Not A Best Of: Comics In 2010

Again, this is not a definitive “best of” sort of thing, just me talking about things I quite liked in 2010 while trying to avoid what I’d consider obvious contenders (Acme Novelty Library and the final volume of Pluto, this means you.)

Yes, there’s a few comics I own but haven’t read yet (X’ed Out) or have been meaning to catch up with (King City) and a few superhero comics I’ll kick myself for not mentioning (Batman and Robin and Batman: Incorporated, Thor: The Mighty Avenger and Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman’s Hulk and Atlas work,) but here’s some things that really jumped out at me and grabbed my attention.

Moving Pictures by Kathryn and Stuart Immonen
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, while standing about six feet from them, I declared that Kathryn and Stuart Immonen were the Jackie and John Kennedy of comics. The thing is, the person I was speaking with got it immediately: the restraining order level enthusiasm I have for the pair and their work is earned in spades and while both is a noteworthy creator on their own, together, their collaborative works are just plain sublime.

Moving Pictures uses the art world’s underground railroad during World War II as a backdrop, but the real story lies between two people on opposite sides of the effort. Ila and Rolf’s interactions may recall a hundred other fictional opposites, but the Immonens’ unique ability to pull emotion from spare scripts and deceptively minimal art, along with their trust in one another and their belief in the audience demands a level of engagement from the audience that is bracing and welcome.

Love and Rockets New Stories Volume 3 by Los Bros Hernandez
I’ll just add my voice to the chorus: “Browntown” is likely the best comic that Jaime Hernandez has done, period. The fact that it’s bookended by Gilbert’s masterfully bleak sociosexual sci-fi story of first contact, “The Love Bunglers” makes this possibly the highest-potency dosage of quality comics that came out this year. Like the Coen Brothers are for film, I am pretty convinced that I could read just comics by Los Bros Hernandez and feel immensely satisfied.

Absolute Planetary
I wanted to avoid mentioning reprints, particularly expensive large-format volumes that are already out of print, but reading all of Planetary in one dose reminds us that Ellis believes in people despite his curmudgeonly reputation. While Jakita Wagner kicking the shit out of anything that hoves into her view is my primary fetish when it comes to the title, getting an oversized look at John Cassaday’s development as a sequential artist free of the occasionally-year-long delays between issues is a genuine pleasure.

Peepo Choo by Felipe Smith
Felipe Smith’s three-volume manga from Vertical is insane and sexist, culturally obnoxious, and is likely be the work of a mad genius. Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before: an otaku obsessed with a bizarre anime, a wannabe gangster comic shop manager and his boss, who happens to be a bondage-clad murderer for hire, go to Japan and find out something about themselves as they engage in adventures that involve a buxom teenage model, a criminal syndicate and lots and lots of violence. Originally published in Japan by Kodansha but with barbs aimed at both sides of the Pacific, Peepo Choo is gross, cruel, smart and generally in exquisitely poor taste, even as it displays a surprising amount of heart.

It’s the sort of book that pushes the edge of commercially-viable manga and while I don’t want every comic to follow in its footsteps, I do think that the medium needs need more message-laden slaps to the face.

Elmer by Gerry Alanguilan
It’s a story of a twenty-something’s panic and journey of self-discovery after the death of his father, except that the lead character and most of the cast are sentient chickens. It’s terrific.

THE RUNDOWN: I have no idea what to put for a subhead.

1.
The new Detective Comics by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III is more than just a very pretty object: it’s a tightly-written, exciting superhero book that takes place during a linewide event that manages to be new-reader-friendly without counterintuitive information dumps or placing much of an emphasis on the event itself. All you really need to know is that there’s a new Batman and Batwoman is now operating in the town and even the incusion of the Crime Bible and its worshippers is handled in a way that shifts something from being laughably over-the-top to a credible threat that has just a touch of comic book madness about it. Williams’s work is as stunning as ever, with plenty of page layouts that make even jaded readers like me gawk a bit. The coloring from Dave Stewart helps Williams greatly, as the art shifts from a more painterly style in the Batwoman sequences to fairly-straightforward (if immaculately rendered) comics art for non-costumed scenes. While it’s obvious that this is a temporary status quo, there’s enough to get me to pick up at least one more issue of this before just saying “screw it” and waiting for the trade.

2.
I stopped reading Runaways when Brian K Vaughan left the title, but when Kathryn Immonen was announced as the writer picking up the reins after Terry Moore, I jumped right back on board. Her effusive dialogue and breathless plotting hooked me when she got her hands on Patsy Walker and while her first issue in this series doesn’t quite get off the launchpad as quickly as the others, the different approach taken suits the soap operatics that this title has had since its inception. Sara Pichelli’s work is downright gorgeous, telling the story well and even if I have some quibbles with the sameness of some of the facial features (the noses all have that ski-jump look,) the naturally body language sells scenes wonderfully. Christina Strain’s colors maintain a thematic connection to the earlier inception of the work, even as it complements the current team nicely. Very good superhero comics, and if Marvel would put the first digest back into print, something that could sell to more than the usual Wednesday crowd.

3.
I’ve only read the first half of Empowered‘s fifth volume, but god, Adam Warren is a damn demon, isn’t he?

4.
Awesome 2 is, much like the original Indie Spinner Rack anthology, pretty essential if you like comics as a medium more than as a delivery device for your genre of choice. Jim Rugg, Raina Telgemiere, Jeff Lemire, Pat Lewis, Alex Robinson, Jon Adams, and a boatload of other creators worth paying attention to contribute, and unlike most anthologies like this, it actually feels like there was an editor present.

Never As Bad As You Think, Remastered!

Kathryn and Stuart Immonen’s funny, odd, and honest Never As Bad As You Think is getting the hardcover treatment from my occasional paymasters at BOOM!. I liked it so much I read it for free, bought it when they printed it, and will be paying cash money for the new edition without hesitation, so consider it “recommended.”

Kevin Reviews His Weekly Singles #18

The Boys #21

This is the first time anyone’s used 9/11 in a superhero comic in a way that didn’t make me feel like I needed to wash my hands afterwards. While Vaughan and Harris tried admirably in Ex Machina, Ennis actually manages to make the actions (and inactions) of the series antagonists the point of the story using the events of seven years ago as a plot point, not a crutch to lend a comic book more gravitas than it deserves. Robertson deserves a lot of credit here for his part: he uses some fantastic action shots and facial expressions (particularly the horror, frustration, and fear seen in the eyes of a F-16 pilot in the opening pages) that sell the story on its own merits.

Criminal Volume 2, #4

One of the reasons I like this book so much is that it feels like Brubaker and Phillips are running a bit of a scam on Marvel by making a series that’s so counter to the publisher’s usual hype and methodologies; it’s a dark-as-hell crime comic with backing essays and interviews. The opening salvo in the four-part “Bad Night” gives us the story of the man behind those “Frank Kafka, PI” strips that have cropped up in issues past: he was a bad man once, and he’s going to have to be one again if he wants to live. I don’t want to say it’s a perfect jumping-on point, because that’s the hoariest cliché in comics, but…

Final Crisis #3

I’ll refer you to Birdie’s review of the book while saying “I told people that it was like a ‘real’ book, not some Chuck Dixon paint-by-numbers plot.”

I got the Supergirl cover, which I quite like, despite the apparent pedo tone that I missed out on.

Patsy Walker: Hellcat #2

It’s easy to be lured in by the fun visuals David Lafuente (with colorist John Rauch) is cranking out – seriously, there’s a two-page spread that rivals Williams on Promethea – but Kathryn Immonen’s script for this second issue is a nice piece of workmanship on its own, trusting the reader to connect a few dots without ever making them feel lost and coming up with at least two laugh-out-loud moments. It’s hard to not like her take on Patsy Walker: a spunky, angst-free superheroine who seems to enjoy her job is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Special Forces #3

For some reason, I left the new Army@Love in my box for Sunday, but this will certainly tide me over in the subtle-as-a-bulldozer-filled-with-dynamite war satire comics department. Baker’s a cartooning wonder, he really is. Some preview images are up on his blog.