THE BEST OF 2020 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

THE BEST COMICS OF 2020:

- 2020 was a trying year for the comics industry. The pandemic put even more strain on already-challenged comic book stores. Major conventions like WonderCon and Comic-Con were cancelled - as were smaller cons around the country and around the world. And the early months of lockdown saw publishing schedules in disarray, as, for weeks on end, books were delayed or just plain MIA. 

But, man - was I ever thankful for comics this year. As we all struggled to cope with the new normal of the pandemic, logging on to Comixology each week (now on Tuesdays!) was a much-needed and always-exciting ritual and event. Eventually, publishing got back on track, and having that weekly dosage of escapism and storytelling was crucial. This was a year where we needed heroes - we needed inspiration, we needed imagination, and we needed art. And comics provided that in spades - from new takes on classic superheroes to mind-bending sci-fi to gritty crime stories - there was a great diversity of great stories this year. And in the absence of big superhero blockbusters on the big-screen, comics gave us the brightly-colored superhero epics we craved. We got heroes that were just plain fun and badass and awesome (Kelly Thompson's runs on Marvel's Captain Marvel and Black Widow), and heroes that dealt with current-day issues like bigotry and racism head-on (John Ridley's DC Comics magnum opus The Other History of the DC Universe, Gene Luen Yang's Superman Smashes the Klan). We got more riveting work from some of today's best writers - like Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Robert Kirkman, and Jeff Lemire. We even got movie and game tie-in comics - like Blade Runner 2019 and Life Is Strange - that were unexpectedly excellent. 

So like I said last year: read comics. We need them now more than ever. 

Here are some of my favorites from this past year.


DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2020:


1.) Pulp

This year, writer Ed Brubaker - aka arguably the best comics writer working today (or, arguably, the best writer - period ...) decided to eschew weekly comics for standalone graphic novels. The results, predictably, were pretty spectacular. His first, Pulp, was a flat-out masterpiece - an incredibly-crafted story about a former Wild West outlaw turned small-time thief. Now an aging, past-his-prime relic in the late 1930's, the man once known as The Red River Kid must pull one last score, with an unexpected target. Pulp is, as the title suggests, pulp fiction of the highest order. It's a masterclass in pulp-noir writing - with stunning and atmospheric art from Brubaker's frequent collaborator Sean Phillips to boot. This was the comic of the year, and further evidence that Brubaker and Phillips are the best in the game.


2.) Reckless

- And here we have Exhibit B of Brubaker and Phillips' undisputed greatness - their second graphic novel of 2020, Reckless. I mean, look - I wanted this list to be diverse - but when you have a creative team putting out two stone-cold classics in one year, you've got to give them their due. Reckless is classic Brubaker/Phillips - hard-boiled crime-noir storytelling about a broken man in a hard-edged world seeking justice. The difference here vs. Pulp is that Reckless is designed to be the first in a series of stories about the book's star - former FBI agent and former undercover Weather Underground member Ethan Reckless. It's gloriously pulpy - with its 80's LA noir setting, colorful cast of characters, and twisty mystery story. And man is it good. I can't wait for more.


3.) The Other History of the DC Universe

- As 2020 comes to a close, we're only one issue into screenwriter John Ridley's multi-part DC Comics epic - but already, it has the makings of a new classic. Ridley's conceit is that he's mixing real-world and DC Comics history to tell a story about America and about superheroes, from the perspective of characters who are of color, who are LGBTQ, who have often been relegated to the fringes of the DC Universe. The first issue gives us a biographical story of Jefferson Pierce - aka Black Lightning - and takes us through the decades as he comes up as black superhero in a world where such a thing is rare. Ridley pulls no punches here, taking aim at everyone from Ronald Reagan to Superman - and the result is an ultra-compelling, thought-provoking read. Bring on the next chapters.


4.) Black Magick

- After long gaps and delays between issues, in 2020, we finally got a sustained run of writer Greg Rucka and artist Nicola Scott's amazing supernatural series Black Magick. The story of modern-day witch Rowan Black, the comic combines real-feeling characters with a sprawling mythology that spans centuries. And the art by Nicola Scott is incredible - stunning black and white, peppered with the occasional burst of color. While it looks like, sadly, we're headed for another hiatus for the series in 2021 ... I'm so glad we got more of this book this year. 


5.) Superman Smashes The Klan

- Writer Gene Luen Yang gave us a deceptively powerful Superman story for the ages with this one, which concluded its multi-part tale at the beginning of 2020. The story, based on a classic episode of the old Superman radio show, sees Superman take on the KKK in the 1940's. This felt like the Superman we needed in 2020 - even if the book is set decades ago. It's a Superman who stands up for the oppressed, who speaks out, and who attacks hatred and bigotry head-on. 


6.) Black Widow

-  Kelly Thompson continues to be one of my favorite writers. I was a big fan of her work writing Hawkeye, and this year she's been killin' it on two of Marvel's best ongoing books - Captain Marvel and Black Widow. Black Widow got a reboot this year, in theory timed to the ultimately-delayed movie. But who needs a movie when you've got an incredible BW comic coming out every month? What Thompson has done here is brilliant - giving Black Widow a husband, a kid, a regular job, and ... no memory of her life as a super-spy/superhero. The ongoing mystery of what the heck is going on has been a joy to watch unfold, made all the better by Thompson's knack for quippy dialogue and fast-paced action.


7.) Dark Knights - Death Metal: The Secret Origin

- DC's sprawling Dark Knights - Death Metal saga is finally reaching its long-time-coming conclusion in January. The epic story chronicles the final battle between DC's biggest heroes and their evil, mirror-universe counterparts from a sinister "dark multiverse," led by the all-powerful Batman Who Laughs - a nightmarish mash-up of Batman and The Joker. Along the way, there have been numerous side stories and spin-offs - the strongest of which has, easily, been The Secret Origin. Written by Geoff Johns - the DC writer who quickly rose to fame (and an executive position within Warner Bros) over the last two decades - The Secret Origin actually marks one of the only comics written by the once-prolific Johns over the last several months (I'll cut him some slack - he's been writing movie scripts and showrunning the fantastic series Stargirl). But The Secret Origin lets Johns provide a final chapter for one of his most memorable characters - the once-innocent, now-evil villain known as Superboy Prime. In this awesome story, Prime gets one final shot at redemption - and Johns makes the character's final fate both moving and epic.


8.) Lazarus: Risen

- Another year, another spot reserved for Greg Rucka's long-running masterpiece Lazarus on my Top 10 list. Lazarus started out as a monthly comic book - a grimly bleak near-future dystopian tale about a world ruled by ruthless corporations locked in Game of Thrones-style perpetual conflict. A few years ago, the book evolved to become Lazarus: Risen - releasing oversized quarterly issues that feature extra pages of prose stories to compliment the main comic. And man, with each passing year, our own reality seems to inch closer to that of the one in Lazarus. Rucka even writes mini-articles in the back pages that discuss how our real world and his fictional one seem to be converging. But Lazarus remains top-tier comics. A must-read.


9.) Blade Runner 2019

- A comic that hit my radar in 2019 became one of my full-fledged faves in 2020. This new entry in the Blade Runner canon is damn good, giving us an entirely new story in the world of the films - one that gives us a great new lead character in the form of a blade runner (and, eventually, ex-blade runner) named Aahna "Ash" Ashina. Ash is a great new protagonist - a morally-conflicted, hard-boiled badass in the grand Blade Runner tradition. And the comic does a great job of throwing her into the deep end, in a story that mixes the familiar with the new in pretty brilliant fashion If you're a fan of the franchise, this one is essential.


10.) Fire Power

- Robert Kirkman, the maestro behind The Walking Dead, hit it out of the park with the oversized #0 issue of his latest series, Fire Power. That first issue gave us a mini martial arts epic - the story of a young man who travels to a distant mountain monastery, to train with a secretive clan of kung-fu warriors who've mastered the use of fire as a weapon. Awesome, right? Well - twist! (Kirkman is pretty good at those ...) It turns out that was just a prelude - the series then flashed forward decades, and our hero now lives a quiet suburban life with a wife and kids ... until his past comes calling. It's great, page-turning stuff - made even better by the ultra-fluid, cinematic art of Chris Samnee. 


Other Favorites from 2020:

• Rorshach
• The Department of Truth
• Captain Marvel by Kelly Thompson
• Hawkman by Robert Venditti
• The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage
• The Boys: Dear Becky
• Justice League Dark by Ram V
• Batgirl by Cecil Castellucci
• Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy
• Lois Lane
• Batman and the Outsiders
• Basketfull of Heads
• X-Men by Jonathan Hickman
• Sweet Tooth: The Return
• Ascender
• Oblivion Song
• Nightwing by Dan Jurgens
• Teen Titans by Robbie Thompson
• Detective Comics by Peter Tomasi
• Ms. Marvel
• Captain America by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Gideon Falls
• Fantastic Four by Dan Slott
• Doctor Doom
• Life Is Strange

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Ed Brubaker (Pulp, Reckless)
2.) Greg Rucka (Black Magick, Lazarus, Lois Lane)

3.) Kelly Thompson (Black Widow, Captain Marvel)
4.) Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth: The Return, Ascender, Gideon Falls, The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage)
5.) Robert Kirkman (Fire Power, Oblivion Song)
6.) John Ridley (The Other History of the DC Universe)
7.) Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan)
8.) Mike Johnson and Michael Green (Blade Runner 2019)
9.) Peter Tomasi (Detective Comics)
10.) Ram V (Justice League Dark, Catwoman)


ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Sean Phillips (Pulp, Reckless)
2.) Nicola Scott (Black Magick)
3.) Chris Samnee (Fire Power)
4.) Fernando Pasarin (Hawkman)

5.) Russ Braun (The Boys: Dear Becky)
6.) Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth: The Return)
7.) Elena Casagrande (Black Widow)
8.) Jorge Fornés (Rorschach)
9.) Andrea Sorrentino (Gideon Falls)
10.) Carlo Pagulayan (Batman)

THE BEST OF 2017 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

 
THE BEST COMICS OF 2017:

- 2017 was in many ways a great year for comics - although it was also, I think, a year of identity crisis. Thanks to the continued prevalence of superheroes in movies and on TV, more people are getting into comics than ever - and that has, justifiably, led to calls for more diversity in terms of both content and creators. But how the industry has handled its newly-diversified fanbase has exposed a lot of growing pains. Just recently, Marvel cancelled several fan-favorite books featuring female and/or diverse lead characters - and this comes a few months after Marvel execs warned that too much of a focus on diversity had hurt their sales. To me and many other fans, that sounds like an excuse to stick to the tried and true, instead of a real plan for growth and change. Personally, while I enjoyed several books from DC and Marvel this year, I also - especially by year's end - grew weary of the same handful of creator names popping up again and again and again. Creators who have done decent work at best keep getting put on the highest profile DC and Marvel books, while brand new names and faces are rare. It was nice to find those new, promising creators this year where possible. Take Kelly Thompson, who really wowed me with her Hawkeye series at Marvel, that focuses on female Hawkeye Kate Bishop. It's a more than worthy follow-up to Matt Fraction's seminal run. Thompson also did a really fun Captain Phasma miniseries that served as a nice prelude to The Last Jedi. With Hawkeye's unceremonious cancellation, I'm curious to see where Thompson goes next. That said, a lot of stuff I read and really enjoyed in 2017 was admittedly from longtime favorite creators - names like Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and Jeff Lemire. These are guys whose writing I will never tire of - and the emergence over the last several years of Image, Dark Horse, and other publishers who stand aside and let creators do their thing has allowed these amazing writers to put out some career best work in recent years.

Comics also directly addressed the current political climate in 2017. I think there was a lot of unfair criticism of Nick Spencer's run on Captain America, and the spin-off crossover epic Secret Empire. For those unaware, Secret Empire presented a version of Cap from an alternate past that merged with and overwrote the main timeline. This Cap was raised and mentored by evil, Nazi-esque organization Hydra, and ended up taking over the world by force - until eventually being toppled by a heroic resistance (a big theme of 2017!) and the returned-from-cosmic-purgatory real-deal Cap. Secret Empire was a really dark, oftentimes disturbing story - and parts of it didn't quite work. And yet ... I liked it. It was big, bold, and interesting - and yes, its corrupted version of Cap was all too reminiscent of America in 2017: a dark, twisted version of the idealistic place it's supposed to be. Ultimately, the evil Cap was taken down (this is comics, after all) - and so hope remained even in the wake of a very dark moment. That same hope is what continued to power Marvel's best book, Ms. Marvel, in 2017. Kamala Khan has been the hero we needed over the last few years - and in 2017 writer G. Willow Wilson continued to address the issues facing our country with spirit, spunk, humor, and humanity. Marvel: don't even think about cancelling this book.

DC, meanwhile, wisely re-shaped some of its biggest heroes to be more inspirational for our dark times. Superman was perhaps the biggest and best change - going from young, alienated outsider in the now-ditched New 52 continuity, to noble father figure, family man, and elder statesman in the revised Rebirth version of the DC Universe. This was a much-needed change, and the Superman books have continued to be a lot better - and a lot more Superman-like - since the start of Rebirth last year. That said, many DC books seemed to collapse under the weight of a bi-weekly publishing schedule this year - a lot of pretty-good books, from The Flash to Green Arrow - just seemed to run out of steam as the year came to a close. I hope that DC re-thinks the frequency at which they publish their key books - because two issues per month is just too much and inevitably leads to both fan and creator burn-out. Still, DC often seems to find success with left-field content. Their Super-Sons book, which pairs Superman's son Jonathan Kent with Batman's son Damian Wayne, has been a lot of fun. So too has New Super-Man, a book about the superheroes of China. The new Mister Miracle book from Tom King is a trippy delight. DC even published a bunch of DC/Looney Tunes crossovers this year that produced one of the biggest surprises of the year - a Batman/Elmer Fudd story that was legitimately incredible (seriously!).

But as I alluded to above, what's made comics the best they've ever been over the last few years has been the rise of smaller publishers - who are taking chances and giving new and established creators room to do their thing. The amount of interesting, original, imaginative, boundary-pushing comics out there from Image and others is staggering - it's hard to keep up. And you can bet that many of these books are going to end up as tomorrow's next big TV or movie franchises.

 
DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2017:

1.) Kill Or Be Killed

- A lot of stories are easy to sum up: oh, this story, it's about X, Y, and Z - it falls into this genre, and the point of it is ... this. But when it comes to Ed Brubaker's superlative Kill Or Be Killed, well, I'm still not sure how to describe it, where it's all going, or what, exactly to take away from it. I just trust in Brubaker and go along for the ride. What I do know is that this comic contains the best writing of any comic currently being published, and great, atmospheric, moody art from Brubaker's frequent collaborator Sean Phillips. I do know that it's, on the surface, about a seemingly average (maybe a bit mentally unstable) guy, who has visions that compel him to don a red hood and go out into the streets and kill bad people. I do know that the comic presents all kinds of fascinating moral grey areas, some amazingly multilayered characters, and a story that's unpredictable as hell. I know that I can't wait for each new issue. And I'm not sure, but I am starting to sense that this might just be the best thing Brubaker's ever written in his storied career. This book is dark, twisted, and really, really compelling.

2.) Black Hammer

- Black Hammer continued to be amazing in 2017. You might think: haven't we seen enough superhero deconstructions at this point? And we have. But Jeff Lemire makes room for one more with Black Hammer - a brilliant superhero deconstruction that differentiates itself by both 100% embracing all the silly conventions of superhero storytelling, but also pulling back the curtain and adding unexpected layers of complexity to each of its very identifiable superhero archetypes. Black Hammer went on hiatus earlier this year - and I can't wait to see what happens when it resumes. But in the meantime, Lemire's been penning an equally great spin-off called Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil, that fills in some of the world of the series. Lemire has been a favorite writer for several years now, but man, he had an absolutely killer 2017 - and Black Hammer is proof.

3.) Royal City

- And here's Lemire again. Royal City is written *and* drawn by Lemire, and Lemire's evocative, water-color-esque style is perfect for this book - giving the grounded, slice-of-life story an added layer of dreamlike nostalgia. Royal City is the story of a broken family living in a seen-better-days industrial town. The family is haunted - figuratively (and maybe literally!) by the ghost of one of their own - the family's youngest son who died tragically when he was a teenager. The book spans multiple decades and paints a moving portrait of a American life. It's still early, but when all is said and done, this may just be Lemire's masterpiece.

4.) Lazarus / Lazarus X+66

- Greg Rucka's sprawling dystopian epic Lazarus has been one of my favorite books for many years now, but in 2017, it really, disturbingly, felt like the near-future world of this series was reflecting back on our actual reality. In Trump's America, Lazarus' fractured world - ruled by corporations and the elite families that run them (all others are "waste") - seemed less like a far-fetched sci-fi vision and more like an all-too-real possibility. And what propped up Lazarus on my list this year was not just this new relevancy, but also the large amount of related material that came out in 2017. Rucka has put together uber-compelling Source Books that provide all sorts of interesting detail about the world of Lazarus. And he's also penned the "Lazarus X+66" spin-off, a look at various side characters and events in the Lazarus world. X+66 has been a fantastic read. Looking forward to the soon-to-arrive TV series, too.

5.) Paper Girls

- Brian K. Vaughan's charming sci-fi series - about a bunch of 1980's paper girls who get caught up in a time-hopping adventure - is consistently one of the best reads month in and month out. It's amazing, because when you look out there at the pop-culture landscape, Vaughan's trademark style of blending high-concept sci-fi with grounded characters, witty dialogue, and relatable human drama is now *everywhere.* But he really was the innovator, back when his seminal Y: The Last Man was the biggest thing going in comics. Paper Girls is Vaughan at his best - it's got awe and wonder-packed sci-fi on one hand, and great, grounded, impeccably-written characters on the other. It's got nostalgia, it's got social commentary, it's got adventure, it's got amazing art from Cliff Chiang. Read it.

6.) Ms. Marvel

- As I mentioned above, Ms. Marvel is, no question, the crown jewel in Marvel Comics' slate. It's fresh, funny, relevant - and it tackles everything from racism to religion to teenage awkwardness with equal parts humor, empathy, and optimism. Ms. Marvel has actively changed the way I think about certain things, and it's inspired me - made me think that even in these divisive times, we can rally around each other and support people trying to do right and help others. Kamala is a hero for right now and a hero for all of us. What a great, important, and most importantly fun comic book.

7.) Hawkeye

- Matt Fraction's celebrated run on Hawkeye is one of my favorite modern comics - so I was excited to get more adventures of Kate Bishop, presented in a similarly irreverent style. What I didn't expect was how much writer Kelly Thompson would both expand on the great character work that Fraction did with Bishop, but also how much she'd make the book and the character her own. The book is fun, innovative, often hilarious. The art is stylized and stylish. And Kate Bishop continues to be one of the most likable characters in the Marvel stable. Marvel is really missing the mark in cancelling this one.

8.) Saga

- After a bit of a slump last year, Brian K. Vaughan's now long-running Saga rebounded this year with some great story-arcs, and plenty of those big, issue-ending, holy-$&%# moments that Vaughan does so well. The book still occasionally feels like it's treading water, but at this point it's also simply a pleasure to open up a new issue, spend time with these characters, and of course to revel in Fiona Staples' amazingly unique and imaginative art. I'm hoping that Saga really kicks into high gear again in 2018, but there's also no question that 2017 re-affirmed just how great this book can be.

9.) Black Magick

- Another great Greg Rucka book. Black Magic wowed me with its debut last year, but then went on a long hiatus before finally resurfacing in 2017. And man, I'm happy it did. The book combines Rucka's penchant for gritty crime drama with the added element of magic and mysticism, and an intriguing backstory that delves into the history of witchcraft. With a more consistent publishing schedule in 2017, Black Magick affirmed itself as one of the most compelling books out there. And man, the Nicola Scott art is quite simply incredible - stunning black-and-white line work, with the occasional burst of color to emphasize the presence of magic. I can't wait to see where this one goes in 2017.

10.) Batman

- Where does a character go after writer Scott Snyder wrapped up an all-time classic run? Well, DC wisely brought in writer Tom King for what has quickly become another classic run in the making. Paired with a litany of all-star artists, King has kept fans guessing with his unique take on the Dark Knight. We've seen the introduction of new heroes like Gotham Girl, the long-awaited engagement of Batman and Catwoman, and an end-of-year arc that saw a memorable double date turned adventure that paired Batman/Catwoman with Superman/Lois Lane. Batman, with Tom King at the helm, remains DC's best book.

THE NEXT BEST:

11.) Silver Surfer

- The long run of writer Dan Slott and artist Mike Allred came to a close this year, and it will go down as one of my all-time favorite superhero runs in recent years. Slott gave the Surfer a whimsical flair, pairing him with plucky, polka-dot wearing love-interest Dawn Greenwood, and sending the two on all sorts of far-out cosmic adventures. The series was brought to life by the always-incredible, one-of-a-kind art of Mike Allred - whose pencils were a perfect match for the series' trippy, fantastical tone. I will miss this one now that it's over.

12.) Batman: White Knight

- This miniseries is still ongoing, but it's shaping up to be another classic from writer/artist Sean Murphy (who gave us the modern classic Punk Rock Jesus). In this "what-if?" story, a reformed and newly-sane Joker is tasked with bringing down an out-of-control Batman. It's an ingenious role reversal and I can't wait to see how it ends.

13.) Snotgirl

- Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley continues to make Snotgirl into a unique, one-of-a-kind comic that I still can't quite believe I like as much as I do. A satirical, hyper-stylized mystery centered around a vapid, image-conscious fashion blogger and her equally self-absorbed friends? Sounds miserable, right? And yet, O'Malley brilliantly finds the humanity within these seemingly repellent characters, and gives them just enough self-awareness to make us root for them even as we cringe at their terribleness. This one is a total trip, and I can't recommend it enough.

14.) Dark Knights: Metal (Tie-Ins)

- Scott Snyder's DC mega-event Dark Knights: Metal has been a mixed bag so far. It's going for cosmic insanity in the vein of Grant Morrison's acid-trip superhero epics, but for me has been sort of flat and messy. That said, this is the rare big superhero event in which the tie-ins are actually way better than the main story. Really! I've been positively loving the one-shots coming out in parallel to the main event, each detailing the origin story of one of Dark Knights: Metal's twisted, evil Batmen. Hailing from the "dark multiverse," each evil Batman origin story has proven to be a wonderfully dark "what-if?" about a Bruce Wayne who gets turned to the dark side.

15.) Southern Bastards

- Over the last few years, Jason Aaron's Southern Bastards has been at or near the top of my Best of the Year lists. It's one of the best comics of the last decade, bar none. So why further down in 2017? It's really just a matter of the book's publishing schedule, which has been ... sporadic, if I'm being kind. Jason Aaron has become one of the busiest and most in-demand writers in the biz, so it's no big mystery what's up. But man, I hope we get more Bastards in 2018. This dark, southern-noir tale of a town where high school football is everything - and players and coach's will literally kill in the name of victory - is always a must-read when there is new material. And in 2017, things started to get very intriguing as focus shifted to Berta Tubb, estranged daughter of original protagonist Earl - who's come back to Craw County to avenge her dad. More, please!

16.) Darth Vader

- I dropped almost all of Marvel's Star Wars books this year, after a noticeable dip in quality on some of the main titles. However, I picked up their latest Darth Vader series when I saw that it was written by Cullen Bunn - a man who knows how to write great villains. Bunn did a bang up job on DC's much-missed Sinestro book, and he's killing it on Vader. The book tackles an intriguing moment in the Star Wars timeline: Anakin's early days as Vader, just after the events of Episode III. Bunn is giving us the young, ultra-badass, ass-kicking Vader that we got a glimpse of in Rogue One - and I'm digging it.

17.) Superman

- Writer Peter Tomasi is really on a roll at DC. One of the company's go-to writers for many years now, Tomasi has helped re-invigorate Superman by making Superman a husband and a dad. Suddenly, the stakes feel higher for ol' Clark Kent, and the character has new life. Between Tomasi's work on Superman, and Super-book mainstay Dan Jurgens' solid storytelling on Action Comics, this is the most consistently good Superman has been in ages.

18.) Nightwing

- Nightwing is always a fan-favorite for the DC faithful, but his solo books have had their ups and downs over the years. So I give writer Tim Seeley credit for having such a great, sustained run with the character. Since the start of DC Rebirth, Seeley has both paid homage to the past (by bringing Nightwing back to Bludhaven, and bringing back updated versions of a lot of the side characters from Chuck Dixon's classic 90's run) and created a solid foundation for the future (creating a great new character / love interest in Shawn Tsang, aka The Defacer). Here's hoping the momentum continues, even with Seeley now off the book.

19.) Eternal Empire

- Don't be surprised if this one is much higher on the list next year. Eternal Empire is the latest book from one of my favorite creative teams in comics - Jonathan Luna and Sara Vaughn - who brought us my recent pick for Best Comic of the Year, Alex + Ada. This one is their take on Game of Thrones-style high fantasy, and it's really just getting started. It's still sort of in the world-building phase. But this story of two on-the-run former slaves with a magical connection to each other is poised to be one of 2018's best books. Stay tuned.

20.) Invincible

- Man, am I bummed that Robert Kirkman's long-running superhero epic is about to come to an end. As I type this, there's only one more issue left (releasing in January) of Invincible - and it's been bittersweet reading Kirkman's final run of stories on this one, which have helped ensure that the books goes out on a high note. Invincible's been one of my favorites for several years now, and if I'm being honest, Kirkman's unique melding of self-aware humor with high-adventure and fast-paced, high-concept sci-fi has been a notable influence on my own writing. I love the unique tone Kirkman gave this book, and I love that it was a superhero book (really the only one), that let its story evolve organically, free from the constraints of corporate overlords multimedia tie-ins. One of the all-time great superhero comics.

21.) Super-Sons

- Peter Tomasi has another great Super book on his hands with this one. A fun, lighthearted pairing of wide-eyed Jonathan Kent (now Superboy) and know-it-all Damian Wayne (now Robin), Tomasi's book is filled with fun banter and high adventure. Added bonus: a recent issue that focused on a team-up of various Super-Pets. This one doesn't mind getting crazy, and that's why I'm digging it.

22.) Descender

- So yeah, in addition to knocking it out of the park with Black Hammer and Royal City, Jeff Lemire's *also* still writing his sci-fi space epic Descender. How he does it, I don't know. But Descender - the saga of a diminutive robot who may be the key to saving the galaxy - is still a really solid read, with all kinds of Mass Effect-esque intrigue and super cool art from Dustin Nguyen.

23.) New Super-Man

- When you read a lot of comics, you start to see a lot of the same old, same old - especially as far as superhero books go. So it's cool just how different and refreshing Gene Luen Yang's characters, stories, and setting are - and how unique of a hero Keenan Kong really is. The book has let Keenan - aka The Super-Man of China - grow from obnoxious teen to battle-tested hero over the course of the last few years, and it's been a lot of fun to watch.

24.) Captain America

- As I talked about above, I think Nick Spencer's run on Captain America and Secret Empire was a bit unfairly maligned. Let's give Spencer credit - he penned one of the boldest, riskiest, and ambitious superhero stories of recent years. It wasn't just a random gimmick - Spencer really did a deep dive into exploring what made Hydra Cap tick, and did so in a way that held a mirror up to our own political reality. A lot of it worked for me, and I looked forward to each new chapter of the story throughout Spencer's run. Yes, the just-started Mark Waid run is a perhaps welcome return to classic superheroics. But that run wouldn't pop the way it had Nick Spencer not so thoroughly shook things up.

25.) The Walking Dead

- While the TV adaptation has really hit a creative low, Robert Kirkman's comic book continues to produce fun, interesting stories that are, as per usual, true page-turners. If only the show would learn from the book's pacing and storytelling. In any case, 2017 saw the conclusion of the Whisperers storyline, an evolution in the relationship between Rick and Negan, and the heartbreaking death of one of the series' longest-running, most beloved characters in Andrea. While the TV show could barely keep my attention, the comic continued to keep me on the edge of my seat.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

- Mr. Miracle
- Birds of Prey
- Green Lanterns
- Deathstroke
- Detective Comics
- Reborn
- The Flash
- Green Arrow
- The American Way
- War Stories

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

After Death

- What - more Jeff Lemire? Yep. In addition to everything else the guy did, he also collaborated with writer Scott Snyder on the graphic novel After Death - the third and final chapter of which came out in 2017. This one is a must-read. It's a high-concept look at a future where death has been eradicated for a select few. It blends prose pages and comic book pages to masterful effect. It's maybe the best thing Snyder's ever written and some of the best art Lemire's ever produced. It's one you won't soon forget.

Penny Dreadful

- Okay, this one is pretty niche, but if you're like me and loved the recent Showtime series Penny Dreadful - but were left wanting more by its somewhat abrupt ending ... well, this is the comic for you. Penned by some of the show's creative team, the new comic is the final season of Penny Dreadful we never got - a big adventure that picks up right where the series left off, and feels spot-on in terms of nailing the characters and tone of the series. Not to be confused with the not-so-great comic that came out while the show is on the air, this still-ongoing book is actually a must-read for the Dreadful faithful.

Batman / Elmer Fudd

- Yes. Seriously. A Batman / Elmer Fudd comic is one of the best things I read this year. It's by Tom King, so there's that. But it's legitimately amazing. I know, I was skeptical too. Just read it and trust me.

DC Holiday Special 2017

- Oftentimes DC will put out a big Holiday special compendium of short comic stories, and typically they are a mixed bag. But there are sometimes some real gems in these books, and this year's special produced one of the best DC Comics stories of the year - written by (no surprise) Tom King. King penned a World War II set, Hanukkah-themed story about classic DC character Sgt. Rock - and it's amazing. To say too much would be to spoil it, but seek out this story if you like good comics! A new holiday classic from Tom King and DC.

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer, Royal City, Descender)
2.) Ed Brubaker (Kill or Be Killed)
3.) G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel)
4.) Kelly Thompson (Hawkeye, Captain Phasma)
5.) Peter Tomasi (Superman, Super-Sons)
6.) Brian K. Vaughan (Paper Girls, Saga)
7.) Greg Rucka (Lazarus, Black Magick)
8.) Dan Slott (Silver Surfer)
9.) Tom King (Batman, Mr. Miracle, Batman/Elmer Fudd)
10.) Tim Seeley (Nightwing)

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Nicola Scott (Black Magick)
2.) Sean Phillips (Kill Or Be Killed)
3.) Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls)
4.) Jeff Lemire (Royal City)
5.) Mike Allred (Silver Surfer, Bug)
6.) Sean Murphy (Kill Or Be Killed)
7.) Ryan Ottley (Invincible)
8.) Leonardo Romero (Hawkeye)
9.) Fiona Staples (Saga)
10.) Leslie Hung (Snot Girl)

THE BEST OF 2013 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

THE BEST COMICS OF 2013:

- What began in 2012 continued into 2013. Yes, last year I dove knee-deep into the digital comics revolution, and as I predicted, the way that I've enjoyed the medium has continued to evolve. More and more, it's easy to sample less mainstream comics, and more and more, publishers like Image are monopolizing a lot of the best talent and stories in the business. In 2013, creators who once split their time between established superhero books and creator-owned comics went full-blown indie. The best writers in the biz - Rucka, Brubaker, Vaughan, Lemire, Snyder, Hickman, Fraction, and more - were all doing amazing work this year on 100% original books. Sure, guys like Snyder and Lemire and Hickman were still doing some excellent books for DC or Marvel, but it feels to me like the beating heart of the comics industry has officially shifted from the established superheroes to original characters whose stories comprise a variety of genres - sci-fi, romance, noir, horror, Western, and more. These types of books always seem to bring out the best in their creators, and it was a thrill to see new books like The Wake, Lazarus, and Trillium quickly rise to the top of my must-read list this year.

Interestingly enough though, it was the Big Two that produced some of the most interesting experiments in digital-only comics this year. In 2013, some of the best superhero stories I read were weekly, digital-only, out-of-continuity comics. If you haven't sampled Batman '66, you've got to give it a look. Written and drawn in the style of the old Adam West TV show, the comic is absolutely hilarious - reintroducing classic villains from the old show, and also intermixing some ideas from more modern Batman interpretations. Even cooler, many issues of Batman '66 take advantage of the digital format with semi-animated panels and more digital-friendly storytelling devices. The experience of reading on an iPad is just plain fun. DC scored another weekly digital hit this year with Injustice, based on the videogame of the same name. On paper, I never would have thought that a digital comic based on a game would be anything special. But I was proven wrong - writer Tom Taylor produced the best DC Comics big-event story of the year - an exciting, twist-filled yarn about a world in which a grieving Superman snaps, and decides to rule the earth with an iron fist - crushing any remaining heroes who would dare oppose him. Taylor came out of nowhere to quickly become a writer to watch. More and more, it felt like some of the best superhero stories being told were in the digital format. In addition to Injustice and Batman '66, digital-only comics like Adventures of Superman and Legends of the Dark Knight gave an assortment of top creators the chance to tell one-off Superman or Batman stories free from the constraints of DC's regular continuity. The result was some fantastic stories. Increasingly, I can see these sorts of digital-only comics becoming the norm, and becoming the best place to find great stories.

Of course, a big discussion point this year among fans was gender politics. With more and more female readers getting into comics, it stands to reason that there is now a lot more scrutiny on the industry as a whole. This isn't a new phenomena, but fans were more vocal than ever in their desire to see strong female characters, as well as to see high-profile books written and drawn by women. The major publishers are getting better at this than before. Many of this year's best books - Lazarus, Trillium, Saga, The Wake, Sex Criminals, and more - featured great, compelling, well-written female protagonists or co-leads. There is still a lot of work to be done - especially with the superhero books - but it does feel like there is starting to be much more diversity in the stories being told, and much more diversity in terms of the top-selling and most buzzed-about books, that reflects a new and more-diverse-than-ever audience. Hopefully things continue to improve to an even larger extent. But, going back to the ongoing theme of how digital comics are changing the industry, the ease by which comics can now be bought and read is going to be, I think, a huge factor in that continued diversification of material and readership. A quick glance at Comixology's current best-seller list shows books like Locke & Key and Saga selling neck-and-neck with Batman and Justice League, so as you can see, the times, they are a-changing.


DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2013:

1.) The Wake

- The Wake has been an awesome read month-in, month out since it kicked off earlier this year. And that's no surprise, as it comes from a comics dream team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Sean Murphy. Snyder has become one of the best and most prolific writers in the biz over the last couple of years, but The Wake might actually be my favorite thing he's done to date. It started out as an ultra-intense, ultra-mysterious sci-fi/horror adventure - a page-turning mix of The Abyss, Alien, The X-Files, and HP Lovecraft. The book, thus far, has been about a team of scientists brought down to a top-secret underwater military base, to study a new species of human-like creatures discovered in the deep. Of course, things begin to go very wrong, as the creatures are not happy about being held captive and studied. What gives the book an extra layer of intrigue though is the brief flashes we've seen to the far future - a post-apocalyptic earth submerged in water. Presumably, the events in the present will result in this strange future, but how we get from Point A to Point B is going to be a hell of a ride. Meanwhile, the art by Sean Murphy is amazing - the guy does gritty, atmospheric drawing like no one else. Act One of The Wake just wrapped up this past month, setting the stage for a new chapter that promises to take the story in a whole new direction. I can't wait.


2.) Trillium

- I was really sad to see writer/artist Jeff Lemire's last book for DC's Vertigo imprint, Sweet Tooth, end at the beginning of the year. Sweet Tooth was one of my favorite comics of the last several years, and its spectacular final issue made it ending all the more bittersweet. But hey, that loss was more than made up for by the launch, a few months later, of Lemire's latest Vertigo book, Trillium. As with Sweet Tooth, it mixes high-concept ideas with a hefty dose of humanity. Trillium is a sci-fi romance, in which two explorers - one from the early 1900's, another from the distant future, meet thanks to a strange portal that traverses time and space. With innovative storytelling and imaginative art, Trillium has already wowed me, but I feel like it's only just revving up. The next year's worth of issues should be something special.


3.) Saga

- Now in its second year, Saga continues to be the gold standard for ongoing comics. Brian K. Vaughan is the master at writing real-world characters in extraordinary settings. Even though Saga is an oftentimes mind-bending story involving intergalactic warfare, sinister robots, feuding bounty hunters, and giant monsters, the dialogue and characters are 100% of this world. Vaughan worked a similar sort of magic with his seminal Y: The Last Man, and as it goes on, Saga keeps inching closer to that high watermark of quality. It doesn't hurt that Fiona Staple's art is amazing and utterly unique in the comics world. Her streamlined, iconic images make Saga consistently one of the most eye-popping comics you'll find.


4.) Lazarus

- This new book from writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark is like Game of Thrones but in a near-future apocalyptic setting. Rucka deftly imagines a world not too far removed from our own, in which the 1% has evolved into a ruling class of five families. All others serve the families, and all others live in poverty and oppression. There's some great, intriguing world-building going on here, and it's all very-much based off of current politics. The hero of the book, however, is a young female soldier known as a Lazarus - a genetically engineered super-soldier designed to protect her "family's" interests. But what happens when this soldier begins to rebel against not just her family, but the whole system? Watching this world get uprooted is going to be a lot of fun in the coming year. Rucka is doing top-notch work on this one, and the gritty pencils of Lark are always appreciated.


5.) Fatale

- Here's another favorite from last year that kept on impressing me in 2013. Ed Brubaker's Fatale reached new film-noir heights this year, as it delved more into the backstory of its cursed protagonist Josephine - an immortal woman caught up in a dangerous conspiracy. A flashback issue taking place in the Old West was a highlight, as has been the current storyline that inserts Jo as a sort of Yoko Ono-like figure in a 90's-era grunge band. Each new chapter of Fatale reveals more about the strange circumstances of Josephine's life, while at the same time furthering the book's mysterious, Lovecraftian mythology. And no other comic is more densely atmospheric - you can practically smell the gin and cigarettes as you read each issue.


6.) Animal Man

- Jeff Lemire's take on the classic DC Comics B-lister has been one of the true highlights of the New 52 DC reboot. The book has been incredibly consistent, and had a great year in 2013. From the epic "Rotworld" saga, to a major death-in-the-family, to the gripping current story-arc involving villain Brother Blood, Lemire has delivered a great mix of Alan Moore-esque heroes and horror that keeps me eagerly awaiting each new issue. Recently, it was announced that Animal Man will be ending in 2014. It's a shame - this has been DC's best ongoing book for the last two years. But when all is said and done, Lemire will have given us one of the all-time classic superhero book runs.


7.) Injustice

- This is, easily, the most unlikely pick on this list. Like I said above, I never imagined that a weekly digital-only comic that also happened to be a videogame tie-in would be among my favorite reads of the year. But I, and a lot of others, jumped on the Injustice bandwagon when it became apparent that this was, believe it or not, the best big, epic, superhero book that DC was putting out. How did that happen? For one thing, writer Tom Taylor took what could have been a throwaway assignment and made it his own. He imbued Injustice with smart dialogue, well-drawn characters, and most of all, epic twists and cliffhangers that often paid tribute to fondly-remembered moments in DC Comics lore. While the main-line New 52 books were trying their hardest not to call back to the pre-reboot storylines, Taylor was clearly having a blast playing in the DC sandbox. I gave the book a try on a whim after enjoying the game, but quickly found myself chomping at the bit to read each new weekly installment.


8.) Batman

- Scott Snyder continues to nail it with his work on Batman. Earlier this year, he wrapped up the dark, ultra-intense Joker story "Death of the Family" in fantastic fashion. Since then, he's done a great job of making "Zero Year" - a reimagined look at Bruce Wayne's first year as Batman - into a must-read storyline. As much as it frustrates me to see origins endlessly retold, I'll give Zero Year a pass simply because it's so darn good. Snyder and artist Greg Capullo simply know how to do the big, cinematic moments to perfection. At the same time, the book has a darkness and a grittiness and intensity that calls to mind the Christopher Nolan movies. With Snyder at the helm, Batman continues to be one of the must-read books in DC's stable.


9.) The Walking Dead

- The Walking Dead hit a bit of a slump for a while, but it's been roaring back thanks to the ongoing "All Out War" story-arc - a multifaceted, unpredictable saga that sees Rick's makeshift community join with other neighboring villages to take down the tyrannical psychopath Negan. Negan is sort of a controversial villain among Walking Dead fans - in some respects, he does feel a bit like a retread of The Governor. But I give Robert Kirkman credit - Negan is his own wholly unique brand of crazy, and he's been built up to be so evil, so horrible, that man, rarely have I ever been so desperate for a villain to get his comeuppance. I'm slightly behind here, as I continue to read The Walking Dead via collected editions, but I can't wait to see how "All Out War" wraps up. Kirkman is the master of the jaw-dropping, holy-$#%& moment, so I have faith he'll deliver yet again.


10.) Batman '66

- Holy comebacks, Batman - in 2013, the 1966 Batman was back with a vengeance! Here's another one that turned out improbably good. New stories set in the universe of the old Adam West Batman TV show? I was skeptical, but curious. As it turned out, this digital weekly is one of the craziest, funniest comics I've read - it takes the old show's psychedelic campiness and cranks it up to eleven. The unlimited budget of the comics format means that the dynamic duo can have more out-there, far bigger adventures than they ever did on the small screen. And writer Jeff Parker masterfully captures the mannerisms and humor of Adam West, Burt Ward, and the rest of the old cast, amping up the ridiculousness to even greater and more hilarious heights.

THE NEXT BEST:

11.) The Manhattan Projects

- Jonathan Hickman's insane alternate history mind-bender - in which real-life scientists like Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi work in secret on all manner of space-age government projects - continued to entertain this year.

12.) Sex Criminals

- Still only a few issues in, but Matt Fraction's oddball book - about a couple who can freeze time whenever they get busy - is one of the best new comic debuts of the year. It sounds strange, sure, but the writing is spot-on and the characters are well-drawn.

13.) All-Star Western

- The ongoing adventures of scarred Old West bounty hunter Jonah Hex took a strange turn this year, when Hex was time-warped into the present day. What could have been cheesy has actually turned out sort of awesome, as writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have used the device to satirize and explore modern society vs. that of Hex's native wild west.

14.) Time Warp

- For the last couple of years, Vertigo has been releasing a series of oversized anthology specials, packed with thematically-linked short stories from all manner of top talent. My favorite yet was this year's Time Warp special, a collection of time-travel themed stories from a bevvy of talented writers and artists. My favorite? A fun, twisty time-loop story from Lost showrunner Damon Lindeloff, in which time-travelling hero Rip Hunter must continually save his younger self from certain death, creating a never-ending paradox. Keep these anthologies coming, Vertigo.

15.) The Adventures of Superman

- Yet another digital weekly comic that makes the list. Whereas the main-line Superman titles have been a very mixed bag this year, the short story arcs in this weekly series have been by and large fantastic. These are simple, continuity-free tales that give us classic, iconic Superman stories without the baggage of whatever's going on in the main storylines. So far, that includes a wonderful riff on "Flowers For Algernon" starring Bizarro, a harrowing tale about a busy day in the life of Superman, and a fascinating "what-if" about a Superman who decides to get tough on crime by moonlighting as a Punisher-esque vigilante.

RUNNERS UP:

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics
Detective Comics
Judge Dredd
The Phantom Stranger
Batwing
Fables / Fairest
Swamp Thing
Justice League Dark
Batgirl
Green Arrow
Batman & Robin
Earth 2
Kick-Ass 3
Infinity
Jupiter's Legacy
Talon

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

- Geoff Johns' final issue of GREEN LANTERN in May capped off a several-year run on the title that marked a modern-day renaissance for the character. While the title had had its ups and downs over the last few years, Johns delivered a memorable finale - tying up years worth of plot threads and character development into an action and emotion-packed send-off. Johns' work on GL, in its prime, was absolute must-read stuff, with story after story that was an instant classic - from the epic Sinestro Corps War to Blackest Night. Johns expanded the GL universe, introducing an entire spectrum of ring-wielders and coalescing decades of continuity into one giant, sprawling mythology. Under Johns, GL was grand space opera - the Star Wars of superhero comics.

- Similarly, I've also got to note the end of Grant Morrison's several-year long Batman saga in the pages of BATMAN, INC. Morrison first began writing ongoing Batman stories years ago, later making waves by introducing Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, and having him become the latest to assume the name of Robin. While other Bat-books rebooted as part of the New 52, Morrison's increasingly self-contained saga continued, with things coming full-circle. Batman and his allies had to fight a global terrorist network - Leviathan - fronted by Talia, and Damian was caught in the crosshairs. And so, Morrison's story again wove back into the greater DCU, as he penned the tragic death of Damian. Robin, once again, was dead. It's hard to know how to rate this final run on Batman, Inc., because it was so weird, so insular, and so uniquely Morrison. But the legendary writer deserves props for writing a globe-trotting, psychedelic Batman saga in an age where grim n' gritty Batman was par for the course.

- I continue to follow INVINCIBLE in trade-paperback format, and still count myself as a huge fan of Robert Kirkman's modern spin on classic superhero fiction. I'm behind enough on the current storylines that I didn't feel I should include this one in my Best-of-the-Year list. Suffice it to say, it remains one of my favorite reads.

- Speaking of which, LOCKE & KEY will undoubtedly go down as one of the best comic book series of this decade. Earlier this year, I read through Volume 5 of the series, and was completely blown away by the story that author Joe Hill had built towards. I've yet to read the series' final issues that came out recently, but I've read the glowing reviews and have seen them atop many year-end lists. I'll be picking up the sixth and final collected volume when it's released in February, but I had to give this book a shout-out now. It really has been the best comic book going for the last few years, and I hope that Hill has something new up his sleeve in the not-too-distant future, because I and many others will surely be going through Locke & Key withdrawal.


WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Scott Snyder (Batman, The Wake)
2.) Jeff Lemire (Trillium, Animal Man, Green Arrow)
3.) Brian K. Vaughan (Saga)
4.) Ed Bruabaker (Fatale)
5.) Greg Rucka (Lazarus)
6.) Tom Taylor (Injustice, Earth 2)
7.) Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible)
8.) Jeff Parker (Batman '66)
9.) Jonathan Hickman (The Manhattan Projects, Infinity)
10.) Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals)

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Sean Murphy (The Wake)
2.) Fiona Staples (Saga)
3.) Jeff Lemire (Trillium)
4.) Jason Fabok (Detective Comics)
5.) Greg Capullo (Batman)
6.) Patrick Gleason (Batman & Robin)
7.) Sean Phillips (Fatale)
8.) Nick Pitarra (Manhattan Projects)
9.) Ivan Reiss (Aquaman, Justice League)
10.) Michael Lark (Lazarus)

THE BEST OF 2012 - The Best COMICS Of The Year

THE BEST COMICS OF 2012:

- There are certain things I'm going to miss as we enter the new digital age of comics. Trying to hold on to the way things were, I still make regular trips to the local comic shop, purchasing traditional physical copies of favorite books as well as the occasional trade paperback collection. But 2012 was the year that I fairly definitively went digital. It was a tough transition, but also freeing. There's still a lot I don't love about reading comics on my iPad, but there are also a ton of benefits. An obvious one is the lack of clutter that comes with no longer buying a weekly stack of new books. But a less obvious upside is the evolving way in which I'm finding and discovering new material to read. In the past, comics were limited in terms of discoverability. The choices were either keep up with a book month-to-month, or else catch up months - or years - later by reading trade paperback collections. But in that crucial in-between window, when a book was a couple issues in and starting to gain steam, finding back-issues and catching up was a hunt and a chore. But now, suddenly, you've got a whole library of new and recent issues at your fingertips. Diving into a highly-recommended comic series is now as easy as a few points and clicks. The same applies for many older issues and series as well. Digital comics store Comixology keeps expanding and adding to its library of classic series, and it's nirvana for fanboys and fangirls who want to seek out more old-school material. In particular, I'm loving the additions of content that are not available in trade paperback in full or at all. It's almost overwhelming - the complete run of Mark Waid on The Flash, the complete Suicide Squad, The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, American Flagg -  all these classics, with more added every week, all available with the touch of a button. But what's more, Comixology is sort of comics' version of Hulu and DVR combined. Miss an issue? It's there. Want the latest issue on day-of-release? It's there? Heard good things about Saga, and want to quickly spead-read through the first 9 issues? A snap. What this has led to, I think, is a potential new golden age for out-of-the-box comics and new franchises. Before, a lot of comics purchasing was driven by habit. Trying out a new series was a risk, so why bother? Now, there's more opportunity than ever to grab new readers and get people caught up. I think it's only a matter of time, too, before we start seeing first issues available as free for a limited time, and other incentives to encourage sampling. Already, Comixology is doing a lot of 99 cent sales that encourage bulk purchases. Although digital sadly closes some doors, it opens, I think, many new ones.

This goes hand in hand with my overall feeling this year that, while I still loved comics, I was really ready for something new. DC's New 52 initiative was a good break-away point for me. I'm still reading quite a few DC titles, but I just don't have the same investment in the universe I once did. Maybe that will change, but for now, too few of the rebooted titles sustained the level of quality to keep me interested. And the titles I used to read because I had an attachment to the characters I'd grown up with - well, they no longer felt the same. With that said, 2012 was the perfect time to branch out and dive into new material that was standalone and not part of a shared narrative universe. More and more, Image Comics was the place I turned to. Image is now officially the best publisher in the biz, the place where the smartest creators are going to tell their own original stories. Stalwarts like Robert Kirkman's THE WALKING DEAD and INVINCIBLE have now been joined by exciting new titles like Brian K. Vaughan's SAGA, Ed Brubaker's FATALE, and Jonathan Hickman's THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS. Image is just killing it these days. They are doing innovative, edgy stories in all different genres - noir, sci-fi, humor, horror. It's the perfect antidote for Marvel and DC's everything-old-is-new-again approach to many of their stories.

Of course, Image's success has come, a bit, at the expense of DC's fabled (pun sort of intended) Vertigo imprint. Books like Saga that might once have lived there are now at image, and titles like the fantastic SWEET TOOTH, and the long-running Hellblazer, are coming to an end.  Many of Vertigo's characters - Constantine, Swamp Thing, etc. - have been brought back into the fold of DC Comics proper. And Karen Berger, the longtime leader of the imprint, is now set to depart for other opportunities. Many of my all-time favorite comics have come from Vertigo, so it's a little sad to see the line diminished. But again, Vertigo's loss is other's gain, and now you've got Image, IDW (publisher of the seminal LOCKE & KEY), and others all competing for similar types of titles. All that said, Vertigo still published a couple of my favorite comics of 2012. THE NEW DEADWARDIANS was one, the other, my pick for comic of the year - the instant-classic, insanely great miniseries PUNK ROCK JESUS.

I also don't mean to imply that there aren't some great superhero books at the moment. DC has done two very smart things, and that's putting its current MVP writers Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire on multiple titles. Snyder's BATMAN run has been phenomenal - his last major arc, which introduced the criminal conspiracy known as The Court of Owls, was a modern classic. And he's topping it right now, unbelievably, with his ultra-creepy Joker story, "Death of the Family." Snyder has also done great work on SWAMP THING, working with Lemire and his ANIMAL MAN title on the excellent crossover story, "Rotworld." Lemire has also done great work since taking over JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, providing a great home for DC's stable of supernatural characters. DC also put out the controversial BEFORE WATCHMEN this year. Lo and behold, it's actually been quite good, for the most part. Creators like Darwyn Cooke have done great things with the prequel series, and while its mere existence might make Alan Moore grumpy (or grumpier), it turns out that Before Watchmen has been one of the most consistently good reads week in and week out in the comics world.

Sadly, some true icons and legends of the medium were lost this year. Chief among them, the great JOE KUBERT - one of the great artists of all time. Kubert had a naturalistic, expressive style that made him the definitive artist of characters like Hawkman. He also created the legendary wartime hero Sgt. Rock, and drew him and his comrades-in-arms in Easy Company with unmatched emotion and fluidity. Kubert also founded the Kubert School, an art academy that produced hundreds of great comics artists over the years (not to mention his sons, Andy and Adam, great artists in their own right). One of the bittersweet things about 2012 was losing Kubert, but also getting some last, great work from him in various stories, including the JOE KUBERT PRESENTS miniseries. In it, his art is as sharp as ever.

I'll also take a moment to mention the passing of a legend whose work influenced comics, films, TV, books, and countless imaginations. RAY BRADBURY, one of my biggest heroes, passed away this year, and the world is an emptier and duller place without Bradbury's unparalleled presence in it. The author of Farenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and The Illustrated Man - among many others - Bradbury was a founding father of modern sci-fi. But more than that, he was an incredible storyteller, commenting on what was and speculating about what might be. A few years ago, at Comic-Con in San Diego, I saw a then-elderly Bradbury speak, and it was an experience that will always stick with me. The sense of wonder and the passion for stories that Bradbury, at 90, still had - I'll never forget it. I bring this up here because comics are, ultimately, for me, about infinite possibilities and mind-expanding ideas. And that too, was what Ray Bradbury's work embodied.

Overall, this was a really interesting, really transitional year for comics. There was some really great work being done, but a lot of it outside the ultra-mainstream. But then again - thanks to digital, thanks to the internet, thanks to a changing comics culture - the comics mainstream is becoming an increasingly malleable and ever-expanding thing.

DANNY'S BEST COMICS OF 2012:


THE BEST MINISERIES AND SPECIALS:

1.) Punk Rock Jesus

- My pick for overall best comic of the year, Punk Rock Jesus reminded me instantly of 80's-era, auteur-driven comics like Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. Written and drawn by Sean Murphy, Punk Rock Jesus takes place in a near-future America where Jesus Christ has been cloned for the purpose of a reality TV show. Gradually, the clone rebels against his corporate creators and religious-zealot supporters and forges his own identity. It's a story that might sound hokey on paper, but Sean Murphy brilliantly uses the premise as a means to explore religion, politics, business, and the American dream. This feels like the kind of risky, rebellious stuff that they just don't make anymore - it's got the same gritty, relevant, nihilistic feel of something like Watchmen. And the art - wow. I was a fan of Sean Murphy before this for his work on books like Joe the Barbarian, but this is a whole new level. Punk Rock Jesus is THE must-read comic of 2012.


2.) The New Deadwardians

- Written by fan-favorite Dan Abnett, this engrossing eight-parter told the story of an Edwardian England overrun by zombies. The added twist is that, in order to survive the zombie apocalypse, large swaths of Brits have given themselves "the cure," aka, turned themselves into vampires! It's a totally over-the-top premise, but The New Deadwardians is actually a very smart mystery dealing with a murder in this land now filled with the undead. Lots of twists, turns, and great character moments made this book a fantastic read.


3.) Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre

- A number of the Before Watchmen books have been good - Minutemen, Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, and Moloch were all really well done. But Silk Spectre - the book I had the least excitement for, actually turned out to be the ambitious project's crown jewel. Written by Darwyn Cooke and drawn with cartoonish abandon by Amanda Connor, Silk Spectre was a a trippy meditation on legacy, adulthood, and finding one's own path - all set amidst a psychedelic 60's backdrop.


4.) The Secret Service

- Written by Mark Millar (Kickass) and drawn by Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), The Secret Service has been a really fun miniseries thus far. It involves a British street thug whose life takes a sharp right turn, when he finds out that his enigmatic uncle is actually a certified super-spy - who's come to take his nephew under his wing and train him to be an elite agent. It's one of the best stories Millar has crafted in some time, and I'm curious to see where it goes as it continues into the new year.


5.) Joe Kubert Presents

- A showpiece for the legendary artist, only two of six issues of this anthology have yet been released, but I'm giving it a spot on the list because it's been so enjoyable thus far. Each issue is a mix of original stories written and drawn by Kubert, as well as others from writer/artists he hand-picked for inclusion. There's some great stories in these, but also an added layer of weight and bittersweetness knowing that Kubert died just prior to the first issue's release. This, however, is a fitting departing gift from a true master.


THE BEST ONGOING SERIES:


1.) Saga

- One of the great joys of 2012 was seeing one of my favorite writers, Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) return to comics after a long absence. Man, did I miss the guy. No one else has BKV's knack for dialogue, for crafting all-too-human characters (even in a story like this one, where they're not actually human), or for telling an epic story filled with twists, turns, and jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Simply put, BKV is the best in the biz, and he's showing why, again, with Saga - a universe spanning space-opera that's like Star Wars meets Y meets Romeo and Juliet. Fiona Staples' digital art is similarly jaw-dropping, giving Saga a look and feel like nothing else out there. Get on board now, people - this is a future classic in the making, and the Best New Comic Book of 2012, by a landslide.


2.)  Batman

- Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo have made DC's relaunched Batman title THE must-read superhero book of 2012 and beyond. While I've been largely sour on DC's rebooted franchise titles, Batman has been a roller-coaster ride, with top-notch storytelling and one modern-classic tale after another. The Court of Owls storyline was great, the current Joker-centric storyline, "Death of the Family," is even better - creepy, disturbing, and intense as all hell. If you ever wanted to dive in to some good Batman comics, now is the time. Start with last year's Batman #1 and work your way through - each and every issue of Snyder's run has been a keeper.


3.) Sweet Tooth

- Jeff Lemire's post-apocalyptic saga has been racing towards its impending conclusion, and even though I'll be sad that the story is over ... man, I can't wait to see how it ends. Sweet Tooth has been probably my favorite comic of the last couple of years. It's a great story with great characters and a sense of mystery and adventure unlike anything else. Lemire's writing is full of humanity and emotion, but his weird, stylized art creates an unsettling, atmospheric mood. In 2012, we finally learned the origins of the plague that wiped out much of humanity and birthed Sweet Tooth, and we also saw the story build to a climactic showdown in Alaska, where badass antihero Jeppard is prepping for his final stand - trying to protect the boy he's come to love as a son from those who would harm him. Lemire is to be commended for his amazing run on this book.


4.) The Walking Dead

- Everyone now knows The Walking Dead from the TV series, but the comic where it all started continues to be a great read - going to dark and disturbing places that even the TV show wouldn't dare tread. I've been catching up via trade paperback, so I'm still a little behind the monthly books. But after a bit of a lull, I felt Kirkman got back on track with the buildup to and aftermath of the landmark issue #100. The events of that issue, thanks to new villain Negan, are horrifying, shocking, and exactly the sort of balls-to-the-wall stuff that made The Walking Dead a phenomenon in the first place. Read it if you dare.


5.) Animal Man

- Here's that Jeff Lemire guy again (and it won't be the last time he's on this list, either). Lemire continues to hit it out of the park on Animal Man, telling the kinds of nightmarish stories that made the title pop back in the day under Grant Morrison's pen, but adding a new, humanistic twist. Buddy Baker's relationship with his wife and children has never felt so real or relatable, for example. And that makes all the crazy, messed-up horror that Baker gets mixed up in that much more disturbing and engrossing.


6.) The Manhattan Projects

- Jonathan Hickman has quite the wild imagination. His new book The Manhattan Projects is, easily, one of the most wonderfully weird things I've ever read. It explores the concept of The Manhattan Project in the 30's as being much more than just a group trying to build an atomic bomb, but a top-secret super-science lab that creates portals to other worlds, artificial life, clones, androids, and anything else that you, I, or Hickman can think of. Hickman has populated the book with real-life figures like Einstein and Oppenheimer, but his versions are like nothing you've seen before. A twisted, insane, and trippy look at the fringes of modern science.


7.) Fatale

- Ed Brubaker knows how to do hard-boiled crime-fiction well, but he's outdoing himself with Fatale. The book follows an immortal femme fatale across the decades as she tries to escape her past, all the while luring any number of helpless paramours into her bed and into her service. This is pitch-black noir with a supernatural twist, and the moody art from Sean Phillips plunges you into a world of shadows and hidden dangers.


8.) Swamp Thing

- Scott Snyder's other DC book that I'm digging is Swamp Thing, a worthy heir to the character's storied legacy. Swamp Thing has been telling a pretty epic story, as Alec Holland wages all out war with the demonic Arcane. Snyder brings a real knack for psychological horror to the book, but he's also able to make it into a grand adventure. As Swamp Thing's been enmeshed in the "Rotworld" storyline, it's taken on a big-event, anything-can-happen feel.


9.) Invincible

- Everyone knows Robert Kirkman from The Walking Dead, but I'm also a huge fan of his other major ongoing book, Invincible. This is another one I've been reading in trade format - so I'm a little behind - but that I can't get enough of when I get my hands on each new volume. Invincible is the most fun superhero book published today - it's got its own epic mythology that at times satirizes classic comic book conventions to great effect. But it also is epic, dark, and intense when it wants to be. Kirkman knows how to crank up the volume and tell a big, shocking storyline. Invincible is superhero comics crack.


10.) Justice League Dark

- One more from Jeff Lemire. Since taking over this book several months back, Lemire has made it an instant standout. In fact, his first big storyline, pitting a group of magical heroes, led by John Constantine, against an occult enemy in a war for the Books of Magic (a story which also saw the return of Tim Hunter, aka the original Harry Potter), was downright epic. Lemire brought his knack for tight plotting, great twists, and fun characterization to the table, and the results are striking. Also striking: the painted art of Mikel Janin, which is absolutely amazing to look at.

SPECIAL MENTION:

- One of the best comics I read this year was LOCKE & KEY. I'm still catching up, so I haven't read the latest volumes yet. But man, it's been an incredible, harrowing, engrossing, mind-blowing journey so far. Joe Hill (son of Stephen King), clearly shares his dad's knack for epic horror - Locke & Key is a book that mixes humor and heart and whimsy with moments that are downright scary and disturbing. The plotting is second to none - as I plowed through each volume, I couldn't stop reading. The art by Gabriel Rodriguez is awesome as well - stylized and unique, but ultra-fluid, expressive, and evocative. I can't wait to read the rest of the story as Joe Hill's saga unfolds into 2013.

WRITERS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing)
2.) Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Animal Man, Justice League Dark)
3.) Brian K. Vaughan (Saga)
4.) Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible)
5.) Darwyn Cooke (Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre, Before Watchmen: Minutemen)
6.) Sean Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus)
7.) Dan Abnett (The New Deadwardians)
8.) Jonathan Hickman (The Manhattan Projects, Fantastic Four)
9.) Mark Millar (Hit-Girl, The Secret Service)
10.) Ed Brubaker (Fatale)

ARTISTS OF THE YEAR:

1.) Fiona Staples (Saga)
2.) Sean Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus)
3.) Greg Capullo (Batman)
4.) Mikel Janin (Justice League Dark)
5.) J.H. Williams III (Batwoman)
6.) Amanda Connor (Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre)
7.) Jason Fabook (Detective Comics)
8.) Ivan Reiss (Aquaman, Justice League)
9.) Fernando Pasarin (Green Lantern Corps)
10.) Darwyn Cooke (Before Watchmen: Minutemen)