2012 Comics of the Year

2012 was easily my best year of comics reading yet.  Not only did I read a ton of great comics, but I honed my tastes further and branched out in new directions. The result being that I was rewarded with some amazing gems.  Scarily, my comics reading pile continues to grow; I think I have enough comics to last me the next couple years...

As always, I read my fair share of both floppy single issues and collected editions, or as they're more commonly known: graphic novels.  My 2012 Comics of the Year list covers just the former, the single issue stuff, and there was so much good stuff it was pretty hard to choose just the top five.

TOP 5 COMICS OF 2012:

#5. Prophet: Prophet has been one of my favorite monthly titles this year and a big reason is the sheer variety of talent that Brandon Graham has brought together for this title.  Ever since issue one (or technically issue 21), there's been a smorgasbord of talented artists associated with this comic.  Though the main players have primarily been Graham, Simon Roy, and Giannis Milonogiannis, there have been plenty of other awesome folks getting credits for this title. The result is that I've had the wonderful pleasure of being exposed to some amazing talent along the way.  Farel Dalrymple stands out as an artist who has worked on this book and impressed me greatly with his talent.

On top of all the great artistic talent associated with this comic, the story has been incredibly entertaining and intriguing.  Any week where there's an issue of Prophet is a special week.  Graham and company have created an absolutely fascinating universe to set their story in, and I love the feeling of discovery and exploration that comes with each issue.

The icing on the cake for Prophet is that each issue comes with a back-up short comic, and all of these have been fantastic. The back-up Shock Post by Malachi Ward and Matt Sheean stands out as one of the best comics I read all year.  Awesome, awesome stuff.

#4. Fatale: The combo of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is one of my favorite comic creating duos.  When these guys are together they create fantastic comics.  They did a couple of super powered spy stories in Sleeper and Incognito, then some straight up crime with their Criminal stories.  Their latest work is Fatale  a sort of crime-Lovecraftian mash up.  

I'll admit I wasn't totally enamored with this comic from the get go. I liked what I was reading, but I wasn't totally feeling it. I had enough faith and past experience with Brubaker and Phillips to keep plugging away and sure enough, everything congealed in the fifth issue.  We're two story arcs in now, the second of which was fantastic, and Fatale was an easy pick for this top five list.  

There's an awesome blend of horror and crime going on in this comic, a mix we don't see too often, and I think fans of both genres will find plenty to like here.  

#3. Godzilla The Half Century War: Despite the fact that I love monsters, I can't say that I've ever really been a Godzilla fan.  Well, that all changed earlier this year when James Stokoe started working on Godzilla The Half Century War.  

This is one amazing comic.  

It's amazing for lots of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that this is almost completely Stokoe's vision.  He does the writing, art, and lettering.  The only thing he doesn't completely himself is the coloring, and he gets "coloring assists" from someone, so he still has a hand in that aspect of the book as well.  That's an amazing amount of work to put into a comic, but the pay-off is great as there is no loss of vision along the way.  

This is one absolutely gorgeous comic too.  Stokoe is definitely one of my favorite artists, and his work here is some of his best.  His stuff is always hyper-detailed, and that skill is put to amazing use here as you really get a feel for the destruction and mayhem Godzilla can cause when he wrecks shop.  Add in some fucking phenomenal monster fights and Godzilla The Half Century War is probably the best treat for your eyes on the shelves. Oh, the story is pretty flippin' great too! A must read for any comics fan.

#2. Multiple Warheads: 2012 was the year of Brandon Graham in the comics world.  His King City stuff got recollected and republished, His amazing re-imagining of a Rob Liefeld comic, Prophet came out, and to top it all off, he started releasing his Multiple Warheads mini-series.  That's a pretty impressive output, but even more impressive is the incredibly high quality of it all...most impressive of all though is that fact that Multiple Warheads makes this list with a mere three issues worth of material on the shelves.    

Multiple Warheads, is completely a Brandon Graham entity as he handles all the comic creating duties: writing, art, colors and lettering.  To put it simply, Graham is a comic creating powerhouse of unique vision and artistic talent.  His comics simply aren't like anyone else's.  In fact, it almost seems like a deliberate effort is being made by Graham to not be like anyone else.  

And I love it.  

His stories meander, follow interesting paths until they are no longer interesting, then find another path to follow until something else comes up.  Along the way the reader is treated to some really beautiful art, and a boat-load of puns and jokes.  The misogynist parlor joke being my favorite so far.  Multiple Warheads is a shining example of how much fun comics can be, and I love and am grateful for every panel of every page.

 #1. Saga: It's not often that my most anticipated title becomes my most favorite, but that's exactly what happened here.  Saga stepped onto the scene back in March, and it has been absolutely top of the line ever since.  Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that a space opera about star-crossed lovers on the run could impress me so much, but it did. I love this story and I love these characters...with the exception of The Stalk, she scares the shit out of me!

What's impressive is that I can't point to either the writing or the art as the primary culprit of quality.  Both aspects are so wonderfully connected and work so well together that they seem to flow into one another. Granted, both the writing and the art are top of the line, and Fiona Staples has got to be the best discovery of the year for me, but it is impossible to talk about one without the other working the way into the conversation.  Simply said, Saga is a great example of how comics should work, how the art and the writing should be a combined effort.  

Month in and month out this has consistently been the best written and best looking comic on the shelves, and honestly, despite so many other really great comics, an easy pick for the number one spot.  

Most Honorable Mention: 

Sweet Tooth: Despite all the nice things I said about the comics above, Sweet Tooth is still my favorite monthly comic.  It hasn't had a dip in quality either, I simply didn't put it in the top five because I've covered it so extensively here at Battle Hymns.  I will be really fucking sad when the last issue comes out in January.  

The Sixth Gun: Another flat out fantastic comic which only gets better as the issues go by.  The fantasy-western combo has found it's home here.

Best Single Issue of 2012:

Stumptown Vol 2. #4: Holy fuck, this is an amazing comic!  This beauty gets top billing for one big reason: the best flippin' car chase scene in a comic ever. 

First, a little side story: Seattle has a bunch of drawbridges, which are really cute looking but it sucks to be stuck at one in your car while the wings raise up to let some rich prick in his yacht motor through on his way to a day of sailing. I've always thought about how cool it would be if someone just said "fuck it" and used the raising wings as a ramp to jump to the other side rather than waiting. 

It turns out Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth have had the exact same thoughts, because that very scene, among many others that were amazing, plays out in this comic.

Ahh, wish fulfillment, even vicarious wish fulfillment, can be a wonderful thing

This issue would not have been such a success without the talents of Matthew Southworth. He not only made me feel like I was watching cars scream by me at break-neck speeds, but he also played around with the format of the comic so that when the cars turned, you had to physically turn the comic in order to continue on with the story.  This was a really cool concept, and brought me closer to the action. 

I don't think I've ever had such an overwhelming sense of fun and excitement while reading a comic.  A singularly great issue and an easy pick for best single issue of the year.

So there you go, my best comics of the year. Image almost completely swept the category.  What stuff did you folks read that you thought were deserving of mention?  

Comic Quickie: Return of Stumptown

Stumptown: The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case #1: One of my most very favorite comic reads from last year was a beautiful indie comic from Greg Rucka and Matt Southworth. After crafting a wonderful crime story that seemed to be more of a labor of love than a cash cow, I wasn't totally sure I would ever see more Stumptown, but the old gang is back together.

Mim Bracca, the guitarist from the Portland based rock band Tailhook has just returned home from a long tour.   When she arrives, and the dust settles, she discovers that her prized possession, her favorite guitar, is missing.  Without wasting any time, Mim enlists the aid of P.I. Dex Parios. There's no such thing as a routine case for Dex, because before she knows it, she's getting threatened with a box-cutter, and having guns pointed at her head.

If the first Stumptown story is any indication, The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case is likely to be filled with a healthy dose of backstabs, double crosses, and a sweet plot twist here and there for good measure...  Honestly, when I saw this comic get solicited a few months back, I instantly put it on my pull list.  Stumptown is a no-brainer.  This is money well spent.  You'll get great writing, engaging characters, and a kick ass plot from Rucka, as well as some absolutely fantastic looking art from Matt Southworth.

I've been lucky enough to have seen pages and pages of Southworth's original art from this series at various comic events here in Seattle. The man is a workhorse artist who creates page after beautiful page of painstakingly detailed art that is wonderfully textured and dense, and a sheer pleasure to look at.  The guy is criminally underrated.  Sadly, he's also fairly obscure, which is completely undeserved given the quality of his work.

Stumptown is a comic that achieves perfect harmony between writing and art, a feat that is rare and special. So treat yourself: Buy it. Read it. Thank me later.

2012 Emerald City Comicon

This past weekend I made my annual journey to the Emerald City Comicon.  Well, it wasn't really much of a journey, it was just downtown, but it was still epic.  Like the past two years, I attended the Saturday version of the convention, typically the busiest, craziest day of the con, and this past Saturday was no exception.

Being the nerd that I am, I arrived right at 10 o'clock, exactly when the convention opened it's doors.  However, there was such a monster crowd that it took me about 40 minutes just to get onto the actual convention floor.  I was one very aggravated blogger during those forty long-ass minutes.  Once I actually got into the con I was shocked to see how totally packed it was so early on in the day.  The past two years taught me that the early nerd catches the creator they want to see, but there was no beating the crowds or avoiding of lines on this day, as it was nearly impossible to move through crowds and navigate to the tables of creators I wanted to chat up.

Extended chats with favorite creators were also a difficulty as the lines tended to be pretty lengthy.  I try to not be a dick and keep other people waiting, or monopolize a creator's time but it was a bit disappointing to just mumble a few words of gratitude to Brandon Graham while he signed my stuff.   I did manage to get in a few good chats though.  My best chat came from a favorite comic writer of mine, Kurtis Wiebe who not only remembered me from last year, but also mentioned that he drops by the blog from time to time!  I'd like to think I hid my giddiness well, but when he mentioned that he's read some of Battle Hymns, I grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

My modest haul...

There were many other highlights as well.  I got to chat with Matt Southworth, who had some pages from the new Stumptown issues that'll be out later this year.  From what I've seen, it looks fantastic.  I also spoke to Daryl Gregory who was there for his comic writing endeavors, but was happy to hear that I'm a fan of his prose work as well.  The guy I was most interested in meeting and talking to was Brandon Graham.  I actually made two stops by his table, once for signatures on my issues of Prophet and my copy of King City (review forthcoming), and again when there were less people around to look through his original art.  The art was beautiful, and sadly, just out of my price range, but it was still awesome to check it out.  He also had some of James Stokoe's original art pages from Orc Stain and those are glorious too.    


All told, it was a pretty good day at the con.  I was a little overwhelmed by the crowd which was much larger than past years, but I guess I shouldn't complain too much because it's not everyday I get to meet some of my favorite comic creators, and get to look at beautiful artwork.  Anyway, I know people are probably just reading this to see pictures of people dressed up, so here you go.....

Loki hangin' with some DC peeps. 

This guy was pretty scary as
Scorpion.  He had the physique
and ninja moves to go with the
sweet costume.

The ladies were lining up to
pose with Buzz.

Down in the right hand corner you can just
barely see their donation bucket.
Apparently, the poor economy has effected
even the Avengers.  

Did I crop out the dorky lookin'
Robin? Yes I did.  Just Batwoman
please. 

Easily my favorite
costume from the con.
Bowie from Orc Stain.

Review: Stumptown

Stumptown is one of those graphic novels that seems to have been created for my sole enjoyment.

The story follows Dex Parios, a private investigator who has been spending more time racking up a massive debt at the Whispering Winds casino than cracking cases lately.  Her recent cold streak at the craps table has left her owing 18 large to the casino.  For Better or worse, her luck changes when she is called upon to meet with Sue-Lynne, head of the casino.  Sue-Lynne's granddaughter has gone missing, and if Dex can track her down, Sue-Lynne will erase Dex's debt.  But finding Sue-Lynne's wayward granddaughter might be more trouble than it's worth for Dex.


 So, a crime caper set in my backwoods, the pacific northwest, with a female lead who isn't just the main character so that copious amounts of T&A can be on display, but someone most any reader, male or female, can relate to.  Yeah, it was hard for me to put this one down.

Greg Rucka's name carries a lot of weight in the comics industry, but Stumptown was my first exposure to his work.  Overall, I found his writing, plotting and pacing to be quite good.  I was hooked from the opening pages, and totally engrossed throughout the entire graphic novel.  I think Rucka's strength lies in his ability to write characters like they are regular people not just caricatures of typical crime story denizens.  Even his thugs for hire seem to have more depth than your typical hired muscle.

The story of Stumptown unfolds nicely.  There are plenty of ins, outs and twists that will keep any crime lover happy.  It's one of those stories where you know no one is telling the truth and the path to said truth is a rocky road for Dex.

No comic or graphic novel is complete without a strong art component and Matthew Southworth seems to be the perfect artist for this tale.  His gritty and grainy art style sets the tone perfectly for this down and dirty crime story.  Southworth's art, and color palette definitely make the comic feel like it is set in the Pacific North West.  His ability to fully capture Portland, and its surrounds make this comic a little bit more special. In my opinion, the art was perfect for the story. 

Now, I'll admit, there's a pretty good chance I had a predilection towards Stumptown to begin with. Before I ever did more than read the first few pages, my copy sported a lovely sketch and personalization from the artist, Matt Southworth.  The fact that he took the time to add a sketch, and talk to me about his guitar influences (of all things) makes this comic all the more special to me. 

 

Despite the fact that my copy, and interactions I had with part of the creative team, make Stumptown a special piece on my shelves, it is for sure a great comic, and worth the read.  The current edition you'll find in stores has a nice hard cover, and thick, high quality pages.  It's also slightly oversized from your standard graphic novel, all which make it even more worth reading.  The larger format allows for better enjoyment of the art, the overall quality is fitting for the quality of the story.  Stumptown is one of those stories I know for sure I'll find myself reading again over the years.  I definitely recommend this one.

Grade: A

Comic Shop Birthday Blowout

This past Friday the 13th, local Seattle comic shop extraordinaire, Arcane Comics held their 7th annual birthday bash. Aside from promoting tasty eats and yummy beverages, they also scored big time and got four awesome local comic creators to come into the shop to sign, sketch and add some flavor to the event.

Hip Flask of Elephant Men, drawn by Moritat

Mark Rahner of Rotten fame was there.  I had a very cool chat with him about how he and Robert Horton go about co-writing an issue of Rotten.  Basically they meet up at a bar and hammer out the stories.  Rahner said he tends to write the parts that feature Agent Wade, because he is more like Wade, and Horton writes the Flynn parts because he and the character are also similar.

Rahner said they have the whole series plotted out, and know pretty much exactly how everything will play out.  There is a bit of a risk that their publisher, Moonstone, wont give them the full run they deserve, so they might need to compress things a bit to squeeze in the full plot.  My fingers are crossed that wont be the case.  Rotten is one of those under-appreciated gems.  I know I've urged you all before, but check out this comic.  It is worth a read for sure.  

Matt Southworth, the artist of Stumptown was also there doing sketches and signing stuff.  Southworth mentioned that his band was playing in town the following night so he and I talked for a while about his musical influences.  He was kind enough to hook me up with his band's CD and add an amazing sketch on the inside of my Stumptown graphic novel.

Stumptown sketch by Matt Southworth.

Also in attendance was Moritat, the artist of some Elephant Men issues and DC's fairly recent relaunch of The Spirit.  He was kind enough to draw a very cool sketch of Hip Flask, one of the characters from Elephant Men, which you can see above. 

Rounding out the comic creator crew was Stefano Guadiano, an artist who is best known for his work on the highly acclaimed Gotham Central.  He brought some original pages to sell and did sketches as well.

All in all, it was a damn fun party and a great signing/sketching event as well.  If you are a local Seattleite, I urge you to check out Arcane Comics, it is truly the finest comic shop in a city filled with some pretty amazing comic shops.