The Greatest (or at least, My Favorite) Comics of the Decade Part 2-Ongoing Series

[thehefner]

CAPTAIN AMERICA

I can understand why some people have no respect for Captain America. By and large, if you've never read a great story with Cap, one could be forgiven for thinking he was a lame, white-bread, jingoistic boy scout. Brubaker's epic run (more of an espionage story with tights than superheroics) has gone a long way to setting people straight and creating mass awareness for the awe-inspiring wonder of Steve Rogers.

Which made it all the more frustrated when Steve was killed, leaving not-really-dead-after-all Bucky (sacredest of comic-death cows, right under the Waynes and Uncle Ben. Yet Brubaker made the return/retcon work, damn it) to take over as the new gun-totin' Cap. Here, Bru made people love Steve, and made those of us who did love Steve love him even more, and boom, he's gone! In a post-CIVIL-WAR Marvel of wrong-headed fascist cynicism (some would say within the actual company itself), which is when we need Steve the most.

The Bucky!Cap stuff has lagged, by all accounts. Not bad, exactly, just lacking the vitality of the first thirty issues (which are what earned CAP's spot here). It will be a treat to read Brubaker's whole run, from start to finish, from death to resurrection, and see it finally fulfills the promise of excellence from the start.






EX MACHINA

The AV Club included Brian K. Vaughn's Y: THE LAST MAN, which was truly excellent and well worth the praise it gets. But for my money, EX MACHINA--the series about a former superhero who becomes mayor of NYC and still has the ability to talk to machines--has the potential to be just a weeny bit better. That is, if he can come up with a finale to match the heartwrenching-yet-perfect ending for Y. We'll find out in a few months! Like SLEEPER, this is one of those comics that feels like a riveting TV show, so it's no surprise at all that BKV became one of the writers on LOST in the third season onward. His comic writing is on par with his LOST writing, at least when he's on fire. And with Y and particularly EX MACHINA, he's the goddamn Human Torch. (RUNAWAYS, on the other hand...)





GREEN LANTERN and GREEN LANTERN CORPS (as of the "Sinestro Corps War" onward)

The sister story to ANNIHILATION in terms of grand space opera awesomeness. Now, bear in mind, Geoff Johns' GREEN LANTERN run did not start off strongly. The guy's love of Hal Jordan seemed to get in the way of telling a good story (and his take on Hal really leaves much to be desired, as he so often reads like the character that Hal Jordan haters think he is), but once he finally unleashed the Sinestro Corps, suddenly everything GL kicked into high gear, especially with that last page of the first issue. Never, in all my years of reading superhero comics and knowing full well that they'll beat the bad guys and save the day, have I ever honestly thought, "Holy hell, the heroes are fuuuuuuuuuuucked."

Halfway into SC, it felt as if forty years of Green Lantern Corps comics have been building up to this one storyline. But of course, that was just the kickoff to the other color corps and the Blackest Night, which will wrap up next year. But no matter how good that one is, it has become a whole DCU-wide event, and the lanterns are all of different colors. Even if BL is the better story, that won't change the fact that SINESTRO CORPS is the greatest GREEN LANTERN storyline to date.

(Meanwhile, GREEN LANTERN CORPS went gone from solid to arguably better than the regular GL title when Peter Tomasi took over as writer. He understands what makes Guy Gardner lovable and has written perhaps the best Kyle Rayner I've ever seen)

And since we're talking about Johns' work, special mention should be made for his ACTION COMICS run:




This series is the one to follow after ALL STAR SUPERMAN. Johns understands what makes Superman tick every bit as well as Grant Morrison, but he does it in a way that's a little less mythical and a little more grounded. Part of that is helped by Gary Frank's artwork, which beautifully humanizes Clark without sacrificing any of the Super-ness. ACTION was off to a good start with the General Zod storyline, but it wasn't until the Legion of Superheroes came in (along with Frank as the new artist) that this Superman story finally soared.






THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES

I've only read the first volume, and snippets of subsequent issues, but that's all the need. The series is pure, guilt-free delightfulness. Whenever I tell people about this, the response in invariably, "Eh, I've never cared for Hercules." Yeah, neither did I. That's kind of the point. Pak and Van Lente have taken Marvel's lovable oaf and gave him more depth by working in some of the more... unsavory aspects of the mythical Hercules. The result is a magnificent mash-up of myth and Marvel, and--to disrupt the Stan-Lee-style alliteration--one of the most purely fun books coming out. By all accounts, anyway. I need to catch up.






INVINCIBLE

This was my #1 recommended superhero series when I worked at the comic shop. I called it, "The best superhero comic on the stands." I'm tempted to hold to that, as I can't think of any other tights-book as consistently good as INVINCIBLE. I've lent it to a couple friends who are just casual comic readers, and the reaction is always, "GOD DAMN YOU, WHERE'S THE REST?! I NEED IT!!!"

Not that everyone likes INVINCIBLE. Many people who start reading it stop after the first volume. The think, "Oh, okay, teenager with superpowers, who's the son of the Superman-type hero character. It's light and fun. That's nice. I know exactly what kind of story Bored now." I keep telling them, "stick through to the second trade, or even third." Kirkman created a wonderful bait-and-switch, and once the series really started, it was consistently awesome ever since.

Special mention for Kirkman's other excellent, long-running series, THE WALKING DEAD:





When the AV Club did their "Best Comics of the Decade" list, the comments were riddled with people crying, "You left off THE WALKING DEAD!!!" Understandably so, as this is the only comic to rival PUNISHER for "Comic That Makes You Want To Kill Yourself (In A Good Way)." This series takes the Romero zombie apocalypse, throws in a good dash of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD, and just keeps going from there. Even when this series lags (like, the vast majority of the prison arc), it only heightens when shit goes down again (like, the END of the prison arc, oh god).

For the past year, I've worried that the series' tone was going from "depressing but powerful" to "too depressing to read." At this point, the key characters are struggling to hold onto the last threads of their humanity, but Kirkman's the kind of write who'd have them lose even that. Once that happens, he'll either need to find a new cast or end the series, because damn this is a bleak series. But in the best possible way.






JONAH HEX

The best "sleeper" book at DC, hands down. Even with issues drawn by names like JH Williams III and Darwyn Cooke (who loves the character so much that he returned to draw issue #50, which came out this week!), no one ever seems to notice JONAH HEX. Everyone who reads it loves it, but no one ever seems to talk about the damn thing. For a non-Vertigo book, this series is surprisingly hardcore, simply because Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti understand that Hex is one cold sonofabitch.

Like Parker (see Part 1, the Darwyn Cooke adaptation), this brutal motherfucker would be a villain if everyone else around him weren't worse. Hex will become something more of a household name with the upcoming film starring James Brolin and Megan Fox, but I doubt it'll match up to the hardcore badassery of this series.

Most issues are stand-alone, so you can usually pick up any one and be fine, but I particularly recommend the collection "Bullets Don't Lie," as well as this week's issue with Darwyn Cooke. I haven't read it myself, but come on. It's Darwyn Cooke drawing JONAH HEX. Why aren't you buying it already?







THE SWORD


One of the most satifyingly ass-kicking comics out there. And I didn't want to like it! I never cared for the Luna Bros' artwork (why does every single person have sad eyebrows all the time?!), but then my ex-boss Peter said that it was his store's #1 recommended read, I bit. Boy, am I glad I did. In retrospect, I shouldn't be surprised that a story about a handicapped girl being healed by a supernatural sword and hunting down the three demigod-like siblings who slaughtered her family could be so awesome, but goddamn.

I only just read vol. 2 today--and there are at least two more total, as the series is close to ending if not already ended--and while I've loved revenge stories in the past, few have ever been as satisfying as this has been so far. Reading part 2, I think I literally shouted, "AW, FUCK YEAH!" holding the issue one-handed so I could fist-jab appropriately. It's that good. So far, at least.


Next time, the final part of this epic list: "Collected Editions," which are worthy compilations of pre-2000 material, as the AV Club themselves did, followed by "Honorable Mentions."

Comments

[stubbleupdate.livejournal.com]

Ex Machina is sometimes literally breathtaking.

I know that I've told everybody how when I finished The Pilot, I cried big fat tears, which doesn't happen for me. Tearing up, yes, but proper crying, no.

I was a bit unimpressed when the series took an epic turn, but now that I can see that this has been planned from the very beginning, I'm just super excited. Still, I'm disappointed that it's not out in November or January.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it. I'm only up to SMOKE SMOKE, since that's where my library ran out. I'm just gonna have to buy the big hardcover editions as they come out.

[stubbleupdate.livejournal.com]

There's some cool stuff coming up. Ex Cathedra and Power Down are both a bit more on the epic side, while Dirty Tricks (featuring Trouble, who is probably my favourite supporting character). The current Pro-Life story is good, purely because each chapter just makes me ask "How fucked is Hundred?"

Remember - Everything that you need to know about Ex Machina is explained in the first two pages of the pilot. The joy of reading it is that each issue brings you closer to the solution and has you checking your back issue to find the links.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Good tip! I'll absolutely keep that in mind.

I love writers who have their big stories planned out from the start. Makes it so much more rewarding to follow.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

It's only now, after seeing all these lists of the best comics of the decade popping up all around me that i realize how few modern comics i was buying this decade. I've basically followed Green Lantern, and only green lantern. (well, that and the boys, which you hate, and i was honestly very amused by, but got tired of waiting for the under lying sweet humanity of Ennis's work to show up.)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

If you can track it down (even just to read it in the shop), I wholeheartedly urge you to find Mazzucchelli's ASTERIOS POLYP. I think the art student in you will have a field day. Like I say, it's the best comic I've read all year.

What, not even GREEN LANTERN CORPS? Or that too?

While reorganizing my collection, I just dug out Ennis' JUST A PILGRIM and his Marvel Knights PUNISHER, both of which totally reminded me why I hate THE BOYS. I followed Ennis all the way from PREACHER onward, I read virtually everything he put out, and I can attest that THE BOYS is just him doing the same fucking thing he's been doing at his lowest points for fifteen fucking years, just a *little* bit more explicitly. I'm so bored with it. It's like, "Oh, hey, he's fucking an asteroid, of fucking course."

Sorry, ranty.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

I have read polyp.

And ofcourse Corps. I sort of consider the 2 to be the same thing. Though, at the end of the day, I actually prefer corps. I get very tired of being reminded how Hal is the greatest guy in the universe, and it's nice to see Green Lanterns who act human. Not that I have become a Hal hater, I just finally have books where I can consistently say "SEE, THAT'S WHY GUY GARDNER IS AWESOME." And have people get it.

I enjoyed the boys because I enjoy Ennis's humor (there's a reason why the "DO IT YOU SLUTS" man in room full of sheep panel from the Jesus Desade's party issue of preacher is the funniest thing in the universe to me.) But, as you well know, I am a sucker for genuine emotion and sweet humanity, which is really what Ennis does so very fucking well. Like, with Preacher, you come for the tits, blood, blasphemy, booze and violence, but you stay for the relationships between the characters. As much as anything Preacher is about the rise and fall of a friendship, and the powerful bonds and ties there in. I was waiting for that to show up in the boys, and it just never does, so i gave up on it.

And fear not with the ranty. I get plenty ranty myself sometimes.

Another time I'll have to give you (what i am told) is my rather interesting take on what The Joker and Mr. Freeze's interactions with each other should be like. (i want to make a batman and robin style ice pun now, but none of what i can think of is bad in the right way.)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Did it do nothing for you, then?

Honestly, I'm with you on Corps. Hal's still my favorite in theory, due to my sheer determination to see the character I wanted to see return after all those year's, not (and I hate to use a Hal-hater term here, I really fucking do) "Captain Perfect." And yeah, the humanity of GLC is what really sells it, especially with Guy. My Henchgirl just read all of JLI, all the way up to "I Can't Believe It's Not..." and she's utterly, utterly fallen in love with Guy, and gets defensive whenever someone badmouths him. It's awesome.

[surrealname.livejournal.com]

I think, unfortunately, since i read polyp as required reading for a class it sort of ruined it for me. The Same thing Happened with Akira (though, Akira had my general aversion to Mange going against it as well.) I liked what they were doing, but couldn't come to it from a personal level simply because I was viewing it academically, and, funnily enough, 2 years as an english major completely killed my ability to enjoy reading for academic/scholarly purposes.

Bloody feminist-deconstructionist-theory riddled essays, rassum, frassum, mutter, mumble grumble gripe, frickin fracking, hell and tarnation, no good so and so liberal arts snarl.

Plus, I hardly ever sleep at scad (seriously, it's worse than the "Oh, I slept tuesday" "Dave, It's Monday" days at wac.) so I don't retain much. I think when I am free I will go back and re-examine that one.

Of course she fell in love with Guy, Hef. All women love Guy. He is charming. I have been a walking testament to this fact at times.