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Number 3: Top Ten Comicbooks by Title/Series/Arc

Jack has sent the word, so without further ado I'm skipping ahead to set down my list of the Top Ten Comics that I've read in 2004. Keep in mind, this list includes comics from ten years ago that I just discovered in the last twelve months.

Because this is a less specific list (about titles more generally), there is a certain lack of detail in some of the entries. My next comic list will confront just those comics that have been released in 2004, and be much more specific on the details that make them so excellent.

Here goes . . .


Number 10: Powers - Who Killed Retro Girl?
Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming.

I was introduced to this title by Jack. It's the title that really put Brian Bendis on the map (his breakthrough work, if you will), and for good reason! It's a crime drama, set in a world of super-powered beings, following two cops who work in a 'powers' related crime unit. Their first investigation: the murder of one of the most well-loved superheroines ever - Retro Girl.

The novelty of this title lies in underused approach of writing the comic world from the perspective of people without powers. Instead of the normal 'go-out-and-fight-the-bad-guy' or even the Batman 'figure-out-who-the-bad-guy-is-then-fight-him' style, we get a gritty, well-dialogued, crime-drama.

Plus Bendis is a genious. Seriously.


Number 9: Batman - Hush.
Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee.

So, I've never really read DC titles before. To me, they often seem too wordy and contrived. Too much of the story is told through inner-dialogue, which can slow the pacing to a dull mope. And beyond that, most DC charaters are dated and contrived themselves.

But this story was needed slap-in-the-face. Batman was brought back to his old-school fundamentals: the moody detective who vows vengance on criminals everywhere. Almost every major Bat-foe was drug out for this one - from Poison Ivy to Catwoman to the Joker - and each issue left us on edge for the next - all the way until the final, true villain was revealed. And more to the point, this seemed a classic detective story, with each issue bringing us to a new, mystifying piece of the puzzle.

Finally, as if the story wasn't enough, Jim Lee drew the Dark Night in all of his grim glory. In one moment, he had Batman's cape blending to the shadows around his feet as he stood, shrouded overlooking a dark alleyway, then he'd fling the cape out against the sky as Batman descended on the villian below.

Beautiful.


Number 8: (Marvel Knights) Daredevil.
Brian Micheal Bendis and Alex Maleev.

This book is another innovation from Bendis. This time, he's taken the hero of Hell's Kitchen and plunged him into everything from news scandals to gang wars. I think Bendis' strengths lie in his ability to bring these stories to human levels. By that, I mean that he creates characters and situations that actually seem more human and more identifiable that what you might normally find in a comic. The dialogue is flawed, the characters are riddled with doubt and fear, and these things create and amplify the conflict that happens.

Plus the stories themselves strait rock! And when it's all filled with the gritty art of Alex Maleev, this book begins to approach true art.


Number 7: Marvel Knights Spiderman.
Mark Millar and the Dodsons.

This book is truly about the writing. The Marvel Knights line is meant to be a more mature take on the normal Marvel universe. For me, the moment Millar has Electro killing little kids as he all-out dominates Spidey, we get that this is a more scary version of things.

In fact, having Spiderman get the absolute shit kicked out of him for the entire first four issues does that pretty well. And it sets this title off to have a little more tension than you normally get.

I'm still waiting for the conclusion, and I can bet that Millar isn't going to dissapoint.


Number 6: New X-Men.
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

Morrison is one strange fuck. But it works.

For years, the X-Men have seemed in a rut, with no real change or development that seemed to last. In this series, Morrison splits long-standing relationships and pitts the mighty mutants against some of their toughest dilemnas.

And then he kills Magneto. Twice.

That part was awesome by the way. And makes it worth mentioning that Chris Claremont's Excalibur title tops the 'Worst Ever' list for actually having the idiocy of bringing back the master of magnetism. That seriously pissed me off. I hate you Chris Claremont.

But back on topic - New X-Men made the X-Men real characters. They had depth again - from gloomy Beast, further mutated into a form more fitting to his name - to Professor X, struggling with his dark past and sinister doppleganger - Morrison was bringing the characters alive with snappy dialogue and smart development. Even if his stories were completely bizzarre.


Number 5: The Ultimates, Volume 1.
Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch.

Ultimates is probably the darkest of the Ultimate Marvel line. This retelling of the Avengers made me actually respect Captain America, which is worth something.

Completely well-written (Millar again), and with the incredible art of Bryan Hitch, Ultimates is a winner five times over.


Number 4: Hellboy - Wake the Devil.
Mike Mignola.

I have seriously fallen in love with Mignola. Hellboy himself is like Indiana Jones crossed with Satan. And as for a bad guy, how much more classic can you get than teaming Nazis with ancient, evil space squids?

Wake the Devil, in particular, is near poetic. Fighting an ancient vampire, Nazi fanatics, and a Roman Goddess all in one go is intense enough. But Mignola effectively takes it further, testing Hellboy's heroic nature with one of the all-time greatest 'heroic choice' moments I've ever seen in my entire life. Of course, to make sense of it, you might need to read the previous stories (Seed of Destruction, The Chained Coffin), but those are nearly as beautiful.

And I have to note the art. The amazing, amazing art. Mignola, to me, is the Mahler of the graphic novel. His art is stunning, with a subtle complexity that is easily overlooked, and almost a life of its own. I have the oversized Art of Hellboy book, and I look through it about once a week.

Much like Jeff Tweedy is to Jackson, Mignola is my comicbook man-crush.


Number 3: Astonishing X-Men.
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.

When I first heard that the creator of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer was going to be writing the newest X-Men title, I cringed. Honestly. I really was never a fan of Buffy, and I felt that bringing any tv writer to write my favorite heroes was a recipe for certain doom.

And then I read Astonishing X-Men.

This is the most amazing comic Marvel has produced in a long while. I'm serious about this. The dialogue is extreemely smart, the characters are highly compelling (and true to what I dream of them to be), and each issue leaves me salivating for more.

The opening arc, Gifted, has the single most amazing moment in comics this year. I'll tell more on the next list.


Number 2: Y - The Last Man.
Brian K Vaughn and Pia Guerra.

What a freaking masterpiece. Brian Vaughn lays down the story of Yorick Brown - the only survivor of an apparent plaugue that's wiped out every man on earth. Litterally, Yorick and his pet monkey Ampersand are the only male mammals left on earth. Yorick only wants to get to his girlfriend, Beth, in Australia, but in his way stand Amazons, ex-cons, and Republicans. And, of course, his crucial role in the salvation of humankind.

The script is super witty, the story crazy fun. As John Munn (the owner of my local comic shop) puts it, "Y - The Last Man is comic crack."


Number 1: Planetary.
Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin.

Holy shit. This book is the reason god created comics (Wizard says it's Y, but I strongly dissagree).

At first, each issue seems disconnected. Tied together only by the three characters that are investigating each mystery. Soon enough, however, you see that there is indeed a greater narrative at work. In fact, a narrative that draws on the mysterious main character's forgotten history.

At issue 21, Planetary is already a masterpiece. Cassaday's art is stunning. Ellis' writing is stunning. This book is godly.

And there it is. Now, check out what Jack has to say . . .