2011 Graphic Novels of the Year

This past year was another big year for me in terms of reading graphic novels. Though I didn't reach the lofty 50 title mark like I did in 2010, by the time this gets published I'll be up around 40 graphic novels on the year...not too shabby if you ask me.  Overall, I think I definitely read better stuff this year than in years past, so quality wins out over quantity this year.  Picking out the Top 5 and a couple runners up was pretty damn difficult.  No sense in keeping you waiting here they are:

TOP 5 GRAPHIC NOVELS of the YEAR:

#5. Axe Cop: This one gets on the list due to sheer hilarity of the content.  If you haven't heard of Axe Cop let me give you the scoop: the comic is written by a five year old and drawn by his 30 year old brother...and that's what makes this so incredibly awesome.  When a five year old writes a comic you better be ready for some crazy shit to go down, and believe me, it does.

With free reign and creative control over the title, writer Malachai Nicolle fills Axe Cop up with all the wonders of his vividly wild imagination.  Be prepared for uncanny plot resolutions, an incredibly strange and diverse cast of characters, and plenty of little dude humor.

When it comes to Axe Cop I can give you one solid guarantee: you will laugh out loud.  Easily the funniest thing I read all year.

#4. Batwoman: Elegy: Let's see, does Batwoman: Elegy feature some mind blowing art and deft writing?  Yes indeed it does.  But wait there's more!  This awesome graphic novel also features a creepy villain named Alice who quotes Lewis Carroll and wants to cover Gotham in a toxic death cloud, shapeshifters, and all the fun, costumed hi-jinx you'd expect from a Bat-Title...and that's not even the best part.

Now don't get me wrong all that stuff I just mentioned is great, and pretty much essential for my own personal tastes, but the true quality in Batwoman: Elegy is found outside of the costumed parameters.  The true grit, if you will, is found when Batwoman is Kate Kane, dealing with all the troblems (troubles and problems) of her personal life.  If you don't believe me, read it.  You'll thank me.

Hey, have I mentioned that J.H. Williams III, who handles the art on this title, is fucking awesome?  Well, he is.

#3. Essex County:  If you are a steady reader of the blog, then you know I am sorta a big fan of Jeff Lemire's works of comics.  So, it should come as little surprise that there's something of his on the Top 5 graphic novels list too.

Simply put, Essex County is a wonderful tale of simple rural farm folk in Canada.  That might sound kinda boring, but this is a wonderful exploration of human emotion pared down to it's raw center.  The characters, their lives, their mistakes and regrets all come vividly to the forefront of this amazing comic. It's one of those titles that locks itself in your memory, and just as easily as you can recall the events of the story you can also easily recall the feelings, emotions and struggles you were going through in your own life while you were reading it.

At least that's what happened with me.

#2. (Tie) Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, Locke & Key: Head Games: Yeah, I'm not totally a fan of ties, but, um get used to it...

I couldn't mention one Locke & Key title and not mention the other one I read.

Allow me to point out a couple of things that may or may not be obvious: 1) Joe Hill can flat out write.  2) That fact is not limited to just novels.  2011 will definitely go down as the year I discovered the awesomeness that is Joe Hill.  I read four things by him this year, and if not for a small measure of personal restraint, I could have easily read more.  So far, I haven't met a piece of Joe Hill writing I don't love.

I'm trying really hard to restrain myself from repeatedly using words like "awesome", "sweet", "the bomb", "amazing", "outstanding" and so on, but Locke & Key is all those things and more.  I will emphasize a couple points: From what I've read so far, I'd say Locke & Key is shaping up to be the modern horror classic.  Aaaaaannnddd: Joe Hill is the bomb!  Shit! There I go....Seriously, despite all signs pointing to the fact that I'm nuts, check out my reviews for Welcome to Lovecraft and Head Games.  Or don't and miss out on something incredible.  The ball is in your court.

#1. (Tie) Planetary Volumes 1-4: It's only fitting that these four titles go down as the number one graphic novel of the year, because I read 'em all together, and really, it would be lame if four of the top 5 spots were taken up by Planetary books.

I know I said it in my review, but Planetary is the best comics story I've read...ever, and it'll be pretty damn tough to top.

This one has all the hallmarks of greatness: great writing, fantastic art, and a story that is aimed at a reader who can balance a check book, or something equally adult, time consuming and frustrating.  I really think this is a set of graphic novels that can be read and enjoyed by anyone who loves a great story, and for fans of the fantastic and or science fictional, this is it, your gateway into comics.

As great and amazing as the other titles on this list, they don't come close to Planetary.  Seriously, this is the comics medium at its absolute best.


Runners Up:


It was the War in the Trenches: A harrowing and intense look at World War I from the perspective of French trench "grunts".  Simultaneously incredible, beautiful, depressing, bleak, and tragic.

Stumptown: A tale of crime, back-stabs and double crosses in the Pacific Northwest.  Expertly written and beautifully illustrated.

There you go, another round of the year's best in the can.  It's gonna be a tough year to follow, good luck 2012. In my expert scouring of the comics medium did I miss anything?  What were your faves?

Comic Quickies Double Your Pleasure

Well, I'm still way behind on comic reviews, and as new comics come in each week, I seem to get even more behinder behind.  So this week I'll focus on three titles but give the rundown for two issues of each title.  Up first: Axe Cop!

Axe Cop Bad Guy Earth #'s 2 and 3: Axe Cop is probably the hardest comic to write a review about because so much random, inane, insane, and hilarious stuff happens in each issue it is hard to talk about a few and have things still make sense.

Basically, in Axe Cop Bad Guy Earth, Axe Cop and his team are trying to save the world from being turned into a bad guy world. And they do that by time traveling back to the time of dinosaurs.  With me so far?  Yeah, amongst other wild and weird happenings there's a trip to the year Zero Thousand and Zero, some insanely epic battles between good and evil, a magician riding a gorilla riding a lion, and a jillion bladed blue diamond sword. 

Though the second issue in this three part series felt lacking in the usual Axe Cop magic, the third and final issue had everything you could ever want and more from an Axe Cop comic.  What blows my mind about the Bad Guy Earth story line is how random, and frayed the story seemed to be, but somehow, and with great humor managed to pull everything together for a great ending, and with an amazing lack of story or plot holes.  Dare I say Brilliant?

If you haven't treated yourself yet, I urge you, nay, command you to check out Axe Cop.  It is totally free, and guaranteed to make your week better.

Sweet Tooth #'s 20 and 21: The Endangered Species story arc begins in issue #20 and as usual this looks to be another fantastic Sweet Tooth story arc.  When the ladies went off to gather some firewood, they unwittingly got trapped ewok-style in a giant net.  When they didn't return, Jeppard and Gus headed out in search of the missing women.

While Gus and Jeppard are tracking the ladies there's some great back and forth dialog between the two old companions that shows just how strained their relationship has become.  The girls on the other hand, are rescued by a strange man who has probably the sweetest dwelling in all of Lemire's post-apocalyptic world.  The man, Walter Fish, has holed up inside a dam, which has been completely retrofitted for post apocalyptic survival.  It sports some great green houses, massive stocks of canned goods, artificial light, and a cozy home and hearth.  Despite his friendly demeanor I get the sickening sense that everything is not on the up and up with ol' Walter Fish. 

In the 21st issue, Lemire takes an interesting story telling apporach.  He flits back and forth between two threads: Gus and Jeppard, who are locked in a life or death battle with a hungry bear, and the women, who are hearing Walter's life story.  The twist is that the Gus and Jeppard thread is told only through images and no words.  It's a pretty cool concept, and the wordless story telling matches the visceral battle, and captures the emotional ending perfectly.

Not surprisingly, this latest story arc is off to an awesome start.  As usual, I can barely wait for the next issue.  Sweet Tooth continues to reside at the top of the comic heap for me.  Fantastic story telling and wonderful art make this comic a regular favorite of mine.

Chew #'s 18 and 27: Huh?  Issues 18 and 27?!? Yeah, you read that right, being the crazy bastards that they are, Layman and Guillory followed up issue 18 with a nine month glimpse into the future of Chew.  Unorthodox I know, but before we get there let's take a look at #18....

Moving past the boob-tastic cover, there's uh, mounds of entertaining story in this issue.  From the looks of their most recent missions, it looks like Agents Chu's and Colby's director is trying to get them killed.  However, the two seem to have a strong survival instinct which has helped them escape the wrath of death cults, mobsters, cannibals, and mounties.  However, now he's got them running back-up for the ladies of the USDA on a suicide mission to take out a crazed general.

In the ensuing firefight, due to heavy losses, Chu and Colby are forced to use their secret weapon.  With a simple press of a button, Chu unleashes the "holy shitstorm of cataclysm" that is Poyo.  If nothing else, this issue is awesome simply for the bad-assery of Poyo, and the new sound effect: "fuckrack".  Gold.

Ok, so the 27th issue...with a glimpse of what is happening nine months down the road there is bound to be some spoilers right?  Well, on the very first page we see that Tony Chu is in a coma.  He's being visited by his twin sister, Toni, and from there we get some of Toni's back story, about her days of working at the Farmington-Kapusta International Telescope.  Aside from observing the stars or whatever, her and her fellow scientists got way into licking hallucinogenic frogs so they could pass the time by tripping balls all day long.

Once their assignment was finished, one of the other scientists decided to bring some of the froggies back with him, which then got interbred with those damn chogs.  Enter our old pal D-Bear who steals the hallucinogenic chogs for his sketchy ass restaurant, then gets busted on a covert NASA mission by Toni and her partner.

The issue is a little confusing because there is very little to frame things around, but at the same time, it works pretty well as a slice of story.  A few important things are revealed, obviously that bit about Tony being in the coma, but also it appears that Toni has some sort of food-related power as well, the intricacies of which I haven't quite figured out yet.  They also mention that Tony is an ex-FDA agent, so that is likely a clue of something that is to come as well.

More good stuff from what is steadily one of my favorite comics in my pull box.

Comic Quickies or Clash of the Titans

The Intrepids #1:  I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but The Intrepids is another awesome debut brought to us by Image Comics.  This one is sort of a spy thriller, with a healthy dose of mad science mixed in.  The team is comprised of Doyle, the strong man, Rose, a rocket pack wearing daredevil, Chester, the computers expert, and Ms. Crow, gunslinger, and team leader.

This issue kicks it into high gear early on with a mission set in Russia where we get a taste of the team's abilities as they battle it out with henchmen, and my comic reading highlight of the month: a battle with a cyber-bear!  The battle is awesome, and there's a nice little nod to Stephen King's cyber-bear, Shardik in there as well.  From there The Intrepids gives some more back story, and sets up the teams next target, the awesomely named Darius Dread, and what looks to be the main bad-guy, Doctor Koi.  From the looks of things there's some bad blood between Doctor Koi, and Dante, the team's handler and backer.  The issue ends with everything set up quite nicely for the second issue.

Overall, this was an exciting debut issue complete with solid writing and some unique and cool looking art.   I spoke to both the writer, Kurtis J. Wiebe and the artist, Scott Kowalchuk at comicon, and they're super nice dudes, and were excited to hear I'd picked up their comic.  They both warned me that though the first issue is quite awesome, the second issue is off the hook.  I can't wait.  Definitely one of my most eagerly anticipated comics.

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1: Speaking of eagerly anticipated: new Axe Cop comics, and in full color glory!

There's a new planet in the solar system, and Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier are pretty sure it's a bad guy planet.  Before they can head back to the Axe Cop station and do some tests, they get held up by the normal cops for speeding.  One faint bomb and some stolen tires later, they are at Axe Cop Station, and discover that the new planet is growing super duper fast and that it'll soon squish the earth.  It seems like a simple fly to space and explode the planet mission, but the normal cops, the army, and a couple of psychic bad guys who, have stolen a powerful machine, and can shape shift are messing up the plans.   It looks like the fate of the earth depends on Axe Cop, and his team.

This first issue was pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the brother creative team of Ethan and Malachai Nicolle.  Lots of crazy and weird things happening, and little to no idea where this thing is going, but you know it will be awesome.  Bad Guy Earth is shaping up to be yet another awesome comic.

Chew #17: This issue of Chew finds FDA agents Tony Chu and John Colby investigating a food fight that turned deadly at Tony's daughter's school.  The food fight massacre seems to be the doing of one Peter Pilaf, another character with some food related powers.  Pilaf has the ability to whip up recipes that give him the power to control people...which might somehow tie him to the space station Okroshka, which blew up recently under mysterious circumstances. 

Three really great things happen in this issue, the first, that I already mentioned, is the revelation of a new food-power.  The second is the fact that John Colby really gets to shine in this issue, and it is absolutely hilarious.  The way he goes about cracking a case is unorthodox to say the least, but incredibly effective.  The final great thing is that we get to see a bit more of Olive Chu, Tony's daughter.  She was a great surprise addition to the series and I'm looking forward to learning more about her and her backstory.

Not too surprisingly, another great issue of Chew. 

Sweet Tooth #19: This issue serves as a prelude to next story arc and the narrative focuses on the ladies of Sweet Tooth, Lucy, Wendy, and Becky.  The story starts out with the three women going for a walk in the woods near their party's campsite, and as they walk, each character talks a little bit about their past.  The really nifty thing is that each little piece of back-story is drawn by a guest artist to the series.  Nate Powell draws the Lucy vignette, Matt Kindt draws the Wendy story, and Emi Lennox draws the Becky section.  While these tales are being spun, the intervening, present day sections are drawn by Jeff Lemire, and the girls get lost in the woods, then run into even bigger problems...

It was nice to see a little bit of character development on the part of the ladies as they had only been side characters up till that point.  It'll be pretty interesting to see how their story turns out.  From the way things are set up, the next story arc looks to be quite awesome.

Emerald City Comicon

My 2011 Emerald City Comicon experience was pretty much the polar opposite of last year's visit.  Whereas last year I was an awkward, uncomfortable comic newbie and pretty much directionless, attending mostly for the spectacle, this year I was a man on a mission. 

It's crazy how much can change in a year.  Last year my comic reading consisted of a few scattered titles here and there, and you could fill a library with everything I didn't know about comics.  A year later and I could still fill a library with my major lack of comic knowledge, but I certainly am much more well read in the medium, and I have a much better grasp on my comic likes and dislikes.  As a result, my comicon this year was a much more focused endeavor.

A couple nights prior to the con, I eschewed my pending schoolwork in favor of scouring the con guest list and taking note of all the writers and artists I wanted to see, and meet.  You could've titled the list: Who's Awesome Work Will I be Drooling Over on Saturday.  I even mapped out where their booths were.  Despite my awesome planning, I knew the droves of comic fans were equally, if not even more hyped than myself, so I got there early.

Being the planner that I am, I prioritized my list, starring the must-see names.  It should come as little surprise that John Layman and Jeff Lemire, were tops on that list.  I'm proud to say that every last Chew related item I own is now signed by John, (who actually remembered talking to me at a comic shop signing last December!) and a good chunk of my Jeff Lemire collection is not only signed but sporting some awesome original art by Jeff.  In the signature department, I also got the full Joe the Barbarian run signed by the super friendly and skilled artist Sean Murphy, and I got my Axe Cop graphic novel and the ultra new Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth comic signed by both the Nicolle brothers.  Getting my stuff signed by a six year old was pretty awesome, and my Axe Cop trade is sporting a sweet red lightning bolt along with Malachai's signature.  The signing aspect of the con was a complete success, as I got everything I brought with me signed.  I wish I could have lugged more around, but a backpack can only hold so many comics!

Aside from getting lots of stuff signed, I also got to talk to a lot of great comic writers and artists.  It was cool talking westerns with Brian Hurtt, the artist of The Sixth Gun, and talking about the pressure of working with Marvel characters with indie artist/writer Farel Dalrymple.  I had an interesting talk with Mark Rahner, the writer of Rotten, about how his gritty zombie comic set in the post Civil War era draws on some of the hot new items of our recent history.  Mark puts a lot of research effort into the comic, and it adds nice hidden nugget element to the comic.

I found myself spending a good chunk of time at the Image Comics booth, which was loaded with cool creators.  Probably the biggest highlight of the con for me was meeting Kurtis J. Wiebe, Scott Kowalchuk, and Nate Simpson, three young dudes who have some sweet looking comics already out or on the way this spring.  All those guys were incredibly easy to talk to, super nice, and grateful for my interest in their material.

Kurtis and Scott work together on The Intrepids a sort of science-gone-wrong action comic. Kurtis also works on the upcoming horror comic Green Wake, which looks pretty sweet, and Nate is writing and drawing the beautiful looking Non Player which is looking absolutely amazing.  Three dudes who have some great looking comics on the horizon.

I was totally pleased with my con experience.  Getting to talk to people who entertain and inspire me is always a treat, and it gives me greater appreciation for their work, but lets face it:  Part of going to comicon is to see people dressed up, so here you go, some con pics!

Ramona Flowers

It's sorta scary how much he looks like the real deal!

Wonder Woman might wanna keep an eye on Freddy.

The last unicorn.

These guys were doing a cool pose, but my camera is slow to turn on, so instead of a cool Darth Maul attack, I caught the post-battle hug.

Review: Axe Cop

If you haven't heard of Axe Cop yet, you are missing out because it is probably the most amazing thing ever. The biggest reason Axe Cop is so amazing is due to the fact that it is a comic written by a five year-old.

Yes, you read that right and no, that isn't a typo.

Malachai Nicolle is the five year old (he's probably six by now) creative genius behind Axe Cop.  His older brother, Ethan Nicolle is faced with the task of coaxing and encouraging the story out of young Malachai, and drawing the wild imaginings of a five year old boy.  What you get is a brilliant work of creative genius.

The story goes that one day at the scene of a fire, the Cop found the perfect fireman axe and became Axe Cop.  Needing a partner, Axe Cop held tryouts and hired Flute Cop to help him fight a gang of dinosaurs.  The duo prevailed, but Flute Cop got dinosaur blood on him, and transformed into Dinosaur Soldier, and with that awesome introduction, the adventures of Axe Cop kicks off.  Along the way you'll meet an incredible cast of characters, including a uni-baby, a guy with boomerang socks for arms, a T-Rex with Gatling-gun arms, and even some moon ninjas.  You'll also travel to far off planets, visit weapon stores, battle aliens, ghost, robots and more.  Axe Cop is the perfect stream of consciousness creative story and my early favorite for best comic of the year.

Axe Cop got its start about a year ago as an online comic which featured mini episodes and the hilarious and informative "Ask Axe Cop" column.  This first volume collects most of the material at the Axe Cop web site, so yeah you could  easily read all the material that is collected in this trade there, but if you are like me, and prefer to hold an actual physical book in your hand over reading something from a back-lit screen, then this graphic novel is the way to go.

Every character in Axe Cop is hilarious, but rightfully so, Axe Cop was my favorite.  Even though Axe Cop is supposed to be this amazing heroic dude, he is also a bit of a weirdo and a creep.  Which of course, only made me love him more.  For one, aside from chopping off heads with his trusty axe, his next most preferred way to destroy his enemies is by poisoning them.  Not exactly what you'd expect from a 'hero".  Not only that but the guy is sorta strange.  Back in his pre-Axe Cop days he lived alone with no friends, no TV, and no computer, all he did was sleep all night and eat all day.  Eating disorders aside, Axe Cop can be a bit of a creeper too, hiding in bushes and spying on couples, then beheading the woman if he is pretty sure she's evil.  But Axe Cop also has a heart of gold.  He even shed a tear or two when he found out he had once accidentally killed a good guy.  That's only the tip of the iceberg too.  Aside from Axe Cop himself, there are scores of incredible characters to love in these stories.

As I said earlier, Axe Cop is pretty much a feat of unparalleled creativity.  Matching that creativity is some very fine art.  Ethan Nicolle is tasked with the difficult job of actually trying to draw the imaginings of his little brother.  That can't be too easy, but he nails it.  Each and every panel is wonderfully illustrated, and fantastically captures and portrays the wildness of the story.  As often as I laughed at the narration or something one of the characters said, I was also laughing at the art which wonderfully depicts the world of Axe Cop.

Axe Cop is pretty much a lock to be the funniest thing I'll read all year.  I read a good chunk of this graphic novel on my bus commute to and from school, and I must have spooked quite a few of the introverted Seattle Metro travelers with my steady barrage of snorts, chuckles and giggles.  Not only is Axe Cop a fun and hilarious read, it is also an amazing way of collecting and paying tribute to the fantastical imaginings of a five year-old boy.  That unbridled stream of wild imaginings doesn't last forever, and this is such a cool and unique way for the entire Nicolle family to hang on to that little slice of Malachai's life.  So in that sense, I guess Axe Cop can also be sentimental and heart warming.  Any way you look at it Axe Cop is all awesome.  I honestly can't conceive of anyone who wouldn't find something to enjoy in this graphic novel.  If such a person exists, I don't wanna meet them.  If you haven't done so already, do yourself an awesome favor and read this right away.  After you do, give yourself a laser high-five for doing the right thing.

Grade: A+