osborn. I need to perform that monologue somewhere. Or even better, hire John C. McGinley to do it. He was the perfect choice to play the Atom on JLI, reading from Ellis' own script.

Is FREAKANGELS all still online, or will I have to get the first couple books?

[harper-knight.livejournal.com]

Okay, it's on the list. I'll see if my library has it, otherwise.. I'll find it somehow.

As for the 'Moore with mange' thing.. quite possibly the only person who might argue with that assessment is Alan Moore himself. Warren would probably agree with you.

Hey! I understand that Cyclops is awesome! He's one of my favourite superheroes. I mean, sure. He can be a dick, but he does his job, that is being an effective and brilliant leader for the X-Men, both as a war leader before Xavier's multiple disappearances, and as a real leader when X is gone. And he's good at it. And I like him anyway.

And Ellis' Astonishing X-Men is worth reading, I think, even as a non-ellis-fan.

FreakAngels is still online. And updating 7 pages (most) every Friday. Here; start at the beginning. http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23

[pure-doxyk.livejournal.com]

As if not changing anyone's opinion is a REASON not to rant on the Internet. We're all just voices in the whirlwind here together, yo. ;)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

More to the point, I just feel like I'd be preaching to the choir. Also, Morrison fans have this wonderful way of playing the "Well, if you don't like it, you must not be smart enough to get it," card, particularly when it comes to his BATMAN. I'm not anxious to get any of that if I can help it.

[shadowlongknife.livejournal.com]

Also, Morrison fans have this wonderful way of playing the "Well, if you don't like it, you must not be smart enough to get it," card,

Ah, Morrison-fan condescension. How I loathe thee. We've talked about this before, you and I, Hef. It's not that I hate Morrison, I own Doom Patrol (don't understand a lot of it, but I love it anyway), I really like most of his JLA run, but you're dead right, if you DARE question Morrison's work on anything, the Morrison-cult out there assumes that makes you a dribbling idjit who just don't get it, and it makes me want to start with the face-kicking.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

You can throw DOOM PATROL on the above list of frustrations for me. It absolutely leaves me cold, and damn, sometimes I really wish I could be as hit by it as the fans.

It particularly gets to me about BATMAN. The way they rave about it, I can't help but feel they're saying that as Grant Morrison fans, not Batman fans. Like, people who say they've never found the Joker scary until Morrison's take. I don't even know where to begin with that one.

I'll keep saying it till I'm blue in the face: for the most part, Grant Morrison only cares about writing Grant Morrison stories. Which is great if you love Grant Morrison stories.

[harper-knight.livejournal.com]

"people who say they've never found the Joker scary until Morrison's take."

...

Uhh.. what now? People actually say that? What about, oh, I dunno, KILLING JOKE? or a billion other things but you've got Alan Moore in my head now... Come ON, people!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

There's this bizarre belief held by some otherwise-smart people that the Joker should never actually be funny.

They say that he should be making jokes that only he finds funny, otherwise it detracts from him actually being in any way threatening. I could tear this argument apart in greater detail, but for now, I'll simply go with this crude generaliation:

If you weren't laughing your ass off at the "Wanna see a magic trick?" moment, you don't get the Joker.

[harper-knight.livejournal.com]

That doesn't make any sense at all. He's scary to me in large part because he is funny, funny enough that you can be amused by him even when he's being brutal.

I can't imagine someone *not* laughing at the magic trick.

People are really weird.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Which is the genius of the character, because when that happens, you're laughing right alongside him as he's doing these horrible, horrible things. Then you take a step back and realize just how fucked-up that is.

People who prefer Morrison's Joker remind me of the people who prefer the fast zombies of the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake to Romero's original.

[shadowlongknife.livejournal.com]

I think alot of my love for his Doom Patrol rests securely in Crazy Jane, who (if I may commit a heresy) might well be Morrison's Last Good Idea. I certainly didn't groove to 95 percent of his take on the X-Men, who are to me what Batman is to you.

I've been so burned by Grant by this point that I specifically avoided his Batman stuff, because I don't need that sort of headache, really.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I haven't paid too much attention to fan reactions to Morrison's X-MEN, but I can easily imagine Joker-like controversy and heated contention between the groups that love and hate his take on Magneto.

[shadowlongknife.livejournal.com]

Oh, the fans fell all over themselves, as I recall. I read four issues, and the interview with Grant, wherein he decided, and I'm paraphrasing, "Logan is going after Jean again because that's what I want, and when you become big enough to write the X-Men, you can do whatever you want", made me just give the whole concept, and his rock-star-writer ass the middle finger.

[night-train-fm.livejournal.com]

You are an education in classy comics, good sir. Sadly, the only ones I'm familiar with are All-Star Superman and Superman: SI. Then again, Christmas is coming...

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Heh, thankya! Thing is, compare my list to the AV Club's, and you'll see a marked bias toward DC and Marvel stuff as opposed to theirs, which is far more "literary" in taste. So I'm not sure I can rightly call mine "classy," much as I'd love it, but if you think so, hey, rock on!

Well, keep your eye out for my second part, and if you want any recommendations based on the sorta things you like, I'll be more than happy to help!

[swimpenguin.livejournal.com]

Pyongyang is something I need to read, I keep hearing about it. Is the Batman Animated Series 18 issues available in trade paperback?
And of course you've given me more assorted superhero stuff to check out, but New Frontier I did read, finishing on the metro and honest to god, was crying as I read the last few pages. No superhero crazy angst, wallowing in guilt, schizoid melancholy, just superheroes doing what superheroes do for everybody. Ditto that for parts of All-Star Superman.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

There have been at least two (the image I used is the cover for the first), but I don't know about the rest. I'm have a dickens of a time tracking down all the issues.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Also, that's really wonderful to hear that you were so moved by NEW FRONTIER and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. Would that more superhero comics could have that effect, because they honestly should be that moving. Especially ones dealing with Superman and the great DC heroes.

[bitemetechie.livejournal.com]

I did not just make "EEEEEE" noises in a library and then have to slap my hands over my mouth amidst strange looks from college students. No I did not.

AHEM.

I have thoughts! Many thoughts! Which I can't compose right now because I'm all distracty. But, glomp! Glompglompglomp.

[bitemetechie.livejournal.com]

Alright, here we go. I can’t form opinions on that which I haven’t read, sooo…I’ll get to those when I get to them.

Annihilation
The Alcoholic
All-Star Superman

Okay, I didn’t tell you this when I read it, because…I’m all hardcore and grr! Rotten to the core and nasty inside like the Grinch, I am!

I…cried. Kind of a lot, actually. I remember distinctly, because I was flopped on the couch at the billet in Orlando, making my way through the Superman stack you gave me. It was fairly early in the morning—I didn’t sleep much or very well those two weeks, so there was a lot of early morning comic reading—and I was trying to keep from waking either you or the Captain with my sniffling. I guess I did a good job on that.

(Note: I did have to go crawl in bed with Captain for comfort for a few minutes there. I needed a hug. She just kind of half heartedly glomped me, what with still being half asleep and all.)

I don’t want to love Superman—I really don’t. The people I’ve always known who held him as their patron hero of choice were not very good people. He represents all that’s good and right and wholesome—and above all, he stands for truth, ethics and doing the right thing: having only known Superman fans who don’t value or even fundamentally understand these concepts, much less apply them, went a long way towards making me hate him. Heroes are meant to inspire us to greater heights as human beings, and I’ve known fans of other heroes who do just that—but never Superman fans. I hate hypocrites and that, for me, was what Superman symbolized in my mind.

And yet, even with all that…there’s something irresistible about him that draws me to him against my will. He appeals to me on the deepest level when it comes to my principles and ideals, though I hate to admit it. Now, I know I’ll never hold Superman as my patron—I’ve got too many scars to hold anyone closer to my heart than Batman—but he’s secretly very, very dear to me.

For all his flaws as a writer of Concepts Over Character, Morrison boiled down Superman to his most basic level, ripping away all the tripe that made Big Blue the gimmick of my youth, Clark Kent the floundering cheeseball of the movies—or the romantic lead of Lois and Clark, or the angsty farmboy of Smallville (Oh my God, Smallville, how can I still hate you this much?)—or the winking, square-jawedly-handsome Ideal “Mom, Baseball and Apple Pie” Perfect Man of the old television show. By stripping away everything but the essentials, he got to the heart of the character.

Grant Morrison turned Superman into what he was always meant to be: a mirror. The mirror that shows the reader—regardless of age—the potential that they themselves possess, if they only gather the courage to do the right thing. Here, Superman is the human heart, at its best—at its most honest, guileless and compassionate.

It’s a reminder: Every man can be Superman, in spirit, if not in strength.

And now, to take away from that grand, romantic statement, on a more technical note, I love Quitely’s art. LOVE. Not because it’s particularly pretty or anything, but because he makes Clark Kent a character. Quitely’s Clark isn’t just Superman: NOW WITH ACTION GLASSES!—he’s Clark Kent: Slouchy Reporter.

(Although…mmm, Action Glasses. We must get you a pair of Action Glasses.)

This comment looks really long. To be continued!

[bitemetechie.livejournal.com]

Asterios Polyp
Batman Adventures
Catwoman

Okay, as much as I love Brubaker’s Catwoman run, I’ve gotta admit there are a few things I might change—but only one or two. It’s GREAT to see Selina being…well, more than a bitchy attitude and a pair of tits (to paraphrase you paraphrasing me), but I find myself yearning for a little bit more of the art of cat burglary in addition to the Brubaker Hard Boiled Detective Angle. Actually, that may be my only complaint—that and that some of the art in volume three is a little jarring when it comes to a sudden change in style. That aside, though…

Catwoman is one of my favorite titles because—not only does it star one of my all time favorite characters—it also has such a rich supporting cast. No-one in Brubaker’s universe is one-dimensional, from the recurring co-stars like Slam and Holly to the characters who only make single appearances. Characters who would be ‘one note’ in other series are people, not just archetypes or plot devices. ‘Tis rare, tis rare.

Also, though Batman himself very rarely figures into the series, the moments that there are between the Cat and the Bat are some of the best to ever come out of DC. I also really enjoy the fact that Selina is ‘allowed’ to have relationships outside of Bruce Wayne, because sure, we may all want them to get together in the end, ‘cause they’re totally OTP, but their relationship just isn’t sustainable for more than a few months at a time. It’s…nice to see Selina branching out in that regard.

And for the record, I really, really adore Slam Bradley with all my heart. He’s such a lovable curmudgeon. Also, SUCH A BADASS OH-EM-GEE.

Selina’s Big Score

Now, I don’t know if I would classify Score as the best Catwoman story, but it’s definitely the best Selina story. I especially like the narrative because it doesn’t look at Selina head-on through the reader’s eyes, but instead through the sideways glances of the supporting players. We’re seeing Catwoman as the other characters of the DC universe see her and that’s something we rarely ever get to experience. One thing that comic writers are kind of bad at is keeping perspective clear—we hope around from head to head a lot more than we should and that’s a BIG fiction no-no—but Score has an unmistakable point of view. It’s refreshing.

I also especially like Score because this portrayal of Selina reminds me of myself. One line in particular, actually.

Crecy
Green Arrow: Archer’s Quest
Doctor Thirteen

Honestly, it’s been like, four months since I read it and I barely remember it, what with having all these other comics crammed into my brain since then, but I know it was crazy cracky awesometastic.

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel

You know why I love Lex Luthor? Well, I’ll tell you…



(That’s one of the “I have pneumonia and am heavily sedated with NyQuil” vlogs. More on the way!)

To be continued again!

[bitemetechie.livejournal.com]

...what do you MEAN invalid video URL? You lie, Live Journal, you LIIIIIIIIIE.

[bitemetechie.livejournal.com]

Loki
New Frontier (I’ll get to it, I swear!)
The Hunter
Pyonyang
Punisher
Sleeper
Solo (WANT READ ALL ISSUES NAOPLZKTHNX)
Superman: Secret Identity

To the best of my recollection, this is my favorite Superman story ever. Period. Exclamation point. No further discussion necessary.

(Uh…although, Action Comics #800 might have edged it out of the top spot, now that I’m thinking on it.)

Ta-daaaaa.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

I know i've said it before, but seriously, that icon is hypnotic.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

I know you love it, but I just can't get into Ennis' punisher. Or any punisher for that matter. It's guns. Guns and grit and I don't care. Such massive amounts of completely uninteresting go into making the Punisher that not even Ennis can make me like him. It just doesn't happen.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

But the thing is, Ennis realizes that the Punisher is such a non-character that he crafts the stories around him, like playing with negative space. Did you read "The Slavers," for example?

Also, what about "The Tyger," which actually takes place with him as a kid, back when he was an actual human being? That one is one of the most grounded, mature stories I've ever seen from Ennis, and it was drawn by the great John Severin.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

I admit that I have not read The Tyger. If i can find some one who will lend me a copy of the trade (this might be tough,you'd be amazed how bad/specialized the average aspiring comic book artist's collection is) I will read it.

Besides, I need to find something new to move onto once i finally finish Cerebus, which I have been reading and re-reading and disecting slowly in parts over the last 3 years as a sort of obsessive mission. Which, seriously, don't even get me started, because we will be here till 3010 as I discuss all the ways that book is genius, and the masterpiece of comicbook story telling even after Sim went super special coo-coo nanners and the writing got really bad. Which, unfortunately for most of his critics didn't happen when he decided to reveal his crazy thoughts on gender, but much later, when he got super crazy special nutbar religious.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Someone did snippets of it on scans_daily, to give you a taste: http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1114833.html

And also, if you're able, do give this one a go as well. There's no guns, it's far more personal and powerful than that: http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1113426.html That story is one of the most chilling things of Ennis' I've ever read.

You're fucking insane, and I commend you for it. It really is brilliant stuff, for all its... Simness.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

John, we've always known I'm insane.

And yes, Dave Sim really is his own descriptive term.

Also, I just looked at those 2 pages from Allstar superman. That's superman. That moment. That's him. Oh my god.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

For all my problems with Morrison, ALL STAR SUPERMAN--and those two pages specifically--remains one of the best superhero comics I've ever read.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

I'm wiping away tears, old chum.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

So, I really like the first Punisher link. That ones great. Until baby punisher decides to get a gun, then it's boring for 5 seconds, until the girl's brother ends up doing the pummeling. That makes me happy.

The second one, I am very eh towards. Seemed like more of the same kind of boring grit from the punisher i have no interest in.

It's great writing on Ennis's part, but i have no interst in stories about a guy who murders murderers and seems to never fail at it, or have a moment's doubt, or any depth to him at all. It's killing and guns with a side of killing and guns in blood sauce (okay, admittedly this time it's knives, but you get my point.) I don't like Killing and Guns in blood sauce by itself. It needs to be a side dish to funny, or human, or touching, or, if i'm feeling particularly trogloditic that day, big, fat, perky titties.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

All righty, then I am finished with my PUNISHER pushing.

I would argue that there are touching moments, but they're as few and far between (and short-lived) as in THE WALKING DEAD (not sure what you make of that series).

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

You showed me Walking Dead after you graduated and I dropped out, I liked it a lot, but never ended up picking up more after volume 4 (i think.) And no it's so far in I'm not sure I want to try to get back in until it's over.

I do, however, adore Kirkman. When he wants to be awesome, he is awesome, and battle pope is kind of great in that way that it's like preacher's retard younger brother.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Volume 4 is the lowest point of the whole series. It's immediately after that that shit goes down. I really hope he has a plan for the finale at some point, because damn, there are times when this series is just too bleak.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

Um, aparenty something just happened that is important enough that my friend Misha is pissed off about it being spoiled for him.