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?  

Graphic Novel Review: Omega The Unknown

I was drawn to Omega the Unknown for the fact that Farel Dalrymple, who has impressed me with his artwork before, handles all the artistic duties for this ten issue story.  The fact is, I've been actively seeking out his work for the past few months, because I think he's a great artist.  Sadly, his published works are hard to come by, and he's one of those artists who works sporadically.

Even though this is a Marvel comic, one look at the cover, or a quick flip through the pages, and it's quite easy see that this ain't your ordinary Marvel story.  The titular hero is pretty much an unknown (just like the title says)...unless you're a follower of obscure 70's heroes who never hit the big time. Well, apparently Jonathan Lethem is, 'cause he wanted to revive one of his favorite heroes from his teen years, and boom, next thing you know, he's writing a ten issue arc.

So what is Omega the Unknown all about?  Well, that's kinda tough to answer.  There's a mute hero, all dressed in blue, who battles robots with the prime directive of killing the guy in blue.  There's also a teenage boy, the recipient of a strange up-bringing, whose life seems mysteriously connected to this blue guy.  There's also a cheesy (and annoying) costumed hero by the name of the Mink, who gets involved in the drama.  Mix in some flesh eating nano-robots, a talking, and singing park statue, and a human-sized hand that was once part of the Mink, and you've got the recipe for what is quite possibly the strangest comic on the shelves.

If I could only use one word to describe this comic, I'd say it is "surreal".

The story is incredibly strange, and though there are elements that play into the comic that are typically elements I enjoy, I didn't find myself nearly as entertained as I had hoped.  The reason being is that there was no way to connect those cool elements, (namely the flesh eating nano-robots) to any kind of story or character that I cared about.  There was absolutely no way for me to relate to any of the primary characters here, and the one character that was normal, a teenage girl named Amandla, didn't have enough of a role in the story for me to latch on to.  By the end I didn't even feel all that compelled to finish the graphic novel.  Which isn't a very good sign.

I'm also a little torn on the art as well.  There's not doubt that Dalrymple is a unique artist, who can instill a certain feel on a comic with his style, but I didn't find myself nearly as impressed with his interior art as I had expected.  It was just too inconsistent for me.  There were times when I thought the panels looked really good, and times when I thought they looked rather pedestrian, and that his layouts needed work.

The biggest detractor, aside from the strange, surreal story, was the color palette that was employed.  There's absolutely no color gradients in any of the panels, so if something that is purple, it is the shame shade of purple no matter how the light is hitting it.  This makes everything feel kinda flat, and after a while, got a bit annoying. I know it seems nit-picky to drag the coloring through the muck, but the fact is that it didn't do justice to Dalrymple's art.  Especially when you compare the interior art to that of the covers which Dalrymple colored himself, and which look waaaaay better.

Omega the Unknown is easily one of the weirdest things I've ever read.  And when I say weird, it's not weird in a good way, like China Mieville's stuff, it's just flat out weird.  The kind of weird that leaves you feeling a bit unsettled, and mentally befuddled.  Weird..

Overall, this isn't something I can really recommend.  Sure, Dalrymple's art is cool, and way different from the kind of stuff that is normally attached to anything baring the Marvel logo.  For my money however, this isn't his best work, or work that allows him to flourish.  I'd love to see him get more steady work in comics as I think he's a great artist, but I feel like this is not the best example of the kind of quality I associate with Dalrymple.  I don't say this often, but this one was didn't do it for me, and likely wont thrill too many others either.

Grade: D+

Comic Quickies: A Hot Batch of Tasty Comics

Reset #1 of 4: This new title has two good things going for it; one it is written by Peter Bagge, of Buddy Does Seattle fame, and it has a premise similar to that of my #2 book of the year last year, Replay.  With two gold stars sitting proudly on its star chart, it should come as no surprise that I've been looking forward to Reset for quite some time.

So what exactly is the premise? Well, the comic stars a guy named Guy Krause, who's a has-been actor and stand-up comedian.  Krause is at a court-ordered safe driving course, thanks to a road-rage conviction, when he meets Angie Minor, a consultant for a tech firm that has developed a machine that lets you relive your own life.  Angie wants to hire Guy to be the guinea pig and test out this new technology.  Since life seems to have Guy backed up against the ropes, he agrees to this strange proposal.

The first issue lays down a lot of ground work, and explains the machine but still manages to pack in some great story as well.  Guy's first foray into his past begins at his high school graduation where a pretty girl who'd never spoken to him all through high school finally talks to him, and when she does she calls him a "Spaz".  It's pretty funny to see how such a stupid little incident has had a lasting impact on Guy and watching him relive that moment is pretty hilarious.

As far as first issues go, this was a pretty good one and I'm definitely looking forward to more.

Prophet #24: Holy shit, it is hard to believe, but this comic just keeps getting better.    First I was treated to three issues of incredible Simon Roy art, and though I am sad to see him go, I was also happy to see that the art for this issue and the next will be handled by the amazing Farel Dalrymple.  This entire issue is like one great big treat for the eyes.  I think I read the whole issue with my jaw dropped.

So yeah, Dalrymple delivers some very beautiful art here, and as per usual, Brandon Graham delivers another slice of awesome story.  This issue kicks off a new story arc, and I gotta say, it looks to be another gem.  I'd put this comic in my top three favorite comics right now.

Even though this comic is already great enough, I think it gets a few extra cool points for not only featuring some kick-ass art talent, but also some absolutely wonderful back-up stories.  This month's Shock Post  by Matt Sheean and Malachi Ward is my favorite one yet.

The Sixth Gun #21: This was a pretty cool issue of The Sixth Gun as it was a completely silent issue.  The reason behind the silent issue is that (Slight Spoiler...) Becky has temporarily lost her hearing due to a large explosion, so we get a text-less issue.

When I was reading this I tried to decide if it would be easier or harder to pull off a silent issue, and I decided it would be much harder.  The scripting has be a lot tighter, and there's a lot of pressure on the artist to carry the story and make it understandable.

Well, easier, harder, whatever, Bunn and Hurtt pulled it off, and delivered a sweet action-packed issue.  Lots of shit gets blowed up, lots of bullets fly and lots of folks get filled with lead.  There's also an appearance by a (seemingly) massive tentacled beast towards the end, so I'm excited to see what that's all about next month.  This is one of the best comics on the shelf month in and month out.

Saga #2: Saga, one of the hottest debuts of the year is back for it's second issue.  The first issue was sublime, so my expectations were pretty high going into this second issue.

Vaughan and Staples did not disappoint.

There's a lot of character development, and world building going on in this issue, and Vaughan does a great job of blending all that in with the story.  I'm already beginning to like, dislike and be weirded out by a bunch of the characters in a way that reminds me of my first ever A Game of Thrones read.  The various story lines are all quite fascinating so far, and I am very eager for more.

This issue also had a very creepy and haunting scene with a bounty hunter named The Stalk that will surely be giving me nightmares until the next issue comes around.  Great stuff!

Comic Quickies: Tales of Death

The Unexpected: 'Tis the season for horror, and The Unexpected, a one shot from Vertigo, is packed full of the stuff from the glorious cover drawn by Rafael Grampa to the back cover, which has an ad for The Big Bang Theory which is a wholly different brand of horror.

Vertigo managed to pull together some pretty big names to contribute to this anthology, but for the most part, I was disappointed with the content.  There was a decent ghost story in there from Joshua Hale Fialkov and Brian Wood delivered the goods with his tale Americana, (though it was a story that didn't actually feel like horror) and I enjoyed looking at Farel Dalrymple's art, but aside from those few high points I was pretty underwhelmed.  The rest of the content seemed to fall into one of two categories: "gore-fest" horror, which I don't care for at all, or "shocker endings!" which were never very shocking and at times outright predictable.

The $7.99 price tag makes me feel like I was ripped off.

 The Shade #1 of 12: After Batman, The Shade is my favorite DC character.  I say this despite my only previous experience with the guy being the first Starman Omnibus.  His shady demeanor, (pun intended), his ambiguous morals, and his creepy ability to make shadows come to life as beastly constructs makes him a memorable and like-able character.  The fact that this twelve issue mini-series is written by James Robinson, who wrote the Starman stuff and has an all-star lineup of artists working on the issues made this title a must have for me.

The first issue got things off to an odd start.  From what I can tell, The Shade basically spends his time sipping tea with superheros, and engaging in post-coitus repartee with his lady.  He also takes a stroll.

Robinson seemed to more intent on showing who The Shade is and only gives readers a very small taste of what he is capable of.  There is a shocker ending that was actually shocking, and has me pretty excited for the next issue.

Also, Cully Hamner handled the art for this issue, and he makes everything look beautiful.  Definitely worth checking out.  It'll be interesting to see where the hell this one is going.

Who is Jake Ellis #5 of 5: FINALLY!!

I think it was about at two or three month wait (it felt like longer!) for this final installment of what has been one of my favorite comics of the year.  Delays suck, but Who is Jake Ellis is worth the wait.

Since the very first issue, this has been an comic steeped in mystery, with a healthy dose of espionage action tossed in to make a delicious concoction of comic genius. I loved everything about this comic, from the writing, to the art, and the colors, and the final installment delivers on all fronts.  (Except for the ugly gray-tone cover, what the hell?)

I've always said that good endings are hard to come by, and the ending here (or is it?  More Jake Ellis please!) is pretty well handled.  Writer Nathan Edmondson wrapped up much of the mystery that was swirling around the primary characters, and answers most of my burning questions, and manages to leave the door open for potential sequels.  Not too shabby by my book.

If you aren't already reading this in single issues, buy the trade when it comes out. You will thank me.  Who is Jake Ellis is one of the best titles to hit shelves this year.

Sweet Tooth #26: Jeff Lemire is a busy dude lately.  He's writing and illustrating Sweet Tooth, plus writing  two other comics, and working on his creator owned graphic novel Underwater Welder in his spare time.  So when I heard that he was taking a three month hiatus from his Sweet Tooth drawing duties, I wasn't that surprised.

His sub, Matt Kindt, has been the subject of much scrutiny between myself and other Sweet Tooth readers at the comic shop.  I wasn't too thrilled to think that someone other than Lemire would be drawing the likes of Gus, Jeppard and the other Sweet Tooth folks, a feeling that seemed to be universal.

Well, boy was I surprised when I cracked open issue #26, Kindt's first call of duty, to find that he would be handling the art for a three issue side story titled The Taxidermist that is set one hundred years prior to the events of the main story line.

The story follows Dr. James Thacker on his sea-faring journey to the icy northern wastes of Alaska in search of his brother in law, who has gone missing while attempting to set up a Christian mission for the native Alaskans.  As soon as Thacker, the ship's captain and first mate hit land and begin their trek towards the settlement, things start to get weird, and before too long, their sled dogs are mysteriously killed, and things go south from there.

An awesome start to what looks to be an interesting side story.  Oh, and Matt Kindt's art is a good match to the strange story of icy Alaskan mystery and mayhem.

Near Death #1: Would I read a crime thriller set in Seattle? Sign me up!  Well, that's just what you get with Jay Faerber's Near Death.

Markham is a killer for hire, but from the looks of things in the early pages, his most recent job went to shit.  Now Markham is severely injured, and racing to save his own life.  He winds up on the operating table of a friend who runs an animal hospital and flatlines during surgery.  During his near death experience Markham is confronted by the hundreds of souls he's put to death, and told he needs to make amends for his sins.  Markham eventually is saved, and during his recovery, decides to use his skills to save people rather than kill them.

This first issue delivers the concept for the series in a pretty straight forward and workman like manner.  There is a no nonsense feel to the comic, which is possibly meant to make the story seem more spare and hard boiled, but to me it made the characters, especially Markham come across as empty vessels.  There is an interesting twist at the end that makes me think there might be more to this fledgling series than meets the eye, but I'm definitely on the fence with this title.  I do have the second issue waiting to be read, so I'll see if #2 can deliver the goods before I decide whether to carry on with this series or not.