Looking back over a whole year and picking your favorites is harder than you first think. I'm sure there are classic comics that came out this year that I’m missing, and most of my choices seem to be from the latter part of the year, presumably because my memory is so terrible I cant remember that far back. So here I my choices as of right now, from the top of my head, some of my stand out comics of the past 12 months and the reasons why:
(One of my) Favorite Single Issues.
Jonah Hex #50 – Funnily enough this is not where I take my name from, but seeing as we share the name we are practically family so shame on me for not visiting this awesome Clint Eastwood styled cowboy more often. I did read the first few issues of Jonah Hex and while I thought the writing was pretty good, Luke Ross’s art is too slick and still for my liking and I never continued with the series. Then I heard about this issue and everyone was gushing about it. Darwyn Cooke had stepped in on the art duties for this special anniversary issue. The basic story is a heartbroken Hex is given the task of killing 50 wanted men while we see his love interest set up a home for herself in a nice little town. Of course its not that simple and trouble soon follows but I really don’t want to spoil the story on this one , it just needs to be read. It was heartbreaking and beautiful comic. One of the issues of the year for me and I hope for more of the same when I come back to pick up issue 51.
Favorite Ongoing Series'
Green Lantern has been consistently one of the best ongoing series since it began and this year just took it to another level with Blackest Night and the introduction of Doug Mahnke on pencils.
Batwoman: Detective Comics has married interesting storytelling and characters with amazing visuals. One of the books of the year for me and long may this book continue when Batwoman gets her own series.
The Sword has been my favorite work from the very talented Luna Brothers so far. Brilliant ideas, epic storytelling and brutal action, it’s just a shame it will be wrapping up in 2010.
Best New Series'
Azrael has seen a surprisingly good start in my opinion. One of my fav X-Men writers Fabian Niciesca has told a separate story each issue challenging the morals of the new Azrael. I hated art on Red Robin, but here its urban and gritty which is a great fit for this book. Bat fans should check this series out.
Ultimate Comics Avengers has been like an all out action movie,. This is writer Mark Millar's big summer blockbuster, with an awesome cast of characters, fun dialogue with knock out art. I've never ever cared about the Ultimate Universe before ,but now... well I still don't really, but this book rocks.
Posts
Cool post Hex. I used to have a ton of issues of Jonah Hex, and I liked how they were usually done-in-one. Issue #50 sounds pretty compelling.
ReplyDeleteAzrael is interesting enough, but I can't bring myself to buy that book on a monthly basis. I did like how they really gave him a different moral code than the rest of the Bat universe.
"and most of my choices seem to be from the latter part of the year" Yeah, I had the exact same problem! With the exception of GL, I have to say, I haven't read ANY of the books on your list! Just for the hell of it, I'm going to see if I can grab that copy of Hex #50. Besides that though, which of the series you've listed would you recommend the most?
ReplyDeleteYeah I would recommend that hex issue to both you guys for story and art.
ReplyDeleteX- id say id most recommend batwoman detective comics. i think you'll like it.
I'd never really given much thought to the Batwoman character, but since I plan on dropping a few X-books, I think I'll give this series a go. Thanks for the rec Matt.
ReplyDelete